Labor Day Special!

Main Discussion Topics​

​

AI Deep Fake Controversy

​

• Viral Trump deep fake claiming trans people "aren't real" - comparing transgender individuals to putting "a stick on a horse's nose" to make a unicorn

• Deep fake went viral before community notes identified it as AI-generated

• Discussion of plausibility factor - both hosts acknowledged they initially believed it was real

​

Mark's reaction: "This is scary. This is scary, man... it made me a little nervous."

​

Michael noted the believability: "He's actually worse than what I thought he would be. Like I thought a lot of it was just bluster and bullshit, which is what he does a lot of. But he's actually doing some of this stuff... we can imagine Trump saying that, right? Like, we would not be surprised if Trump came out and said that."

​

Trans Rights Discussion

​

• Mark expressed support for transgender individuals while maintaining biological distinctions

• Michael's position: psychological experience is real but biological sex cannot be changed

• Both agreed to use preferred pronouns out of courtesy

• Potential guest considerations: Blair White and Deirdre McCloskey for nuanced discussion

​

Michael's stance: "I do not think it possible for a man to become a woman or for a woman to become a man. I don't care what surgeries they have. I do think that it's a very real phenomena... that people experience their psychology as that of the opposite sex."

​

Mark acknowledged complexity: "I believe that many of the people either self-diagnosing or being diagnosed now with gender dysphoria actually have other kinds of mental illness that are being misdiagnosed and being lumped into this category."

​

National Guard Deployment Criticism

​

• Critique of Kristi Noem's claim that Los Angeles would have "burned down" without military deployment

• Discussion of authoritarian tendencies and cabinet independence

• Historical perspective on LA surviving previous riots (Watts, Rodney King, gang violence)

​

Michael's concern: "The scariest part of the whole Trump phenomenon is... when he said he could shoot somebody on Fifth Avenue and his supporters would still support him. I think that is true."

​

Mark's observation about Trump administration independence: "You know what an independent person is called in the Trump administration, Michael? Fired."

​

Trump's Health Speculation

​

• Discussion of Trump's apparent physical decline and internet speculation

• Weekend social media absence sparked death rumors

• Analysis of political tribalism in health speculation

​

Japanese Housing Deregulation Model

​

• Analysis of Tokyo's post-WWII spontaneous development

• Japan's 12-category zoning system allowing mixed-use development

• Exclusively residential zones still permit small shops, dental clinics, hair salons, and daycares

• National vs. local zoning control differences between Japan and America

​

Mark's observation: "I've seen this over the United States in states that don't have the strict zoning laws... I've been in five star restaurants and neighborhoods in residential neighborhoods in Houston. I've seen dental offices and legal practices out of houses in other states."

​

Michael highlighted the constitutional issue: "Conservatives... when I first started studying politics, always heard about, if it's not in Article one, section eight of the Constitution, Congress doesn't have the power. Lo and behold, article one, section eight, Congress is not given the power to regulate immigration."

​

Immigration and Housing Economics

​

• Critique of mass deportation as housing solution

• Economic analysis of immigrant contributions to California economy

• Constitutional concerns about federal immigration enforcement

​

Mark's economic argument: "You're taking away... all let's assume that the vast majority of those immigrants that you're mass deporting out of California have jobs with incomes. They support industries, they contribute values to their community, oftentimes at a greater rate than the natives. You're now robbing California of that economic might."

​

GMO and "Franken Food" Defense

​

• Comprehensive argument for genetically modified organisms

• Historical examples of toxic natural foods made safe through human intervention

• Critique of "natural is better" fallacy

​

Mark's examples of human food improvement: "Almonds were toxic before human involvement... they had cyanide in them. You can say the same thing with bananas, carrots, cassava, corn, cucumbers, eggplants, peaches, watermelons."

Michael's technological perspective: "What is called GMO just uses better technology for the genetic modification... people who are against technology in general... they wanna stop at a particular preferred point in progress. And it's always completely arbitrary."

​

Labor Day Philosophical Debate

​

• Michael's opposition to celebrating "mediocrity" and preference for celebrating excellence

• Mark's perspective on undervaluing intellectual contribution

• Discussion of aspirational vs. egalitarian cultural values

​

Michael's controversial stance: "I think that people a lot of the time, like to celebrate mediocrity. They like to celebrate the normal, not the exceptional... It's not the inventors, the creators, the entrepreneurs, the geniuses who advance civilization. It's the guy who... carries things, you know, sacks of wheat around."

Mark's Randian analysis: "Atlas Shrug is about the importance of man's mind in the world. How man's mind is literally the lever that moves the world... There's not a lot of respect for the rational mind in any part of human life."

​

New York Mayoral Race

​

• Zohran Mamdani distancing himself from Democratic Socialists of America

• Majority of funding reportedly from outside New York State

• Unable to reach 50% polling despite Democratic primary win

​

Referenced Articles/Sources

• Reason Magazine article on Japanese housing deregulation

• Various articles about Trump deep fake controversy

• Polls showing Mamdani's electoral challenges

​

Notable Quotes

Mark on Aspirational Culture: "It's okay to be aspirational, folks. It's a good thing to be aspirational, to seek to be better than you are right now... that's partly what makes it great."

Michael on Truth vs. Messaging: "I am not in the business of euphemism... ultimately my first concern when I'm communicating is that I'm communicating the truth... I am not catering to the feelings of people who are gonna be offended."

Mark on Human Enhancement: "Manmade is good. Manmade is just an adjustment of nature to make it more amenable to human life."

​

Key Themes

• Intellectual vs. physical labor value debate

• Technology and human enhancement

• Constitutional limitations and federal overreach

• Housing deregulation as free market solution

• Political tribalism and truth-telling

• Aspirational vs. egalitarian cultural values

​

Book/Resource Recommendations

• "Build Baby Build" by Brian Caplan

  • Comic book format explaining housing economics

  • Focus on vertical building solutions and zoning reform

​

Capitalist Thought of the Day

"The mind is what takes us from living in the woods, running around with loin cloths to living in air conditioning buildings, to doing a show like this where we can argue about things like zoning laws... The human mind is what ultimately elevates the human species, and it's something that should be praised, admired, and celebrated at all times. But in order for the human mind to operate optimally, it needs freedom. It needs to be able to think, and it needs to be able to be, to put its thoughts into action. It needs to be able to plan across weeks, months, years, decades... Most people, I believe, that have an intact brain are capable of far more than what they're currently accomplishing. And in order to do that, we need to set goals. We need to dream big and we need to work hard. And the system that allows for us to do that is capitalism." - Michael