Buried in Philadelphia's Trash Strike, Netflix Poop Cruise Disaster & Tiny Chef Is Saved | Ep.196

I kick off episode 196 deep in the middle of Philadelphia’s garbage crisis. The municipal workers’ strike has turned city streets into a landfill. Mountains of trash tower over people at Princeton and Hawthorne in Mayfair. The city taped off the mess and rerouted everyone to a drop-off at State and Ashburner—when you can find your way past the rats and the stench. I talk to locals like Felix Romelien (“The smell is unbelievable”) and Patrick Glynn (“We’re going to have rats here tonight like this”), and we wonder why the city plopped this dumpster 50 yards from Mayfair Elementary. If you’ve ever driven through this area, you know it’s not just gross—it’s a full sensory assault.Next, I dive into Netflix’s latest nostalgia trip: Trainwreck: Poop Cruise. Remember the Carnival Triumph? That 2013 disaster where a fire killed the power, the toilets stopped working, and the walls literally bled sewage? Netflix brings us talking heads rehashing the “bag it and bear it” saga as if we need another hour of people describing feces in biohazard bags. I riff on how we used to treat broken toilets as front-page news in the Obama era, but now we breeze past political assassinations and wars without a blink. I question why we’re reliving this maritime bathroom nightmare and admit I watched the whole doc—while eating my lunch.Finally, I celebrate a tiny hero: Tiny Chef. After Nickelodeon pulled the plug, fans rallied behind our favorite mini-cook. Creators Rachel Larsen, Ozlem “Ozi” Akturk, and Adam Reid raised enough cash to bring the show back to life. I break down their heart-melting video—Chef singing “There’s No Business Like Show Business,” the open window blowing breeze through the set, the #savetinychef hashtag—and share why this grassroots rescue warms my cynical heart.If you laughed, gagged, or felt your nostrils flare, hit subscribe. Follow me on TikTok @wawdpod for more chaos in under a minute. Drop a comment and tell me: what ridiculous news should we tackle next? And as always, I’ll leave you with one simple question: What are we doing?