Beyond the Headlines

TALK TO ME, TEXT IT

Ever feel like the media spotlight shines in all the wrong places? While everyone obsesses over Sydney Sweeney's blue jeans, we're diving into stories that actually deserve our attention but aren't making headlines.

First, a practical guide to dining out wisely as we explore eight expert-identified red flags that signal it's time to leave a restaurant. From the obvious signs like dirty conditions and argumentative staff to the more peculiar warnings about establishments "overloaded with influencers," these indicators offer valuable guidance for your next meal out. Though some seem tailored more to LA than Alabama's Gibson's Barbecue, they provide food for thought on what we should expect from our dining experiences.

The conversation then travels beneath Rome's ancient streets, where an extraordinary discovery awaits. Hidden for over a century, a vast 42,000 square-foot network of tunnels and caves known as the Capitoline Grotto once thrived during Julius Caesar's time. This underground marvel served as everything from quarries and taverns to bomb shelters and bustling 19th-century marketplaces before being sealed by Mussolini in the 1920s. After a $2.8 million restoration, these historical passages will finally welcome visitors again in 2026 – a true hidden treasure of the Eternal City.

We wrap up with a crucial warning about a new scam targeting social media users. Fraudsters are approaching people with requests to use their photos for supposed art projects, complete with promises of commissions and finished copies. The scam reveals itself when they ask for personal information for "e-check" payments – a reminder to stay vigilant online even when interactions seem innocent or flattering.

What national holiday do you think August should have? Share your thoughts and let us know which stories you think deserve more attention than they're getting!

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hello, hello, good morning, happy Wednesday halfway
through the week Almost August,by the way and August is my
least favorite month.
Why?
Because it's hot and it's longand I don't like it.
It takes forever.
I don't like.
I don't really like summer justbecause of the weather.
I mean, the older I get, themore I like it, because the

(00:22):
older I get, it seems like thecolder I am, no matter where I
go.
So I used to hate the heat herein Alabama, but I'm getting
used to it.
It's getting better, it's notas bad, but I still don't like
August.
I don't know why.
Probably because there's noholiday, which, by the way, it
reminds me of the question ofthe day that I'm going to get to
later at the end of the episode.

(00:42):
Okay, we need to move on.
We are not going.
I'm going to bring you threestories that have nothing to do
with any of the headlines thatyou're going to hear about today
, because all we hear abouttoday is Sydney Sweeney and her
freaking blue jeans.
I don't really give a crap.
Okay, I don't care.
I'm sick of this guy, thisstupid story.
I'm sick of it, and I thinkpeople are trying to bring it

(01:05):
out because, you know, we wereso inundated with fat and lefty
and all this stuff and the fatshaming, whatever.
I don't care.
They were, I don't care.
But I think people are tryingto say that they're trying to
point out that the crazy womenon the left are talking about

(01:26):
this ad and coming unglued aboutit because it's some kind of
nazi propaganda.
I have no idea what the hellthey're talking about.
And here's the thing if wewould just ignore them, they
will go away.
Growing up, I used to hear thisall the time from my parents
Ignore it, it'll go away.
I just why are we lifting thesecrazy people up and putting

(01:50):
them out there on mainstreammedia when, when we need to be
talking about other importantthings, like this beating in
Cincinnati or this, the childrenin Bibb County, alabama, that
were drugged, chained in theshelter, chained to poles,
chained to beds.

(02:10):
They were drugged, they weresold, they were used, they were
sexually raped and abused.
How about we talk about that?
No, I guess we'd rather talkabout Sidney Sweeney.
There are other things we needto talk about, but which reminds
me I'm going to bring you somestories that have nothing to do

(02:31):
with today's headlines thatyou're going to hear about today
.
All right, let me go over hereto my X feed.
I have lost it.
Okay, here we go, x feed Eightsigns that you should leave.
A restaurant expert say theseare so dumb.
I already read this article.
It's ridiculous, but but I'mgonna tell you about it anyway.
Number one there's nomanagement presence.
Great managers are visible.

(02:51):
Salar chic, a restaurantconsultant based in los angeles,
told fox news digital theytouch tables, support staff and
deep the d and keep the energyup.
Please don't touch my table inaddition to operation.
Okay, please don't touch mytable In addition to operation.
Okay, we don't care about that.
Number two it's overloaded withinfluencers.
What does this even mean?
Have you ever gone to arestaurant and what do you mean?

(03:13):
It's overloaded withinfluencers.
This must be an LA thing,because you're not going to see
that in Alabama at a Gibson'sbarbecue.
I promise you that.
Number three the place is empty.
Restaurant with loach?
Well, it depends.
You know, the older we get, thegent and I get, the earlier we
like to go to dinner.
We are those early bird,special old people, so we're

(03:35):
usually at dinner at four, atfour o'clock, and it's usually
empty.
But you know, hey, whatever.
Number four the staff argueswith you.
What do you mean?
They argue with you.
The customer might not alwaysbe right, but experts say an
argumentative staff member couldbe a sign of poor service
standards and a breakdown amongthe team.
If they mess something up, theyshould try to make it up to you

(03:57):
.
I have never had a staff memberin a restaurant argue with me
ever, ever in my entire lifehere on earth.
Okay, number five employeesaren't treated well.
How do you know if they're nottreated well?
Are you going to ask somebody?
How are you treated here?
I don't know.
Uh, number six it's dirty.
Well, yeah, that's duh.
That should be number one.
Sticky menus Ooh.

(04:18):
And lipstick stained glassesyeah, oh, gross.
Yeah, I'm out.
I'm out on that one.
I'll agree with that.
Number seven servers don't knowthe menu.
Okay, whatever, I guess maybeit's.
That's not a big deal to me.
You're being upsoldaggressively.
What are you being upsold in arestaurant?
What are you being upsold about?
I don't know.
Let me know what you're beingupsold about, all right.

(04:40):
Next story this top tourist spothas a secret tunnel city, lost
for over a century.
Visitors will soon be able tosee it for the first time.
I find this story fascinating.
I love stuff like this, andit's in Rome.
I have been to Rome.
I have been to Rome.
I would like to go back just tosee this.
A top travel destination hasuncovered an ancient secret.

(05:03):
You remember that commercialAncient Chinese secret secret?
Okay, this is a differentsecret.
A little known network ofsubterranean passageways hidden
beneath rome's capital line hill, holding clues to a long ago
chapter of the eternal city'spast, will reportedly soon open
to visitors.
No one has seen these caves andtunnels for more than a century

(05:25):
.
The.
This vast underground complexcovering 42 000 square feet,
hides out beneath some of thecity's top attractions, steps
from the roman forum and the 2000 year old tietro di marcello,
known for the oh my gosh, I'mgoing to butcher this too Known

(05:47):
as the Grottino delCampidaggioleo or Capital Line
Grotto.
These tunnels were once filledwith life during the days of
Julius Caesar oh my gosh.
Long before it was sealed offby Benito Mussolini in the 1920s

(06:07):
, it served as a quarry, cisterntavern, bomb shelter and even a
bustling subterraneanmarketplace during the 19th
century.
Now, thanks to the massive 2.8million restoration project, the
tunnels are set up to reopen tothe public in 2026.
I there's.
You can go.
Finish reading that.

(06:28):
I'm going to finish reading itlater.
I just find that fascinating.
I love stuff like that and Iwould like to go back and see
that.
All right, last article.
Relentless scammers are tryingto rip off people by asking to
use their pictures for fake artprojects.
Here's how.
All right, so here's anotherscam.
People are always tryingsomebody everywhere, every day.

(06:51):
It's going on.
Here's a new one.
All right, this uh lady.
The internet is flooded withinventive schemes, from ai
fueled romance scams to cybercriminals who pose as kidnapped
loved ones to receive ransompayments.
All right, so this lady headsup.
Guys, be careful, warned attiktok user jen.

(07:12):
I know it, I know know it'sTikTok, but here we go.
She explained that she receiveda message from some girl who
asked if she could use one ofthe TikTok users pictures for an
art project she was working onSuspicious.
Right away, jen went to thesender's page to make sure the
sender wasn't a scam artist.

(07:34):
How are you going to figurethat out?
The profile, surprisingly, hadtons of paintings and drawings
which initially put her mind atease.
I thought, okay, maybe it islegit, recalled the recipient,
so I wrote her back and I askedher what picture she was
interested in, and she said myprofile picture, and I said,
okay, that should be fine.
Jen reportedly became furtherintrigued after the sender

(07:58):
promised her a copy of thefinished project as well as a
commission.
Per the clip, however, jenrealized something was awry when
the woman requested somepersonal details.
She says all I need from you isyour full name and your email
so my client can send over ane-check.

(08:18):
She recalled what I don't evenknow what an e-check is.
Despite not asking for her bankinfo, jen said she knew it was
fishy and accused the woman oftrying to pull the wool over her
eyes.
Her suspicions appeared to beconfirmed when she checked the
fraudster's profile again andsaw that it had vanished.

(08:39):
So be beware.
There's more to that story, butthat's the gist of it.
I think Beware, buyer beware,or whatever you call it nowadays
.
All right, question of the day.
We're talking about August andholidays.
Most months have holidays in it.
I think August should have aholiday because the month of
August does not have a federalholiday.

(09:01):
I think there's another month Ican't remember what it is right
off the top of my head thatdoesn't have a national holiday.
I think August should have one.
So let's create a nationalfederal holiday for August.
What should it be?
That's the question of the day.
All right, I have to go.
Thanks for listening.
Love y'all, bye.