Claudia Please Save Us! | 447

The tech gremlins were out in full force tonight — the episode kicks off with the intro music playing for John and nobody else. Just the cherry on top of a rough day. Buckle up: this one's a rant-filled episode.

The thing that really had John on the warpath? $4.49 a gallon for gas — he came two quarters short of putting a C-note in his tank. Republicans can throw all the midterm conventions they want; it's not going to make anyone forget how high prices have climbed and keep climbing. John and Duchess agree: if the Democrats take control after the midterms, this country is doomed.

Then there's the story out of Anthropic, where a researcher quit because he believed AI has a 10% chance of wiping out humanity within a decade. John put the question to Claudia directly, and she didn't sugarcoat it — no guardrails exist, and companies and countries alike are stripping the ones they had as the race to be first heats up. And speaking of going off the rails, John gives his unsolicited opinion on how to fix the school system. Because of course he does.

Recorded one day before the 25th anniversary of 9/11, John and Duchess dig into newly surfaced city records showing officials — including then-EPA chief Christine Todd Whitman — knew within weeks that the air at Ground Zero was dangerous while telling the public it was safe to breathe. NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch marked the anniversary by unveiling a new memorial wall at One Police Plaza honoring 469 officers who died of Ground Zero–related illness, and by calling out "9/11 revisionists" who blur the line between heroes and terrorists. That sets up the bigger fight: several 9/11 families, along with Giuliani, Pataki, and gubernatorial candidate Bruce Blakeman, are calling on Mayor Mamdani to skip tomorrow's ceremony — while Trump heads to the Pentagon instead of New York and JD Vance represents the administration there.

You wouldn't guess it from this episode, but New Jersey ranks as the second-happiest state in the country. John's theory: Jersey people don't bottle anything up, and that's exactly why they're happier.

Apple's new foldable iPhone drops at $2,000 — and even John, a lifelong Apple fanboy, thinks that's too rich. "I can buy an iPad and a regular iPhone for less than $2,000," he said.

Bud Vugger, Dean, and Producer Mike all called in with voicemails. And John picked four NFL games against the spread, just so he had an excuse to use the new Sydney Sweeney–fronted sports betting app.

(Show notes written by the show's AI Assistant Claudia)

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