From Valley of Shadows: The Devil's Punchbowl

The headlines never stop and it's harder than ever to tell what's real, what matters, and what's just noise. That's where PodSave America comes in. I'm Tommy Vitor, and every week I'm joined by fellow former Obama aides John Favreau, John Levitt, and Dan Pfeiffer to break down the biggest stories, unpack what they mean for the future of our democracy, and add just enough humor to stay sane along the way. You'll also hear honest, in-depth conversations with big voices in politics, media, and culture like Rachel Matto, Gavin Newsom, and Mark Cuban that you won't find anywhere else.

New episodes drop every Tuesday and Friday with deep dives every other weekend. Listen wherever you get your podcasts, watch on YouTube, or subscribe on Apple Podcasts for ad-free episodes. Pushkin Malcolm here. I want to tell you about a man named John Auger.

He was a Los Angeles County Sheriff's Deputy, an ultramarathon runner, a survivalist, and someone who had made a study of how to stay alive in punishing terrain. And one day, He went for a run in a place called the Devil's Punch Bowl in the high desert of Los Angeles, and he never came back. Some say Arjay is just another missing hiker, claimed by the inhospitable landscape of the Southern California desert. Some say he took his own life out there,

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