Gary & Shannon kick off Hour 3 with #SwampWatch, breaking down the latest political headlines from the looming SCOTUS ruling on President Trump’s power to fire the FTC Chair to Congress freezing Secretary of War Pete Hegseth’s travel budget amid questions surrounding the narco-terrorist strike footage. They then dive into the rise of AI performers through the lens of Tilly Norwood, a story they covered long before today’s WSJ feature, and discuss whether audiences will swing back toward valuing authenticity and true human “star power.” 
The conversation shifts to the growing backlash against iPads in schools, with parents arguing the devices create more distraction than education. The hour wraps with Shannon’s take on a bleak new holiday trend: gift requests for cash and bill-paying, and how today’s low-effort personalization options have made finding the perfect Christmas gift more complicated than ever.