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. 1d ago

    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

  2. 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

  3. 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

  4. 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

  5. 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

  6. 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)

  7. Aug 21

    Reasonable Probability of Death

    Episode Summary: Yes that is a real picture that the Department of Education put out and there's no way you can convince me that the guy in the blue doesn't look like Epstein.  This week's "Who Said It" is one of the most heartbreaking things we've read on this show — and once you find out who said it and where, it reframes everything that follows about who's winning and who's losing this war. Tesla ticked up on a deal with a Swedish trucking company that chose them over their hometown hero — we have a beta dad analogy ready and a new stock pick to go with it. SpaceX dropped after a marketing professor said the shares are worth somewhere between $10 and $30, and we are very curious to see how Elon responds to that on social media. Russia launched another multi-hour overnight attack on Kyiv — missiles, drones, the works — because when you can't win on the battlefield, Soviet doctrine says you go after apartments. Meanwhile Ukraine's campaign against Russian oil infrastructure is showing up in the actual numbers now, and a waterborne drone off the coast of Romania just tried to take out a project that would make Europe energy independent by 2027. We have a theory about who sent it. We address the Fedorov situation and the protests in Kyiv honestly — because we don't just cover the good news — and we explain why one person's very quick pivot tells you everything about their actual motives. Pete Hegseth just disbanded the Army's drone warfare battalion — the one set up specifically to absorb lessons from Ukraine — and we have a theory about how he decides what to cut that involves Ctrl+F and one very specific search term. The US just hit $40 trillion in debt and we break down exactly how much of that belongs to one man in six years. Blueberries have been upgraded to "reasonable probability of death." Iran responded to Trump's new economic war threat with a statement so calm and so precise it should make every pro-war American very uncomfortable. Fox News figured out why progressive politicians keep winning — it's the thirst traps. An otter showed up in the Bronx River for the first time in a century. Karoline Leavitt is gone, and Mike Lindell wants a recount of a primary that only Republicans could have rigged. We end there, because nothing we write could top that. Volvo Electric Trucks Our electric truck range Got feedback? We want to hear it.

    Reasonable Probability of Death

  8. Aug 19

    Pittsburgh is catching strays today

    This week's "Who Said It" is about a brand new Middle East defense pact — and the person celebrating it has some very specific financial reasons to be excited that have nothing to do with regional stability. Tesla is flat but Cathie Wood is buying like it's on sale, with a price target that implies something in the neighborhood of 700% upside. We let you do the math on what it would take for that to be right. SpaceX finally revealed who actually owns it — 23 accounts control over 80% of reported shares — and one of the names on that list is going to make the whole "national security" conversation about Elon feel very different. Russia's only anti-war party just had its appeal rejected and its deputy leader sentenced to 11 years — we note that they had about a 3% approval rating, which apparently was still 3% too many. Meanwhile Wildberries employees near Moscow have apparently decided that if the warehouse is burning anyway, they might as well help themselves first. We respect the hustle. Russia's second-largest bank's chief economist went on record about the state of the wartime economy — and then was immediately fired, because in Russia the messenger doesn't just get shot metaphorically. Trump is scaling back joint military exercises with South Korea for reasons that include the cost, Kim Jong Un's feelings, and South Korea's failure to help denuclearize Iran — we unpack all three and let the audience rank them by logic. The USS Abraham Lincoln situation gets a replacement and Pete Hegseth has some thoughts about the reporting that carefully avoid contesting any of the actual facts. And Trump just ordered the Navy to rip out a system that saves $100 million a year and go back to steam catapults that haven't been manufactured in 20 years. The retired Rear Admiral who used to command that carrier group has some words about that. Todd Blanche made a promise about the Attorney General's office that is funny for a very specific reason once you remember who previously held that job and what they were asked to do. Mamdani is handing out $8 million to small businesses and Netanyahu put him on a billboard — we explain why that's actually a sign of something. And a couple dozen of the internet's saddest men gathered in a Miami parking lot to do pushups for Andrew Tate, and the internet responded in a way that is going to make your week. The Trump Interview link https://www.facebook.com/share/r/19WtVV4DuK/ SBA Kelly Loeffler robot link https://www.reddit.com/r/TikTokCringe/s/6yMV8dhUJ1 Got feedback? We want to hear it.

    Pittsburgh is catching strays today
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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
5 Ratings

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
    139
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 John Wayne's Surge Protector
  • Show Website
    JWSP

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