Why Are We Like This?

The guys discuss news and notes from things we missed during the summer break, including the Barbenheimer phenomenon, the brutal effects of manmade climate change on our Florida summer, declining tourism and our slumping economy that is also experiencing a skyrocketing cost of living.

We finish up with a check-in on Governor Ron DeSantis' spasming and thrashing presidential campaign as it lets out its death rattle. Meanwhile, things keep getting worse at home, where we've decided to let Dennis Prager teach our kids about slavery. Great stuff, folks.

Carlos Guillermo Smith (@CarlosGSmith) joins us to discuss the bizarre and hateful obsession that Ron DeSantis and Republicans in the Florida Legislature have with the LGBTQ community and their collective efforts to further marginalize these communities.

Our interview with Carlos comes at the 12:40 mark after a quick cold-open where the Gerald and Thomas do their best to convince David to re-join Twitter after quitting cold turkey last week.

Carlos is running for Florida Senate District 17, and you can get involved by visiting carlosguillermosmith.com to volunteer or donate!

DONATE: You can contribute to Danny Agnew's family's Go Fund Me here:

https://www.gofundme.com/f/celebrate-the-life-of-danny-agnew

They're calling it... "The Freakshow at Wilkie Ferguson..."

In this episode we break down Donald Trump's no-good, very bad day in Miami, the media circus that followed it, and how Trump turned lemons into lemonade -- and then forced a bunch of restaurant-goers to pay for those lemonades.

We also covered Miami Mayor Francis Suarez's quixotic, idiotic run for president, the reaction from another reactionary Miami former-mayor, and some of the dirt and scandal that promises to plague his nascent campaign.

Professor Mark Paul (@MarkVinPaul) is a former-Florida Man who is now Assistant Professor of Economics at the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers University. His new book, THE ENDS OF FREEDOM, outlines a new economic bill of rights that cuts to the core of many of our nation's problem. We discussed this, and how much a state like Florida would have to gain by this reorientation of American priorities.

Joe Carollo. Francis Suarez. A broken city government. First amendment violations. The same old names.

A lighthearted episode about some dark-hearted stuff today as we're joined by Billy Corben of Rakontur and Because Miami to discuss some of the biggest scandals heading into and coming out of Thursday's commission meeting.

We wrap up the show with a rousing game of Guess The Grifter, so stick around until the end!

It took years of fighting and organizing, but New York has finally passed Build Public Renewables Act, which is being called one of the most transformational green energy jobs initiatives in the United States. The legislation aims to scale up New York's renewable energy production and is a major step on the path of putting utilities back in public hands. Joining us to explore the implications of this groundbreaking law are Dharna Noor (@dharnanoor) and Aliya Uteuova (@aliyaute) of the Guardian, who have closely followed the bills path to law.

We go Director's Commentary-mode on the 42 minutes of leaked audio from a recent DeSantis 2014 donor dinner, and get under the hood of a campaign that seems to be flailing and failing from all outside (and now inside) appearance.

Credit to Florida Politics for breaking the story of the leaked audio.

Are you wondering how Florida Governor Ron DeSantis' official presidential campaign event went off? Well, we're not saying it was anything like hanging out on-set with Will Smith and Kevin James in 2005, but there were definitely some Hitches.

From an aborted Twitter Spaces launch to the absolute glazing of Elon Musk's entire genitalia by a procession of right-wing freaks, to said freaks lobbing softball after softball at the Gov, it was a dispiriting night for some, pure entertainment for others. And the WAWLT boys have the play-by-play!

While DeSantis' collection of meager bootlicking goons was depressing to behold, Thomas brings us news of a Downtown Miami anti-DeSantis protest he took part in and how it does not augur well for Ron's chances.

We were joined this week by McKenna Schueler (@SheCarriesOn) about the successful attempts by Florida's GOP to ram anti-labor and anti-renter bills through Tallahassee, and the affects they will have on unions and the cost of living crisis we are experiencing across Florida.

Check out McKenna's reporting at the Orlando Weekly.

As a native Miamian, Andrew Otazo (@AndrewOtazo) has seen the Magic City go through heartache and pain, but its current incarnation -- fueled by a new type of radicalism that feels foreign to many of us -- feels different. He talked with us about that, Miami's future, it's past, and his book/project The Miami Creation Myth (available at a bookseller near you).