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Hey, listeners, Sam here. Quick note before we start the show. We taped this episode Tuesday morning when it seemed as if a government shutdown was inevitable. So we talked about why it was happening and what it might look like. But after we taped Tuesday morning, briefly on Tuesday, it seemed as if the Senate and maybe even the House had found a deal, reached a deal that might keep the government open.

That seemed to be the case for a few hours, but then that deal itself seemed in peril. All this to say, by the time you hear this episode, who knows what will have happened? There might be a shutdown coming. There might not be. Either way, we're leaving our conversation in the episode because even if a shutdown doesn't happen now, it might very well happen later and all the points we talk about will still stand. All right, that said, let's get to the show.

Thoughts and prayers to Capitol Hill. Also, one more quick note. The strike is officially over. The writer's strike is officially done. The writers are free to start working on Wednesday, the day that you can first hear this podcast episode. Hooray for the writers!

I was trying to think of songs that have the singular lady. And the one that comes to mind first is D'Angelo's Lady. D'Angelo is literally why I'm gay. That music video of him shirtless is why I love him. It's just the two of us. Sam Sanders, Zach Stafford, Vibe Check.

Duo this week, not a trio. Saeed is booked and busy, right? Yeah, he's out here touring. I, you know, fun fact, I was in Columbus this past weekend and a lot of you reached out, you know, lovingly saying, oh, it's so exciting that you're with Saeed. You get to be with Sister Saeed. And I have a fact for you today. Sister Saeed left me in Columbus to go be a famous author.

Poetress around the world. So Saeed's been doing a bunch of book events with Isaac Fitzgerald, and I also think on his own. But he's out here being a star, and it's really fun to see. And I felt the lack of his light in Columbus because I was bored. Oh, no. To all of our Columbus listeners, we love y'all. Yeah, we love you. I just like, I only know Columbus as a Saeed Jones experience. And if you've ever done Columbus with Saeed Jones, you know it is quite the experience. So to not have his light around,

and energy there was an interesting way to go through the world without Saeed and I now know I don't want to do that anymore. That part. And that said, listeners, Saeed will be back next week.

In his absence, Zach and I are going to Sonny and Cher this, Casey and JoJo this, duets in this. It's going to be fun. I'm sorry she didn't say Monica and Brandy this. They didn't get along. I know. We have a lot of R&B references so far today. I like this. All right. We got a lot to talk about this week.

The end of the WGA strike. Hooray, hooray, hooray. The start of the autoworkers strike and a looming work stoppage in D.C. There's going to be a government shutdown, it seems, this week.

But first I want to check in on the vibes Zach from what I hear your vibe this week is football football. It is football And the travel Kelsey football who I've just now come hard to learn So if you have been a person living on planet Earth over the past few days You have heard that Taylor Swift the superstar singer did go to a football game on Sunday and

And the NFL made it a big, big thing for them. She's rumored to be dating Travis Kelsey. And I did not care about this news before at all. But seeing how my TikTok became every point of view of her in a box with his mom and became this analysis of body language. She's already with a mom. She's already with a mom.

Mom, she's moving fast. Just this summer, she was dating Matt Healy. And then right before that, Joe Alwyn. So she is swinging from man to man, but she's never publicly gone out with a mom and been to a football game like this. And what I think is the best flex of this for me is that she just months before sold out that same stadium.

And that was part of the pitch that Travis Kelsey gave her was like, you've been I saw you rock the stage here at Arrowwood. I'd like you to see me rock the stage. And Travis Kelsey, as I've come to learn, is already a famous football player. I did not know that. He's won the Super Bowl twice. He has a brother, right? He has the brother. They have a podcast. And yeah. And my favorite thing to watch on TikTok this week is currently women with straight male partners.

Telling them, isn't it great that Taylor Swift has made Travis Kelsey famous and them freaking out. So it is really great content. So if your vibe is that and that's what you're into this week, I do have to ask, are you tired of the perpetual Taylor Swift news cycle? I have come around to her this year. I support her business acumen. I love some of those bops. I think she knows how to be famous so well. Yeah.

We're in this place now where it seems like every week Taylor does something to rule the celebrity gossip news cycle. And I do not know when it will stop. I think I've just become, I don't know, what's the word? Because I was like you. I was not into it. But lately it has felt like she's been authentically building her own drama in her life, her own stories. This is like the Taylor Swift show. It's like Taylor's breakup, Taylor's new love, Taylor's new football player. So,

I'm into it. And she may have just beat me into submission because I'm just down. Right? Well, you know what it was for me? Was Taylor Swift drunk at the VMAs. Loved. I was like, girl, you are me. Loved. This is like, that's me. Yeah. And I would say, you know,

I was hesitant to say this on the show, but I've had a lot of coffee today, so I'll just go ahead and share a secret. But some of you in my life definitely know this publicly. People don't know this that much, but me and Taylor grew up together. And we went to school together. Went to school together, and I saw her very recently during the tour. We spent some time together.

It's amazing to see her become one of the biggest stars in the world. If not the. If not the, you know, versus Beyonce, by being herself. And that's what I found really stunning seeing, because this was the first time in years we'd really hung out or seen each other. And she was the same Taylor I knew when I was 13, 14, 15, 16. And to see her build stardom around that and kind of be her authentic self, I think is really great. And I think that's why people have this like really parasocial relationship with her because

I always tell people, I'm like, that's exactly how she is. I will say it's very interesting to see the NFL fully embrace this new relationship because when Olivia Munn was dating Aaron Rodgers, another football player years ago,

they were not nice to her. They said that she cursed him in his playing. So this is a new face for football fans. And I'll take it. Yes, and we also know Gisele Bundchen, when she was dating Tom Brady, people had feelings about that too. So the NFL fans, people always were worried about the Swifties, but it's these straight men in the football stands

that they need to worry about. And Taylor, Taylor, she can take them on, I think. I think it is. Taylor Swift has convinced enough straight women to have dragged their straight men to the Eras tour that now the NFL fans are actually already Taylor fans because they were at the shows. They were at Eras. So, and then I want to build a bridge here to your vibe because

know we found out this week and i'll save this news for you to talk about here but we found out who's performing at the super bowl and for a bit of time people rumor that taylor swift was going to do it but people were making jokes that she's going to say no because her fans would just buy out the stadiums and no one would be seeing the football game so it felt funny to see her go to a football game and see all those people become her fan um but speaking of fandom there is a superstar performing in sam you're a big fan baby i'm so ready for this

It was announced this week that the headliner of next year's Super Bowl halftime show in Las Vegas will be one Usher fan.

Raymond. And let me tell you, I'm so ready. I have for many years since high school been one of his biggest fans because the record when it comes to the hits is just spotless. He can sing. He can dance. He's had number ones in multiple decades. And everyone, you know, has at least one Usher song they love. This is kind of like

a wonderful part of what has felt like Usher's second act recently. He's been doing this Vegas residency. This show is so popular and so renowned. It's even broken up a relationship. I won't even get into the Kiki Palmer of it all. Oh, right. After going to the Usher show and her man complained about it, she said...

I'm keeping Usher. Forget the man. She left her man after the Usher show and then made a music video with Usher. I mean, but that's his power. That's the power of his power. Yeah. So I'm just ready to see the show. We're like, Usher is one of those few performers who can sing and dance at the same time and is really good at singing and really good at dancing. There's a very small number of performers working today who can do that consistently. Beyonce, Beyonce.

are two of them. So this show is going to be great. Also, Usher has already done the halftime show before. In 2011, he was a supporting act for the Black Eyed Peas. Yeah, I forgot about that. So he knows this stage. He knows this format. He knows this setup.

I'm just ready for it. Like, there's no downside to this. It's kind of stunning. It's taken this long for him to get this opportunity because he was bigger than the Black Eyed Peas back then. Literally what was going on. But the big complaint I've heard from folks online and these people may not even be real. But some people have said that Gen Z is not aware of Usher. Do you believe that or not believe that Gen Z does not watch the NFL? So sit down.

I just choked on my coffee. No, like they are the least likely to tune into broadcast sports that happen at a set time. The Super Bowl halftime show audience is not Gen Z. It's Millennials, Gen X and Boomers. You'll recall the Death Row Records halftime show from a few years ago. That's right. That was for the aunties. Yeah, that wasn't for Gen Z. Yeah. Anyhow, I'm ready for it. Usher, do it to it. Anyone listening who has a Super Bowl hookup.

Call me. There you have it, listeners. VibeTech is now pro football. Done. I mean, we still think we did an episode forever ago about the problems within the NFL over the years. So we still stand by those things. We still stand by that. They are tricking us. Their PR campaign is working lately with these. What if Kelsey made the Super Bowl?

And Taylor was there too in the crowd while Usher performed. The Super Bowl is praying for that. Their ratings would be out of this world. They're probably going to make sure that happens. So, yeah, conspiracy theory. Yeah. Anywho, listeners, that's our vibe this week. I'm going to jump now to the show. But before we do that, I have two small corrections to issue on last week's episode. We heard from a few listeners that called out some flaws in the episode, and we thank y'all for that and want to address them.

Last week, I talked about the UN General Assembly and mentioned the problems facing the global south. I implied that the global south is only countries beneath the equator. That is not true.

The term Global South refers to various countries around the world that are sometimes described as developing, less developed, or underdeveloped. Many of these countries, although by no means all, are in the Southern Hemisphere, largely in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Sorry for the error. Thanks for catching it. We want to get it right here, and we appreciate y'all. Another correction to issue. During our discussion of Hasan Minhaj and a scandal over him,

making up jokes for his comedy special. We pronounced his name wrong.

We said Hasan Minhaj. It should be pronounced Hasan Minhaj. We apologize for the error. And thanks to our listeners who called us out on that. Part of why we got it wrong was that, in fact, we've heard Hasan pronounce his name differently over the course of his career. And he talked about this a few years ago on The Ellen Show. And it's Hasan Minhaj. No. Yes. No. Really? Well, my name is Hasan Minhaj. Oh, okay.

I want to do this-- I actually want to do this on national television. Good, please. Because everyone that says your name says Hasan Minhaj. Yeah, but the real way you pronounce it-- and this is a big deal because my parents are here-- it's Hasan Minhaj. And people always mispronounce it. They're always like, Haseen Minhaja, Hussein. I'm so sorry, I can't pronounce it. Meet my son Higsby Witherthrottle III.

So Hassan started out in his career just allowing folks to say his name how they wanted to say it. And over time, he gained confidence to say, "No, here's the way it goes.

We want to honor that and we're sorry for the error. It just shows you kind of how complicated the story is in itself. We've known this man for so long and there's been different versions of him that we've known. We've projected things onto him. So I think we owe it to him that even though he may be having a complicated relationship to the truth these days, the one thing we do know is that we should honor people's names. You shouldn't make fun of people's names, misstate their names no matter what's going on. So we are happy that you all

called us out on that and we're happy that you're allowing us to talk about it here again. So thank you guys. Yeah. It's interesting though, after we realized we had been saying his name wrong, we did some digging online. There's like videos of Trevor Noah saying Hasan Minhaj. Yeah, it's...

It's wild. And people can Google this. Sam and I have both been around him due to work. I interviewed him years ago for my last show. We've been a part of shows before he took the stance where he was saying it this one way. So it's complicated, but moving forward. That's it. No excuse. Gonna get it right. Thanks to all those listeners who reached out to keep us honest and keep us factual. You can always email us with comments, clarifications, corrections, all that stuff. We are at vibecheck.com.

at Stitcher.com. And I will say, y'all are the nicest fact checkers in the world. The emails we get are like, hi, I love you. And there's a thing. And you know what? That is called calling people in. So call us anymore. That's great. We appreciate it. Before we get into this episode, we want to thank all of you who have sent us fan mail, not just the fact checking, but the other stuff. We love all of it. Keep it coming. You can reach out to us there or on social media. We love reading it all. Again, our email, if you haven't heard it already, is vibecheckatstitcher.com.

And with that, Sam, should we jump into the show? So first off, we are really happy to talk about this next segment because we've been talking about it for over 160 days and it's now finally potentially over. And that is the writer's strike here. It was getting biblical. Yeah. I was like, is this going to be a 40 year strike? Like what is happening? It was like when someone said five months, it made me sick to my stomach.

because I thought that's most of this year. Yeah, half the year they haven't been working. And we've just like friends of ours, colleagues, people we love have just not been working for five months, which is just so wild. And we've been really grateful that we've kept working. But, you know, so many people we know and love haven't.

So if you've been watching the news, you've seen that the WGA or the Writers Guild of America on the AMPTP, which is the producers and the studios, have reached a tentative agreement to end the writer strike after five days of negotiations that happened over the weekend. And they were in a mall in the valley in a mall.

They all met in offices that were at a mall in the valley called The Galleria. Southern California is so weird. So they did all that for the past few days, and they've come to a tentative deal that the WGA is really excited about. And I will say I've never seen a union put out before the details come out such a positive spin on the letter. And where we know it's probably positive is that there hasn't been any leaks to the trades like we've seen over the past five months saying otherwise. So I think things have gone in the way of the writers.

And we will be knowing those details pretty soon. You know, we taped the show on Tuesday. They're supposed to vote. The Writers Guild is going to vote today, according to the New York Times, on, I don't know, is it ratifying or kind of a ratification on this deal. So by the time you're listening to the show, we should know more. But we're going to dive into what we do know so far. And a big part of this deal is that we are seeing that the writers are going to be participating

protected when it comes to AI and owning their work. And we also know they're going to get paid more and that their writers rooms are going to have minimums, meaning there will be more people getting jobs per show. So with that, Sam, how are you feeling now that this biblical strike is over? What are your first hot takes on it all? I'm feeling like they could have gotten here before

four months ago yes um all the things that we're seeing as a part of this deal were things that the writers were asking for months before the strike began minimum staff sizes for these writers rooms something resembling a residuals process for working on shows and movies basically success space bonuses when your work succeeds and protections against ai

This is what they've been asking for forever. And the fact that the AMPTP wanted to just drag it out and see if they could break the right of solidarity, you couldn't. You didn't. I hope you're happy. It's done now, but this could have literally been done months ago. So that's my first takeaway.

The second is keep it going. You know, the writer's strike is over. The actor's strike is still going on. The hope is that that ends soon. But I think this resolution gives a lot of momentum to the actors still working on their deal. We've talked before about how we are in a hot labor summer, a hot labor year. You know, we see the auto industry also striking right now. I hope this energy continues and I hope strengthens.

strikes and protest sweeps through every industry until the working class and the upper working class gets what they deserve. I'm happy about this and I say keep it going. Yeah, I agree with you so much there and something I found fascinating

Very shocking yesterday, and also exciting, was that SAG members who are in the video game industry approved the ability to strike if their deal negotiations fall apart. There you go. So you're already seeing from when the WGA took this really...

you know drastic and necessary stance that the ripple or the wake of that moment that has now brought in the actors guild and now it's bringing in the video game creators and actors you're seeing that energy just kind of spread like wildfire and i'm hoping it's leading us to a better labor market for folks because

What has also been shocking is just how no one was making money. Sam, do you remember the videos in the first few weeks of the actors being like, I only worked on one show this year and I made less than $30,000 a year? No, it's wild. It's wild. I mean, this is the thing. It's like...

From the start, the math wasn't mathing. There was no way that David Zaslav and Bob Iger and others could justify the tens of millions they get every year when the folks actually making the sausage were, in some instances, on food stamps. The math was not mathing. And I

And I just, I hope that like this isn't the end, but the start. If you've got to strike again in a few years, do it again. Get what you need. I will say though, and I want to hear your perspective on this because you have a lot more inside sourcing than I do. The fear now as we start to see these strikes end in the entertainment industry is what does the landscape after this look like? So there's going to be a lot more protections and benefits for these writers, right?

But will they have as many jobs to go back to? Even before the strike began, there was talk that all of streaming and broadcast television had to basically retract because they were making too many shows that weren't making enough money. For the last two years or so, every year we've seen more than 500 scripted series being made. That's too much. You can't watch it all. So we already knew that these big streamers were going to scale back.

Will that be exacerbated by these streamers now saying, well, if we have to pay these writers more, we'll just have fewer of them anyway. With all that, my fear is that, yes, the strike is over, but all of the writers who are striking, not all of them will walk back into jobs. One, I'm so glad you're saying this because it's like the thing we've been all whispering about and been worried about. And the reason why folks like you and I have been thinking about it is that we...

spent most of our lives in media right now news journalism which we saw a similar rise through the infusion of private equity and all the nbc universal giving buzzfeed half a billion dollars all this kind of investment in the future of digital publishing with no real business model built around it so when that ballooned and cost became so big and we're having this golden era of journalism that you and i really came up in and where you know we began with so many resources

Then there was a huge contraction to where now there's been thousands and if not tens of thousands of jobs just eradicated over the past few years as the rise of unions have also happened in journalism. So I've been fearing this whole time like, oh God, is this going to end in a way that makes it more

equitable, more rights, more protections for people, but it also will probably end in a way where less people will have the opportunity. And that's what's going to be really confusing is people are like, oh, we came into this, you know, all of us thinking we're going to get jobs and have more protections. And yes, you will if you're in the union. But will all of you have the opportunity to exercise those protections? I don't think so, because I think these big studios are

are dealing with what exactly the BuzzFeeds of the world have been dealing with, is that they took on a lot of money, they spent a ton, they didn't show the business rationale for creating too much content. So now they have to be really specific and intentional and spend a lot less. So these writers, I would bet, if they're like the journalists we know, are going to get jobs, but they're going to be doing even more work than ever before. But at least they will be making living wages, which is a perk for this.

Yeah. Yeah. Something else, though, that I found shocking and I've been wanting to ask you about. It's kind of perfect that Said's not here today because I miss him. But something I've just been really realizing lately, I would say the writer strike has been the first time since, you know, the housing bubble happened.

happened in 2008, the big recession there, that I really felt the economy retract in my own neighborhood or saw the real impact. And California has been dealt a really big blow due to the writer's strike. Just some reports out this week, according to a few economists, we've seen over $5 billion lost in California alone, which is why Governor Gavin Newsom personally showed up to these negotiations. He was like, I'm at the mall. I'll be negotiating as well. Yep.

But Sam, have you felt the fallout of this in your own neighborhood or as you move through L.A.? Are you seeing less people eating? What has been your kind of point of view on all this? Yeah. I mean, you know, we're in this moment where all of the media that we consume is going to be in a period of retraction for a few reasons. The era of streaming and on demand, whether it be in music or in TV and movies, is going

It led to a certain kind of bloat that was unsustainable. And also, and no one talks about this enough, you know, all those peaks that we saw in TV viewing and streaming and podcast listening during the pandemic, that's ending because people are back outside. I hear all the time from people who were saying, I love podcasts. I love your podcast. I listen to podcasts less now because I'm like living my life again. Exactly. To which I say, yes. Go outside. I'm not mad at it. Yes. Yes.

It is. It does feel like our media habits are changing, which is natural as people. You know, our lives are changing. We're having kids. We're growing up. We're going outside. You may have fallen in love, whatever it is. But, you know, what we're trying to deal with right now, us as creators, as makers, is like, why are we being penalized with these kind of overpromised traffic numbers, with these overpromised viewer numbers? And how do we build a world in which we say, you know, art matters, media matters, everyone deserves access to it?

But, you know, we don't have to be reprimanded if, you know, behavior change too much, that these things should be institutionalized. So that's what unions are doing. And I think at the end of the day, if you're like, why is this such a big deal? It's saying that it's changing a system to say that even if things go to hell, these writers will have some sort of, you know, golden parachute, something to hold

to kind of catch them if they fall. And I think all of us deserve that. Which brings me to the next point, Sam, because you're the one that flagged this for me, which is the Otter Strikers that are happening right now. So why is that an even potentially bigger deal than the Rider Strike right now? And how are we going to figure that out?

I think increasingly, or at least right now today, it's a bigger deal because President Joe Biden is showing up to join. Really? On the picket line. Yes. This is unheard of. I don't think we've ever seen a sitting president join a picket line with striking workers.

That's a big deal. And as a symbol, it really signifies how much America is having a labor moment. So much of this feels like a needed response to this era of shareholder primacy that we've been in with these large companies, all kinds of large companies since the 80s. In the 70s and 80s, the entire bent of what major corporations thought they were there for changed.

Before then, the thought was corporations should be good to their workers and to the community while also making profit. In the 70s and 80s, the view became companies are just here to make profits and just here to keep shareholders happy and maximize profits for these shareholders.

I think that era has led to a moment where auto executives or TV and streaming executives are making tens of millions while their workers need more. And if this labor moment means that that era of shareholder primacy and profit at all cost ends –

I want it. Keep it coming. Joe, stay out there. Stay on the line, baby. I agree. I was stunned when I saw, I think it was the CEO of Ford who had that viral moment where she was being asked about her $30-plus million a year salary. And the reporter was rightfully pushing in saying, you know, you get this. Why can't your workers get the same comp of a year-over-year raise? And she said, well, mine's tied to the company's performance and all this stuff. And she said, great. And aren't they part of the performance?

Are they part of it too? And she really couldn't give a sufficient answer. And I think in those moments, that's when you're like, ah, these workers are right. They're onto something. We should be demanding more profit sharing here because it's like, oh,

like, honestly, like, we don't make $30 million a year. And in my mind from this position, if I did, and someone's like, you need to take $5 million less so all of your workers also, I would be like, yeah, sounds good to me. Great. Sounds good to me. So it just feels so, so greedy. But yeah, I think we're going to be tracking this one for a while. And I did not, I'm just shocked that Joe Biden's going. That is a, I guess he's no longer Sleepy Joe. He's very awake and moving through the streets. He's up.

He is in solidarity. Well, to close, Sam, I want to ask something fun, which is, you know, what are you looking forward to now that the Hollywood strikes are ending and television is coming back? Abbott, Abbott, Abbott.

That's it. Bring me back my Abbott Elementary. If they can get me some new episodes before the year is out, I'll be a happy man. Quinta, gather your troops. We're ready for you. So ready. I'm so excited for that. That's it. What about you? Mine is Interview with a Vampire was filming during The Strike, which is the AMC show. Wait, they're doing a show version of that? Is it already out? Sam Sanders. Is it good?

They did one season. It is the most incredible show. It's so gay. It is some of the best TV that's come out over the past year. It's so good that Max has now put it on their service up until Halloween because it has done so well for AMC because they bought the rights to Miss Anne Rice's work right before she passed away. The author of all the books. And, um,

The show is just, I just think it's incredible. It's about a gay interracial vampire couple, which is my jam. Gay interracial vampire couple, which is my jam. That's my shit right there. Sounds like an episode title. It could be very much. But they were filming in the strike because they filmed the show in Prague, I believe. But when SAG began striking, all the actors were pulled back.

So they're going back into production, I think, very soon, hopefully, which I'm very excited about. All right. Listeners, write in. Let us know what you're looking forward to. What should we be watching for next year now that the scripted shows are headed back? And with that, we're going to take a quick break, but we'll be right back with more. Stay tuned. ♪

This message is brought to you by McDonald's. Did you know only 7.3% of American fashion designers are Black? Well, McDonald's 2024 Change Leaders Program is ready to change the face of fashion. The innovative program awards a monetary grant to five emerging Black American designers and pairs each with an industry professional to help them elevate their brands.

I know specifically and distinctly how McDonald's can support and empower not just black Gen Z but black people. My first job was McDonald's. I learned a lot there about customer service and how to relate to people. I still love that place and go there very often. Look out for the change of fashion designers and mentors

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Alright, we are back. Now we're gonna switch gears and talk about

Another potential work stoppage. This one in Washington, D.C. And this one not brought about by a majority of workers standing together in solidarity. And not even a fear of AI either. Like, really, I don't know why. And this is why Sam's doing this segment for us. I'm like, what is going on? Yeah, this work stoppage might be caused by a very small but loud minority of the Republican Party called the Freedom Caucus.

Listeners, if you haven't been seeing the headlines already, it appears that the U.S. government is headed for another shutdown. America's current budget resolution is set to expire on October 1st, which means that lawmakers in Congress have less than a week to agree on a new resolution, which would fund the budget for the rest of the fiscal year. But it seems like it might not happen. It's gotten so bad that there had been talk about House members staying over the weekend to get a deal done.

They didn't. They all went home. Zach, you saw one of them, right? In the airport. You know, I'm not going to say her name. Say her name! Because I'm pretty sure it was her because she was being escorted out. But I was in Ohio and I was in Columbus. So people can do the math there.

out there. Let's break all this down by first talking about who is causing the potential shutdown. The Washington Consensus puts the blame for these stalled talks squarely on Republicans and squarely on the far right hardliners in the GOP called the Freedom Caucus.

Folks on the Hill have said the talks were going well until that splinter group of Republicans, the Freedom Caucus, began putting pressure on House Speaker Kevin McCarthy to reject signing that resolution. You'll remember in January when Kevin McCarthy was fighting to become speaker after like more than a dozen votes, he promised the Freedom Caucus a lot to win that speakership.

And now they're saying some of the promises you gave us were to really, really tamp down spending, and we want you to do it now. McCarthy made so many concessions to get this speakership. Now those chickens are coming home to roost, and it looks like he's in trouble either way. If he gives the Freedom Caucus everything they want, the measure will not pass the Senate.

If he doesn't give the Freedom Caucus everything they want, they will almost for sure kick him out. And they'll be able to do it very easily because as one of the bargaining chips he used to get the speakership in January, he made it easier for the Freedom Caucus to vote out the House Speaker.

Now all it takes is one disgruntled House member to begin the process to remove Kevin McCarthy from the speakership. He did this to himself. This is like karma in the best way. You know, I want to play like Taylor Swift's Karma song right now. Because this is just like...

Of course, you've set up your own house of cards to fall. And Marjorie Taylor Greene, I know that she hates being called dumb. I think that was a report recently. She doesn't like people. She ain't dumb. She doesn't seem that dumb, but she didn't learn this on her own, Sam. Who did she learn all these tactics from? Because this feels reminiscent to a bygone group of people in D.C., right? The Freedom Caucus has a direct through line to the Tea Party, which you'll recall began in the aftermath of the Obama election and his push for universal health care.

There was always a far-right faction of the GOP, but they became emboldened in tandem with the rise of one Barack Obama. And even though he's gone, they haven't stopped. They haven't stopped. And you now have –

a fraction of the GOP that is so unaligned with the GOP that they can't even agree on stuff in their own chamber, which they run. Republicans have a majority in the House, and they can't even get together. But is that their, like, how they just, they rule, though? It feels like it's always just chaos after chaos. You know,

just kind of disorienting us all the time. And that's just how they want the world to be. Am I being too hyperbolic there? Is that kind of what's happening? I mean, I think there are some, the Matt Gaetz's, the Marjorie Taylor Greene's, the Freedom Caucusers, who actually do want chaos. Because they know that what they really want will never pass both chambers. So they'd rather just argue and fight about what they want and see nothing get done rather than see...

things they don't believe in get done. But that's not the majority of Republicans. Behind closed doors, these Republicans want to keep the government funded because that funding affects their home districts. People forget the federal government is the largest employer in the United States. Right.

And money that comes through government funding keeps all kinds of things running all across the nation. The federal government is not just in D.C. So if you are a run of the mill GOP House member or senator, you're going to have to

You don't want the checks that come to your state to stop. Yeah. Well, why are they doing this then? Because, you know, people respond very quickly to money not coming to their bank account, not arriving. That's how you get people really riled up and out to vote. But it feels like this is kind of like a, I don't want to say death sentence for them, but this would blow up in their faces if their base is like, wait, I'm poor because you're doing this. I just don't understand the political logic to shutting down a government ever. So basically the spending cuts that the Freedom Caucus wants

are so much larger than even mainstream Republicans want that it's causing this logjam. When there have been previous shutdowns before, you could get Republicans to at least vote to continue fully funding the Pentagon during the shutdown. They can't even get to there right now.

Like, that's how bad it is, and that's how much the Freedom Caucus is asking for. It's just – it's not going to happen. And McCarthy knows this. Part of why he launched an impeachment inquiry into Joe Biden a few weeks ago was to try to give the Freedom Caucus something they wanted so they might –

give a little more on this spending and government shutdown stuff. But as soon as he launched the impeachment inquiry, the Freedom Caucus said, that's not enough. We still want these draconian spending cuts.

It's crazy. Because it's like they want the impeachment inquiry. They want Hunter Biden. They want them to build a jail over Hunter Biden. They want Hunter Biden under the jail. They want nothing funded ever. I mean, they want all of these things that they will just never get. And they would rather make a fuss about it than compromise at all. It's so dramatic, Zach.

Apparently, in one closed-door meeting recently, talking about the Freedom Caucus potentially pushing a motion to have him removed as Speaker, McCarthy is rumored to have yelled in the room, well, file the fucking motion. Just file the fucking motion.

This man's at his wits end. It's at his wits end. I mean, what do you think his political future is after this? This is as far as he'll go. Yeah. He's no Nancy Pelosi. That woman stayed in that seat forever. Yeah. And they are, Senator McCarthy's also from California. So we have these Californians, which is interesting on both sides of the aisle. Those are where leadership comes from. But, you know, you have him in the literal shadow of Nancy Pelosi and he cannot keep up. And I know that woman is cackling.

up in San Francisco. Yeah, he had to go through more than a dozen votes just to become Speaker. And the thinking is, especially if a shutdown happens, he might not be Speaker by the end of the year. So on top of just dramatic spending cuts, they also want these very conservative policy writers. They want to resume construction of the southern border wall. They want to end what they call, quote, woke policies at the Pentagon. They're just pulling everything and saying, give us it all. The

They're throwing a fit and they're not going to get it. Woke policies. It's wild. Do you think, and this is my last question, I feel like this is just a second of me being like, Sam, please explain everything to me. How do you think this is going to impact the 2024 election? Will this actually help Biden, who I think is a bit struggling according to polls recently, which I don't know if those polls are valid or not, but that's definitely what the right's pushing that Trump is leading. But this feels like, you know, even though Biden himself is not shutting down the government, presidents still get blamed when they do get shut down.

Yeah, yeah. I think there are a few things going on. I think you cannot at all predict what the last month or two of election dialogue will be if Trump is a nominee. He's just full of chaos and surprises. So if this shutdown happens in October, there's a good chance that we've forgotten about it by next fall before the election because Trump will just do so much, right?

I also think that in every election or special election we've seen since Roe v. Wade was overturned, abortion was a defining issue. So I would argue that when push comes to shove and as we approach election 2024, that will be the biggest issue that voters are taking with them into the ballot box.

more so than this stuff, I think it might be forgotten. I think it's going to be really crappy and shitty for folks who aren't paid for the next few weeks if the government shuts down. But I do think other things will be top of mind by next November. I do want to say, though, a government shutdown is not

a joke, but it is happening a lot these days and almost too frequently. The government has shut down 14 times since 1980. And what's really sad is that D.C. insiders are now used to it. You are in D.C. right now, Zach. They're kind of just like, OK, this might happen. You would have no idea. I was at dinner last night in Arlington, which is literally across the river in D.C. But I'm staying in D.C. And yeah, you would you could even get

These girls are just going about their days, going to happy hour and a lot. I even heard jokes with someone I was at dinner with is in the federal government. And he's like, yeah, people have just been playing video games at work actually this weekend. Literally. No, it's wild. And, you know, a lot of it's confusing because even when the government, quote unquote, shuts down, not all of it changes.

shuts down. About 73% of federal spending is considered mandatory, so it will not stop during a shutdown. But that doesn't mean that they're painless. Hundreds of thousands of federal workers could be furloughed. National parks and other public spaces will close. Disaster relief efforts may lose funding. America could see its own credit rating decrease.

Moody's has warned that if a shutdown happens, they could downgrade the country's AAA credit rating. And a shutdown will really, really, really hurt people who rely on SNAP benefits or other government safety net programs.

So it's going to hurt the least among us. I can't believe the U.S. government is on the brink of having bad credit. My God, that is quite a statement. America in retrograde. Beyonce said it. America has a problem. It has a problem with this credit. There we go. Basically. To close this segment, I will say, watching this, I'm seeing one big lesson here.

In politics, once you let a fringe element in, you can't kick them out. McCarthy thought he could let these Freedom Caucus folks in and they would just eventually go along to get along. That's not how it works. In fact, the GOP thought that they could let Donald Trump in a few years ago and get what they wanted out of him. He's still there and they can't get rid of him. That's not how it works. You take them in, they stay. Yeah, like weeds. Yeah.

It's like weeds. Yeah. It's also so ironic to see with the writer's strike, the actor's strike, the auto worker's strike across all kinds of sectors in America. You're seeing a majority of disgruntled workers fight for equity, leading to work stoppages because of this. We might have a work stoppage in D.C. that is caused by a very vocal and loud minority movement.

has arguably gotten already more than they deserve. It's like the inverse. It's the inverse. It truly is. And if you want to make yourself even more mad, just Google some of these salaries from these congressional leaders and how much money they're going to be collecting while everyone else is not. So it is pretty poetic in the worst ways that we have these congresspeople walking out of their jobs and creating lack of money for all of us

in the face of all these other workers actually walking out of their jobs and really being hurt by it. It's just really... I would say, usually, use this opportunity to call your House member, call your Senator, but, baby, they ain't at work. They've gone home. They won't answer. They won't answer. They're at the bar. Yeah, yeah. We will keep watching this, and we'll for sure talk more about it soon. Time for another quick break, but when we come back, recommendations. ♪

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And follow the journey of the 2024 McDonald's change leaders on their Instagram page, We Are Golden. We are back. And before we end the show, we'd each like to share something that's helping us keep our vibes right this week. You know, that's our favorite part of the episode where we talk about our recommendations. So to get us going, Sam Sanders, what are you reading, watching, listening to this week? I just finished reading and just finished interviewing the author of an upcoming book called

That is a history of social media. It's called Extremely Online, and it's by Taylor Lorenz, a journalist our listeners, I'm sure, have heard of. She made waves for herself as a social media and tech reporter at The Atlantic, then The New York Times, and now The Washington Post. But she's out now with a book that traces the rise of social media from MySpace to now as

And it's really cool. You know, I went into this book thinking I kind of knew a lot about social media because it's built my career. But there were so many anecdotes and stories that she told in this book that I did not know about. For instance, Zach, did you know that at its founding, YouTube was started as a dating website? I did not know that. And I am shook over that because I'm like, what, you had to upload videos? It was a video dating website. Oh, my God. That sounds awesome.

And the creators wanted it to be that. And the users were like, no, we want to use it for this. And the whole book is about how all of these titans of tech who we think have started the most revolutionary social media companies of our time, all of them began by making the platform for one thing. And then users came in and said, it should actually be for this thing. And that's what made it work. I love that. What I really love about this is I have an ongoing theory that all

that all social media has roots in dating and love. And this YouTube case helps me make that argument even more because what I would argue when I worked at Grindr as chief content officer was that if you look at Grindr and you look at the interface, then you open up your Instagram, you're going to notice they look exactly the same. It's the same pictures? It's the same pictures.

Girl! So dating and people, when we look at the internet, like gay.com, all these things, it was like porn and dating is what really launched the internet. So I can't wait to read this book because I love Taylor's work. She's been a colleague and friend of ours for years and to see her glow up in this way has been amazing. But it's also been amazing to see her

you know, say, hey, I'm a woman going to cover tech in this way through social media and no one took her in publicly. No one took her seriously. And now look at her now. So we love you, Taylor. Yes. The book is called Extremely Online. The untold story of fame, influence and power on the Internet.

The book is not out until October 3rd of this year, a week from now, but you can pre-order it now. And fun fact, listeners, pre-orders count a lot into helping books make bestseller lists in their first week. So if you want to get this book, go pre-order it now or get it for real, for real on October 3rd.

Yeah, I love it. Love it, love it. What's your rec, Zach? So my rec is a new docuseries. I think it came out last week. Yes, it came out on September 20th. I've watched the whole thing. Surprising, nobody. And the series is called The Supermodels on Apple TV. Which models? Okay, so that, I'm glad you asked. So The Supermodels, as we all know, there's been supermodels for a long time, but...

In the 80s and 90s, there was a group that really defined the era. And those women were Naomi Campbell, Cindy Crawford, Linda Evangelista, and Christy Turlington. These are the women in the George Michael video, right? In the George Michael video, Freedom video. They have like the most Vogue covers ever. Linda, Christy, and Naomi were called the Trinity because they were always together and doing all the biggest shows. Cindy Crawford was like the face of America forever. She was the face of Pepsi, Revlon, everything.

But this docuseries tracks kind of their rise. And you learn so much about it. Like a few things I didn't know. I didn't know they were all actual friends. They all met the same year because they all started modeling around the same time. Oh, I love that. They just kind of grew up together. I also didn't know Naomi Campbell is Nelson Mandela's granddaughter that he adopted. Yes. He,

He was like, you're going to be my granddaughter. So he just like brought her in and like he trained her and put her as a, you know, as a board member of his children's fund and all these things and showed her how to do humanitarian work. So if you're really interested in these women who really define beauty in the 90s and in good and bad ways, which they all

talk about, which is interesting. They talk about the impact of their bodies being used to make women feel bad about themselves. But if you're interested in the stories behind all that, get into it. Linda Evangelista's in it, and she famously, I think just last year, came out as... She had some botched plastic surgery. Yeah, from Cool Sculpting. So a big part of the end of the show is about her dealing with that. I didn't know she had gone into hiding for years, and no one had seen her. Poor thing. It's just really interesting, and I love talking about fashion and thinking about fashion, and the series is really strong.

So definitely watch it. And then they're also, um, on a cover of Vogue. I think it's, uh, both British and American Vogue lately. So you can buy that as well. Yeah. Also fun fact, uh,

listeners who have gone to see the movie Bottoms, which is super fun. Cindy Crawford's daughter is in that film. Yeah, Kaya. Looking just like Cindy Crawford! Looks just like Cindy Crawford. It's wild. Cindy Crawford makes a joke on the film where she says, she recognizes, like, I was one of the most famous models ever, but now my daughter is more famous than me, and I should probably just switch my social media to Kaya's mom because no Gen Z person knows who I am. So, yeah, but they just look like, I mean, I get why they're booking Kaya. It's like, you want young Cindy Crawford? Yeah.

There she is. She's all... And listen, the chokehold Cindy had on the culture. I remember...

Feeling like there was a world premiere for Cindy Crawford's Pepsi commercial back in the day. There was. Fully. It felt like that. That big. She also had her own show on MTV. Oh, yeah. Where she blended music and fashion together. So she even talks about, like, I became a supermodel, but then I became a commercial celebrity. And that's it. So we love it. Check it out. Let me know what you think. And if you're not watching that, but you're watching something else, let us know. You can email us at vibecheckatstitcher.com.

All right. That's the show. Just us. Just us. What song did we begin with? D'Angelo's Lady. D'Angelo's Lady. Goodbye, ladies. Is there a goodbye lady song? Oh, goodbye, ladies. I don't know. If there is one, listeners, tell us. Email us.

As always, thank you all for listening to this week's episode of Vibe Check. If you love the show and want to support us, please make sure to follow the show on your favorite podcast listening platform or subscribe to the podcast. And for real, for real, tell a friend. All of these things help the show grow, keep us getting paid, keep you hearing good stuff. Support, support, support. Amen, support.

And a huge thank you to our support always, Chantel Holder, and our guest producer for the week, Josh Richman, who has been absolutely fabulous. Snaps for Josh. We love Josh. OG with the planning doc. Yes, Josh knows how to make a doc, honey. And our engineers, Sam Kiefer and Brendan Burns. And Marcus Holm for our theme music and sound design. Also, special thanks to our executive producers, Nora Ritchie at Stitcher and Brandon Sharp from Agenda Management and Production.

Listeners, I'm going to say it again. We want to hear from you. Email us at anytime at vibecheckatstitcher.com. And one last note of thanks. The garbage truck has been coming down this street the entire credits. But I want to say it's a moment to thank the government for services like garbage pickup. Thank y'all. Anywho. The trash gets a shout out. I love that. The trash gets a shout out. We love...

We love a mutually beneficial social service like Garbage Collection. Anywho, stay in touch with us on Instagram at Zach Staff, at The Ferocity, at Sam Sanders. If you post about us, use the hashtag 5CheckPod. Until next week, stay tuned. Be well. We'll talk to you soon. Bye. Bye. Stitcher.

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