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America at 250: Fireworks, Fog, Gas Prices, and Political Theater
From Fourth of July to They Live: A Very American Spiral
Debates, Dollars, and Decline: Late-Night Notes on America
Fogged-Out Fireworks and the End of the Middle Class
Goldberg, Haaland, and the American Psyop



This week I bounced all over the map with the guys, starting with Fourth of July fallout, fogged-out fireworks in San Francisco, heat waves, gas prices, and the general feeling that America’s 250th birthday hit at a pretty strange moment. We got into the absurdity of modern political theater, why so many people feel alienated from both parties, how debate culture is exposing shallow talking points on all sides, and why more people are questioning the systems they’ve been told to trust. From there, the conversation spiraled the way it always should: AI socialism pitches, inflation, middle-class decline, union history, surveillance, religion in public life, and the impossible economics of simply trying to live, work, and buy food in 2026.

We also made plenty of room for the fun stuff: Sons of Liberty, They Live, Road House, wrestling lore, Ric Flair stories, Goldberg, Erling Haaland, weird internet media, and the strange comfort of talking movies, sports, and pro-wrestling while the world keeps getting weirder. It was equal parts Americana, economic doom, cultural criticism, and late-night nonsense—exactly the kind of episode where we can go from farm-kid chaos and fireworks to Norse myth, debate strategy, and Hulk Hogan in under ten minutes.

• Sons of Liberty (History Channel miniseries): https://www.history.com/shows/sons-of-liberty
• Waymo: https://waymo.com/
• C-SPAN: https://www.c-span.org/
• AM Wakeup: https://podnews.net/podcast/iz9gx
• The Raging Tomato: https://www.theragingtomato.com/
• The Caledonian Elixir: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-caledonian-elixir/id1813697031
• The Vinny Eastwood Show: https://www.thevinnyeastwoodshow.com/
• Who Are These Podcasts?: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/who-are-these-podcasts/id1086497145
• The Daily Wire: https://www.dailywire.com/
• Kill Tony: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/kill-tony/id1042361179
• Dan Soder: https://www.dansoder.com/
• Joe Rogan: https://www.joerogan.com/
• No Agenda Show: https://www.noagendashow.com/
• FIFA World Cup: https://www.fifa.com/en/tournaments/mens/worldcup
• Erling Haaland (Manchester City profile): https://www.mancity.com/en/players/erling-haaland
• BeefMaps: https://www.beefmaps.com/
• Grocery Outlet: https://www.groceryoutlet.com/
• Tillamook: https://www.tillamook.com/
• American Family Insurance: https://www.amfam.com/
• Cummins: https://www.cummins.com/en-na
• Monster Transmission: https://monstertransmission.com/
• They Live: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0096256/
• Road House (1989): https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0098206/
• The Color Purple (1985): https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088939/
• E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0083866/
• Splash: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088161/
• Ghost: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0099653/
• As Good as It Gets: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0119822/