Skepticrat
Latest Episodes
251: Skepticrat251 – Peace Prize Fighter Edition
On this week’s episode: The big beautiful bill goes on a parliamentarian diet … Donald Trump tries to bomb himself into a peace prize … And Matt Gaetz’s mom isn’t mad; she’s disappointed. To support our show on Patreon, go here: https://www.patreon.com/skepticrat To hear more from Evil Giraffes on Mars, go here: https://www.facebook.com/EvilGiraffesOnMars Get great deals while supporting the show by checking out our sponsors: quince.com/skepticrat policygenius.com groundnews.com/skepticrat betterhelp.com/skepticrat auraframes.com (code: SKEPTICRAT) Headline Sources: Big Beautiful Bill’s passage in serious question: http://npr.org/2025/06/25/nx-s1-5445185/trump-gop-megabill-senate Can Mamdani’s Energetic Campaign Be a Blueprint for Democrats?: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/26/us/politics/mamdani-campaign-democrats.html https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2025/06/maga-bigots-are-losing-their-minds-over-a-muslim-socialist-possibly-becoming-nycs-mayor/ Bombing Iran but isolationist style: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/22/us/politics/trump-iran-decision-strikes.html https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/26/world/middleeast/iran-nuclear-program-israeli-us-attacks.html#link-58d1cda https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ce9x809vgrro Noah’s idiot congressman nominates Trump for peace prize: https://www.thedailybeast.com/maga-sycophant-buddy-carter-leads-charge-to-get-trump-a-nobel-peace-prize/ https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/jun/25/pakistan-trump-nobel-peace-prize-nomination-iran-strikes https://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-nobel-peace-prize-nomination-withdrawn-ukraine-russia-2089818 A Boise Bar’s “Hetero Awesome Fest” Was a Straight-Up Flop: https://www.them.us/story/boise-bar-hetero-awesome-fest-daniel-hamrick-protest-song https://www.ktvb.com/article/news/local/dozens-attend-hetero-festival-in-idaho-boise/277-64864d25-d10a-49d8-bb05-57b943c08ab8 Matt Gaetz’s embarrassing text conversation with his mom is revealed by person sitting behind him on a plane: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14842867/matt-gaetz-messages-mother-advice-trump.html
250: Skepticrat250 – Feud for Thought Edition
On this week’s episode: We’ll go full tea on the Musk-Trump breakup … At least 1.6% of America showed up to make sure Trump had a shitty birthday … And Heath’s getting married. To support our show on Patreon, go here: https://www.patreon.com/skepticrat To hear more from Evil Giraffes on Mars, go here: https://www.facebook.com/EvilGiraffesOnMars Get great deals while supporting the show by checking out our sponsors: policygenius.com groundnews.com/skepticrat betterhelp.com/skepticrat quince.com/skepticrat auraframes.com (code: SKEPTICRAT) Headline Sources: Best worst best best messy breakup fight of all time: https://www.cnn.com/business/timeline-elon-musk-trump-x-dg https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-musk-timeline-twitter-truth-social-apology-regret-b2767891.html https://www.cnn.com/2025/06/11/politics/musk-vance-wiles-phone-call Trump’s expensive stupid teeny tiny parade: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/06/13/us/trump-military-parade.html And wanting to use it on protesters: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/10/us/politics/trump-military-parade-protests.html Democratic lawmaker forcibly removed from Kristi Noem’s press conference: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c5ygn48djrko NYC mayor’s race in final stretch with Andrew Cuomo somehow still in front: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/12/nyregion/debate-takeaways-mayor-nyc.html Mamdani and Lander cross-endorse each other to leverage ranked-choice voting: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/13/nyregion/mamdani-lander-endorsement-nyc-mayor.html New China trade ‘deal’ takes US back to where it started: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/11/us/politics/us-china-trade-deal-trump.html Anti-Trump protests are yuge: https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2025/06/14/no-kings-protests-anti-trump-rallies-us/
249: Skepticrat249 – AI Alternative Artifacts Edition
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. To support our show on Patreon, go here: https://www.patreon.com/skepticrat To hear more from Evil Giraffes on Mars, go here: https://www.facebook.com/EvilGiraffesOnMars Get great deals while supporting the show by checking out our sponsors: policygenius.com betterhelp.com/skepticrat quince.com/skepticrat groundnews.com/skepticrat auraframes.com (code: SKEPTICRAT) 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
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. To support our show on Patreon, go here: https://www.patreon.com/skepticrat To support our shows during this very special Maytreon, go here: www.maytreon.com To hear more from Evil Giraffes on Mars, go here: https://www.facebook.com/EvilGiraffesOnMars Get great deals while supporting the show by checking out our sponsors: policygenius.com quince.com/skepticrat groundnews.com/skepticrat betterhelp.com/skepticrat auraframes.com (code: SKEPTICRAT) 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
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. To support our show on Patreon, go here: https://www.patreon.com/skepticrat To hear more from Evil Giraffes on Mars, go here: https://www.facebook.com/EvilGiraffesOnMars Get great deals while supporting the show by checking out our sponsors: groundnews.com/skepticrat go.privacyhawk.com/skepticrat (code: SKEPTIC20 [iOS] / skeptic20 [Android]) policygenius.com betterhelp.com/skepticrat factormeals.com/factorpodcast (code: FACTORPODCAST) trustandwill.com/skepticrat bamboohr.com/freedemo mintmobile.com/skepticrat acorns.com/skepticrat auraframes.com (code: SKEPTICRAT) incogni.com/skepticrat 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
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. To support our show on Patreon, go here: https://www.patreon.com/skepticrat To hear more from Evil Giraffes on Mars, go here: https://www.facebook.com/EvilGiraffesOnMars Get great deals while supporting the show by checking out our sponsors: Get PrivacyHawk and run your FREE privacy scan here: go.privacyhawk.com/skepticrat 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! policygenius.com betterhelp.com/skepticrat groundnews.com/skepticrat factormeals.com/factorpodcast (code: FACTORPODCAST) trustandwill.com/skepticrat bamboohr.com/freedemo mintmobile.com/skepticrat acorns.com/skepticrat auraframes.com (code: SKEPTICRAT) incogni.com/skepticrat 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
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. To support our show on Patreon, go here: https://www.patreon.com/skepticrat To hear more from Evil Giraffes on Mars, go here: https://www.facebook.com/EvilGiraffesOnMars Get great deals while supporting the show by checking out our sponsors: betterhelp.com/skepticrat groundnews.com/skepticrat policygenius.com factormeals.com/factorpodcast (code: FACTORPODCAST) trustandwill.com/skepticrat bamboohr.com/freedemo mintmobile.com/skepticrat acorns.com/skepticrat auraframes.com (code: SKEPTICRAT) incogni.com/skepticrat 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
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. To support our show on Patreon, go here: https://www.patreon.com/skepticrat To hear more from Evil Giraffes on Mars, go here: https://www.facebook.com/EvilGiraffesOnMars Get great deals while supporting the show by checking out our sponsors: policygenius.com factormeals.com/factorpodcast (code: FACTORPODCAST) trustandwill.com/skepticrat bamboohr.com/freedemo mintmobile.com/skepticrat acorns.com/skepticrat auraframes.com (code: SKEPTICRAT) incogni.com/skepticrat betterhelp.com/skepticrat 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
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. To support our show on Patreon, go here: https://www.patreon.com/skepticrat To hear more from Evil Giraffes on Mars, go here: https://www.facebook.com/EvilGiraffesOnMars Get great deals while supporting the show by checking out our sponsors: factormeals.com/factorpodcast (code: FACTORPODCAST) trustandwill.com/skepticrat bamboohr.com/freedemo mintmobile.com/skepticrat acorns.com/skepticrat auraframes.com (code: SKEPTICRAT) incogni.com/skepticrat betterhelp.com/skepticrat policygenius.com 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
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: https://www.patreon.com/skepticrat To hear more from Evil Giraffes on Mars, go here: https://www.facebook.com/EvilGiraffesOnMars Get great deals while supporting the show by checking out our sponsors: bamboohr.com/freedemo policygenius.com factormeals.com/skepticrat50off (code: skepticrat50off) trustandwill.com/skepticrat mintmobile.com/skepticrat acorns.com/skepticrat auraframes.com (code: SKEPTICRAT) incogni.com/skepticrat betterhelp.com/skepticrat 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