They kick things off with the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award going to Jerome Powell and “the people of the Twin Cities,” which leads to a sharp conversation about immigration enforcement, media narratives, political branding, and how the word courage now gets stretched so far it could snap. From there, they get into Trump’s joke about Japan and Pearl Harbor, Congress debating a bill tied to harming law enforcement animals, Denmark allegedly preparing for a possible U.S. move on Greenland, and why the federal government needs to get its grubby lizard fingers out of the student loan business.

Then the show takes a turn from political absurdity to modern-life dread. Fingers and Sarah dig into the alarming rise in death rates among Gen X and elder millennials, which spins into a conversation about colorectal cancer, colonoscopies, processed food, fast food, stress, and whether a generation raised on pizza rolls and “just keep moving” is finally paying the bill. After that, they tackle a new experimental keto pill that promises the effects of dieting without giving up carbs, an AI-generated Val Kilmer appearing posthumously in a new film, and Tinder wanting deeper access to users’ photo libraries to build more “authentic” matches. In other words: health anxiety, artificial people, privacy collapse, and the future getting dumber by the minute.

If you miss the live show on WAAM Talk Radio, you can catch The Snark Factor on your favorite podcast platform.

It starts with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer — not in legal trouble, but in deep trouble with the activist wing of his own party — for committing the unforgivable sin of trying to keep the government funded. Fingers and Sarah dig into why shutdown politics have flipped, how immigration and ICE became the flashpoint, and why polling reality still refuses to cooperate with protest narratives.

From there, the conversation widens into media blind spots, propaganda, and why public trust has eroded so badly that no investigation, no institution, and no authority is seen as legitimate anymore — which may be the point.

The show then turns local, as Fingers contrasts wall-to-wall coverage of protests with the near silence surrounding a deadly crash in Indiana involving an illegal immigrant driver — and asks why some victims get national attention while others barely get a headline.

In the second half, the focus shifts from politics to something that hits much closer to home: money. A disturbing story from Carol Roth details how a retiree’s six-figure savings account was quietly closed and sent to the state for “inactivity,” despite regular interest deposits — a cautionary tale for anyone who thinks their money is safe just because it’s sitting still.

And because this is The Snark Factor, the episode wraps with lighter fare:
Waffle House going full fine-dining for Valentine’s Day, regional pronunciation fights (“waffle”), Super Bowl party food politics, Velveeta defenders, and the eternal danger of the sad veggie tray.

Smart, sharp, skeptical, and occasionally hungry — this is The Snark Factor.

The Biden administration is quietly loosening immigration policies before Trump takes office — including letting migrants skip ICE check-ins in NYC.
Four Michigan homes were targeted by South American gangs, police say.
The NFL issued an alert to teams and players after recent burglaries.
MSNBC viewers are angry with 'Morning Joe.'
What will happen to CNBC and MSNBC when they no longer have a corporate connection to NBC News?
Jake Paul vs Mike Tyson -- What the hell was that?!?
Thanksgiving sides. What should and should not be on your table?

All that and much more on episode 1402 of The Snark Factor.

Fingers Malloy and Sarah Smith host The Snark Factor Radio Program on WAAM 92.7FM Ann Arbor, MI.

Listen to The Snark Factor Sunday mornings on WAAM, Ann Arbor. The Snark Factor is available on your favorite podcast platform. For all things snark, visit www.fingersmalloy.com.