Normal Men

Ed runs some numbers, George eyeballs the urbs, the Strait gets bent, Lowtax socializes, and Propter gets sloppy.

Episode 49: Texas primaries, North Carolina's political shake-ups, oil prices and the Strait of Hormuz, and EV battery drama with very special guest Aaron Kleinman (@kleinman.bsky.social) from Heartland Signal.  check out his more formal work at https://radio-free-america.beehiiv.com/

Anthropic vs DoD, Iran strikes, Graham Platner's podcast tour, and the gnome bag. Featuring the return of Theophite to talk shrimp.   Chapters: 0:00 Intro: Anthropic vs. DoD 10:00 Claude's Ethical AI Training 20:00 DoD's Ultimatum & Anthropic's Red Lines 31:00 Anthropic's Rationalist Roots 47:00 Hot War with Iran 1:04:00 Graham Platner & Antisemitism 1:25:00 Public Virtue & AI in Government 1:33:00 Outro

Propter's smart home journey goes sideways. Dogs: better evolved than us? The AI chip crisis hits gaming. The Jones Act and the art of the subsidy. Iran, oil, and who benefits. East Coast braces for snow. State shapes are wrong. And maybe log off for a bit. Chapters: 0:00 Smart Home Tech & APIs 4:00 Dogs: Evolution, Senses, & Meds 14:00 AI, Chip Crisis & Hardware Prices 24:00 Economics of Supply & Demand 30:00 The Jones Act: Policy Failure 33:00 Biofuels & Commodity Cycles 40:00 Geopolitics: US & Iran 52:00 Blizzard, Weather & Regional Differences 1:03:00 Online Discourse & Context Window

Just desserts, DHS shutdown and caucus integrity, the future of B2B and internal tooling, and the Yakuza games. Chapters: 0:00 Yakuza & Video Game Franchises 5:30 Dessert Discourse & Social Media 12:30 Canned Cheese & Weekly News 17:30 DHS, Noem, and El Paso Lasers 31:15 DHS Shutdown Analysis 45:00 Shutdown Impacts & Democratic Strategy 56:15 AI & Stock Market Winners/Losers 1:02:20 AI's Practicality & Limitations 1:16:50 Outro

Normal Astrophysicist Mike Boylan-Kolchin (@mbkplus.bsky.social) joins us to talk about the terrible secret of space and the Lone Star State.  Also:  black olives on tacos, Love Da Seahawks, and Jeff Bezos has some explaining to do. Chapters: 0:00 Intro and Gooning Culture 2:40 Elon's Space Data Centers 5:00 Astronomy & Compute 13:00 Challenges of Space Data Centers 20:00 Economics of Orbital Compute 38:00 Taco Discourse & Burrito Bonds 54:00 Texas Democratic Primary 1:10:00 Republican Primary & Senate Control 1:24:00 Universe's End & Super Bowl 1:31:00 Outro and Final Thoughts

Normal Woman skelly (@iid.bsky.social) joins us from France to talk about- well, the plan was to talk about the American expat experience in Europe during Trump II but actually it wound up being mostly about comparative educational structure.  we hope you like it. also: Texas Toast (Republican State Senate edition), handicapping 2026, Fed Warsh, Epstein and the shallow bench of evil. ED NOTE: we are unbleeped compared to our usual because Ed is working very hard and is gassed this week.  please be nice to Ed if you see him. Chapters: 0:00 Intro & Winter Woes 7:06 Skelly: Life in France 16:15 Academia: US vs. Europe 26:30 College Admissions & Prestige 45:46 Admissions: Success & Diversity 1:08:40 American Expat Life & Culture 1:33:57 Texas Special Election Analysis

Speculative fiction, moderation at scale, radicalization at scale, parenting at low-scale, and turophile priorities with Theophite. Chapters: 0:00 Intro & Guest Theophyte 4:17 Minneapolis ICE Shooting Fallout 21:25 Theophyte's RPG & AI Art 34:17 RPG World's Moral Dilemmas 44:02 Scale of Civilization & Internet 55:42 Parenting in Trump's Second Age 1:06:25 Oreo Debate & Losing Control 1:09:38 Cougar Gold Cheese & WSU

On dogs, football, Blorth Carolina, the spirit of the cities, Chipotle, why you should care about Claude Code, adventures in transatlanticism, and the Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King, Jr. Chapters: 0:00 Intro & Poop Talk 5:31 NFL & College Football Review 16:53 Indiana Coach's Chipotle Habit 26:53 North Carolina Political Landscape 43:24 ICE Occupation in Minneapolis 53:46 Adventures in AI: Claude Code 1:09:36 Trump, Greenland, and NATO

Ms. Malone and Ms. Speedrun-Enjoyer stop by to explain the appeal of murder.  Also, we talk about the Horrors foreign and domestic. Chapters: 0:00 Intro & Guest Welcome 10:06 Defining True Crime & Adnan Syed 20:12 Personal Appeal & Favorite Podcasts 35:21 Unsolved Cases & Killer Psychology 50:30 True Crime's Gender Gap & Safety 1:05:39 Guest Farewell & Renee Good Murder 1:15:45 Authoritarianism & Public Backlash 1:25:51 Greenland Invasion Rumors & Geopolitics

The Normal Men talk college football, Venezuelan stabs, and what genAI won't do for you. Chapters: 0:00 Woodworking & Ice Bath Project 4:38 Gaming Controversies: FF7 & Animal Crossing 13:51 College Football & Ole Miss Racism 27:46 Venezuela Regime Change Operation 58:29 US-Mexico Cartel War Speculation 1:17:09 AI & Grok's Pornography Problem 1:31:09 Understanding and Using LLMs

Goodbye to 2025!  The Normal Men talk food, travel, optimism, and dating. Chapters: 0:00 Intro and Holiday Recap 9:32 Cookbook and Rice Cooker Recommendations 28:38 Favorite Destination Foods 47:43 Affordable Protein Alternatives 1:04:54 Nonalcoholic Drinks and Mocktails 1:22:05 Party Playlists and Social Confidence 1:39:16 Dating and Parenting Advice

The Normal Men dive into appellate immigration strategy and the Battle of Chicago with Mark Fleming of National Immigrant Justice Center.  Also, stroads and the modern authoritarian; primary ethics and efficiency.   National Immigrant Justice Center: https://immigrantjustice.org/ Illinois Coalition for Immigrant & Refugee Rights: https://www.icirr.org/ Organized Communities Against Deportation:  https://www.organizedcommunities.org/

We interview Mike Sacks, who is running for Congress in NY-17; people are doing more mass shootings; Propter sounds robotic; and what is truth, really?   Mike Sacks (https://bsky.app/profile/mikesacks.bsky.social) is running for Congress in the New York's Fightin' Seventeenth: (https://bsky.app/profile/mikesacks.bsky.social/post/3lmev4vf4hc2n) Learn more here:  https://www.mikesacksforcongress.com/ Give his campaign money here:  https://secure.actblue.com/donate/mike-sacks-donate Early corvid scholarship by Mr Sacks:  https://www.dukechronicle.com/article/cb488d23-ab03-42be-994b-1fe5b2054038   An AI-generated video of a crow sledding on a frisbee:  https://www.facebook.com/reel/864322122972412 Chapters: 0:00 Podcast Intro and Guest Mike Sacks 4:50 NY-17 District and Politics 19:30 Universal Healthcare as Key Policy 24:30 Supreme Court and Structural Reform 30:30 Primary Race and Competitive Edge 45:00 District Deli and Smoked Fish 47:30 Mass Shootings and Gun Violence 55:30 Proctor's Voice and Robotics 1:02:30 AI, Crow Video, and Epistemology 1:12:30 Duke Chronicle Letter & Outro

Infant diction, Noted Underdogs Duke, birthright citizenship, c-c-c-cocaine, coffee: black. Norwegian outreach:  https://bsky.app/profile/norwayinusa.norway.no/post/3m4bcalmg7s2u   Coffee, black:  https://bsky.app/profile/bmhughes.bsky.social/post/3m6wc33skm22z Chapters: 0:00 Intro & Linguistics Lesson 4:39 Trump's Pardon & RGV Politics 12:53 College Football Playoff Explained 33:29 SCOTUS & Birthright Citizenship 50:39 Navy SEALs & Cocaine Strikes 1:00:21 FIFA Award & Global Bribery 1:04:29 Normalcy Studies & Identity 1:18:01 Outro

The majesty and the mystery of Lane Kiffin, what on earth is up with oil, war crimes in your war crimes, and optimism in Tennessee. Chapters: 0:00 The Boston Molasses Disaster 5:00 College Football: ACC & Lane Kiffin 22:20 Global Oil Market Dynamics 35:00 OPEC, EVs, and Geopolitical Oil Play 50:00 Oil Geopolitics: Russia, Venezuela, US 1:01:00 Trump Admin War Crimes & Fallout 1:11:00 Tennessee Special Election 1:23:50 Episode Wrap-up

Talking turkey, taking questions, slandering yams, and giving thanks with distinguished alumnus golikehellmachine. Chapters: 0:00 Intro & Blue Sky Food Discourse 2:22 Podcast Intro & Trump's Post 6:13 Vehicle Must-Haves & Deal Breakers 12:56 Friendsgiving & Dinner Guests 19:37 Thanksgiving Music & Gravy Debate 29:53 Hosting & Turkey Debate 38:53 Dealing with Racist Uncle 46:33 Lightning Round: Sides, Pies & Trolls 57:01 Outro

Green energy and touring finances with Jael Holzman of Heatmap and Ekko Astral (@jael.bsky.social), the Epstein Files, and Peak Trump.   listen to Horse Glue by Ekko Astral here:  https://ekkoastral.bandcamp.com/album/horseglue and submit questions for mailbag here:  https://golikehellmachine.com/2025/11/16/thanksgiving-mailbag/ Chapters: 0:00 Intro & Casual Food Chat 5:20 Energy Transition & Policy 16:00 Fossil Fuel Influence & Geothermal 30:00 Political Risk & Media Critique 42:30 Echo Astral & Music Life 58:30 Jeffrey Epstein Email Dump 1:26:00 Epstein's Political Impact 1:37:30 Has Trump's Era Peaked? 1:46:00 CBP in Charlotte & Outro

Normal Man Haydon (@haydonmp.bsky.social) joins us to talk about strokes and those who may have had them!  In addition to that premortem, shutdown perimortem and election postmortem. Chapters: 0:00 Intro: Trump's Health & Guest 4:10 Analyzing Trump's Health Signs 15:40 Transparency, Aging, Public Office 24:20 Cognitive Tests for Presidents 35:00 Stroke Risks & Longevity Obsessions 43:30 Government Shutdown: The CR Deal 1:01:00 Shutdown Politics & Caucus Dynamics 1:15:00 House Democrats' Frustration 1:24:00 Post-Election Analysis & 2024 Outlook

Truck Talk returns with harsh words for Stellantis, SNAP impact discussion (human edition not macro edition), and just-in-time election previews (at 43:50).   please help some people out at: https://teamfeed.feedingamerica.org/teams/7634 Chapters: 0:00 Jeep Wrangler & Stellantis Woes 5:00 EV Range & Hybrid Benefits 10:00 ICE vs EV: The Value Argument 27:10 Normal Men Intro & Feeding America 30:00 SNAP Funding Cliff & Consequences 40:00 Political Blame & Election Forecasts 44:30 Virginia & New Jersey Governor Races 55:00 New York City Mayor & Betting 1:05:00 Final Thoughts & Charity Call