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.