The truth is out there, and so is Grace Kuhlenschmidt, so follow along as the Daily Show correspondent hits the field. Grace learns how to live off the grid in the middle of Manhattan from a man who's been doing just that. She tackles aging in the government by meeting with the youngest member of congress. Prior to the election she met with professional election prognosticators to see who would win, then returns to demand answers when they prove unreliable. Finally she heads to the streets to see if young people are willing to delete their social media apps now that they're all controlled by evil billionaires. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Chapter 1: Who is Josh Spodek and how does he live off the grid in Manhattan?
When you hear off the grid, you probably think of living in a cute cottage in the woods like Ted Kaczynski. But you don't have to venture way the into the wilderness to live like Ted. Meet Josh Spodek, astrophysicist, NYU professor, and real life Captain Planet.
I used to empty my garbage weekly. Now I empty my garbage once in 2019, once in 2018, once in 2017.
Okay, twin, I also only take out my trash once a year. But recently, Josh went even further, taking his Manhattan apartment off the electrical grid completely. So what is your problem with electricity? Did it kill your family? Or did it because I'm now realizing that's kind of something that could happen?
I do use electricity. I have my solar panels that I take up to the roof and charge the battery in, but that's it. I try to minimize my footprint as much as I can.
Now, what exactly is electricity? And I know the basics. It's the stuff that's in the air.
Electricity actually is very complicated.
When people think it's simple, I'm like, are you dumb?
In one sense, it's simple in that it just works because that's how it works with gravity.
Gravity.
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Chapter 2: What does it mean to live with zero electricity and zero waste for a day?
Right. That's usually what I'm saying to myself.
And you think, do I have to think about every other person on the planet every time I do anything?
That's exactly how I think. It's like you're reading my brain.
But systemic change begins with personal change. I gotta quote Abraham Lincoln here.
Okay.
Nothing damages you more than to do something that you believe is wrong.
And I'll quote Abraham Lincoln. God bless America. He said that a lot.
Probably, yeah.
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Chapter 3: What cognitive challenges are associated with aging politicians?
Wow. Josh had inspired me. And I was ready to make a difference, too. Going a full 24 hours living life Spodek style. This is a day in my life with zero electricity and zero waste. I start my day by waking up. Whoops. No electricity means no lights. Luckily, my toxic roommate isn't home, so I'm using her food to make my famous green glow smoothie.
I start with bananas, some beautiful organic kale, one scoop of collagen, and then... Next up, a trip to Precycle, a packaging-free store where you bring your own containers. Good thing I always travel with my Tupperwares. Josh, if you're watching, check it out. Man, I'm really doing this. Hello. So these are oats right here. And then last but not least, these are the flour.
Sure, yeah.
You can probably just weigh my whole hand just to make it a little bit easier.
OK.
Oh my God, I did it. That was only 90 minutes. me.
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Chapter 4: How does cognitive testing work for politicians and why is it proposed?
1%?
You said you had 5% 10 minutes ago. you. OK. All good, bro. All good. Just me here with my thoughts. That's chill. I know what to do. Sadly, I didn't make it. But you know what I did make? A difference. And that's something they can never take away from me. America's democracy may not be the strongest, but at least it's the oldest. There seems to be some sort of gerontocracy.
We have the oldest leaders among rich countries. And we love all of them. Joe Biden, Donald Trump, this guy. But are there drawbacks to having our leadership with one foot in heaven? I spoke to Mark Fisher, Neuropolitics Researcher at UC Irvine.
We know that brain function tends to deteriorate with aging. One of the first to go of all the cognitive functions is called executive function. It's decision making. I see. And what could be more important for a political leader than decision making?
What am I gonna have for freaking lunch? I'm president of the United States. What the heck am I gonna have for lunch? That's a hard decision. And I hope that I have a burger for lunch. I guess I've had this freaky misconception that old people are wiser and smarter than me. And it feels like what you're telling me is that that's not true and I should never trust them.
Oh, I wouldn't say that. I wouldn't say that. No, I think that the experience that one gains over the course of a lifetime, extraordinarily important. But there are some measurable cognitive functions that do begin to decline over the age of 60.
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Chapter 5: Who is Maxwell Frost and what is his perspective on youth in Congress?
So even though you have more experiences, you are still getting dumber.
You know, I'm a neurologist. Dumb is not a word that we use. Okay.
All right. I'll say it then.
Don't worry.
So having a bunch of old brains in charge might be a bit of a problem, but this wise old neurologist actually has a solution.
Our Neuropolitics Center, we came out with a recommendation that cognitive testing should be done on all politicians, not just older politicians, all politicians.
Woman, man, camera, TV.
Unsurprisingly, Trump says he aced his cognitive test already.
If you get it in order, you get extra points.
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Chapter 6: What do election prognosticators say about the presidential race?
Absolutely.
Thank you.
But that's not really, that's really not assessed in real cognizance.
It doesn't need to be. Without seeing his test results, we can only guess how well, or not well, Trump's brain is doing. But it did make me curious. Could my brain be president? My name, Grace. My date of birth, June 30th, 1995.
This first part of the exam, this isn't scored, so this is just identification material.
Okay, God, I would like to be scored on those two, actually, if possible, because I think I got them right. Do you have more difficulties doing everyday activities due to thinking problems? No, I have almost nothing to do on a daily basis. At the bottom of the very last page, write, I have finished on the blank line provided.
So this is a test of delayed recall.
Got it. This one is so easy. Can I call my mom to just double check? Last question.
In the course of just a few pages, we've covered many cognitive domains.
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