From Doomsday Clocks To Gut Health And A Hypnosis Surprise

Start with a Hall of Fame shocker, take a hard turn into the doomsday clock, and end with a marketing stunt that tries to monetize compliments—this ride is equal parts gut check and grin. We unpack why the clock moved closer to midnight, how leadership vacuums and rising nationalism feed instability, and whether AI is a fresh threat or a convenient scapegoat. The headlines feel heavy, but the real question is simpler: who do you trust when every alarm bell sounds at once?

From global risk to the grocery aisle, we connect big narratives to small decisions. You’ll hear a clear breakdown of why packaged bread, fried foods, sugar, and certain vegan cheeses might be rough on your microbiome, plus practical ways to read labels, boost fiber, and choose less processed staples without going broke or joyless. Then we chase a surprising story: a five-year-old who expands his diet after a hypnosis session. It’s a chance to explore picky eating through the lenses of habit loops, sensory overload, and the psychology of safety—along with a frank look at when “miracle fixes” deserve caution.

We close with a head-tilting promo from a styling service: no compliments, get free clothes. It’s clever, but it reveals how brands turn validation into a funnel. We talk personal style that actually serves your life, how to cultivate feedback you can trust, and why your confidence should be driven by fit, function, and repeated wear—not a coupon code dressed as a hug. Along the way, we keep it candid, curious, and grounded in real choices you can make today.

Tell us your pick for the greatest coach ever—college or NFL—and why. If you enjoyed the show, follow, share with a friend who loves a lively rant with receipts, and leave a quick review so more curious listeners can find us.

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Liberty Line each week on Sunday, look for topics on my X file @americanistblog and submit your 1-3 audio opinions to anamericanistblog@gmail.com and you'll be featured on the podcast. 

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Chapters

• 0:29 Cold Open And Hall Of Fame Snub
• 1:14 Doomsday Clock And Leadership Fears
• 3:55 AI, Nuclear Tensions, And Media Skepticism
• 6:55 Gut Health And Problem Foods
• 9:48 Hypnosis For Picky Eating

Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:15

Mmm, hello, good morning. Welcome to Wednesday. Bill Belichick did not make the uh list for Hall of Famer. How about that? I mean, I'm not upset. A lot of people are. Should he be there? Probably, because you know the Patriots. I can't stand anything about the Patriots, though. I cannot stand the Patriots. So I'm not upset. Sorry. Not sorry. All right. Let's see over here on the X-File. Um, let's see. Profile, X-File. I have some silly stuff for you. This uh after this episode, only 14 more to go before I stop the uh podcast. I just have some silliness. This is for Jeffy. This one here, this story right here. Doomsday clock ticks closer to midnight. Experts say AI slop and a failure of leadership is bringing us to the brink of global chaos. You know what? I used to think this was a bunch of hooey, but I am starting to believe it. Lack of leadership. Yep. The bulletin of the atomic scientist has moved its doomsday clock forward for 2026, announcing that it is now set to 85 seconds to midnight, the closest it's ever been to catastroph c catastrophe in its 79-year year history. It is the determination of the bulletin's science and security board that humanity has not made sufficient progress on the existential risks that endanger us all. Well, what are those dangers? Can anybody tell us? Oh, damn, advertisements. Um we thus move the clock forward, the organization's CEO Alexandra Bell announced on Tuesday. What a name. Steve Fettler, a member of the org's science and security board, told the Post that their decision reflects the increased risk of catastrophe resulting from current trends, including the looming threat of nuclear war, disease, and the rise of AI. AI is the one that pushed it closer, I think. Uh yeah, blah, blah, blah, founded by blah, blah, blah. They cited a failure of leadership worldwide as the reason why doomsday ticked closer to midnight. Maybe they're anti-Trump. Major countries became even more aggressive, adversarial, and nationalistic, lamented Daniel Holtz, a bulletin member and physics professor at the University of Chicago during the conference. Conflicts intensified in 2025. Did they? I thought uh there was a bunch of peace going around, according to Trump. He's done a bunch of peace treaties. I mean, do they not watch the news? Of course, everything's probably fake anyway, with multiple military operations involving nuclear armed states. Did he was he where was he when we uh bombed Iraq or Iran with where where was Iran? Not Iraq, Iran. Where was where was he? Was he napping? These tensions ramped up over the summer when nuclear powers Pakistan and India border engaged in border skirmishes and escalated threats of full scale war. Oh, well, all right, you can go finish reading that. We're closer though, we're closer to doomsday. Okay, moving on to the next one. Uh, I have some food items here, the couple of food stories. We'll try to go over them quickly. Um, I don't know if I can do this right. Four everyday grocery foods, experts say may damage your digestive health. Some of the most common foods in your kitchen could be quietly damaging your gut health. As gut health continues to dominate wellness conversations, experts say diet plays a central role in shaping the micro microbo microbiome. I don't even know if I'm pronouncing that right. When the balance of gut bacteria is disrupted, it can contribute to gastron gastrointestinal issues such as irrital bowel syndrome, blah blah blah. Okay, let's find out what the foods are. Here are the four four foods experts say may do more harm than good, and you might be surprised by some by one of them anyway. Packaged bread sold in many grocery stores may be harder on gut health than people realize. Now they say they make sure to say packaged bread. Supermarket breads are heavily processed and contain ingredients that can disrupt the balance of bacteria in the gut. They say I don't know what they mean by they say, well, how else are you going to get your bread? She added that many commercial breads are made of with refined flours, of course, and additives designed to extend shelf life, but those ingredients often come at the expense of fiber. I've always said this about bread. Bread is bad for you. I don't care what kind of bread it is, it's bad for you. I just mmm, all right. Fried foods is another one. We're going to move on to sugar. Of course, we know sugar is. And the last one is vegan cheese. While plant-based cheese alternatives are popular, some highly processed versions may be tough on gut health. Some highly processed vegan cheeses may trigger gut inflammation due to the additives and fillers used to bind the products together. Well, there you go. You man, you just can't get anything anymore. You can't trust anything in the grocery store. That's why people say grow your own food. Remember when we used to do that? I know my mom and papa had a garden all the time. All right, picky five-year-old hooked on sausage rolls breaks habit after hypnosis. What? I don't believe in hypnosis. I don't know about you. I think the hypnosis is for the weak minded. A five-year-old boy who was hooked on Greg's sausage rolls. I hadn't what is the sausage rolls? I hear these, I like I read British books all the time, and they're always talking about sausage rolls. What is that? Just a sausage rolled up in dough and fried, I think is what it is, and it sounds divine. I could probably eat three of them right now. Uh so anyway, back to the thing. He has finally enjoyed new foods thanks to hypnosis. Grayson Theoph Theophanus would scream and cry if Mom Jennifer, 32, tried to give him anything other than sausage rolls, crisps, or garlic bread. Well, how about letting the little type go hungry? Then he might eat something. People are parents are so afraid to be mean to their kids. Not mean, but you know what I mean. Discipline. Teach them things, teach them life lessons. It meant family meals and birthday parties could be fraught with Grayson eating just Greg sausage rolls. Goodness gracious. The situation got so bad Jennifer and husband Alex, thirty one, were spending hundreds of pounds a month buying frozen Greg sausage rolls. Well maybe don't do that. Maybe just let him have a fit until he's hungry. In desperation, the couple contacted David Kilmury, who specializes in obsessive eating conditions. After just one one two hour session, Grayson tried ten different foods and now regularly eats spinach, grapefruit, and pomegranate seeds. What in the world ha wow, okay, maybe this works for him. Really? I hope the parents were present in the room when he hypnotized them. And I say hypnotized in air quotes. Jennifer from Wellington, Surrey said he was really he was never really into food. When he was around eight months old, he was diagnosed with a cow's milk allergy and he lost so much weight. The doctor said he might have associated eating with pain as a result of that, but I'm not sure that it's actually the case. When he was about two and a half, he started eating but only sausage rolls. We were buying Greg sausage rolls every day. When he was in nursery, the staff said they never seen a child, they never, they've never seen a child so scared of eating their lunch. Goodness. Mm-mm-mm. Oh well, you can go finish reading that if you care. We need to move on to the last story here, which I think is dumb. And it's a little bit, it's a couple days old too. Pers personal styling services say customers who don't receive compliments on their outfits are eligible for three for free clothes. This is stitch fix, y'all. It pays nothing to give a compliment, or does it? A personal styling service says customers who don't get a compliment on one of their outfits could score free clothes. This is ridiculous. Because, you know, I'm gonna say, guess what? I didn't get a compliment, so I can get some free clothes. Are they really that dumb? Stitch Fix is launching the initiative ahead of National Compliment Day, which was on January 24th. So this story is as the story is old, saying those who order some clothes from their service between the date of March 31st are eligible. Well, you know, every every single one of those customers are gonna say they didn't get a compliment. As we looked deeper into the connection between style and confidence, we uncovered just how emotional getting dressed has become and how meaningful compliments truly are. Yeah, people don't give compliments anymore because they're scared to death of being sued for harassment. I used to love getting uh okay, so anyway, a ad popped up. I can't finish reading that. If you want to go finish reading it, you can, but it's really dumb. You probably don't want to do that. I'm so glad I only have 14 more episodes of this. I mean, I've enjoyed it. I really have. But it's just it's it's time to be done with it now. Oh, I guess I need a question of the day. So the question of the day is Since we talked about Bill Belichick for a little while, who do you think is the best coach ever? That could be college, that could be your high school, that could be NFL. Should I should I narrow it down to just let's let's just talk about college or NFL? Who do you think is the best coach ever if you're into sports like that? If not, I don't have any I don't have another question of the day for you. Just tell me just tell me about your day. Okay, I gotta go. Thanks for listening. Bye.