Episode CCXXXIV

Mike talks about everything from personal updates to politics, comedy, and deep thoughts on life. He starts with the cold weather, and how Valentine’s Day also marks his rent’s anniversary (and his conception date). He also touches on the Super Bowl, from Seal’s commercial to Kanye’s, and recognizes Black History Month before diving into Apple’s massive $500 billion investment in the U.S. The podcast also includes the market’s recent dip, and AI's fast evolution, with Deep Seek AI, Grok3’s take on Musk, ChatGPT, and Copilot making waves. More topics include Trump’s executive orders and Trump Coin, including some of the biggest issues—immigration, Guantanamo Bay’s expansion, the Israel-Palestine conflict, and Trump calling Zelensky a dictator. There’s also Elon Musk’s whatever you wanna call it, lawsuits pushing back against his/their moves, and a government whose bureaucracy looks like what Musk calls balls of worms. Meanwhile, media networks are shifting, with MSNBC leaning more right, and Trump likely aiming to cut NPR’s funding, which would force it to find alternative ways to survive. Mike also reflects on Jimmy Carter’s legacy beyond politics. Mike admits that he's been using ChatGPT for dating advice—but not for comedy writing. AI is supposed to serve us, not the other way around, like droids in Star Wars. Speaking of which, he's looking forward to Andor 2, enjoyed Gladiator 2, and is excited for the new season of Daredevil. On the entertainment side, LA fires were raging and seem to be done. The comedy world has been eventful, with SNL’s 50th anniversary bringing some standout moments—Zach Galifianakis’ Kanye bit, and Steve Martin and Martin Short keeping it fresh while steering clear of Trump and Elon. Mike also talks about writing a recent SNL sketch about Elon and submitting it to SNL.In his comedy journey, Mike discusses talking to a company about sports commentating and considering doing cruise-ship comedy gigs. But his main focus remains on keeping his comedy art and avoiding the trap of overextending on social media, not chasing algorithms, and not selling out in any way he feels. He values artistic autonomy, both financially and creatively.Looking back on 2024, he realizes he missed a few things in the year-end recap episode—i.e., some shows, speaking engagements, and even a celebrity golf tournament that he somehow didn’t perform at (seriously, what happened there?). Mike also did a podcast with Libbie Higgins in Nashville in 2024 and worked on a sketch with Dom Leonelli in NYC.On a personal level, he's been reflecting on the notion that what we do today echoes in eternity. He shares some Gasperilla 2025 stories, talks about a moment when he almost flew to NYC just for fun to bang a married woman in an open relationship, and recounts a guy in a minivan trying to race him in his Tesla. There’s also a car accident story in there somewhere. Yes, you read that right. Mike got into a car accident Friday night, but everybody is ok, thankfully! He wraps up with some inspiration from Christopher Reeve and a reminder that life, much like weightlifting, is about pushing forward, especially when the chips are down—you either drown or you fight your way back up. Sometimes after you drown, somebody gives you CPR, then you fight your way back like Bruce Wayne did when he climbed out of the pit in The Dark Knight Rises.Tune in and let’s have some eargasms!