Trump, we're told, reads major newspapers in hard copy, toggles across cable networks throughout the day, marks up stories with a Sharpie, and calls Cabinet officials when front-page articles catch his attention. Aides understand that television appearances affect their standing. Lawmakers text him stories directly. Coverage prompts calls and scrutiny. Trump is described as a ravenous reader, a description that may be true, but also conveys discipline and command.
Last week, I caught myself starting The Office for what must be the fifteenth time. My partner walked in, saw Jim pranking Dwight with the stapler in Jell-O, and just shook his head. "Again?" he asked. And honestly? I couldn't explain why I kept going back to the same show when there's literally endless content available at my fingertips. But here's the thing: I'm not alone in this.
It has been another week of unfettered moral depravity in the United States. Donald Trump held a Klan rally lightly disguised as a cabinet meeting where he railed against Somali immigrants. Pete Hegseth defended the cruel and illegal boat strikes that have murdered at least 83 civilians. Marco Rubio put forward a "peace plan" for Ukraine that amounts to giving Vladimir Putin everything he's ever wished for. And saddest of all? Most people probably don't even know any of it happened.
We are listening to more than music. In addition to music, SiriusXM, a satellite radio company, provides sports talk, news, talk shows, and podcasts. As of 2024, SiriusXM boasted 150 million listeners. As of 2025, 4,509,765 podcasts have been registered around the world, with Apple alone hosting 2,800,138. In the United States, over 200 million people have listened to a podcast at least once, and 158 million consume podcasts on a monthly basis.
Streaming services are like candy stores for your eyeballs. One minute you're deep into a superhero saga, and the next you're watching a true-crime doc about someone stealing zoo animals. Platforms like Netflix, Disney+, and YouTube keep audiences glued by mixing everything: action, romance, horror, and even weird cooking shows where people bake cakes shaped like trainers. It's that constant switch-up that makes it fun. Variety keeps people curious, and curiosity keeps people watching. Who can resist the 'Next Episode' button, anyway? It's practically hypnotic.
My brother is almost 90, a Repub for years, and a committed Trumpie from the beginning. He knows he is looking at his sunset and will die a Trumpie. He dismisses, rationalizes, or denies every critical fact about Trump. No fact, no failure, nor any reversal of policy by any court causes him pause. He only watches FOX. He has successfully alienated his wife, two very adult children, siblings, relatives, and friends who are not Trumpies.
People in their twenties in the U.S. spend nearly seven hours consuming audiovisual entertainment daily, including time on social media, streaming series and movies, video games, YouTube, and music.
