The United States of Smarm, on CBS (CIB #220)

It’s a plus-size episode of Cast Iron Brains, because we sneak nearly a whole episode of Cast Iron Balls right into the middle of it. We’ve got the politics news of the week, the sports news of the week, and plenty of our other usual silliness and digressions. Listen, if you must! Has something we said, or failed to say, made you FEEL something? You can tell us all about it by joining the conversation on our Substack or you can send us an email here. Enjoy!Show RundownOpen — Holiday Cake Pop Autopsy6:57 — WGAS Newsbag; MYSTERY DRONES!19:21 — Daniel Penny verdict27:50 — Pete Hegseth backlash to the backlash will make him SecDef42:56 — ABC News settles defamation suit with Trump50:18 — Black plastic kitchen utensils, the silent killer?1:07:28 — WGAS Newsbag, Sports Edition! Abe Live Bets the Games!1:10:18 — Ohio politician wants to make flag planting a felony1:18:45 — Bill Belichick to coach UNC Tar Heels1:33:03 — Marshall pulls out of Independence Bowl, Army-Navy game brings the smarm1:43:40 — The Billboard Hot 100 Game2:04:04 — Wrap-up! The Order; Tell Them You Love Me; Meditations by Marcus Aurelius; various Christmas moviesRelevant Linkage can be found by visiting https://brainiron.substack.com/, where, if you would like to support this and the other podcasting and blogging endeavors of the Brain Iron dot com media empire, you can also become a paying subscriber.The opening and closing themes of Cast Iron Balls were composed by Marc Gillig. For more from Marc, go to tetramermusic.com.