E003 Industrial complexes

Episode Description

In his farewell address, former President Biden cautioned against the growing “Tech-Industrial Complex” mirroring former President Eisenhower’s warning against the “Military-industrial Complex”. This week, we take a deeper look into these socioeconomic systems, their innerworkings, and the bureaucracies they serve. We explore and analyze multiple other industrial complexes including Marriage, Medical, Prison, Tech, and Death. We begin our episode giving the major news headlines from the second half of February 2025, and end our episode discussing the world of current pop television including SNL’s 50th Anniversary Special, Apple Cider Vinegar, The Fox Hollow Murders, White Lotus, and American Murder: Gaby Petito.

News Headline Articles

Brazil's former president faces charges over alleged coup plot

Zelenskyy hits back against Trump's comments blaming Ukraine for the war with Russia

China repatriates more than 1,000 online scam workers rescued from Myanmar

Mexico warns the US not to 'invade our sovereignty' in fight against cartels

AP sues Trump aides for restricting access over Gulf of Mexico name

Israel delays release of Palestinian prisoners, citing “humiliating” handovers of hostages

Zelensky says ready to quit if it brings peace, pushes back on US demand for Ukrainian minerals

Merz prioritizes Ukraine and US, vows to tackle migration and economy after German election win

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth Greets Saudi Minister of Defense, His Royal Highness Khalid bin Salman at the Pentagon

The search for the missing Malaysian Airlines Flight MH370 has resumed once again

Over 7,000 from scam centers in Myanmar are awaiting repatriation after crackdown

Taiwan condemns China for conducting shooting drills off its coast

Trump administration cuts most USAID programs. And, the ethics of leaving your job

Zelenskyy leaves White House without signing minerals deal after Oval Office blowup

Clashes erupt in Greece as hundreds of thousands protest deadly train crash

Microsoft shutting down Skype in May

Texas measles cases rise to 146 in an outbreak that led to a child’s death

Attorneys are suing to keep 10 migrants out of Guantanamo Bay as others say they were abused there

 Kurdish militant group PKK declares ceasefire after decades of conflict with Turkey

Trump signs order designating English as the official language of the US

Israel Halts Aid to Gaza and Proposes New Framework for an End to the War 

Pope Francis, stable in hospital, thanks well-wishers for support

Episode Research


"Military-Industrial Complex." Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., Accessed [12 February 2025]. 

Holmes, Melissa A. "The Wedding-Industrial Complex: How Capitalism Turns Love Into Profit." Everyday Feminism, 20 Apr. 2017,

Relman, Arnold S. "The New Medical-Industrial Complex." New England Journal of Medicine, vol. 303, no. 17, 23 Oct. 1980, pp. 963-970. 

"What Is the Prison Industrial Complex?" Justice Education Project, Accessed [Date you accessed this].

"The West Wing - Season 2 - Episode 3 - The Midterms." Forever Dreaming Transcripts, Accessed [12 February 2025].