From the Jill Schwartz Memorial Library here in Sultry Savannah, this is obscure season

four in American tragedy.

I'm your host, your friend, your ear lover, and literary mansplainer in chief, Michael

Ian Black, dealing with, at the moment,

one of those sharp stabbing pains people sometimes get, or I sometimes get, it has no cause.

There's no reason for it to be there, but it's there, right in the back of my ear.

I mean, in the back of my ear, like a little, of my ear like a little, like a, like a crochet needle,

just jabbing back of my ear outside my brain, which has not been functioning very well as of late.

Now, as I record this podcast, I think the last time I recorded, I said it's the election

and you're going to know the results before I do, or you're going to know the results,

meaning when you listen to the podcast, and I won't have known, but now I know. And I'm not

going to talk very much about it. Why should I? You're exhausted thinking about it. I'm

exhausted thinking about it and writing about it and talking about it. I've got to go back to work

this week and talk about it on the TV. So I guess there's no real reason to talk about it here.

That's not why you have landed at this podcast. That being said, fair to say, my candidate of choice did not prevail. So,

what does that mean? Well, it means I'm very disappointed. And, you know, and America is

descending into fascism. But whatever. Whatever. Lower case F. Fascism.

Fascism with McDonald's.

And how bad could that possibly be?

I mean, unless RFK outlaws McDonald's, which is possible.

Certainly possible.

So yeah, I haven't felt, you know, I haven't been in a great mood by any stretch of the imagination. So it's

...