CHAPTERS
- 0:00 – 4:17
Wesley Morris subs in for Scott: new show ‘Cannonball’ and the naming debate
Kara introduces Wesley Morris as guest co-host and digs into his new New York Times culture podcast, Cannonball. They talk about what the show covers, how it differs from Still Processing, and why the original title idea (‘Parlando’) didn’t stick.
- •Scott Galloway is away; Wesley Morris joins as co-host
- •Wesley explains Cannonball’s premise: connecting ideas across culture (TV, movies, sports, books)
- •Discussion of the rejected title ‘Parlando’ and what the term means
- •How show naming and branding decisions get made at major media orgs
- 4:17 – 7:12
Pop-culture memory lane: ‘Cannonball’ (the song), Proustian triggers, and 90s nostalgia
A riff on The Breeders’ ‘Cannonball’ turns into a conversation about how certain cultural artifacts attach to personal memories—sometimes clearly, sometimes not. Kara contrasts that with a song that reliably evokes emotion, and they try to locate the source of her ‘Cannonball’ aversion.
- •Why some songs feel ‘Proustian’ and others just irritate you
- •Kara’s emotional attachment to ‘Landslide’ vs. dislike of ‘Cannonball’
- •Reconstructing 1994: Kara at The Washington Post, DC life, and cultural context
- •Humor as they probe nostalgia, identity, and formative media experiences
- 7:12 – 13:32
Summer movies, sequels, and Kara’s lifelong aversion to horror
They pivot to the summer movie landscape—sequels, remakes, and a shortage of originals—highlighting the film Weapons as an exception. Kara explains why horror is a non-starter for her, tracing it to childhood theater trauma and a later bad viewing experience.
- •State of the summer box office: sequels and remakes dominate
- •Weapons praised as a rare original-screenplay standout
- •Kara recounts early horror trauma (Tales from the Crypt) and why it stuck
- •How fear, memory, and moviegoing experiences shape taste
- 13:32 – 20:47
‘And Just Like That’ finale: friendship as the show’s core, and the diversity double-standard
Wesley and Kara defend And Just Like That as a major work about long-term friendship, even as it courts backlash. They discuss why Sex and the City got singled out on diversity in ways other iconic series didn’t, and how the reboot tried (sometimes awkwardly) to absorb post-George Floyd critiques.
- •Why Wesley considers the franchise a top-tier depiction of friendship
- •Debate over why some shows are criticized for lack of diversity and others aren’t
- •How the reboot integrates social change without breaking character realism
- •Standout performances (e.g., Sarita Choudhury, Nicole Ari Parker) and why they feel ‘real’
- 20:47 – 26:30
Trump vs. the Smithsonian: reframing slavery, ‘anti-woke’ directives, and propaganda mechanics
Kara reads Trump’s claim that Smithsonian exhibits focus too much on ‘how bad slavery was,’ then asks Wesley to unpack what’s happening culturally. Wesley contextualizes it with Trump’s 2017 visit to the National Museum of African American History and Culture, contrasting past public praise with today’s push to ‘purify’ national storytelling.
- •Trump’s review mandate for Smithsonian content and the ‘woke is broke’ framing
- •Wesley recalls Trump’s 2017 remarks praising the African American museum and its leadership
- •Argument that this is propaganda: sanitizing history to enforce a preferred national myth
- •The broader political project: controlling institutions that shape collective memory
- 26:30 – 30:15
DC as a test case: crime narratives, National Guard symbolism, and ‘purifying’ urban America
Their Smithsonian discussion broadens into how the administration uses DC as a proving ground for a larger national strategy. They argue that sensationalized crime rhetoric is detached from most residents’ lived reality and that public safety problems are often rooted in housing, stress, and systemic conditions—not theatrical militarization.
- •DC portrayed as ‘blood-soaked’ despite many people experiencing normal city life
- •National Guard presence as political theater and a message about who is ‘dangerous’
- •Public safety framed as a housing/mental-health/systemic issue rather than pure enforcement
- •How exaggerated narratives can be scaled to other major cities
- 30:15 – 38:01
Kennedy Center takeover and honorees: cultural capture, legitimacy, and Trump’s grievance politics
They move to Trump’s influence on the Kennedy Center—both the selection of honorees and the broader institutional takeover. Wesley and Kara assess the honorees (KISS, Stallone, Gloria Gaynor, George Strait, Michael Crawford), discuss who hasn’t been honored, and emphasize Trump’s desire for personal recognition as a driver.
- •Evaluating the 2025 honorees and what the list signals culturally and politically
- •Who ‘should’ have Kennedy Center honors and the politics of omission
- •Trump as host/chair: the spectacle risk (rehearsals, live broadcast, institutional norms)
- •Trump’s stated grievance: he wanted an honor, so he took over the institution
- 38:01 – 40:52
The White House joins TikTok: legal contradictions, influence campaigns, and platform fatigue
After the break, they react to the Trump White House launching an official TikTok account despite the sell-or-ban law and repeated deadline extensions. They discuss the perceived futility of the national security debate this late in the game and zoom out to how social media attention is fragmenting across platforms.
- •White House TikTok launch vs. the federal sell-or-ban requirement and deadline extensions
- •Comment spam and negative engagement (including Epstein references) as immediate platform reality
- •Wesley’s view that ‘the ship has sailed’ on data collection concerns at scale
- •Social platform shifts: Threads growth, Bluesky, and the fragmentation of attention
- 40:52 – 43:49
Search is changing: Reddit’s rise, Google’s AI answers, and ‘relationship’ prompting with LLMs
A TikTok discussion turns into a broader look at how people find information now—especially the increased prominence of Reddit in Google results. Kara and Wesley compare traditional search with AI-mediated answers and joke about how using ChatGPT effectively requires careful prompting and ongoing ‘relationship’ management.
- •Reddit as a high-signal, curated consumption platform (especially for younger users)
- •Google search surfacing Reddit more often; AI answer boxes and accuracy concerns
- •How LLMs differ from search: prompting skill and conversational iteration
- •Quick tour of the model landscape (ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini) and user behavior
- 43:49 – 53:14
South Park’s Trump episode: blunt satire, tech CEO sycophancy, and comedy’s changed rules
They praise South Park’s latest episode for its perfectly timed, brutally direct satire of Trump, Big Tech, and DC politics. Wesley argues the show’s power is in making subtext explicit—no ‘Easter eggs’ required—while both discuss how public expectations for comedy and offensiveness have evolved since the late 90s.
- •South Park’s ‘brute force’ approach: stating the joke plainly and aggressively
- •Mocking tech leaders’ flattery and Trump’s corruption as reality-adjacent satire
- •Wesley’s complex relationship with the show: fear, liberation, and boundary testing
- •How comedy norms shifted post-9/11 and through successive culture-war cycles
- 53:14 – 1:01:26
Taylor Swift as podcaster: album announcement, audience shockwaves, and the mechanics of charisma
Kara and Wesley analyze Taylor Swift’s appearance on Travis Kelce’s podcast as an album announcement that generated massive live and replay audiences. They discuss how Swift alters the show’s dynamics, why her presence is compelling to watch or even just imagine, and what her controlled accessibility reveals about modern celebrity.
- •Swift’s podcast appearance drives enormous viewership and demographic shifts
- •Not a ‘numbers play’ for the Kelces; it’s Swift using the format strategically
- •On-air dynamics: Travis as hype-man, Jason trying to steer, Swift staying ‘serious’
- •Backstage curiosity: tour toll, performance discipline, and selective myth-making
- 1:01:26 – 1:04:30
Eras Tour stamina and the limits of reinvention: re-recordings as politics vs. art
Wesley shares a vivid concert anecdote highlighting the physical endurance of the Eras Tour—and how even screaming teens tapped out before Swift did. They debate how her dominance makes artistic reinvention harder, contrasting the artistic primacy of original recordings with the historical/political significance of her re-recorded catalog.
- •Concert vignette: fan frenzy, endurance, and Swift’s repeated high-output performance
- •How mega-success can discourage risk-taking and self-reinterpretation
- •Re-recordings as a power move and rights strategy vs. the ‘best’ artistic document
- •What ‘growth’ means for an artist who can already command any platform
- 1:04:30 – 1:08:29
Predictions: Adam Sandler’s Oscar moment and the push to ‘prestige’ a populist star
In the predictions segment, Wesley forecasts Adam Sandler will finally land an Academy Award nomination, citing another high-profile film collaboration on the way. They riff on Sandler’s comedic persona, his serious turns, and why chasing awards can be counterproductive—especially for someone whose appeal is joy and ease.
- •Prediction: Sandler gets an Oscar nomination (not necessarily a win)
- •Why directors keep trying to ‘award-ify’ Sandler’s talent
- •Comparisons to Jerry Lewis and the idea of a ‘signature drug’ persona
- •How ambition, authenticity, and industry validation collide
- 1:08:29 – 1:10:39
Wrap-up: plugging Cannonball, thanking Wesley, and closing credits
Kara thanks Wesley for co-hosting and encourages listeners to check out Cannonball. They trade friendly jabs, reflect on Wesley’s cultural insight, and then Kara reads the show credits and sign-off.
- •Where to find Wesley’s podcast Cannonball (and the lingering ‘Parlando’ joke)
- •Kara’s appreciation of Wesley’s cultural analysis and perspective
- •Audience call-in and submission info for future questions
- •Production credits and show close
