Today’s show with
felt like a collision of worlds — punk rock meets political realism, investigative spreadsheets meets motherhood, fury meets focus. Ellie, a Substack writer and self-described “railroad family mom,” has quickly become one of the most indispensable voices tracking everything from Project 2025 to the Epstein–J.P. Morgan document dump, translating corporate legalese into something the rest of us can actually understand.I told her on air that “transcriptionist” doesn’t quite capture it — she’s doing real investigative journalism, the kind Substack desperately needs. She laughed and called herself a nerd, but she’s exactly what journalism looks like now: one woman in New Jersey, up late with coffee and a Google Doc, doing the work legacy media won’t.
Ellie walked us through the newest files showing how J.P. Morgan kept Epstein as a top client long after his 2006 arrest — 84 bank accounts, 6,500 red flags, lingerie purchases, all of it. “They didn’t act until three days after he died,” she said. “Then suddenly it was time to investigate.” Her tone was calm but the outrage underneath was palpable.
From there we zoomed out to the broader rot of what Ellie called “manufactured sociopathy.” “You can’t have a billion dollars and still be okay,” she said. “With the exception of Mackenzie Scott.” I think every woman in the chat nodded.
But we also celebrated a bright spot: this week’s election results, with Gen Z voters (and even young men) swinging progressive, and Ellie’s own New Jersey electing a new governor who ran on compassion, not fear. That gave us hope — and a segue into her call for universal free school lunches. “Feed the kids,” she said simply. “If we can teach them math, we can give them a sandwich.”
We laughed about TikTok moms cutting sandwiches into swans, but beneath it was Ellie’s deeper point: decency shouldn’t be performative.
We’re so grateful to have had the chance to elevate Ellie’s work in our small genXy way today. If you have the means, please consider becoming a paid subscriber over at
’s Substack. Her work is so critical!Thank you
, , , , , and so many others for tuning into today’s The Daily Whatever Show.We love you all, mean it!
Join us tomorrow when we welcome back
for Fucked-up Friday!This Week on The Daily Whatever Show
Hello, friends! We’ve got some amazing guests and topics lined up for The Daily Whatever Show this week and beyond!
