Dingus of the Week Podcast

Dingus of the Week: A weekly comedy news podcast. Your co-hosts, Lyz Lenz and Zach Smith, will focus on everything that is the epitome of all that is silly, awful, enraging, and ridiculous in politics or popular culture. Also, some good things too!

Dingus of the Week Podcast is a news podcast hosted by Lyz Lenz, with 40 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80.

Lyz Lenz hosts Dingus of the Week Podcast, a news show with 40 episodes published.

Our AI reads these to draft pitches. Use them as grounding for a pitch that cites a real guest and a specific topic.

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  Episode #42

  Jon Husted, Ashley Hinson, GOP senators turn on Trump over Iran war — Dingus of the Week Podcast #42

  Sep 26, 20261h 25m

  For months, the war in Iran was a lockstep vote for Congressional Republicans. Support it, keep supporting it, and don't blink. US Rep. Ashley Hinson voted to support the war seven separate times . US Sen. Jon Husted, another Republican facing a hard midterm election, called for a quick end despite continuing to oppose Democratic efforts to restrict the administration's military authority. But then, forty-some days out from the midterms, with gas at $4.30 a gallon in Iowa and diesel at $6.31, something remarkable happened: the same Republicans who made the war possible started running from it. It's not that they changed their minds about the war. It's that Trump's approval numbers have gone the way of most things this year: down. So now you've got senators and House members who spent a year saying "out of sight, out of mind" suddenly discovering, on the eve of an election, that maybe the war they enabled wasn't such a good idea. On this episode of DINGUS OF THE WEEK, hosts LYZ LENZ and ZACHARY OREN SMITH consider hopium in the face of the midterms. DINGUS OF THE WEEK is a weekly comedy news podcast where writers Lyz and Zach light a fire under the American rogue's gallery to see who comes spilling out. If you're tired of doom-scrolling but know ignoring the problem doesn't get us anywhere, this is your new weekend listen. New episodes every Saturday morning. SUPPORT THE SHOW by subscribing on Patreon . $5/month - Not a Dingus tier (3 weekly newsletters, 1 podcast, and our entire archive) $10/month - Definitely Not a Dingus tier (all the above + polls and topic submissions, a chat community, weekly discussions, comment access, and our love) SEND US YOUR DINGUS. Record a voice memo and tell us who your dingus of the week is. Make it good and you'll hear your voice on the show. You can also email those to menyellatme@gmail.com . FOLLOW DINGUS OF THE WEEK Youtube Instagram LYZ LENZ is the HBIC of MYAM Media. ZACHARY OREN SMITH writes about politics for Iowa Starting Line. Follow his work on Instagram ( http://instagram.com/zacharyorensmith) and TikTok ( https://www.tiktok.com/@zacharyorensmith). LAURA BENITEZ wrote the theme song. SHOW RUNDOWN: 0:46 - Open - Should you bring an ice coffee to an interview? No, but a martini would be nice. 9:09 - Intro 16:40 - How Ann Selzer's 2024 poll hurt us: a retrospective 30:38 - Senate math 33:06 - THE DINGUS: Ashley Hinson's Iran war reversal 44:39 - GOP stalwarts begin jumping ship on war in Iran 53:08 - Healthcare: Medicaid/ACA subsidy cuts, clinic closures 1:02:19 - Listener-submitted dingus 1:04:33 - Dad goes viral for being the worst parent we've ever seen 1:14:57 - Joy: Daughter's first birthday, podcast anniversary

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  Episode #41

  Kelsey McKinney on Ed Sheeran v Macklemore— Dingus of the Week Podcast #41

  Sep 19, 202656 min

  Who would have thought we'd be talking about the moral clarity of the popping tags guy? You know what? Never mind. We're glad you're here, Macklemore. He's been using his tremendous platform as an opener for Ed Sheeran to speak out about the ongoing Palestinian genocide. But those in power made sure there were costs to being on the right side of history. Macklemore was dropped from the tour . According to his Instagram post recounting the events, it resulted from a pressure campaign waged by Patriots owner Robert Kraft, who confirmed he barred him from the shows at Gillette Stadium. Sheeran's side pointed to the tour's promoter, who said venues wouldn't allow Macklemore to perform . It did not go well. Finneas, Lukas Graham, and Aaron Rowe pulled out of the tour , and the whole lineup went with them. That leaves a pop star who rose to fame as a collaborator, now alone on stage with his guitar, repeating his defense that he's not political. That he's not complicit... On this episode of D INGUS OF THE WEEK, hosts LYZ LENZ and ZACHARY OREN SMITH welcome Defector staff writer and Normal Gossip founding host KELSEY MCKINNEY to break down how the Thrift Shop Guy somehow became the moral compass. Who would have thought. DINGUS OF THE WEEK is a weekly comedy news podcast where writers Lyz and Zach light a fire under the American rogue's gallery to see who comes spilling out. If you're tired of doom-scrolling but know ignoring the problem doesn't get us anywhere, this is your new weekend listen. New episodes every Saturday morning. SUPPORT THE SHOW by subscribing on Patreon . $5/month - Not a Dingus tier (3 weekly newsletters, 1 podcast, and our entire archive) $10/month - Definitely Not a Dingus tier (all the above + polls and topic submissions, a chat community, weekly discussions, comment access, and our love) SEND US YOUR DINGUS. Record a voice memo and tell us who your dingus of the week is. Make it good and you'll hear your voice on the show. You can also email those to menyellatme@gmail.com . FOLLOW DINGUS OF THE WEEK Youtube Instagram LYZ LENZ is the HBIC of MYAM Media. ZACHARY OREN SMITH writes about politics for Iowa Starting Line. Follow his work on Instagram ( http://instagram.com/zacharyorensmith) and TikTok ( https://www.tiktok.com/@zacharyorensmith). LAURA BENITEZ wrote the theme song. SHOW RUNDOWN: 0:00 - Intro 1:15 - Guest intro: Kelsey McKinney of Defector and Normal Gossip 1:50 - Dingus: Ed Sheeran, Macklemore, and the Bob Kraft phone call 10:33 - The Thrift Shop Guy's moral compass 12:12 - Why Sheeran didn't have to step in 25:40 - "People depend on me": just pay the crew 26:00 - "Not complicit" and "I'm not political" 28:29 - Art can't be apolitical: the Chicks, Dylan, Nina Simone, and AI slop music 34:26 - Game: Name That Dingus NFL Owner 42:31 - Paper fortunes, lawn chair heiresses, and the inventor of the strawberry clamshell 46:40 - Joy: Kelsey on rewatching Vanderpump Rules; Lyz on Blacktail; Zach on Sleater-Kinney at Codfish Hollow 52:17 - Outro

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  Episode #40

  Ogre and Out: John Fetterman's full send to the GOP convention — Dingus of the Week Podcast #40

  Sep 12, 20261h 33m

  A lot can be said about John Fetterman, but maybe people don't appreciate the Senator from Pennsylvania's love for stirring the pot. Down in Dallas, Fetterman appeared on the jumbo screen before a crowd of adoring Republicans, insisting, repeatedly, that he's still a registered Democrat. It's hard to remember, but not that long ago, Fetterman was a bit of a progressive folk hero. Bernie Sanders endorsed him twice, first for lieutenant governor and then for Senate. he pushed for the decriminalization of petty drug charges. And he campaigned on Medicare for All and a $15 minimum wage. That's the résumé that got the party's left flank to stump for him in 2022. It is not the résumé of a man who, four years later, was the lone Democrat voting to advance a GOP-backed DHS funding bill , reversed his own position on killing the filibuster, and told CNN's Caitlin Collins he wouldn't sign onto an investigation into a U.S. strike on an Iranian girls' school. On this episode of DINGUS OF THE WEEK, hosts LYZ LENZ and ZACHARY OREN SMITH are chasing the ogre himself, wondering how we got here. DINGUS OF THE WEEK is a weekly comedy news podcast where writers Lyz and Zach light a fire under the American rogues' gallery to see who comes crawling out. If you're tired of doom-scrolling but know ignoring the problem doesn't get us anywhere, this is your new weekend listen. New episodes every Saturday morning. SUPPORT THE SHOW by subscribing on Patreon . $5/month - Not a Dingus tier (3 weekly newsletters, 1 podcast, and our entire archive) $10/month - Definitely Not a Dingus tier (all the above + polls and topic submissions, a chat community, weekly discussions, comment access, and our love) SEND US YOUR DINGUS. Record a voice memo and tell us who your dingus of the week is. Make it good and you'll hear your voice on the show. You can also email those to menyellatme@gmail.com . FOLLOW DINGUS OF THE WEEK Youtube Instagram LYZ LENZ is the HBIC of MYAM Media. ZACHARY OREN SMITH writes about politics for Iowa Starting Line. Follow his work on Instagram ( http://instagram.com/zacharyorensmith) and TikTok ( https://www.tiktok.com/@zacharyorensmith). LAURA BENITEZ wrote the theme song. SHOW RUNDOWN: 0:00 — Cold open: 9/11 memories 17:04 — Intro 18:52 — Pre-Dingus: Giuliani vs. Mamdani 24:11 — Dingus: John Fetterman 58:54 — Midroll: Lyz's newsletter reflection 1:03:20 — Listener voicemail Dingus: Call the wife. 1:14:01 — Joy segment: a concert you must go to and Legal weed 1:27:42 — Outro 1:31:41 — Credits/outro song

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  Episode #39

  Goop, there it is: Gwyneth Paltrow's conscious uncoupling from reality — Dingus of the Week Podcast #39

  Sep 5, 20261h 1m

  Puck reported that Gwyneth Paltrow was throwing a private, "off-the-record" dinner at her Hamptons estate in honor of OpenAI's Sam Altman—whose company the New York Times reported Paltrow is an investor in via her own VC firm. Paltrow's team never confirmed or denied it, instead posting parody invitations for fictional guests of honor like M3GAN and Shrek — before reports emerged that the actual dinner had quietly been shelved. It's a rough follow-up act for a woman who, just months earlier on her own podcast with Kara Swisher , denounced "super rich white dudes" who don't think about "the downstream impact." You add in her May Goop Kitchen ad starring convicted fraudster Anna Delvey in her ankle monitor, and her June ad for a luxury Israeli condo development that drew accusations of the "goopification of settler colonialism" mid-war, and you've got a pretty full season of not reading the room. This week's guest didn't need a deep dive on any of it. Jezebel founder Anna Holmes joined the show, and when asked to name a dingus: Gwyneth Paltrow. Fair enough — Holmes spent years as a magazine assistant at Entertainment Weekly interviewing celebs like Paltrow. Holmes is also the author of the new book "The Power of No: A Celebration" , out September 15 — pre-order it now. On this episode of DINGUS OF THE WEEK, hosts LYZ LENZ and ZACHARY OREN SMITH welcome Jezebel founder ANNA HOLMES to trace Goop's evolution from jade eggs and genital-scented candles to Silicon Valley dinner parties. DINGUS OF THE WEEK is a weekly comedy news podcast where writers Lyz and Zach light a fire under the American rogue's gallery to see who comes spilling out. If you're tired of doom-scrolling but know ignoring the problem doesn't get us anywhere, this is your new weekend listen. New episodes every Saturday morning. SUPPORT THE SHOW by subscribing on Patreon . $5/month - Not a Dingus tier (3 weekly newsletters, 1 podcast, and our entire archive) $10/month - Definitely Not a Dingus tier (all the above + polls and topic submissions, a chat community, weekly discussions, comment access, and our love) SEND US YOUR DINGUS. Record a voice memo and tell us who your dingus of the week is. Make it good and you'll hear your voice on the show. You can also email those to menyellatme@gmail.com . FOLLOW DINGUS OF THE WEEK Youtube Instagram LYZ LENZ is the HBIC of MYAM Media. ZACHARY OREN SMITH writes about politics for Iowa Starting Line. Follow his work on Instagram ( http://instagram.com/zacharyorensmith) and TikTok ( https://www.tiktok.com/@zacharyorensmith). LAURA BENITEZ wrote the theme song. SHOW RUNDOWN: 00:00 - Cold open: "porn-stache" 03:56 - Intro 05:00 - Guest intro: Jezebel founder Anna Holmes, author of "The Power of No" 07:31 - Dingus: Gwyneth Paltrow — Anna's history covering her at Jezebel 07:34 - Anna's Entertainment Weekly days: working the Miramax screening circuit and getting "so nice to see you"-ed by a young Gwyneth Paltrow 16:44 - Why she's this week's dingus: the Sam Altman dinner, the Israeli condo ad, and not needing the money 22:34 - How lifestyle brands launder political power — and why Goop showing up next to OpenAI isn't a surprise 26:11 - Why feminist media coverage of women's health never sticks the way "sad lonely men" coverage does 29:11 - Goop as "the wellness Megyn Kelly" — white femininity as a power structure 34:12 - The Anna Delvey Goop Kitchen ad, and Paltrow's tradwife-coded breakfast videos 40:14 - The search for a Gwyneth Paltrow profile that actually lands a punch 45:32 - Midroll: Lyz's newsletter piece on the women of Trump's orbit 47:50 - Game: Name That Anti-Feminist 55:34 - Joy: the "thin blonde beautiful woman gets one free murder" theory, and the Sam Altman dinner as a murder-mystery party that got ruined by "woke asses" 56:51 - Outro 1:00:13 - Stinger: "a loose tit situation"

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  Episode #38

  Built (Doug) Ford tough: Canadian premier tells Trump to kiss his ass — Dingus of the Week Podcast #38

  Aug 29, 20261h 13m

  Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney does not inspire fear. When he says he'll do dollar-for-dollar retaliatory tariffs against the United States—sure it hurts. But wait, who's that lumbering giant telling the President of the United States to shove it?! On this episode of DINGUS OF THE WEEK, hosts LYZ LENZ and ZACHARY OREN SMITH look across the border at Ontario Premier Doug Ford. There's good. There's bad... Actually it's mostly just ugly. Dig into the trade war with us and how Canada plans to get the last laugh. Also this week: America lost Dolly Parton and Tim Curry within a day of each other, and Tressie McMillan Cottom wrote sharply about the myth of an "unproblematic" Dolly (the Grim Reaper had several war criminals and at least one sitting senator available and chose violence anyway). DINGUS OF THE WEEK is a weekly comedy news podcast where writers Lyz and Zach light a fire under the American rogue's gallery to see who comes spilling out. If you're tired of doom-scrolling but know ignoring the problem doesn't get us anywhere, this is your new weekend listen. New episodes every Saturday morning. SUPPORT THE SHOW by subscribing on Patreon . $5/month - Not a Dingus tier (3 weekly newsletters, 1 podcast, and our entire archive) $10/month - Definitely Not a Dingus tier (all the above + polls and topic submissions, a chat community, weekly discussions, comment access, and our love) SEND US YOUR DINGUS. Record a voice memo and tell us who your dingus of the week is. Make it good and you'll hear your voice on the show. You can also email those to menyellatme@gmail.com . FOLLOW DINGUS OF THE WEEK Youtube Instagram LYZ LENZ is the HBIC of MYAM Media. ZACHARY OREN SMITH writes about politics for Iowa Starting Line. Follow his work on Instagram ( http://instagram.com/zacharyorensmith) and TikTok ( https://www.tiktok.com/@zacharyorensmith). LAURA BENITEZ wrote the theme song. SHOW RUNDOWN: 0:00 - Cold open: the WikiFeet discourse in Zach's inbox 4:16 - Intro 7:14 - Tim Curry, Dolly Parton, and Chuck Grassley 13:17 - Dingus: the trade war with Canada (aka the Poutine Wars) 26:47 - The Smoot-Hawley Act, the Dust Bowl, and the many Smoots of Utah 37:14 - Midroll 37:19 - Newsletter Discord check-in: readers on Dolly Parton's legacy 42:05 - Game: Clearly Canadian 49:56 - Game: Tariff It 57:46 - Joy: Lyz on chess club and her daughter; Zach on Little Bo's dive bar in Cedar Rapids 1:10:00 - Outro

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