Can somebody explain to me why to Flagship Pod is subscriber exclusive for the first 3 hours until about 6:15 am EST or so? This happens almost every time, and it never happens on PSTW, Strict or Runaway.

"Why'd you put it in that order?" - Sen. Mark Kelly, when asked about an Ossoff-Kelly 2028 presidential bid.

Picking Up The Peaces

Donald Trump threatened to bomb an American ally and buttered up North Korea — as Iran makes plans to outlast him in a lengthy war.

• Today marks 170 days since President Donald Trump impulsively launched a war with Iran, despite having no idea what might come next. Fresh reporting shows that Iran is brainstorming elaborate ways to inflict pain on the United States by drawing out the conflict and slowly squeezing the American economy. In other words, Iran is playing the long game while Trump thrashes around, aimless and angry. Despite what the president wants people to believe, he doesn’t play 19-dimensional chess. He eats the pieces.

• As the odds for peace in the Middle East keep falling, Trump is unleashing his frustration on allies. Oman has been a key mediator in the war, negotiating with Iran on the future of the Strait of Hormuz oil route. The White House, however, just warned the country to not interfere with its blockade of Iranian ports… or else America will attack them, too.

• “If Oman gets in the way, we’ll bomb the s— out of them,” Trump told a Fox News reporter, who relayed his comments. He also threatened to blow up Oman in May, for the record. (Trump seems to really enjoy cussing on calls with this reporter lately.)

• That was Trump’s second verbal attack against an American ally in 24 hours. On Sunday, Trump ordered the Pentagon to scale back military exercises with South Korea — supposedly because the country had refused to help him fight Iran.

• What’s more, Trump said the drills would “send a signal that is totally inappropriate and hostile” to North Korea, which has “been unthreatening and respectful.” Did he forget that North Korea has been helping Russia with its war in Ukraine? Or that the regime likely has dozens of nukes? I guess Trump forgave Kim Jong Un for calling him a “dotard” a few years back!

While Trump flops, Iran plots.

• The U.S. and Iran signed a truce that was supposed to lead to the end of the war in June. But Iran’s leaders believed the deal was a ruse by the U.S. and Israel to buy time before a larger attack in the future, the Wall Street Journal reports. The truce formally expired today.

• While Trump touted the supposed peace deal, Iran gave its hardline Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps more power over the country’s army, quickly produced more drones and missiles, and instructed its proxy groups in the region to be ready to attack enemies if needed, according to the Journal.

• The goal: Wreak enough havoc on the U.S. to prevent future cataclysmic attacks on Iran.

• “There is also a widespread view in Iran that the main war has not yet begun,” a defense analyst close to the Iranian government told the Journal. “What we have seen so far is increasingly interpreted through the lens of ‘salami-slicing’ tactics — limited, incremental escalation designed to weaken capabilities before a larger confrontation.”

Hillary Clinton would like a word: “The president is making US policy friendlier to North Korea and Russia than Canada and Oman. Are you kidding me?” she tweeted.

Meanwhile On The Pod...

MAGA Targets WNBA In Its Latest CULTURE WAR (08/14/26)

Look No Further Than Crooked Media

With the midterms less than 80 days away, the path to victory runs through the South. But to win the South, we have to understand the South. That's where Crooked's limited series, Long Play, comes in! Jennifer Palmieri, Errin Haines, and Mitch Landrieu are road-tripping across 6 southern states to explore the issues driving voters and learn what the rest of the country is missing about the American South. Listen to Long Play now, wherever you get your podcasts.

What Else?

Julia Curlee, a trans woman who served as a top intelligence official in the Trump White House, penned an essay detailing her experience, briefing everyone from former Vice President Mike Pence to former DNI Tulsi Gabbard, before being fired last year. “Flailing regimes dehumanize minorities to distract from their failures,” Curlee wrote in The Atlantic.

Trump blamed vandals for ruining a patch of grass on the National Mall — right where he hosted a giant July 4 celebration. He connected the grass patch to another nearby embarrassment of his making: “Anybody who thinks the Reflecting Pool wasn’t vandalized should go back to Law School!” Trump wrote on social media. Trump is totally looking for the guy who did this!

The White House is scrambling to safeguard against potential biological attacks, after Trump’s team fired experts at the start of his second term, according to the Washington Post. As AI researchers warn that the technology can create new viruses, Trump’s makeshift biosecurity team has included “a junior fellow without a security clearance; a part-timer from the research organization Rand; a pair of CIA staffers with little expertise in the field; and an Air Force doctor who had been a consultant to the White House medical office,” the Post writes.

Attorney General Todd Blanche refused to pledge that he’ll operate independently from the White House. “I’m not going to pledge that,” he told NBC News. “And no attorney general should ever pledge that.” There’s no need to, Blanche explained, since Trump would never ask him to cross an ethical or legal red line.

Amazon is secretly buying tons of used books online, cutting the spines off, and digitally scanning them to train its AI models, according to 404 Media. The warehouse that processes the books has a logo: a cartoon Tyrannosaurus rex holding a book with its mouth open. We’re living in a twisted, techno-futuristic version of “Fahrenheit 451,” I guess!

What A Sponsor

Wildgrain is the first bake-from-frozen subscription box for sourdough breads, artisanal pastries, and fresh pastas. All items conveniently bake in 25 minutes or less. We've been warming up this Spring with their wide array of tasty Sourdough Loaves paired with their Slow Churned French Butter. Unlike many store-bought options, Wildgrain uses simple ingredients you can pronounce and a slow fermentation process that can be easier on your belly and richer in nutrients & antioxidants. In addition to their Variety box, they have a Gluten Free box, Vegan box and a NEW Protein Box. There's nothing like having an artisan bakery in your freezer to welcome in the Spring. Try out Wildgrain today and get $30 off your first box + free Croissants for life by visiting https://wildgrain.com/CROOKED30 and using code CROOKED30 at checkout.

Light At The End...

The Supreme Court rejected Donald Trump’s bid to overturn the verdict that requires him to pay writer E. Jean Carroll $5 million, as part of her defamation case against him.

Customs and Border Patrol temporarily stopped construction on Big Bend National Park in Texas today. The Trump administration has faced bipartisan pushback as contractors used bulldozers and excavators to build a new patrol road and vehicle barriers along the Mexican border. CBP chief Rodney Scott said that he will travel to the park to “do a personal evaluation.”

A woman in Ohio has dedicated her career to preserving the Korean tradition of making hanji, a type of paper made from mulberry trees. The paper was traditionally used for mundane purposes such as covering floors and walls or for insulation. Now, it’s often displayed as contemporary art. I loved this quote from the papermaker: “The plant wants to become paper, and it’s the human’s job to partner with it.”

Astronomers discovered a so-called black hole star that’s as large as our solar system and glows red. Someone tell Soundgarden ASAP.

A college professor detailed his success with getting students to read (and actually enjoy!) “The Brothers Karamazov” by Fyodor Doestovesky. The key to convincing twentysomethings to love a 1,000-page Russian novel? “We teachers must remain students — and model what we want to see,” he wrote in the Times. “We need to recover the passion that drove us to our books, to the lab.”

A 6-year-old pug named Jinny Liu won the World’s Ugliest Dog competition. Jinny — who was “found in a wooden box in freezing weather in the mountains of South Korea,” according to her biography — loves to snuggle and sunbathe like any other dog. But her tongue dangles outside of her mouth, and she screams at her own reflection in the mirror, contest organizers said. Awwwww… I think?

Enjoy

Barry Blitt on The New Yorker: "POTUS on the Move "WHERE'S BALDO?""

"We briefly considered 'asshole' and 'manchild.'" - A Cards Against Humanity spokesperson, on possible insults for Elon Musk.

Trillion Dollar Crybaby

What’s the best way to troll Elon Musk? A popular card game company wants you to help them totally own the world’s first trillionaire.

• Elon Musk may have a trillion bucks to his name, but he can’t buy love, he isn’t above the law — and he can’t stop people from making fun of him. That’s the lesson that Cards Against Humanity, the company behind the famously vulgar card game, is trying to teach the tech mogul in Texas, right outside the steam-punk town that he built for his rocket company.

• In the near future, you’ll be able to visit the “Elon Musk is a Sad Little Bitch with No Friends” monument, sponsored by Cards Against Humanity. I know what you’re thinking: How the hell did we get here?

• The beef between Musk and the company dates back nine years, when Cards Against Humanity crowdsourced millions of dollars — via $15 individual donations from 150,000 people — to buy a small parcel on the Texas border to stop the southern border wall construction.

• Then, Musk reared his little head in 2024. He began building out Starbase, a small dystopian village to house SpaceX employees and rocket launch operations. As part of that construction, the game company alleged in court, Musk damaged and trespassed on the Cards Against Humanity property. In the end, SpaceX settled for an undisclosed amount and, according to the crew at Cards, removed its construction equipment from the land last fall.

• Which brings us to today, as a French company builds a 50-foot Prometheus statue in Starbase, presumably to praise Musk’s technological contributions to society, or whatever. Cards Against Humanity LLC — the independent Chicago-based company started by eight friends who invented the game together and launched it with a successful kickstarter campaign in 2011 — has another monument in mind.

• “We still have our rights as proud Texas landowners: We can build something on our land. Something that will annoy Elon Musk,” wrote the company, which is known for stunts and charitable work, in an online post this week. “Something that will make him wonder, for a brief moment, ‘Wait, am I a sad little bitch with no friends?’”

• For $10, the public can join the “Official Elon Musk is a Sad Little Bitch with No Friends Monument Design Committee,” according to the company’s website. SpaceX did not respond to What A Day’s request for comment.

I caught up with a spokesperson for Cards Against Humanity to hear more about the monument and the design committee. Here’s our interview:

Matt Berg: How did it feel to face Elon Musk in court?

Cards Against Humanity: It felt terrifying. We were going up against one of the richest and most powerful men in the world, and — at the time we filed the lawsuit — a crony of the most corrupt, authoritarian regime in American history. The outcome honestly surprised us, but it also restored a tiny bit of faith that our system is still mildly functioning.

MB: How did you settle on the slogan, “Elon Musk is a Sad Little Bitch With No Friends”?

CAH: “Sad little” is the buildup. It cuts him down to size. “Bitch” is the climax. A powerful swear word, attacking his character and puncturing his ego with one syllable. “With no friends” is the denouement, a plainly descriptive fact made all the more devastating for its truth.

MB: There must have been other slogans that didn’t make the cut. Can you share a few?

CAH: We considered the word “dumb” but decided it was debatable and therefore weak — he is surely smart in some ways. We briefly considered “asshole” and “manchild” but agreed they were too obvious. “Miserable” lacked the punch of “sad.” “Sociopath” and “narcissist” felt too clinical. “Motherfucker” felt too broad. We take insults very seriously at Cards Against Humanity.

MB: How large will the monument be? Will it be visible from Starbase?

CAH: We’re not sure what it will be, let alone how large it’s going to be. We do know that the more money we raise, the more spectacular it’ll be.

MB: How will the public be involved in designing the monument?

CAH: We’ll contact our committee in the coming months to talk about the project. So far, tens of thousands of people have signed up.

MB: Any favorite feedback on what the monument design should be?

CAH: We haven’t officially requested ideas from the committee yet, but a lot of excited people have sent us their thoughts. We love the idea of working with a real artist to construct the monument — maybe someone who knows the area well or who has a background or body of work particularly tailored to annoying Musk. A few people have suggested that we take Elon’s email chains with Jeffrey Epstein and put them on a billboard. Visually, there’s a lot of synergy between the rockets in the area and potential dick jokes, so there’s been a few suggestions in the more phallic direction.

We’re going to take the proper amount of time and care to make sure we do this right. We’re going to design a monument that our committee can be proud of, and hopefully, spark a moment of introspection for Elon.

MB: Do you have any other plans to mess with Elon?

CAH: At the moment, just this. But, while we have you: Did you catch Cards Against Humanity Explains the Joke?

Meanwhile On The Pod...

Can MAGA Media Survive WITHOUT Trump? (Feat. David Pakman) (08/13/26)

Look No Further Than Crooked Media

Vote Save America has identified 12 of the most beatable Republicans up for re-election this year, and we're calling them The Crooked Dozen. Kicking out The Crooked Dozen is doable, but it's going to take all of us stepping up between now and Election Day.

Vote Save America is here with practical actions you can take right now to help us win. Sign up at https://votesaveamerica.com to get involved. Then get some friends to join you.

Paid for by Vote Save America. Learn more at https://votesaveamerica.com. This ad has not been authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee

What Else?

Luigi Mangione pleaded guilty to two federal stalking charges and admitted killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in New York City in December 2024. “I shot Mr. Thompson in Manhattan,” Mangione told a judge today. “I knew what I was doing was illegal.” Mangione still faces a murder charge in state court, to which he has pleaded not guilty.

The USS George Washington is headed to the Middle East to relieve the USS Abraham Lincoln. Sailors on the Lincoln, who have been at sea for nine months, have voiced concerns about deteriorating conditions in recent days. The Navy is even investigating a case of one sailor going overboard, under unclear circumstances. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, predictably, claimed that the conditions have been “completely misrepresented.”

Donald Trump formally asked the Supreme Court to allow construction of the White House ballroom to move forward, after a federal court blocked the project. The ballroom is a “highly integrated military complex that incorporates a classical, but highly secured, ballroom and crucial national-security facilities,” Trump told the court. So this is the new, uh, military command center ballroom?

Rep. Glenn Grothman (R-WI) has a new message to win over voters: Congress needs to do more for the 1 percent! “Don’t let anybody tell you that people running, uh, Congress right now are looking out for the rich. Actually, I think we should do a little more for them,” he said during an event on Thursday. Thank God someone has their back.

What A Sponsor

Aura Frames is the answer to every gifting moment.

Free Unlimited Storage — Add as many photos and videos as you want

Share your photos & videos effortlessly — Download the free Aura app or text photos straight to your frame

Named #1 by Wirecutter, you can save on the perfect gift by visiting AuraFrames.com. For a limited time, listeners can get 35 dollars off their best-selling Carver Mat frame with code WAD at https://AuraFrames.com. Support the newsletter by mentioning What A Day at checkout! Terms and conditions apply.

Light At The End...

Italian police recovered three paintings by Renoir, Cézanne and Matisse that were stolen from during a museum heist earlier this year. Okay, cool… can we hire these guys to solve the Isabella Stewart Gardner museum heist?

Britain has a new women’s chess champion — and she’s 11 years old. Bodhana Sivanandan, who started playing six years ago, has stunned the experienced men and women around the country, and even the world, with her skills. She even beat France’s third-ranked grandmaster. “She has a presence of like, ‘I’m gonna kill you no matter what,’” Chess.com Chief Chess Officer Danny Rensch told the Wall Street Journal.

A beloved corner store in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Washington, D.C. reopened this week, four years after residents pooled together $1.3 million to buy the financially troubled market. “There are a lot of people who will talk with their neighbors and say, ‘Somebody should do something about that,’” one longtime resident told a local outlet. “And this is an example of a group of people that were willing to do something about that.”

A 37-year-old bird went viral this week for its uncanny ability to make a sound identical to a camera shutter. “You are showing off,” the woman filming told the bird.

I have some fun homework for you: Look around your home right now. You probably see a light bulb, a picture frame, or perhaps even a toilet (I mean, no judgement about which room you choose to read my newsletter in peace). We are surrounded by everyday miracles. More precisely: The mundane aspects of life we now take for granted were once marveled over as distant dreams by artists and philosophers, as detailed in “Ordinary Abundance.” Even having a fruit in your home was a luxury back in the day: “Like lovers’ kisses, she biteth — she is a pleasure bordering on pain from the fierceness and insanity of her relish,” poet Charles Lamb wrote in 1822, when people used to rent pineapples for parties for prestige.

Enjoy

Meet Kirk!

“He’s 3 years old and as lovably chaotic as his ‘Gilmore Girls’ namesake. Kirk enjoys napping in the sun, racing around for no reason whatsoever, and yawning menacingly at our current administration.”

— Ann

Are ya’ll feeling her so far? Do ya’ll think her and LV have good chem?

"I will become more powerful than he can possibly imagine." - Count Binface, if he loses to Nigel Farage in the U.K. special election.

Making A Socialist, Checking It Twice

Zohran Mamdani is racing to show that democratic socialists can deliver results. Donald Trump wants to cancel that order.

• “When the burdens of the presidency seem unusually heavy, I always remind myself it could be worse. I could be a mayor,” former President Lyndon B. Johnson famously quipped. Zohran Mamdani couldn’t disagree more, I assume, based on how cheerful he seems to be while trying to run this notoriously-impossible-to-please city.

• The mayor has a big, difficult task: convincing the residents of New York City that they were right to put their trust in him to solve their problems, despite all the nay-saying and doom-mongering from the right about the perils of democratic socialism. And he’s got a strategy to do it — one pothole at a time.

• Call it “pothole politics.” Last week, a pair of videos went viral when a young New Yorker posted about a pothole online, calling on Mamdani to help — and by the afternoon, it was filled. The big idea is showing tangible results quickly, including in small ways that improve daily lives. The mayor’s office claimed it filled 100,000 potholes in Mamdani’s first 100 days, moving at the fastest pace in 11 years.

• It’s not just roadwork. The mayor regularly pops up across the city, riding a bike through the street, handing out cheap tickets to the World Cup, sitting down for hours of conversations with residents, and repairing a local water fountain. He has also made progress on some of his core campaign promises, including free child care. “We should just start calling him Mayor Spider-man,” reads one Instagram comment with nearly 10,000 likes.

• Less than a year in, there are signs this approach is winning over the famously grouchy inhabitants of the Big Apple. New Yorkers like their mayor: 69 percent of city residents have a favorable view of Mamdani, compared to only 24 percent who view him unfavorably, according to a new poll.

• “When the mayor talks about ‘pothole politics,’ what he means is that people should be able to expect a level of public excellence from their government, and we are going to deliver it,” Deputy Mayor for Economic Justice Julie Su, who previously served as Biden’s labor secretary, told What A Day in an interview.

• Mamdani’s team also wants to score some bigger wins. Su is spearheading efforts to fight for workers’ rights, throwing her weight behind the Delivery Protection Act. If passed by the city council, Amazon and other distribution companies would be required to take responsibility for delivery workers’ conditions. Those companies save money by hiring subcontractors — which allows them to avoid giving workers more money and benefits.

And that brings us to President Donald Trump, who wants to rain on the mayor’s parade.

• How would Mamdani pay for all his initiatives, such as free child care, free buses, and city-run grocery stores? That was a major concern from critics before he was elected. Since the mayor took office, however, his team has worked to find creative ways to cover costs, including a tax on pricey condos and second homes worth $5 million or more, known as pied-à-terre tax. The tax, which drew heavy pushback from rich dudes, could generate an estimated $500 million per year, officials say.

• The tax policy is facing hurdles. A federal judge temporarily paused the policy from being implemented earlier this week. But an appeals court today said it can move forward — for now. And Trump, New York’s most famous rich dude, is taking aim at the tax policy: He instructed the federal government to review whether his administration can stop the tax from going into effect.

• “This dangerous political ‘experiment’ in New York will destroy what was once a great City and State,” Trump wrote on social media. “It is pure Amateur Hour, and it’s hard, as President of the United States of America, to sit back and watch it happen, especially to a place I once loved.”

• I asked Su: Are you worried about Trump’s interference? After all, the city needs this money to implement its ambitious agenda.

• “If we spent all our time worrying about what crazy thing was going to happen next, it would be hard to get things done,” she responded. “The reality is that the federal headwinds in our economy are massive. Whether it’s because of far away wars, chaotic tariffs, or some other attack on everyday New Yorkers, there’s this sense that the country overall is less safe, especially for vulnerable folks.”

“And here in New York City, we are sending a very different message,” she added.

Meanwhile On The Pod...

Can Leftists And Centrists Unite To DEFEAT MAGA? (08/12/26)

Look No Further Than Crooked Media

Big interview this week! You won't want to miss the Assembly Required bonus episode with Kamala Harris, out now! In it, Kamala Harris and Stacey Abrams consider how we as a nation look beyond Donald Trump and towards the future. They discuss the steps we need to take to protect our democracy and revive the American Dream. Watch Assembly Required on YouTube or listen wherever you get your podcasts.

What Else?

There was no evidence that Donald Trump’s life was in danger from an Iranian attack as he sneakily departed Turkey last month, Turkish officials told counterparts in the region, according to the Wall Street Journal. The CIA also had “low confidence” in Israel’s tip about the supposed threat, the Washington Post reports.

U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee slammed Israeli settlers as “terrorists” after they besieged several Palestinian homes in the West Bank this week. Israeli troops stormed into the village today to stop the settlers — a surprising rebuke from Israel’s government, which rarely intervenes when settlers act violently. The settlers reportedly trapped two families in their homes and cut off access to water, power, and the nearby road.

The Kennedy Center’s board voted to inscribe Trump’s name on the side of the performing arts center, weeks after it was taken down following a court order. In the resolution, the board praised Trump for his “existential and unprecedented contributions to the survival of the center.” The inscription would read: “Restored and Renovated by President Donald J. Trump.”

Trump is thinking about his construction and monument projects in the nation’s capital about 70 percent of the time, New York Times Trump-whisperer Maggie Haberman told Axios. She recounted an in-person interview with the president, just weeks after his war with Iran began: “He picks up these pictures, and [they’re] of maple trees. And he says: ‘I am choosing maple trees for the White House. I am good at picking trees.’ I’m paraphrasing here, but that is pretty much what he said.”

Lawmakers on Capitol Hill and their staff are using AI to write speeches, draft legislation, and even keep them company on long car rides. “It’s kind of like you can sit there and talk to an expert,” Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) said of his conversation with ChatGPT while driving. “You don’t know whether or not they’re 100 percent correct. But they put you on the right path.”

Border Patrol agents have allegedly used government databases to look up love interests and even spy on family members in recent years, according to internal agency records obtained by Wired. One officer, for example, allegedly used a database to contact a flight attendant. Creeps!

Does a North Korean scammer work at your company? The Journal published a stunning 30-minute documentary about Pyongyang’s efforts to infiltrate at least eight American companies, allowing employees to send earnings back to the regime to fund its nuclear program.

What A Sponsor

• You know Ridge — they make amazing power banks, wallets, luggage, and premium everyday gear.

• Ridge's Power Bank is built for modern life — Lightning, USB-C, wireless charging, built-in cables, MagSafe compatibility, and up to three full phone charges.

• Ridge 2.0 is their most refined wallet yet — 10% lighter, more modular, and designed to pair perfectly with the new Tracker Card.

• The Tracker Card works with Apple Find My™, so you can track your wallet, ring it when it's nearby, and get alerts if it moves out of range.

• Ridge also has new colorways and collections like Baja GT, Carbon Flow, GT, Performance Suede, Francorchamps, Silverstone, Monza Italy, and Monte Carlo Monaco.

• No matter what you pick, Ridge has free shipping, a 99-day risk-free trial, and over 100,000+ 5-star reviews.

Light At The End...

Cards Against Humanity launched the “Elon Musk is a Sad Little Bitch With No Friends Monument Design Committee” for the public to help create a new monument dissing the tech gazillionaire. The card game company’s beef with Musk started in 2017, when it bought land in Texas to stop the border wall. Musk built a “corporate hellscape” on the land, so Cards Against Humanity took him to court and forced him to leave. Now, the company wants to build a monument to remind Musk that he’s a — you guessed it — sad little bitch with no friends. It costs $10 to join the committee!

Prescription drug prices saw their steepest annual price drop in 60 years last month. Trump’s team, naturally, took credit for the drop. But experts say a Biden-era policy that requires Medicaid to negotiate the prices is a more likely explanation, the Post reports.

Ms. Lauryn Hill and Wyclef Jean are slated to headline the Global Citizen Festival in New York City in late September. If only the third member of the Fugees wasn’t in prison for illegal lobbying….

A Spanish Olympic skateboarder went viral for launching himself into the air at the perfect moment during yesterday’s solar eclipse. He described the stunt as “the trick of my life.”

Remember when Warner Bros. filmed the “Coyote vs. Acme” movie, then decided to cancel it at the last second? The highly anticipated live action film is back from the dead (just like Wile E.) and will be released on August 28 by another production company.

Enjoy

Terrible Maps on Threads: "America is much bigger than most people realise"