Ambitious Crossover Attempt

Jen and Noam return to some of the topics from last week, since things keep going from bad to worse. The situation in Iran has gotten worse, Trump seems really insistent that the US should own Greenland, and ICE is ramping up in Minneapolis for no good reason. And so we wonder, where the hell is Congress and is anyone going to stop the insanity.  For our What Are We Consuming, Noam explains how playing The Roottrees Are Dead made his online investigative skills better and Jen explains why you should watch Gachiakuta.

Noam and Jen…well they try to keep this pod from going on for hours, so they had to be a little selective with there was a baker's dozen topics to discuss from the past week. We start by checking in on Iran and the latest series of uprisings taking place. While this is certainly not the first time we've discussed an uprising in Iran, this one feels a little different.  Then we have to move on to the ICE shooting that took place in Minneapolis this past week. There is quite a lot to discuss, from the legality of the shooting itself to the reactions, which we both agree are the worst we've ever seen on social media.  On a brighter note, Noam explains why you should be watching the Korean cooking competition show Culinary Class Wars, and Jen celebrates the return of Jujitsu Kaisen for its third season. 

Jen and Noam were going to discuss the Somali Medicaid fraud story coming out of Minnesota and CBS News spiking a story about the US sending people to CECOT, but Trump ruined all of that by arresting Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro and his wife. Since nobody anywhere is talking about that, we tackle the topic of What Does It Mean and What Will Happen Next now that Maduro is in a jail cell in Brooklyn (yeah we don't get that one either really).    And we also have to talk about the season finale of Pluribus, if it did hold up for the whole season, and when season 2 will air (a long time from now, unfortunately). Noam watched the final half season of Stranger Things, so we talk about that and the merits of shows that are written with a specific ending point from the beginning. 

Noam and Jen unfortunately had to cancel their special podcast plans due to the death of Noam's grandfather, but we still recorded an episode nonetheless. We certainly had plenty to discuss; the solved yet unsolved mystery of the Brown University - MIT shooter, the TPUSA conference, how the USS Liberty incident is indeed irrelevant to any conversation in 2025, Ben Shapiro, how the Heritage American conversation is heading to some dark places, and how America is pretty damn cool. On the Pluribus front, there's the reveal of what the Big Plan is for the hivemind, Carol struggling with how everything is perfect but also completely wrong, and Manousos still making his way to Carol's doorstep. 

Jen and Noam discuss the depressing news out of Australia - a Hanukkah celebration on Bondi Beach was targeted by shooters, leaving (as of this writing) 16 dead and over 20 injured. We talk about the alarming rise of antisemitism in both the US and abroad, what globalizing the intifada means, and how every attack on Jews brings a wave of conspiracy theories. We also spend some time talking about how Candace Owens and Tim Pool are pleading poverty over having to "hire security" to deal with "threats" they receive, how everyone is getting tired of Candace, and if MAGA influencers are realizing that 2026 may well be the end of the line for them.  And Pluribus. Of course. This episode was a little different though, more of a meditation on what loneliness is and how nobody is truly an island unto themselves. Even incredibly stubborn, dickish people. 

Noam and Jen are back to discuss the never ending use of Charlie Kirk's death by his "friends" to gain clicks and downloads, the FBI announcing they have found the person responsible for planting the pipe bombs at the DNC and RNC headquarters back on 1/5/2021 (remember that?), an unplanned but very good discussion on the idea of using Palantir-type data scraping tech to find and build a case against a suspect, and FIFA inveting an award to give to Trump because he's 12.   And yes, more Pluribus talk, this time about HDP and how it fits in with moral veganism. But really, ew. Also, is anyone ever going to talk to Carol again?

Jen and Noam return after a holiday week where the news did not take a holiday. We've got Hegseth calling to leave no survivors behind during these "kinetic strikes" on boats in the middle of the ocean, Witkoff calling the Kremlin and coaching them on how to best get what they want from Trump, the shooting of two National Guard members in DC, calling their deaths before either was dead, how Comfortably Smug got his comeup, and the death of trust in anyone or anything.   Also, because this is now a Pluribus fan pod, we discuss episode 5 and how cinematography ain't dead yet. And, what's under that tarp? 

Noam and Jen discuss the thing we've been asking for TwitX to do for ages - publicly display the country of residence for accounts and if the account is connecting via a VPN. Spoiler alert; we're pretty happy about it. We also chat about the ongoing Nuzzi scandal that now has a new participant, Trump rolling out the red carpet for MBS and becoming a Mamdani stan, try to figure what the hell is going on with the Ukraine peace deal, and more Pluribus because it's a good show and you should watch it. 

Jen and Noam discuss the new(ish) information about the seedy world of Jeffrey Epstein, his qualifications for judging evil, the MAGA breakup nobody saw coming, and what's going to happen this week when the House finally votes on releasing the full Epstein files.  We also travel to China - well, actually, Hasan travelled to China, and we make fun of him for it. Plus, we touch on the end of the government shutdown and how Democrats completely botched the messaging on both the shutdown and the re-opening.  To finish, we talk some more about our new favorite show, Pluribus, and how Carol isn't the best human but she's the human we've got. Warning - there are some spoilers for E3 but nothing too consequential.   

Noam and Jen discuss attending Shabbat dinner at the Mandels, who declined to attend, the ongoing situation at both the Heritage Foundation and the conservative movement as a whole, how Kevin Roberts and Megyn Kelly are liars, weird Israeli drama, and other ephemera.  We also discuss the new Apple TV Pluribus, which is shaping up to be the next big show to watch.  Bonus - quite possibly the greatest video you will see this year, or at least the most satisfying - https://x.com/i/status/1987198590859563172 

Jen and Noam discuss the Great Reckoning taking place in conservative circles due to the Carlson-Fuentes interview, the fallout from that, Heritage Foundation president (for now) Kevin Roberts' defense of Carlson, and the fallout from that.  Also, is acknowledging antisemitism the new land acknowledgement? Are all opinions equally valid and worthy of debate? Is MAGA speedrunning its own version of wokeness? 

Noam and Jen discuss the practice of eating food with your hands, if a ballroom is a good idea, if this ballroom in particular is a good idea, Nazi tattoos, extrajudicial executions on the high seas, the rule of law, and if we are doing a regime change in Venezuela.

Jen and Noam have a nice chat about how your mom jokes only work when deployed correctly, why young conservatives can't act normal in group chats, are young conservatives even normal anymore, the very normie No Kings protest where nothing bad happened, the situation in Gaza and how nobody really knows what is happening, Hasan's continued crashout and how young people are not equipped to deal with the internet.

Noam and Jen discuss the most obvious thing for them to discuss this week; the return of the living hostages from Gaza and the possible end to the Israel-Gaza war. We discuss the reactions to the news, and our own personal feelings about seeing the hostages come home.  To lighten the mood, we wrap up with a little talk about Hasan Piker using a shock collar on his dog and how it may be his ultimate downfall. 

Jen and Noam discuss the comedians who attended the Riyadh Comedy Festival for the money that they didn't need, what happened to the food on the Global Sumud Flotilla, the chances of Trump's ambitious plan to end the war in Gaza gaining legs, the people who don't seem to want to end the war in Gaza, and the increasingly awful deployments of ICE / National Guard in US cities.  We wrap up the episode with some recommendations. Noam's favorite guilty pleasure, Love Is Blind, is starting its Denver season, and Jen recommends Perfect Blue for the 167th time in this podcast's history. 

Noam and Jen discuss…well how everything sucks right now. From the shooting at a Dallas ICE facility, nihilism, how political affiliation doesn't explain much anymore, online brainrot, Tylenol, and the Comey indictment, things aren't looking so great.  But in an effort to cheer ourselves up, we talk about two things that don't suck: the long-awaited Silksong drop and the manga / Netflix anime The Summer Hikaru Died. 

Jen and Noam manage to get past their (technical) issues and record an episode on the Jimmy Kimmel Saga now that it's over (?), the memorial service for Charlie Kirk, and news of a shooting at an ICE facility in Dallas that we don't have any details on yet so it's best to just wait for details instead of speculating. 

Noam and Jen finally return from their hiatus (it's all Noam's fault; he moved) just in time to discuss the murder of Charlie Kirk. While there is still a lot to unpack, we give our thoughts on the immediate aftermath of the shooting, focusing on the online reactions to the news. We spend some time discussing how internet culture is starting to seep into the real world and the consequences that have brought, from political violence to people who view internet famous people as characters in a show, to the inability to tell when someone is being serious.   

Jen and Noam discuss the ongoing situation in DC and the agents from…well we can't tell which agency they're from since they don't have ID and their faces are completely covered. Of course, we can't not talk about the infamous DC Subway attack and the staged re-arrest of sandwich thrower Sean Dunn.  From there, we move to GQ's ill-advised profile of Hasan Piker and the quest to make him the left wing Joe Rogan. Unfortunately for Piker, this doesn't go well.  We wrap up by talking a bit about the new horror movie Weapons (warning - there are spoilers!) and the tendency modern audiences have to read into a movie more than what is actually there. 

Noam and Jen return to discuss the back half of last week, which had more going on than most full weeks. We talk about the Gaza occupation that may or may not happen, the upcoming peace summit with Putin and Trump but not Zelensky, how Noam is not a Mossad agent sent to infiltrate American social media, and the ick of online sports betting.