Buy Cheer, Pay Later, Don’t Read Headlines | 12/5/25

The holiday rush hits differently when AI recommends your gifts, the World Cup keeps buzzing in the background, and everyone quietly agrees not to open the news app. This week’s Friday Deep Dive settles into that space between festive distraction and December overload. Keith and Brad unwrap algorithmic Christmas chaos, cultural noise, and the comedy that shows up when we all pretend nothing strange is happening.

Light, satirical, and seasonally self-aware, the conversation drifts from unexpected shopping logic to global sports timing and why the headlines feel louder precisely when we tune them out.

If December had a personality, it would sound like this.

Chapters:

• 00:00 Welcome to Friday Deep Dive
•  04:12 AI Christmas shopping gets bold
•  11:20 World Cup energy rolls into December
•  18:40 Holiday cheer versus news fatigue
•  25:05 When the algorithms know your gifts
•  33:55 Maximal shopping, minimal awareness
•  41:48 Sports as end-of-year escapism
•  49:30 Cultural timing and December denial
•  58:02 Credit, cost, and holiday cheer
•  01:06:45 When joy goes on payment plan
•  01:18:22 Headlines no one wants to click
•  01:29:40 Festive distraction as coping mechanism
•  01:41:55 The slow exit into holiday quiet
•  01:52:30 Final reflections on seasonal overload
•  01:59:18 Sign-off and next week’s tease

When do you personally stop checking headlines and just lean into holiday mode?

If this episode felt like the exact December mix of selective news avoidance, late shopping, and seasonal chaos, hit Like and Subscribe. The next Friday Deep Dive lands right as the year tips over, and the holiday logic only gets stranger from here.

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