James Keys and Tunde Ogunlana discuss a couple of the laws from Robert Greene’s bestselling book “The 48 Laws of Power,” particularly looking at the extent to which the laws hold up as society has evolved in the nearly 3 decades since the book was published.

The 48 Laws of Power (Bookshop.org)

James Keys and Tunde Ogunlana discuss the public reaction to the American Eagle jeans advertising campaign which features Sydney Sweeney and makes a direct play on the word jeans and the idea of genetics, culminating in quote “Sydney Sweeney has great genes.” The guys also consider what it means for the public discourse that stirring up controversy and creating outrage is a very reliable path to money and power in the attention economy, particularly with how certain groups seem to be easily set up to play the same roles in these controversies over and over again.

The ad campaign that launched a thousand critiques: Sydney Sweeney's jeans (NPR)

The Sydney Sweeney Jeans Ad "Backlash" Is Mostly Fake (The Present Age)

American Eagle Scores Big Win Amid Sydney Sweeney Ad Backlash (Newsweek)

James Keys and Tunde Ogunlana reflect on an interesting point made in Yuval Noah Harari’s book “Nexus,” about the witch hunting era in Europe following the spread of the printing press and how that time shared many of the characteristics we see in our modern, post Internet society. The guys also discuss whether, in light of how things turned out in the witch hunting era, we should be more worried about where the information environment in this post Internet era may take us.

Nexus (ynharari.com)

James Keys and Tunde Ogunlana take a look at the Washington state law that would require that clergy from any religion to report to authorities any child abuse, including sex abuse or pedophilia, that they learn about, even if they learn about it during a confessional, and discuss the Trump administration’s effort to fight the law in court based on the First Amendment to the Constitution and in the court of public opinion by calling it an “anti-Catholic” law.

Trump and the Catholic Church Fight a Law Requiring Clergy to Report Child Abuse (Rolling Stone)

Catholic Church sex abuse cases in the United States (Wikipedia)

James Keys and Tunde Ogunlana discuss the reaction to the death of Hulk Hogan, particularly in light of how popular he was at his height of fame and how he remained in the public eye even after his popularity waned. The guys also consider how the evolution of American culture can be seen through his public life and whether the kind of popularity Hogan had in the 1980s is even possible anymore.

The Mortal Hulk Hogan (The Ringer)

Hulk Hogan’s legacy isn’t complicated (Andscape)

James Keys and Tunde Ogunlana discuss the theory that human languages evolved in order to facilitate gossiping, which was raised in the book, Sapiens, by Yuval Noah Harari, and consider the ways our modern societies may illustrate this theory and also how recent trends may work to undermine how humans have traditionally used gossip to their advantage.

Sapiens (Yuval Noah Harari)

James Keys and Tunde Ogunlana discuss jury duty, how it fits into American civic life, and consider why so many Americans seem to dread serving on juries, even though jurors are granted so much power.

Jury duty is rare, but most Americans see it as part of good citizenship (Pew Research Center)

Selected for jury duty? Here’s why this civic service is important (LaHood Law Group)

James Keys and Tunde Ogunlana consider what the Trump Administration’s efforts to gaslight the public on the Jeffrey Epstein files says about both Donald Trump and his MAGA followers, and discuss why Trump so far is having such a hard time getting his followers to fall in line on this issue.

Pam Bondi’s botched handling of the Epstein files (CNN)

Republicans block effort to force release of Epstein files in Congress (The Independent)

Bongino still in limbo as Trump fumes and JD Vance seeks to play mediator, sources say (CNN)

'Weaklings': Trump lashes out at supporters over 'Jeffrey Epstein hoax' (USAToday)

What Trump Has Said About Jeffrey Epstein Over the Years (Rolling Stone)

Trump begins openly embracing and amplifying false fringe QAnon conspiracy theory (PBS)