Who benefits from public executions?

I’m working on two videos for Monday. One is about Title IX. It’s basically an explainer on what it is and why it’s important to the Cornell case. The other is about the recently announced plan for a public execution. Like many others, I read about it in disbelief when it first came across my social feeds. I was instantly reminded of another significant execution in the United States. I’ll talk about that later on in the newsletter.

For now… some lighter topics!

We just released episode four of What’s Your Source?. It’s silly to pick favorites just four episodes in, but I can tell you that this was the most fun I had making an episode.

The interview with my former colleague, Jacob Bogage, was a delight. Talking to my mailbox in front of all my neighbors was certainly an experience. And Zooming with our writers as I “found” my Benjamin Franklin character was yet another “I can’t believe this is my job” moment.

I hope you’ll watch it and leave a comment. And try listening to it as a podcast, too! We work really hard to make it work in both formats. On Spotify, you can even toggle between video and audio.

This week’s episode promises to be another good one, packed with information and jokes to help it go down easier. As with every episode, we only started it on Friday. The script won’t be done until Tuesday. We’ll shoot it Wednesday and reshoot anything necessary on Thursday. You can watch or listen to it early Friday, like Christmas morning! 

But if you want to be like one of those cool families that opens presents on the evening of Christmas Eve, you can! Paid LNI members get the episodes emailed directly to them in this newsletter on Thursdays.

It’s not a secret that I’m on Reddit a lot. Perhaps even more than TikTok? I know, as a video content creator, that’s possibly a sin. But the point is that I love Reddit, so I’m well aware it’s overrun with people defending Alejandro Iñárritu’s latest film, Digger. It was a comment by someone on Reddit that convinced me to ignore the bad reviews and see it. I’m so glad I saw that comment.

Digger is a journey. It’s chaotic. Tom Cruise is taking huge swings throughout. It looks like the most expensive independent film you’ve ever seen, even though it’s backed by a major studio (more on that in a moment). I’ll agree with one piece of negative feedback on the film — it’s a little uneven and the pacing is all over the place. Admittedly, I checked my phone clock halfway through. I wasn’t going to walk out, but I also was thinking “where is this going?”

Then something clicked. I just finally settled into this film. I would need to rewatch it to pinpoint the exact moment. But what I do know is that, like any film Jesse Plemons is in, the best moment was a scene that Jesse Plemons was in. 

Without spoiling, Plemons’ character, and the plot twist he provides, is a perfect metaphor for today’s billionaire class. The fact that this is the last film Warner Bros. released before David Ellison’s Skydance took over is like a self-aware exclamation point on the whole thing.

You should see it! Or wait until it comes out on Skydance Paramount Max Chipotle Exxon Plus and watch it at home, if you must. Just make sure you give it your full attention.

I didn’t eat anywhere fancy this week. All the exciting culinary moments happened right here at home. And to be especially candid, it was mostly through the Costco bag of Halloween candy we prematurely purchased. 

Dear reader, I argued months ago that Smarties are the best candy because everyone likes them. They’re not necessarily everyone’s favorite, but I’ve yet to meet someone who dislikes them. I stand by this statement, but now it’s time to make an even bigger statement.

I’m ready to tell you my actual favorite candy. The best of the best. Better than even Snickers, which I will always happily eat, but just don’t quite compare: it’s a Butterfinger bar.

Crispety, crunchety, peanut-buttery … you won’t find anything better than a Butterfinger. I like Butterfinger so much, I even designed a pinewood derby car to look like one once (it was both easier and harder than you think!). I rue the day they discontinued Butterfinger BBs. But, happily, the bar continues to thrive. 

I’ve read a couple times that the formula was changed a few years back. But I haven’t noticed a difference. I never said I had the sharpest palate. I’m just a guy that likes chocolate and peanut butter.

What’s your favorite candy? And if it isn’t Butterfinger, EXPLAIN YOURSELF. Reply to this email or start a separate email at [email protected]. 

Gas prices were averaging $1.65. A movie called Swordfish was at the top of the box office, barely beating out Shrek. And I was in the back seat of a minivan listening to the radio on a family road trip (I think coming back from Dallas to Kansas City) when a radio host came on and started describing the execution of Timothy McVeigh in detail. This was the only time I’ve ever felt like I witnessed an execution.

On June 11, 2001, McVeigh became the first inmate executed by the federal government in almost 40 years.

I didn’t know who McVeigh was. He had committed his horrible crime six years prior, when I was just four years old. I also don’t remember the movie Swordfish and its shockingly stacked cast (John Travolta, Hugh Jackman, Halle Berry and Don Cheadle? Wow!). I found a radio broadcast from that day, which seems to skip over the live moment-by-moment coverage I remember and instead describes everything before and after. 

What I do remember vividly is someone describing the execution in great detail the day it happened, over the radio. Ten-year-old me could have told you verbatim lines from Shrek (“in the morning, I’m making waffles”), but I had no idea the severity of McVeigh’s crimes. Still, even as the broadcast sprinkled that into their coverage, describing the families of victims who had been able to watch the execution via a CCTV channel, I understood this was a very bad man.

… I still didn’t get it. Hearing a human describe another human being killed by lethal injection on the radio just felt cruel and inhumane. It didn’t matter who was being executed — the public nature of the whole charade felt off. That feeling I had was the kind of thing that, as a ten-year-old, you’re old enough to acknowledge, but young enough to think that maybe you’re wrong. Maybe this is normal. Maybe the adults know something that you don’t.

I still don’t think it’s normal. When I read about Defense Secretary Hegseth’s plan for the public execution, to have it live-streamed, I had the same feeling. Why? What for?

I’m pleased to see that the backlash has been bipartisan. Democrats across the board called it out, arguing this is an attempt by the Trump administration to normalize violence. But this ignited more furor from Republicans than usual:

It’s hard to find a reason for the execution of Fort Hood shooter Nidal Hasan to happen as Secretary Hegseth has outlined. Just before McVeigh was executed, the British Medical Journal discussed the debate over whether the execution should be public:

“… if we cannot stomach seeing this then perhaps we should not do it at all.”

I’m not here to argue for or against the death penalty. But, as far as I’m concerned, making the deliberate killing of someone a spectacle has no place in modern society. I’d much rather watch Shrek again.

Write to me and tell me how you are feeling about all of this. Either reply to this email or send one to [email protected]. 

I got under the hood of Social Security again Friday, as part of our ongoing partnership with AARP. I’m always pleasantly surprised at just how many people care about Social Security. I yearn for topics like this with bipartisan support!