GoneTrending

It sounds like a ridiculous, sensationalist headline, but it’s real. In Cheshire County, New Hampshire, a transsexual, anarchist Satanist has won the GOP nomination for county sheriff. Aria DiMezzo, who refers to herself as a “She-Male” and whose campaign motto was “F*** the Police,” ran as a Republican in the primary. Though she ran unopposed on the ballot, according to Fox News, she anticipated that she would lose to a write-in candidate. Instead, 4,211 voters filled in the bubble next to her name, making her the official Republican candidate for county sheriff.

DiMezzo is clear about why she ran—to show how “clueless the average voter is” and to prove that “the system is utterly and hopelessly broken”—stances that her win only serves to reinforce.

In a blog post published on Friday, DiMezzo explained how she had never tried to hide who she was and that anyone could have looked her up to see what she was about, in addition to pointing out that those who are angry with her have no one to blame but themselves:

“None of it is a secret. I couldn’t possibly have been more upfront about who I am, or my position on things. Did none of you pay attention to the election two years ago, when I criticized Eli Rivera for not going far enough with his sanctuary policy? Did none of you remember the six foot tall tranny who ran for sheriff and then city council?

You could have easily looked at a sample ballot prior to the election, and you could have simply looked up the candidates in a search engine. By doing so, you, like the good citizen in Rindge, would probably have been appalled, and probably wouldn’t have voted for me. I wouldn’t have begrudged you for that. I was, after all, rather upfront about it. I went into it expecting that I would lose the primary to a write-in candidate, because I didn’t think that so many voters were just… completely and totally oblivious about who they are voting for.

Because the fact is that you didn’t bother. You trusted the system. You trusted the establishment. You trusted the party. You felt safe. You were sure that there must be some mechanisms in place to prevent from occurring exactly what just occurred. Your anger is misplaced if you direct it at me. Please listen. Your anger is with the system that has lied to you. Your anger is with the system that convinced you to believe in it, trust in it, and have faith in it, when it is completely and utterly broken.

More than 4,000 people went into the voting booth on September 8 this week, and they all filled in the circle by my name despite knowing absolutely nothing about the person they were nominating to the most powerful law enforcement position in the county. That’s a level of recklessness of which any decent human being should be ashamed.”

Regardless of how you feel about DiMezzo, her message, or her methods, she’s absolutely right about one thing—voters too often go to the polls woefully uninformed, especially when it comes to local politics. Local elected officials are the ones who generally have the most direct impact on our daily lives, and it’s our responsibility as citizens to learn about the people running for these positions.

DiMezzo isn’t lying when she says her stance wasn’t a secret. Six days before the election, she posted a horribly offensive meme about the police on her Twitter account, reminding people to vote for her.

And interestingly, people did. Here’s the breakdown of votes by town in the county.

There was apparently one person who did realize that DiMezzo was not exactly what the Republican party had in mind for county sheriff, and who organized a write-in campaign. It still wasn’t enough even in that one town to outnumber the votes DiMezzo received, but she praised that person for trying to spread the word.

“For those of you who actually did research, thank you. I’m not being snide. I’m glad that someone bothered to actually look at to whom they were handing power over theirs and other people’s lives. Sadly, you number in the minority. The write-in campaign in Rindge was exceedingly well done–a testament to the power of grassroots, decentralized communication–yet it saddens me that it was even necessary. One person did their research prior to the election, and he spread what he found everywhere. Good on him. That is a person I respect. But those people who learned of me because of this person should have already known. They didn’t, though. Because they trusted the party. They trusted the system. The system, they thought, surely would never let them down.

I’m running for sheriff because I oppose that very system, and the sheriff has the most hands-on ability in Cheshire County to oppose that system. The system that let you down by allowing me–the freaking transsexual Satanist anarchist–be your sheriff candidate is the same system I’m attacking. I’m sorry, and I know it hurts to hear, but that system is a lie. The entire thing is a lie. It’s broken from beginning to end, and my existence as your sheriff candidate is merely how this reality was thrown into your face.”

Even though this was a local election, it should be a wake-up call for all of us to really examine the system. Even if we’re not anarchists opposing the system like DiMezzo, we should at least understand it and invest in it fully if we agree with it. The passive approach to civic engagement has real consequences. DiMezzo made her point with the Republican ticket, but an unopposed candidate on a Democraft primary ticket doesn’t automatically make them an ideal candidate.

We often focus on getting out the vote, but people also need to know who and what they are voting for. That’s the whole point of DiMezzo’s run for sheriff, and even if we don’t agree with her on everything, we should all humbly heed the red flag she has raised.

I’ve written about it in the past, but I’d be remiss if we didn’t mention it again here: for many drinkers, scotch — especially single malt scotch — seems too fancy. Inaccessible. Distilled just for the rich and those in need of an expensive hobby. Drink snobs.

But if you still hold those perceptions, you’re mostly wrong. While there are high-quality, well-aged offerings that you (and even I) will likely never taste, the contemporary scotch world is completely inclusive and full of reasonably priced, gateway bottles perfect for novices. There are even plenty of single malts that you can likely afford (and are worth a small splurge).

To fight single malt scotch stigmas, I decided to make a list (including tasting notes) of my personal favorite bottles for beginners. I even included two smoky offerings from Islay, in case you’re ready to get your peat on.

Dalwhinnie 15

ABV: 43%

Distillery: Dalwhinnie

Price: $69.99

The Story:

There’s a reason whisky expert Jim Murray gave this bottle a score of 95 in his Whisky Bible. It’s an amazing value whisky. This award-winning Highland whisky is part of Diageo’s Classic Malts range. It’s renowned for its smooth, mellow, easy to drink aspects.

Even if you’ve never purchased Scotch before, this bottle belongs on your shelf. It’s a perfect introduction to single malt whisky.

Tasting Notes:

Like with any whisky, you should start with the nose. Right away, you’re met with dried orange peel, crisp apple, and caramel sweetness. The first sip, while velvety, yields hints of toasted vanilla, subtle oak, and a hint of smoke. The finish is long and filled with nutty flavors along with butterscotch, toffee, and just a wisp of peppery spice.

Bottom Line:

If you’re willing to pay around $70 dollars, you’ll have a bottle that will not only be a gateway into single malts, but also a bottle you’ll return to time and again.

The Balvenie Double Wood 12

ABV: 40%

Distillery: The Balvenie

Price: $64.99

The Story:

First introduced in 1993, The Balvenie Double Wood 12 gets its name because it’s literally aged in two different woods. First, it’s matured for a minimum of 12 years in ex-bourbon casks before being aged another nine months in ex-Oloroso sherry butts. It then spends another four months in an oak tun to help the flavors to meld together.

Tasting Notes:

The result of all of that hard work is noticeable from the first nose. The very first aroma detected is the sweet sherry scent. This is followed by more well-known Scotch flavors like vanilla, butterscotch, and pepper. The sip brings forth more sherry, cinnamon, dried fruits, and caramel. The finish is long, warming, dry, and subtly spicy.

Bottom Line:

If you’re looking for a whisky that is both delicate and full of flavor, you’ll want to spend a long time sipping a glass of this truly memorable juice.

Glenmorangie The Original 10 Year

ABV: 43%

Distillery: Glenmorangie

Price: $39.99

The Story:

When it comes beginner bottles that you’ll keep purchasing, it’s really tough to beat Glenmorangie The Original 10 Year. The distillery’s flagship bottle, “The Original” is a ten-year-old single malt made in the tallest stills in Scotland. The distillate is then matured in ex-bourbon barrels to create a complex, well-balanced spirit worthy of any whisky collection from beginner to expert.

Tasting Notes:

Right away, you’re met with aromas of honey, vanilla, sticky toffee pudding, and just a hint of citrus zest. The first sip is exceptionally mellow with hints of cinnamon, dried fruits, caramel, and toasted oak. The finish is long, pleasing, and filled with honeysuckle, caramel, and just a tiny hint of dried orange peel at the end.

Bottom Line:

The price is right for this offering. So right that you shouldn’t feel bad mixing it into a cocktail if you don’t want to sip it straight.

Auchentoshan American Oak

ABV: 41%

Distillery: Auchentoshan

Price: $37.99

The Story:

You might have a hard time spelling Auchentoshan and that’s okay. All you need to do is drink it. The best gateway offering from this Lowlands distillery (fairly close to Glasgow) is this triple distilled single malt aged (with no age statement) in American oak barrels that formerly held bourbon.

First introduced in 2014, this expression has become go-to for whisky novices hoping to find a way into the Scotch world.

Tasting Notes:

Before taking a sip, this whisky deserves a long nosing. You’ll be met with hints of orange zest, spicy cinnamon, toasted wood, and subtle spices. The sip delivers flavors of vanilla, maple covered pancakes, rich caramel, and dried orange peel. The finish is mellow, long-lasting, and full of more vanilla sweetness and just a tiny bit of peppery spice.

Bottom Line:

Another bargain bottle, this is the kind of offering we try to keep to ourselves for fear that the price will rise and we won’t be able to afford it anymore.

Caol Ila 12

ABV: 43%

Distillery: Caol Ila

Price: $65.99

The Story:

When it comes to Islay malts, you’ve probably heard a lot about the likes of Lagavulin, Bruichladdich, and Laphroaig. But it’s actually Caol Ila that produces the most of any of the iconic distilleries. From Gaelic, the name roughly translates to “sound of Islay” and if you want to get into Islay whiskies, look no further than its 12-year-old.

Launched in 2002, this bottle is light, mellow, and has right the right amount of smoke for a peat novice.

Tasting Notes:

You’ll notice how complex this whisky is from the first nose. Aromas of tobacco, Christmas spices, peat smoke, and sweet caramel are right up front. A sip brings more smoke, sugary vanilla, and dried orange peel to the table. The finish is long, pleasantly warm, smoky, and touched by light peppery spice.

Bottom Line:

When it comes to gateway peat-smoked whiskies, it’s hard to beat the complexities of this single malt. Perfect in a penicillin cocktail, but even better in a Glencairn class with a few drops of water to open it up.

Ardbeg Uigeadail

ABV: 54.2%

Distillery: Ardbeg

Price: $82.99

The Story:

Another name you’ll have trouble spelling, Ardbeg Uigeadail is another great gateway into the world of smoky whiskies. In 2009, Jim Murray’s Whisky Bible named this expression the “World Whisky of the Year’ and for good reason. Named for the loch Ardbeg uses as its water source, this introduction to peat-smoking is matured in a combination of ex-bourbon casks and sherry butts.

Tasting Notes:

Like most Islay whiskies, your nose is met with a hit of smoke right off the bat. But that leads to brown sugar, leather, and dried fruits. From the first sip, you’ll be met with rich honey, dark, toasted caramel sweetness, and cinnamon — all covered with a blanket of rich smoke. The finish is long, warming, and a mix of toffee, caramel, and cigar smoke.

Bottom Line:

This well-balanced whisky is full of smoke, but it’s more than just a smoke bomb. It’s complex and full of other flavors that you’ll become acquainted with if you take the time to sip it slowly with just a splash of water.

A study published on Monday in the journal Nature Astronomy found that Venus’ clouds contain phosphine which may be evidence of alien life.

Phosphone is an extremely flammable, corrosive gas also found on Earth that’s produced by anaerobic bacteria and humans in labs.

The study’s authors haven’t verified the origins of the gas but the sources they’ve investigated haven’t been able to explain the amount of gas they discovered.

“We really went through all possible pathways that could produce phosphine on a rocky planet,” Janusz Petkowski, an author of the new study, told MIT News. “If this is not life, then our understanding of rocky planets is severely lacking.”

Should the study reveal life it would be one of the most important discoveries in human history. It would also validate a hypothesis posited decades ago by astrophysicist and the original host of TV’s, “Cosmos,” Carl Sagan.

In the ’60s he authored two scientific papers outlining the possibility of life on Venus. He wrote that the planet’s surface was too hot to support life but, “while the surface conditions of Venus make the hypothesis of life there implausible, the clouds of Venus are a different story altogether.”

In 1967, Sagan and Harold Morowitz, a molecular biophysicist at Yale, posited that there could be a livable layer in Venus’ clouds.

Here’s Sagan describing the possibility of life in Venus’ cloud layer back in 1963.

Life on Venus by Carl Sagan (1963)

www.youtube.com

“Measurements with radio telescopes show, that there is a region on Venus where temperatures are greater than 600 degrees Fahrenheit,” Sagan says. “It is just possible, that the hot region exists at a high altitude, in the ionosphere of Venus.”

“The surface temperature could then be, almost Earth-like and life as we know it could exist there,” Sagan continues. “However, it is more likely that if there is life on Venus it is probably the type we cannot now imagine.”

Upworthy readers may be familiar with another prediction Sagan made right before his death in 1996. On “Charlie Rose” he said that due to a lack of scientific skepticism America runs the risk of being taken over by a “charlatan” political leader

Jeopardy! is officially back on Monday night as the show kicks off its 37th season in an unprecedented time for television game shows. The show tried its best to keep filming as the pandemic took away studio audiences in the fall, and life in quarantine was restless for Alex Trebek as they ironed out the kinks regarding filming in the age of social distancing.

Monday marks the return of the show to syndication, with new episodes that were filmed after quarantine began. That means a lot of social distancing and new tweaks to what you’re used to seeing on Jeopardy! Ken Jennings appeared on Good Morning America on Monday to talk about what’s different with the show this season as well. The newly-minted Jeopardy! producer said most of the changes were made with keeping people safe in mind, starting with the show’s legendary host. He noted the set has been “spruced up” for the new season, with new podiums for each contestant and a new spot for Trebek as well.

“They’re feet apart from each other instead of being a single bank,” Jennings said Monday morning. “And Trebek will stay at the host’s podium, instead of coming over to the contestants because Alex’s health is priority No. 1 on that set.”

The show’s Twitter account later tweeted out what the set will look like, with some annotations pointing to some changes made this for social distancing.

A piece on The Ringer by Claire McNear also went into great detail about the precautions the show has taken and what’s changed about filming, both for those working on the show and contestants. Since they use the same spaces as Wheel of Fortune, the shows are using each other’s areas to keep people apart and basically making everyone wear masks unless they’re on camera. And don’t expect to get very close to Trebek if you make your way on as a contestant:

Trebek, meanwhile, is very much back at work, albeit at a greater distance than normal: Instead of leaning across the contestant podiums for Q&As with players and shaking the hand of the newly crowned champion at the episode’s end, he stops partway between his podium and theirs. It’s long been a joke in trivia circles that you can immediately tell when you’ve encountered a Jeopardy! alum on social media: Their profile picture is always the commemorative shot of them standing next to Trebek. While Season 37 contestants won’t have that, they’ll at least have a socially distant version, with Trebek on one side of the Final Jeopardy screen and them on the other.

Considering Trebek continues to battle Stage IV pancreatic cancer, it certainly makes sense that they’re doing their best to keep him safe. McNear’s story has a lot of great details about what life is like on the Jeopardy! set these days, and there’s a charming story of a contestant’s sister making a cutout version of herself to put on an empty chair in the studio audience to “cheer” her on. We are living in some truly weird and worrying times, but Jeopardy! back on the air will certainly be a welcome comfort in a COVID-weary world.

(Via The Ringer)

Paul Rudd is aging as gracefully as anyone on the planet, which makes him perfect to play a… millennial? At least he has taken those reigns in a coronavirus PSA where the 51-year-old actor talked to his people about the importance of wearing a mask to help stop the spread of COVID-19.

“Yo, what up dudes, Paul Rudd here, actor and certified young person,” Rudd says, wearing a bright yellow hoodie and a flat brimmed NY hat while holding a skateboard. “A few days ago I was talking on the iPhone with my homie governor Cuomo, and he’s just going off about how us millennials need to wear masks. Because, get this, apparently a lot of COVID is transmitted by us millennials.”

There are some incredible facial expressions in this video, and I wish I could share all of them as screengrabs. But please settle for this one and pause the video several times to get the full enjoyment out of them all.

Anyway, Rudd said Cuomo asked him to do something about this, hence the video.

“So Cuoms asks, he says ‘Paul, you gotta help me. What are you, like, 26?’ And I didn’t correct him.”

Rudd then called masks “totally beast” and said to “slide that into your DMs and Twitch it.” He then pulled out a double-necked guitar and played a sick riff. No, really. Rudd also helped recreate one of his recently famous memes, wearing a wing sauce-stained mask with the guy from First We Feast to say “look at us” a few times. There are other meme references in there, but also just a lot of awkward Tim and Eric-style silliness from Rudd, who says deadpan that “we gotta yeet this virus” at the end of the video.

Whether it gets the point across to millennials is unclear right now, but, judging from the initial reaction, a lot of fans of Celery Man were certainly picking up what he was putting down. No cap.

Director and producer Brian McGinn first got attention while directing comedy shorts with Dave Franco. Then McGinn landed a gig producing and directing episodes of Netflix’s hit food series Chef’s Table and the documentary Amanda Knox. McGinn knows how to tell a good story, that’s what we’re getting at here.

We caught up with McGinn as he was doing press for the latest season of Chef’s Table: BBQ. It’s a series of episodes that’s triumphant, educational, and emotional all at once. A peek into the world of barbecue from the streets of Charleston to Texas’ Hill Country to Syndey Harbor to the jungles of the Yucatan.

As Chef’s Table: BBQ rolled out, McGinn was kind enough to give us a nice chunk of time to chat. It’s a fun conversation and a granular look into the making of Chef’s Table — one of the greatest food documentary shows ever.

What was the impetus for you focusing so clearly on one genre of food, barbecue, this time around?

Look, every time we make anything we’re excited to try to share some universal values and feelings, and we see barbecue as this amazing tradition that transcends. It’s all over the world. People barbecue in different ways, and it brings people together and it celebrates this shared bond between people. We thought, at this moment, it turned out to be interesting because now we’re all in this situation, but we thought it was really nice to try to bring people together and celebrate the way that barbecue can actually create community. We thought that was a really cool thing to focus on.

So for us, we see it as an extension of Chef’s Table — as it’s own thing because I think that there’s so much tradition in barbecue. There’s so much richness there. It doesn’t have to be just a season, it can have its own life.

What really comes through in the four episodes is that community is really what is at the root of barbecue. You see folks coming into these joints on Saturday and Sunday, and it’s been such a huge part of their lives for so long, even if the pits aren’t well-known outside of their hometowns.

How did you guys find these particular four subjects?

I think the other thing that we’ve really been trying to do is to find different kinds of stories to share and to put different types of people front-and-center on our series. So for each of our four episodes, we were trying to find stories and people that we could feature that maybe come from a different point of view than some of the traditional high-end chefs that we’ve featured on the show before.

So Tootsie, I mean, first of all, she is truly a legend in Texas barbecue. And for us, it was the thing that was so exciting was to be able to tell a story about someone for whom cooking is not even her full-time job, right?

Right. It’s technically a side gig.

Right! During the week she’s a janitor and then on Friday nights she goes home and sets her alarm for one in the morning. She gets up and she starts cooking barbecue. The idea of that tenacity and that dedication, we thought, was just amazing and a unique story that we really wanted to highlight.

With Rodney, it was so important for us to pay tribute to the history of whole hog BBQ, and the tradition of coming from an African American background of cooking the whole hog in the South, and especially in South Carolina. That was a type of barbecue that we were really excited to share. Then we also loved Rodney’s philosophy, “every day is a good day.” It’s such a great way of looking at life.

Then there’s Lennox, who is probably the most traditionally chef-y of the subjects. We saw his episode as a bridge to the history of what we’ve been doing at Chef’s Table. But also, Lennox is coming from a place where acclaim is not really what he’s in search of. He’s really in love with this form of cooking: Cooking with fire and trying to take it to new places is what he’s fully dedicated to. We loved the idea of featuring someone who’s not actually dedicated to shining a light on themselves.

How did the last episode in the Yucatan fit into that?

For us, we’re always trying to find a way of saying, “Okay, if this is a barbecue season, what are some episodes that people might not expect to see in the season? And how can we explore new parts of the world and share, with our audience, things that we think are really awesome and important?”

So Rosalia’s story is as much about what happens to an Indigenous community and to Indigenous traditions over time as it is about barbecue itself. At the same time, Cochinita pibil has this place in the wider conversation of barbecue, and the pit barbecue of the Mayans became a thing that inspired so much of American barbecue as we know it today. It was a way of both paying tribute to the roots of American barbecue while also exploring this culture, this community, and celebrating the different ways in which barbecue brings us all together.

I think also in every single one of these episodes, the community plays this big role. I think making barbecue really brings Tootsie into her community. She’s found these different ways to be part of her community and she’s persevered through all sorts of tragedy. And Rodney Scott, obviously the idea that his whole community could come together over barbecue certainly comes through in the episode. And Rosalia, cooking Cochinita as a tradition is something where the whole community comes together to cook it and eats it on special occasions.

The communities around these barbecue traditions were really important to us this season.

It’s also fascinating how you’re able to capture the intergenerational aspects of barbecue. These traditions are passed down. They’re adapted and modernized. But, they’re also preserved. That’s something I think people forget about with barbecue is how deeply rooted it is in culture through generations of people cooking it.

Totally. And each of these episodes, the type of barbecue is really a source of pride for the community, right? Hill Country BBQ — as this kind of iconic form of barbecue in Texas — is something where there’s a lot of pride around that style. I would even say with Lennox, at Extebarri he learned this kind of elevated version of the Asador cuisine from the Basque Country and that style of cooking with fire and has continued to push that in the direction that he’s excited about. But as I say, he really emerges from one of those styles as well. Rodney Scott’s whole hog has this long tradition going back to the early days of the American South, particularly in the African American community. And certainly, Cochinita is the same thing. I don’t know the exact years, but, Cochinita goes back to pre-Hispanic times.

There’s something so exciting about being able to trace that history and then find the people who really embody the spirit of these longstanding traditions, and are carrying them forward to speak to the future. That’s always something that’s really exciting for us because that demonstrates the passion and the care that each of these people has for what they do. That’s something we just love and respect and want to celebrate with Chef’s Table.

The show has obviously evolved. So, where do you see this going next?

I think early on in the show, we were really coming from a place where Jiro Dreams of Sushi was a big inspiration for us. David Gelb [that film’s director] was the guiding light of the series. So when we started, we were exploring a lot of other three Michelin star restaurants or places that got acclaim in those traditional high-end, fine dining worlds.

The exciting thing has been that, as the show evolved, we’re discovering how universal food is and how important people are in every type of cuisine. The exciting thing is that there are so many other types of cuisine to explore that we haven’t had a chance to do yet.

How does that translate to the show?

So, I think there are two tracks that we can go on. I think it’s great to continue to explore these iconic six chefs from different backgrounds. Then, it’s also really interesting to explore somewhat more niche categories that reveal much larger themes. For us, the show has never been about purely the culinary world. It’s been about how can we learn and how can we show our audience these inspiring life stories with lessons that I think expand well beyond just the food world. I don’t think there’s no end result where we’re thinking, “Okay, because X, Y, or Z is happening, we don’t want to explore some subject matter.” It’s really about, “how can we find things that inspire us?”

It’s been really exciting to step outside of the fine-dining world and see how many incredible stories there are to share while trying to do a better job of representing and celebrating the broad swath of diversity that exists in the food world.

What’s your favorite barbecue? Are you a Memphis guy, a Carolina Hog, Hill Country, Cochinita?

I went to school in North Carolina, so I love some Carolina pulled pork.

A little bit of mustard?

Yeah. I love that. Obviously, I’m a big Texas brisket fan. Everyone that I know is. Cochinita, in Yaxunah, where Rosalia and a number of the other members of her community cook, is absolutely stunning. I feel like Lennox’s food and the Asador food at Extebarri in the Basque Country is equally delicious. So I think one of the great things is that all these styles are so different that they all stand out on their own merit. So, I guess, I’m giving you a cop-out answer by saying I like all of them.

We can spread the love around. It’s okay.

The first one that I really fell in love with was definitely that pulled pork in Carolina.
You’re in an interesting position in the food industry where you’re very deep in it. You know a lot of people there. But you’re also on the outside looking in as a filmmaker. What have you seen change in the last six months that has actually been positive or something that might be good for the future of food?

The thing that’s inspiring to me every day is how creative members of the culinary world are in finding ways to adapt. The number one goal, I think, that people often lose track of when we’re talking about chefs as superstars and all those things, is that it really comes down to this fundamental relationship between cooks and diners, right? No matter what, it’s creating an experience of dining that’s like inviting some into the kitchen but making it feel like home. It’s been really exciting and awesome seeing how much adaptation everyone is capable of, and how creative people are being in trying to help other members of the community.

Another thing that’s really stood out to me is that it’s not a situation where each restaurant and each chef is on their own. It’s a community banding together and saying, “Hey, restaurants are really vital. What we do is really important for our culture and to the community.” I think that’s been a really lovely thing to see.

You can watch all of the new season of ‘Chef’s Table: BBQ‘ on Netflix.

My car was covered in ash this morning and the sky up and down California looks like the first act of Interstellar right now, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t slightly cheered by this morning’s Twitter development. In case you missed it, that was when the sitting president of the United States of America, Donald Trump, challenged Democratic nominee Joe Biden to a debate on the Joe Rogan podcast. Which he did by quote-tweeting ex-UFC middleweight contender Tim Kennedy (who totally got hosed against Yoel Romero, but that’s for another article).

If anything, Idiocracy just wasn’t weird enough. 2020 has been depressing and apocalyptic, but at least now it’s finally becoming art. I can’t think of a better way to ride out the fires and floods and locusts than listening to two increasingly senile used car salesmen trade insults mediated by your over-earnest gym partner microdosing on DMT. This is America, 2020.

Joe Rogan gets a lot of criticism for normalizing all the rightwing wackos he has on his show, and justifiably so, but he’s also one of the few representations of what a genuine swing voter looks like. And he’s not some mythical centrist composite cooked up by cable news who likes social programs but is concerned about the national debt, he’s your mostly apolitical cousin who’s really into custom metalwork and might one day get drawn into a multi-level marketing scheme via Twitch. As “liberal” media increasingly moves towards up-to-the-minute fact-checking as a solution to this age of schizophrenic misinformation, Joe Rogan gets 200 million monthly listeners by earnestly “yes-and”-ing virtually any idea in the universe for three barely-edited hours on end.

Maybe there’s a lesson in that? I honestly don’t know. But as a legitimately credulous, genuinely persuadable swing voter, Joe Rogan actually seems like the perfect debate moderator. He’s the presidential debate moderator we deserve.

All of which got us to thinking: what would some of the topics be at a Joe Rogan-moderated presidential debate? Here are some of our predictions:

—

Should the US government try to negotiate better prices on nootropics?

Are you in favor of increasing the number of paleo options for underprivileged school children?
Should microdosing be taught in schools?

Would you be willing to support discounted sensory deprivation tanks for first responders?

Are you capable of moving the Israeli embassy to Area 51?

Should the Oscars institute new rules to facilitate more Dagestani representation in film?

Should police departments outlaw the use of the rubber guard?

Would your administration push to rename or remove statues and monuments of historical figures found to have been inspired by aliens?

Is our national infrastructure as prepared as it could be for an inevitable chimpanzee uprising?

Would you consider mandatory kettlebell programs for potential school shooters?

(*Passes CBD pen*) You hear about these coordinated killer whale attacks? F*ckin’ crazy, right?

Has Doctor Fauci looked into the effects of ketosis on the novel coronavirus?

Should the US military move to contain China’s growing influence in the Pacific region or is what we think of as reality actually just a simulation?

Are you in favor of legalizing the 12-to-6 elbow?

How detailed is your plan for confronting the sasquatch?

Would you appoint Dan Carlin to run the Department Of Education in order to advance our children’s understanding of historical weaponry?
Which candidate, if elected, is willing to commit to bringing back Pride rules?

Are you in favor of a voucher program to increase parental choice in elk hunting?

—

These are just some of the issues facing America today and we deserve to know where each candidate stands.

(Thanks to Joey Devine from the Roundball Rock podcast for his input on some of these topics).

If nothing below suits your sensibilities, check out our guide to What You Should Watch On Streaming Right Now.

We Are Who We Are (HBO, 10:00pm EST) — Luca Guadagnino (Call Me By Your Name, Suspiria) takes a first stab at a TV series, and it’s an immersive experience with (of course) a sun-drenched, often picturesque Italian setting. Jack Dylan Grazer and Jordan Kristine Seamón star as two leads who recognize something crucial in one another and forge an unshakable bond, and this should tide Euphoria fans who don’t mind more literally euphoric vibes and less nihilism than the Zendaya-starring series.

The Third Day (HBO, 9:00pm EST) — Jude Law and Naomie Harris star in this limited drama series about a mysterious island filled with unwelcoming natives. It’s a strange new world, and the leading duo must confront their own prejudices and fears… and hopefully survive.

Dancing With The Stars (ABC, 8:00pm EST) — Joe Exotic rival Carole Baskins makes her debut, so expect some Tiger King references. Baskins will be joined by Jesse Metcalfe, Nelly, Nev Schulman (Catfish), Johnny Weir (he’s got the moves, so he’s my prediction for winner), Anne Heche, Vernon Davis, Skai Jackson, AJ McLean, Jeannie Mai (Holey Moley), and more.

In case you missed these offerings last week:

Unpregnant (HBO Max film) — A 17-year-old Type A student, Veronica (Haley Lu Richardson), deals with a never-taken-lightly decision by taking a 1000-mile road trip with her former BFF, Bailey (Barbie Ferreira), and it’s a wild ride that neither of them suspected was afoot. The value of renewed friendships with a dash of both Thelma And Louise and Fast And Furious make this an unexpectedly funny film with costars including Alex MacNicoll, Breckin Meyer, and Giancarlo Esposito, and Betty Who.

Woke (Hulu series) — This show is the comedy series that Lamorne Morris (and the rest of us) deserves with a little bit of everything. It’s surreal, it’s funny, it’s serious, it’s got talking toast and trashcans, and it’s in good hands with director Maurice “Mo” Marable. The quest to “keep it light” never felt so real as Keef (based upon the life and work of artist Keith Knight) experiences a rude awakening and transformation to follow.

The Boys: Season 2 (Amazon Prime series) — This season’s gone weekly from here on out while diving deeper, and Episode 4 takes the vigilantes on a road trip to track down a mysterious Supe called Liberty. There’s candy-bar and serial-killer lore afoot as well.

The Killing of Breonna Taylor (Hulu series) — The New York Times investigates the life of Bronna Taylor and her police killing (following a no-knock warrant) on March 13 while the case still unfolds.

Keeping up with the best new music can be exhausting, even impossible. From the weekly album releases to standalone singles dropping on a daily basis, the amount of new music is so vast it’s easy for something to slip through the cracks. Even following along with the Uproxx recommendations on a daily basis can be a lot to ask, so every Monday we’re offering up this rundown of the best new music this week.

This week saw Chance The Rapper link up with a legend and Demi Lovato share an important message. Yeah, it was a great week for new music. Check out the rest of the best new music this week below.

Ludacris — “Found You” Feat. Chance The Rapper

During a Verzuz session in May, Ludacris teased some new music, including a collaboration with Chance The Rapper. Now, months later, the pair have dropped the track, “Found You.” On the smooth cut, the duo have loving words for the objects of their affections.

Gorillaz — “Strange Timez” Feat. Robert Smith

Damon Albarn has become a collaboration king in recent months thanks to Gorillaz’s Song Machine series, which has paired the group up with a bevy of diverse and talented artists. The latest meeting of the musical minds had them joining forces with The Cure leader Robert Smith for the appropriately alternative “Strange Timez.” There’s a lot more to come, too, as the tracklist for their first Song Machine collection reveals collaborations with Elton John, 6lack, St. Vincent, Beck, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Jpegmafia, and Earthgang.

Dame D.O.L.L.A. — “Kobe” Feat. Snoop Dogg

The soundtrack for the NBA 2K is usually filled with hits, and in an uncommon move, one of the players got himself on the playlist. Damian Lillard (as Dame D.O.L.L.A.) is a more accomplished and skilled rapper than most pro athletes, and his contribution to this year’s soundtrack is “Kobe!.” The track features Snoop Dogg and Derrick Milano, and it’s a fitting tribute to the late basketball great.

Marshmello and Demi Lovato — “OK Not To Be OK”

Demi Lovato has been more open than many about her struggles with mental health, and she showed up in a big way on World Suicide Prevention Day last week. She and Marshmello teamed up for “OK Not To Be OK,” an empowering anthem with lyrics like, “When you’re high on emotion / And you’re losing your focus / And you feel too exhausted to pray / Don’t get lost in the moment / Or give up when you’re closest / All you need is somebody to say / It’s okay not to be okay.”

Conway The Machine — From King To A God

Conway recently explained his new album to Uproxx, “I elevated, you know what I’m saying? My pen, man… it’s like I went from: You thought I was good before, I’m great now. It’s like going from good to great — from king to a god. I just felt I’m at a level with my pen that’s like I’m even surprising myself sometimes with some of the sh*t I’m writing.”

T.I. — “Ring” Feat. Young Thug

T.I. and Young Thug are far from strangers, and the two have reunited yet again on “Ring.” Uproxx’s Aaron Williams called the track a “return to form” for both T.I. and Thug and noted that on it, “the Atlantan rappers trade bars with a back-and-forth flow that highlights their yin-and-yang chemistry and clever lyricism.”

Major Lazer — “Oh My Gawd” Feat. Nicki Minaj

2020 has been huge for Nicki Minaj, as she secured her first No. 1 single ever this year thanks to her appearance on Doja Cat’s “Say So.” Now she’s back working with big-time collaborators, this time giving Major Lazer an assist on the dance-ready “Oh My Gawd.”

Mxmtoon — “OK On Your Own” Feat. Carly Rae Jepsen

Mxmtoon is a rising force in indie-pop, and she’s getting noticed, but not just by fans. Her peers are seeing what she’s up to and want in. Carly Rae Jepsen hopped on Mxmtoon’s latest, “OK On Your Own,” about which Mxmtoon was amped, saying, “I was beyond excited to work on this track and have it be graced by Carly Rae Jepsen, someone who stands for empowerment and knows the themes of love and loneliness all too well.”

Beabadoobee — “Worth It”

After building up clout with a pair of EPs, Beabadoobee is gearing up to drop her debut album, Fake It Flowers, on the world. Before that, though, she has some more teasing to get in, which she did last week with “Worth It,” a nostalgic indie-rock tune that follows in the guitar-driven footsteps of “Care” and “Sorry.”

Trippie Redd — “I Got You” Feat. Busta Rhymes

Trippie samples Busta Rhymes and Mariah Carey’s “I Know What You Want” on his own “I Got You,” so who better to feature on the track than Busta himself? The legend hops on the song (and in its video), providing a slick verse that helps to refresh his classic song for 2020.

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Pride Month events were cancelled in Minot, North Dakota last June due to the COVID-19 pandemic. So, the city decided to temporarily fly a Pride flag in support of the LGBTQ community at city hall earlier this month.

The flag ceremony was accompanied by the town’s mayor, Shaun Sipma, proclaiming June as Pride Month in the city. This gesture ruffled a lot of feathers in Minot, a city of around 41,000 residents.

Spima said his decision to support the flag-raising stemmed from seeing “a population within our community that does need to have that issue addressed – the issue of hate. When they came to me, they had stated that they wanted a call for kindness, not necessarily acceptance but a call for kindness. And that I can appreciate.”

Last Tuesday, angry residents spoke out against the flag at a city council meeting. This prompted councilwoman Carrie Evans to deliver a beautiful defense of the flag.

Evans began her defense by letting meeting attendees know that she is a lesbian.

“So Mr. Walker, if you’re not aware,” Evans told a resident who was against the flag, “and I think a lot of people in this room are not aware and have come here just because this is a gay issue, I am proudly the first openly elected lesbian in North Dakota. So that is why I am not paying any heed to your crap.”

Evans told Walker that the flag was a way to show LGBTQ people that they are just as valuable as anyone else to their community.

“We, the people. I’m the people. I live in Minot. I am a taxpayer. I am a person,” she said. “I get to see myself represented on that flagpole just as much as the people who got the Juneteenth flag last month, as much as the POW/MIA will get later this month.”

“Every single person is entitled to see themselves represented,” she continued. “We are not some group of people who live in San Francisco or Seattle.”

“We are here. We are your elected officials. We are your brothers. we are your sisters, and don’t tell me you’re not hatred or anger. That’s all I feel. I’ve had to listen to it for days now, as has the mayor and many of my colleagues. It is unacceptable,” Evans said.

The councilwoman made the compelling point that the flag does absolutely nothing to hurt Walker but has an incredibly positive effect on how the LGBT community is perceived and protected.

“This city is big enough for all of us. Me having a flag flying does not take away anything from your rights. But you know what it does for me? It shows me I live in a city that appreciates and embraces me, and my community,” Evans said.

“And I can live here and feel safe,” she continued. “That’s what it does. I’m sorry that it doesn’t make you feel comfortable, but we’re here, we’re queer, and we’re not going away!”

Over time, symbols like the Pride flag may become so ubiquitous that we forget their true meaning and why it’s important for them to be flown.

Evans’ defense of the Pride flag serves as a perfect explanation for why people choose to fly it in the first place and why they should continue to do so.