On this episode of Normally, Mary Katharine Ham and Karol Markowicz open with a heartfelt remembrance of online friend John Echtel, then reflect on the strange way public grief and “parasocial” connections collide in the modern age.

From there, they dig into the biggest moments from the Munich Security Conference—including Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s widely praised speech on Western confidence, shared civilization, and why “decline is a choice.” They also break down the viral clips making the rounds: AOC’s halting answer on Taiwan and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s non-answer on Ukraine, and what those moments reveal about readiness, media expectations, and “hard-question privilege.”

The conversation then turns to two stories they say they don’t want to cover—but feel they have to:

• Candace Owens vs. Erika Kirk and why they argue the line should be drawn with real consequences, not endless engagement-bait.

• The ongoing Epstein files frenzy, including the Ro Khanna/Thomas Massie episode that swept innocent names into the discourse—and why “transparency isn’t justice.”

Finally, they hit a jaw-dropping governance story: a major wastewater pipeline failure sending sewage into the Potomac River—and why the public response (“don’t touch the river”) isn’t remotely good enough.