JWSP

Alex Midway and Eric Halsey
  • 5.0 (5)
  • Politics
  • Updated Weekly

John Wayne's Surge Protector podcast is two guys discussing the world around us on a twice weekly basis. We try to look at things that we think are huge deals and sometimes those items are also flying under the radar for a lot of other media channels. Having known each other for many years some of the jokes you hear may not come off as jokes. Keep listening and you will get in the loop soon enough as well. We have a link to leave any feedback in most of the episodes so don't hesitate to reach out. 

  1. 4d ago

    Furries in the Cockpit

    This week's "Who Said It" is about Islamist tendencies, radicalization, and a pretty good clue — and once you find out who said it and what they were talking about, it tells you everything about how some people weaponize a tragedy before the bodies are even counted. Tesla took out a $30 billion loan the same week European registrations jumped — and the Roadster reveal got delayed again, this time for weather, though the reason they're giving for the delay is actually kind of incredible. Elon skipped the Semi launch entirely because he was having pie at the White House with Trump and Xi, and we have thoughts about that image and what it says about priorities. SpaceX is flat but now launching data centers into orbit, because apparently gravity itself is the last obstacle to computing power. Zelensky pitched Trump a simple deal this week — stop hitting our energy, we'll stop hitting your refineries — and Moscow's counteroffer involved an in-person meeting in Moscow with a personal safety guarantee from the same man who guaranteed Prigozhin's safety. Zelensky's response was one of the great lines of this entire war. Meanwhile Russia's online image rehabilitation campaign is in full swing — we read back some 2014 and 2022 quotes and let you decide how that's going. Operation Vivaldi happened — Ukraine is taking ground back, remotely piloting old armored vehicles loaded with explosives into Russian defensive positions, and the numbers coming out of the Kursk region are significant. Ukraine also hit a McDonald's-linked warehouse in Kyiv, because Russia is running out of things that count as military targets. F-35 canopy components shipped via UPS ended up in Hong Kong. China has them. Lockheed says they're not important. We have a theory about why you don't reroute a military shipment internationally over something unimportant. Meanwhile DHS made a Brian Dawkins hype video about a migrant caravan of 600 people, got told by the NFL to take it down, and responded with a Bugs Bunny meme. Senator Tommy Tuberville took the Senate floor to warn America about furries in aviation. We are not paraphrasing. Kristi Noem filed for divorce. Tennessee needed two attempts. Trump signed a "tremendous" Arctic deal that is functionally identical to the one that already existed. And the new US passport reveal got the full Apple keynote treatment. Got feedback? We want to hear it.

    Furries in the Cockpit

  2. Sep 25

    Henry Rollins Would Have Gone to the Carrier

    This week's "Who Said It" is about controlling a seat even when you're mad at it — and once you hear who said it and which seat they're talking about, it reframes every election story in this episode in a very uncomfortable way. Tesla is flat but the Semi launch is tonight and diesel prices at record highs mean it might actually matter this time. The Cybercab got a regulatory inquiry within hours of launching and the Roadster demo dropped hints about a flying car — we rank those two developments by how seriously to take them. SpaceX dropped as 328 million shares unlocked today, and we note that Elon has a history of tweeting things right after certain people make certain purchases. Putin just handed an American company's Russian assets to Kadyrov's nephew — and once you look at who the major shareholders of that American company are, we have a theory about which white knights might finally decide this war needs to end. Marco Rubio remains unavailable for comment. Netanyahu flew into New York, released a video attacking Mamdani before he even landed, and then had to sit through a UN week where the mayor of New York, a prominent rabbi, and the first Jewish speaker of the city council all told him to mind his business. Mamdani's response was measured, factual, and devastating. DoorDash spent $1.4 million trying to stop him from becoming mayor and just paid $131 million because he did anyway. The math on that decision is something else. Trump just told Congress the refugee program will admit 17,500 people in 2027 — almost exclusively white South Africans — at $28,571 per person, and we have some questions for everyone who spent the last decade screaming about immigrant kids getting breakfast. The Paul brothers visited the Pentagon, which prompted a comparison to a specific Henry Rollins story that tells you everything about the difference between a visit for the troops and a visit for the content. Kash Patel quietly changed the FBI hiring disqualifiers and got called into a Senate hearing where John Kennedy of Louisiana asked him to explain the bestiality section. The transcript is real. Lauren Boebert has new allegations involving three staffers, a $200,000 payment, and a detail that will surprise absolutely nobody who has been paying attention. And Chris Hansen has a movie coming out — with a very interesting guest appearance at a live taping that's going to make the tinfoil hat very hard to put back in the closet. Got feedback? We want to hear it.

    Henry Rollins Would Have Gone to the Carrier

  3. Sep 23

    Don't Cry in Philadelphia

    This week's "Who Said It" is about cheap Russian energy and German manufacturing — and once you find out who said it and why it's making the rounds again right now, the rest of the geopolitical news this week lands very differently. Tesla is pumping on Roadster hype again — and we have a very specific memory about 2017, a 2020 promise, and a Founder's Series that never materialized. SpaceX ticked up on news that would normally tank a stock, and Gwyneth Shotwell is quietly unloading $52 million in shares. We note the timing. We always note the timing. Don Jr.'s wedding financier is back in the news, Marco Rubio went on Fox to blame Ukraine for hitting American-linked ships, and on election night in Russia — with over a thousand Ukrainian drones in the air — United Russia somehow posted its best numbers since forever. Kadyrov won Chechnya with 99.85% of the vote, up from 99.7% last time. We are choosing to believe this is statistically possible. DoorDash just paid New York City $131.5 million for underpaying delivery drivers — $115 million of which goes directly back to the workers — and their statement about it is one of the most refreshing things a corporation has ever said out loud. We then ask the obvious question about every other city they operate in. Meanwhile Trump and Mamdani sat down at Gracie Mansion, came out praising each other, and we have a theory about what's happening there that involves a man who cannot help himself around people who refuse to be intimidated. CNN, MSNBC, and Politico are banned from the White House — and the ribbon cutting ceremony that followed told you everything about who actually needs who. The official White House app is now on government employee phones, contains code from a company founded in Tula, Russia, and has a button that autofills "Greatest President Ever." One person put it on an air-gapped iPad to see what it asked for. We report the findings. ICE is quietly firing agents it hired without properly vetting — because when you blow through 12,000 hires with a $50,000 bonus attached, you eventually have to read the applications. Ed Sheeran cried in Philadelphia, which Eric has some thoughts about. And the Raiders are 2-0, which felt like a good segue into something. Got feedback? We want to hear it.

    Don't Cry in Philadelphia

  4. Sep 16

    Umar Was in the Group Photo

    This week's "Who Said It" is about a ruck march, a bridge, and the weight you carry — and once you find out who said it and what they did in the pouring rain the day before, the contrast with everyone else in this episode is going to hit very hard. Tesla is sliding despite a Roadster 2.0 announcement that should have moved the needle, and SpaceX pulled back after the AI slowdown conversation started getting serious. We have thoughts about a company whose entire valuation depends on a technology that its own industry just asked everyone to pause on. Don Jr.'s wedding got bankrolled by a Russian oligarch — and we walk through the funfetti cake, the two-island fireworks display, the Pirates of the Caribbean shooting location, and the Pro Publica investigation into a man who apparently didn't exist until 2009. Eric says he's never heard of him. Kushner was in the group photo. The Kushkof team keeps visiting Moscow first. Ukraine just struck two more refineries. We're just noting the timeline. Record diesel prices have an explanation — and it's not Russia, despite what you may have heard. A Saudi pipeline got hit by a drone from an unexpected direction, a top military commander got fired, and the Houthis have a new range that should make everyone paying attention very uncomfortable. Meanwhile Russia targeted a passenger train two kilometers from the Polish border — and the passenger list on that particular train is something you need to hear. The 9/11 anniversary coverage was something else this week. Mamdani showed up in the pouring rain, ran the ruck, released 170,000 pages of memos about air quality that every mayor before him sat on, and shook Giuliani's hand — who then went on Newsmax the next day and got right back into character. Ted Cruz had feelings about the sanctity of the occasion. We remember what Ted Cruz was doing on September 11th. Joe Biden stood the entire ceremony with cancer in his bones and then drove to Pennsylvania. The President sent JD to New York and took a nap at the Pentagon. We are done. Macklemore got dropped from Ed Sheeran's tour for saying two words — and then all four other openers dropped out and posted statements. Robert Kraft has some feelings about "Free Palestine" that we contextualize against some other things Robert Kraft has attended. The AI conversation is escalating in ways that go beyond any one company, and we close with a fact about what happens when two AI systems figure out they're talking to each other. ProPublica Story https://www.propublica.org/article/donald-trump-jr-wedding-bankrolled-russian-oligarch-umar-kremlev-putin AI Chat https://youtu.be/EtNagNezo8w?si=RdwvSK1-hBWPdnyp Got feedback? We want to hear it.

    Umar Was in the Group Photo

  5. Sep 8

    Eric's Getting Married

    This week's "Who Said It" is a bold prediction about cars as appreciating assets — and once you hear what happened to the Dutch company that bet their entire business on that prediction, the quote lands exactly as hard as it should. Tesla is basically flat after the Cybercab launch disappointed everyone who showed up with expectations, but don't worry — they're offering businesses a chance to buy in on the robotaxi dream themselves. We revisit a promise that's been made every year since 2020 and let the audience keep score. SpaceX keeps climbing for reasons nobody can identify, including apparently ARK Invest, who just bought stock in a company that competes directly with SpaceX. It's marriage week for one of your hosts — congratulations are in order and we promise we kept it moving anyway. Peace talks are happening, which is to say Kushkof visited Moscow first, listened to Putin's wish list, then swung by Kyiv where the Ukrainian delegation had prepared a very specific gift for them. The Kremlin says it's "too early" to discuss a venue for face-to-face talks, Putin says he has no hostilities toward Europe, and Germany just formally blamed Russia for a drone found at one of their airports with a faulty detonator. Meanwhile the Russian military had a very expensive week in the Kursk region and a Major General who allegedly masterminded a strike on a children's hospital found out that some things follow you regardless of how far from the front line you are. Mamdani showed up to 9/11 week and the city lost its mind — we walk through who's offended, what they said, what Mamdani actually said back, and what Trump was doing on September 11th 2001 when he got on the phone and noticed something about his real estate portfolio. The video making the rounds about cleanup volunteers gets a fact check. LG's smart TVs are listening with the screen off, storing everything locally, and uploading it when the internet comes back — and the company president's quote about who actually owns your television is one of the most honest things a corporate executive has ever said on camera. The Republican midterm convention in Dallas is giving away free tickets two days out and Eric is getting married this week, so we note the scheduling conflict and let the audience decide which event history will remember. And Elon's super PAC just entered a Texas race where the opponent is outraising their guy by more than four to one — we explain the ad they're running and why a basketball drag queen is apparently central to the strategy. Got feedback? We want to hear it.

    Eric's Getting Married

  6. Sep 2

    The Skies Are Closed

    This week's "Who Said It" is about data centers, poverty, and the bold promise that surveillance infrastructure is actually the key to lower taxes — and the person who said it is going to make you feel a very specific way about your electric bill. Tesla is up and nobody can explain why, which at this point is just the show's opening theme. September is a big month for the company — multiple unveilings, a concept that's been eleven years in the making, and a Roadster spec that almost laps the competition. Almost. SpaceX ticked up while Sam Altman quietly cut off one of Elon's companies from AI access, citing a very specific pattern of behavior with contracts. We have thoughts about who actually wins that fight. Ukraine declared open season on Russian airspace this week — not civilian carriers, but everything else — and then backed it up by hitting both an oil refinery and a strategic bomber in the same night. The refinery is permanently closed. The bomber is one fewer on a list that intel already says is shorter than Russia claims. Federov is back, partnered up, and the drones are getting smarter by the week. The Supreme Court voted 5-4 to let the $400 million White House ballroom keep going up while the lawsuit plays out — and Justice Roberts is reportedly still puzzled about why public trust in the court is at historic lows. Uber's COO would like everyone to know that in 15 to 20 years nobody will own a car and we'll all be on a subscription model with his company, which is a very interesting thing for a COO to say out loud. Keffe D was found guilty in the Tupac murder case — a conviction that somehow eluded the previous administration, as we are reminded approximately every 40 seconds. Mamdani gave parents a free night out and started a 9/11 remembrance ruck for veterans — both of which have been described as deeply alarming by people who are fine with the ballroom. Flock Camera's CEO has a blind spot on Google Maps that covers exactly one address. MapQuest refused to rename Lake Ontario and became the number one downloaded app. And a Buffalo Wild Wings in Phoenix has a secret menu item that we are legally required to tell you about and ethically required to warn you about in equal measure. And the link to the USA Today search engine Flock Search History Got feedback? We want to hear it.

    The Skies Are Closed

  7. Aug 28

    Lake America

    No "Who Said It" this week — but we open with a Ford vs. Tesla comparison that is going to make you stare at the ceiling for a minute, and a JPMorgan SpaceX target that requires a very specific kind of optimism about the next four years. Ukraine took out a Lt. Colonel in St. Petersburg this week — precision being the operative word — and has also been quietly solving the problem of what to do when the other side has drones too. The solutions involve a net, a flare gun, and a bullet that nobody is explaining yet. Zelensky also handed out a medal to someone you wouldn't expect, and the strategic logic behind it is actually pretty brilliant once you hear it. And a joint Russian-Chinese facility — 3,700 miles from Ukraine, 11 billion dollars, seven years in the making — had a very bad day. No drone was present. Just like in St. Petersburg. John Radcliffe went to Moscow to tell Russia not to mess with NATO — and we walk through how that same speech went the last time someone tried it. He also never met with Putin, which raises some interesting questions about how seriously the message was received. The response from Russia and China can be summarized as "headphones back on." The Department of Education posted a presidential hype video that opens with a Churchill quote — and once you find out who Churchill was talking about in that scene, the whole thing becomes the funniest unintentional metaphor of the year. Canada tariffs are making aluminum and toilet paper more expensive, and the solution involves renaming a lake. We lost three legends this week — Dolly Parton, Tim Curry, and Peter Cullen — and we take a moment to do all three justice. Republicans managed to make the Dolly Parton news worse within 24 hours, which is genuinely impressive. And we close with the former head of ICE telling Tucker Carlson he thinks the administration wants him dead — before immediately adding that Trump definitely doesn't know about it. The farmers and ranchers send their regards. Neal Brennan clip https://youtu.be/WOSqCjMRXWA?si=xjLEM249z1pK9XIp Got feedback? We want to hear it.

    Lake America

  8. Aug 26

    CVN-81 (You Know What It Was)

    Note: In case you're wondering about the album art today that is Mike Tyson in NYC wearing a traditional vyshyvanka shirt. Camille Evald was the wife of his trainer, Cus D'Amato and took care of Tyson when he was growing up. She was born in  Staromyshchyna, Ukraine. This week's "Who Said It" is about a very big ship and a very specific honor — and once you find out who said it and what ship we're now apparently naming after someone else, it hits different. Tesla raised prices on two Cybertruck trims and set a Chinese recall record in the same week — the stock shrugged both off. SpaceX is pumping money into Louisiana and promising coastal restoration, which lands a little differently once you look at what they did to the coastline in Texas. Ukraine celebrated Independence Day with something that has never been done before — a military parade of exclusively drone weaponry, air, land, and sea — while Russia held a scaled back parade on land. Let that sink in. The UK just handed Ukraine something massive in the cruise missile department, and when Firepoint gets their hands on it the next parade is going to need a bigger street. Russia is now threatening to nationalize Wildberries to protect it — which is funny for reasons we will explain involving frigates, air defense, and a DJI Mavic. And a brand new adversary just entered the campaign: Ozon. If Wildberries is Amazon, Ozon is Walmart — and they're now on the list. The CIA director took a very interesting flight this weekend that ended in Moscow, and we note that Vladimir Putin still has a very specific kind of pull with Washington that nobody seems to want to talk about out loud. Mamdani is fixing the BQE without federal money for reasons that should surprise absolutely nobody, Doris Miller's aircraft carrier is being quietly renamed to a number, and the Blue Angels' 43-year uniform deal with an 11-minute-away Florida seamstress just got handed to a Virginia contractor with two years of glove experience. We have some questions about the skin tones involved and none of the answers are surprising. And we close with William Love — Spider-Man, Dodge Charger, flying body press, racist rally — and he is your new favorite person on the internet. Full stop. The link to the Ukraine Independence Day parade Ground robotic systems parade along Kyiv's main street: modern Ukrainian weapons showcased | Ukrainska Pravda Got feedback? We want to hear it.

    CVN-81 (You Know What It Was)
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Ratings & Reviews

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About

John Wayne's Surge Protector podcast is two guys discussing the world around us on a twice weekly basis. We try to look at things that we think are huge deals and sometimes those items are also flying under the radar for a lot of other media channels. Having known each other for many years some of the jokes you hear may not come off as jokes. Keep listening and you will get in the loop soon enough as well. We have a link to leave any feedback in most of the episodes so don't hesitate to reach out. 

Information

  • Creator
    Alex Midway and Eric Halsey
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    141
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 John Wayne's Surge Protector
  • Show Website
    JWSP