‘Star Wars’ - America’s favorite piece of anti-fascist media - has a new boss taking over, which leaves Travis and Tom squinting their eyes. As they talk about where the franchise has faltered in the last eleven years, they also have the gall to pitch ideas to Dave Filoni and Lucasfilm for where the franchise should go next. Is it the will of the force? We’ll see…

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Epstein’s back in the news as the latest delayed file drop from the Department of Just Piss is even more damning than the last. Tom & Travis grapple with how Epstein’s pedophile activities are merely the end result of an unequal society divided by class AND outdated values on how we view children and teenagers across the country - values that Trump’s biggest defenders are trying to revive out of sheer cope.

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What’s more important than paramilitary death squads in Minnesota, more Epstein files being released, or our President’s brain melting into soup? The Super Bowl that is! Tom & Travis take this time to talk about the Big Game, the NFL season, how stupid college football is, and the totally apolitical event that is the Halftime Show!

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Mike Leach’s Famous Rant on the College Football Playoff: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y_nuMEtwUW4

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Recorded just after ICE murders someone else in Minneapolis (a "murse" no less, which is a crime unto itself), Tom & Travis talk about why people can be so willing to ignore historical parallels when they hit them in the face. This leads Travis to take us down a bizarre rabbit hole... using Harry Potter.

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ICE is still terrorizing Minnesota, but it might be cracking. Travis & Tom talk about the leaks and exposes that have come out about how the ICE house may one day collapse....

Ken Klippenstein's Article: https://www.kenklippenstein.com/p/immigration-agents-terrified-by-ice

Laura Jedeed's Article: https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2026/01/ice-recruitment-minneapolis-shooting.html

Article about Jedeed's article used in the episode: https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/us-politics/ice-undercover-journalist-recruitment-immigration-b2900345.html

Nick Shirley Interviewed by Andrew Callaghan: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_IrMqA3fVO0&t=2806s&pp=ygUJY2hhbm5lbCA1

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America couldn't get through one full week in the new year without violating a country's sovereignty, making plans for global conquest, and having government agents murder Americans on public streets with impunity. Travis & Tom come together to talk about how to grapple with understandable fear of what's coming next and what you can do to make things better.

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Travis shows Tom the amazing futuristic world that is video chat! Since this episode was also kind of a guinea pig for this WAY more efficient method of recording episodes, we decided to do a light subject to ring in the new year - CARTOON PHYSICS! (Don't worry, the heavier stuff is coming next week).

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We're at the end of our first year doing this podcast thing. Travis & Tom reflect on 2025, our growing pains and what we'd like to do with this podcast in the future. In the meantime, Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year!

CORRECTIONS:

• 46:47 - The version of the first Gears of War game that’s available for the PlayStation 5 - Gears of War: Reloaded - is technically a REMASTER, not a remake. Is there a difference? Technically yes, but not really with marketing.
• 57:00 - Travis meant to say “…at time of RELEASE”, his dog Tater Tot will have been neutered already.

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Clips Cited

• “Glory Hole: Dallas Cowboys Jerry Jones wants some” YouTube, uploaded by Brickmaster2757, 1 August 2012, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5w7zKC3MFs.
• “Strange Energies” Star Trek: Lower Decks, written & created by Mike McMahan, directed by Jason Zurek, performances by Jack Quaid, Jonathan Frakes and Nolan North, CBS Studios, 2021.
• The Three Musketeers, directed by Stephen Herek, performance by Oliver Platt, Walt Disney Pictures