Normal Men

It was a pretty rough week as far as news goes so the boys focus on the lighter things in life: unhinged Twitter accounts transvestigating NFL running backs, the best mass transit system south of DC, the meaningful victories for Congressional staffs that kept bad stuff out of the Republican reconciliation bill, and the latest bonfire of Elon Musk’s vanity known as the America Party. We also have full analysis of what emerged from the Senate and its brutal implications for American society.

The Normal Men welcome New York political observer and union activist Detective Pikajew to chat about the huge win for Zohran Mamdani in that city’s mayoral primary as well as some union business. Also: loaded words and their definitions, an extremely bad Supreme Court case, and Tillis taps out in the Old North State. Follow our guest Detective Pikajew on Bluesky @clapifyoulikeme.favrd.social

We say good bye (for now) to one of the Men before welcoming a new Man in his stead. The updated quartet then gets down to business discussing the US attack on Iran, the information environment, and the best ways to use AI. For show notes, links to our socials, and a transcript of this episode, check out normalmenpodcast.com! The Normal Men are supporting Time Out Youth via a Prideraiser during June! For every goal Charlotte FC (soccer team) scores in June, pledge a donation amount. At the end, you'll donate the pledge amount multiplied by the goals scored. A pledge link is available at peark.es/prideraiser!

One of the Normal Men has to go on hiatus, but three soldier on to talk about a vegan on a rampage, Israel’s attack on Iran, No Kings Day protests, and the disconnect between national politics and local reaction. For every goal Charlotte FC (soccer team) scores in June, pledge a donation amount. At the end, you’ll donate the pledge amount multiplied by the goals scored.

Faine Greenwood, an expert on drones and their use in disaster response and counterterrorism, shares her insights on the complexities of modern technology. The discussion dives into the balance of human expertise versus AI in military operations. Faine unpacks the intriguing role of drones in both warfare and innovative civilian applications. She also delves into the chaotic dynamics of the decentralized social media platform Blue Sky, mixing humor with serious reflections on communication and content moderation.

This week, we talk about Elon Musk (again) and his drugs, what his missteps mean for DOGE, new news on tariffs, and the Trump Administration’s war on the legal system.

This week, we talk about Lowtax Speedrun Enjoyer’s limitless Jeep enthusiasm. We also get into a serious conversation about recent political violence in the United States (and why it’s bad), and discuss the finer points of the doomed-to-be-rewritten House Republican budget bill.

This week, we get into some of the details of the Moody’s US credit downgrade, and have updates on last week’s Supreme Court decision on the American Enemies Act. Finally, we talk about the world’s Chief Weeb for Boers, Elon Musk, and how his chatbot went floridly insane.

This week, George returns from Greece, Lowtax Speedrun Enjoyer demands that the new Pope defend the honor of his people, we talk about some good news from North Carolina, bad news for Congressional Republicans, and discuss the newest dysfunctional alcoholic joining the second Trump Administration. Propter Malone and GOLIKEHELLMACHINE exhaust their weekly allotment of dad(bad) jokes.

In this episode, George joins the gang from Greece to talk about normal — and abnormal — men. We also get into what’s going on the world’s most hacked group chat software, and we close out with a brief explanation of quarterly corporate filings including what they’re saying about the economy as it stares down the barrel of tariffs.