Beyond the Headlines

Ever feel like the media spotlight shines in all the wrong places? While everyone obsesses over Sydney Sweeney's blue jeans, we're diving into stories that actually deserve our attention but aren't making headlines.

First, a practical guide to dining out wisely as we explore eight expert-identified red flags that signal it's time to leave a restaurant. From the obvious signs like dirty conditions and argumentative staff to the more peculiar warnings about establishments "overloaded with influencers," these indicators offer valuable guidance for your next meal out. Though some seem tailored more to LA than Alabama's Gibson's Barbecue, they provide food for thought on what we should expect from our dining experiences.

The conversation then travels beneath Rome's ancient streets, where an extraordinary discovery awaits. Hidden for over a century, a vast 42,000 square-foot network of tunnels and caves known as the Capitoline Grotto once thrived during Julius Caesar's time. This underground marvel served as everything from quarries and taverns to bomb shelters and bustling 19th-century marketplaces before being sealed by Mussolini in the 1920s. After a $2.8 million restoration, these historical passages will finally welcome visitors again in 2026 – a true hidden treasure of the Eternal City.

We wrap up with a crucial warning about a new scam targeting social media users. Fraudsters are approaching people with requests to use their photos for supposed art projects, complete with promises of commissions and finished copies. The scam reveals itself when they ask for personal information for "e-check" payments – a reminder to stay vigilant online even when interactions seem innocent or flattering.

What national holiday do you think August should have? Share your thoughts and let us know which stories you think deserve more attention than they're getting!

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Liberty Line each week on Sunday, look for topics on my X file @americanistblog and submit your 1-3 audio opinions to anamericanistblog@gmail.com and you'll be featured on the podcast. 

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Chapters

• 0:29 Intro and August musings
• 1:11 Moving beyond mainstream headlines
• 3:05 Restaurant red flags to watch for
• 5:11 Rome's secret underground tunnel city
• 7:06 New art project scam warning
• 9:18 Question: Holiday needed for August?

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:15

Hello, hello, good morning, happy Wednesday halfway through the week Almost August, by the way and August is my least favorite month. Why? Because it's hot and it's long and I don't like it. It takes forever. I don't like. I don't really like summer just because of the weather. I mean, the older I get, the more I like it, because the older I get, it seems like the colder I am, no matter where I go. So I used to hate the heat here in Alabama, but I'm getting used to it. It's getting better, it's not as bad, but I still don't like August. I don't know why. Probably because there's no holiday, which, by the way, it reminds me of the question of the day that I'm going to get to later at the end of the episode. Okay, we need to move on. We are not going.

Speaker 1: 0:59

I'm going to bring you three stories that have nothing to do with any of the headlines that you're going to hear about today, because all we hear about today is Sydney Sweeney and her freaking blue jeans. I don't really give a crap. Okay, I don't care. I'm sick of this guy, this stupid story. I'm sick of it, and I think people are trying to bring it out because, you know, we were so inundated with fat and lefty and all this stuff and the fat shaming, whatever. I don't care. They were, I don't care. But I think people are trying to say that they're trying to point out that the crazy women on the left are talking about this ad and coming unglued about it because it's some kind of nazi propaganda. I have no idea what the hell they're talking about. And here's the thing if we would just ignore them, they will go away. Growing up, I used to hear this all the time from my parents Ignore it, it'll go away. I just why are we lifting these crazy people up and putting them out there on mainstream media when, when we need to be talking about other important things, like this beating in Cincinnati or this, the children in Bibb County, alabama, that were drugged, chained in the shelter, chained to poles, chained to beds. They were drugged, they were sold, they were used, they were sexually raped and abused. How about we talk about that? No, I guess we'd rather talk about Sidney Sweeney. There are other things we need to talk about, but which reminds me I'm going to bring you some stories that have nothing to do with today's headlines that you're going to hear about today. All right, let me go over here to my X feed. I have lost it. Okay, here we go, x feed Eight signs that you should leave.

Speaker 1: 2:55

A restaurant expert say these are so dumb. I already read this article. It's ridiculous, but but I'm gonna tell you about it anyway. Number one there's no management presence. Great managers are visible.

Speaker 1: 3:06

Salar chic, a restaurant consultant based in los angeles, told fox news digital they touch tables, support staff and deep the d and keep the energy up. Please don't touch my table in addition to operation. Okay, please don't touch my table In addition to operation. Okay, we don't care about that. Number two it's overloaded with influencers. What does this even mean? Have you ever gone to a restaurant and what do you mean? It's overloaded with influencers. This must be an LA thing, because you're not going to see that in Alabama at a Gibson's barbecue. I promise you that.

Speaker 1: 3:37

Number three the place is empty. Restaurant with loach? Well, it depends. You know, the older we get, the gent and I get, the earlier we like to go to dinner. We are those early bird, special old people, so we're usually at dinner at four, at four o'clock, and it's usually empty. But you know, hey, whatever.

Speaker 1: 3:57

Number four the staff argues with you. What do you mean? They argue with you. The customer might not always be right, but experts say an argumentative staff member could be a sign of poor service standards and a breakdown among the team. If they mess something up, they should try to make it up to you. I have never had a staff member in a restaurant argue with me ever, ever in my entire life here on earth. Okay, number five employees aren't treated well. How do you know if they're not treated well? Are you going to ask somebody? How are you treated here? I don't know. Uh, number six it's dirty. Well, yeah, that's duh. That should be number one. Sticky menus Ooh. And lipstick stained glasses yeah, oh, gross. Yeah, I'm out. I'm out on that one. I'll agree with that. Number seven servers don't know the menu. Okay, whatever, I guess maybe it's. That's not a big deal to me. You're being upsold aggressively. What are you being upsold in a restaurant? What are you being upsold about? I don't know. Let me know what you're being upsold about, all right.

Speaker 1: 4:55

Next story this top tourist spot has a secret tunnel city, lost for over a century. Visitors will soon be able to see it for the first time. I find this story fascinating. I love stuff like this, and it's in Rome. I have been to Rome. I have been to Rome. I would like to go back just to see this. A top travel destination has uncovered an ancient secret. You remember that commercial Ancient Chinese secret secret? Okay, this is a different secret. A little known network of subterranean passageways hidden beneath rome's capital line hill, holding clues to a long ago chapter of the eternal city's past, will reportedly soon open to visitors. No one has seen these caves and tunnels for more than a century.

Speaker 1: 5:41

The. This vast underground complex covering 42 000 square feet, hides out beneath some of the city's top attractions, steps from the roman forum and the 2 000 year old tietro di marcello, known for the oh my gosh, I'm going to butcher this too Known as the Grottino del Campidaggioleo or Capital Line Grotto. These tunnels were once filled with life during the days of Julius Caesar oh my gosh. Long before it was sealed off by Benito Mussolini in the 1920s, it served as a quarry, cistern tavern, bomb shelter and even a bustling subterranean marketplace during the 19th century. Now, thanks to the massive 2.8 million restoration project, the tunnels are set up to reopen to the public in 2026.

Speaker 1: 6:41

I there's. You can go. Finish reading that. I'm going to finish reading it later. I just find that fascinating. I love stuff like that and I would like to go back and see that. All right, last article.

Speaker 1: 6:52

Relentless scammers are trying to rip off people by asking to use their pictures for fake art projects. Here's how. All right, so here's another scam. People are always trying somebody everywhere, every day. It's going on. Here's a new one. All right, this uh lady.

Speaker 1: 7:10

The internet is flooded with inventive schemes, from ai fueled romance scams to cyber criminals who pose as kidnapped loved ones to receive ransom payments. All right, so this lady heads up. Guys, be careful, warned at tiktok user jen. I know it, I know know it's TikTok, but here we go. She explained that she received a message from some girl who asked if she could use one of the TikTok users pictures for an art project she was working on Suspicious. Right away, jen went to the sender's page to make sure the sender wasn't a scam artist. How are you going to figure that out? The profile, surprisingly, had tons of paintings and drawings which initially put her mind at ease. I thought, okay, maybe it is legit, recalled the recipient, so I wrote her back and I asked her what picture she was interested in, and she said my profile picture, and I said, okay, that should be fine.

Speaker 1: 8:08

Jen reportedly became further intrigued after the sender promised her a copy of the finished project as well as a commission. Per the clip, however, jen realized something was awry when the woman requested some personal details. She says all I need from you is your full name and your email so my client can send over an e-check. She recalled what I don't even know what an e-check is. Despite not asking for her bank info, jen said she knew it was fishy and accused the woman of trying to pull the wool over her eyes. Her suspicions appeared to be confirmed when she checked the fraudster's profile again and saw that it had vanished.

Speaker 1: 8:54

So be beware. There's more to that story, but that's the gist of it. I think Beware, buyer beware, or whatever you call it nowadays. All right, question of the day. We're talking about August and holidays. Most months have holidays in it. I think August should have a holiday because the month of August does not have a federal holiday. I think there's another month I can't remember what it is right off the top of my head that doesn't have a national holiday. I think August should have one. So let's create a national federal holiday for August. What should it be? That's the question of the day. All right, I have to go. Thanks for listening. Love y'all, bye.