On this week's Mean Age Daydream, the GOP gets blown the eff out, predictably, due to Trump's idiotic war with Iran. Also: US-backed Volodymyr Zelenskyy's torture chamber of horrors exposed.

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Arts and culture writer David Hiroshi Jager (Tablet, The New York Sun, County Highway) joins Lou to talk about writing with a voice, the Hezbollah pager operation, the Brooklyn art collective that cheered October 7th, the Venice Biennale, Artforum's meltdown, and why he never dreamed his one controversial opinion would be supporting Israel. Plus: Lou's war with India over cricket, a Saul Bellow-esque Jewish father-in-law, and a very dark Bosnian joke.Watch full episodes of The Lou Perez Podcast on YouTube → https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4Vb53s4I0A&list=PLb5trMQQvT077-L1roE0iZyAgT4dD4EtJListen on Apple Podcasts → https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-lou-perez-podcast/id1535032081Listen on Spotify → https://open.spotify.com/show/2KAtC7eFS3NHWMZp2UgMVU Co-host of Happy Hour Econ → https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/happy-hour-econ/id1863476697 Lou's book — That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore: https://link.amazon/B0amgIYaN Watch my sketch comedy streaming on Red Coral Universe: https://redcoraluniverse.com/title/the-lou-perez-comedy-68501a2fd369683d0f2a2a88 XX-XY Athletics (20% off with code LOU20) → https://www.xx-xyathletics.com/?sca_ref=7113152.ifIMaKpCG3ZfUHH4 Greg and Lou, my sketch comedy channel → https://www.youtube.com/@GREGandLOU TheLouPerez.com |  [email protected] Newsletter: https://substack.com/@louperez0:00 Cold open: I'm at war with India0:12 Intro0:17 Journalist, author, or arts and culture writer?1:54 Tablet, David Samuels, and the authorial voice4:31 County Highway, the newspaper that looks like a Civil War broadsheet5:12 The woman with no Social Security number6:52 Michael Moynihan, Pirate Wires, and the new journalism9:19 The Hezbollah pager documentary10:55 October 7th on GoPro13:38 Lou's 9/11 at NYU16:40 "I never dreamed my controversial opinion would be Israel"18:36 Lou's war with India (over cricket)21:22 The Venice Biennale and the Israeli pavilion23:21 The Brooklyn art collective that cheered October 7th24:28 A Native American Zionist28:40 "Israelis are going to fight"29:57 Ethiopian Jews, Arab Jews, and the Knesset32:24 Why the Palestinian flag is everywhere35:34 Mamdani, Bernie, and Abdul El-Sayed40:30 A Saul Bellow-esque Jewish father-in-law43:09 "Dad, am I safe?"44:22 October 7th was a really bad idea48:32 The Bosnian joke51:08 Palestinian wine at Parental Advisory52:37 The Berlin painter who can't get a gallery54:23 True crime, serial killers, and Capote57:56 How Artforum blew up over October 7th1:00:17 Where to find David

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Host John Odermatt sits down with Will Fry, founder and CEO of American Operator, a firm that buys small businesses from retiring owners and transitions them to local operator-owners. They discuss the economic uncertainty facing small businesses amid inflation, tariffs, and an affordability crisis, and how the baby boomer retirement wave threatens to hollow out Main Street if businesses are sold to private equity instead of local operators. Will shares how American Operator's earn-in model works, drawing inspiration from Chick-fil-A's selective operator program, and explains why AI is actually a net positive for industrial and trade businesses. The conversation also covers the rising popularity of socialism among young Americans, why capitalism's defenders have failed to make their case, and how the 2026 midterms could reshape the economic landscape — including a close look at the Texas Senate race. The episode was recorded the day before Election Day, November 2nd, 2026.

Chapters

• 0:00 — Intro: The Economy, Socialism, and the Small Business Crisis
• 1:10 — Welcome to Finding Freedom & Guest Introduction
• 3:21 — Will Fry's Background in Eastern North Carolina
• 4:45 — How American Operator Works: The Earn-In Model
• 7:43 — Target Industries: Industrials, Manufacturing, and Skilled Trades
• 9:00 — The Conversation with Future Owner-Operators
• 9:44 — Chick-fil-A as the Best Talent Engine in the World
• 10:47 — Inflation, Tariffs, and the Retirement Decision
• 13:14 — AI's Impact on Main Street: A Surprising Positive
• 16:00 — Socialism's Rising Popularity and the Affordability Crisis
• 19:14 — Mamdani, Bodegas, and the Case Against Price Controls
• 20:28 — Why Capitalism Lost the PR War: Robber Barons vs. Donor-Advised Funds
• 23:19 — The Midterms: Republicans, DSA, and the Messaging Gap
• 28:20 — Texas Senate Race: Paxton, Cornyn, and Candidate Selection
• 31:54 — Where American Operator Operates: Small Towns and the Rust Belt
• 34:30 — Where to Find American Operator & Wrap-Up

Guest Links: americanoperator.com

Support us on Patreon: ⁠https://patreon.com/lionsofliberty⁠

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Hannah Henriksen joins Brian Nichols to reveal who actually gets to fix your wheelchair, why right to repair stops at the one device some people can't live without, and how a new Respect America film is pushing open-source power chairs into the mainstream.
You own your car. Take it to any mechanic in town. You own your phone... and more and more, you can fix it yourself.
But a power wheelchair? Too often only one company is allowed to touch it. So you wait. Weeks. Months. Sometimes longer.
Hannah is the President of Respect America, the group behind the Jonny McCoy film seen by over 2 million people. Their new film follows friend of the show Thomas Quiter, who has osteogenesis imperfecta and more than 1,000 broken bones, and who is now building open-source power wheelchairs with high school and college shop classes through the Mobility Independence Foundation.
Chairs that cost $80,000 to $100,000. Chairs you can't modify. Chairs only one company can repair. So if it's your property and your body... why isn't the repair your decision?
Then we get into the philosophy of human respect, the rules we all learned on the playground, "trust the experts," and why the liberty movement keeps writing white papers when people want stories.
CHAPTERS
0:00 You Own Your Car. Not Your Wheelchair.
2:12 Who Is Hannah Henriksen?
3:52 A Twist of Fate Into the Liberty Movement
6:17 The Rules We Learned on the Playground
8:37 "Trust the Experts"
11:51 Why Stories Move People When Stats Don't
13:28 It Could Happen to You
14:30 Thomas Quiter's 1,000 Broken Bones
16:00 The $100,000 Wheelchair Only One Company Can Fix
17:34 Open-Source Chairs Built in Shop Class
19:52 "He Runs Better Than the Government"
20:28 Lobbyists vs. Right to Repair
22:07 A Message That Lands With Everyone
23:47 People Want Stories, Not White Papers
24:42 Fear and Love
25:25 The Beach Boys Professor Story
28:32 How to Keep People in the Long Game
31:00 Finding What Unites Us
32:35 The Michael Scott Win-Win-Win
33:06 Where to Find Respect America
35:01 Hannah's Final Word

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On this week's Mean Age Daydream, Philadelphia's very dumb, very Democrat Mayor announces a plan to offer loans to people with terrible credit, just like in 2008 when the entire mortgage industry collapsed. Also: Brazil's corrupt socialist President, Lula, likely cheated in an election before trying to imprison his opponents.

Buy my new card game: WOKE WORD WARS - ⁠https://www.amazon.com/Woke-Word-Wars-Ridiculously-Players/dp/B0FLF8Y16S⁠
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John Odermatt welcomes back Alvin Lui, founder of Courage is a Habit, for a deep dive into the parental rights battles heating up one week before Election Day. They discuss 17 ballot measures across 10 states — including four on transgender athletes in school sports — and why Alvin argues that passing them is only the first down, not the touchdown. The conversation covers the American School Counselor Association (ASCA) as the root pipeline for ideological activism in all 50 states, the launch of Courage is a Habit's ASCA 50-State Violation report, and the Trump administration's enforcement actions against school districts in Virginia and Los Angeles. Alvin also explains the philosophy behind "Embrace Exclusion," makes the case that courage must be a habit rather than a contagion, and shares practical tools parents can deploy this week.

Chapters

0:00 — Intro & Welcome

1:43 — Guest Introduction: Alvin Lui, Founder of Courage is a Habit

3:53 — Politicians Are Thermometers, Not Thermostats

9:42 — Why Courage Must Be a Habit

14:16 — Predictions: What Happens After Ballot Measures Pass

19:44 — Why Conservatives Lose the Long Game (The Boxing Analogy)

29:35 — Virginia Schools Suing Over Federal Funding & the ASCA Pipeline

34:37 — The ASCA 50-State Violation Report

37:00 — LA Unified: Hiding Gender Identity from Parents

43:25 — Advice for Teachers & Whistleblowing

54:56 — Embrace Exclusion: Culture Drives Change

63:42 — Upside-Down Inclusion & the Surveillance Society

69:17 — Tools & Resources for Parents / Closing

Links

• Courage is a Habit — courageisahabit.org
• Parent 101 Tactics — courageisahabit.org → Tactics → Parent 101
• Stranger Danger (4 tactics for kids) — courageisahabit.org → Search "stranger danger"
• ASCA 50-State Violation Report — courageisahabit.org → Search "ASCA 50 State Violation"
• Courage is a Habit Store (Embrace Exclusion merch) — courageisahabit.org → Store
• Whistleblower Email — [email protected]
• Social Media — @couragehabit (Facebook, Instagram, X)
• Previous Episode — https://youtu.be/SVF_jYCEa8s?si=cnHCVyi_UNYNJ1L4 - Alvin Lui's first appearance

Support us on Patreon: ⁠https://patreon.com/lionsofliberty⁠

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Former public defender and former NYC candidate Maud Maron joins Lou to talk about Nicole Hannah-Jones's confession about her daughter's education, what happened to the "tough New Yorker," drug dealers on her stoop, and why she's done with the Democratic Party.

Maud is a New Yorker, a woman, an independent, and currently "independently unemployed." She ran against Alvin Bragg for Manhattan DA on the Republican line.

Watch full episodes on YouTube → https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4Vb53s4I0A&list=PLb5trMQQvT077-L1roE0iZyAgT4dD4EtJ

Listen on Apple Podcasts → https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-lou-perez-podcast/id1535032081

Listen on Spotify → https://open.spotify.com/show/2KAtC7eFS3NHWMZp2UgMVU

 Co-host of Happy Hour Econ → https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/happy-hour-econ/id1863476697

 Lou's book — That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore: https://amzn.to/3VhFa1r

 XX-XY Athletics (20% off with code LOU20) → https://www.xx-xyathletics.com/?sca_ref=7113152.ifIMaKpCG3ZfUHH4

 TheLouPerez.com |  [email protected]

 Newsletter: https://substack.com/@louperez

#MaudMaron #NicoleHannahJones #NYC #NewYorkCity #Mamdani #NYCSchools #PublicSafety #LouPerezPodcast #LionsOfLiberty

0:00 — Intro: Maud Maron, independently unemployed

0:36 — We met at FreedomFest in Memphis

1:42 — The face cream the government doesn't want you to have

3:51 — Keeping tabs on Brooklyn through Nextdoor

4:33 — What happened to the tough New Yorker?

5:43 — Drug dealers on the stoop and two cops in the living room

8:38 — "He looked like Boston Rob from Survivor"

9:37 — Push-in robberies: safety is the baseline

13:03 — What's changed since Maud's public defender days

13:32 — Her grandfather and the old Democratic machine

14:39 — Mamdani, Rikers, and the Trinitario gang member

16:55 — Jumaane Williams vs. Target over ICE

18:28 — Democrats who defend gang members

20:44 — Maud's question: is there a path for NYC Republicans?

21:33 — The registration trap

23:31 — Pataki, Giuliani, Bloomberg, and Larry Sharpe

26:29 — The DSA took over the party

28:13 — Politics is a street fight

28:25 — Nicole Hannah-Jones and her daughter

33:11 — The teachers union nobody mentions

33:45 — $50,000 a year per student

37:18 — Lou's Queens public schools and the SHSAT

40:26 — When Asian kids don't count as people of color

41:06 — Argentina and Tucumán pride

42:41 — Running against Alvin Bragg, and what's next

43:17 — Saritha Komatireddy vs. Tish James

44:57 — Trump cleaned up Union Station

45:33 — Soho encampments with furniture

46:32 — The sidewalks are yours for the taking

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Today, Brian chats with Jeremy Todd, who is running as a Libertarian against Isreal-backed Ed Gallrein in KY - the man who primaried Thomas Massie. And he just might shock the world. Also in this ep: Chris Rock nails woke industrialization of "problems", Bioware Games shuts down, and a "Blackface Bagel" in Harlem.

Check out Jeremy Todd! ⁠https://jeremy-todd.com/⁠ and https://x.com/Jtodd601⁠https://x.com/Jtodd601⁠

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Mike ter Maat joins Brian Nichols to reveal the VP pick nobody votes on, Vance vs. Rubio 2028, and the $40 trillion debt, and why the Republican Party's biggest fight is happening right now. Plus Starlink's telco takeover... and whether it takes an outsider to fix a broken system.
Mike was the Libertarian Party's 2024 VP nominee. Now he's seeking the Republican nomination for Vice President in 2028. Not president. VP. Nobody has ever run a campaign for that job... so why is he doing it? And what does he want delegates in Houston to do that they've never done before?
Then we get into Thomas Massie. The most expensive House primary in American history. Was the liberty message rejected... or is the market just not buying yet?
And then it gets heated. JD Vance, Marco Rubio, Starlink's 800 MHz play, and $40 trillion in debt. Mike says my math is wrong, not my principle. Is he right? You be the judge.
Mike is also the editor of the new book BROKEN: How American Politics Is Driving Civil Unrest, Financial Collapse & War. If this one doesn't leave you educated, enlightened, and informed, I'll eat my microphone.
CHAPTERS
0:00 The Resume That Makes No Sense
2:02 Why Run for VP, Not President?
6:24 Every VP Becomes a "Mini-Me"
10:49 Did the GOP Just Reject the Massie Wing?
15:21 It Took $30 Million to Beat Thomas Massie
18:06 The Real Fight After Trump Leaves
21:29 Are VPs Picked Just for Their Name?
23:14 "Do Not Abdicate Responsibility"
26:49 Vance, Rubio, Cruz... Who Does Mike Want?
31:33 Should an Outsider Ever Be on the Ticket?
36:05 Was the Bug There From Day One?
38:41 Starlink's 800 MHz Play & the Outsider Argument
41:31 "You Cannot Save Trillions by Firing People"
42:04 "Your Math Is Wrong, Not Your Principle"
50:17 What Young Voters Actually Want
51:46 The 10-Year Clock on the Federal Government
53:15 Where to Find Mike ter Maat
MIKE TER MAAT
Campaign: https://miketermaat.com/
Donate: https://miketermaat.com/donate
Get Involved: https://miketermaat.com/get-involved
BROKEN (the book): https://miketermaat.com/broken
Liberty Lens Podcast: https://miketermaat.com/liberty-lens-podcast/
Substack: https://substack.com/@miketermaatthefuture
X: https://x.com/miketermaat_
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCs8-rRseTINKUPYes8QUFZw
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/miketermaatthefuture/
Rumble: https://rumble.com/user/Mike_ter_Maat_The_Future
SPONSORS
This episode is sponsored by Oasis of Hope Hospital. Free consultation with their medical team - use code TBNS: https://www.oasisofhope.com
Hear Emma Victoria Johnson's story: https://www.briannicholsshow.com/breast-cancer-under-50-apple-cider-vinegar-mexicos-medical-tourism-boom-a-275000-mistake-t/
Cardio Miracle - 15% off with code TBNS: https://cardiomiracle.com/TBNS
BRIAN NICHOLS
Website: https://www.briannicholsshow.com
X: https://x.com/BNicholsLiberty
Email: [email protected]

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On this week's Mean Age Daydream, the leftist / feminist hypocrisy cabal is trying to cancel Shane Gillis for making fun of women's scrimpy clothing at gyms during an SNL monologue, plus a raging debate about EBT benefits and discounted entry to theme parks and zoos.

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Bretigne Shaffer writes children's horror, superhero graphic novels, and dark comedy about COVID — and she self-publishes all of it, because no traditional publisher (or Netflix) will touch a story that's critical of the pandemic response.

We talk about her Halloween story Elixir of Fear — a 19th-century patent-medicine salesman who's also a wizard, a "budgie flu," and a whole town swept up in a fear campaign — why great art about COVID hasn't arrived yet, the people now pretending lockdowns "weren't a big deal," and why she moved her family from California to Kentucky. Plus: the lost world of literary journals, short stories as Hollywood IP, B-movie horror vs. gore, The Exorcist, her upcoming short story collection and her novel Davy Sunshine and the Big Pandemic, the Lady and the Unicorn tapestry — and the burning question of whether female unicorns have horns.

Find Bretigne's books and Substack and follow Lou on all platforms below.

 Bretigne Shaffer

Website & Substack: https://www.bretigne.com

Books: Annabel Pickering & the Sky Pirates · Urban Yogini: A Superhero Who Can't Use Violence

Watch full episodes on YouTube → https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4Vb53s4I0A&list=PLb5trMQQvT077-L1roE0iZyAgT4dD4EtJ

Listen on Apple Podcasts → https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-lou-perez-podcast/id1535032081

Listen on Spotify → https://open.spotify.com/show/2KAtC7eFS3NHWMZp2UgMVU

 Co-host of Happy Hour Econ → https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/happy-hour-econ/id1863476697

 Lou's book — That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore: https://amzn.to/3VhFa1r

 Rock XX-XY Athletics. Get 20% off with promo code LOU20: https://www.xx-xyathletics.com/?sca_ref=7113152.ifIMaKpCG3ZfUHH4

 TheLouPerez.com |  [email protected]  Newsletter: https://substack.com/@louperez

 Watch my sketch comedy streaming on Red Coral Universe: https://redcoraluniverse.com/title/the-lou-perez-comedy-68501a2fd369683d0f2a2a88?loopData=true&ccId=675bc891f78f658f73eaa46d

0:00 – Intro: Bretigne Shaffer braves a cold

0:58 – The stomach bug that took down Lou's whole family

2:16 – Elixir of Fear: a COVID fable in children's horror

3:35 – The "budgie flu" and how fear campaigns work

4:50 – John Bellairs and scary-but-not-too-scary stories

6:04 – Why write fan fiction you can't sell?

8:12 – Procrastination and the pain of writing

10:07 – Where's the great art about COVID?

12:26 – "It wasn't a big deal": the lockdown memory hole

15:07 – When COVID skeptics couldn't say a word

17:00 – Her first short story collection

17:10 – Mailing stories to literary journals

19:31 – Tin House, Fiction, and Mark Jay Mirsky

20:37 – Short stories as Hollywood IP

22:07 – Libertarian film studios and fleeing California for Kentucky

22:54 – Halloween, B-movie monsters, and Alligator (1980)

25:09 – Real horror vs. gore: The Exorcist

26:47 – Why she self-publishes

30:07 – Annabel Pickering and Urban Yogini

31:28 – Davy Sunshine and the Big Pandemic

32:53 – Writing for kids vs. adults

34:26 – The Lady and the Unicorn tapestry

36:20 – Do female unicorns have horns?

37:14 – Molière's The Imaginary Invalid

38:46 – Where to find Bretigne

#BretigneShaffer #COVID #SelfPublishing #Horror #FreeSpeech #Libertarian #LouPerezPodcast

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