Shows / Normal Men
Normal Men
Normal Men is four guys talking about the news. We want to help explain what's happening in the world around us and have some laughs along the way. And we think you might enjoy hearing what we have to say, as long as you don't mind a bit of normalcy in a world without much of it.
Episodes
- Normal Men
Episode 79 - Rational Exuberance
Election predictions, with a normal degree of confidence. Plus: pumpkins, cheesecake, Utah. George's North Carolina early-vote tracker Votecaster: George's…
- Normal Men
Episode 78 - A Particular Set Of Skills
College football acts normal. Ed reveals the Hobby Acquisition Algorithm. Also: some random memories and the semiconductor industry's toilet problem. Then…
- Normal Men
Episode 77 - Placeholder Topic
Grab bag (contains at least one Politics, probably an Econ). Canada has the water. We have some ideas about staffing. Airline reporter mentioned on the show…
- Normal Men
Episode 76 - Mods! Mods!
Ugarles joins us to talk meats, football, and SCOTUS. Alito has grievances, Roberts has neighbors, and retiring at the right time turns out to be part of the…
- Normal Men
Episode 75 - Hectoring Achilles
This is a normal amount to think about an Idaho Senate race, I don't know what you're talking about. Donate to Todd Achilles’s campaign.
- Normal Men
Episode 74 - Songs in the Key of Me
Musicology Duck returns with a unifying theory of Trump's inner playlist! Also: architecture in the DMV, midterm polling, and diesel prices. Follow Musicology…
- Normal Men
Episode 73 - Less Than Normal
Why every enterprise open-weight model is bad, digging holes in your yard, consumer AI and warfare, the Amodei Pause, capex math, and dayenu on the models…
- Normal Men
Episode 72 - Yr Beatdown Sommelier
This week: leatherwork. Ed tries on a harness, George does some shoe-leather reporting, and we kick around the ol' pigskin. Also: an old coinage, and a…
- Normal Men
Episode 71 - Thirst Traps
This week: the Lake Effect and CBC comes packing. The Men investigate pheromone-maxxing, chicken-tender nation, and (unfortunately) data centers. Links: Shiv…
- Normal Men
Episode 70 - Harps and Minds
This week: a brief exploration of comparative religion and the lost art of letter-writing. George teaches us about USMCA and les dangers du Québec. Ed thinks…
- Normal Men
Episode 69 - Take Sennett
the Ed-less Men tackle the state of the Senate states. Buckle up, it's the preseason!
- Normal Men
Episode 68 - I See Sea People
Down one normal man and up one provisionally normal historian: Bret Devereaux joins to discuss Christopher Nolan's Odyssey, and we make it about twenty minutes…
- Normal Men
Episode 67 - Getting Defensive
Mike Black joins the Men for a wide-ranging conversation about mostly the NDAA. Authorized and appropriate at all times.
- Normal Men
Episode 66 - Nolan, Diarrhea, And Antitrust
Improv episode after Glonzo ate our guest's internet connection. Three thousand words about lettuce, Nolan does Homer, Troy in Maine, and Taco Bell totally…
- Normal Men
Episode 65 - Deliberative Bodies
Lindsey Graham and the McConnell succession watch. Brazil's World Cup exit gets blamed on Protestantism. Count Binface takes the fight to Clacton. Michigan's…
- Normal Men
Episode 64 - Happy Birthday to US!
Some futbol, moderate arborism, the fast road to Argentina, and Eurovision. 250 years and Normal as ever. Show notes: Mexico 2–3 England at the Azteca (match…
- Normal Men
Episode 63 - Thermal Shock Doctrine
The normal men get hot and bothered, fix what's wrong with NYC politics, are gone to look for America, and contemplate an unwise conflict that expects too much…
- Normal Men
Episode 62 - Thinking Like Bad People
Come take a mind-safari with us to Beirut, Manchester, and West Palm Beach. Plus: tilling the GOP 2028 field way too early.
- Normal Men
Episode 61 - Transatlantischism
A defence of the pastoral lifestyle and also the barbacoan lifestyle. Also: your gut health and soda, thunder v swamp, grudgingly handing it to the Knicks, and…
- Normal Men
Episode 60 - Smoothgroins, Smoothbrains
Unfortunately additional Maine. Then: a bit of fish and the Intercept Cinematic Universe.
- Normal Men
Episode 59 - The TeXrrible SecreXt of SpaceX
A Very Special SpaceX Episode with Quantian (@quantian) and ESGHound (@esghound)! Come for the S-1, stay for the physics. Contains not even homeopathic levels…
- Normal Men
Episode 58 - The Pope Should Wear Air Monarchs
Lots of tech, somewhat more Pope than usual, and a well-conceived 2028 Presidential Democratic contender tier list that will never embarrass any of us in any…
- Normal Men
Episode 57 - Bracketology
Patrick Wyman joins the Normal Men to talk dirty soda, apartment deposits we definitely did not get back, the only bracket that matters, 1619 and its…
- Normal Men
Episode 56 - Bottom Feeders
The Men get chippy, Fed up, car talk, Giuliani hantavirus and other pathogens, Graham crackers and some states that are probably in the Midwest, and the AI…
- Normal Men
Episode 55 - Cracking Spreads
Panic! at the WHCD, several niche beverages, American airports, and strait cash homie.
- Normal Men
Episode 54 - Carpe Baculum
Iran oil futures, market madness, Spencer Pratt for some reason, ivermectin and psilocybin, spammers and affinity scams, and hyping the Mythos.
- Normal Men
Episode 53 - JD and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Week
Vance screws up at everything, Orbán eighty-sixed in Hungary, Iran negotiations collapse and the world stays oil-thirsty, Swalwell sex monsters and gets…
- Normal Men
Episode 52 - It’s From Massachusetts, Actually
Yakuza discourse, the terrible secret of space, BTS on Hot Ones, Bondi beached, careerists vs maniacs, and who's next for Attorney General.
- Normal Men
Episode 51 - C.R.E.A.M.: Chaos Ruins Ed’s Audio Machine ft. Aaron Cohen
Aaron Cohen of Gracie's Ice Cream (@unlikelywords.bsky.social) has a wicked scoop for the Men. George doesn't deliver, Lowtax goes out of his gourd, Ed's…
- Normal Men
Episode 50 - Strait Expectations
Ed runs some numbers, George eyeballs the urbs, the Strait gets bent, Lowtax socializes, and Propter gets sloppy.
- Normal Men
Episode 49 - No Apologies For The Dutch ft. Aaron Kleinman
Episode 49: Texas primaries, North Carolina's political shake-ups, oil prices and the Strait of Hormuz, and EV battery drama with very special guest Aaron…
- Normal Men
Episode 48 - We Aren’t That Kind Of Norwegians ft. Theophite
Anthropic vs DoD, Iran strikes, Graham Platner's podcast tour, and the gnome bag. Featuring the return of Theophite to talk shrimp. Chapters: 0:00 Intro…
- Normal Men
Episode 47 - Domestication and its Discontents
Propter's smart home journey goes sideways. Dogs: better evolved than us? The AI chip crisis hits gaming. The Jones Act and the art of the subsidy. Iran, oil…
- Normal Men
Episode 46 - Only One Mention of Cheese
Just desserts, DHS shutdown and caucus integrity, the future of B2B and internal tooling, and the Yakuza games. Chapters: 0:00 Yakuza & Video Game Franchises…
- Normal Men
Episode 45 - We Are All Made of Starmusk
Normal Astrophysicist Mike Boylan-Kolchin (@mbkplus.bsky.social) joins us to talk about the terrible secret of space and the Lone Star State. Also: black…
- Normal Men
Episode 44 - Coffee, Cigarette, Croissant ft. skelly
Normal Woman skelly (@iid.bsky.social) joins us from France to talk about- well, the plan was to talk about the American expat experience in Europe during…
- Normal Men
Episode 43 - (Game) Mastering the Apocalypse ft. Theophite
Speculative fiction, moderation at scale, radicalization at scale, parenting at low-scale, and turophile priorities with Theophite. Chapters: 0:00 Intro &…
- Normal Men
Episode 42 - A Bit Crap, Really
On dogs, football, Blorth Carolina, the spirit of the cities, Chipotle, why you should care about Claude Code, adventures in transatlanticism, and the Reverend…
- Normal Men
Episode 41 - True Crime ft. Normal Wives
Ms. Malone and Ms. Speedrun-Enjoyer stop by to explain the appeal of murder. Also, we talk about the Horrors foreign and domestic. Chapters: 0:00 Intro & Guest…
- Normal Men
Episode 40 - Model Failstates
The Normal Men talk college football, Venezuelan stabs, and what genAI won't do for you. Chapters: 0:00 Woodworking & Ice Bath Project 4:38 Gaming…
- Normal Men
Episode 39 - Malebag ft. golikehellmachine
Goodbye to 2025! The Normal Men talk food, travel, optimism, and dating. Chapters: 0:00 Intro and Holiday Recap 9:32 Cookbook and Rice Cooker Recommendations…
- Normal Men
Episode 38 - ICE, Wind, Jail ft. Mark Fleming of National Immigrant Justice Center
The Normal Men dive into appellate immigration strategy and the Battle of Chicago with Mark Fleming of National Immigrant Justice Center. Also, stroads and the…
- Normal Men
Episode 37 - Rated NY-17 ft. Mike Sacks
We interview Mike Sacks, who is running for Congress in NY-17; people are doing more mass shootings; Propter sounds robotic; and what is truth, really? Mike…
- Normal Men
Episode 36 - Blue Devils and the Deep Red Sea
Infant diction, Noted Underdogs Duke, birthright citizenship, c-c-c-cocaine, coffee: black. Norwegian outreach…
- Normal Men
Episode 35 - Light, Sweet, Crude
The majesty and the mystery of Lane Kiffin, what on earth is up with oil, war crimes in your war crimes, and optimism in Tennessee. Chapters: 0:00 The Boston…
- Normal Men
Episode 34 - Mail Gobblin’ ft. golikehellmachine
Talking turkey, taking questions, slandering yams, and giving thanks with distinguished alumnus golikehellmachine. Chapters: 0:00 Intro & Blue Sky Food…
- Normal Men
Episode 33 - Straight to Jael ft. Jael Holzman
Green energy and touring finances with Jael Holzman of Heatmap and Ekko Astral (@jael.bsky.social), the Epstein Files, and Peak Trump. listen to Horse Glue by…
- Normal Men
Episode 32 - Brain Cramps ft. Haydon
Normal Man Haydon (@haydonmp.bsky.social) joins us to talk about strokes and those who may have had them! In addition to that premortem, shutdown perimortem…
- Normal Men
Episode 31 - No Jeep Til Brooklyn
Truck Talk returns with harsh words for Stellantis, SNAP impact discussion (human edition not macro edition), and just-in-time election previews (at 43:50)…
- Normal Men
Episode 30 - Planned Platnerhood ft. Liz Sepper
Prof. Liz Sepper joins us to talk state of play on reproductive rights (remember those?), we do the needful on Graham Platner, and the Trump Administration…
- Normal Men
Episode 29 - Gam-Gam Got Hands ft. Don Moynihan
The incomparable Don Moynihan (@donmoyn.bsky.social) joins us to talk administrative burden, No Kings gets people in the streets, and there are hijinks in…
- Normal Men
Episode 28 - George Takes Portugal
On the joys of travel, Chinese tariffs and mineral access, and appropriate appropriations. Chapters: 0:00 Portugal: Food, Bread & Fashion Trends 10:40 Trump's…
- Normal Men
Episode 27 - Frog in the Streets and a Freak in the Sheets
A Normal Man returns to take us through the unpleasantness in Portland, we break down the shutdown, and sans George the video game freaks get digital…
- Normal Men
Episode 26 - Feckless v Flaccid
With special guest Eva Cantor (@machete.gay on Bluesky). George talks us through some real economic growth, Propter breaks down pre-snap federal shutdown…
- Normal Men
Episode 25: Arm the Moderate Kimmellites
Lowtax gives us a report on South Florida and the Very Specific Type of Guy (hint: Jeremy Shockey jersey) that lives there now (0:00-3:15). This week’s main…
- Normal Men
Episode 24 : Cheerwine, Cheers, Whines
Chapters: 0:00 Cheerwine & Boston Baked Beans 9:34 Normal Men Intro & News Preview 11:34 Charlie Kirk Assassination Discussion 22:09 Federal Reserve: Lisa Cook…
- Normal Men
Episode 23: Super Sicario
The Normal Men are back and covering it all this week. To start (0:00-17:30) we check in on the fighting game community before Soda Chat and learnings about…
- Normal Men
Episode 22: Talkin’ ’Bout The Noles
Join the Normal Men for a break in the midst of Labor Day weekend for some college football chat and a victory lap celebrating Lowtax’s beloved Florida State…
- Normal Men
Episode 21: Duck Duck ICE ft. Musicology Duck
Kick back with your heavily caffeinated beverage of choice as the boys dive into the world of canned stimulants (0:00 to 20:00). This week we’ve got Musicology…
- Normal Men
Episode 20: The Last Great American Occupation ft. Lucy
The Men start this week talking about our fears, including heights, creepy-crawlies, and amoebas (from 0:00-5:40). Then: we’re going to Swift School this week…