Neural Newscast

[00:00] Lila Grant: Welcome to Buzz, your daily dose of everything that's moving the needle on social media.
[00:05] Lila Grant: I am Leela Grant.
[00:07] Jonah Klein: And I'm Jonah Klein.
[00:08] Jonah Klein: We have a packed episode today, everything from hard-hitting political bills to the kind
[00:13] Jonah Klein: of K-pop fandom energy that literally takes over the global timeline.
[00:18] Lila Grant: Um, let's start with the one that has everyone in DC and on X talking.
[00:23] Lila Grant: Jonah, have you seen the engagement on Senator Rick Scott's latest move?
[00:27] Jonah Klein: It's hard to miss, Lila.
[00:29] Jonah Klein: Representative Hugh Blackwell reported that Senator Rick Scott just dropped what people are calling a bombshell bill.
[00:36] Jonah Klein: It's the no work, no pay bill.
[00:39] Lila Grant: Iconic.
[00:40] Lila Grant: The tagline is what's really catching fire.
[00:43] Lila Grant: No work, no pay, period.
[00:46] Lila Grant: It's aimed at cutting off Congress paychecks during government shutdowns.
[00:50] Jonah Klein: Right. And the numbers reflect how much that resonates with the public.
[00:54] Jonah Klein: Over 25,000 likes and nearly 300,000 views in no time.
[00:59] Jonah Klein: It taps into that universal frustration about accountability.
[01:02] Lila Grant: It's definitely a bold political play.
[01:05] Lila Grant: In speaking of big political announcements, President Trump is trending for a different kind of national focus.
[01:11] Jonah Klein: Yeah, he just announced that America will rededicate itself as one nation under God.
[01:16] Jonah Klein: He's set the date for May 17th, 2026.
[01:21] Lila Grant: The quote going viral is,
[01:22] Lila Grant: We are going to rededicate America as one nation under God.
[01:27] Lila Grant: It's already picking up thousands of reposts.
[01:29] Lila Grant: People are definitely marking their calendars for that 2026 date.
[01:33] Jonah Klein: It's a massive cultural signal to his base.
[01:36] Jonah Klein: But while politics is getting heated, I think we need a palate cleanser.
[01:40] Jonah Klein: Did you see the Namar video, Leela?
[01:42] Lila Grant: Jonna, I'm not ashamed to say I teared up.
[01:46] Lila Grant: It's like so pure.
[01:47] Jonah Klein: For those who haven't seen it, an elderly woman went viral a while back saying if she could just meet Neymar, she could die in peace.
[01:55] Jonah Klein: And he actually made it happen.
[01:57] Lila Grant: The video of their meeting is ever-ending.
[01:59] Lila Grant: everywhere, 26,000 likes and counting. It's one of those rare moments where a massive global superstar
[02:05] Lila Grant: actually pauses to fulfill a fan's lifelong dream. It's the kind of content that reminds you
[02:11] Jonah Klein: why these athletes have such a hold on us. But speaking of fan power, we have to talk about
[02:17] Jonah Klein: the BTS Army. They are on a mission today.
[02:20] Lila Grant: They really are. The hashtag ProtectRM campaign is massive right now.
[02:26] Lila Grant: It looks like fans are rallying to shield Namjoon from what they're calling a sea racist war and some really dehumanizing hate online.
[02:33] Jonah Klein: Mm-hmm. The hashtags are everywhere.
[02:36] Jonah Klein: Hashtag Army Stand with RM and hashtag ShieldNamjoon With Love.
[02:40] Jonah Klein: When the army mobilizes, they really do it with a level of organization you don't see anywhere else.
[02:45] Lila Grant: That's everything.
[02:47] Lila Grant: They even have hashtag purple ribbon for RM trending.
[02:50] Lila Grant: It's a mix of protecting their idol and calling out platform moderation for letting hate speech slide.
[02:56] Jonah Klein: It shows the protective side of fandom, which is a huge part of K-pop culture.
[03:01] Jonah Klein: But on the celebration side of that same world, Thailand is absolutely buzzing right now.
[03:06] Lila Grant: Um, the R-I-I-Z-E and LYKE concert.
[03:10] Lila Grant: It's day three of the Riser concert and the clips coming out of there are incredible.
[03:15] Jonah Klein: One post alone has over 43,000 likes and another is hitting 62,000.
[03:20] Jonah Klein: Thai fans are showing out in a big way.
[03:22] Jonah Klein: The energy in those fancams is electric, Lila.
[03:26] Lila Grant: It's interesting to see how these concerts aren't just local events anymore.
[03:30] Lila Grant: They become global digital moments.
[03:32] Lila Grant: Everyone is watching the choreography and the stage production in real time.
[03:37] Jonah Klein: It's that cultural fluency we always talk about.
[03:39] Jonah Klein: Whether it's RM or RISE, the conversation is happening globally,
[03:44] Jonah Klein: and the platforms are struggling to keep up with the sheer volume of it.
[03:47] Lila Grant: It's a lot to take in today.
[03:49] Lila Grant: From Rick Scott's bill to Neymar's kindness and the intense loyalty of the BTS army,
[03:55] Lila Grant: the feed is basically a mirror of everything happening in the world.
[03:58] Jonah Klein: And it's moving faster than ever.
[04:01] Jonah Klein: I think the no work, no pay bill is going to be the one to watch for the rest of the week
[04:05] Jonah Klein: to see if it actually gains legislative traction.
[04:07] Lila Grant: Definitely.
[04:08] Lila Grant: And we'll be here to track it all.
[04:10] Jonah Klein: That's all for today's Roundup.
[04:11] Jonah Klein: I'm Jonah Klein.
[04:12] Lila Grant: And I am Leela Grant.
[04:14] Lila Grant: Thanks for listening to Buzz at buzz.neuralnewscast.com.
[04:19] Lila Grant: We'll catch you tomorrow with more of what's trending.
[04:22] Lila Grant: Neural Newscast is AI-assisted, human-reviewed.
[04:26] Lila Grant: View our AI transparency policy at neuralnewscast.com.