070 - Is Thanksgiving Whack?

On this Thanksgiving episode, Jimmy and Alyssa go fully off the rails in the best way, bouncing from family gratitude to fascism, from Hawaii beaches to the DC National Guard shooting, and from 23andMe results to the absolute absurdity of American politics and media. They open by talking about spending the holiday in a “capitalist hellscape” that’s sliding into fascism while people argue online about whether it’s morally acceptable to eat turkey with your family. Alyssa pushes back on liberal over-correction and virtue signaling around Thanksgiving, while still acknowledging how brutal the actual history is for Indigenous people and how weird it is to celebrate that on stolen land.​

Jimmy tells a story about being scolded for watching fireworks with his nieces after Roe v. Wade fell, and they both unload on the type of liberals who micromanage their own side’s behavior instead of fighting actual fascists and MAGA extremists. From there they dive into gratitude practices, mental health, and why “let people have things” might be one of the healthiest political positions left in a relentlessly depressing environment.​

The episode then shifts into a deeper segment on myths white families tell themselves about being “part Native” or “part Black,” using Elizabeth Warren’s DNA test and Jimmy’s own 23andMe story to highlight how often these stories fall apart under scrutiny. They talk about white people grabbing at other people’s victimhood as a shield, the way family lore gets racialized, and why it matters to actually know where you come from instead of hiding behind convenient ancestry myths.​

In the main political section, Jimmy offers a “coming in hot” take on the Washington, DC shooting of two National Guardsmen, reportedly by a Muslim immigrant whose asylum claim was tied to working as an interpreter for the U.S. in Afghanistan. They unpack how conservatives instantly weaponize one brown shooter to justify sweeping anti-immigration crackdowns while doing nothing after countless school shootings by white Americans. Alyssa brings up a documentary about kids carrying “active shooter kits” in their backpacks, and they compare the massive political reaction to a non-fatal attack on armed military personnel with the total inaction after massacres of children in classrooms.​

They dig into common-sense gun control, licensing, insurance, safe storage, and how Republicans would rather arm teachers and kids than hold gun owners accountable. They also talk about the cost of unjust wars, why the U.S. has a moral obligation to protect interpreters and allies, and how both parties quietly accept that the immigration system is broken even as the right drags the conversation into outright fascist territory.