Podcast #528, Politics: Health Care and the President’s Personality
Release Date: 05/14/2025
Drunk Ex-Pastors
This week we revert to our old format and tackle politics, culture, and religion in a single episode. We briefly touch upon various rule-changes we’d like to see in professional sports, and then give an update about the soon-to-be-released DXP Summer Playlist. We discuss celebrities, and Brad Pitt in particular, and then weigh in on Pope Leo’s recent thoughts on the pros and cons of A.I.
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In our Religion Block we hear from a caller who asks why God can denounce empty and pious platitudes from Christians who refuse to actually help the needy, while he himself rarely seems to show up in times of trouble. In response we suggest that perhaps God only helps the poor by means of his people, and that he neither afflicts nor heals anyone directly (which is why Dietrich Bonhoeffer insisted that the best thing for a Christian to do is to live as though God does not exist).
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In this week’s Politics Block we discuss Elon Musk’s claim that President Trump’s name is in the infamous Epstein files. Springboarding from there, we discuss the various blackmail operations that intelligence agencies such as the Mossad and C.I.A. regularly engage in, suggesting that the Diddy case may be such an example.
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In this week’s Culture Block we talk about AI and its potential effects on Hollywood and the film industry, as well as the number of erstwhile human jobs it will make redundant. We then discuss a recent reel about The Wonder Years and whether something like that could be made today.
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In our Religion Block we share a new “Pastor Jack’s Off” segment, this time hearing Jack Hibbs insist that all non-believers share a vehement hatred of evangelical Christians, but that the latter must endure that hatred out of love for God. Unfortunately for Pastor Jack, if he is in fact “hated,” it has absolutely nothing to do with his so-called faithfulness to Christ and everything to do with his politics.
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In this week’s Politics Block we discuss a new proposal by the San Francisco School District to drastically lower academic standards in an effort to create equity. We share our frustration with the school system as it currently stands, as well as highlight the systemic challenges that educators today face.
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In this week’s Culture Block we consider Scott Galloway’s take on current dating statistics, particularly women’s standards for prospective male partners, as well as precisely how ideal a possible partner has to be in order to continue the relationship.
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In our Religion Block we talk about the propriety of the Christian waiting for a “Superbeing” to save him, and apply Bonhoeffer’s “Religionless Christianity” to this issue. We then hear from a caller asking for clarification on what “dogma” is and what it means to say that it cannot be changed.
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In this week’s Politics Block we take a call from a listener asking about the Save Act and what, if any, restrictions should be placed on potential voters’ rights. We then discuss Trump’s “Big Beautiful Tax Bill,” seeking to determine just how progressive or regressive it actually is. We close with a brief teaser about the effect Modern Monetary Theory might have on the tax issue.
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In this week’s Culture Block we hear from a listener expressing some doubts about the legitimacy of Deadbots, which springboards into a conversation regarding just how helpful AI really is. We discuss the potentially dangerous ramifications of outsourcing our mental skills to computers, and where this could potentially leave us if continued unchecked.
info_outlineIn this week’s Politics Block we share some firsthand experience of how broken our health care system is in this country, and then we hear from a listener with some push-back against our coverage of Bill Maher’s experience having dinner with Trump at the White House.