Someone has to comment or else we'll never find the One Piece.

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Sources mentioned:

https://web.mit.edu/curhan/www/docs/Articles/15341_Readings/Motivation/Aronson_Mills_1959_The_effect_of_severity_of_initiation.pdf [" The Effect of Severity of Initiation on Liking for a Group" by Elliot Aronson and Judson Mills from June 9, 1958]

https://youtu.be/-VQ3e7YbFmw?si=Cc3LKBOiXZzCwhvU ["The Politics of One Piece" by Mother's Basement on YouTube from Oct. 25, 2025]

https://youtu.be/NhU0FkLnz_U?si=jSzYBKTZHSlKZazt ["'Keep Politics Out Of Anime'" by Bonsai Pop on YouTube from Oct. 25, 2025]

Raf did a great job on this one. And that's not just my white guilt showing.

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Sources mentioned:

https://youtu.be/Ouv5CJ7Ig7c?si=gxDM5DWJeGiB7Jk_ ["Trope Talk: Writing What You Know" by Overly Sarcastic Productions on YouTube from Sept. 27, 2016]

Well, we finally did it, folks. And by "it," I mean the Oscars. No fact-checks this week, largely because I went so far off the rails that Raf didn't even bother.

Comment below any traps you'd like me to set for my co-host next week on Story Lines!

Sources mentioned:

https://youtu.be/vkDRSgo6tdo?si=D6d94Ko_j3h3_Rzx ["How To Write Intelligent Horror - Sinners" by The Closer Look on YouTube from Jul. 11, 2025]

https://www.reddit.com/r/television/comments/1j2zq9y/2025_oscars_score_18_million_viewers_down_7_from/ [Reply on thread "2025 Oscars Score 18 Million Viewers, Down 7% From Last Year" by Sorry_Sorry_Im_Sorry on Reddit from about 1 year ago] (Their source seems to be the following Statista report, but you need an account to access it: https://www.statista.com/statistics/253743/academy-awards-number-of-viewers/)

Does it seem like I wrote this with AI if I use an em-dash?!

No fact checks this episode, so Raf must be letting me off the hook—or we just properly cited our sources. Who knows which?

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Sources mentioned:

https://www.npr.org/2025/09/05/nx-s1-5529404/anthropic-settlement-authors-copyright-ai ["Anthropic settles with authors in first-of-its-kind AI copyright infringement lawsuit" by Chloe Veltman on NPR from Sept. 5, 2025]

https://www.grammarly.com/blog/ai/how-do-ai-detectors-work/ ["How Do AI Detectors Work? Key Methods, Accuracy, and Limitations" by Grammarly last updated Feb. 11, 2026]

https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/12/eliminating-state-law-obstruction-of-national-artificial-intelligence-policy/ ["ENSURING A NATIONAL POLICY FRAMEWORK FOR ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE" by the White House from Dec. 11, 2025] (This is the executive order)

https://youtu.be/Fzhkwyoe5vI?si=7jVi48a-YMIvxGyk ["Don't Hex the Water" bu exurb1a on YouTube from Aug. 27, 2022]

Raf made me promise that I would fact-check us and say that Fifty Shades of Grey did NOT outsell the Bible. My bad.

Also, apologies for the audio not being in stereo. Premiere wants to destroy my soul, and we've got tight deadlines here on the Story Line.

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This week, Raf and Daly launch straight into the podcast with introductions, bits about Daly's heart of gold, and an in-depth discussion on the ethics of news consumption.

Sources mentioned: