Skid Row has grown to 55 blocks
Los Angeles's Skid Row has expanded from approximately 50 blocks to 55 blocks in just the past year or two, illustrating the worsening homelessness crisis.
Where this was said
Los Angeles, Skid Row, and the Third World Comparison
At 22:56 · chapter starts 22:50
JD Vance recounts attending a Christmas party in downtown LA before he was Vice President, when his wife's law firm sent convoluted driving directions specifically to avoid Skid Row at night. He describes the shock of arriving at a luxury venue surrounded by armed guards and high walls, while squalor pressed against the outside — comparing it directly to the US Embassy in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. For him, it was the first moment he thought America had genuinely produced a third-world enclave. Rogan adds that Skid Row has continued to expand, now reaching 55 blocks — up from roughly 50 blocks just a year or two ago — as neither city nor state leadership has arrested the deterioration.
California's Collapse and the Mail-In Ballot Mystery
In the LA mayoral primary, Karen Bass led, Spencer Pratt was second, and Nithya Raman was a distant third — until the mail-in ballots came in and Raman leaped to second. Vance calls it 'super sus' and asks: what theory of the electorate explains why mail-in ballots were so disproportionately pro-Raman? There was also direct evidence of homeless people being given cigarettes and cash to use addresses for ballots.
Similar snapshots
SF average rent up 18% in 2 years
San Francisco's average rent rose 18% over the past two years to $3,728/month, surpassing New York City as the most expensive rental market in the country.
SF average rent: $3,728/month
San Francisco's average monthly rent now stands at $3,728, surpassing New York City to become the most expensive rental city in the United States.
Bobby walked 7 miles with dicks drawn on face
At a childhood sleepover, Bobby Lee's friends drew penises on his face and he walked 7 miles home on a dirt road before being picked up by Eric Purvis's mom.
World poverty: 60% in 1950 vs 10% today
In 1950, about 60% of the world lived in extreme poverty; today it's about 1 in 10, attributable to capitalist economic growth.
6M US children fell into poverty 2021–24
From 2021 to 2024, 6 million children fell below the poverty line in the US after the expanded child tax credit expired.
Private adoption costs $40,000–$70,000
Private domestic infant and international adoptions typically cost $40,000 to $70,000, while foster care adoption is the most affordable route at $0 to $2,000.
Only 40% of men have ever reproduced
Historically, only 40% of men have ever reproduced — Galloway uses this to argue that romantic success requires effort, not a hall pass.
7th of 10 children
Robby Hoffman is the 7th of 10 children raised in a Hasidic household in Montreal, where the family was poor and comedy was a survival mechanism.
No concept of 'too soon'
Robby's Hasidic community had no concept of 'too soon' in comedy — if it was funny, you threw it, and if you bombed, your sibling told you immediately.
