What The Frock

This week’s episode of What The Frock? might be the most perfectly unhinged one yet, a three-act blend of culture war absurdity, government theater, and one very unfortunate camper. Rabbi Dave and Friar Rod are in rare form, sliding between mock outrage and thoughtful reflection with that familiar mix of wit and weary experience. When the world feels insane, they remind us that laughter is still the best defense.

The conversation begins with the Netflix uproar and the trending #CancelNetflix campaign. Elon Musk helped light the fuse by sharing a boycott over the animated show Dead End: Paranormal Park, which features a transgender teen protagonist. Conservatives cried foul, and Netflix reportedly lost fifteen billion dollars in market value. Rabbi Dave points out that the loss equals only 2.4 percent of the company’s total worth, which is hardly a death blow. “That’s a lot of money,” he says, “but is it enough to make them change?” He doubts it. After all, he already canceled his subscription months ago after learning about Netflix’s political donations. He wonders aloud how many conservatives canceled twice just to feel righteous about it.

Friar Rod admits the show might unintentionally serve as “grooming,” though he doubts the intent was malicious. He and Dave explore Elon Musk’s personal involvement, given his own family’s history with the issue. Then comes the real question: what does any of it achieve? Dave delivers the line that anchors the segment: normalizing mental illness is not compassion, it is confusion. Yet he also concedes that boycotts rarely hit their mark, often giving unwanted publicity to what people claim to oppose. The more they talk, the clearer the absurdity becomes.

From there, the episode veers straight into the week’s other headline, the government shutdown. “Has anybody even noticed?” Dave asks, half amused and half annoyed. Rod says no, not really, and the two break down the showy nonsense of American politics. Dave calls it “political theater,” saying that what people believe about the shutdown reveals more about them than the actual issue. The pair mock the idea that the Postal Service is somehow essential and laugh at the endless parade of talking heads pretending to be shocked. Their prediction is simple: Washington will reach a so-called bipartisan deal to reopen the government for a few weeks, declare victory, and move on to the next staged crisis.

Then comes the third act, the return of Dave’s beloved “Fun with News.” The story this time is about a Missouri man mauled by a bear in Arkansas after sending photos of the animal to his family. Two days later, he was found dead. The sheriff called it a “highly unusual case.” Dave seizes on that phrase like a dog with a bone and pulls up the statistics. Bears kill roughly one person a year in North America. Sharks, lions, elephants, and even hippos are far deadlier. “The chances of being killed by a bear are low,” he declares, “but they are never zero.” The humor lands somewhere between a wilderness safety briefing and a stand-up routine about human stupidity.

The story takes an unexpected personal turn when Dave explains that a bear recently broke through a neighbor’s fence just four hundred yards from his home in Silverdale, Washington. He walks that route every day. “The chances of Rabbi Dave being mauled and eaten by a bear are low,” he repeats, “but even here in Silverdale, they are never zero.” Rod replies, “You don’t have to outrun the bear, just the person you’re walking with.” Dave sighs, “I can’t do that. I don’t have a right knee.” It is the perfect mix of gallows humor and middle-aged realism.

By the end, What The Frock delivers what it always promises: laughter, honesty, and a strange sort of comfort in knowing that no matter how ridiculous the world gets, someone is still willing to talk about it with a grin.