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00:00:01
release of Mad Men on HBO. The00:00:03
production crew is visible in the corner00:00:06
as they hold a a vomit hose. They00:00:08
apparently forgot to edit them out.00:00:10
Here's a little pop quiz to uh start00:00:12
things off. It's a simple yes or no00:00:13
question. Can you melt an egg? Is it00:00:16
possible to put an egg in a microwave,00:00:19
heat it up, and melt it? It's not a00:00:21
trick question. I'm not talking about00:00:23
chocolate eggs or anything like that.00:00:24
I'm simply asking whether you can melt00:00:26
an egg. Have you ever been cooking00:00:28
scrambled eggs and looked down at the00:00:29
pan and said, "Oh, shoot. I melted it."00:00:32
Now, unless you're an alien or a small00:00:34
child, the answer is probably pretty00:00:36
obvious to you. And for a long time,00:00:38
it's been obvious to search engines,00:00:40
too. In the late 1990s, if you needed00:00:42
help with this question for some reason,00:00:44
you could head over to Ask Jeeves or00:00:46
Yahoo, the primitive search engines that00:00:48
for all intents and purposes are now00:00:50
defunct. And in response, these search00:00:52
engines would provide a bunch of links00:00:54
about eggs and proteins and chemical00:00:56
reactions and so on. And you'll be able00:00:57
to figure out based on this information00:00:59
that no, you cannot melt an egg. Well,00:01:02
here's the bad news. More than two00:01:04
decades after the heyday of Yahoo and00:01:06
Ask Jeieves, the biggest search engine00:01:08
in the world suddenly began struggling00:01:11
with this basic question. In 2023, a00:01:14
programmer named Tyler uh Galo was00:01:17
trying to test Google's newly updated AI00:01:19
search features. So, he asked Google,00:01:22
"Can you melt eggs?" And this was the00:01:25
result. We'll put it up on the screen.00:01:28
As you can see, it reads, "Yes, an egg00:01:30
can be melted. The most common way to00:01:32
melt an egg is to heat it using a stove00:01:34
or microwave."00:01:36
That's a response from Google's00:01:38
artificial intelligence at the very top00:01:39
of the search results page. It's an00:01:41
obviously false answer presented as fact00:01:43
with extreme certainty. And then when00:01:46
Tyler went looking for an explanation00:01:47
for how Google could make such a00:01:49
mistake, he quickly figured out what had00:01:51
happened. So take a look at this. Uh it00:01:54
turns out that Google was relying on00:01:57
information from Quora, which is a00:01:59
website where random people can ask00:02:02
questions and receive answers, which00:02:04
also come from random people. And most00:02:06
of Kora now is overrun with spam and00:02:08
trolls and bots and all that like00:02:10
everywhere else on the internet these00:02:11
days. So it's not exactly a reliable00:02:13
source. On top of that, Quora has its00:02:15
own AI chatbot which often asks and00:02:17
answers its own questions in order to00:02:19
attract attention from Google searches.00:02:21
If someone arrives at Quora from because00:02:22
of a Google search, then Quora makes00:02:24
more money in ad revenue. So that's why00:02:26
they want to do that. That's what00:02:27
happened in this case. Quora's AI00:02:31
asked itself the question, can you melt00:02:34
eggs? Because Quora is trying to flood00:02:36
the zone with random questions that will00:02:38
appear on Google searches. And then00:02:40
Quora's AI gave the wrong answer to its00:02:43
own question,00:02:44
probably because it misinterpreted a00:02:46
joke it found somewhere or or something.00:02:49
And then in turn, Google put that answer00:02:51
at the top of their results page. Now,00:02:53
Google eventually patched this00:02:55
particular issue, so it will no longer00:02:56
tell people that eggs can be melted. So,00:02:59
the crisis of people attempting to make00:03:00
melted eggs for breakfast has been00:03:02
solved for now. But the broader problem00:03:05
remains the same. If you run a Google00:03:06
search today about anything,00:03:10
there's a very good chance you'll00:03:11
receive incorrect information or00:03:13
sometimes sociopathic information uh00:03:17
responses. Very and and this will happen00:03:19
very high up on the search page. And00:03:21
illustrate that one more time. Uh00:03:23
somebody apparently asked Google the00:03:26
question, I am Abraham Lincoln in 1865.00:03:29
Should I attend tonight's play at Ford's00:03:31
Theater? This is a question somebody00:03:34
thought to ask. Now, admittedly, this00:03:35
may be a difficult question for an AI to00:03:37
answer. On the one hand, you don't want00:03:39
Lincoln to get shot because he's the00:03:40
president and because murder is wrong.00:03:43
On the other hand, you also don't want00:03:44
to mess with the timeline and create a00:03:46
paradox that destroys the world or00:03:47
something. So, if a time traveler asks00:03:50
this question, you know, it's not clear00:03:52
how you should respond. Maybe you should00:03:54
just ignore the question entirely if you00:03:56
don't want to tip off the time traveler00:03:57
that an assassination will indeed take00:03:59
place. But Google doesn't appear to00:04:02
struggle with this dilemma. Instead, it00:04:03
simply states that Lincoln's00:04:04
assassination was a significant00:04:06
historical event. And therefore, Google00:04:07
says you should enjoy the show because00:04:10
it'll be a chance for you to relax00:04:12
before the events of the evening unfold,00:04:16
which is certainly one way to describe,00:04:17
you know, getting shot in the head. In00:04:19
other words, it's kind of the worst00:04:20
possible answer. If you're a time00:04:22
traveler, you've been tipped off that00:04:23
you're about to get shot and you won't00:04:25
go. And if you're not a time traveler00:04:27
and you're just messing around with00:04:28
Google, then you'll come away with the00:04:29
distinct impression that the AI is a00:04:31
psychopath. But the really striking00:04:33
element of this, of course, is that00:04:35
Google is is one of the biggest00:04:37
companies in the world. And yet their00:04:38
core product, which is their search00:04:41
engine, is now marketkedly worse than00:04:44
the search engines of the 1990s. It00:04:47
delivers false and absurd information00:04:49
with absolute confidence. And on top of00:04:52
that, it buries you with sponsored00:04:54
listings. It bombards you with content00:04:57
from Quora and Reddit which are some of00:04:59
the least reliable sources of00:05:00
information that you can possibly find00:05:03
and everyone who's used who has used00:05:05
Google which is everyone has noticed00:05:08
this and that's why a lot of people00:05:10
don't use Google anymore. It's basically00:05:12
unusable now. Now, you could debate the00:05:14
reasons for the decline in its quality,00:05:16
but any explanation for this decline in00:05:18
quality has to grapple with the fact00:05:20
that the company is now more profitable00:05:22
than it's ever been.00:05:24
On paper, it's succeeding. You know, I00:05:27
I've seen some suggestions that Google's00:05:29
actually intentionally sabotaged its own00:05:31
product because they want people to00:05:33
click many different results, realize00:05:36
the results aren't good, and then come00:05:38
back to Google to continue searching.00:05:39
So, and in turn, that translates into00:05:41
more revenue for Google. and for its00:05:43
sponsored website. So there's a an00:05:45
incentive to to provide a worse service00:05:49
and that seems plausible. Uh and in fact00:05:51
there's some reporting to back that up.00:05:53
This is called this is a widespread00:05:54
problem. It's called the rot economy00:05:56
where an inferior product is actually00:05:59
more profitable than a superior one00:06:01
because people don't have enough viable00:06:03
alternative. So they get stuck in a doom00:06:04
loop with bad products which in turn00:06:07
pumps more and more money into these bad00:06:09
products. And you see this with00:06:11
everything from smartphones to kitchen00:06:13
appliances. The products are made to00:06:14
break. They are made to malfunction.00:06:17
They are made to not last because then00:06:19
you'll have to go and buy more. But the00:06:22
precise explanation for Google's00:06:23
collapse into total dysfunction doesn't00:06:26
really matter. I mean, this is just one00:06:29
company, even if it's an extremely large00:06:30
and profitable one. What matters, the00:06:33
really big question is why every other00:06:36
service that we use in our day-to-day00:06:38
lives almost without exception00:06:42
is now suffering from the same kind of00:06:44
dysfunction. Why are the transportation00:06:47
industry, the clothing industry, the00:06:49
entertainment industry, the appliance00:06:50
industry, the construction industry,00:06:53
etc. all lowering their standards in00:06:56
ways that are very easy to observe? And00:06:59
why are they all doing it at the same00:07:00
time?00:07:02
Why is everything getting worse now?00:07:05
Everyone has noticed this, you know,00:07:08
that everything sucks now. Everything is00:07:10
worse. And we all kind of wonder whether00:07:13
it's just our own imagination.00:07:15
Are we looking back on the past with00:07:17
rosecolored glasses?00:07:19
Well, the answer is no. It is not in our00:07:22
imagination. This is real. This is00:07:24
happening. You aren't crazy. You aren't00:07:26
being nostalgic. It is actually true00:07:29
that the quality of almost everything is00:07:32
marketkedly worse. Now, now this is a00:07:35
difficult topic to discuss because it's00:07:37
so broad and every industry of course is00:07:39
different, but it's worth examining00:07:41
anyway to see if we can identify some00:07:43
common threads that might be causing the00:07:45
broader slide and that will allow us00:07:47
later on to drill down on the specific00:07:49
industries with more in-depth00:07:50
investigations which we plan to do. But00:07:53
let's start with this kind of overview.00:07:55
So let's um we talked about search00:07:57
engines, very modern innovation and even00:08:00
with something that's very modern uh00:08:03
that didn't even exist, you know, more00:08:05
than 25, 30 years ago, you've seen this00:08:08
decline. But what about stuff that's00:08:10
existed, you know, forever? Housing, for00:08:13
example.00:08:14
You know, uh, everyone knows that00:08:16
housing is not affordable in part00:08:18
because of foreign migration and also00:08:19
because large institutions are buying up00:08:21
a lot of homes and converting them into00:08:23
rentals and that sort of thing. But00:08:25
what's not widely discussed, at least to00:08:26
my knowledge, is why houses themselves00:08:29
have become, although they're more00:08:30
expensive, cheaper looking and less00:08:33
desirable and durable over the years.00:08:37
The architecture is worse, the buildings00:08:39
are uglier, the materials are lower00:08:41
quality.00:08:43
uh it it's it's constructed more shabily00:08:47
like Google the quality of houses has00:08:49
declined without any explanation00:08:53
but if you dig into data from the Bureau00:08:55
of Labor Statistics you begin to to get00:08:58
a sense of what's going on so from 202000:08:59
to 2024 the cost of building materials00:09:02
has increased by 38%. And for comparison00:09:06
from 2016 to 2020 the price of building00:09:08
materials increased by only 10%. So this00:09:10
is a massive jump relatively speaking00:09:13
and this has all happened you know00:09:15
relatively suddenly overall since 198000:09:17
census data suggests that new homes cost00:09:19
five times as much to build. That's00:09:22
putting a lot of pressure on builders to00:09:24
find compromises and they're finding00:09:26
them. As Business Insider reported,00:09:28
quote, "Builders and architects have00:09:30
almost no choice but to streamline or00:09:32
opt for cheaper design elements. Homes00:09:34
built 50 or 100 years ago were primarily00:09:36
brick or wood. Highquality stuff that00:09:38
offers a comforting, timeless appeal.00:09:41
Those materials are used more sparingly00:09:43
nowadays. Just 25% of new home exteriors00:09:46
uh last year were made of wood or brick00:09:48
compared with 70% of homes in 1980.00:09:51
Inside the home, nice touches like00:09:53
ceramic tile, built-in shelving, and00:09:55
other quality finishes have uh pretty00:09:58
much disappeared from modest homes. And00:10:01
this is why, by the way, a lot of people00:10:02
prefer older homes. It's why I prefer00:10:04
older homes because they're much more00:10:07
beautiful. They're much more durable.00:10:09
They're made with brick and wood. And00:10:12
and when you go inside, you find these00:10:14
features like they just talked about,00:10:16
built-in shelving, crown molding, like00:10:18
things like that that you just don't00:10:19
find in modern homes.00:10:22
And there are several reasons why00:10:24
materials have become more expensive,00:10:26
including including trade wars, the fact00:10:27
that uh too many young people are are00:10:30
are you know going to going to uh going00:10:32
to college instead of learning the00:10:33
trades, that sort of thing. At the same00:10:36
time, the cost of building materials00:10:38
doesn't necessarily explain why so many00:10:41
homes are uninspired and cookie cutter.00:10:44
You drive through so many neighborhoods00:10:46
say and every house is ugly and ugly in00:10:49
the same way. So, what explains that00:10:51
development? Well, it turns out that in00:10:53
recent years, homes have been built by00:10:55
an increasingly small number of home00:10:57
builders. If you watched our episode on00:10:58
fast food last week where we talked00:11:00
about uh, you know, the fact that all00:11:02
pizza tastes the same now, and that's a00:11:04
real thing. It's because virtually all00:11:05
of the cheese comes from the same00:11:07
supplier. And and so this is basically00:11:10
the same phenomenon. In 2022, the00:11:13
biggest 100 home builders in the country00:11:15
sold half. Yes, 50% of all new single00:11:19
family homes in the country. Now, 2000:11:22
years ago, to put that in perspective,00:11:23
the top 100 home builders only sold00:11:25
onethird of all new uh single family00:11:27
homes. What's happened is that in the00:11:29
past decade or so, two homebuilders in00:11:31
particular called uh uh Dr. Horton and00:11:34
Lenar have become dominant. And when you00:11:37
have two dominant homebuilders,00:11:40
everything's going to start to look the00:11:42
same, which is exactly what happens.00:11:44
We'll put some Dr. Horton subdivisions00:11:47
on the screen now to give you an idea of00:11:48
what they look like. It's basically one00:11:50
house repeated dozens of times, you00:11:53
know, like they all popped out of a a 3D00:11:55
printer, but it's efficient and it's a00:11:59
style of construction that's now more00:12:00
common than it's ever been in the00:12:02
history of this country. you know, your00:12:04
dad might like to say, uh, well, they00:12:07
don't make them like they used to. And00:12:09
when it comes to homes and basically00:12:12
everything else, he's right. I mean,00:12:15
they don't. They just don't. The same00:12:17
principle applies to clothing. Uh,00:12:20
foreign lowcost fashion retailers,00:12:23
including like H& H&M, Zara, have00:12:26
increased their market share in the00:12:28
United States by more than three times00:12:30
in just the past four years. And they've00:12:33
done so by sourcing cheaper fabric,00:12:35
which accounts for more than 60% of the00:12:38
cost of most items of clothing with00:12:39
labor making up the rest. And when you00:12:41
source cheaper fabric, very often you're00:12:43
turning to countries that have even00:12:44
worse quality control than China. This00:12:47
is from a report by NBC. Quote, 27% of00:12:50
textile and apparel professionals00:12:52
reported that ensuring consistent00:12:53
quality was difficult or very difficult00:12:56
over the past year, up from 23% in 2024.00:12:59
China is already the largest exporter of00:13:00
apparel to the United States. And00:13:02
factory inspections found the failure00:13:04
rate or share of textile and apparel00:13:06
products with too many defects for00:13:07
market rose to 13.7% last year from00:13:11
12.7% in 2023. As many apparel brands00:13:14
move more production out of China to00:13:16
reduce their labor costs and exposure to00:13:18
tariffs, they're gravitating toward00:13:20
countries with even higher failure00:13:21
rates. India's is 21.2%, Cambodia's is00:13:25
16.6% and Indonesia's is 14.2%. 2%.00:13:30
Now again, it's the same trend where00:13:33
everything is getting noticeably,00:13:36
measurably worse piece by piece.00:13:39
Clothing is uglier, cheaper, lower00:13:42
quality than it used to be. I mean, try00:13:45
to find denim jeans that are actually00:13:47
denim jeans these days. It's not easy to00:13:50
do because most jeans are made with a00:13:52
synthetic material like spandex. Most00:13:55
jeans you put them on and they feel00:13:57
cheap and flimsy because they are. And00:14:00
whereas, you know, it used to be you buy00:14:02
a pair of jeans00:14:04
and it used to be you could buy them,00:14:05
you could buy a pair of jeans from like00:14:06
Walmart and as long as you didn't get00:14:09
fat, they would last you for 20 years.00:14:12
Well, clothes these days not going to00:14:14
last you that long or anything close to.00:14:17
Same kind of thing is happening with air00:14:18
travel. Yesterday we talked about how00:14:19
air traffic controllers are becoming00:14:21
more unhinged and dangerous. But pretty00:14:23
much every aspect of the aviation00:14:24
industry is suffering as well. Uh00:14:27
William McGee, a senior fellow at the00:14:29
American Economic Liberties Project,00:14:31
spoke to a magazine called Popular00:14:32
Science about the problem of legroom on00:14:34
most commercial airplanes. Quote, McGee00:14:36
has kept tabs on shifting seat sizes00:14:38
over the past two decades and says that00:14:40
they are indeed getting more cramped.00:14:41
According to his analysis, American,00:14:43
Delta, Southwest, and United have each00:14:45
lost between 2 and 5 in of legroom and00:14:48
around 2 in of seat width since the00:14:50
1980s. The average leg room on those00:14:52
carriers today is 31 in, down from 35 in00:14:55
in the late 20th century. There's even00:14:58
less room, just 28 in, on budget00:15:00
airlines like Spirit. Uh, McGee notes,00:15:03
this shrinking has occurred gradually00:15:04
over the years, a process he compares to00:15:05
the metaphor of a frog slowly boiling in00:15:08
water. As of 2022, less than half of US00:15:10
airline passengers can reasonably fit in00:15:13
economy seats. So, I'll say say that00:15:15
again. Less than half of airline00:15:20
passengers can fit in the seats, which00:15:23
have lost about 2 in of seat width and 500:15:25
in of legroom since the 1980s. Now, you00:15:27
might point out that more airline00:15:29
passengers are overweight these days and00:15:31
um you know, so they bear some of the00:15:33
responsibility here for getting so fat00:15:35
and you'd be correct in that assumption.00:15:36
and airline seats are getting smaller as00:15:39
airline passengers get larger, which00:15:41
makes for an unfortunate combination.00:15:43
But even if you're not overweight, this00:15:45
data point is still a big problem00:15:46
because it means that you're probably00:15:48
going to be jammed next to someone who's00:15:50
spilling out of their seat and onto00:15:51
yours. So you can either you can either00:15:53
spend double for a better seat or you00:15:56
can just grin and bear it. Those are00:15:58
your options. Now granted, if you ask00:16:01
most Americans to make this choice00:16:02
between paying more and spending the00:16:05
seat flight seated next to a fat guy00:16:07
with his like fat rolls resting on your00:16:10
shoulder, well, they're going to00:16:11
voluntarily choose the cheaper fair.00:16:14
Same reason people fly on planes at 6:0000:16:16
a.m. They want to cut their00:16:17
transportation costs as much as00:16:18
possible. But air travel has decayed in00:16:22
many other ways as well, which no one00:16:24
can avoid no matter how much money00:16:26
they're able to spend. Uh, the Boston00:16:28
Globe just reported that airline fees00:16:30
reached an all-time high in 2024 for00:16:32
everything from baggage fees to priority00:16:33
boarding and seat selection. Meanwhile,00:16:36
according to a researcher at Harvard,00:16:37
flight delays lasting 3 hours or longer00:16:39
are now four times more common than they00:16:41
were 30 years ago. And on top of that,00:16:43
airlines are going out of the way to00:16:45
hide data on flight delays. quote,00:16:47
"Airlines are trying to hide the delays00:16:49
by padding the flight times, adding on00:16:51
average 20 extra minutes to schedule.00:16:53
So, a flight that hasn't gotten any00:16:55
faster still counts as on time." Thus,00:16:58
on paper, the on-time performance00:16:59
metrics have improved since 1987, even00:17:02
as actual travel times have gotten00:17:04
longer.00:17:06
Now, realizing all this, many people00:17:07
have decided to drive00:17:10
instead of fly uh if at all possible,00:17:12
which makes sense. But the problem is00:17:15
that driving has also become much more00:17:18
of a hassle than it used to be. It's00:17:20
also become much more dangerous. You're00:17:22
far more likely to be killed by a truck00:17:23
driver than ever before thanks to an00:17:25
enormous number of foreigners who now00:17:26
hold commercial driver's license. Number00:17:28
of people who died in crashes involving00:17:30
large trucks was fully 38% higher in00:17:32
2023 than it was in 2009. That's00:17:35
according to data from the Department of00:17:37
Transportation. And uh but even if00:17:39
you're not killed by a foreign trucker00:17:40
on the road, you're going to have to00:17:41
contend with much worse drivers and much00:17:44
worse traffic conditions than ever00:17:46
before. This again is measurable. This00:17:49
is from a recent report in Axio citing00:17:51
research from Texas A&M University.00:17:53
Quote, "The average US car commuter is00:17:55
spending at a record 63 hours annually00:17:58
stuck in traffic amid changes in when00:18:00
and why we drive. That's the most since00:18:02
1982 when the data set began began. Uh00:18:05
among uh uh metros with at least 500,00000:18:08
residents, the yearly delay per auto00:18:11
commuter grew notably between 2019 and00:18:13
2024 in cities like San Francisco plus00:18:16
31 hours, San Diego plus 24 and Miami00:18:19
plus 19.00:18:21
So people are stuck in traffic for00:18:23
longer. The traffic is worse.00:18:25
Another thing a lot of people have00:18:26
noticed and you wonder is am I just00:18:29
imagining this? Has it always been this00:18:30
way? Uh, no. It hasn't always been this00:18:32
way, but it is now. Because of more00:18:34
remote worker jobs and gig workers,00:18:36
roads are are more congested during00:18:38
midday than they've ever been. Thursday00:18:40
is now the worst day of the week for00:18:43
driving in terms of congestion related00:18:45
delays. It used to be Friday. The00:18:47
average length of a one-way commute is00:18:48
now 27 minutes, which is the longest00:18:50
it's ever been in the history of the00:18:52
United States. And if you want to00:18:54
minimize the stress by calling an Uber00:18:56
or a Lift, that's going to cost you more00:18:58
than ever as well. The median price for00:18:59
a ride on those apps increased by more00:19:01
than 7% in 2024 alone to $16. So half of00:19:04
the rides on these platforms now cost00:19:06
$16 or more. And in return, you'll get a00:19:08
ride in a janky car with very few legal00:19:10
protections if you're in an accident.00:19:12
For the most part, it's extremely00:19:13
difficult to actually sue Uber or Lyft00:19:15
if something goes wrong on your ride00:19:17
because they can just blame the driver.00:19:18
They'll use the middleman defense. And00:19:20
unless they were negligent in hiring the00:19:22
driver by failing to determine whether00:19:23
he had a criminal record or something00:19:24
like that, they probably won't have to00:19:26
pay you anything. And in turn, that00:19:28
means you won't get anything since the00:19:30
driver is virtually guaranteed to be00:19:31
broke. And all of this is to say nothing00:19:33
of the condition of the roads00:19:34
themselves, many of which are in00:19:35
confusingly constant states of both00:19:38
disrepair and being repaired.00:19:40
Construction crews will work on the same00:19:42
stretch of highway indefinitely, it00:19:43
seems, while the roads are never00:19:45
actually fixed. We've all noticed that,00:19:47
too. And for good measure, if you decide00:19:49
you're not going to fly and you're not00:19:50
going to drive, you're going to walk,00:19:52
well, you should know that pedestrian00:19:54
deaths in the in auto accidents are up00:19:56
by 48% compared to a decade ago. And in00:19:58
case that wasn't enough, the number of00:20:00
fatal dog attacks in this country has00:20:01
more than doubled in the past decade.00:20:03
100 people were mauled to death in 202200:20:04
alone, compared to 48 in 2019. Violent00:20:08
attacks by dogs in general have also00:20:09
increased exponentially. And in part,00:20:12
although no one wants to say it, that's00:20:13
due to the large number of foreign00:20:15
nationals who now live in this country.00:20:17
They come from countries like Mexico00:20:19
where it's common to, you know, adopt00:20:22
dangerous dogs and just let let them00:20:24
just kind of roam on the street or on00:20:25
the rooftops and people die or get00:20:28
mauled as a result. In fact, perhaps the00:20:29
number one most reliable indicator that00:20:32
you live in a third world country is if00:20:34
you have to actually worry about getting00:20:36
mowled to death by an animal. One of the00:20:38
many advantages of living in a first00:20:39
world country is that such a thing00:20:41
basically never happens. The fact that00:20:44
it's happening more and more often in00:20:45
our first world country is uh you know00:20:48
an indicator that things are not going00:20:49
particularly well. Now at this point I'm00:20:52
genuinely cur curious if anyone00:20:54
listening to this podcast can name any00:20:56
area of day-to-day life any area at all00:21:00
where things have actually improved in00:21:03
recent years. I mean, politics is a00:21:05
clown show in terms of both the quality00:21:07
of our politicians like Jasmine00:21:08
Crockett, just one example, and the00:21:11
quality of some of the most prominent00:21:12
commentators. Streaming services are00:21:14
promoting slop at a higher rate than00:21:16
ever, even as their prices increase.00:21:17
Disney Plus by itself is something like00:21:20
$200 a year now, unless you're fine with00:21:22
constant ads. In most cases, the prices00:21:25
have gone up along with the number of00:21:28
ads that you're forced to watch. HBO Max00:21:31
is up to $220 a year or so. a high price00:21:34
by any measure. And in return, you'll00:21:36
get scenes like this one. Uh here it is00:21:39
on the screen. That's a that's a screen00:21:40
grab you may have seen from the new 4K00:21:43
release of Madmen on HBO um that you pay00:21:47
$220 to uh you know get get access to a00:21:51
month. The production crew is visible in00:21:54
the corner00:21:56
dur as as as they hold a a vomit hose.00:22:00
They apparently forgot to edit them out.00:22:02
And the bloopers don't end there. In the00:22:03
next season, HBO forgot to edit out edit00:22:05
out various signs in the background,00:22:07
which were removed in post-production in00:22:08
the original version of the show. Uh,00:22:11
which you can see, for example, as you00:22:13
can see, there's a there's a sign00:22:14
advertising the best tacos in Los00:22:16
Angeles, which is odd since Mad Men is00:22:18
set in Manhattan. And then there's um00:22:21
this one. It's some kind of00:22:23
advertisement for SIM cards, which of00:22:25
course, you know, were all the rage in00:22:27
the 1960s. All this to say, quality00:22:29
control is out the window. To the extent00:22:31
that you get any worthwhile new00:22:33
programming or streaming services at the00:22:34
moment, a lot of it will be low-budget00:22:37
true crime documentaries along with the00:22:38
endless stream of generic fantasy shows00:22:40
with blatant DEI casting. Streaming00:22:43
services are, you know, just like social00:22:46
media. They're they're dominated by00:22:48
algorithms now. So, they're feeding the00:22:49
the slop to the algorithm harder and00:22:52
harder to find anything worth watching.00:22:54
And somehow even the CGI and special00:22:56
effects, one thing you'd think would00:22:58
improve, has gotten worse. I mean, go00:23:01
back and watch the first Jurassic Park00:23:03
film and then compare it to the most00:23:05
recent one. The one that came out 3000:23:08
years ago looks better than the one that00:23:11
came out last year. I mean, it's a00:23:12
better film overall. It's better in00:23:14
every way, but it even looks better.00:23:17
Came out 30 years ago. How's that even00:23:20
possible?00:23:21
I've heard the same is true of video00:23:23
games, by the way. Although I I can't00:23:24
personally attest to that, uh, it's00:23:26
certainly true of the music industry,00:23:27
the film industry, as I've discussed00:23:29
previously, in the context of the fall00:23:30
of the monoculture. 15 years ago, before00:23:33
every movie and video game studio had a00:23:35
legal obligation to hire so-called00:23:36
diverse talent, and before everyone had00:23:38
a smartphone, where they lived in their00:23:40
own little world, their own little00:23:41
culture, uh, this fragmented culture00:23:44
that's broken up into a billion pieces.00:23:46
But we've reached the middle of00:23:47
November, and the holiday season is just00:23:49
around [music] the corner. All the00:23:50
Christmas chaos can mean it's hard to00:23:51
find peace amid the cookies and wrapping00:23:54
paper and half-pack suitcases that00:23:55
litter your front entryway. So this00:23:57
year, take a breath and lean into the00:23:59
stillness of the Advent season.00:24:01
Thankfully, my friends at Hallow have00:24:03
designed a challenge that's impactful00:24:04
[music] and perfect for a busy holiday00:24:07
schedule. This Advent, you'll dive into00:24:08
the real story of Christmas. Come to00:24:10
understand that it was probably just as00:24:12
chaotic as our own, and learn to00:24:13
surrender it all to God anyway, and find00:24:15
real peace through Hallow's Advent00:24:17
challenge, pray 25, be still. You'll00:24:20
have the opportunity to meditate on the00:24:21
words of Psalm 46, be still and know00:24:24
that I am God, and hear powerful00:24:25
examples from the Reed of God and the00:24:27
Ruthless Elimination of Hurry. [music]00:24:29
Experience the stillness of the Holy00:24:31
Family amid the chaos and busyiness of00:24:33
the world, and dive into the story of00:24:35
the nativity. Get three months free of00:24:37
Hallow today at hallow.com/mattwalsh00:24:39
and prepare [music] for your most00:24:40
peaceful Christmas season yet. Before00:24:44
all that, there were far more classics00:24:45
than we're seeing today. There were00:24:47
highquality uh games and movies and00:24:50
albums that pretty much everyone00:24:52
experienced. They were shared cultural00:24:54
experiences, but that doesn't happen00:24:56
anymore for the most part. The00:24:57
entertainment industry peaked well over00:24:59
a decade ago, probably more like two00:25:00
decades ago. And uh put simply, you00:25:04
don't have to be an old man yelling at00:25:06
clouds like me to claim that everything00:25:08
is worse now. It is an empirical00:25:10
reality. We all see it. We experience it00:25:13
every day. We're too reliant on foreign00:25:15
goods, too distracted by a constant00:25:18
barrage of frivolous online content, too00:25:20
overrun with foreign nationals to00:25:23
maintain our previous standard of00:25:24
living. And yet, for the most part, you00:25:27
know, no one's doing anything about it.00:25:29
I mean, there are now entire generations00:25:31
of Americans who don't have enough of a00:25:33
stake in our country and its future to00:25:36
care as much as they should about its00:25:38
decline. That's one of the things that's00:25:39
going on here. And while there's no one00:25:42
explanation for what's happening, I also00:25:45
suspect at a kind of deeper00:25:47
philosophical level that the decline of00:25:49
religiosity among Americans has made us00:25:52
generally more easily appeased with00:25:55
cheap slop. [snorts] You know, only00:25:57
cultures that believe in the eternal00:25:59
build buildings that will last a00:26:01
thousand years. What's the point if00:26:03
we're all going to dissolve into00:26:04
nothingness in a few decades anyway?00:26:07
Now, over the next few weeks and months,00:26:09
I intend to dive much more deeply into00:26:11
the root causes of the decline in key00:26:13
areas of our day-to-day life. It's not00:26:16
just food that's become garbage. Uh00:26:19
although food has, but everything else00:26:21
has, too. I'm not talking about abstract00:26:24
foreign policy debates or online drama.00:26:26
I'm talking about the ways that you have00:26:28
personally been affected by the00:26:30
declining standards of living in this00:26:33
country, in our country.00:26:35
So, if you have any examples of that,00:26:37
send us an email, leave a comment. Uh,00:26:39
here's one of the those comments I00:26:41
received in response to my monologue00:26:43
last week about the decline in00:26:45
restaurants and food. This is from00:26:47
someone who drives a Cisco truck uh00:26:49
delivering frozen food to restaurants.00:26:51
This is what he said. Quote, "The chain00:26:54
restaurants are the tip of the Cisco00:26:55
iceberg. You have a better chance of00:26:57
getting a scratch-made pizza at Papa00:26:59
Murphy's than your local bar and grill.00:27:01
Those dinner rolls at the expensive00:27:02
Italian restaurant frozen. The pie at00:27:04
the apple orchard frozen or repackaged.00:27:06
There's even been a butcher shop that00:27:08
ordered shredded pork. Small town00:27:10
bakeries ordering pre-baked and frozen00:27:12
donuts and croissants. In fact, there's00:27:14
a cafe that serves treats like00:27:15
cheesecakes and lemon bread for over $1000:27:17
a slice. They don't even have an oven in00:27:19
the back. It's the same brand of00:27:20
cheesecake you get at Starbucks. If we00:27:22
demanded better from our schools and00:27:24
daycarees, they could be feeding00:27:26
children made from scratch nutritious00:27:27
meals while still ordering from the same00:27:29
supplier. Instead, two and00:27:30
three-year-olds have a steady diet of00:27:32
Delmonte and animal crackers. Oh, and of00:27:34
course, the same goes for the schools,00:27:36
nursing homes, hospitals, restaurants,00:27:38
etc.00:27:39
Yes, he's delivered frozen pork to a00:27:41
butcher shop. He's delivered cheesecakes00:27:44
to fake bakeries that don't even have an00:27:46
oven. This is someone who works at the00:27:49
single biggest supplier of food in the00:27:50
entire country, including a huge number00:27:52
of restaurants, nearly half of them, uh,00:27:54
by some estimates. This is the kind of00:27:57
widespread mediocrity and fraud that00:28:00
we've accepted as normal.00:28:03
The political commentary and podcast00:28:06
host, speaking of things that are00:28:07
getting measurably worse, by the way,00:28:09
focus on anything and everything except00:28:12
this issue. the fact that our quality of00:28:14
life is declining. The fact that our00:28:17
lives are getting worse in real00:28:19
practical ways,00:28:21
but this is real and it matters. I mean,00:28:25
this it's our lives we're talking about00:28:26
here. These are these are things that00:28:28
may not threaten our lives physically,00:28:30
although in some cases they do.00:28:32
But even if they don't, they make our00:28:34
lives less enjoyable, less rich, less00:28:35
vibrant,00:28:37
less whole. And that's all by design.00:28:41
Choices are being made, deliberate00:28:43
choices to create a culture where people00:28:45
accept mediocrity and dreiness and00:28:48
ugliness and poor quality.00:28:52
It's all being done on purpose and the00:28:55
only way to reverse this trend is to00:28:57
expose it over the next few weeks and00:29:00
months. It's exactly what I intend to00:29:02
do. If you'd like to see what else I00:29:04
have to say, you can access my full show00:29:05
by going to dailywire.com or by going to00:29:07
the Mattwal Show Twitter page. Hope to00:29:09
see you there. God speed.Description:
Hallow - Visit https://hallow.app.link/e/HIJwDvjF7qb for three months free of Hallow today. A lot of people have noticed that basically everything seems to suck now. The quality of everything has gone down. But is that actually true? And if it is, why is it happening? And what do we do about it it? LIKE & SUBSCRIBE for new videos every day. https://www.youtube.com/MattWalsh?sub_confirmation=1 Become a DailyWire+ member and watch the full show: https://getdwplus.com/blackfridayMATTYT Watch the full episode here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2DJPWq0pjeE Stop giving your money to woke corporations that hate you. Get your Jeremy’s Razors today at https://get.dailywire.com/subscribe/plus/?cid=ref_jr&mid=j&utm_talent=walsh&xid=0 Watch my hit documentary, “What Is A Woman?” here: https://www.dailywire.com/videos/what-is-a-woman?cid=wiaw&mid=j&xid=0 Represent the Sweet Baby Gang by shopping my merch: https://store.dailywire.com/collections/matt-walsh?cid=merch&mid=j&xid=0
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