We plow through the news that caught our attention this week and wonder about a future that promises to feed our eyeballs with images and information that we know cannot be relied upon to contain any truth value. Listen, if you must! Has something we said, or failed to say, made you FEEL something? You can tell us all about it by joining the conversation on our Substack or you can send us an email here. Enjoy!
Show Rundown
Open — Not RUSHing to our local arena
3:20 — Abe explains the shutdown
5:07 — WGAS NewsBag; Baseless speculation about Trump’s bad brain, baseless speculation about the gender status of famous women, Taylor Swift’s new record
31:33 — Our Bogus Future is an AI-generated anti-reality nightmare
59:19 — Did CBS News’ Senior National Correspondent Mark Strassmann Get Off a Good One?
1:07:28 — Wrap-up! The Smashing Machine
Relevant Linkage
AP: Rush announce reunion tour five years after the death of drummer Neil Peart
Independent: New conspiracies over Trump’s health swirl after text interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper
FOX News: Hegseth helps set world record at Navy football game for most people doing pushups at the same time
Reuters: Fact Check: CNN’s David Chalian did not call Michelle Obama ‘Big Mike’
BBC: Macrons to offer ‘scientific evidence’ to US court to prove Brigitte is a woman, lawyer says
AP: Lenny Kravitz to star in NBC’s ‘Sunday Night Basketball’ opening
NYT: Carrie Underwood’s Lyrical Blitz of the N.F.L.
NYT: Kristi Noem Says ICE Will Be ‘All Over’ the Super Bowl
AP: What to know about the white South Africans Trump may prioritize in new refugee quota for the US
The Hollywood Reporter: Taylor Swift Shoots Down “Shockingly Offensive” Question During Interview
Variety: Taylor Swift’s ‘The Life of a Showgirl’: Here’s Every Variant Edition of Her New Album So Far
Vice: Meet Tilly Norwood, the AI Actress Making Hollywood Very Nervous
NYT: OpenAI’s New Video App Is Jaw-Dropping (for Better and Worse)
NYT: How Bari Weiss Won
