Episode 429 · The Studio Revamp
The D.C. Plane Crash & RFK’s Hearing | The Tim Dillon Show #429
Feb 1, 2025 · 1:05:34 · 680,000 views · 20 segments, 126 moments indexed
Tim discusses the D.C. plane crash and the inevitability of tragedy when flying, watches Bernie Sanders go after RFK’s Merch, and fills us in on the launch of China’s new AI “Deep Seek”.
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- 3 min
The DC Plane Crash and Corporate Statement
#Tim opens by addressing the Reagan National Airport plane/helicopter collision, criticizing the airline CEO's oddly corporate statement and noting his prior prediction about it discussed on Patreon.
5moments
- The CEO's corporate statement about the crash felt bizarrely focused on subsidiary structures rather than acknowledging the tragedy itself.
- Tim explains the collision: a Blackhawk helicopter hit the American Eagle plane during final approach into Reagan National Airport in DC.
- Tim consulted his private jet guy about Reagan National's approach and learned helicopter training exercises happen routinely in that airspace.
- A plane had to abort landing the night before the crash because of a low-flying helicopter—the same problem that led to the collision 24 hours later.
- Flying in America means you will die, probably horribly by plunging into freezing water, and there's nothing anyone can do about it.
Reagan National AirportPentagonWhite Houseaviation safetyPotomac
- 4 min
You're Going to Die on a Plane: Embracing Aviation Doom
#Tim expands into a extended riff that flying in America means death is inevitable, describing shot/exhausted airline staff, unruly passengers, and advising listeners to scream on planes to force them back to the gate.
10moments
- Tim's decision to fly to Milwaukee means accepting that he will die; landing safely is only a temporary cheat of death.
- Everyone in aviation is incompetent or criminal—flight attendants, pilots, gate agents, fuel workers are all shot and many are convicts.
- Aviation workers are exhausted and overworked while dealing with increasingly unruly passengers and psychopaths demanding seat changes at 30,000 feet.
- Passengers vape on planes, blow smoke in babies' faces, sneak aboard without tickets, and fight while flight attendants become the first line of defense.
- Kids in suburbs aim laser pointers at planes for entertainment because they're bored, adding another threat to aviation.
- The best-case scenario on a modern airliner is contracting black mold, norovirus, or getting stuck on the tarmac due to someone's psychotic break.
- Pilots and flight attendants are drug addicts who do Molly at parties and show up still coming down from their highs.
- Tim advises passengers to deliberately start screaming to prevent the plane from taking off, making a psychotic episode the only real safety measure.
- He recommends yelling about Gaza or ceasefire demands from the back of the plane to trigger a return to the gate.
- Flying is literally taking your life in your hands—it's terrible and he's serious about it, not joking.
- 2 min
His Own Car Crash History
#He pivots to comparing plane crashes to his own history of car accidents, including a head-on collision with a coworker and "sun blindness" while high in his grandmother's Ford Focus.
3moments
- Tim has been in five car accidents, many of them caused by him.
- Head-on collision with a fat secretary after making a left turn from the right lane on the way to get Viking in Long Island; she got a massive blood-filled welt on her head from hitting the dashboard.
- Sun blindness incident while high in his grandmother's Ford Focus at Nassau Community College parking lot; drove 35 mph into the back of another car and left the scene.
- 2 min
Miracle on the Hudson vs. the Potomac Reality
#Tim contrasts the mythologized "Miracle on the Hudson" survival story with the grim reality of the Potomac crash, insisting airports are now hospices and telling people to just stay home.
6moments
- Most car accidents are fine, some actually good—they give you a jolt of adrenaline.
- Plane crashes are definitive, it's over—no second chance like the Miracle on the Hudson gave people false hope.
- Tim: that one miracle in the Hudson ruined everything, making people think a folksy pilot would land you safely and you'd go on David Letterman.
- The reality of plane crashes—divers looking for fingers and knees, not survivors getting talk show appearances.
- Tim argues against flying: if you're going to fly, you should just stay home because you're going to die—go to a bachelorette party and crash the economy instead.
- Alternative to flying: take Amtrak, though no one wants to—they'd rather die than take the train, but some routes are actually nice.
Chesley Sullenberger
- 4 min
He reads a news report about a supervisor allowing an air traffic controller to leave early before the crash, riffing that the person should feel guilty, and imagining a fictional "Thomas" being told to go home and watch The Good Place.
10moments
- Air traffic controllers were so absent that one was allowed to leave early before the Reagan National Airport crash.
- A supervisor combined the duties of handling helicopter and plane traffic, then let one controller leave before 9:30 p.m., outside normal procedure.
- Tim says if he'd been the one who left early, it wouldn't weigh on his conscience because he's a strong person who's endangered people his whole life.
- He describes being a terrible lifeguard where people nearly drowned until their parents jumped in to save them.
- The controller who left early is probably crying at a therapist while Tim says he would've just owned the decision and blamed the supervisor.
- Normally helicopter and plane traffic duties are divided until 9:30 p.m., then combined when traffic lessens, but the supervisor combined them early anyway.
- Tim speculates the supervisor combined the duties early because they're trying to curry favor with someone they're probably having sex with.
- Tim imagines the supervisor telling the controller, presumably named Thomas, to go home and watch TV while everything's handled.
- He references 'The Good Place,' a sitcom from years ago co-created by the creator of 'Hacks,' as what Thomas should watch instead.
- Tim asks what the supervisor thought would happen—a plane plunging into the Potomac—before telling the controller to leave.
Reagan National AirportAmerican AirlinesThe Good Place
- 4 min
Tim reacts angrily to media outlets stating there were "no VIPs" on the doomed flight, then reads about a former Blackhawk pilot's explanation of routine night training missions to prep for flying officials like Pete Hegseth.
4moments
- Tim argues airline workers should answer for their failures on 9/11, claiming they signed up for the job and responsibility for deaths.
- Media outlets reported there were no VIPs on the Kobe Bryant helicopter, which Tim finds callous timing while families were learning loved ones died.
- Former Blackhawk pilot Bradley Bowman explained the crew was conducting routine training flights, not a VIP mission with important passengers aboard.
- The real point: night training missions exist so pilots can practice before they're trusted to transport actual VIPs like the chief of staff of the Army.
CNNBlackhawk helicopter crashBradley BowmanPete Hegseth
- 2 min
A straightforward sponsor read for Cars for Kids, encouraging listeners to donate old vehicles for a tax deduction and to help children.
3moments
- Tim notes that the unexpected arrival of the Cars for Kids jingle was funny no matter what anyone believed
- Donating your car to Cars for Kids is the right thing to do, especially if you're in a financial position to help
- Tim adds his own tagline: "You don't need your car, it's a piece of shit" — clarifying it's his line, not theirs
- 4 min
RFK Jr.'s Confirmation Hearing and Fast Food Childhood
#Tim discusses RFK Jr.'s confirmation hearing, riffing on his own unhealthy fast-food upbringing (Boston Market as the "healthy" option) and defending RFK's stance against processed food and vaccines.
5moments
- Tim endorses RFK as the best candidate because he understands what parents didn't: that fast food is bad.
- Tim's generation thought fast, hot, and cheap food was good, and Boston Market was considered the healthy option.
- RFK wants to ban poison food—the dyes, additives, and chemically processed sludge fed to children.
- It's too late to save Tim's generation, but RFK can still prevent fat child influencers from rotting from the inside.
- If TikTok had existed when Tim was young, his parents would have made him eat Wendy's sandwiches on camera to become a star.
RFK Jrfast foodJill Bidenfood dyesCheryl HinesAmarillis KennedyMegyn KellyWendy's
- 5 min
Tim is outraged that Bernie Sanders publicly criticized RFK Jr.'s Children's Health Defense onesie merchandise during the hearing, declaring it's unacceptable to attack a person's merch line regardless of politics.
9moments
- Tim argues healthy young soccer players didn't need COVID vaccines, noting many are collapsing with heart attacks on the field.
- RFK is a wild guy with some right instincts, though his own family members are angry and trying to get famous off hating him.
- Tim catalogs RFK's proposed authoritarian measures: guns at McDonald's, military at Costco, sending people to Gitmo.
- Bernie Sanders is yelling at RFK while every person in RFK's family—including his kids—are Democrats.
- Democrats are shilling for Big Pharma and McDonald's while nobody believes anything except their own power—this is the ugly phase of empire.
- Elizabeth Warren is a theater kid, over the top and not to be taken seriously in her attacks on RFK.
- Tim condemns Sanders for attacking RFK's merchandise: a onesie that says 'unvaxxed unafraid.'
- You do not go at a man's merch—everyone is sensitive about their merchandise, it's not their main business.
- Merch is sold because people enjoy the message and program; attacking it publicly is disrespectful.
- 1 min
Politicians as Merch Entrepreneurs
#He extends the merch bit into a broader riff about politicians now functioning as entrepreneurs with coins and merchandise, arguing there should be a line you don't cross by attacking someone's business.
3moments
- Tim on the new rules of political discourse: attack someone's fitness for office, call them a crank or conspiracy theorist, but never criticize their merchandise or meme coins.
- Government service is now only worthwhile if you can launch a coin or sell merch—there's no other benefit to holding office.
- Politicians should be allowed to call each other pedophiles all day, but there has to be a hard boundary: don't tank the coin, don't wreck the merch.
- 3 min
Tim plays and reacts to the actual clip of Sanders grilling RFK Jr. about the children's onesies sold by his former organization, joking about the product's color options.
6moments
- Politicians now are entrepreneurs with fan bases buying merchandise, which matters because there's nothing left in the empire except the exchange of goods and services.
- Bernie Sanders attacked RFK's merchandise, which Tim found sickening and inappropriate.
- Tim defends selling mugs and merchandise—you don't make someone answer for what they're selling on their website.
- The Senate hearing showed Sanders publicly criticizing Children's Health Defense onesies selling for $26 each with anti-vaccine messaging.
- Sanders pressured RFK to acknowledge that anti-vaccine onesies cast doubt on vaccine usefulness while RFK claims he has no power over the organization.
- RFK defended the onesies as clever and good merchandise that people like, while Tim notes they're only available in white and wonders why there aren't other color options.
Bernie SandersRFK JrThe Children's Health DefenseFake business
- 3 min
A sponsor read for Morgan and Morgan's California wildfire lawsuit services, including a dramatized, darkly comic testimonial about losing a home and a wife shouting about suing while her hair is on fire.
5moments
- Tim lost his home in the California wildfires and explains how he's one of the lucky ones because his family is safe.
- Morgan and Morgan law firm helps people who lost loved ones, businesses, or property in the California wildfires.
- Tim describes watching his house burn while his children cried and asked why it was happening.
- His wife ran out of the burning house to save the dog and her belongings, and the first thing she said was 'we got a sue.'
- Tim says the painful scene made him strong and encourages people to visit the website to rectify the situation.
- 3 min
Big Pharma's Grip on Politics and Media
#Returning to RFK, Tim argues he's uniquely willing to challenge the pharmaceutical industry's dominance in advertising and campaign contributions, contrasting this with Elizabeth Warren and Sanders' grandstanding.
8moments
- Tim notes it's weird that the Senate is debating onesies while ignoring that America has worse health outcomes and higher chronic disease rates than other developed countries.
- RFK is the only public figure besides Bill Burr talking about diseased processed food and over-medication, particularly SSRIs.
- Big Pharma is the largest campaign contributor to politicians and cable news's biggest advertiser, making it the most powerful industry in America after defense and finance.
- Tim says Bernie Sanders advocates for national healthcare but it's hard to argue against companies providing necessary prescription drugs when everybody needs them.
- Pharmaceutical advertisers spent 3.4 billion on linear TV in the first eight months of 2024, an 8% increase—they're responding to pressure from RFK.
- America is an incredibly overmedicated country and there are conversations that should happen, but RFK is the only one raising these issues.
- Elizabeth Warren grandstands against RFK over vaccine injury lawsuits while ignoring that Pfizer made a trillion dollars and got government protection from all liability.
- Vaccine manufacturers were absolved of accountability by the government and cannot be held responsible for anything related to their products.
pharmaceutical industryElizabeth WarrenRFK JrPfizerBernie SandersBill Burr
- 1 min
Spam Calls Interruption and RFK Onesie Wrap-up
#A brief aside about a spam call interrupting him, then he wraps up his defense of RFK's onesie merchandise as harmless and "cute."
3moments
- Tim vouches for RFK and defends the baby onesies as cute and fun, suggesting the baby might be vaccinated but is trying to be edgy.
- Dressing babies in edgy costumes creates a market, and it's not the biggest problem RFK is selling.
- Tim speculates the onesies might be ironic or the product of irony poisoning.
- 2 min
Tim introduces the story of Chinese AI startup DeepSeek undercutting American AI dominance, riffing that a Chinese-controlled AI "God" would conveniently omit topics like Tiananmen Square.
6moments
- DeepSeek's release proves Tim's prediction from last week about Chinese AI dominance was correct.
- Tim jokes people will think he's being fed information by the Chinese because his predictions are so accurate.
- DeepSeek released cheaper, better AI despite Trump's chip restrictions on China.
- Nvidia and AI companies lost significant money because U.S. technological supremacy in AI was the foundation of the economy.
- China's success with DeepSeek means if AI becomes God, China will control God and have the power to shape its values.
- Chinese AI will be programmed to forget historical facts unflattering to China, like Tiananmen Square.
DeepSeekNvidiaChinaArtificial IntelligenceDonald TrumpSam AltmanElon Musk
- 4 min
Apologizing to Vivek Over DeepSeek
#He reflects that Vivek Ramaswamy's controversial comments about American laziness may have been vindicated by DeepSeek beating well-funded US tech firms, joking about apologizing to him over Indian food.
7moments
- The concern that if China leads in AI, their models will present a sanitized version of Chinese Communist Party history.
- DeepSeek's release tanked the economy; the public now has to watch segments to understand why their portfolios got hammered and retirement disappeared.
- DeepSeek is a Chinese AI model that narrowed the US-China gap in artificial intelligence, matching OpenAI and Google's capabilities for cheaper and faster.
- Tim admits he got mad at Vivek Ramaswamy for saying Americans are lazy and can't do anything, but now owes him an apology.
- American tech companies spent billions and years developing AI only to get publicly beaten by a small group working for a Chinese hedge fund manager.
- Tim describes the defeated tech workers as top-tier people from Stamford, not amateurs from Long Island, yet they still lost to the Chinese team.
- Vivek might be correct about American capability, warranting a dinner apology from Tim.
DeepSeekChinaJohn MoultonArtificial IntelligenceRamaswamy
- 6 min
Threatening to Defect to China
#Tim goes on an extended rant threatening to defect to China and start a podcast there if American tech companies don't regain AI dominance, riffing on being 'in awe' of tech dystopia and the culture of Stanford students.
8moments
- Tim apologizes to Vic for not realizing how bad Stanford's AI researchers are at their jobs.
- He argues the U.S. elite are so incompetent they might as well bring in Chinese workers, but warns against it anyway.
- Deep Seek's R1 AI cost $5.6 million to train versus Anthropic's $100 million, prompting Tim to announce he's defecting to China.
- Tim plans to wear a Chinese lion costume on the next episode and defect to start a podcast in Shanghai.
- He'll bring his podcasting expertise to China and say positive things about the Chinese Communist Party despite disagreeing with them.
- Tim reframes the current era as one where people either admire technological power or they don't—agreement versus disagreement is obsolete.
- He describes living in a tech dystopian era where you're either the drone or the person on the ground looking up in awe.
- Tim threatens to defect to China and take other podcasters with him if the U.S. tech community doesn't improve immediately.
ChinaDeepSeekChinese Communist PartyStanfordMark AndreessenAnthropicNetflixDonald Rumsfeld+2 more
- 3 min
He reacts to further news details about DeepSeek's low chip usage undermining Nvidia and open-source concerns, closing with a joke about asking AI if it knows about a hypothetical murdered hooker.
7moments
- DeepSeek has publicly kicked American AI's ass, whether or not their claims about chip usage are fraudulent.
- Tim on what's at stake: the U.S. needs shock, awe, and spectacle — and most critically, an AI model that enslaves the population and kills humanity faster than China's.
- DeepSeek's V3 model trained on roughly 2,000 Nvidia chips versus tens of thousands used for U.S. models, raising questions about whether China is underreporting resources.
- Elon Musk skeptical that DeepSeek achieved its results with the claimed chip count.
- DeepSeek being open-source means U.S. developers can run it locally without American data being sent to Chinese servers.
- The real threat: erosion of American market share and dominance in AI.
- Steve's sudden concern: whether AI knows about him killing a hooker in 1985 in London.
DeepSeekElon MuskTikTokChinese Communist PartyXi JinpingStanford
- 7 min
Tim reads and reacts to the story of Detroit rapper Dank Deos suing Lyft after a driver refused her a ride citing her weight and car capacity, riffing extensively on the absurdity of the lawsuit and her claims of trauma.
10moments
- Detroit rapper Dank Deos sues Lyft after being denied a ride because of her weight
- Tim notes this is the most publicity Dank has ever gotten, calling it ironic
- Dank alleged the Lyft driver locked his doors and tried to drive away when she approached the vehicle
- The driver told her she was too big to fit in the back seat and his tires couldn't support her weight
- Tim argues rideshare drivers now have to accommodate 500-pound passengers or face legal problems
- The driver suggested she should have ordered Lyft XL, a larger vehicle that costs more
- The lawsuit claims refusing transportation based on weight is illegal and dangerous
- Dank is suing for damages including stress, humiliation, embarrassment, and mental anguish
- Tim comments on the driver's car, suggesting it looks like a C-Class Mercedes that couldn't fit her
- Dank tells the interviewer she hasn't left her house since the incident, prompting Tim to question how she's making money as a rapper
We wish them wellDank DeosLyft
- 3 min
FBI and CIA Corruption, Cash Patel and Tulsi Gabbard
#Tim closes by discussing resistance to Cash Patel and Tulsi Gabbard's intelligence appointments, detailing FBI entrapment tactics including the Boston Marathon bombing case, before declaring he'd never attack anyone's merch no matter their crimes.
8moments
- Tim notes the intelligence community doesn't want Cash Patel and Tulsi Gabbard in positions of power.
- The intelligence community is actually very good at what they do — they're effective at deceiving people.
- Tim argues the FBI is a tremendously corrupt organization and they like it that way.
- The FBI finds people who will commit crimes, pushes them to commit crimes, then prosecutes them for committing crimes.
- Tim describes the Boston Marathon bombing case: the FBI knew who the brothers were, recruited them as informants, then killed their friend during a routine interview.
- Examples of FBI corruption include all the informants they had on January 6th.
- Tim lists what he won't do despite the CIA and FBI's history: kill children, traffic people, entrap people, create terrorist organizations, fund enemies, blackmail politicians.
- No matter how many murderous things intelligence agencies have done, Tim would never go after their merchandise.
FBICIAKash PatelBoston Marathon bombingTulsi GabbardDonald Trump