A WORLD GONE MAD
A Progressive Liberal News Podcast
Veteran Television, and Radio Broadcaster Jeff Alan Wolf offers his Observations on the issues (many issues) of the week with a fearless liberal bent. His solid delivery, and dry common sense approach sets him apart from other liberals that populate Talk and Commentary Podcasts”
Jeff Does NOT Pull Punches.
He does NOT Make comments that are “SAFE”.
He tells the Truth.
(He Tells It As He Sees It)
He Is Very OPINIONATED!
He says the things Out Loud YOU’RE
already thinking.
Jeff is Unfiltered, Unspun, A little Unhinged, but offers a lot of Common Sense.
This Podcast could make you MAD.
This Podcast could make you SMILE.
Regardless, it WILL make you THINK!
A WORLD GONE MAD
Epstein Tapes, Vanishing Lawyers, and a Presidential Tantrum + $50 Giveaway.
Another week, another avalanche of headlines that make you question whether anyone’s steering the ship.
In this full-throttle episode of:
A WORLD GONE MAD, Jeff Alan Wolf dives headfirst into the strange theater of American politics, peeling back the polished surfaces to expose what’s really being presented to the public — and what’s quietly being hidden.
From carefully curated narratives to the quiet exodus of those once tasked with defending them, Jeff connects the dots between spin, silence, and the uncomfortable truths hiding in plain sight. It’s a ride through the absurd, the manipulative, and the downright insulting — all filtered through the lens of someone who’s seen enough to know better, but still hasn’t stopped hoping for more.
If you’ve ever looked at a press conference, a late-breaking headline, or a political performance and thought:
“Wait Is This Real Life?”
This episode is for you.
So grab your coffee, punch a pillow hard in advance, and prepare for a breakdown of the week’s most infuriating stagecraft — told with wit, clarity, and zero patience for nonsense.
Oh — and if you’re still listening by the end, you might just hear something worth acting on.
Been doing A World Gone Mad 3 times a week - 144 episodes a year - with zero ads, just truth.
I’ve launched my Ko-fi page to help grow it even further.
5 dollars makes a difference. 50 makes a dent. 500 makes history.
https://ko-fi.com/aworldgonemad
AWorldGoneMadPodcast@gmail.com
This is a world gone mad. This is a world gone mad, mad, mad, mad, mad. It's another day in a world gone mad and once again, the people who should be in charge aren't. But don't worry, they've got press releases, talking points and a brand new excuse. I'm Jeff Allen Wolfe, your sardonic observer, semi-retired optimist and full-time explainer of things that shouldn't need explaining anymore. Thanks for joining me. You could be outside in nature touching grass, but instead you're here, which means you still care enough to feel something, or you're just too lazy to scroll past. Either way, let's look at what's broken today. It's after the weekend, so you know it's going to be a full episode. And try, please just try, to get through this without screaming into a sock.
Speaker 1:Let's start with a story so raw, so unfiltered, so transparent. The Justice Department had to edit it, splice it and clean it up, like a car salesman buffing out dents on a vehicle. That's a lemon, because nothing says we're not hiding anything like handing the public a polished highlight reel and calling it nothing to see here. So here's what slid under the radar. The DOJ just released surveillance footage video of Jeffrey Epstein's final hours and they stamped it with the label full raw footage. Sounds serious, sounds transparent, but there's a small problem. It's edited, chopped up, missing time. This thing has more cuts than a real Housewives episode. A forensic analysis by Wired confirmed it Multiple camera angles spliced together, missing chunks, and definitely not the kind of video you'd hand a courtroom. So what do we actually get? A curated, cleaned up package branded as the truth. This isn't oversight, it's optics. They didn't give us facts, they gave us footage with a blowout and makeup. And listen, I don't have to dive into the Epstein rabbit hole to say this stinks. This is about trust. When a major federal agency hands the public something they call raw and it's clearly been run through the rinse cycle, what they're really saying is here's what we want you to see Now be quiet. And at a time when people are desperate for real answers, giving them redacted video montages is like handling someone. A jigsaw puzzle with half the pieces missing and the rest of the pieces belonging to a different puzzle entirely. And if you thought the raw footage story was bad, wait until you hear what Pam Bondi said was on her desk. Spoiler alert it's not a client list, it's a pile of spin stacked so high it needs its own scaffolding. Let's get into it. So here's what happened. Stick with me because it gets weirder the closer you look.
Speaker 1:Pam Bondi, former Florida Attorney General, trump loyalist and walking press release, went on Fox and claimed she had tens of thousands of Jeffrey Epstein videos on her desk. Let's break that down. According to Bondi, there's a treasure trove of video implying bombshells, implicating the powerful feeding that ever-hungry base waiting for the list. And where is it waiting for the list? And where is it On her desk just hanging out Next to a mug and maybe a post-it note that says lunch with Rudy. But here's the twist there's no list, there's no binder of names, there's not even new evidence. What she actually meant, if you dig past the Fox News phrasing and the MAGA performance art, was she has files, images, unreleased child porn, evidence that the DOJ says is too graphic to ever show publicly, which is not a scandal reveal. That's just evidence management. So the phrase tens of thousands of videos was essentially a bait and switch. You know, it's like saying you got a full box of gold bars, then handing someone a box of broken flash drives and saying trust me, the truth is on there.
Speaker 1:But it gets worse because Bondi's announcement came right after the DOJ edited the raw footage drop and instead of delivering clarity, it created maximum confusion. Even Dan Bongino you know the human stress ball of conservative media. He nearly blew a fuse. He publicly slammed the release, threatened to quit his own platform and accused the DOJ of airbrushing reality. Let me repeat that when Dan Bongino is accusing you of manipulating the truth, you have officially hit the bottom of the integrity barrel. That's like getting fashion advice from someone who thinks Crocs are formal wear.
Speaker 1:And what does Trump do? He tries to mop up the mess by dismissing it. He tells his own base quote nobody cares about Epstein, right after Bondi turned Epstein into MAGA's new Rosetta Stone. But people do care because what they're seeing is a pattern Promise big, deliver nothing, then backpedal when the facts don't cooperate. So what do we actually have here? No names, no list, no justice, just another segment of reality TV dressed up as truth and a desk that somehow keeps getting emptier the more we're told it's full. And just when you thought the Justice Department couldn't twist itself into a tighter pretzel, turns out the people working inside it are walking out the front door. This isn't Twitter outrage. This is DOJ lawyers saying yeah, no, thanks, I'd rather not defend this circus. Let's talk about it. So here's one that somehow isn't leading every headline, but should be.
Speaker 1:Over the last few weeks, a mass exodus has been happening inside the Department of Justice. Not interns, not low-level assistants. Doj lawyers, the actual people tasked with defending Trump error policies in court, are walking off the job. About two-thirds of them Off the job. About two-thirds of them gone. Why? Some say the workload was unmanageable. Others say they couldn't stomach the ethical swamp they were being asked to defend Translation.
Speaker 1:This case is so full of garbage I'd rather quit my career than be the guy who stands behind it. Let's just sit with that for a second. The very people whose job it is to defend the government looked at what they were being asked to do and said nope, I'll take unemployment instead of whatever this is. Imagine you're on a football team and, right before the big game, half the defense walks up the field holding their helmets and yelling we're not playing for this coach. We've seen the playbook. It's illegal. And here's the kicker the mainstream media barely noticed because they're too busy covering Trump rallies like it's 2016 again or waiting for some viral moment they can clip and monetize. But this, this is an actual red flag. These lawyers aren't political pundits, they're not screaming into tick-tock, they're professionals whose literal job is to defend federal policy and they're telling us in the clearest way possible this isn't defensible. And if that's not news, what is when the people on the inside start backing away slowly with their hands up? Maybe the rest of us should stop treating this to like just another episode of political reality TV, because the credits are rolling and half the legal cast just left the set. So the lawyers are leaving.
Speaker 1:And now the guy running the country is trying to strong arm the one institution that's supposed to stay above politics the Federal Reserve. That's supposed to stay above politics the Federal Reserve. Because when in doubt, why not shake the economy like an etch-a-sketch and hope the numbers come out in your favor? Let's break it down. So here we are.
Speaker 1:Trump is back in office and apparently bored with merely running the country, because now he wants to run the Fed too. Last week he demanded a full 1% interest rate cut, not because it's good policy, not because inflation is under control, but because he thinks it'll juice the economy and make them look good on cable news. It's not strategy, it's cosmetic economics. It's like slapping a coat of paint on a burning building and calling it a home makeover. And when Jerome Powell, the current Fed chair, didn't immediately salute and jump, trump didn't just criticize him, he threatened to fire him. But not for monetary policy, no, no. Trump's angry over the renovation costs of the Fed's main building. I'm not making that up. The president of the United States is threatening to remove the central bank chair because the lobby in the building looks too fancy.
Speaker 1:This is what banana republics do they politicize the currency, weaponize the interest rate and start treating economists like PR interns. You don't bend the Fed to your ego unless you plan to use it as a campaign tool or, worse, a shield for when your economic promises crash into the wall of reality. The Fed is supposed to be independent, so when inflation hits or markets swing or a banking crisis brews, they don't have to check with someone who spells GDP in crayon. But now that independence is hanging by a thread because we've got a guy in charge who thinks rate hike is a personal insult and quantitative easing is just another episode of the Apprentice. This isn't policy. This is tantrum-based economics. It's financial gas lighting with a PowerPoint, and while the headlines will focus on bond yields and the Dow, the real damage is deeper. When you turn the central bank into a puppet, you don't just break markets, you break trust, because when the numbers can be bullied, nobody believes the numbers anymore. And that, my friends, is how you turn a financial system into a slot machine with a presidential fingerprint on the lever.
Speaker 1:So, after gutting the Fed and turning the economy into a slot machine, what's next for Trump? How about holding $6 billion in after-school funding hostage like a playground bully shaking down the lunch line? It's public policy by ransom note, and the kids are the ones getting mugged. Let's rip this wide open. Let's talk about what happens when government stops pretending to govern and starts holding children hostage for sport. The Trump administration has quietly withheld $6 billion in after-school funding money that supports programs in low-income communities, working-class districts and places where parents are already juggling two jobs and a prayer. There was no press conference, no explanation, just a bureaucratic shrug and a financial black hole where kids' futures used to be. Over 300 students in Cleveland Heights alone gone without answers. Multiply that by districts across the country and you've got a national vanishing act with children as the disappearing act. And here's the absurd part there's no policy dispute, no budget resolution blocking the release. It's just frozen like someone forgot the pin code to the country's conscience.
Speaker 1:This isn't belt tightening. This isn't fiscal discipline. This is ideological vandalism disguised as a spreadsheet. It's saying we can afford tax cuts for billionaires, defense contracts that go nowhere and a presidential motorcade longer than a CVS receipt. But your kid's math tutor? Yeah. That's where we draw the line. And while the headlines focus on court drama, celebrity trials and whether someone coughed during a debate, this is the story getting buried, thousands of families left scrambling while the people responsible stare into cameras and talk about protecting American values. What values are those exactly? Because from where I'm sitting, it looks like we're gutting public education, starving support programs and then wondering why the next generation thinks the system is a joke. This isn't just budget cruelty. Its message sending a very clear one if you're poor, working-class, are not politically useful, you're expendable and so are your kids. And that that's the kind of silence that echoes louder and than any campaign rally ever could.
Speaker 1:Now, while everyone's arguing over border walls and school boards, the US quietly found a clever new way to stick it to China by pretending we're not still buying from them. It's a geopolitical shell game with minerals, middlemen and just enough plausible deniability to make it smell like independence. Let's unpack this illusion. So here's a little trick the US is pulling right now and it's the geopolitical equivalent of hiding junk food in a salad container. So your physical trainer thinks you've turned your life around. We're bypassing China's export ban on critical minerals, things like antimony, gallium and germanium, which, yes, sound like characters from a Marvel movie spin-off but are actually essential ingredients for semiconductors, defense tech, evs and basically everything that makes a modern economy hum. China said you want those Tough Export ban and the US said fine, we'll just buy them from. Oh, thailand and Mexico Problem solved. Right Wrong, but here's the kicker A lot of the suppliers in Thailand and Mexico still owned or quietly controlled by Chinese companies. So we're not actually cutting ties, we're just laundering the relationship through friendlier zip codes. It's like breaking up with someone, but you still Venmoing them. You know Venmoing their mom for rent because technically she owns the apartment.
Speaker 1:Now, on paper it looks like supply chain diversification. In reality it's supply chain theater. We're still paying the same people. We're just adding a few scenic stops along the way to make it look ethical. This is the global economy now A bunch of countries pretending to take bold stances while doing business behind tinted glass with a burner phone. And it matters because these minerals aren't optional. They're the guts of everything from solar panels to missile systems. And every time we tell ourselves we're becoming independent, what we're really doing is adding a middleman and hoping no one checks the receipts. The illusion of decoupling is convenient, but it's also dangerous, because you can't build a resilient future on denial, denial, third-party shipping labels. So the next time a senator says we've taken control of our supply chain, just know what that really means. And what it means is we're now importing Chinese minerals with a side of guacamole. And if all this feels like theater so far, just wait till you see Congress pretend to care about the border Cameras, rolling voices, raised flags waving proudly all over the stage, stage lights on full blast. Let's pull back the curtains. And absolutely nothing behind the curtains. So here we are.
Speaker 1:Congress held a border crisis hearing this week which sounds serious, until you realize it had the emotional depth of a high school dress rehearsal. They trotted out the usual buzzwords Sovereignty, Lawlessness, illegals pouring in because the Democrats want open borders and sprinkle just enough panic in their voices to goose donations before lunch. Let's be real. This wasn't about fixing anything. It was about looking concerned on camera and booking a spot on Hannity later that night, and if you were hoping for actual legislation seriously, that's like watching the Bachelor and expecting a healthy marriage at the end.
Speaker 1:These hearings weren't designed to solve the border crisis. They were designed to look like someone cared in front of flags, lights, cameras and enough American lapel pins to armor plate Trump's Air Force One. One Republican representative gave a speech so fiery you'd think he was about to personally lasso migrants at the Rio Grande and then immediately cut to the b-roll of him voting against the bipartisan immigration deal just a few weeks ago, because, of course, he did. That bill, the one they now scream, should have passed months ago. Yeah, they're the ones who torched it then turned around and screamed why isn't this fire out? You want to talk theater?
Speaker 1:They brought witnesses witnesses not to testify but to confirm a narrative. Border Patrol, mayors, ranchers all lined up like supporting actors at a casting call for a Homeland Security horror flick. And after hours of chest thumping and speechifying and after hours of chest-thumping and speechifying, the result no solutions, no movement, no compromise, just a highlight reel for campaign ads and a fresh stack of sound bites for cable news. But here's the best part when it was all over, when the lights dimmed, the cameras shut off and the flags were packed away, the same border they screamed about still there, still broken, still being used as a political pinata, not a real problem to solve. So next time you see a border hearing, just remember you're not watching governance, you're watching Kabuki theater for C-SPAN. And the only thing crossing borders these days down the Fed, like it owes him rent. School kids used as bargaining chips, a mineral supply chain dressed in a sombrero, and border hearings that couldn't legislate a paperclip. This is where we stand, not in a country that's broken, but one that's been carefully repackaged to look like it's working, while quietly bleeding out behind the curtain. It's all theater and we're the unwilly audience watching the same tired act, wondering if the next scene finally includes the adults.
Speaker 1:Okay, before I let you go, before I close the episode, I've got a little something for the folks who actually made it to the end of the show. I'm doing a $50 Amazon gift card giveaway. No gimmicks, no signups, no nonsense, just a straight up. Thank you for paying attention. So here's how it works.
Speaker 1:I dropped a lot in this episode of A World Gone Mad, but there's one metaphor I use just one to describe Trump's handling of the Federal Reserve. If you caught it, I want to know. All you have to do is email the answer. Just that metaphor to mad world talk at gmailcom. That's a new email. I wanted to condense it, make it shorter, make it easier. A lot of people complain the other emails weren't getting through or they were too long. So so it's madworldtalk at gmailcom.
Speaker 1:So I asked you what's the metaphor that Trump used to describe Trump's handling of the Federal Reserve in this episode? And just to be clear, it has to be an email. Do not text me the answer. To officially enter the $50 Amazon gift card giveaway, it needs to come through email. It's easier for me to track it that way, with an email. So the deadline to enter is next Monday at 3 pm Eastern Time, and I'll announce the winner for the $50 Amazon gift card on next Monday's episode. That's it. No hoops to jump through. Just show me you were really listening. Let's see who catches this. You know where to reach me. I'll be back again Wednesday. I'm Jeff Allen Wolfe. This is A World Gone Mad. Stay sharp, stay vocal, stay sane, but most of all, stay hopeful. This is a world gone mad. This is a world gone mad.
