The Skepticrat

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249: Skepticrat249 - AI Alternative Artifacts Edition Jun 02, 2025

Show notes

On this week's episode: Make America Healthy Again starts to sound an awful lot like the great reset ... We start wondering why there isn’t a Pulitzer for “best press conference question” ... And X hits a person like a Tesla on autopilot.
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Headline Sources:
MAHA report is full of enormous amounts of nonsense: https://www.mcgill.ca/oss/article/medical-critical-thinking-health-and-nutrition/maha-report-mostly-data-vibes
https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/05/30/maha-report-ai-white-house/
Harvard wins initial court fight to keep its international students: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/29/us/harvard-international-students-trumps.html
A hidden measure in the big beautiful bill would crown Trump king:
https://www.justsecurity.org/113529/terrible-idea-contempt-court/
Donald Trump learns about TACO trade: https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/trump-lashes-viral-taco-trade-meme-stand/story?id=122323324
Elon leaves the White House with a bunch of lies: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/30/us/politics/fact-check-elon-musk-trump.html
Elon Musk got punched in the face by a 5-year-old: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/30/us/politics/elon-musk-black-eye.html

248: Skepticrat248 - Grafter Math Edition May 19, 2025

Show notes

On this week's episode: Donald Trump is Qat-hard pressed to refuse a gift ... RFK Jr. goes swimming in water that had disgusting, disease-causing sewage in it before he got in ... And the White House has a very special birthday boy.
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Headline Sources:
Trump does a Middle East bribing tour: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/16/us/politics/trump-middle-east-visit.html https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/05/12/trump-plane-qatar-politics/ https://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-administration-qatar-links-2072706
DHS Reviews Reality Show Pitch Where Immigrants Compete for US Citizenship: https://ground.news/article/kristi-noem-working-on-reality-show-pitting-immigrants-against-each-other-for-citizenship
Trump's big beautiful bill is doomed: https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2025/05/16/gop-hard-liners-block-trumps-big-beautiful-bill-taxes-immigration/ https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/senate-republicans-put-house-notice-wont-accept-trump-agenda-bill-chan-rcna206705
RFK Jr. goes swimming in sewage with his family: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/12/us/politics/rfk-jr-rock-creek-bacteria.html
And openly admits you should NOT take health advice from him: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/14/us/politics/rfk-jr-hhs-overhaul-hearing.html
TX Democrats propose resolution to ban Cruz from college playoffs calling him a "well known curse": https://ground.news/article/houston-democrats-eyeing-to-end-cruz-curse-with-banning-of-senator
Trump’s fascism parade will cost well over $45 million: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/15/us/politics/trump-parade-army-birthday-cost.html

247: Skepticrat247 - Peter Hegseth Principle Edition May 05, 2025

Show notes

On this week's episode: Elon Musk spends infinity dollars for everyone to hate him ... Americans "celebrate" DJT’s first 100 days of the term ... And Trump drove our Chevy to the levy but the levy was high.
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Headline Sources:
Elon Musk on his way out:
https://apnews.com/article/trump-musk-doge-tesla-government-cuts-c47211544c5382a6207779ee95c6060b
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/05/02/musk-doge-cuts-congress-budget/
https://www.cnn.com/2025/04/30/business/tesla-board-elon-musk-ceo-search/index.html
Anonymous HHS report recommends conversion therapy without consulting any experts:
https://ground.news/article/trumps-health-agency-urges-therapy-for-transgender-youth-not-broader-gender-affirming-health-care_577b6d
Trump says kids need to take some economic pain:
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/30/us/politics/trump-tariffs-dolls-comment.html
Tariff nonsense being claimed as a "winning deal" by Howard Lutnick:
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/28/business/economy/howard-lutnick-trump-tariffs.html
Trump celebrates 100 days in office with sycophantic cabinet meeting:
https://newrepublic.com/post/194648/maga-far-right-reaction-trump-kim-jong-il-style-cabinet-meeting
Apple Violated Antitrust Ruling, Federal Judge Finds:
https://ground.news/article/apple-violated-antitrust-ruling-federal-judge-finds_60156e
Pete Hegseth is having a really bad time:
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/04/22/pentagon-infighting-hegseth-fired-officials-00302709
https://www.npr.org/2025/04/28/nx-s1-5380220/trump-hegseth-pentagon
https://thehill.com/policy/defense/5271365-colin-carroll-pentagon-official-fired/

246: Skepticrat246 - Catas-trophy Edition Apr 21, 2025

Show notes

On this week's episode: A Democratic senator gets to do his very own Taken movie ... The Secretary of Education gets a little saucy ... And Vice President Vance shows off his football skills with a very sad endzone jance dance.
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Use code SKEPTIC20 (iOS) / skeptic20 (Android) for full access to the Platinum Suite: $1M ID theft recovery insurance, dark web alerts, sensitive info monitoring, and much more—all at a special price!
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Another amazing word of the day from Susie Dent:
https://bsky.app/profile/susiedent.com
Headline Sources:
Senator meets with Kilmar Abrego Garcia in El Salvador: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/18/us/politics/abrego-garcia-chris-van-hollen-el-salvador.html
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/04/18/nayib-bukele-tweet-margaritas-kilmar-abrego-garcia/
https://abcnews.go.com/US/timeline-wrongful-deportation-kilmar-abrego-garcia-el-salvador/story?id=120803843
RFK seeks the 'environmental' cause of autism; scientists say it's not that simple:
https://www.npr.org/sections/shots-health-news/2025/04/16/nx-s1-5366676/autism-cdc-rates-rfk-research
SCOTUS keeps hold on Trump’s restrictions on birthright citizenship but sets May arguments: https://ground.news/article/61859ea0-7270-41a4-a748-faa73998aee4
Trump’s Education Chief Linda McMahon Repeatedly Calls AI ‘A1’ in School Speech: https://gizmodo.com/trumps-education-chief-linda-mcmahon-repeatedly-calls-ai-a1-in-school-speech-2000587329
A.1. responds after Linda McMahon mistakes it with AI: https://www.yahoo.com/news/1-responds-linda-mcmahon-mistakes-181537903.html
CNN Data Chief Says Talk About Trump World Is Part Of A 'Fanciful Universe': https://ground.news/article/do-americans-regret-voting-for-trump-here-are-the-facts-worldnetdaily-by-wnd-staff?utm_source=headline-link&utm_medium=share
JD Vance drops college football national championship trophy: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/14/us/politics/jd-vance-ohio-state-football-trophy.html

245: Skepticrat245 - Tariff at First You Don't Succeed Edition Apr 07, 2025

Show notes

On this week's episode: The punishment for coming here gets almost as bad as being here ... Even podcasters will be impressed with how long Cory Booker can vamp ... And Heath asks ChatGPT how to fix the country, but he's not allowed to say the answer for legal reasons.
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Another amazing word of the day from Susie Dent:
https://bsky.app/profile/susiedent.com
Headline Sources:
Trump’s fascist deportations are catching US citizens: https://www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/2025/04/04/judge-orders-trump-administration-bring-back-md-man-mistakenly-deported/
https://www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/2025/04/05/us-citizens-deported-immigration/
Nancy Mace got an activist arrested after he shook her hand - charges just got dropped: https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2025/04/nancy-mace-got-an-activist-arrested-after-he-shook-her-hand-charges-just-got-dropped/
Release of Signal chat leads to SO MUCH LYING:
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/national-security/trumps-top-intelligence-officials-claim-no-classified-information-was-rcna197954
https://www.msnbc.com/top-stories/latest/gabbard-ratcliffe-senate-hearing-signal-yemen-texts-rcna198047
NSA Director gets fired by Trump on the advice of Laura Loomer: https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2025/04/03/nsa-director-fired-tim-haugh/
Phone numbers, emails, and passwords of Gabbard, Waltz, and Hegseth found online: https://www.spiegel.de/international/world/pete-hegseth-mike-waltz-tulsi-gabbard-private-data-and-passwords-of-senior-u-s-security-officials-found-online-a-14221f90-e5c2-48e5-bc63-10b705521fb7
Cory Booker delivers record setting “are we really letting this happen?” speech: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/02/nyregion/cory-booker-speech-reactions.html
Eric Adams will skip the Democratic primary and run for reelection as an independent:
https://apnews.com/article/nyc-mayor-eric-adams-independent-1bfd61ad5d266b030996dfe516c77a17
Trump tariff strategy cites economists - they all said he's stupid: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/04/04/tariffs-economists-trump-formula/
And he clearly copied his homework from an AI overview: https://www.theverge.com/news/642620/trump-tariffs-formula-ai-chatgpt-gemini-claude-grok

244: Skepticrat244 - Grand Theft Autopen Edition Mar 24, 2025

Show notes

On this week's episode: Federal courts rule on if we can have a deportation catapult ... Trump voters argue that at least he makes the planes crash on time ... And Heath was excited by a headline about the Kennedy assassination but then he realized it's about JFK.
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Another amazing word of the day from Susie Dent:
https://bsky.app/profile/susiedent.com
Headline Sources:
Judge Appears Skeptical of Trump’s Use of Wartime Law to Deport Venezuelans:
nytimes.com/2025/03/21/us/politics/trump-deportations-alien-enemies-act-block.html
Mahmoud Khalil got abducted by the US government: apnews.com/article/columbia-protests-immigration-detention-mahmoud-khalil-755774045e5e82849e3281e8ff72f26d
Trump tries to dismantle the education department: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/20/us/can-trump-dismantle-education-department.html
Trump pretends Joe Biden’s pardons don’t count: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/22/business/media/autopen-biden-trump-conspiracy-theory.html
Trump has Tesla sales event on White House lawn: washingtonpost.com/business/2025/03/16/elon-musk-tesla-trump-sales-republicans/
DOGE is ridiculously inefficient: https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2025/03/22/irs-tax-revenue-loss-federal-budget/https
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/lawmakers-fear-doge-cuts-will-drive-away-generation-federal-workers-rcna197085
Were the Kennedy Files a Bust?...Not So Fast, Historians Say: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/20/us/politics/jfk-assassination-files-cia.html

243: Skepticrat243 - You Can Call Me Al Green Edition Mar 10, 2025

Show notes

On this week's episode: Al Green is the only guy with those glasses from “They Live” ... The US will raise its ticket prices just when nobody wants to come anymore ... And Hillary Clinton's pizza and ping-pong dungeon remains a secret...for now.
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Another amazing word of the day from Susie Dent:
https://bsky.app/profile/susiedent.com
Headline Sources:
Trump’s Joint Address to Congress is filled with insane lies: https://www.npr.org/2025/03/04/g-s1-50488/trump-congress-joint-address-fact-check
https://www.thepinknews.com/2025/03/06/trans-mice-claim-false-donald-trump-transgenic/
https://www.whitehouse.gov/articles/2025/03/yes-biden-spent-millions-on-transgender-animal-experiments/
U.S. and Ukrainian Officials to Meet Next Week About Path to End War: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/06/us/politics/ukraine-zelensky-trump-russia.html
Trump plans to offer "gold card" visas for $5 million:
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-gold-card-eb5-visa-5-million-immigration-oligarch-cbs-news-explains/
Trump seems to be falling out of love with Musk: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/03/06/trump-musk-cabinet-federal-worker-cuts/
https://mashable.com/article/tesla-cybertruck-mardia-gras-new-orleans-boo
https://www.politico.com/live-updates/2025/03/04/congress/gop-town-halls-richard-hudson-00210024
Luigi Mangione pleads with fans to stop sending him so many photos: https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/crime/luigi-mangione-court-update-fan-mail-b2706446.html
Released "Epstein Files" disappoint anticipators; a Republican rickroll didn't help: https://time.com/7262658/epstein-files-released-reactions-disappointment-republicans-rickroll/
https://apnews.com/article/jeffrey-epstein-files-pam-bondi-trump-1a6af3e9fa1cfb6d267985a971a4929a
https://www.nj.com/politics/2025/03/maga-already-calling-on-trump-to-fire-ag-pam-bondi-heres-why.html

242: Skepticrat242 - Chainsaw of Fools Edition Feb 24, 2025

Show notes

On this week's episode: We cover the heilz and lows of CPAC ... The AP will ask us what we heard about Trump’s latest presser ... And in addition to an apanthropist, Heath is also a misanthropist based on REALLY hating 49.8% of the people.
To support our show on Patreon, go here:
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Another amazing word of the day from Susie Dent:
https://twitter.com/susie_dent
Headline Sources:
CPAC highlights including Elon Musk waving a chainsaw and Steve Bannon doing a nazi salute: https://apnews.com/article/musk-chainsaw-trump-doge-6568e9e0cfc42ad6cdcfd58a409eb312
https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5156631-elon-musk-cpac-5-takeaways/
https://apnews.com/article/steve-bannon-cpac-nazi-salute-gesture-wave-43a06de6184fe58940c8ae3d743bc6ba
Fox News, CNN, and Other News Outlets Urge White House to Drop Ban on The AP: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/20/business/media/ap-white-house-ban-cnn-fox.html
Trump parrots Russian propaganda about Ukraine: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/20/world/trump-putin-russia-ukraine.html
DOGE fires nuclear safety staff, then has to unfire them after deleting their email accounts: https://www.cnn.com/2025/02/17/climate/trump-nnsa-nuclear-staff-reinstated/index.html
New Kennedy Center President Says Trump Wants to “Make Art Great Again”: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/politics-news/kennedy-center-changes-trump-christmas-show-1236143238/
Chris Kluwe arrested for protesting MAGA library installation: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/former-nfl-punter-chris-kluwe-arrested-anti-trump-protest-city-council-rcna192978

241: Skepticrat241 - DOGE and Pony Show Edition Feb 10, 2025

Show notes

On this week's episode: The first month of Trump's second term is awfully tarrific ... Noah reminds Canada that they’ve got more experience burning down the White House than anybody ... And hot tea is good sometimes...I like chamomile.
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Another amazing word of the day from Susie Dent:
https://twitter.com/susie_dent
Headline Sources:
Trump tries to tariff and it goes very badly: https://www.nbcnews.com/business/business-news/trump-tariffs-what-concessions-from-mexico-canada-really-mean-rcna190784
https://www.nbcnews.com/business/business-news/usps-resume-accepting-china-shipments-after-initial-pause-rcna190766
Trump claims he ordered ‘obliteration’ of Iran if he’s assassinated in chilling warning: https://nypost.com/2025/02/04/us-news/trump-claims-he-ordered-obliteration-of-iran-if-hes-assassinated/
No, the USAID didn't fund a transgender opera in Colombia: https://www.notus.org/foreign-policy/white-house-keeps-insane-usaid-spending-not-usaid
Three states sue Trump for EO targeting trans care: https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2025/02/07/trump-transgender-care-lawsuit/
Waffle House is passing along the sky high cost of eggs to diners with a 50 cent surcharge: https://apnews.com/article/waffle-house-eggs-bird-flu-89025262684f051bdf8f7350dcf1613a
More Super Bowl conspiracies and Trump telling obvious lie about Patrick Mahomes: https://www.bu.edu/articles/2025/super-bowl-logo-conspiracy-theory/
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/donald-trump-tommy-tuberville-patrick-mahomes_n_67a42526e4b064daf3a783c9

240: Skepticrat240 - Reaching Across the Haisle Edition Jan 27, 2025

Show notes

On this week's episode: Donald Trump runs the country the way he ran his businesses ... With some economic advice from the Hawk Tuah girl ... And Elon Musk convinced him to send out poop emojis instead of tax returns.
To support our show on Patreon, go here:
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Get great deals while supporting the show by checking out our sponsors:
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betterhelp.com/skepticrat
factormeals.com/skepticrat50 (code: skepticrat50)
Headline Sources:
Trump's insane list of executive orders: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/20/us/politics/trump-executive-orders-list.html
Trump's Pardon Palooza: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_people_granted_executive_clemency_by_Donald_Trump#Trump's_Second-term_use_of_executive_clemency
Trump purges the people who are supposed to make sure he’s not a crook: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/01/24/trump-fire-inspectors-general-federal-agencies/
Donald and Melania launch meme coins:
https://www.vox.com/technology/396352/trumps-coin-crypto-bitcoin-regulation
Lauren Boebert Tries to Evict a ‘Guy’ From Ladies Room in Capitol: https://www.thedailybeast.com/boebert-tries-to-evict-a-guy-from-ladies-room-in-capitol/
Elon Musk is a fake gamer: https://kotaku.com/elon-musk-poe2-diablo-4-paid-boosting-fake-controversy-1851743670

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