5 chapters across the catalog
Strategy 24, "Take the Line of Least Expectation," is illustrated with a story from the show "Billions" about a father who occasionally "kicks the table over" to keep his family compliant. The hosts apply this to Scott Adams (creator of Dilbert), suggesting his controversial public statements were a calculated "extraordinary" move to transition his audience to independent platforms.
A discussion of celebrity culture highlights how Fox News interrupted coverage of Representative Sheila Jackson Lee to broadcast the Johnny Depp and Amber Heard trial without commercial breaks. This shift in media focus is described as a tactic to engage audiences with riveting but irrelevant content. The hosts link this celebrity mystique to the public's fascination with figures like Elon Musk.
The "Hamsterdam" plotline from the TV show "The Wire" is used as a "predictive programming" example for Baltimore's current policies. In the show, Major Bunny Colvin legalizes drugs in specific abandoned blocks to lower crime elsewhere, creating a "village of pain." The hosts argue that real-world "safe zones" will lead to a "drug utopia" that ultimately destroys Black neighborhoods.
Wendy Williams reveals that Meghan Markle once contacted her talent department seeking a role as a fashion expert or runway model before her engagement to Prince Harry. The hosts discuss Markle's role in the television series Suits, characterizing it as "predictive programming" for her future royal life. They critique her acting abilities and suggest her career trajectory involved aggressive networking to move from minor television roles to global prominence.
The discussion moves to the use of predictive algorithms in the criminal justice system for bail decisions and in the financial sector for lending. Adam expresses concern over the "gamification" of credit scores through apps like Credit Karma, which he views as a form of surveillance. They predict a future where consumer behavior, such as streaming habits, directly impacts financial standing and insurance premiums.
