Discourse Pod #09: [REDACTED] Has an AI Girlfriend?????????

After a slight illness-related delay (get better soon Producer Sam!!!), we are BACK for our last pod of the year. Thank God Caitlin was free to be third chair for an ep that covers a lot of ground, including: * A disturbing rumor about an actor who allegedly is out and proud about having an AI girlfriend (it’s giving James Franco x body pillow on 30 Rock)* How President Obama putting Lady Gaga’s “Abracadabra”—a song he has maybe heard once—on his annual “favorites of the year list” is the final straw (however, if he starts putting podcasts on these lists, we take everything back; then the lists are good and he should put Discourse Pod on it)* Pondering what Katy Perry deep cuts Justin Trudeau might know * A short detour into the rise of I’ve Had It’s Jennifer Welch * Remembering MSNBC’s Hardball (ya burnt!) * Trump’s “Patriot Games,” which is definitely NOT just the Hunger Games This week’s cultural recommendations: * Jack semi-recommends Celine Song’s The Materialists and definitely recommends Rob Reiner’s When Harry Met Sally * Caitlin recommends the 4K restoration of Mad Men on HBO Max* Aleks kinda recommends the Taylor Swift docuseries The End of an EraWe’ll back in the New Year with an important update on the future of the pod and the blog—but until then, Happy Holidays! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.discourseblog.com/subscribe