Hello, hello, this is Big the Nation, a podcast about American life with all of its grandeur,

innovation, stupidity, cruelty, celebrity, gossip, and snacks. I am your host, the Guine Farsad.

And I am about a tiny little note on the soundscape of our country's great podcast tapestry.

That's a mixed metaphor. Today, we're going to talk about data that shows difficult

people age you faster, which is a little bit like no, duh, but also, oh my God, there's

data for that. In politics, we ask whether we have reached end-stage polarization and whether

MAGA has entered its cringe era, which is maybe one in the same question. And finally, the secret to

having a lot of friends in adulthood apparently starts with one little factor from your tween

and teen years. You have to stay tuned to hear what that is. We shall dish. Today, I have such

a wonderful panel assembled for you. Oh my gosh. They both, you've heard this first person

on the show before. You've definitely heard her with me on the wonderful show. Wait,

wait, wait, don't tell me. She's also now the co-host of the NPR show Go Fack to Yourself.

It is the excellent excellent wonderful Helen Hong.

Hey, Helen.

Hello.

Hi, and again.

So great to have you on.

And we're also joined by, oh my gosh, I'm so excited that we were able to get this person on the podcast because this podcast is a blow it up. It's so fun. She's a co-host of the podcast. Text

me back. And she's just a great chatter in always. It is the wonderful Megan Hatcher Mays. Hey, Megan.

Yay. I'm so excited to be here. Thanks. And just for listeners, you can go ahead and support the show if you're feeling so inclined

by going to Patreon.com slash Nikki and Farside for as little as $4 a month. You get bonus episodes

of the show. That's where we really let our hair down. You know what I mean? We don't give a fuck

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