Netflix wants to swallow Hollywood’s crown jewels. In this episode of Filtered with TJ Walker:

• We break down Netflix’s $72 billion plan to acquire Warner Bros and HBO and what it means for competition, movie theaters, and the future of streaming.
• We examine how a frustrated homeowner and his RATGDO device became the symbol of a larger fight over who really owns your “smart” devices, you or the companies that can brick them and charge endless subscriptions.
• We dive into Bitcoin’s latest price volatility and lay out the full case against crypto: speculation, scams, money laundering, password risk, and why the “fiat is worthless” argument collapses on contact with reality.
• We look at the sentencing of Matthew Perry’s ketamine doctor and how authority bias, halo effect, groupthink, and motivated reasoning can warp medical judgment.
• We cover why a federal grand jury refused to re-indict New York Attorney General Letitia James, and what that says about Trump’s efforts to weaponize the Justice Department.
• And we close with Trump’s kill-on-sight boat campaign against alleged drug smugglers, which legal experts say may violate both U.S. and international law and could amount to murder at sea rather than wartime operations.

Chapters:

00:00 – Netflix–Warner Bros–HBO mega-deal

16:04 – Smart garage doors & tech ownership

27:20 – Bitcoin volatility & crypto’s broken promises

43:14 – Matthew Perry, ketamine & cognitive bias

54:27 – Letitia James and the failed re-indictment

01:04:45 – Trump’s boat attacks & war crimes questions

Botox and Ozempic on Zoom calls. Pentagon gag orders on the press. Kim Kardashian versus the California bar exam. Trump’s Ukraine “deal” with Putin. And a Supreme Court case that could give billionaires even more leverage over U.S. elections.

In this episode of Filtered with TJ Walker, TJ walks through five major stories and filters them through communication, media, and personal development:

• How “being hot” has become a quiet job requirement in many industries, driven by Botox, fillers, GLP-1 drugs and AI-polished headshots – and what you can do with simple, low-risk tweaks instead of extreme procedures.
• Why the New York Times is suing the Pentagon over new rules that would effectively let the military decide what reporters can ask and what they can publish – and why even Fox News refuses to sign.
• What Kim Kardashian’s bar-exam struggles reveal about bar exams, law schools and licensing as a government-protected cartel, just as AI starts to handle routine legal work at associate-level quality.
• Thomas Friedman’s argument that Trump is acting as Putin’s “useful idiot” in Ukraine, treating invasion like a real-estate negotiation rather than a war of conquest and democratic survival.
• NRSC v. FEC and the Supreme Court’s continued march toward unlimited political money, in a system already far looser than Canada, France or the UK when it comes to corporate and billionaire influence.

TJ closes with a trainer Q&A on how to help people understand complex topics fast:

• Keeping groups small where possible
• Giving everyone a front-row seat
• Asking participants to restate key ideas in their own words
• Using stories, examples and simple visuals instead of walls of bullet points
• Checking understanding in real time rather than just “covering content”

Chapters: 00:00 – Teaser & market update 02:00 – Workplace beauty pressure: Botox, Ozempic & Zoom bias 20:46 – New York Times sues Pentagon over press gag orders 29:06 – Kim Kardashian, the bar exam & the legal cartel 38:18 – Trump, Putin & Ukraine: the “useful idiot” debate 45:27 – NRSC v. FEC & the rise of billionaire politics 56:59 – Trainer Q&A: Teaching complex topics clearly 1:02:20 – Outro & where to find TJ online

If you enjoy the show, follow the podcast, leave a review, and share this episode with someone who cares about media, politics, and how power really works.

A deep-red House district in Tennessee that Donald Trump won by more than twenty points just fell to a single-digit margin in a special election. Is this a red-alert for Republicans, a blue wave for Democrats—or just normal midterm gravity doing its work?

Next, we go to America’s campuses, where artificial intelligence has become the hot new major. From MIT’s “AI and Decision-Making” to UC San Diego’s AI program, universities are racing to rebrand and specialize. We look at what this means for students, traditional computer science and the job market.

In San Francisco, the city files a landmark lawsuit against food companies over ultra-processed products, arguing they knowingly fueled an epidemic of obesity and chronic disease. Is this smart public-health accountability or overreach into personal choice?

We stay in San Francisco to examine Mayor Daniel Lurie’s social-media strategy: a highly produced Instagram and TikTok presence built around small businesses, civic clean-ups and a relentless “Let’s go, San Francisco!” message. Is this a model for modern leadership or a distraction from governing?

Finally, we unpack Donald Trump’s latest tirade in which he calls Somali immigrants “garbage” and targets Rep. Ilhan Omar by name. We explore why this kind of dehumanizing language from the presidency matters and how it can increase support for real-world violence.

Chapters: 0:00 – Tease, markets & intro 2:32 – Tennessee’s “safe” red seat and what the swing really means 13:52 – AI gold rush on campus: majors, jobs and hype 27:40 – San Francisco vs. ultra-processed food giants 46:05 – The Instagram mayor: Daniel Lurie’s influencer-in-chief playbook 54:50 – Trump’s Somali “garbage” rant and the politics of dehumanization 1:07:24 – Closing thoughts & listener call to action