June 5, 2025

North Korea’s Judgmental Phone, Trump’s Portrait Glow-Up, and Meghan vs. Pineapple

Show Notes
Transcript

From North Korea, where our show is now apparently the state-sponsored podcast of choice, this is Ballot. We’re diving into Kim Jong Un’s latest tech paranoia: a smartphone that autocorrects your slang to propaganda and takes screenshots for the government every five minutes. Big Brother just updated his OS.Then: Trump gives himself a portrait do-over because his first one made him look like a Bond villain. Now it's soft lighting and a red tie—but don’t worry, the mugshot still hangs in the Oval.Finally, Meghan Markle has done it again. This time, it’s not an interview, not a docuseries, not a podcast—it’s…a pineapple. And people are losing their minds. We slice into the latest backlash over fruit-based wisdom and ask: can Meghan just have a snack in peace?Portions of today’s show were made with the help of state-run autocorrect, portrait filters, and a very controversial pineapple.

WEBVTT

1
00:00:03.160 --> 00:00:11.800
Kalaroga shark media.

2
00:00:08.080 --> 00:00:11.439
From North Korea, where ballot is the Joe Rogan experience.

3
00:00:11.560 --> 00:00:15.279
This is ballot, that's right, and boy, this new phone

4
00:00:15.320 --> 00:00:16.440
I got is great.

5
00:00:17.239 --> 00:00:17.839
Let's get this.

6
00:00:21.199 --> 00:00:24.239
North Korea has decided that South Korean slang is apparently

7
00:00:24.359 --> 00:00:27.679
a national security threat. Kim Jong un is so worried

8
00:00:27.679 --> 00:00:30.120
about his people picking up bad habits from their neighbors

9
00:00:30.239 --> 00:00:34.079
that he's turned smartphones into digital prison guards. The BBC

10
00:00:34.280 --> 00:00:36.359
got their hands on a North Korean phone that was

11
00:00:36.399 --> 00:00:40.640
smuggled out of the country, and it's basically Big Brother's iPhone.

12
00:00:40.719 --> 00:00:44.600
The device automatically changes forbidden words as you type them.

13
00:00:45.079 --> 00:00:48.520
Want to call someone appah that South Korean slang for

14
00:00:48.600 --> 00:00:53.399
older brother or boyfriend. Nope, autocorrect changes it to comrade

15
00:00:54.000 --> 00:00:57.359
because nothing says romantic relationship like addressing your partner as

16
00:00:57.359 --> 00:01:00.039
if you're in a collective farm. The phone also so

17
00:01:00.280 --> 00:01:03.520
changes South Korea to pocket state, which is North Korea's

18
00:01:03.560 --> 00:01:07.000
preferred insult for their southern neighbor. It's like having a

19
00:01:07.120 --> 00:01:11.519
very judgmental autocorrect that's also a government informant. But here's

20
00:01:11.560 --> 00:01:15.000
the really dystopian part. The phone takes a screenshot every

21
00:01:15.040 --> 00:01:17.519
five minutes and sends it to the authorities, and the

22
00:01:17.640 --> 00:01:21.319
user can't even access these files. So not only is

23
00:01:21.359 --> 00:01:24.920
Big Brother watching, he's taking notes and keeping a scrapbook.

24
00:01:25.719 --> 00:01:28.719
This is all part of Kim Jong Own's ongoing war

25
00:01:29.000 --> 00:01:32.560
against South Korean cultural influence. In twenty twenty three, he

26
00:01:32.599 --> 00:01:35.159
made it illegal to even speak with a South Korean accent.

27
00:01:35.879 --> 00:01:37.680
Imagine getting arrested because.

28
00:01:37.400 --> 00:01:41.120
You pronounced a word wrong, sir, you said hello with

29
00:01:41.159 --> 00:01:42.079
too much soul.

30
00:01:41.959 --> 00:01:43.840
Inflection, You're under arrest.

31
00:01:44.719 --> 00:01:48.599
The regime is so paranoid about foreign media that consuming

32
00:01:48.640 --> 00:01:52.439
it can be punishable by death. People smuggle South Korean

33
00:01:52.439 --> 00:01:56.159
shows and music on USB sticks and SD cards, which

34
00:01:56.200 --> 00:01:59.079
sounds quaint until you remember they could be executed for

35
00:01:59.159 --> 00:02:04.439
binge watching camas. According to North Korean tech expert Martin Williams,

36
00:02:05.120 --> 00:02:08.719
smartphones have become North Korea's latest indoctrination tool, and he

37
00:02:08.759 --> 00:02:12.400
says they're actually winning this information war. So while the

38
00:02:12.439 --> 00:02:15.360
rest of the world worries about social media algorithms showing

39
00:02:15.439 --> 00:02:18.960
us too many cat videos, North Koreans are dealing with

40
00:02:19.000 --> 00:02:23.120
phones that literally rewrite their thoughts in real time. Meanwhile,

41
00:02:23.360 --> 00:02:26.400
those North Korean soldiers who got deployed to Ukraine are

42
00:02:26.439 --> 00:02:30.000
reportedly gorging on uncensored Internet access for the first time.

43
00:02:31.000 --> 00:02:34.439
Turns out, when you've been living under digital totalitarianism your

44
00:02:34.520 --> 00:02:39.120
whole life, discovering the Internet is quite the experience, though

45
00:02:39.159 --> 00:02:42.199
probably not the kind of cultural exchange Kim Jong Own

46
00:02:42.199 --> 00:02:45.280
had in mind, changing topics.

47
00:02:44.960 --> 00:02:46.479
Away from ridiculous dictators.

48
00:02:46.800 --> 00:02:50.159
President Trump has given himself a portrait makeover just months

49
00:02:50.159 --> 00:02:53.719
into his second term, apparently deciding his first official photo

50
00:02:53.960 --> 00:02:55.439
made him look a little too much like.

51
00:02:55.360 --> 00:02:56.080
A Bond villain.

52
00:02:56.960 --> 00:03:01.520
The new image shows a noticeably softer Trump, warmer lighting,

53
00:03:01.719 --> 00:03:04.560
a gentler expression, and what appears to be a conscious

54
00:03:04.599 --> 00:03:07.000
effort to look less like he's about to foreclose on

55
00:03:07.039 --> 00:03:10.840
an orphanage. The changes include swapping his turquoise tie for

56
00:03:10.919 --> 00:03:13.960
his signature red power tie and replacing the State room

57
00:03:14.000 --> 00:03:19.240
background with dramatic black. The timing is unusual. Presidents typically

58
00:03:19.240 --> 00:03:23.159
stick with one official portrait for their entire term, but Trump,

59
00:03:23.400 --> 00:03:26.599
being a former reality TV star, has always been famously

60
00:03:26.639 --> 00:03:30.240
conscious of his appearance, and frankly, his first portrait wasn't

61
00:03:30.280 --> 00:03:34.240
doing him any favors. That original photo showed Trump looking

62
00:03:34.280 --> 00:03:38.039
stony faced with narrowed, squinting eyes. And tightly pressed lips.

63
00:03:38.800 --> 00:03:41.960
Critics immediately pointed out it bore an unfortunate resemblance to

64
00:03:42.000 --> 00:03:45.479
his Georgia mugshot from his twenty twenty three racketeering charges.

65
00:03:46.319 --> 00:03:48.479
You know you have an image problem when your official

66
00:03:48.560 --> 00:03:53.280
presidential portrait reminds people of your arrest photo. Ironically, Trump

67
00:03:53.319 --> 00:03:56.919
was quite proud of that mugshot. He reportedly practiced posing

68
00:03:56.919 --> 00:03:59.360
for it and later claimed it was the number one

69
00:03:59.439 --> 00:04:03.240
selling mugg shot in history that beat Elvis and beat

70
00:04:03.280 --> 00:04:06.479
Frank Sinatra. He even hung it on the Oval Office

71
00:04:06.520 --> 00:04:09.919
wall after winning the election. But apparently when it comes

72
00:04:09.960 --> 00:04:13.560
to official portraits, he prefers something a little less hardened

73
00:04:13.560 --> 00:04:18.959
criminal chich This isn't Trump's first portrait controversy either. Earlier

74
00:04:19.000 --> 00:04:21.600
this year, Colorado removed a painting of Trump from their

75
00:04:21.639 --> 00:04:24.759
state capital after he complained about it on truth Social

76
00:04:25.800 --> 00:04:29.040
He called that artwork truly the worst and accused the

77
00:04:29.079 --> 00:04:33.879
British artist Sarah Boardman of purposefully distorting his appearance. Trump

78
00:04:33.879 --> 00:04:36.759
wrote that the artist also did President Obama and he

79
00:04:36.800 --> 00:04:39.839
looks wonderful, but the one on me is truly the worst.

80
00:04:40.079 --> 00:04:42.040
She must have lost her talent as she got older,

81
00:04:42.879 --> 00:04:46.240
which is quite the review basically accusing an artist of

82
00:04:46.279 --> 00:04:48.759
age related skill decline because he didn't like how his

83
00:04:48.800 --> 00:04:51.639
portrait turned out. He went on to say he'd prefer

84
00:04:51.759 --> 00:04:54.399
having no picture at all rather than that one, and

85
00:04:54.439 --> 00:04:57.920
claimed people from Colorado were actually angry about it because

86
00:04:57.959 --> 00:05:02.199
nothing says presidential priorities like hetting worked up over unflattering artwork.

87
00:05:03.000 --> 00:05:06.639
The whole thing highlights Trump's ongoing relationship with his own image.

88
00:05:06.879 --> 00:05:10.040
He'll proudly display his mugshot in the Oval Office as

89
00:05:10.040 --> 00:05:13.360
a badge of honor, but heaven forbid, his official presidential

90
00:05:13.399 --> 00:05:16.639
portrait makes him look too stern. It's like he wants

91
00:05:16.639 --> 00:05:20.639
to project strength but also approachability, which is a tricky

92
00:05:20.680 --> 00:05:24.000
balance when you're known for scowling and making threats. So

93
00:05:24.079 --> 00:05:27.920
now America has been treated to Presidential Portrait Take two.

94
00:05:28.040 --> 00:05:31.199
Whether this softer, warmer version will stick around for the

95
00:05:31.199 --> 00:05:34.439
rest of his term remains to be seen, but knowing

96
00:05:34.480 --> 00:05:37.959
Trump's track record with image control, don't be surprised if

97
00:05:37.959 --> 00:05:40.519
we get a few more versions before twenty twenty eight.

98
00:05:44.040 --> 00:05:47.319
Megan Markle has managed to turn fruit preparation into a

99
00:05:47.439 --> 00:05:51.600
cultural battleground. The Duchess of Sussex posted a video showing

100
00:05:51.639 --> 00:05:54.800
how to cut pineapple by following the natural wedgelines, and

101
00:05:54.839 --> 00:05:56.879
apparently half the Internet lost their minds.

102
00:05:57.680 --> 00:05:59.879
In the clip, Meghan stands with someone.

103
00:05:59.759 --> 00:06:02.759
Named Randy Caron and explains this trick where instead of

104
00:06:02.800 --> 00:06:05.600
just cutting a pineapple normally, you follow the natural wedges

105
00:06:05.600 --> 00:06:08.800
that nature has provided. She presents this as some kind

106
00:06:08.800 --> 00:06:13.319
of revolutionary kitchen wisdom, saying, when nature has given you

107
00:06:13.399 --> 00:06:15.560
all the cues on how to have a perfect taste

108
00:06:15.600 --> 00:06:16.079
of something.

109
00:06:16.879 --> 00:06:18.720
The response was swift and brutal.

110
00:06:19.480 --> 00:06:22.120
Critics on social media pointed out that this technique has

111
00:06:22.120 --> 00:06:25.480
been around forever. One person wrote, she acts like she

112
00:06:25.600 --> 00:06:28.959
discovered this method of cutting a pineapple, like probably lifted

113
00:06:28.959 --> 00:06:32.279
it from Pinterest. Another said I'm going to be fifty

114
00:06:32.519 --> 00:06:34.360
and I've known that since I was a little kid.

115
00:06:35.279 --> 00:06:38.240
The real issue seems to be the tone. People felt

116
00:06:38.240 --> 00:06:41.360
like Megan was explaining something incredibly basic, as if she

117
00:06:41.720 --> 00:06:45.480
just unlocked the secrets of the universe. One user complained

118
00:06:45.480 --> 00:06:49.639
about losing brain cells watching it, while another sarcastically.

119
00:06:48.920 --> 00:06:52.160
Wrote, Wow, groundbreaking. Wish I had thought of that.

120
00:06:53.240 --> 00:06:56.959
This video was apparently filmed for her Netflix lifestyle series

121
00:06:57.240 --> 00:07:00.000
with Love Megan, but didn't make it into the first seat.

122
00:07:01.040 --> 00:07:04.360
Meghan said it was cut because there just wasn't enough time,

123
00:07:04.680 --> 00:07:07.720
which raises the question of what did make the cut

124
00:07:08.000 --> 00:07:11.399
if a pineapple tutorial got left on the editing room floor.

125
00:07:12.240 --> 00:07:14.839
The whole thing is a perfect example of how Meghan's

126
00:07:14.879 --> 00:07:18.319
post royal life has unfolded. She's trying to build this

127
00:07:18.399 --> 00:07:22.879
lifestyle brand, but every move gets scrutinized and criticized. She

128
00:07:23.000 --> 00:07:26.199
can't even share a pineapple hack without a becoming evidence

129
00:07:26.199 --> 00:07:30.839
of her supposedly condescending attitude towards the public. In Meghan's world,

130
00:07:30.920 --> 00:07:34.439
apparently no fruit is safe from controversy. To keep up

131
00:07:34.519 --> 00:07:39.040
on the Royal Family, check out our sister podcast, Palace Intrigue.

132
00:07:39.079 --> 00:07:41.319
Portions of today's show were made with the help of

133
00:07:41.399 --> 00:07:43.199
freshly cut pineapple and Ai