Latest / Elon Musk Podcast / Elon Musk’s $1 million-a-day voter sweepstakes can proceed, a Pennsylvania judge says

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Elon Musk’s $1 million-a-day voter sweepstakes can proceed, a Pennsylvania judge says · Elon Musk Podcast

• 0:01
  Hey everybody. Welcome back to the Elon Musk
• 0:04
  podcast This. Is a show where we discuss the
• 0:07
  critical crossroads that shape SpaceX.
• 0:09
  Tesla X, The Boring Company and Neurolink.
• 0:13
  I'm your host, Will Walden. Elon Musk's $1 million a day
• 0:19
  giveaway to voters in swing states will continue through
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  Election Day following a Pennsylvania judge's ruling on
• 0:24
  Monday. This decision raises several key
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  questions. First, is the promotion legal?
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  Second, why are critics calling it an attempt to sway the
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  election? Finally, what exactly qualifies
• 0:36
  someone to receive the money now?
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  The ruling comes amid intense criticism from Philadelphia
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  District Attorney Larry Krasner, who called the giveaway a scam
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  aimed at influencing the election.
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  Judge Angelo Foglietta of Pennsylvania's Common Pleas
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  Court declined Krasner's request to halt Musk's giveaway, though
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  Foglietta didn't provide an immediate written explanation
• 1:00
  for this ruling, His decision permits Musk's America PAC to
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  continue awarding $1,000,000 each day to selected voters who
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  endorsed the PAC's pro Trump petition.
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  The contest, however, is set to end on Election Day, so no
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  additional payments are scheduled for Pennsylvania now.
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  The promotional campaign is run by America PAC, a pro Trump
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  group founded by Elon Musk, and since its launch on October
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  19th, the giveaway has awarded $1,000,000 daily to voters in
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  battleground states including Arizona, Georgia, Michigan,
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  Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
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  And Musk, a public supporter of former President Donald Trump,
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  has funded America PAC with nearly $120 million, according
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  to federal disclosures. His support comes during a
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  critical moment in the election where Pennsylvania's 19
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  electoral votes are likely to play a decisive role.
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  Now America PAC officials claim the recipients of the $1 million
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  awards are pre selected based on their suitability to serve as
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  spokespeople for the group's values, not chosen at random.
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  And according to Chris Gober, 1 of Musk's attorneys, the
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  recipients are not chosen by chance.
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  He explained that the organization selects individuals
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  who views aligned with America's PAC's pro Trump agenda and who
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  have agreed to sign a petition endorsing constitutional rights,
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  specifically free speech and gun rights.
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  Chris Young, America PAC's director and treasurer,
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  testified that the group carefully reviews each recipient
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  before awarding the funds. He described a process that
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  evaluates potential spokespeople based on their personalities and
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  their values. Winners are vetted through
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  social media checks and in person meetings outside event
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  venues. Young indicated the purpose of
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  this review process was to ensure recipients are aligned
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  with the group's messaging and capable of presenting its agenda
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  publicly. Now, despite America PAC's
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  claims, Krasner and his legal team argue that the giveaway is
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  effectively an illegal lottery and an attempt to mislead
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  voters. Pennsylvania law prohibits
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  lotteries unless they're operated by the state, and
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  Krasner asserts that the daily $1,000,000 payouts constituted a
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  lottery since they're marked as prizes for signing the petition
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  now. Krasner's attorney, John
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  Summers, argued in court that calling the giveaway a salary
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  for spokespeople was one of the greatest scams of the last 50
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  years. Now Elon Musk's legal team,
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  however, insisted that the program does not meet the
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  criteria for a lottery since it lacks the element of chance.
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  Instead, they say, the winners are selected in advance based on
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  their potential to advocate for America Packs values.
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  Musk's lawyer, Matt Haverstick, criticized the lawsuit as a
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  political circus and argued that the payment should be seen as
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  compensation rather than prizes. According to Haverstick,
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  Pennsylvania law doesn't apply in its context because the
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  winners are essentially being hired for promotional purposes
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  now. In an attempt to further support
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  their argument, Musk's lawyers highlighted that participants
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  sign a petition in support of the 1st and 2nd Amendments
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  before they qualify for the program.
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  They intended that signing this petition is an exercise of free
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  speech, making the giveaway a form of core political speech,
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  and as such, they argued that preventing the promotion would
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  infringe on Pennsylvanians rights to freely express their
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  political beliefs. District Attorney Krasner's
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  legal team challenged the PAC's defense, maintaining that the
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  structure of the giveaway is a cover for a lottery system and
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  that its promotional tactics are misleading.
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  Summers showed the court of video from October 10th or 19th
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  Trump rally where Musk stated the America PAC would randomly
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  select recipients from those who signed the petition.
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  He argued that Musk's statements at the rally created a false
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  impression that the winners would be chosen by chance.
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  Young, who is America Pack's director, admitted he was
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  surprised when he heard Musk describe the giveaway as random
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  at the rally. According to Young, America Pack
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  had never intended the selection process to be random.
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  The organization, he explained, always approached the giveaway
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  as a structured recruitment of spokespeople, with the winners
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  chosen specifically for their alignment with the Pack's
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  values. Young also confirmed that
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  winners had to sign non disclosure agreements, which
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  prevented them from publicly discussing the details of their
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  contracts with America Pack. Now, in a statement to the
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  court, Krezner's accused Musk's team of crafting a deliberately
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  misleading narrative. He stated.
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  They know what they're doing is illegal and they're doing
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  everything under the sun to cover it up.
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  Krasner's office also discussed that PAC selective criteria,
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  combined with the non disclosure agreements, concealed the true
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  nature of the program from the public.
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  This, Krasner argued, prevented voters from understanding that
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  recipients were not randomly chosen, as Musk had said,
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  suggested and stated. And Musk's giveaway program
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  operates in a legal Gray area regarding election laws, as it
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  may be seen as an indirect attempt to pay people to
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  register to vote or to influence their political choices.
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  Federal law prohibits payments for voter registration, and the
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  US Department of Justice has issued a warning to America Pack
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  regarding potential violations. However, federal prosecutors
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  have not yet taken formal action against Musk or his
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  organization. Now, the contested legality of
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  Musk's promotion has significant implications for voter
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  mobilization efforts, especially since the Trump campaign relies
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  heavily on external groups like America PAC to canvas and engage
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  voters. Now, the PAC's daily giveaways
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  are part of a broader effort to motivate voters in swing states
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  where the race between Vice President Kamala Harris and
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  former President Donald Trump remains close.
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  With Election Day approaching, Musk's funding for America PAC
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  has positioned his organization as a influential player in these
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  battleground states. Now, Monday's court hearing was
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  one of the last attempts by Krasner to halt the program
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  before it concludes. Haverstick argued that Krasner's
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  request was moot, noting that the remaining 2 winners from
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  Monday and Tuesday had already been chosen.
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  Neither recipient, he pointed out, was from Philly, making an
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  immediate court intervention ineffective.
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  Haverstick assured the court that there was no risk of any
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  further Pennsylvania residents receiving the money through
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  America PAC's program. No Judge Fuglietta briefly
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  addressed the limited time frame of the program, asking both
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  sides to confirm that the promotion would end on Election
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  Day. Haverstick's response
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  highlighted that the final two recipients had already been
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  notified, thus precluding any further participation from
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  Pennsylvania voters. And despite Kreisner's
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  objections, Fuglietta issued a brief order allowing the
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  giveaway to continue, stating he would clarify his reasoning at a
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  later date. Now, the controversy surrounding
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  the program highlights Musk's increasing involvement in
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  political activities. Elon has openly supported Trump
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  throughout the campaign, and he has used his social media
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  platform X to endorse Trump's policies and events.
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  Musk's deep financial Support for America PAC also reflects
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  his recent ideology alignment with conservative causes,
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  including free speech and gun rights, which the PAC's petition
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  prominently endorses. America PAC's efforts in swing
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  states have drawn attention not only for the sizeable payments,
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  but also for PAC's high profile endorsement by one of the
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  world's wealthiest individuals. And as BUS continues to fund the
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  organization, his involvement in voter mobilization efforts is
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  usual among CE OS of major tech companies.
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  And this is a unique approach to political engagement by Elon.
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  This convolvement has, however, attracted legal scrutiny and
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  public criticism for various political leaders and election
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  officials. Now already, the program has
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  distributed a total of $17 million to registered voters
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  across 7 battleground states, according to America PAC, and
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  its posts on X and the Pack's last recipient before Election
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  Day is expected to be announced on Tuesday from Michigan.
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  With Election Day marking the conclusion of the program, the
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  Pack has emphasized that it will not extend the giveaway beyond
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  this date, in line with the judges inquiry during the
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  hearing. And the ongoing legal disputes
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  may continue even after Election Day, though, as officials assess
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  the program's compliance with federal and state election laws.
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  And as of now, the Justice Department's Cautionary Message
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  to America PAC signals potential legal challenges down the line.
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  However, the outcome of the scrutiny and whether it will
• 9:32
  impact Musk or the PAC directly remains uncertain.
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  Hey, thank you so much for listening today.
• 9:44
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• 9:46
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  you'll never miss an episode. And each episode.
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