Welcome back! Starting off with some rapid fire headlines: NYC mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani battles a 135-lb bar and the guys debate whether that’s a fair “average male” yardstick or just social-media theater. Then: the CNE casino fine gets a quick audit, Giorgio Armani’s passing earns a respectful nod, and the NFL’s back-with a special announcement from Luke.

From there, the tone shifts. We unpack the chatter about renaming the Department of Defense to the “Department of War”: is it a meme, or a deliberate reframing? The crew gets honest about hard vs. soft power—what actually works in a neighborhood, a boardroom, a locker room, and a country. Spoiler: it depends…

Wisdom of the Day: Without hard powder, soft power cannot exist