Latest / Culture Brief - Christian perspectives on the week's biggest news, sports & pop-culture stories / World Cup preview, SpaceX IPO, helicopter shot down, Knicks-Spurs & UFC at the White House | Ep. 73

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World Cup preview, SpaceX IPO, helicopter shot down, Knicks-Spurs & UFC at the White House | Ep. 73 · Culture Brief - Christian perspectives on the week's biggest news, sports & pop-culture stories

• 0:03
  [SPEAKER_01]: Hi, I'm Connor Jones.
• 0:04
  [SPEAKER_01]: I'm Mike Atama-Sella and this is Culture Brief, a Dinnison Forum podcast where we are navigating the constant stream of top stories and news, politics, sports, pop culture, technology, and so much more.
• 0:15
  [SPEAKER_01]: We're hitting all really all of that today because there is so much going on in culture.
• 0:20
  [SPEAKER_01]: Michael, we got big events coming down the line specifically in sports.
• 0:24
  [SPEAKER_01]: Oh, we got some financial stuff, so you want to tell us what we're hitting on?
• 0:27
  [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, so we got the World Cup coming up, 48 countries competing and representing their nations on the world's biggest stage, SpaceX and Thropic, open AI, all filing for IPOs.
• 0:39
  [SPEAKER_00]: What does it mean?
• 0:40
  [SPEAKER_00]: Let's talk about it.
• 0:41
  [SPEAKER_00]: We're also going to hit on what's going on in the Middle East.
• 0:44
  [SPEAKER_00]: Let's go on in the LA mayoral race, Stanley Cup in BA Finals, UFC at the White House, and so much more to let's jump into the brief.
• 0:54
  [SPEAKER_00]: The brief.
• 0:57
  [SPEAKER_00]: You kind of used my inflection there.
• 0:59
  [SPEAKER_00]: You kind of set it the exact same way I did.
• 1:02
  [SPEAKER_01]: Because I'm like the brief and then you were like the brief, but you normally do I normally do I normally do I normally do that the brief you took my thing.
• 1:10
  [SPEAKER_00]: That's like my thing no, I don't know Wow, okay, so that's summer for you, you know took the took last week off and then here we are you know you're doing a podcast with your brother and I guess Anyway, all right, let's jump into you want to say it
• 1:29
  [SPEAKER_00]: All right.
• 1:29
  [SPEAKER_00]: So let's talk about the World Cup first.
• 1:32
  [SPEAKER_00]: So Connor, I just want to talk about something today that truly is hard for us as Americans to wrap our minds around.
• 1:38
  [SPEAKER_00]: And I mean that specifically on, like unless you're a big football or soccer fan here in the US, which would not be one of the most popular sports here in the US.
• 1:48
  [SPEAKER_00]: Very popular, but not as popular as a lot of the other
• 1:52
  [SPEAKER_00]: I think it's hard for us to understand how big of a deal the actual World Cup is.
• 1:56
  [SPEAKER_00]: We think about the Super Bowl.
• 1:58
  [SPEAKER_00]: We think about the NBA finals happening right now.
• 2:00
  [SPEAKER_00]: We think about March madness.
• 2:02
  [SPEAKER_00]: I mean, the list goes on and on.
• 2:03
  [SPEAKER_00]: The things that us Americans get excited about.
• 2:06
  [SPEAKER_00]: But the World Cup truly does take it to another level.
• 2:08
  [SPEAKER_00]: Because here in the US, we think about the Super Bowl, like I said, it dominates a weekend company.
• 2:13
  [SPEAKER_00]: Spend millions of dollars for commercials, families through a party, even people who don't watch football tuning.
• 2:19
  [SPEAKER_00]: But globally, there's another event that operates in an entirely different scale, and that is the World Cup.
• 2:25
  [SPEAKER_00]: So starting June 11th, the day this episode releases, the world's most popular sport, and it is, take center stage as the FIFA World Cup comes to North America.
• 2:36
  [SPEAKER_00]: Yes.
• 2:37
  [SPEAKER_00]: The woke up is happening here on our soil and this year it's historic for many reasons for the first time ever There's a few things that have changed.
• 2:44
  [SPEAKER_00]: Number one 48 countries will compete this year instead of the normal 32 So 16 more nations are getting a chance for glory next there will be 104 total matches when it's all said and done That's a whole lot of soccer ladies and gentlemen and then games will take place across the USA
• 3:02
  [SPEAKER_00]: Canada and Mexico.
• 3:04
  [SPEAKER_00]: And the tournament runs all the way until the championship match on July 11th in New Jersey.
• 3:10
  [SPEAKER_00]: The World Cup literally happens for like a month and a half.
• 3:13
  [SPEAKER_00]: Like it is not a short timeline.
• 3:15
  [SPEAKER_00]: It's very quick.
• 3:16
  [SPEAKER_00]: I mean, this is even longer than the Olympics.
• 3:18
  [SPEAKER_00]: Like this is this runs for a long time.
• 3:20
  [SPEAKER_00]: And I think sometimes Americans here soccer tournament,
• 3:23
  [SPEAKER_00]: And don't really fully understand the magnitude of what we're talking about, right?
• 3:27
  [SPEAKER_00]: This isn't just a sporting event.
• 3:28
  [SPEAKER_00]: For much of the world, it's a cultural moment for the entire world, but especially now with 48 nations being represented higher than the normal 32.
• 3:38
  [SPEAKER_00]: But just in general, you and I don't talk about soccer a lot in our personal lives.
• 3:43
  [SPEAKER_00]: And we definitely don't on the show.
• 3:45
  [SPEAKER_00]: But how much do you tune into the World Cup and just soccer in general, Connor?
• 3:49
  [SPEAKER_00]: I just want to know like, what's your baseline for this going through this tournament?
• 3:54
  [SPEAKER_01]: I got well, first I want to say something real fast.
• 3:56
  [SPEAKER_01]: You said the championship is on July 11th.
• 3:58
  [SPEAKER_01]: It's on July 19th.
• 4:00
  [SPEAKER_00]: Oh, did I say the 11th?
• 4:01
  [SPEAKER_00]: I literally have the 19th written down, but I said the 11th.
• 4:04
  [SPEAKER_00]: No, you're right.
• 4:05
  [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, so I think it's another week later.
• 4:07
  [SPEAKER_01]: So, but you're right.
• 4:08
  [SPEAKER_00]: It's going to be basically just on July 19th, they're playing in New Jersey.
• 4:12
  [SPEAKER_00]: Yes, you're right.
• 4:12
  [SPEAKER_00]: Okay.
• 4:12
  [SPEAKER_00]: That was this was a miss speak on my part.
• 4:15
  [SPEAKER_01]: Five or six week just jam packed so many games dude.
• 4:17
  [SPEAKER_01]: The only thing I could think this even similar to this is like March Madness But this is on such a grander scale so many games in such a tight period of time It's crazy, but the whole world you're right man the whole world's gonna stop and watch this It's like this moment summer to the only thing I could think is the Olympics where yeah every country Two days in billions of humans not hundreds of millions like we get for the Super Bowl like you're saying
• 4:38
  [SPEAKER_01]: the world's ups and watches this right particularly at the end I personally don't dabble that much in the soccer world or as they say football I you know I I come in every four years for sure watch the world cup kind of religious like I get very into it similar to the Olympics like you don't follow these athletes if you know for four years but then you get into it like man this guy's awesome or like why didn't he do that you get really into it you learn these players
• 5:02
  [SPEAKER_01]: Their names maybe their family story how they got here.
• 5:05
  [SPEAKER_01]: There's a guy on the U.S. team specifically from the town that I live in Little Elm, Texas So I'll be cheering him up and What does he say?
• 5:13
  [SPEAKER_01]: I think his last name is McKinney McKinney McKinney.
• 5:15
  [SPEAKER_01]: Oh, Western McKinney.
• 5:17
  [SPEAKER_00]: Yes.
• 5:17
  [SPEAKER_00]: Okay.
• 5:17
  [SPEAKER_00]: We know little Elm.
• 5:19
  [SPEAKER_00]: Okay.
• 5:19
  [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, that's cool.
• 5:20
  [SPEAKER_00]: No, man.
• 5:20
  [SPEAKER_00]: I'm the same way, man.
• 5:22
  [SPEAKER_00]: You slap
• 5:24
  [SPEAKER_00]: the United States of America on a jersey and trot some people out there probably going to watch it in root for the US of eight.
• 5:30
  [SPEAKER_00]: Maybe I'm just old school in that patriotism comes out of me.
• 5:33
  [SPEAKER_00]: We could be doing
• 5:35
  [SPEAKER_00]: I don't know a world wide underwater basket weaving tournament and I'm going to tune in and root for the USA to beat everybody else in underwater basket weaving.
• 5:44
  [SPEAKER_00]: I'm just I'm a sucker for it.
• 5:46
  [SPEAKER_01]: I fall for it every time you did that with curling big time.
• 5:49
  [SPEAKER_00]: Remember in fact, I got really in the greenling last time.
• 5:52
  [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, but you're not going to touch it for another four years.
• 5:55
  [SPEAKER_00]: I haven't thought about curling once since the winter Olympics, but when it was on man, I was locked in.
• 6:02
  [SPEAKER_00]: I was literally like, Connor, did you see that curling match last time?
• 6:05
  [SPEAKER_00]: I was like researching curling clubs near me.
• 6:09
  [SPEAKER_00]: Remember, I told you about the curling clubs that happened in DFW.
• 6:13
  [SPEAKER_00]: Anyway.
• 6:14
  [SPEAKER_01]: Well, you talk a big of a deal.
• 6:15
  [SPEAKER_01]: It is, man, the World Cup in 1994, that was here in the United States.
• 6:18
  [SPEAKER_01]: That's the last time I was over here, is what spurred such popularity behind soccer, that the MLS, the Major League Soccer,
• 6:25
  [SPEAKER_01]: uh, started here in the United States.
• 6:26
  [SPEAKER_01]: They got a whole league built out of it.
• 6:28
  [SPEAKER_01]: So I think they're hoping for something like that.
• 6:29
  [SPEAKER_01]: Again, where it gets Americans and Canadians and uh, you know, down in Mexico, they're a hosting game, too.
• 6:34
  [SPEAKER_01]: It's obviously a really big deal.
• 6:35
  [SPEAKER_01]: Soccer is down there.
• 6:36
  [SPEAKER_01]: But here in the US, it's just kind of been like a the fifth sport.
• 6:39
  [SPEAKER_01]: And I think they're open to like really game popularity out of this.
• 6:42
  [SPEAKER_00]: I mean, and hockey got a big boost from the the US men's and women's teams winning gold.
• 6:48
  [SPEAKER_00]: Um, so I mean, we've seen some momentum into hockey where like these Stanley Cup playoffs are some of the most watched ever, and so it's like, I do think that there's some momentum and there will be some stats coming out about the momentum that came from the winter Olympics and the US teams winning gold, maybe if the US can can catch some magic, there would be something similar happening.
• 7:12
  [SPEAKER_00]: Well, I just like that.
• 7:14
  [SPEAKER_01]: You uh, you ask me like how often I think about this or watch the US team sometimes I'll throw on a friendle or something you know when they're kind of doing a little qualifying match or something And between years, but really I've got this hat on if you're watching a video You'll see I got the US soccer hat bro.
• 7:28
  [SPEAKER_01]: This is this is the logo for United States men soccer We're ready to go.
• 7:32
  [SPEAKER_01]: I got this.
• 7:32
  [SPEAKER_01]: I was selling you right before we helped on I got this back in 2018
• 7:36
  [SPEAKER_01]: Right before the World Cup, this was the newer logo at the time right before the World Cup in 2018 and then the US team didn't even pick it into the World Cup We didn't even qualify.
• 7:45
  [SPEAKER_01]: So I had to put this hat on the shelf for four years busted out in 22 now here We are again, man.
• 7:50
  [SPEAKER_01]: It's been it's been hanging out ready to go.
• 7:52
  [SPEAKER_01]: We're ready I'm right there with you.
• 7:53
  [SPEAKER_01]: You put USA on a on a jersey on something the patriotism comes out brother.
• 7:58
  [SPEAKER_01]: There you go brother.
• 7:59
  [SPEAKER_00]: I'm with you
• 8:00
  [SPEAKER_00]: I'm with you.
• 8:01
  [SPEAKER_00]: Okay.
• 8:02
  [SPEAKER_00]: So did you have anything else you wanted to talk about?
• 8:06
  [SPEAKER_00]: I saw some of the viral posts that we've been seeing from like Europeans traveling here and like appreciating some American things.
• 8:15
  [SPEAKER_00]: What have you seen?
• 8:16
  [SPEAKER_01]: Yes, I don't know if you've seen anything like it, but
• 8:18
  [SPEAKER_01]: If you're on Twitter and I'm sure this is on other platforms as well, Tiktok and Instagram and probably Reddit of these European to have come over to America to start watching their teams play in the world cup and some of them have come a couple weeks early.
• 8:31
  [SPEAKER_01]: They're exploring America.
• 8:32
  [SPEAKER_01]: They're watching their teams and practices or little friendly games, warm-up games.
• 8:36
  [SPEAKER_01]: And these guys are posting the funniest stuff to us as Americans because they are just
• 8:41
  [SPEAKER_01]: divulging into our culture man There's this one guy specifically his name is Freddie he's from Germany and in the last like three or four days He's really gone viral like millions upon millions of views on his post cuz he's just post and pictures of him and his German friends and like waffle ho waffle house and chilies and Taco Bell and they're just enjoying it And he specifically called America the Holy Land as they've just gone through these different restaurants They're they're driving right now from Chattanooga, Tennessee to Houston and so they were they with a
• 9:10
  [SPEAKER_01]: with the stop to see a practice game at Auburn University and with the Auburn School Ball South brother.
• 9:16
  [SPEAKER_00]: They're experiencing a salad later.
• 9:18
  [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, that is and they're loving it.
• 9:19
  [SPEAKER_01]: They're posting pictures of gas stations and the things you can buy in the cast stations in Alabama.
• 9:24
  [SPEAKER_01]: The football stadium in Auburn being full.
• 9:26
  [SPEAKER_01]: He even leaned into the joke, you know, where you say like the Samar, the European mind can never comprehend and he posted a picture of
• 9:32
  [SPEAKER_01]: the Auburn Football Stadium full with fireworks in the background going off after the game and he's like this is truly the most European mind can never comprehend like I can't comprehend this and then specifically overnight, Micah, you know what he discovered and he posted a picture of and he's got millions of views and eight hours bucksies.
• 9:49
  [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, they they found the world's largest gas station and they're just amazed and so you know There's there's this movement kind of happening on Twitter where a lot of people are like hey Go follow these Europeans who are just taking in America and are amazed by it and realize that we don't actually all have that many differences We have things in America that people want to come here.
• 10:07
  [SPEAKER_01]: It enjoy and love.
• 10:07
  [SPEAKER_01]: We don't have to always harp on our country so hard
• 10:10
  [SPEAKER_01]: Let these Europeans remind you that hey we have great things we got we got culinary stuff We got ranch dressing we got we got beautiful nature and rivers and mountains That they're all coming over and saying wow you guys haven't made here
• 10:24
  [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, absolutely.
• 10:25
  [SPEAKER_00]: And it's a good point.
• 10:26
  [SPEAKER_00]: And I'm going to kind of touch on it a little bit later.
• 10:28
  [SPEAKER_00]: It's not the full extent of what I'm going to try to get to here.
• 10:30
  [SPEAKER_00]: But, you know, ultimately, anytime there's one of these tournaments, whether if it's in the Olympics or just nation competing against nation or here in the world cup.
• 10:40
  [SPEAKER_00]: First of all, you hope that it unites your nation and we need that now more than ever.
• 10:45
  [SPEAKER_00]: And second of all, you, another factor would be, we would unite as a world.
• 10:51
  [SPEAKER_00]: recognizing that, yeah, we have our own countries, we have our own borders, like that's all well and good.
• 10:56
  [SPEAKER_00]: But at the same time, like there's a lot less that divides us than I think what's actually out there that could unite us.
• 11:03
  [SPEAKER_00]: And so something like a World Cup here on American soil and seeing these people post, like, you know, I just hope it helps people take a deep breath and realize it's not so bad and we're so blessed to be where we are.
• 11:14
  [SPEAKER_00]: But so why is the World Cup such a big deal?
• 11:16
  [SPEAKER_00]: Let's talk about that for a second.
• 11:17
  [SPEAKER_00]: So the athletic,
• 11:19
  [SPEAKER_00]: which is kind of the sports arm of the New York Times.
• 11:21
  [SPEAKER_00]: As described, the World Cup is the most prestigious, the most watched single sporting event in human history, every single four years.
• 11:29
  [SPEAKER_00]: To put the scale and perspective, the Super Bowl is massive.
• 11:32
  [SPEAKER_00]: This past year, it averaged around 125 million viewers at a time, the 2022 World Cup finale between Argentina and France reached an estimated 1.4 billion people worldwide.
• 11:44
  [SPEAKER_00]: That's a lot.
• 11:45
  [SPEAKER_00]: Contire nations stop what they're doing.
• 11:48
  [SPEAKER_00]: Businesses pause, school stop, people gather in streets and stadiums to watch their country.
• 11:53
  [SPEAKER_00]: Compete, honestly, that's one of the things that makes the world cup so awesome.
• 11:56
  [SPEAKER_00]: So fascinating.
• 11:57
  [SPEAKER_00]: It's one of the few moments left where billions of people around the world are watching the same thing at the very same time.
• 12:04
  [SPEAKER_00]: But what makes 2026 unique?
• 12:06
  [SPEAKER_00]: That's what I want to talk about a little bit more, too.
• 12:08
  [SPEAKER_00]: This is also the biggest world cup ever.
• 12:10
  [SPEAKER_00]: The tournament has expanded from 32 to 48 teams like I mentioned before, which means more teams get an opportunity to compete on the biggest stage.
• 12:17
  [SPEAKER_00]: You'll have the traditional soccer powers, right?
• 12:20
  [SPEAKER_00]: So you'll have Argentina who won the last World Cup, really cemented Messi's legacy of not just being a great club player, but also being a great international player.
• 12:29
  [SPEAKER_00]: You've got Brazil who's won more World Cups than anyone.
• 12:33
  [SPEAKER_00]: If you didn't know, Brazil is very good at soccer.
• 12:35
  [SPEAKER_00]: France is competing, Spain's competing, Germany's competing, England's competing, and then maybe 10 or more teams down there, you'll see the USA get mentioned, and then you'll have smaller countries getting a chance to introduce themselves to the world.
• 12:47
  [SPEAKER_00]: That's one of the beautiful things about the tournament, too.
• 12:49
  [SPEAKER_00]: Every World Cup has a country or a player that nobody expected, who suddenly is kind of that Cinderella story.
• 12:55
  [SPEAKER_00]: That's why you mentioned March Madness, as I was preparing this, I kept thinking about
• 13:00
  [SPEAKER_00]: March madness, there's just always a great story, several great stories that come out of the World Cup.
• 13:06
  [SPEAKER_00]: But there's also some stories behind the players.
• 13:10
  [SPEAKER_00]: So Dr. Ryan Denison, who serves here at our ministry, highlighted something really interesting this week in his article the focus that comes out as an email every Tuesday.
• 13:19
  [SPEAKER_00]: He pointed to a Christianity today article by Cody Benjamin that profiled several World Cup players who are outspoken followers of Jesus.
• 13:27
  [SPEAKER_00]: Christian Pulasik, otherwise known as Captain America, speaks about his faith constantly.
• 13:34
  [SPEAKER_00]: Excuse me.
• 13:36
  [SPEAKER_00]: pronunciation of this.
• 13:37
  [SPEAKER_00]: Bucaio Saka, one of England's biggest stars is a part of something there's several players for team arsenal for arsenal, which plays in England.
• 13:48
  [SPEAKER_00]: Nick name the Bible brothers who gather together and gather other elite soccer players together for Bible studies and they've gotten pretty popular on social media.
• 13:58
  [SPEAKER_00]: They need to be got the Brazilian
• 13:59
  [SPEAKER_00]: goalkeeper, um, at least in Becker, one of the best goalkeepers in the world is repeatedly spoken about his faith and how it shapes his life.
• 14:06
  [SPEAKER_00]: I just love seeing that because the world cup is a reminder that whatever platform God gives us, whether if it's in front of a billion people or even in our workplace and our neighborhood or family, we're just called to use it faithfully.
• 14:18
  [SPEAKER_00]: And that's what these guys are doing, just like we're called to, um,
• 14:22
  [SPEAKER_00]: go into our sphere and make disciples.
• 14:25
  [SPEAKER_00]: These guys are trying to do the same thing.
• 14:26
  [SPEAKER_00]: It just so happens to be on a much larger scale.
• 14:29
  [SPEAKER_00]: There's also multiple ministries in a lot of these cities like here in here in Dallas, which is hosting in Houston all over the country in Canada in Mexico.
• 14:40
  [SPEAKER_00]: You see there's a lot of ministries popping up that are trying to share the gospel with the hundreds of thousands of people.
• 14:46
  [SPEAKER_00]: It might be like
• 14:47
  [SPEAKER_00]: million people like I'm not really sure, the amount of people who are traveling here, all the focus and attention on these areas, there's all these ministries popping up in this time to share the gospel through the World Cup and the gathering of nations here in the US.
• 14:59
  [SPEAKER_00]: It's a special opportunity.
• 15:01
  [SPEAKER_00]: But I think there's something even bigger happening here, Connor, which I've kind of already alluded to, why are we drawn to events like this?
• 15:09
  [SPEAKER_00]: It's a rhetorical question, Connor.
• 15:11
  [SPEAKER_00]: I'm sure you have a good answer for me.
• 15:12
  [SPEAKER_00]: I'm asking it rhetorically in order to make a point.
• 15:16
  [SPEAKER_00]: Why is there something powerful about seeing people from every nation, every culture, every language gathered together?
• 15:24
  [SPEAKER_00]: I don't know, maybe you're starting to pick up what I'm putting down.
• 15:27
  [SPEAKER_00]: I think it's because we were created for something like this.
• 15:32
  [SPEAKER_00]: Revelation 7, verse 9 says, after I looked,
• 15:37
  [SPEAKER_00]: After this I looked and behold, a great multitude that no one could number from every nation from all tribes, tribes from all peoples and languages standing before the throne and before the Lamb of God.
• 15:51
  [SPEAKER_00]: The World Cup gives us a small glimpse of something our hearts long for.
• 15:57
  [SPEAKER_00]: different nations, different languages, different cultures, all gather together, but scripture reminds us that the ultimate gathering of the nations will not be around a soccer tournament, a world cup, the Olympics.
• 16:12
  [SPEAKER_00]: So it'll be around the throne, the throne of God.
• 16:15
  [SPEAKER_00]: So enjoy the world cup, cheer for your country, USA, USA, USA, baby.
• 16:21
  [SPEAKER_00]: I'm definitely gonna cheer for mine.
• 16:23
  [SPEAKER_00]: Appreciate the different cultures and incredible stories too.
• 16:26
  [SPEAKER_00]: But remember, our greatest identity is not found in the flag we wear or the team we cheer for.
• 16:32
  [SPEAKER_00]: It's actually found in Christ and trust me that's where you want your identity to be found.
• 16:40
  [SPEAKER_01]: Well, there's a lot to that.
• 16:42
  [SPEAKER_01]: I wanted to mention like the people from all around the world gathering and seeing that all the different languages and culture and everything.
• 16:49
  [SPEAKER_01]: It makes me think about one, it's so cool to think what heaven will be like down with no doubt man.
• 16:54
  [SPEAKER_01]: Hearing the voices of so many people seeing people of all different ethnicities and background and cultures and everything, what a beautiful picture that is.
• 17:03
  [SPEAKER_01]: There's the song, well, everybody knows the song.
• 17:06
  [SPEAKER_01]: How great is our God by Chris Tomlin?
• 17:11
  [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, right.
• 17:12
  [SPEAKER_01]: That was like the song and like oh wait, you know But there's a rendition that he did with worship leaders from around the world and they sing how great is our God Different versus in different languages and there's a be- That's crowd.
• 17:24
  [SPEAKER_01]: It's one of the most unique beautiful worship, you know moments I can think of is this beautiful depiction of the world has come together to sing how grace our God Because we all worship the same God when we're Christians no matter where we're from and I think that's a super unique
• 17:39
  [SPEAKER_01]: And I'm just thinking about, you know, I went to Brazil on a mission trip in high school.
• 17:42
  [SPEAKER_01]: And one dude, they are, it like soccer is almost a religious experience for them down there.
• 17:46
  [SPEAKER_01]: They, they live eat and breathe soccer.
• 17:49
  [SPEAKER_01]: They are playing soccer all day out on wherever they can find a field and some goalpost and then making their own makeshift soccer.
• 17:55
  [SPEAKER_01]: But they're watching soccer all the time.
• 17:57
  [SPEAKER_01]: They're all wearing their jerseys.
• 17:58
  [SPEAKER_00]: It is just, it is part of their identity there in Brazil.
• 18:01
  [SPEAKER_00]: But too awesome.
• 18:02
  [SPEAKER_01]: Man, we're saying worship music with people there in Portuguese and we would like do these kind of like mixed traditions of the worship songs of English and Portuguese, which is what they speak in Brazil.
• 18:12
  [SPEAKER_01]: It was a really cool man, just these people who live a totally different life live on a whole other part of the world and us as Americans are going down there and getting to serve in these communities and then worshiping God together in Portuguese was super unique.
• 18:24
  [SPEAKER_01]: There is something to that.
• 18:26
  [SPEAKER_01]: So we're excited for the world cup.
• 18:27
  [SPEAKER_01]: I know the Brazilians are excited.
• 18:29
  [SPEAKER_01]: They are always
• 18:31
  [SPEAKER_01]: going to be fun.
• 18:31
  [SPEAKER_01]: Thanks, Micah, for that overview.
• 18:35
  [SPEAKER_01]: Let's hit on a few things happening in the financial world, which, you know, we don't typically dive into deep finances.
• 18:42
  [SPEAKER_01]: We're not a business podcast, we're not a finance or stock podcast, but we do need to mention this because there's some big things coming down the line here in the next one tomorrow.
• 18:52
  [SPEAKER_01]: If you're listening to this on Thursday on Friday, there's a big thing happening.
• 18:54
  [SPEAKER_01]: That's what we're going to talk about in a couple of the things
• 18:58
  [SPEAKER_01]: So people are calling this mic.
• 18:59
  [SPEAKER_01]: I've seen this phrase thrown around hot IPO summer because it just seems like every big tech A. I call girls summer or whatever hot Hot tech IPO summer, you know, like they're throwing their hats in the ring.
• 19:12
  [SPEAKER_01]: They're ready to put their names out there and the stock market get publicly traded.
• 19:16
  [SPEAKER_01]: That's what that
• 19:18
  [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, specifically open AI andthropic, which is the, well, open AI is chat GPT, if you didn't know.
• 19:24
  [SPEAKER_01]: Andthropic is the company that owns Claude, the Claude AI model, and then SpaceX is the one launching this week.
• 19:31
  [SPEAKER_01]: These companies are trying to go public.
• 19:33
  [SPEAKER_01]: That's the idea.
• 19:34
  [SPEAKER_01]: SpaceX is going public.
• 19:36
  [SPEAKER_01]: The other two companies have filed interest forms there saying, hey, we would like to.
• 19:40
  [SPEAKER_01]: It will take months to get down the whole process of getting them on there.
• 19:43
  [SPEAKER_01]: So SpaceX is going now.
• 19:46
  [SPEAKER_01]: Open AI anthropic could be potentially later the summer or this fall, but I think a lot of what they're waiting for is to see how SpaceX's stocks do How this IPO for SpaceX on Friday morning goes and if you're listening to this post Friday You'll have a good idea of was this a big hit did a lot of people buy in and their stocks shoot up or did it just knows that.
• 20:05
  [SPEAKER_01]: So
• 20:06
  [SPEAKER_01]: Open AI anthropic, they're very eager to see what happens on Friday because it's going to be very telling up how investors and even how Americans feel about AI technology And I say that with AI because SpaceX actually acquired X AI which is Elon Musk's AI arm And so this is kind of an AI stock as well as a space, yeah, grock.
• 20:27
  [SPEAKER_01]: It's also a SpaceX and exploration stock so it's a little bit different than those other two but
• 20:32
  [SPEAKER_01]: There is testing the appetite for, hey, we don't know where the technology is going with space exploration with AI, will you invest in us?
• 20:40
  [SPEAKER_01]: Do you have hope and trust in the dreams of these companies and specifically really Elon Musk?
• 20:46
  [SPEAKER_01]: Do you think you can invest in this and make a return?
• 20:48
  [SPEAKER_01]: Or is this too risky?
• 20:50
  [SPEAKER_01]: So we're going to see what happens here.
• 20:52
  [SPEAKER_01]: Because I mean, ultimately everyone knows AI is here for the long run.
• 20:55
  [SPEAKER_01]: It's just kind of a question of,
• 20:56
  [SPEAKER_01]: How long will it play in to everybody's daily lives to our jobs or careers will it really be what everybody's saying it's going to be or is it kind of plateauing is it like we've maybe reach the max it's going to be for a while and there's really no need for people push the money into these stocks we'll see.
• 21:12
  [SPEAKER_00]: I mean you've seen this stock market react this week to that reality.
• 21:16
  [SPEAKER_00]: there there there are fears the NASDAQ was down like 3% yesterday or something like that.
• 21:21
  [SPEAKER_00]: There was this there are fears around how do you actually start calculating increased revenue through AI integration and all of these companies.
• 21:32
  [SPEAKER_00]: You know hiring is now there were more job postings this last month from the jobs report.
• 21:40
  [SPEAKER_00]: then there were six months previously.
• 21:42
  [SPEAKER_00]: You see a lot of companies that laid off people are stopped trying to hire due to all the AI they were rolling out and it's not yet yielding what people were saying it was going to yield, which is probably good for the worker and not so great for the rich AI guys.
• 21:57
  [SPEAKER_00]: There's some sort of balance that's going to be found, like I've said before, I find myself being more of an AI optimist while also recognizing the dangers of it
• 22:07
  [SPEAKER_00]: We are still in the infancy of this, right?
• 22:09
  [SPEAKER_00]: Like, just been, you know, so a few years now, it's been so common, you know, everybody's using chat, GPT or Grocker, or whatever it might be.
• 22:16
  [SPEAKER_00]: And, you know, now people are able to build websites in a, you know, two minutes, you know, and that's just the tip of the iceberg what this thing can do.
• 22:25
  [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, it's like being in 1997 and dabbling with the internet.
• 22:29
  [SPEAKER_01]: Like your driver's just still kind of in the crazy of it.
• 22:31
  [SPEAKER_01]: You don't strangely know what it's going to become.
• 22:33
  [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, so we'll see, and that's kind of the big statement here.
• 22:37
  [SPEAKER_01]: We'll see.
• 22:38
  [SPEAKER_01]: We'll just have to see what happens.
• 22:40
  [SPEAKER_01]: Sorry, guys.
• 22:40
  [SPEAKER_01]: Sorry, I have the crystal ball.
• 22:42
  [SPEAKER_01]: Sorry.
• 22:42
  [SPEAKER_01]: Can't tell you, man.
• 22:44
  [SPEAKER_01]: And that's the thing.
• 22:44
  [SPEAKER_01]: Well, that's what makes these investments in these IPO.
• 22:46
  [SPEAKER_01]: So interesting is.
• 22:47
  [SPEAKER_01]: Nobody knows and so no really kind of it's almost a gamble like these companies that are gonna make these investments are trying to determine hey, is this worth our money our investment So let's let's real quick hit on SpaceX specifically because they are launching on Friday.
• 23:01
  [SPEAKER_01]: They are going to be the most valuable company in
• 23:04
  [SPEAKER_01]: uh... the world's in terms of IPO like it will be the most valuable IPO ever if it really reaches what is supposed to reach which is selling five hundred and fifty five million shares at one hundred and thirty five dollars a piece that is a massive valuation of one point seven seven trillion dollars uh... which would top Saudi aramico Saudi Arabia's aramico which is an oil company that IPO in twenty nineteen at one point seven trillion so it's a little bit more than that you know that that that that
• 23:32
  [SPEAKER_01]: That's just a, these numbers are huge.
• 23:34
  [SPEAKER_01]: It's also going to roughly double the company space access valuation from what it was six months ago and it could, Mike, it could on Friday make Elon Musk the world's first trillionaire who's net worth this currently standing on, as we're going to always is, net worth is $970 billion.
• 23:51
  [SPEAKER_01]: He just goes the way it's, he's open.
• 23:54
  [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, man, if he won $1 trillion in his net worth, which is just crazy.
• 23:58
  [SPEAKER_01]: I mean, I mean, most of that isn't stocks, right?
• 24:00
  [SPEAKER_01]: Like it's not like he just sits there with cash, but a lot of it's stocks and property and all of that.
• 24:04
  [SPEAKER_01]: But if you stretch that out, just I saw this set.
• 24:07
  [SPEAKER_01]: If you stretch that $970 billion out, number out over 31 years, which is his career span, that equates to $3.6 million an hour that he has made over the 31 year career in his insane family.
• 24:21
  [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, if Musk gets this valuation that he's seeking space X will be one of the most valuable companies in the world.
• 24:25
  [SPEAKER_01]: It'll surpass meta, it'll surpass Berkshire Hathaway, it'll surpass Elon Musk's other company Tesla, and which has a market capitalization of $1.3 trillion.
• 24:37
  [SPEAKER_01]: That's a lot, so Micah, when you hear numbers,
• 24:40
  [SPEAKER_01]: That big with, you know, either these company valuations or Elon Musk net worth or even some of these AI guys their net worth and worth these companies are Opening to do and raise in the future.
• 24:50
  [SPEAKER_01]: I mean, what do you think like to those numbers just blow your mind or they hard to comprehend?
• 24:56
  [SPEAKER_00]: Not really, and I'm not sure what if that was the answer you were looking for.
• 25:00
  [SPEAKER_00]: Oh, what do you think?
• 25:02
  [SPEAKER_00]: At this point, you know, I read the news every day, kind of like you do to stay in the loop so we can keep our loyal culture brief listeners in the loop on everything that's going on in culture.
• 25:14
  [SPEAKER_00]: At this point after consuming this information and seeing something on
• 25:20
  [SPEAKER_00]: One of these AI companies over and over and over again, and just the sheer numbers that we're talking about at a certain point, it doesn't shock me anymore.
• 25:28
  [SPEAKER_00]: You know, if anything, there is this concept of like, why does somebody need that much money?
• 25:33
  [SPEAKER_00]: Definitely a fair question.
• 25:35
  [SPEAKER_00]: I also think my mind goes to,
• 25:38
  [SPEAKER_00]: Hopefully this creates more jobs, levels the playing field gives people more opportunities.
• 25:43
  [SPEAKER_00]: Somebody could purchase a $135 share in SpaceX that could grow grow grow and end up being something like there's a lot of people who can scrounge together $135 to purchase something like that.
• 25:56
  [SPEAKER_00]: Like I just all of that wealth I do hope that it does find a way to trickle throughout the economy to level the playing field for people is kind of where my mind goes.
• 26:05
  [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, I feel the same way.
• 26:06
  [SPEAKER_01]: No, I didn't.
• 26:07
  [SPEAKER_01]: I didn't know what your answer was going to be.
• 26:08
  [SPEAKER_01]: I for me, I was like, those are when you first read him, they're just shocking numbers and scale and size, but you're like, well, you know, there's a reality too.
• 26:16
  [SPEAKER_01]: If you're really going to go explore space, you're going to need a lot of bang for your buck.
• 26:20
  [SPEAKER_01]: No, no, man, to get that going.
• 26:21
  [SPEAKER_01]: So no, yeah, but it does, it does make the question is actually SpaceX worth that amount of money, because that is, you know, $1.7 trillion.
• 26:28
  [SPEAKER_01]: It's a lot of the situation.
• 26:30
  [SPEAKER_01]: That is a lot.
• 26:31
  [SPEAKER_01]: So for some context, SpaceX made $18 billion in revenue in 2025, which means it is being priced in the stock of $135 per share at 93.6 times its sales.
• 26:45
  [SPEAKER_01]: So they got a lot to prove still.
• 26:47
  [SPEAKER_01]: And the company was actually unprofitable in 2025 at lost $5 billion almost.
• 26:50
  [SPEAKER_01]: So
• 26:53
  [SPEAKER_01]: That's a lot of stake being put in Elon Musk, Wall Street Journal, specifically was kind of analyzing this, and they said the investors and acceptance of space X's mammoth valuation will likely hinge on whether they believe Elon Musk can deliver on his ambitious ideas, which include colonizing Mars and launching data centers in two space.
• 27:11
  [SPEAKER_01]: So basically,
• 27:12
  [SPEAKER_01]: investors are if they're if they're going to go forward with this they're saying you can better prove this sci-fi stuff It can actually happen go get us on Mars go build data centers and you want us wants to build data centers on Mars because or Sorry, the moon too Because they're huge they require a lot of energy and everything here on earth and so he's like the best place to do is to build it on the moon We're not impacting to love them our help
• 27:35
  [SPEAKER_00]: if somebody is going to be able to pull it off, I think that he might be able to pull it off.
• 27:40
  [SPEAKER_00]: If there's somebody out there to pull it off, I mean, I think the question more for me would be more of the concept of the idea is actually becoming a reality, putting data centers on Mars, colonizing Mars, that idea and of itself, how far are we from that?
• 27:54
  [SPEAKER_00]: That's the bigger question for me as opposed to is Musk the one to do it because I'm looking around.
• 27:59
  [SPEAKER_00]: I don't necessarily see somebody on the frontier here who would be able to do it before he could.
• 28:05
  [SPEAKER_00]: It's just, hey, is this actually possible within a reasonable timeline?
• 28:08
  [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, well, the next best bet was probably Jeff Bezos and his blue origin space company, but their rocket ship blew up two weeks ago on the launch pad.
• 28:15
  [SPEAKER_01]: So I heard about that.
• 28:16
  [SPEAKER_01]: yeah i don't know man uh just as a quick thing real fast you might be wondering like can you actually buy it into the IPO that answers maybe uh really it's most of the shares are going to be going to large companies banks uh brokerages billionaires who can afford the risk should that stock tank but maybe you can get in you have to go to your brokerage either fidelity's
• 28:39
  [SPEAKER_01]: Robin Hood, so-fi, or E-Trade, those are the brokers that are getting access to share trades.
• 28:43
  [SPEAKER_01]: And a lot of them require you to have an account balance about at least $100 to $500,000 already in your account.
• 28:49
  [SPEAKER_01]: So if you've got that, then you can still buy.
• 28:51
  [SPEAKER_00]: Basically, just can't selling out my point, never mind.
• 28:54
  [SPEAKER_01]: Well, so I think it was, maybe it's, E-Trade was, it could be as low as $2,000.
• 28:58
  [SPEAKER_01]: So you would have to check on your brokerage.
• 29:00
  [SPEAKER_01]: What is required?
• 29:01
  [SPEAKER_01]: You got to fill out a whole application and all that.
• 29:03
  [SPEAKER_01]: I don't know if you're going to have time to do that by the Friday morning.
• 29:06
  [SPEAKER_01]: And even if you do do it and you go through the whole eligibility process, you may wake up on Friday morning and still not have those stocks in your portfolio.
• 29:12
  [SPEAKER_01]: So,
• 29:13
  [SPEAKER_01]: All of the say, the big guys are going to take up the majority of the stocks here at the IPO, and then by next Friday, it's expected that you can actually start to buy into index funds.
• 29:23
  [SPEAKER_01]: If you have those in your 401k or an heavier investment plan, you can put them into your NASDAQ index.
• 29:29
  [SPEAKER_01]: Maybe all of this information gets you excited.
• 29:32
  [SPEAKER_01]: You're like, oh, yeah.
• 29:33
  [SPEAKER_01]: We got technology rapidly improving.
• 29:34
  [SPEAKER_01]: We're going to go explore space.
• 29:36
  [SPEAKER_01]: We got AI.
• 29:36
  [SPEAKER_01]: This is going to maybe improve livelihoods change medicine exciting.
• 29:40
  [SPEAKER_00]: There is a part of this that's exciting.
• 29:42
  [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
• 29:43
  [SPEAKER_01]: There's all kind of I really I'm I'm excited about the idea of like humans going back into Mars and or back to moon and then on to Mars.
• 29:50
  [SPEAKER_01]: See what that takes.
• 29:51
  [SPEAKER_01]: I mean, I think it's going to be a big big challenge.
• 29:53
  [SPEAKER_01]: We talked to Zach Africa a few weeks ago and it's a big challenge to do that, right?
• 29:56
  [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, no doubt.
• 29:57
  [SPEAKER_01]: So there's a lot to it, but it is exciting, or maybe some of this causes you anxiety.
• 30:04
  [SPEAKER_01]: Maybe you are sitting here and you're like struggling to make ends meet.
• 30:08
  [SPEAKER_01]: You live paycheck to paycheck, finances caused you deep anxiety and you're sitting here hearing about these insanely large numbers and these very wealthy individuals who can move forward an entire economy or bring it down, like it's kind of crazy.
• 30:23
  [SPEAKER_01]: if it gives you anxiety you're you're definitely not alone like there's a lot of people who feel the financial anxiety that you would love to be invested in things and you're struggling to make that happen well um you know you can live in a world of like a bunch of hypotheticals but really you know I want to reference your Dr. Jim Dinnison's article from get this date March 17th 2020
• 30:42
  [SPEAKER_01]: This is just a week into the COVID, you know, we just, the world had just shut down.
• 30:47
  [SPEAKER_01]: The economy just went to tatters.
• 30:48
  [SPEAKER_01]: Like everything was going crazy.
• 30:50
  [SPEAKER_01]: This was when they were trying to figure out how to move forward with those first stimulus checks.
• 30:54
  [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
• 30:54
  [SPEAKER_01]: So this is March 17th.
• 30:55
  [SPEAKER_01]: And so Jim, he wrote an article called, when you're fear, when you fear for your finances, here's how to avoid the prison of anxiety.
• 31:04
  [SPEAKER_01]: And I'll link this article in the show notes if you want to read the whole thing.
• 31:06
  [SPEAKER_01]: But essentially,
• 31:08
  [SPEAKER_01]: You know, he's noting that like if you're like many Americans, you will probably worried about the global economy Maybe the national outlook, but you're also worried about your personal finances and your retirement accounts But we're also not the first followers of Jesus to have such fears.
• 31:21
  [SPEAKER_01]: There's actually scripture about this The apostle Paul when he founded the Philippian church He did so in the face of great opposition in an act 16 He and Silas were beaten and imprisoned before they were released and they were asked to leave the city
• 31:35
  [SPEAKER_01]: Well, the congregation at the Flimpian Church faced a similar threat, right, of political and religious persecution.
• 31:42
  [SPEAKER_01]: They likely also wondered about their financial security and their futures there in Philippi.
• 31:48
  [SPEAKER_01]: They had to have been concerned about that.
• 31:50
  [SPEAKER_01]: They could the city shut down their their businesses, could they lose their jobs, anything that they were doing, would they be ostracized in persecuted?
• 31:57
  [SPEAKER_01]: Well, Paul addressed those anxieties in his letter to the church in Philippians 4-6.
• 32:01
  [SPEAKER_01]: He says, do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and supplication with Thanksgiving, let your requests be known to God.
• 32:11
  [SPEAKER_01]: And then when we do that, verse 7 says, in the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts.
• 32:18
  [SPEAKER_01]: in your minds, in Christ Jesus, amen to that, right?
• 32:21
  [SPEAKER_01]: So the next time, anxiety about your findings is really honestly anything else.
• 32:25
  [SPEAKER_01]: And this is an anxiety thing all around.
• 32:27
  [SPEAKER_01]: The next time that creeps in, obey verse six, and claim verse seven.
• 32:32
  [SPEAKER_01]: Pastor Max Lucato wrote in the, one of his devotional, she said, the presence of anxiety is unavoidable, but the prison of anxiety is optional.
• 32:42
  [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, you don't have to be imprisoned by your anxiety.
• 32:44
  [SPEAKER_01]: So what fear do you need to trust to the father today?
• 32:47
  [SPEAKER_01]: Rather than living in that prison in my anxiety, let's use the promise of abundant grace and Christ.
• 32:53
  [SPEAKER_01]: Great point, Connor Jones.
• 32:56
  [SPEAKER_01]: Thanks for that.
• 32:57
  [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, absolutely, man.
• 32:58
  [SPEAKER_01]: All right.
• 32:58
  [SPEAKER_01]: Well, let's move on to our male background festival.
• 33:02
  [SPEAKER_01]: we got some messages last week my brother Parker was on he was the co-host with me and uh we were talking about college baseball and all that we talked about west virginia baseball they had this great moment in their stadium singing take me home country roads one of my favorite songs of all time and it was a cool cool moment well he said the university of west virginia we were corrected it is west virginia university but that's a great little correction micah i just want to say
• 33:29
  [SPEAKER_01]: It makes me beg the question, why do we call the University of Oklahoma?
• 33:33
  [SPEAKER_01]: Oh, you.
• 33:35
  [SPEAKER_00]: Do you know?
• 33:36
  [SPEAKER_00]: I expect Oklahoma to do things a little backwards.
• 33:39
  [SPEAKER_00]: Um, I, that's, that's open.
• 33:41
  [SPEAKER_00]: I'm not even going to say, I'm not even going to look into it.
• 33:44
  [SPEAKER_00]: I'm like that makes sense to me because it does.
• 33:47
  [SPEAKER_01]: No, I, you see, I, I didn't look into it either.
• 33:49
  [SPEAKER_01]: I've just always wanted that.
• 33:50
  [SPEAKER_00]: I was like, it's the University of Oklahoma, but we're gone.
• 33:52
  [SPEAKER_00]: Well, you, oh, doesn't, that sounds weird.
• 33:54
  [SPEAKER_00]: You, oh.
• 33:56
  [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, it does.
• 33:57
  [SPEAKER_00]: Oh, you, you, you, you're right.
• 33:59
  [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
• 34:00
  [SPEAKER_01]: Well, what do they do for it?
• 34:01
  [SPEAKER_01]: So University of Texas is UT.
• 34:03
  [SPEAKER_01]: What does Tennessee do?
• 34:05
  [SPEAKER_01]: They say UT as well.
• 34:07
  [SPEAKER_00]: It's kind of a big debate.
• 34:09
  [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.
• 34:09
  [SPEAKER_00]: They say UT as well.
• 34:10
  [SPEAKER_00]: They, yeah.
• 34:11
  [SPEAKER_00]: I mean, in like people, a lot of people were like mess with Texas and call them like to you.
• 34:18
  [SPEAKER_00]: Think as technically the University of Tennessee was founded before the University of Texas.
• 34:23
  [SPEAKER_00]: University of Tennessee is like one of the oldest like state colleges set up, like anyway, but
• 34:29
  [SPEAKER_00]: There's all kinds of those jobs that kind of go around, but ultimately, I think they're both considered UT and they're both in the SEC, which is interesting.
• 34:38
  [SPEAKER_00]: And they both have both different shades of orange.
• 34:42
  [SPEAKER_01]: And they both probably have some origins to David Crocket.
• 34:45
  [SPEAKER_01]: Like I just imagine absolutely.
• 34:46
  [SPEAKER_00]: Texas would not be a state if it wasn't for the Tennessee volunteers, literally, they're massive.
• 34:54
  [SPEAKER_01]: You're a long, long, long fan, and you're getting
• 34:59
  [SPEAKER_00]: Well, I mean, there are bigger fish to fry than how us longhorn fans feel about the volunteers.
• 35:07
  [SPEAKER_00]: You know, there's other issues that need to be addressed, I think.
• 35:11
  [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, I agree with that.
• 35:12
  [SPEAKER_01]: All right.
• 35:12
  [SPEAKER_01]: Well, let's open to checking.
• 35:17
  [SPEAKER_00]: Check in.
• 35:18
  [SPEAKER_00]: Oh, do we do that?
• 35:19
  [SPEAKER_00]: I don't know.
• 35:20
  [SPEAKER_00]: Maybe you do.
• 35:21
  [SPEAKER_00]: I don't know.
• 35:22
  [SPEAKER_00]: Maybe you do.
• 35:24
  [SPEAKER_00]: Okay.
• 35:24
  [SPEAKER_00]: So we talked about Spencer Pratt a couple weeks ago in the LA Mar race and I made a bold claim.
• 35:29
  [SPEAKER_00]: I thought he was going to win.
• 35:30
  [SPEAKER_00]: Well, let me just go ahead and own it.
• 35:33
  [SPEAKER_00]: He didn't even make the runoff for the election.
• 35:35
  [SPEAKER_00]: So Karen Bass and Nithia Roman, basically identical candidates for the most part in kind of the way that they view
• 35:46
  [SPEAKER_00]: are going to be heading to run off.
• 35:48
  [SPEAKER_00]: Later this year in November, California has historically takes forever to count ballots.
• 35:56
  [SPEAKER_00]: And so we didn't know for weeks what was going to happen here in Spencer Pratt was like neck and neck with care and bass for a long time and then over time you just kind of started his size lead, get smaller and smaller and smaller.
• 36:06
  [SPEAKER_00]: They just take forever to count votes and I was actually just reading in the
• 36:10
  [SPEAKER_00]: in the Wall Street Journal this morning that there's a lot of people inside and outside of California being like, look guys, like you've got to fix the way that you count votes here.
• 36:19
  [SPEAKER_00]: This shouldn't take this long.
• 36:20
  [SPEAKER_00]: This is 2026 heading into midterms.
• 36:23
  [SPEAKER_00]: And so now there's all these strategies of how one earth can California fix their vote, tallying and counting before the midterms in November.
• 36:31
  [SPEAKER_00]: So we'll see.
• 36:33
  [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, it is just interesting.
• 36:34
  [SPEAKER_01]: I thought he had a good shot, too.
• 36:35
  [SPEAKER_01]: And he did, even last week, we brought up a, you know, an update on that day out from the election.
• 36:40
  [SPEAKER_01]: And it was like, hey, people really thought he had it secured.
• 36:43
  [SPEAKER_00]: And then there's still mail in balance counted too, which is crazy.
• 36:46
  [SPEAKER_00]: There's still votes been counted.
• 36:48
  [SPEAKER_00]: But yeah, they do a lot of mail and ballots there.
• 36:50
  [SPEAKER_00]: Anyway.
• 36:51
  [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, well, he's, he's now a nationally known name.
• 36:54
  [SPEAKER_01]: I'm sure he's going to leverage that to do this.
• 36:55
  [SPEAKER_01]: He's going to figure out something.
• 36:56
  [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, he's my net leader run for mayor and LA might need to go move somewhere else and maybe he'll have a better chance.
• 37:02
  [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, maybe something else going on as we always talk about where we're monitoring the situation over in the Middle East.
• 37:08
  [SPEAKER_01]: There was some more firing back and forth between Israel and this weekend.
• 37:11
  [SPEAKER_00]: There's some kind of release right now.
• 37:13
  [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, there is.
• 37:13
  [SPEAKER_01]: There's a lot happening over the whole straight-of-war moves.
• 37:15
  [SPEAKER_01]: And I ran and everything.
• 37:17
  [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
• 37:19
  [SPEAKER_01]: and it's just kind of it's it's still out of stalemate but there's there was some exchanging of missiles this week in between Israel and Iran and then on Tuesday uh i ran shot down a U.S. Army helicopter over the straight-of-war moves.
• 37:32
  [SPEAKER_01]: The two pilots aboard were able to crash land the helicopter into the ocean essentially.
• 37:37
  [SPEAKER_01]: survive.
• 37:39
  [SPEAKER_01]: And they floated in the water for two hours before a unmanned boat came in and rescued them.
• 37:43
  [SPEAKER_01]: This was the crazy, a crazy story ever been used for a rescue.
• 37:49
  [SPEAKER_00]: In fact, this drone boat was just commissioned by the military in March for this, this was just I was just reading about this like about how this whole thing was designed to not put more American soldiers lives.
• 38:01
  [SPEAKER_00]: at risk in order to rescue and it's like using like proprietary AI technology to like find the soldiers and I mean it's crazy.
• 38:10
  [SPEAKER_00]: Imagine being rescued and there's like nobody there to rescue you though.
• 38:13
  [SPEAKER_00]: I know that thought I was like to these guys.
• 38:16
  [SPEAKER_00]: Oh, like there's nobody there.
• 38:17
  [SPEAKER_00]: There's nobody on board the boat.
• 38:19
  [SPEAKER_00]: I mean, I was like to these guys are grateful to be rescued.
• 38:22
  [SPEAKER_00]: But it's interesting.
• 38:23
  [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, there's nobody there to hand you like a nice warm towel like right I was supposed to go on towels after like putting my life on the line for my country I'm supposed to pull myself up on the boat
• 38:34
  [SPEAKER_01]: It is kind of interesting.
• 38:35
  [SPEAKER_01]: I wondered about that too.
• 38:36
  [SPEAKER_01]: It was like, did they just see this boat coming where they're like, is this ours?
• 38:38
  [SPEAKER_01]: I assume it's branded with American military stuff on it, but like, they probably cross their mind.
• 38:44
  [SPEAKER_01]: This could be Iran's, you know, drone boat or something.
• 38:46
  [SPEAKER_01]: But either way, so glad that they survived, that they were able to get rescued by this drone boat.
• 38:50
  [SPEAKER_01]: They came back home all as well.
• 38:53
  [SPEAKER_01]: And the US was like, well, Trump was not happy about this, obviously.
• 38:56
  [SPEAKER_01]: And so he said, they were going to respond.
• 38:57
  [SPEAKER_01]: The US responded in three waves of what the Pentagon called self-defense
• 39:03
  [SPEAKER_01]: different missile launch sites along the coast of Iran.
• 39:05
  [SPEAKER_01]: So, you know, even we are kind of firing a little bit as they continue to try to negotiate some sort of ceasefire.
• 39:10
  [SPEAKER_01]: I don't know what's going to happen there.
• 39:11
  [SPEAKER_00]: But at the time of reporting, it doesn't seem like Iran's going to retaliate again.
• 39:16
  [SPEAKER_00]: It's kind of that tit for tat thing.
• 39:18
  [SPEAKER_00]: So, both countries can feel like they sufficiently defended themselves.
• 39:22
  [SPEAKER_00]: So, hopefully this fragile ceasefire stays in place and maybe something
• 39:31
  [SPEAKER_01]: All right, let's pop into tune in, tune in.
• 39:36
  [SPEAKER_00]: No, no, that one didn't feel like it.
• 39:38
  [SPEAKER_00]: I don't like it, man.
• 39:39
  [SPEAKER_00]: That one didn't like it.
• 39:39
  [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, I'm going to stop.
• 39:40
  [SPEAKER_00]: I'm going to stop.
• 39:41
  [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.
• 39:42
  [SPEAKER_00]: Anyway, okay, all right, so let's talk about the Stanley Cup.
• 39:46
  [SPEAKER_00]: All right, so we're locked in a two, two battle and the Stanley Cup and the NHL right now.
• 39:50
  [SPEAKER_00]: You got the Las Vegas Golden Knights and the Carolina Hurricanes.
• 39:54
  [SPEAKER_00]: Go and add it, isn't it crazy?
• 39:56
  [SPEAKER_00]: Two teams from two places that are not cold at all.
• 40:00
  [SPEAKER_00]: having these wonderful professional hockey teams that one of them is about to win the Stanley Cup.
• 40:05
  [SPEAKER_00]: And every time we talk about it, I'd just like to talk about it again, Canada has not had a professional team win the Stanley Cup final since 1993.
• 40:14
  [SPEAKER_00]: And there's no chance of them doing it this year, hopefully they can break that streak potentially.
• 40:18
  [SPEAKER_00]: next year, but it's been, it's been a great series so far.
• 40:21
  [SPEAKER_00]: It's a best of seven series.
• 40:23
  [SPEAKER_00]: Game 5 is Thursday night at 7 p.m. Game 6 will be Sunday night and if, if game 7 is needed, it will be on Wednesday night.
• 40:29
  [SPEAKER_00]: So no later than Wednesday, one week from today, the day of recording, well, we know who the next Stanley Cup champions are.
• 40:36
  [SPEAKER_01]: Yep, and similar to that is the NBA finals in Kyle Lehman, these finals have been fun.
• 40:41
  [SPEAKER_01]: I've been watching these games, it seems like a lot of the countries tuning in, we've got a lot going on there.
• 40:47
  [SPEAKER_01]: So yeah, the next New York Nix, can you believe this, are leading the best of seven series two to one against the San Antonio spurs, a game for is tonight after we record this.
• 40:57
  [SPEAKER_01]: So by the time you listen to this, you will know
• 40:59
  [SPEAKER_01]: What the result of game four was for sure, and then game five is gonna be Saturday at 730 pm And if needed, game six will be Tuesday night.
• 41:07
  [SPEAKER_01]: I guess.
• 41:07
  [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, it'll be Tuesday night So by next week we'll have a better picture of what's going on.
• 41:11
  [SPEAKER_01]: Maybe somebody's already one the whole thing by then.
• 41:13
  [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah Yeah, Micah.
• 41:15
  [SPEAKER_01]: I've been having fun watching this final.
• 41:17
  [SPEAKER_01]: I don't know if you have and Seeing everybody at the next game in Madison Square Garden every celebrity you can think of and Donald Trump is there Which kind of cause a lot of controversy and well, yeah, and there's there's just been
• 41:29
  [SPEAKER_00]: there has been a lot of attention on these finals, but I mean, I think overall it's been very positive.
• 41:33
  [SPEAKER_00]: I think it's been positive for the NBA, just because the game of basketball itself and the NBA, the style of play has just become something that people don't want to tolerate as much, right?
• 41:45
  [SPEAKER_00]: So it's good to see, you know,
• 41:48
  [SPEAKER_00]: America like rally around basketball again and be interested in this and all the celebrities involved in this and seeing Charles Barkley working out on the board walk in San Antonio Yeah, that's that's that's always fun to because I mean you can just go and look and you can see Charles Barkley has made some some some funny comments over the years about San Antonio and the people of San Antonio.
• 42:08
  [SPEAKER_00]: That's all I'll say But he was just I just saw this video Charles Barkley just walking along a riverwalk and then he just like found a random chair and started doing like lifts with it
• 42:17
  [SPEAKER_00]: just out on his own, just getting a good workout in on the river walk.
• 42:20
  [SPEAKER_00]: And I was like, okay, cool.
• 42:22
  [SPEAKER_00]: Good for you, Charles.
• 42:24
  [SPEAKER_00]: But we have the UFC at the White House coming up.
• 42:27
  [SPEAKER_00]: Yes, I said that right.
• 42:28
  [SPEAKER_00]: You probably all heard about this, right?
• 42:30
  [SPEAKER_00]: But there really is a UFC octagon and arena currently sitting on the White House lawn and they're calling it UFC
• 42:42
  [SPEAKER_00]: But the main card is between Ilya Tupuria and Justin Geithj, and it can be watched on Paramount plus Connor.
• 42:51
  [SPEAKER_00]: We have talked a lot about the World Cup.
• 42:53
  [SPEAKER_00]: Just so you know, just so we're all on the same page.
• 42:56
  [SPEAKER_00]: The US of A is taking on Petta Guay.
• 43:00
  [SPEAKER_00]: Paraguay, this Friday at 8 p.m. Central Time, 9 p.m. Eastern Standard Time.
• 43:08
  [SPEAKER_00]: Connor and myself and some buddies are getting together on Friday night to watch the U.S. men soccer team take on Paraguay.
• 43:16
  [SPEAKER_00]: We're just hoping that we're able to start this tournament out on a good foot.
• 43:20
  [SPEAKER_00]: Go USA.
• 43:21
  [SPEAKER_00]: Anything else to add, Connor?
• 43:23
  [SPEAKER_01]: Just go USA dude.
• 43:24
  [SPEAKER_01]: I'm excited.
• 43:24
  [SPEAKER_01]: Let's see how far we can make it through this world cup.
• 43:27
  [SPEAKER_01]: Uh, continue to watch.
• 43:29
  [SPEAKER_01]: I like that you mentioned earlier, watch the players who stand out on their faith.
• 43:31
  [SPEAKER_01]: I'm sure there will be many moments where we get to watch these guys and interviews post game and whatnot.
• 43:36
  [SPEAKER_01]: Hopefully, there are a lot of them give glory to God.
• 43:38
  [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
• 43:39
  [SPEAKER_00]: I mean, and if you haven't watched the World Cup tune in, like people watch, right?
• 43:44
  [SPEAKER_00]: I mean, it's, it's just really interesting.
• 43:46
  [SPEAKER_00]: The passion.
• 43:48
  [SPEAKER_00]: that you get to see that these people have for their teams and for their countries.
• 43:53
  [SPEAKER_00]: It's a beautiful thing, like as long as it stays peaceful and stuff, it's a really beautiful thing.
• 43:58
  [SPEAKER_00]: And so if you have it tuned in and watch the World Cup yet, Connor and I are not every day soccer fans, okay?
• 44:05
  [SPEAKER_00]: But we love it.
• 44:06
  [SPEAKER_00]: Just give it a shot, guys.
• 44:07
  [SPEAKER_00]: It's great in entertainment.
• 44:10
  [SPEAKER_01]: It is.
• 44:10
  [SPEAKER_01]: It is.
• 44:11
  [SPEAKER_01]: And it will be on for the next month and a half.
• 44:12
  [SPEAKER_01]: What a summer.
• 44:13
  [SPEAKER_01]: It's going to be.
• 44:13
  [SPEAKER_01]: All right.
• 44:14
  [SPEAKER_01]: Thanks, guys.
• 44:15
  [SPEAKER_01]: I hope you'll have a great week.
• 44:17
  [SPEAKER_01]: Peace.
• 44:20
  [SPEAKER_01]: Thank you for joining us on this week's episode of Culture Brief, a Dinnison Forum podcast, all articles and videos mentioned in this episode will be linked in the show notes.
• 44:28
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• 44:35
  [SPEAKER_01]: All episodes are produced by Sound of a Rose.
• 44:37
  [SPEAKER_01]: For more information, you can visit SoundofaRose.com.
• 44:40
  [SPEAKER_01]: See you next Thursday.