Cast Iron Christmas

We’re having a holly, jolly time plowing through the news of the week and we leave plenty of time for Strassmann, the Billboard Hot 100, and our other usual assortment of complaints about the media and culture. 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 — Abe in the burbs taking selfies with The Grinch
5:20 — WGAS NewsBag; Matt Gaetz House Ethics Committee report drops
14:30 — Biden commutes 37 of 40 federal death sentences
21:08 — Lara Trump won’t be the next senator from Florida
23:16 — Kay Granger has abandoned her seat in Congress, and a local journalist is on the case
29:44 — Trump and Musk stop extended government funding bill before Congress passes last-minute temporary solution
41:23 — Larry Hogan looks into the mysterious sky and sees…stars?
47:30 — Slate columnist hated a book but missed the worst part
56:25 — Did CBS News’s Senior National News Correspondent Mark Strassmann Get Off a Good One?
1:02:33 — The Billboard Hot 100 Game
1:27:33 — Wrap-up! Homestead; La Palma; Christmas viewing

Relevant Linkage

NYT: Read the Ethics Committee’s Report on Matt Gaetz

BBC: Four revelations from the House ethics report on Matt Gaetz

AP: Biden gives life in prison to 37 of 40 federal death row inmates before Trump can resume executions

CBS News: Lara Trump says she's removing herself from consideration for Marco Rubio's Florida Senate seat

The Dallas Express: EXCLUSIVE: Where Is Congresswoman Kay Granger?

NYT: House Member in Senior Living Facility Draws Fresh Scrutiny to Aging Congress — Representative Kay Granger, Republican of Texas, has been largely absent from Capitol Hill since the summer and has moved into a retirement home.

CBS: How Trump and Elon Musk derailed bipartisan plans for a funding bill, bringing on risk of shutdown

NPR: Congress passes bill to avert government shutdown

Axios: Rand Paul floats Elon Musk for House Speaker

Twitter: Larry Hogan says he saw some weird shit in the sky

Slate: It’s the Biggest New Novel of the Year. It’s Almost Unreadably Bad.

The Ringer: 60 Songs that Explain the 90s: The 2000s — Linkin Park

NYT: Kylie Kelce Doesn’t Want to Talk About Besting Joe Rogan — But in her first interview since her podcast reached No. 1, she does share ideas about why the show has become a breakout hit.