Ozempic Portions, Tariff Trouble, Texas Redistricting Clash & Sydney Sweeney Spin

Today on Filtered. Ozempic isn't just shrinking waistlines, it's changing restaurant menus with some places now serving adult Happy Meals for people who can only finish a few bites. Then Trump's high tariff trade war was supposed to revive American manufacturing, but as the Wall Street Journal and Paul Krugman point out, the numbers show the sector is still sputtering and the economy is edging toward stagflation. In Texas, the redistricting fight is going nuclear. The FBI is getting involved in tracking down runaway Democratic lawmakers, while Washington Post strategists say blue states may need to hit back with Cold war style deterrence. We'll also look at new research on superagers, people in their 80s and 90s with the memory power of someone decades younger and the one social habit they all seem to share. And finally, how the right turned a mostly non existent backlash to a Sydney Sweeney jeans ad into a two week culture war weapon against Democrats. All that and more today on Filtered. Stay tuned. There's going to be a lot of fun here for us. Nope. Then my opening clip. Hello and welcome. I'm TJ Walker. Thanks so much for joining me today. A lot of fun, a lot of big news going on today. This is Filter. It's the new name of the show. Formerly it was in fact communiverse. It's now Filtered with TJ Walker. And the idea behind that is we look at the top business stories of the news, technology culture stories, and filter the news through the lens of communication skills. So that is what we're all about right here, trying to help you improve your own personal development, improve your own skills to make you a more successful person. So that is what we're all about. Let's dive right into the first story of the day. So story one, Ozempic is shrinking appetites. Restaurants are shrinking their food. Well, Ozempic mangera wegovy. These GLP1 weight loss drugs aren't just shrinking waistlines, they're shrinking dinner plates. You may have seen it with friends, family and others, but they're actually shrinking the dinner plates. And that is having an impact on what people are now seeing at restaurants. For example, at Clinton Hole in New York, you can now order the teeny weeny mini meal, a two ounce burger, 1.5 ounces. That's right, only 1.5 ounces of fries and a five ounce drink. The owner named Aristotle says too many customers on GLP1s are barely touching their food, so he offers a snack size option for eight bucks. They're not alone. Restaurants from fast food to fine dining are adding GLP1 friendly menus, mini martinis, snack boards, even full small appetite tasting menus. The Math is clear. Eight to 10% of Americans are on GLP1s and over half eat out less often. Smoothie King now has a whole GLP1 support section in its app. Some restaurants keep it subtle, calling it a menu for one so customers don't have to explain. High end spots like Scarpetta say they're unaffected. Guests come for the full pasta and wine experience. But for much of the industry, many portions may be the new normal. So what's the real message here? So many Americans are so wildly overweight and obese that yes, almost 1 out of 10 are on these GLP1 drugs to shrink their appetite. And restaurants are responding. Now, I wish restaurants had smaller portions because people only need smaller portions. But if this is what it takes to get restaurants because to stop piling on, you know, 10,000 calories, mountains of nachos, then I'm all for it. So restaurants, go ahead, make your wegovy ozempic portions ready for customers. Let's dig a little deeper. What's really going on here? As we talked about before on this show many times, there is a huge problem, not just in the United States, but but all over the industrialized world where food has been engineered to be so incredibly tasty, to have that perfect bliss point of salt, sugar, artificial sugars, fat, processed carbohydrates that I can't stop eating. That's what's happened to our culture. And as a result, we've gone from when I was a kid, when obesity was pretty rare. I mean, I remember maybe one kid in my whole school being obese in the early 70s to now. 70% of Americans are either obese or overweight. They're either diabetic or pre diabetic. Typically. It's an epidemic problem. Part of it is fueled by restaurant portions. I mean, to this day, if you go to a cheesecake factory, I mean, you see these Appetizers that have 1000 calories, 1200 calories, entrees, 1500 calories, desserts, 900 calories. I mean, you can essentially have three days worth of caloric need in one meal. Is it any wonder Americans are obese finally, because of these drugs the restaurants are countering? Cat, because it used to be restaurants were in a position where, look, our actual commodity prices of food cost almost nothing. Our cost are for the marketing, for our employees, for rent, for overhead. The actual cost of food wasn't that much of the overall bill. So they discovered that it was a lot easier to make customers happy by giving gigantic portions. Giving customers the sense of, wow, that's a real value. That's a value meal. Which is just a code for, you know, I can just be a complete glutton and stuff my face to the point where I'm eating enough food to feed a small village. I understand why restaurants had that incentive. Well, now they have an incentive to go the other way because there are so many people in our culture who are on these drugs. And I'm not casting moral aspersions on anyone who's on a GLT1 drug. But so many people are on it, and they simply do not have the appetite. The drug has altered the way their body processes food and hunger. They don't feel as hungry. Great. So when they go out to eat, they are happy. They're content with small portions. So the drugs essentially rewire the human brain, the way humans process information satisfaction, a sense of fullness, which there are problems with it, but it's a lot better than people who just eat to their heart's content. Eat until they can't stick another bite in their mouth and are literally and figuratively stuffed. That was the status quo. Ultimately, the real solution is human beings. You, me, our families, our friends. Yes. Including me. We need to actively proactively seek out eating real, unprocessed food, at least not heavily processed food. Yes. If you boil an egg that's processed, the boiling is a processing. I'm talking about the heavy chemical additives, the heavy sugar additives, the salt additives, all the things that make you think, this is so good, I can't stop eating. Because that is what's leading to massive, massive obesity. It's what's leading to early deaths for so many Americans and indeed people around the world, in not just the western world. It's really affecting virtually every place in the entire world. So what are we to make of this? On the one hand, I do think it's a good thing that restaurants are making smaller portions. It's kind of a shame that this is what it took to make it happen, but it has happened. We see that Smoothie King now has a dedicated GLP1 support menu. I wish these restaurants would do a better job of saying, here's a menu for people who actually want to have a healthy weight and don't want to take drugs. Give us real food that's unprocessed or relatively unprocessed. I don't know. Why so few places that now serve veggie burgers? Which is great. Can't give it to me on a whole wheat bun would be so much better than the typical white flour, processed flour, which the body turns instantly into sugar because of all the processed carbohydrates. But I, I guess this is progress at some level. What do you think? Have you tried out one of these new restaurants giving the oz epic size portions? And more important, are you willing to eat it yourself even if you're not on one of the drugs? I am often intrigued by research I read saying that for most humans you get almost all your satisfaction from food the first three bites. I happen to believe that it's one reason why I love tasting menus. And when I go out to dinner with my wife and family, we put everything together, we share everything. So we're eating small portions, a lot of things. It's ultimately a lot more satisfying. We as humans are programmed to eat whatever is put in front of us. That's a portion. So if abortion is a bowl this small of popcorn, we'll eat it. If a portion is a bucket this big of popcorn, we will eat that too. And it's just a defect in how our brains and our mouths and our stomach interactions. So all of us are better off finding food. Food portions, creating food portions if we're cooking at home and putting it in smaller portions. So I'm glad these restaurants are not just wasting food. I'm glad they're actively seeking out people who want smaller portions. That's great. I hope for those of us who are not on the GLP drugs, who are not obese and who want. And by the way, I've been this close to being obese before, so I'm not here holier than now. The only reason I'm at a healthy weight now is I've actively cut out processed food from my diet for the most part. And I exercise every day and I try to do 15,000 steps a day. That's not a magic number. It's just what I find works for me. So this is a new, new trend that's come out. I am reporting to you what has been reported originally by the New York Times. I'm talking about it because I do want you to be successful. And here's the thing. Dead people aren't successful at anything. People who lose the last 15 years of productivity in their life because they're just in hospitals getting amputations from diabetes, they're not productive. I want you to be productive, healthy and happy. More in a moment.

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Manufacturing sputters as tariffs fuel stagflation fears the White House promised a manufacturing renaissance. What we're getting, though, looks more like a manufacturing recession with an inflation hangover. The Wall Street Journal reports that US Manufacturing has been contracting for months. The latest PMI is stuck at 48 below the growth threshold. And companies like Whirlpool, Harley Davidson and Polaris are cutting production as consumer spending slows and tariff uncertainty makes planning nearly impossible. The numbers are historic. Average tariffs are now around 18%, the highest since the 1930s. Trump's new levies hit nearly every major trading partner, with rates on some countries swinging week to week. Even the $2 trillion in announced factory projects touted by the White House could take years to materialize if they happen at all. And here's what New York Times or former New York Times columnist Paul Krugman says the economic lights are flashing red. He calls Trump's trade policy a return to Smoot Hawley levels and warns the combination of extreme tariffs and Mass immigration crackdowns is a recipe for stagflation, slowing growth and rising prices. At the same time, Trigman points out that tariffs are essentially a selective sales tax. That means higher prices for goods made abroad and often higher costs for U.S. manufacturers who rely on imported components. Added labor shortages from deportations, and you have crops rotting in fields, construction delays and reduced production in key industries. So far, official inflation numbers have been muted because companies stockpiled goods before tariffs hit. But Krugman says those reserves are running out and private surveys suggest a price spike is coming. Potentially 4% or more inflation by winter. Meanwhile, growth is flirting with stall speed where the job market starts to weaken in a self reinforcing loop. Translation? Manufacturing is sputtering, inflation is reviving, and the economy is stuck between the two. Okay, so what's the real message here? Trump is sending a message to the world. We don't like you, we don't need you, and to heck with you. And the world is saying, okay, we're going to continue working with you, but we're going to stick it to the American taxpayer. They're simply going to pay more prices. You don't want our workers? Okay, work your own fields, work in your own factories, see how you like it, give us a call, see how that works out. That's what the world is saying back to us now. It hasn't yet creeped into the average person's pocketbook or wallet to the point of pain. And I'm not telling you it's going to happen this week or next month, but I am telling you it is going to happen. High tariffs, kicking out good, hard working people. It is going to wreak havoc on the US Economy. So let's dig a little deeper here. So there are some pundits out there who were predicting five months ago that by this time we would have a full economic meltdown. The stock market would crash. Well, I never predicted that and that has not happened yet. So those prognosticators got it wrong. But we are seeing signs in all the economic data. Don't listen to me. And you might discount Paul Krugman, who's well known liberal progressive economist, but the Wall Street Journal is the source of this information of what's going on with growth in manufacturing companies. And it's bad. It's just not good at all. There simply is not any mainstream economist I know of who really thinks this strategy of wild, crazy, humongous tariffs everywhere, unless countries willing to pay a bribe to Trump is good economic policy in the long run, short run Is it generating some revenues for the coffers in D.C. from the terror? Yeah, it's generating some, but at what cost? Who's paying for it? The companies manufacturing products and sending it to us from Germany or Mexico or elsewhere are not suddenly saying, oh, let's cut our profits 50%. That's not what's happening. They are either going to pass on the cost to us consumers, meaning you and me, or they're going to do business elsewhere, or they'll just reduce the business they do and tighten their own belts. And either way, there's just no sound economic theory even as to how this benefits Americans. I just, I love the viral video ad that someone associated with the Chinese government put out showing a bunch of wildly obese Americans, mostly white males with gigantic fingers, trying to put together an iPhone. And it was just hilarious, the mockery. The Chinese are mocking us. The rest of the world is mocking us. They think we're fools. They think we're absolute imbeciles for going down this road. Because they're looking at Americans and they're thinking, wow, you got the best economy in the world. And what are you doing? You're throwing it in the trash can. You have better relationships with companies all over the world, with trading partners than anyone in the world. And what are you doing? You're throwing it in the garbage can. It's a massive, massive act of self destruction. So what's really the communication message here I have for you? It is you need some sense of self awareness. You cannot be a great communicator, you can't be a great CEO, I believe, a great leader in anything. If you don't have some self awareness and have a sense of where are you in relation to your peers, your community, your larger community, your city, your state, your country and the world. And that's what I feel we're missing. We're really, really missing at a huge, huge level right now in Washington because there is this sense that somehow Americans are victimized, that we are somehow put upon. I gotta tell you, the reason we have so many immigrants coming here to the United States is that they believe this is not the place where you get victimized. This is the place where you have opportunity to thrive. This is the place that's got the best economy in the world. Is it the perfect country? No. Are there other wonderful, great countries in the world? Yes. Canada is a fantastic place. I love parts of Scandinavia. There are great cities all over the world. But by and large you don't see millions and millions of people fighting and fighting, and fighting to get into Great Britain these days. Yeah, some there, there are certainly some refugees who would like to get there. But you don't see millions and millions of people from India, from China, from other developing nations trying to claw their way into Great Britain these days. It's simply not seen as the place for starting a new business, for unlimited opportunity, for unlimited educational opportunities. That was the promise of America. That's what made us special. That's what attracted the brightest minds, the most ambitious people, even if they weren't book smart. The United States has attracted the most ambitious people for so long and that's what's created a dynamic economy. And that is being snuffed out right now by our nation's leader, or dear leader, as I should say. And it's an absolute shame. Some people are successful and they stay successful. Other people are successful and because they always want more, because they're never happy, because they have this sense of everyone's out to screw me, they just don't stop until they destroy whatever they have created. What other good things have benefited them? They toss it away. So that's really the personal development lesson here. Have some sense of self awareness where you are in the rest of the world. I'm going to say something now that's going to annoy a bunch of liberals and progressives in America, but here it is. If you are on welfare in America and you get the basic subsidies from SNAP and Medicaid and others, your standard of living, your per capita income, if you factor in every benefit, already puts you in the top 10% of people in the world in terms of income. I'm not saying our welfare state is excessive and certainly by Western European standards it's not. It's considered stingy. But have a sense of self awareness. There are people starving around the world and not just in the Middle east, but everywhere in the world. Doesn't happen so much here in the United States. Are there people who don't have food safety and have three good meals a day? Absolutely. But are there people starving to death here the way there are in many countries? No, they're not. And this constant bitterness that some political leaders are spewing for dredging up resentment, dredging up anger, it can be effective short term when you get people angry and say, kick those bums out. Yeah, that can work sometimes. Here's the problem. Let's go back in time. A year ago. A lot of people were upset about inflation, okay. But at least you could say compared to basically all of Europe and the largest economies of the world. For most of the whole Covid period, 2020-2024, the inflation rate in the United States was lower than most of our peers. They had higher inflation even though they had less of a bailout for their their taxpayers during the COVID pandemic. But I'm not relitigating the 2024 campaign. Biden was seen and his team and his followers and his and his successor were seen as responsible for inflation even though it was lower than any other major democracy in the world. For the most part, he was blamed for that. Well, now we're in a situation where our economic growth could be worse than our peers. Our unemployment rate could go higher, our inflation rate could certainly go higher than our peers in Western Europe and places like Canada. Then we'll see who gets the blame. I for one will, will not be shedding any tears for anyone in Washington getting the blame for that. Okay, let's, let's go on to other topics. There's a lot in the news today and we got to get to all of it. This next story is fascinating. Texas Gerrymander fight escalates and Democrats weigh Nuclear Options. I'm a poor spe metaphorically. They don't actually have a nuclear bomb. The redistricting battle in Texas just went federal. According to the Hill, Senator John Cornyn says FBI Director Cash Patel has agreed to help state and local law enforcement track down Democratic state lawmakers who fled Texas to block a mid cycle Republican redistricting plan. Cornyn alleges the lawmakers may have broken laws by taking funds to to avoid their legislative duties and he's pushing the FBI to investigate. President Trump has backed the move. The Democrats walkout is designed to break quorum and stall the GOP's attempt to redraw the map and add up to five Republican seats in the US House. But as Washington Post columnist Arkady Gurno and Sarah Knight argue, Democrats aren't just walking, they're starting to think about going nuclear. Here's where it gets interesting. Their op ed says Texas's aggressive mid cycle gerrymander is.