Almost Above Average

About Almost Above Average

Almost Above Average” is a sharp, outspoken podcast hosted by Christopher McIntyre and Jonathan Travis, where social and political issues take center stage with bold honesty. Every episode breaks down urgent headlines, political maneuvering, and controversial moves—like nuclear brinkmanship or messaging wars—using punchy analysis, humor, and a warning tone. The show focuses on current events, democracy, media bias, and the real stakes behind political strategies, aiming to cut through the noise and spark open, sometimes provocative, conversations. Whether confronting propaganda or highlighting

Publisher

Chris Mcintyre

Category

news

Language

en

Explicit

Yes

First episode

25 Dec 2023

Latest episode

25 May 2026

Latest episodes

155 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   25 May 2026

   Mary Hill & CAUSE: If We Built It, We Can Change It

   72‑year‑old Amazon warehouse worker Mary “Ma Mary” Hill went viral when her message to Jeff Bezos was projected onto his luxury penthouse during the billionaires’ ball. In this raw conversation, Mary goes beyond the clip to talk about life inside the warehouse, why she co‑founded C.A.U.S.E. (Carolina Amazonians United for Solidarity & Empowerment), and what it really means when she says, “If we built it, we can tear it down.” We dig into the human cost of one‑day shipping, the fight to win fair pay, safety, and dignity at Amazon’s RDU1 facility in North Carolina, and how you—whether you’re an Amazon worker or a Prime customer—can stand with Mary and the workers of C.A.U.S.E. instead of just watching the viral video and scrolling on. Take action Support Ma Mary directly: Fundraiser for Mary Hill by M Smith: Support Ma Mary! A Legend of the Southern Labor Movement (https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-ma-mary?attribution_id=sl:39351d82-b274-455d-9f0c-9d8803a35013&lang=en_US&ts=1779568027&utm_campaign=fp_sharesheet&utm_content=amp17_ta-amp20_t1&utm_medium=customer&utm_source=email) Learn more about C.A.U.S.E. and stay plugged in: amazoncause.com (https://www.amazoncause.com/) Instagram: @amazoncause (https://www.instagram.com/amazoncause/)

2. 

   13 Apr 2026

   We ‘Obliterated’ Iran Twice… So Why Are We Still Here?

   Title “We ‘Obliterated’ Iran Twice… So Why Are We Still Here?” Subtitle From a working nuclear deal to an endless crisis: Are we winning this war in Iran, or are they lying to us? They keep telling us we’re winning. Iran, we’re told, has been “obliterated.” The pressure is working. The enemy is cornered. But as the Strait remains effectively choked, oil prices surge, and diplomacy collapses, one question refuses to go away: Are we winning this war in Iran, or are they lying to us? Not long ago, Iran’s nuclear program was boxed in by the JCPOA. It wasn’t perfect, but the trade was clear: sanctions relief and economic breathing room in exchange for strict, verifiable limits on nuclear activity. Enrichment capped, stockpiles cut, centrifuges reduced, inspectors on the ground. The risk was managed and the world had time and visibility. Then the deal was torn up. Branded “the worst deal ever,” it was scrapped without a serious replacement. “Maximum pressure” became the slogan, as if hashtags and sanctions alone could conjure a better agreement from a country that had just watched the U.S. walk away from its word. Predictably, Iran responded by stepping away from its commitments. Enrichment levels rose, stockpiles grew, and advanced centrifuges spun up. The breakout time shrank. The nuclear box we had built was kicked open. Is that winning—or is that the opposite, dressed up as toughness? Last year, a major strike on Iranian targets was sold as proof of strength—Trump’s long‑promised “obliteration.” It was presented as decisive, the kind of blow that would reset the board and force Iran to back down. Yet here we are again. If Iran was “obliterated,” why are we back in a crisis over its nuclear program? Why are we still talking about its regional power, its missiles, its proxies? What did “obliterate” actually mean if we’re now being told we might have to do it again? If you obliterate someone twice, did you ever really obliterate them at all—or are they lying about what they accomplished? This year, the desperation went diplomatic. Vice President JD Vance spent 21 hours in talks with Iranian officials, trying to claw back constraints that looked an awful lot like the ones we had under the JCPOA. Twenty‑one hours. No deal. No framework. No off‑ramp. Publicly, we’re told this is somehow “bad news for Iran” and that we’re in a position of strength. But failed negotiations, an advancing nuclear program, and no exit plan don’t look like strength. They look like a crisis no one wants to admit they created. Meanwhile, the Strait is not functioning normally. Shipping is threatened, oil prices are rising, and ordinary people far from any negotiating table are paying more at the pump and in the checkout line. More U.S. forces and hardware pour into an already tense region, increasing the odds that one mistake becomes something far worse. And through it all, the message from the top doesn’t change: this is winning, this is strength, this is necessary. Look at the timeline instead of the talking points. We went from a constrained nuclear program and a functioning deal to an unconstrained program, a shattered deal, a theatrically labeled “obliteration” that solved nothing, failed talks, a strained chokepoint, and rising global costs. So we have to keep asking: Are we winning this war in Iran—or are they lying to us about what they broke, what they bombed, and what it’s really costing?

3. 

   31 Mar 2026

   America Flunked the Epstein Test

   In this episode of Almost Above Average, Chris dives into the Epstein files and asks a simple question nobody in power seems eager to answer: why are other countries taking action while the United States does… basically nothing? From princes in the U.K. getting dragged into questioning, to former prime ministers in Norway facing corruption charges, to France and even small Baltic states launching trafficking and financial crime probes, Chris walks through how governments around the world are actually going after their own when their names show up next to Epstein’s. Then he turns back to America — the country at the center of Epstein’s operation, whose president appears repeatedly in the documents and once vowed to “release all the files” — and breaks down how the U.S. managed to turn the biggest child‑sex‑trafficking scandal of our era into a brief news cycle and a whole lot of silence. If you think the people named in those files shouldn’t be the same people deciding what we’re allowed to see, this episode is for you.

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

YouTube views

848,616

Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

4 ratings

Spotify

5.0 / 5

8 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 76 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

98

Social presence

0

YouTube

86

Engagement

51

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Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.