The Daily Zeitgeist - RED ALERT FOR HUMANITY, Obama Denies Larry David 8.10.21

Episode Date: August 10, 2021

In episode 966, Miles and guest co-host Joelle Monique are joined by comedian and actress Erin Foley to discuss the climate, the bipartisan infrastructure deal, culture wars, Larry David getting uninv...ited to Obama bday party, Suicide Squad 2, and more!FOOTNOTES: Climate Report Infrastructure deal Distractions From Climate Change Larry David got un-invited to Obama’s bday  Samir & Abboud “Games”  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Starting point is 00:00:00 In California during the summer of 1975, within the span of 17 days and less than 90 miles, two women did something no other woman had done before, try to assassinate the President of the United States. One was the protege of Charles Manson. 26-year-old Lynette Fromm, nickname Squeaky. The other, a middle-aged housewife working undercover for the FBI. Identified by police as Sarah Jean Moore. The story of one strange and violent summer this
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Starting point is 00:01:28 You might recognize us from our first show, Locatora Radio. Listen to Señora Sex Ed on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Dr. Laurie Santos, host of the Happiness Lab podcast. As the U.S. elections approach, it can feel like we're angrier and more divided than ever. But in a new, hopeful season of my podcast, I'll share what the science really shows, that we're surprisingly more united than most people think. We all know something is wrong in our culture, in our politics,
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Starting point is 00:02:20 Hello, listeners. Welcome to season 197, episode two of the Daily Zeitgeist. It's a production of iHeartRadio, and it is the podcast that also takes a deep dive into America's shared consciousness, and maybe the world's today, because a big report came out. But I digress. It is Tuesday, August 10, 2021. My name is Miles Gray, a.k.a. I host this podcast on this summer day when Jack is gone. I crashed the show into the bridge.
Starting point is 00:02:48 I watched I let it burn. I threw hot takes into the void and pushed it down the stairs. I crashed the show into the bridge. T.D.Z. I love it. T.D.Z. Okay. Iconic pop. Iconic
Starting point is 00:03:04 pop. And also iconic a.k also iconic AKA from Ravioli God. Thank you for being like, hey, when Jack's away, say this, you crashed the show into a bridge and you watched it burn. And you know what? It's burning and it's wonderful. And who is that one guy, Ben Harper, who said, I'm going to burn one down? That was like the one stoner song from Toss. I'm going to burn one down.
Starting point is 00:03:23 Anyway, that's me. Shout out to Ravioli God again on the discord for that and don't worry while there is one substitute host that's lacking we bring in a guest co-host that is adequate that is able that is apt that is talented i am thrilled to be joined by my co-host nay i would I would say my support, Kate, to help me keep this show up right. Someone who this, I'm just saying, I'm building the infrastructure off her back. She's a podcast host, podcast producer, a writer, a culture, media critic, commentator. What else can you say? Right now, we found out she has one of the best laughs in the game, according to our guests we'll introduce later.
Starting point is 00:04:02 But please welcome now to the stage, the wonderful guest co-host for today, Miss Joelle Monique! Miles, every time I'm here, a little more legendary, that intro. Thank you so much. Glad to be back, especially when we have news. I can talk about nerd movies this weekend. I'm excited. Okay, okay. What new movies?
Starting point is 00:04:25 Oh, Suicide Squad, huh? Miles, oh my God. What new movies? The only one. I'm stuck in such a weird place with movies. You know, like, in my mind, they're still a thing that aren't happening anymore, but I realize they are.
Starting point is 00:04:41 That's me having a reckoning with what's happening. That is literally the crux of our conversation around this movie. What makes a movie good? Is it box office sales? And what does that mean in the middle of a pandemic? So many questions. Oh, well, I'm glad. See, I'm glad I have you here to stay because I might just be like, what's the problem?
Starting point is 00:04:59 I think it's good. And then people are like, what is he fucking saying? This guy never fucking knows. Look, I got my head in so many different places, y'all. There's a lot happening in the news. I'm sorry. It's not that I hate shit. I'm just, I'm slow with the pickup sometimes.
Starting point is 00:05:14 But let's not, let's not delay this anymore. I want to introduce our guest today. Someone who I really, really love, enjoy speaking with. It's always a pleasure having this legend on the show. Our next guest is, what is she? I'll tell you what she is. She's a comedian. She's a comedic actress. She's a writer. She's just all around. I mean, you might be, she's pulling faces, but that's also means she's one of the most humble people I've met. And one of the, honestly, one of just the kindest people that I've met as well and someone
Starting point is 00:05:45 who I love talking sports with you might know her from her comedy you might know her from her various appearances all over as a stand-up comedian or maybe her podcast sports without balls but I know her as one of my favorite guests please welcome to the stage Aaron Foley yeah oh a new manager of Joelle's laughugh. What's up, Zeitgeist people? Is that what you call your fans? Zeitgang, I think is what we say for tax purposes, for our religion that we're trying to get a little tax shelter for. Oh, yeah. My whole life is a nonprofit, but not according to the IRS.
Starting point is 00:06:23 Oh, tax joke. Tax joke. Tax joke. Tax joke in August. Here we go. Here we go. What's new, Erin? Good to see you, Miles. And now my new friend, Joelle.
Starting point is 00:06:33 Hey. Well, you know, just taking it one day at a time. And if I hit five o'clock and my head's not in the toilet, I don't feel that overwhelmed. It's a good day. Yeah. Right now it's a struggle. You were traveling a lot. I feel like last time we crossed paths.
Starting point is 00:06:55 Were you not? Or you were mobile. You seemed to be all around this weird country. I was doing some traveling before it shut down. this weird country. Well, I was doing some traveling before it shut down. And then when it shut down, I was like, this is the worst thing ever slash so awesome that I don't have to travel. And now I spent the pandemic in a senior community in Naples, Florida, as you do. That's right. That's right. That's what I was thinking of. And now I'm back and starting to do some stand up on the road a little bit.
Starting point is 00:07:22 Right. Just a little. And I feel pretty good about that. Yeah. But otherwise, yeah. Just really kind of happy to be back in L.A. What's the retirement community scene like in Naples? Whenever I hear retirement community Florida, all I think is the villages. Or whatever that place is called. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:07:39 Or that documentary is about to come out. Like a lower percentage of STDs for sure. Okay. Yeah. Yeah. Too long of a story, but we wound up spending about to come out. Like a lower percentage of STDs for sure. Okay. Yeah. Too long of a story, but we wound up spending about seven months there. Oh, my goodness. And my partner, Sarah, and I, the good thing, it was leading up to the election. And Naples is, let's just say, not friendly towards left-leaning gay people.
Starting point is 00:08:01 Oh, right. But I have to say, everyone was friendly. There wasn't a lot of people there. I got to know my partner's family a lot better. So there's a lot of wonderful silver linings. I'm not moving there. I am ready to retire, though. So that was the biggest life lesson.
Starting point is 00:08:20 Right? Can we just hang it up? Yeah. Can't we just lean back and just spend hours playing Sims and Civilization on computers and gaming consoles? A dream. Right? Build beautiful houses for hours. Or playing fantasy sports over and over.
Starting point is 00:08:35 Just getting into new fantasy sports. I mean. Just literally on my phone 24 hours a day playing fantasy baseball. Can I do that professionally? We can. Don't young children do that now professionally? When I say young children, I mean people in their 20s. I think it's called crypto nowadays or something like that.
Starting point is 00:08:49 I don't know what the kids are into these days. Before we get to know you better, Aaron, I do want to let listeners know, Zeitgang listeners, people who may be interested, we, the Daily Zeitgeist, are going to have a live virtual streaming show August 25th. And we would love to see you virtually. You know,
Starting point is 00:09:06 we had a little tour going at the beginning of 2020 and who'd have thought God said, this is a bad idea and just hit the brakes on the whole thing. But we still want to share that show with you because it's really awesome. So you can go to momenthouse.com slash the daily zeitgeist to get your tickets and also maybe a commemorative poster there. And you might see the likenesses of, you know, me, Jack, Super Producer Anna Hosnier, and maybe a machine that represents the year 2000. I don't know.
Starting point is 00:09:34 But check out momenthouse.com slash dailyzeitgeist and check out those tickets. Now, let's get into it. Before we get to know you, Aaron, we got to say, what are we talking about? We're going to have to talk about this IPCC climate change report that was just released because we have to. We have to. We have to.
Starting point is 00:09:52 It's horrifying. It's our earth. It's our future. It's literally happening to us right now. Oh, my gosh. If you're not frightened for yourself, you'll have reason to be frightened for your progeny and their progeny and so on and so forth and i think this really goes to underline just how dire the situation is but in a way it's saying like well we can do something about it but it's really fucked up though y'all waited to we
Starting point is 00:10:17 to the fuck around part and now we're finding out part and then we'll kind of go along with that because you know we'll see we'll check in with what is happening with the Senate. And, you know, they had ideas on how to, you know, legislate their way out of climate change. And also just the various ways we're dealing with it from the problems that we have reporting climate change to even the ways we are, you know, sort of disconnecting from the sort of overwhelming feeling of dread that we have to start picking fights about other really inconsequential things because the climate is too overwhelming. Then we'll maybe check in with AOC where CNN is trying to put words in her mouth that she's not saying. We'll see what happened with
Starting point is 00:10:54 some people got disinvited to Obama's birthday party. And that's already just like a, you know, a bunch of comedy through lines waiting to happen but more importantly i want to talk suicide squad too with joelle because i don't know what that is um and what that means so we'll do that more but first erin what is something from your search history that's revealing about who you are okay this one's juicy are Are you two ready? Yeah. This really explains my entire life in one click of a search history. Is that something? I don't know. I haven't had enough coffee.
Starting point is 00:11:33 Okay. This happened like last night, but again, I searched it again this morning. I searched the sentence, is Samantha Kerr and Christy Mewis dating. Yes. Wow. Because now if you don't know who those women are, get ready to have your mind blown. Samantha Kerr is the Australian women's national team best player. Football.
Starting point is 00:11:59 Soccer. Soccer. But over there they call it football. Who cares? Yeah. Christy Mewis made our u.s women's national team this year she's phenomenal nwsl player and icing on the cake her sister plays samantha music muis so it's like this amazing dream team sister soccer so last night i'm just
Starting point is 00:12:21 doing my olympic you know recount just to make to make sure i've got i mean i've just literally watched olympics 24 hours a day for the last two and a half weeks it was just the greatest thing ever just crying crying crying feel good feel good feel good yeah you know cheering for everybody i'm not like a u.s crying crying crying everyone's getting second time. Gold medal, gold medal, gold medal. China, China, China. Then I stumble on a picture of Christy Mewis. No idea if she was gay. Maybe she's not. Maybe she just likes ladies this week.
Starting point is 00:12:51 I don't care. Samantha Kerr, big homo. I'm a big homo, so I can say that. They're kissing. They released it on Instagram. And Erin Foley's mind was blown. Blown. So, what, I mean, what do we do
Starting point is 00:13:06 with this? Were you even shipping them before? Did this blow you up? I don't even think this. First of all, Samantha Kerr has had a long-term partner. They have a kid together. I don't know how this is going to work logistically. Oh boy. Then I didn't even know they broke up.
Starting point is 00:13:22 Then they broke up. Christy Mews, I mean, she just looked so straight to me. So I was like, then my mind was blown, which is so stupid to say because who looks gay and straight? But you know what I mean? As a Lesbo, you're like, that one's a Lesbo. Christy Mewes did not see that one coming. So I'm so happy right now. We've got like this cross.
Starting point is 00:13:42 Samantha Curry is like just a dream sequence on the soccer field. I fear the most when we play australia yeah so the fact that they're dating right isn't that the matildas yeah i'm just so happy for them i'm cheering for them and it just like the world getting a little gayer it just makes me so happy yeah real life l word drama here this is exciting do you think under the surface do you think that there's you said she has a partner who they're raising a child together with. Do we know the timing? Is it messy? Is it sloppy?
Starting point is 00:14:14 Is it... I don't know. I hope it's all okay. That's where my trash TV brain comes in. I'm like, tell me it's a mess. It's women, so it's probably going to be a little like, tell me it's a mess. It's women. So it's probably a little bit of a mess. Light mess.
Starting point is 00:14:30 I used to have this thing where, you know, like it's all like, you know, it was an old joke. But really, it's based on the truth. Like men, you know, they just run. Gay men just run into a bar and stick it in. Right. gay men just run into a bar and stick it in. But women, like our app would be called On The Verge where you got an update of
Starting point is 00:14:48 two women on the verge of breaking up because lesbians are single for 35 seconds and then you swoop down and I'm like a bird of prey and you just pick one up from the house. Yeah, all that checks out. So it should be called Rotting Flesh. Right? If you guys are these carrion birds, then it's like
Starting point is 00:15:04 Ah, there. On The Verge is more positive miles yeah i'm sorry the rotting pledge that's where my grinder mind comes in where i'm like grinder you know i mean like what about rotting flesh what about necrotic tissue let's not on grinders yeah yeah okay we'll get to know right so like it's a little messy they're swooping in So I feel like they're both single for 35 seconds. I'm going to say there's probably I'm going to vote for Messi. I don't know. But if I was if I was betting, I'd say I'd bet on a mess. Appropriate pun considering, you know, Lionel Messi.
Starting point is 00:15:38 Big in the news also. So sad. Shout out to the Messi. Shout out to Paris for getting that guy. Yeah. I mean, shout out to them for flouting every financial fair play rule there is to be like, we have Neymar, Mbappe, now we have Messi. Don't ask how we can afford it.
Starting point is 00:15:55 Okay. Unimportant. Yeah. We'll just put one of our board members on the head of the club council and you wait and then maybe they'll just sort of, I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. That's what it is.
Starting point is 00:16:04 Super group. Yeah. Definitely a super group. Aaron, what is something that you think is overrated uh organized religion but we don't have time for that right now so i'm going to say having your shit together is my new thing that i think is overrated tell them in the middle of a pandemic. Yes. We need to hear this more. Go on, please, Dr. Foley. I just, you know, I think it stems that my mom was here for a week. And, you know, when you're when you're hanging around someone that's like in their 80s, they drop like some pearls of wisdom. And then like, unfortunately, like two untimely deaths in the sort of comedy adjacent world. And then like seeing how everybody is like crying when they get a bronze.
Starting point is 00:16:53 It's like, you know, you know, it just feels like just whatever you can do to get through the day. Life is hard. Just I would say just kind of lower the bar and not having it all together is fine. It's fine. It's this extreme push to have it all together and to be perfect is just so dumb and overrated. moments not only is it a pandemic not only is the entire globe on fire like if you are just living and making a congratulations awards gold sticker you did it yeah yeah yeah i think yeah and it's interesting how we used to have this narrative right where it's all the time we have such hero worship and we still do like celebrity worship to a very catastrophic extent but it's like slowly thawing you know where i think many people even as millennials and younger like i don't need to be like this fucking you know i think all of us i definitely grew up with this idea of who and what the fuck i would be doing
Starting point is 00:17:56 by the time i was 40 and i'm like oh get ready fucking world because they when they say miles it's only gonna be one that they know. And it's miles gray. And then very quickly, like, man, you know what, maybe if I have health care, that's tight, too. That's kind of a win also. And like, I have, you know, minimal debt, you know, shout out to I'm about to pay off my car. So I'm winning. But you know, like, I you really realize just for your own mental health, like that happiness really has to sort of start from like what you're feeling inside rather than like a lot of these external expectations we build or just our own expectations we have. So, yeah. And having your shit together, like just have your shit together enough that you are taking care of yourself.
Starting point is 00:18:37 You can maybe extend that outwardly to some other people. But nobody's asking you to, you know, change the fucking world or you to become uber successful however you define that like that's that's why i think the olympics are important i mentioned this last week like i quit my job in politics because i watched the olympics because i just saw people that were so happy and i was like that's a fucking i don't know if i'll ever be that happy doing what oh my god that's so interesting miles that's awesome because to your point aaron right you see people and I hate to bring this up again, but like when you watch the Olympics,
Starting point is 00:19:08 you'll like, these people are very simply have distilled their life down to, I need to train for this one event or a couple of events so I can compete and I hopefully can medal in this event. And like, that will be great for me. And when you have your shit down that simply, like, I mean, granted,
Starting point is 00:19:29 that's a very high thing to attain isn't any kind of Olympic medal, but when they get it, you're like, wow, that's truly just this very simple formula, which is I love to do this thing. I will keep doing that because that makes me happy. And when I did the thing that I wanted to do, because it was a thing that made me happy, I'm in tears. You know what I mean? I'm not in tears if I get, you know, uh, some, you know, some free, a free fucking car rental or some shit like that. Like, you know, you want to feel like you, you know, can spread joy or some shit, you know, it's all different. So yeah, it's just, that's the, like the proper term. It's really, and I think this is like a re a lesson as you, you get, as you get older and older and older, it's like really distilling it down to those one or two things. Because part of the whole thing of like having your shit together is like, it's sort of like, I do this.
Starting point is 00:20:11 And it's like the writer slash producer slash blah blah slash. And you're just like, I'm getting no slashes. No slashes. You know what I mean? And it's like, okay, today I just like took a walk and I want to play some pickleball later. And I want just a couple of things that make you happy to me. That's like having your shit together. You know, it's so funny.
Starting point is 00:20:32 I just I saw people playing pickleball and then I looked at some highlights. That shit looks so fun because to me it's like it's like busted ass, like not as athletic tennis. But it's you can get very athletic with it. But like it feels very easier or a lot easier to get into and a lot more fun. Were you destroying the old people at the retirement center in Pickleball? Oh, I mean, like we'd come off the court. My partner, Sarah, is actually really good. And she's like just I knew she'd be good because she played tennis in high school.
Starting point is 00:21:02 But, you know, we'd come off the court and be like, we dominated. And they were like 82. Yeah. And and they're like i need a new hip the thing is they can at any at any age you can be good like if they're if they're like you don't need to smash it like you know we could get our we could get our butts kicked tomorrow by two 80 year olds because of like the strategy it's so fun everyone should try it it's really light and fun and it's awesome i love it um what's something you think is underrated this sounds ridiculous well i'm a ridiculous person but i'm gonna say earphones earbuds earphones headsets whatever the term is you use are underrated. And it sounds weird because like here's why they're underrated. When people don't have them in, I want to murder them.
Starting point is 00:21:53 Literally murder them. So now I and this started in Florida. People are walking around just blasting like whatever they are, whatever. I'm in Beachwood Canyon now 90 of the people people have ear but whatever but when they don't or someone like is taking a meeting outside the apartment and they don't have your ear you i literally go it just rage it just goes to rage no self-awareness right i want to and i i don't think i could ever truly hit a person unless they were like attacking a loved one but it makes me feel like could i murder right like i definitely ball my fist up and that's where i will throw so much with my eyeballs yeah yes you're gonna know
Starting point is 00:22:36 i'm just please what do you think it is i mean because clearly we're all sound respecters because we i think we all had the same reaction to being like oh you're going full speaker you're like um what do you think it is because i feel like some people i see like want to be like yeah man i'm on a phone call right now so you're gonna hear that because i'm talking to people like it feels like that's all it's accomplishing like that's the only it's not like you don't seem hard of hearing or something like that. Like, it's more like you seem like you want to broadcast that you're on a phone call. Or is it that let us know, listeners, because, look, this is where maybe we need to bring the worlds together. Are you guys doing it because you just aren't aware that other people might be like, get this fucking infernal racket on.
Starting point is 00:23:18 When they're like, I just like it's easier than putting it to my head. I don't know, but I don't like it. I just. Yeah, I. it to my head i don't know but i don't like it you know i just yeah i i mean again this maybe this is me getting older and like get off my lawn maybe this is get off my lawn moment but i just it's the it just feels like there's no self-awareness you know what i mean and it's like this is what what what we need more than ever is like empathy and self, and just, just, just being respectful to the person right next to you. Right.
Starting point is 00:23:47 And when there's no earbuds on, I just, I don't like, I started to like real, real, get real twitchy and go, I don't get it. It's a terrible sound.
Starting point is 00:23:57 Like there's no amount, like it's a phone 85% of the time. Yeah. And so the sound that's coming out is trash. On top of that, I did not want to hear it like as a public transportation writer there's nothing worse than somebody who's like let me blast my terrible jams out my phone speaker we're in a bubble you cannot escape
Starting point is 00:24:16 hell right absolutely hell no if you listen if you can't afford headphones you just have to deal like and i've been there okay i think it's somebody who's been, you just have to deal with it. And I've been there. Okay. I think it's somebody who's been there. You just got to go without tunes for the 15 to hour and 20 minutes you have to be on public transit. Why don't we talk to our legislators and make free earbuds available to people so there's no excuse anymore. It's like a mask. You know what I mean?
Starting point is 00:24:43 Look, we know, you know, there's free earbuds at the front of the train. You can get them right there. Don't fucking blush because the baby is canceled right now. I don't want to hear any more of it right now. I'm so sorry to talk over you. I just meant like if you have a phone, I feel like you can get some cheap earphones. You know what I mean? Yeah. Like one doesn't.
Starting point is 00:25:01 They're $6.99 at Walgreens. They're not great headphones, but they are better you know what this pair i got literally 10 years ago it fits into my computer they're like they're practically brown i've used them so much like you know what i mean it's like they're just come on my the worst though is when somebody's playing tunes and then they play one you like and you're like oh shit okay you know what i'm not too mad at. And then all your your values go out the window. I kind of needed to hear that right now. I'm sorry. Hey, does anybody have another speaker? You can link to that to get this going. But it is what it is. All right. Let's pay some bills. We'll be right back and of course, lucha libre.
Starting point is 00:25:52 It doesn't get more Mexican than this. Lucha libre is known globally because it is much more than just a sport and much more than just entertainment. Lucha libre is a type of storytelling. It's a dance. It's tradition. It's culture. Lucha Libre is a type of storytelling. It's a dance.
Starting point is 00:26:03 It's tradition. It's culture. This is Lucha Libre Behind the Mask, a 12-episode podcast in both English and Spanish about the history and cultural richness of Lucha Libre. And I'm your host, Santos Escobar, the emperor of Lucha Libre and a WWE superstar. Santos! Santos!
Starting point is 00:26:20 Join me as we learn more about the history behind this spectacular sport from its inception in the United States to how it became a global symbol of Mexican culture. We'll learn more about some of the most iconic heroes in the ring. This is Lucha Libre Behind the Mask. Listen to Lucha Libre Behind the Mask as part of My Cultura Podcast Network on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you stream podcasts. Hello, everyone. I am Lacey Lamar. And I'm Amber Ruffin, a better Lacey Lamar. Boo.
Starting point is 00:26:51 Okay, everybody, we have exciting news to share. We're back with Season 2 of the Amber and Lacey, Lacey and Amber Show on Will Ferrell's Big Money Players Network. You thought you had fun last season? Well, you were right. And you should tune in today for new fun segments like Sister Court and listening to Lacey's steamy DMs. We've got new and exciting guests like Michael Beach, that's my husband, Daphne Spring, Daniel Thrasher, Peppermint, Morgan J, and more. You gotta watch
Starting point is 00:27:19 us. No, you mean you have to listen to us. I mean, you can still watch us, but you gotta listen. Like if you're watching us, you have to tell us. Like if you're out the window, you have to listen to us. I mean, you can still watch us, but you got to listen. Like, if you're watching us, you have to tell us. Like, if you're out the window, you have to say, hey, I'm watching you outside of the window. Just, you know what? Listen to the Amber and Lacey, Lacey and Amber show on Will Ferrell's Big Money Players Network on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. How do you feel about biscuits? Hi, I'm Akilah Hughes, and I'm so excited about my new podcast, Rebel Spirit, where I head back to my hometown in Kentucky and try to convince my high school to change their racist mascot,
Starting point is 00:27:56 the Rebels, into something everyone in the South loves, the biscuits. I was a lady rebel. Like, what does that even mean? I mean, the Boone County Rebels stay the Boone County rebels with the image of... It's right here in black and white in print. They lying. An individual that came to the school saying that God sent him to talk to me about the mascot switch
Starting point is 00:28:16 is a leader. You choose hills that you want to die on. Why would we want to be the losing team? I just take all the other stuff out of it. Segregation academies. When civil rights said that we need to be the losing team? I just take all the other stuff out of it. Segregation academies. When civil rights said that we need to integrate public schools, these charter schools were exempt from that. Bigger than a flag or mascot.
Starting point is 00:28:34 You have to be ready for serious backlash. Listen to Rebel Spirit on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. MTV's official challenge podcast is back for another season. That's right. The Challenge is about to embark on its monumental 40th season, y'all, and we are coming along for the ride. Woohoo!
Starting point is 00:28:56 That would be me, Devin Simone. And then there's me, Davon Rogers. And we're here to take you behind the scenes of, drumroll please. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. The Challenge 40, Battle of the Eras. Yes. Each week, cast members will be joining us to spill all of the tea on the relentless challenges, heartbreaking eliminations, and of course, all the juicy drama.
Starting point is 00:29:17 And let's not forget about the hookups. Anyway, regardless of what era you're rooting for at home, everyone is welcome here on MTV's official challenge podcast. So join us every week as we break down episodes of the Challenge 40 Battle of the Eras. Listen to MTV's official challenge podcast on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. And we're back. So deep breath. breath the climate it's changing i think that's very clear to anyone because you know we're just using our dumb people regular eyes to go yeah something's not right things seem to be getting worse um on monday we saw the release of the report from the united
Starting point is 00:30:04 nations intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the IPCC. So you'll probably be seeing IPCC trending a lot everywhere. And they put together, obviously, one of the most comprehensive studies on the issue. But again, I don't know if that distinction is really that necessary, because most of us are like, yeah, yeah, yeah, I know. We know. What the fuck are we going to do about it, though? Thank you. Thank you so much for the thousands of pages of research we've done that you've done but we also many of us are very concerned the un chief called this a quote code red for humanity which i think can be can't be understated enough and i wish when he said a code red for humanity i wish this was some promo
Starting point is 00:30:41 about a new mountain dew flavor that was coming out, but it's not. It's about that we are in such a bad situation. We need to be thinking existential sirens need to be going off in everyone's minds. And I know many people have been thinking about this, but this is another moment where I think the release of this is timed to happen right before there's a huge international summit on climate happening in Glasgow. So many leaders have to get together and be like, okay, we don't have any more excuses, although I'm sure they'll come up with some. But yeah, I just there's a few things in this that just like sort of the main points. The biggest one is that people not that you and I, but human activity is the sole reason why the climate is changing. There is no other explanation except for the activity of human beings and the industries that are just
Starting point is 00:31:34 massive polluters. So step, let's nail that on. Okay. We've that we can, I think most of us have accepted that. They just say that essentially quote society's reliance on fossil fuels is the reason the planet has already warmed to 1.2 degrees Celsius. Remember that 2 degrees Celsius goal that we were trying to avoid? Right now, their projections are saying we're going to get to 1.5, possibly within the next two decades, even if we radically change things. So to avoid 2 degrees, we have to absolutely get this thing under control the next point which is cutting emissions to zero is the only way we're going to stop this we have to think of a future where we are not like actively emitting carbon dioxide
Starting point is 00:32:20 methane these other gas greenhouse gases So that's the other thing. We have to do that before hopefully 2050, because if not, we could reach a three-degree change by the end of the century. And that would be absolutely, you know, again, catastrophic. Another thing that was from the report, methane is at record levels. It's showing that methane in the atmosphere is skyrocketing and is currently the highest it's been in 800,000 years, largely because a combination of natural gas leaks and unsustainable agriculture and cattle farming. So this is another thing to put on our minds. I know many people, we've talked about this
Starting point is 00:33:03 a lot, and most people have heard that shifting away from sort of meat, especially red meat, and towards like plant based diets will help a lot or and also just finding a way to sustainably raise cattle is another huge thing. Like there are restorative ways to raise these animals. But that needs to become the norm. If we're going to sort of begin to even picture how we navigate this without sort of major changes to, you know, culturally the way that we eat and things like that. Extreme weather will persist. That is just the one thing they said. We have passed P-A-S-S-E-D, the point where we can actually do anything to reverse what we're seeing now. The only things we can do are to mitigate just how frequently we're going to experience these things.
Starting point is 00:33:49 So, again, I'm going to be talking for a while and I hate to bring people down, but this is what I just want to make sure is crystal clear before we start joking for our own, to soothe our own wounds. Just so for an example, with heat waves, at two degrees warming, if we get to that two degrees Celsius change, this frequency increases to 14 times as likely to occur. So what we saw in the Pacific Northwest in Canada that took all those people lives, that will become 14 times as likely to occur. Heat waves are just going to get hotter. And again, with two degrees
Starting point is 00:34:21 of warming, the hottest temperatures could go around five degrees Fahrenheit higher than even previous heat waves were. So you think you thought 120 was bad? How about 125? You thought 115 was bad? How about 120? These are these are the things we're talking about. Droughts. If warming continues to the two degree point, these droughts will occur like we're seeing in the Western United States between two and three times as often rather than something that would happen, you know, over maybe once every couple decades or once a decade have a drought like that. Flooding, again, it's going to intensify because the water cycle on both sides, which means more intense evaporation will lead to more drought. But because the air is hotter, it can hold more water vapor to produce just extreme rainfall.
Starting point is 00:35:09 We saw the floods in Germany and Western Europe. We saw what happened in China. Many people lost their lives because suddenly we had these just catastrophic downpours. And again, those are increasing about 30% in terms of their frequency. Hurricanes are also going to grow stronger. We already know that. We're seeing that. Sea level rise is rising around the world, and the rate is increasing.
Starting point is 00:35:32 The worsening high tide and flooding and storm surges are going to continue. By 2100, once-in-a-century coastal flood events will occur at least once a year. Oh. Okay. At least once a year. Oh. Okay? Uh-huh. At least once a year. And then other things like weather whiplash. Let's just throw that one on there for just if you needed another thing to be worried about.
Starting point is 00:35:53 What in the goddamn? This is when we go from super hot and then suddenly super hot and dry to just suddenly very wet. This is kind of like you saw this in California. There are these things called atmospheric rivers that were causing these like really bad floods so all again take a deep breath y'all there's we're really truly past this point where i'm i remember as a kid in like the 90s and it was like we gotta do save the planet i was always like man i get it we got time but yeah we really got to do some of that shit. Even fucking four years ago, I was like, we got time because it felt like that was the tone of our leadership. And I think for me personally, and I think most human beings, you have to compartmentalize on some level because you don't want to acknowledge how dire the situation is on the planet. And you don't want to think, it's overwhelming to think, we have to cut all the emissions to zero eventually to even navigate this thing?
Starting point is 00:36:50 Miles, it is overwhelming. And also it isn't, it's mostly frustrating, right? Because we know that on an individual level, you could be the most like sustainable human being on the planet, right? And you're not going to make a dent in the problem. And we understand fully that we have to charge corporations on the planet right and you're not going to make a dent in the problem and we understand fully that
Starting point is 00:37:06 we have to charge corporations on the whole to make these overall changes from the meat industry to every industry that uses any kind of plastic like it's it's like our federal government has the power to be like yeah you can't sell this shit here anymore it's literally destroying our planet and they just don't we understand for a fact that the coal and oil companies were like uh yeah we know you could have had an electric car in the 90s but we didn't like that shit so we we cut that out real fast we understand electric cars are not even to the full extent of like bringing us down to zero emissions because their factories create a ton of emissions like it is such a large scale problem that could, I don't want to say easily be solved,
Starting point is 00:37:46 but there's so many things we could easily do to make larger dents in this. And what's most frustrating is that scientists are now have this like giant force of people just being like, we're just choosing not to believe anything you say. We just choose of our own volition to ignore like sound science. So at this point i don't know
Starting point is 00:38:08 like it scares me because i believe in science but there's so many people who are like the earth just changes this is god what can we do it's over like you know people die whatever i just at this point i'm caught between like really pressuring politicians who make active legal changes so that at least, you know, our country who we are a huge part of the problem can start making a drastic change. And throwing my hands up and being like, well, I had a pretty good life. I'm not going to bring children in this world. And the human race will be over by 2050. And maybe that's a blessing. Maybe.
Starting point is 00:38:42 Maybe it's what we deserve. I'll die as the fires can right before they consume me and i'll be like it was good at least i didn't get those emissions into my body behind yeah absolutely yeah it's it's it's understandable i mean it's so overwhelming i it's it it almost is like my first thought is like, I just go into absolute panic, you know, like you just go into absolute panic and then you're like, OK, how do you chunk it down? How do you simplify something and start with like small steps? But then it feels like we're so far past that. Yeah. And then, you know, I always come back to like, well, this isn't going to change because everyone is thinking, well, how does climate change affect me making money? Right.
Starting point is 00:39:33 It always just comes back to, well, you know, it's just how much money can I lose? How much money can I get? Like, it's just money, money, money, money. The only piece of mine is like that it's a global problem, you know, because if it was just a U.S. problem, we're not. I just don't believe and I just don't believe you can't even convince a person to take a vaccine in a pandemic. You're going to have them try to, like, lower the admission. You know what I mean? Like, and it's like, oh, it's God's will. It's blah, blah, blah. So I don't know. I mean, the only trust I have right now is like, if everyone globally, like these, these summits and stuff, maybe. Yeah. I really were. I really like, yeah, I'm not having kids. I don't believe in religion. There is no God. Like, so I feel like,
Starting point is 00:40:22 okay, you know, but like, then you just look at like, how about all these people that have children? Like, how about all these kids that like, how about all these parents? Like, you're the head of a company, you're in charge of all this garbage going up in the air. Like, how do you not have just a moment of pause be like, how can I leave the world a better place? I mean, I think because they've had their wealth has afforded them the privilege of being insulated from many different things that are destabilizing. Well, your grandchild is going to burn in the heat of the sun, Daryl. Well, I'm actually working on a spaceship with some other
Starting point is 00:40:57 billionaires. We're going to be off on another planet. They'll be fucking in space while you guys are crying on Earth, okay? My one sliver of hope is that we were able to do something about acid rain in the 70s when it was very potentially like i mean we're melting statues and corroding buildings and like people were like this is really awful we have to do something and then they were like get rid of that aerosol like cap it can't be done obviously this is a much larger problem but i
Starting point is 00:41:25 feel like uh as a human race we tend to wait until the bit we're like now no we got a few more years yeah you always think you need more time can you imagine if we told everyone like be a vegetarian and carpool for like five years if everyone right now didn't have like, just, just small things on an individual level, you could do. Don't buy your fifth car. Can I swear on this show?
Starting point is 00:41:52 Yeah. You fucking gross Range Rover piece of shit. I'm not, I'm just saying like, if everyone bought one less car and just car, just literally, if you just said carpool and eat more vegetables. But Aaron, I don't want to listen to Becky's music on the way to work. I need my own car. And just literally, if you just said carpool and eat more vegetables.
Starting point is 00:42:08 But Aaron, I don't want to listen to Becky's music on the way to work. I need my own car. Yeah, right. Just think of what we could do. Just think of what we could do if everyone just sacrificed just a little. Just a little. But I think that's where the tough part comes in, right? Because we're sort of looking at a system because unfortunately these issues have to be solved legislatively.
Starting point is 00:42:28 Like it's a political solution. No one will give up their eighth car or their triple hamburger. And you're looking at that and going, well, that ain't gonna fucking work. So now it's like, well, what can we do? And that is, I think, absolutely something that we all need to think more consciously about.
Starting point is 00:42:43 But with the fact that we don't even have the kind of, you know, intense pressure coming from government to go after, like, you know, it's just, just think of like all these infinite growth economies that we have, where it's all about infinite growth. And it's never about like, yeah, to a point, because then once you start growing infinitely, that starts hollowing out a bunch of other shit and only, you know, contributes more to the problem. It's so easy to just sort of be like, well, fuck it. They're not going to do anything. And that's what I think is another thing to point out.
Starting point is 00:43:13 Because the Senate has an infrastructure bill. They put it in a bipartisan infrastructure deal first. And they said, OK, we're close to getting it solved. But that's not even coming close to solving any sort of climate issues in a substantive way. It's more about physics. This bill that they're on the verge of passing is more about physical infrastructure, like roads and like broadband and places they need it, which are admirable pursuits. And I understand those improvements are necessary. But the real hope is going to lie with like this other three and a half trillion dollar budget reconciliation
Starting point is 00:43:43 bill that they're also talking about hopefully passing but again you look at how senators are bristling over the price tag and it puts you again back in the place you're like oh my fuck are we gonna do because two people like well it seems like too much money and this is an individual this is a society built on individual success you know individual wealth horatio alger just pull yourself up just put on bootstraps you can do it even there it's you you you you know what i mean like i i just i have the wind is out of my sails because literally based on everything before but really the pandemic how you we can't even come together in an immediate national and global crisis.
Starting point is 00:44:28 Right. We can't even come together to wear a fucking mask. I'm not even talking about the vaccine. So now now we're going to. Oh, you know what you should do to help the planet? Is that I mean, yeah. Imagine telling someone who's not wearing a mask or getting a vaccine to be like, you can't eat beef. They'd be like, yeah, right.
Starting point is 00:44:48 They're just going to shoot you in the face. Yeah. And I think some people say that to Texans and like, obviously not all Texans, but there's definitely certain Texans who are like, take away. I have steak every night for dinner. How dare you? Right. My colon deserves to deteriorate. That's my God given.
Starting point is 00:45:03 Right. And I think and i get it you know everyone is sort of dealing with this in their own human fucked up way because you again you sort of look at just in general right we we have all these little culture war battles that we do that really in a lot of instances like we're so focused on a lot of smaller things because it's a distraction from climate change. Like if you really think about one of the most pressing issues that we face on this planet as an entire fucking globe, right? It's that the earth could be uninhabitable in certain places. It should be number one.
Starting point is 00:45:39 How do you, what do you, you want to start a small business? Where? In the sea of fire? Well, it's my right it's my right to prove someone doesn't have a vaccine as a business was like uh zoom out a bit sir zoom out zoom out a little bit and that's a great expression you know politicians they're running campaigns based on safety you know the rule of law and like you know you see a lot of people complaining like they're like people are peeing in the streets and like there's chaos and all this other stuff it seems like we've
Starting point is 00:46:08 substituted a lot of these smaller issues for really all of the sort of focus that climate change can take up but this is a natural phenomenon because we're overwhelmed we can't we feel completely powerless to this thing that feels like such a sincere and intense existential threat that's like fuck it man like i can't even like let's fucking argue about like if rats have empathy or something like that and just do that obviously they don't i mean have you met any of them well there was an interesting study about that actually that they sometimes do but they sometimes realize they have to keep going on like there was a study about like rats seeing each other in cages anyway that's you mean like ratatouille kind of um but then we also go along and like accuse like this like idea of chaos like
Starting point is 00:46:56 you know the phil you know joe biden has said if we if we you know end the filibuster or amend it it could be chaos it could be chaos chaos for people. It's not acknowledging the chaos that exists now. It's not acknowledging the chaos that will come when we have no rules around how we vote. And there is no way to control Republican held districts from just overturning election results or the fact that we'll just let the earth burn just right in front of our eyes. It's just like Pelosi complaining about the fact that like oh well you know some people may not want to pay other people's student loans what if you are this is things that we have been doing for forever it's the point of being in a society is that we make sure that we're all pretty good and then if you get like independently good great
Starting point is 00:47:38 for you but like the goal of society should be to make sure that most of us are okay and it's it's mind-blowing the way a lot of people are like well what if we hurt someone's feelings or what if someone just doesn't want to do that sometimes you gotta do stuff you don't want to do like i don't understand the the inability to just be like listen this is the highest good and we need to move in that direction imagine this right y'all have been at jobs you're about to quit right sure imagine the biggest fucking project shows up at this company at the company you work at and you're already like i'm out this motherfucker bro like the second i get my i'm out
Starting point is 00:48:11 this but think of how old some of these people are in leadership they're in the same fucking place in their careers they're like i'm out this motherfucker you kidding me i can't deal with all this shit and now you got climate change they don't have the will to fucking address this in any way that is substantive it's like the same energy we're relying on people who have one foot out the fucking door and one foot in the grave to fucking solve a thing yelled at the kids for talking to her about climate change and she was like pick one it happened like 40 years ago like girl scouts came to her office like hey we really want to was it feinstein i think so they were like we really want to push you to like make changes on climate change she's like
Starting point is 00:48:48 you don't get to come in here and make demands of me children it was like that's literally their planet we said we're dying about we're going to die if you just sit there yeah and i get it it all comes together to we this omni crisis that i think humans are facing and to your point aaron like why this idea of having your shit together that seems like the last thing you can do when we truly you'd hope that the focus can be on pressuring leadership to do the right thing and we'll see what happens i mean they're gonna have this meeting in glasgow and if you're in europe or you're a leader of you know you see what's happening in the mediterranean and turkey and greece it's on fire right now there's a video clip of people fleeing this fire in this lake in
Starting point is 00:49:29 Greece. And it looked like some straight up 2012 shit. They were like on a ferry and like the flames are just like coming. Like it just engulfed this entire hillside. And you're like, yeah. Yeah. I don't know. Everything should come to a halt right now. And our only priority should be climate change until you just feel like all these people in charge. And I'm putting Republicans and Democrats all under the bus here because it's be like, if we don't have a plan, none of this matters. I don't understand. Unless they're directly impacted, unless they go back to their house after a vote and there's a ring of fire or they're in a sinkhole, it feels like nothing will get through to them. It has to directly impact them or their pocketbook. That's it. It has to directly impact them or their pocketbook.
Starting point is 00:50:24 Like, that's it. So, I mean, I think most that's what's funny is like most people seem to see the effects that are happening around them. It'll be another to then wait and see how we legislate our way out of this. Or, you know, like what happens because there is a world where we do nothing and we still have very rigid borders and you will see people in mass migrate to escape climate change and then you will see real conflicts pop up around the world over resources that are going to be solved with armed with arms it's gonna happen here yeah already happening i mean it's already happening it's like people are gonna be like okay i'm gonna go to New England.
Starting point is 00:51:07 You know what I mean? Right now, that's almost the most moderate as I grew up. It's going to be like people crossing the border into Rhode Island and Connecticut in 40 years. Armed people. It's literally
Starting point is 00:51:22 going to happen within our states. I think that's the thing. While many people just know, what are we going to do about it? We have to you have to really sort of think holistically about what this all means, like to be on this course and how it will inspire other people and affect other people in their movement and just natural or innate habits or just our will as human beings to survive. And that's going to be to go to where we're safe, where we find that we know there are resources. This is Lord of the Flies. I mean, it all comes back to piggy piggy. Right. And the clock is ticking, but there is, you know, their whole thing was, yes, it's bad.
Starting point is 00:52:01 And there are things that cannot be reversed, but we can do a hell of a lot to actually change it so you don't want to get fully black billed here and say like well it's the jig is completely up not yet but we've definitely but we're at the point where like we done burnt one side of the toast so you don't want to burn the other side and then it's all fucked up unplug the toaster people please or at least step away from the toaster all right let's let's take a quick break pay some bills and we'll talk about something a little more fun after this how do you feel about biscuits? Hi, I'm Akilah Hughes, and I'm so excited about my new podcast, Rebel Spirit,
Starting point is 00:52:54 where I head back to my hometown in Kentucky and try to convince my high school to change their racist mascot, the Rebels, into something everyone in the South loves, the biscuits. I was a lady rebel. Like, what does that even mean? The Boone County Rebels will stay the Boone County Rebels with the image. It's right here in black and white and prints. They lion. Individual that came to the school saying that God sent him to talk to me about the mascot switch is a leader. You choose hills that you want to die on. Why would we want to be the losing team? I just take all the other stuff out of it. Segregation academies. When civil rights said that we need to integrate public schools,
Starting point is 00:53:30 these charter schools were exempt from that. Bigger than a flag or mascot. You have to be ready for serious backlash. Listen to Rebel Spirit on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. When you think of Mexican culture, you think of avocado, mariachi, delicious cuisine, you get your podcasts. of storytelling. It's a dance. It's tradition. It's culture. This is Lucha Libre Behind the Mask, a 12-episode podcast in both English and Spanish about the history and cultural richness of Lucha Libre. And I'm your host, Santos Escobar, the emperor of Lucha Libre and a WWE superstar.
Starting point is 00:54:19 Join me as we learn more about the history behind this spectacular sport from its inception in the United States to how it became a global symbol of Mexican culture. We'll learn more about the history behind this spectacular sport from its inception in the United States to how it became a global symbol of Mexican culture. We'll learn more about some of the most iconic heroes in the ring. This is Lucha Libre Behind the Mask. Listen to Lucha Libre Behind the Mask as part of My Cultura Podcast Network on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you stream podcasts. Hello, everyone. I am Lacey Lamar. And I'm Amber Ruffin, a better Lacey Lamar. your app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you were right. And you should tune in today for new fun segments like Sister Court and listening to Lacey's steamy DMs. We've got new and exciting guests like Michael Beach. That's my husband.
Starting point is 00:55:11 Daphne Spring. Daniel Thrasher. Peppermint. Morgan J. And more. You got to watch us. No, you mean you have to listen to us. I mean, you can still watch us, but you got to listen.
Starting point is 00:55:23 Like, if you're watching us, you have to tell us. Like, if you're out the window, you have to say, hey, I'm watching you outside of the window. Just, you know what? Listen to the Amber and Lacey, Lacey and Amber show on Will Ferrell's Big Money Players Network, on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Starting point is 00:55:43 MTV's official challenge podcast is back for another season. That's right. The challenge is about to embark on its monumental 40th season, y'all. And we are coming along for the ride. Woo-hoo! That would be me, Devin Simone. And then there's me, Davon Rogers. And we're here to take you behind the scenes of, drumroll please.
Starting point is 00:56:03 No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. The Challenge 40, Battle of drumroll please. The Challenge 40 Battle of the Eras. Each week, cast members will be joining us to spill all of the tea on the relentless challenges, heartbreaking eliminations, and of course, all the juicy drama. And let's not forget about
Starting point is 00:56:18 the hookups. Anyway, regardless of what era you're rooting for at home, everyone is welcome here on MTV's official challenge podcast. So join us every week as we break down episodes of the Challenge 40 Battle of the Eras. Listen to MTV's official challenge
Starting point is 00:56:34 podcast on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And we're back. That was hefty. Hey, but look, we're back that was hefty wow that was hefty hey but look we're doing what we can't and it's tough oh one other thing i just wanted to add about that climate change thing was like also the way our media reports it really difficult for the media to report it properly one because mainstream media is you know a lot of the first thing, a lot of journalists don't have the bandwidth or the expertise to pour through a legislative bill and say, how much money for this?
Starting point is 00:57:12 And then be able to extrapolate a dollar amount and then say, wow, 50 billion towards solar is actually nothing at all. You know, because we're sort of caught up in this thing of saying like, oh, wow, this much for this? That's good. This much for that? That's good. caught up in this thing of saying like, oh, wow, this much for this. That's good. This much for that. That's good. But we don't it's it's seldom are we getting the real kind of hard scientific
Starting point is 00:57:30 analysis on like what these numbers actually mean? Because, again, when you're like a journalist and maybe the New York Times, you need to maintain relationships with politicians. So going back and be like ripping up their, you know, through commentary what their bills actually do or don't do might not be a great tactic. So and for the reader. Yeah. Miles. And for the reader. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:57:52 Like these numbers get so large, they become meaningless. Yeah. All I can get my hand around is like if I see a hundred dollar bill, I'm like, oh, that looks good. Oh, yeah. Then it gets into crazy land. Twenty seven gazillion for solar. Sounds great. I have no idea what that means. Billion. I don't know what that like, you know what I mean? It's just bananas numbers. They add zeros and then they all go, this is great.
Starting point is 00:58:18 No idea. And I feel like I'm an informed person and I have no idea. Right. And then we're forced to having to like really look for that scientific analysis i mean it's out there but at the same time they're not getting the same platform like on tv or whatever because it seems like a lot of the time they they'll say it's alarm like it's being alarmist or whatever it's like dude we're past like this is a lot this is the definition of alarmist. This is it. This is the alarm. This is the bell. This is get under your desks.
Starting point is 00:58:52 This is, come on. Yeah. No more bullshitting ourselves. Okay. Let's just move on to some people who might be bullshitting themselves, nursing their egoic wounds. themselves, nursing their egoic wounds. Because at the end of last week, we found out, you know, Barack Obama, he's having his 60th birthday at Martha's Vineyard and had to significantly downsize the guest list. Now that was painful.
Starting point is 00:59:13 To only close friends and family. But it seemed like there was, it seemed still like it was popping off. Of course it was. But, you know, apparently Beyonce and Jigga, jay-z they are close friends and family as of many other celebrities yeah but others weren't so lucky like david axelrod david letterman conan o'brien and larry and larry david just to name a few all the comics people are okay listen if but if you're having a birthday party right yeah you want beyonce there like that just makes sense beyonce was on our guest list and she showed up she sometimes doesn't show up to the grammys frequently late okay right but she showed up that
Starting point is 00:59:58 makes sense to me david letterman's gonna be asleep by nine he's not interested he's done it's fine i'm sure david was like oh God. I didn't really want to vote anyway. I don't... Conan is probably hurt. I'm not going to lie. Conan's like, I can hang. I'm in there. I'm a fun guy. I feel like Larry David was also like, meh. In his classic gift mode.
Starting point is 01:00:18 That's what's funny because every sort of comedic take on the internet was just sort of like, this feels like a Curb episode where Larry David is invited to Obama's birthday and then not invited and then whatever he does after that i'm not i'm trying to figure out how the premise would go in an actual curb episode if it's that you know like one thing would be that like if covid wasn't a thing and that wasn't the reason for him being disinvited it's because like he get like he'd probably be talking up like a beautiful woman because it's single
Starting point is 01:00:46 Larry. And he's like, you know, we can go to Obama's birthday. And they go out to Martha's Vineyard. And then at the door, they're like, sorry, Mr. David, we can't let you in. And he's like, but I'm on the list. And it's like, and then they find out it's like something he said in the past that like pissed off the Obamas or whatever. And he's like, or I don't know.
Starting point is 01:01:03 That's an easy cross out for me. And I probably honestly behind the scenes was a very easy cross out. I mean, this is like your last breath dying words. You don't disinvite Beyonce. You don't have a party without Beyonce. When you're on the dance floor, do you want David Letterman? Good God, no. You need to start.
Starting point is 01:01:25 I mean, Beyonce is like the ultimate guest to literally anything. Old white male comics. More than Barack Obama, even. You'd be like, Obama came to my birthday. You'd be like, oh, okay, that's cool. It was like Beyonce. You know what I mean? Oh, my God.
Starting point is 01:01:41 How do you pull that one? I mean, there's no, this is the easiest cross out. You just mentioned four dudes where you're like, yeah, nice to have. Conan's the shining star out of all of them. But I mean, you take out 20 before, you take out literally 70% of the guest list before you disinvite Beyonce. Yeah. Jay-Z comes along great, but I'm really only concerned about Beyonce. My mother might not make it to my party if I'm like, Beyoncece mom i don't know maybe yeah come on i mean i have to i hate to do this but
Starting point is 01:02:11 you get it right you get it i'll photoshop you into the pics i'll photoshop you into the pics but you know you look at oprah and avra duvernay they also they said no actually we're not going to go because delta we're like we're we thank you so much if you come to her house and you are vaccinated you must still do a minimum of a five-day quarantine before you can enter her main domicile she was like i'm not she is not playing around with this virus okay she said it's not gonna catch me in my hawaiian lair okay i'm sitting here you're not she's like, Beyonce and, and, and. It was so funny because Gail asked Oprah.
Starting point is 01:02:47 She was like, Oprah, you know I'm vaccinated. So you're saying if I came, I still have to quarantine? She's like, not if you flew in a private jet. Gail said, girl, you know I don't always fly that way. And I said, this is the wildest rich people conversation I have ever heard. Right. That's hilarious. You don't fly a private earth fucker jet?
Starting point is 01:03:06 Oh, okay. Well, then, yeah, you're going to have to quarantine. Is the part of the quarantine just rolling around in bags of cash for five days? It definitely is. Yeah. Please wash the poor stink off of you with these money bags. Just take all these. We don't have hand towels.
Starting point is 01:03:24 We just have just $ hundred dollar bills that you just wipe your face with yeah and she'll know she'll know she can smell it on people please use this oh peri it's a shredded dollar bill just bags oh cash i want to say i would be better in her position but i have no idea yeah right i i hear it i mean that's but the thing is i would i would still like to get invited i'll do all of that to go to a priest she's like i'm not that man elected i'm not worried about it he'll call me tomorrow yeah yeah she's like i'll dance with him another time and she's like honestly that's the thing that was the party for the press to think that he had the real one happened in this other look you guys truly yeah know. Yeah. It was in an underground bunker in the fucking Adirondacks.
Starting point is 01:04:07 Yeah. You had to. And all of Destiny's Child was there. So, I mean, come on. They reunited. You know, they reunited. All right. And then finally, Joelle, what's happening in the movie world?
Starting point is 01:04:20 Because as I told you, I am woefully out of touch. Like, whoa. Black Rock, rest in peace, whoa. in the movie world because as i told you i am woefully out of touch like whoa black rock rest in peace whoa here's your where your your political money knowledge is gonna come in here and help me because i know about the movies but i have we're having to be asked big questions the film industry right now okay so suicide squad some people are calling it two but it's actually titled the suicide squad came out over the weekend. HBO Max decided to launch it both in theaters. Yes.
Starting point is 01:04:48 You said it's not Suicide Squad because James Gunn directed this one, right? I know this much. He did this one, and they are treating it as not a piece that actually works with the first one. That's why they changed it to... This is part of some of the confusion, right? Okay. They released it on both platforms and there's a lot of concern about like why didn't this movie do well right it did fine right it
Starting point is 01:05:13 made some i think it did 26.5 million domestic and 72.2 million worldwide which is you i think the goal post was like 30 30 million was benchmark for like, this is an okay weekend opener. There's a lot of speculation about what happened. Some people think it's this title situation. Even my roommate even asked me, is this a sequel? Technically, it is a sequel. It's all the same, like, main player characters. Amanda Waller, played by Viola Davis, is still there.
Starting point is 01:05:39 You have Margot Robbie's Harley Quinn is still there. But the Joker isn't there and Will Smith isn't there, right? B.S. Hartley Quinn is still there. But the Joker isn't there and Will Smith isn't there. Right? But if you're familiar with the comic and the context of these characters, that's what Suicide Squad is. It's, hey, some supervillains on death row. We're going to bring you in, put you out on a possible mission.
Starting point is 01:05:58 You may die if you come back. We'll take some years off your sentence. You may have to go back out in the field again. If it's not a sequel and it doesn't have the star, there's a lot of conversations oh well will smith wasn't it so people didn't want to see it i am not convinced like post 2013 that star power is a thing anymore with the advent of the internet and specifically social media we have a lot of different things that qualify as a star now will smith is obviously iconic giant i'm not trying to take anything away from him but i don't know like his last couple of movies not all have performed will smith levels of great i don't think that him not being there it's the case especially when you
Starting point is 01:06:33 have somebody like idris elba who maybe isn't the box office sensation that will smith is but trends reasonably well and i think bring does bring certain gravitas to films and puts butts in seats there's also the concern people were questioning you know is it because of covid i think covid has a big impact but because it didn't make as much as say a space jam a new legacy which did cross that 30 million to 31 million or jungle cruise 35 million like what couldn't be covid but it's rated r there's so many like factors that go into like why didn't this movie make a lot of money but it's rated R. There's so many factors that go into why didn't this movie make a lot of money? But what's really upsetting to me is that a lot of people are suggesting
Starting point is 01:07:10 that nobody wanted to see it, period. And I just don't think that's the case. I think they made a huge gamble going with an R-rated film. We know PG-13s will always make more money because teenagers will go out and see it. They have a lot of disposable cash, blah, blah, blah. I think that this this movie is you can't even argue it's so much
Starting point is 01:07:29 better than the original one leaps and bounds better mostly because uh warner brothers didn't decide to do a re-edit based off of an ad because people had good reactions to it like gun like really held it down it's super violent it's absolutely like digs into the essential of these characters and evolves them i think that there's a lot to love about this but i do wonder like a lot of people think like oh well it's not successful or this is a failure it has not yet made its money back i think this movie had a budget of 120 107 million something that a lot a lot of money went into making this movie. Which if you compare it to similar movies.
Starting point is 01:08:08 Deadpool 2 was made for $110. Logan was made for $97. Joker was made for $65 million. The last two are R-rated movies. They made a lot of money back. Some people thought it was like. Oh this is too much money to spend on an R-rated film. I think DC is doing the only thing it can do especially
Starting point is 01:08:25 when it's up against a giant like like it's dc and marvel period when it comes to comics there's a ton of other comic book companies but those are the two major ones and warner brothers has to do something to pull out ahead and try to be competitive with marvel it's like their only goal it's the only thing that makes sense to them right to lean into an r-rated market when it's something disney absolutely will not do with their main brand is the only thing that makes sense and if you're going to make content that good in the 90s this is a smash hit because it's going to keep running in theaters people are gonna be like oh god i have to see that i right i'm not going to a theater right now but i want to see it in theaters it's so good i've already seen it twice would
Starting point is 01:09:02 absolutely have paid for the privilege on hbo max to view it it is a really really solid film with some haywire stuff in the end but for the most part really enjoyable film good action great performers like you've never had viola davis and idris elba go toe to toe but in this movie they do and it's exciting and it's fun i think this is a smart move i think that we as a community film folks have to have to have to get back into the idea of like let a movie breathe a movie should not be the lifetime of the movie should not exist based off of its opening weekend numbers i think yeah if we look back we just watched um this whole behind the scenes things on pretty woman pretty woman ran for like a year and a half in theaters and i know we don't live in that world anymore but i wish we had found a way to like look beyond just what how much money did this movie make as far as like is this
Starting point is 01:09:54 successful and will this look there's people being like heads are about to roll in dc so many people are gonna get fired i was like but for what for making a solid movie that maybe hasn't quite found its audience yet because we use this very messed up lens to quantify success right now. And I think especially in the 80s and 90s when marketing people started taking over development at the studios, they completely changed the emphasis of what a film that should be made is. Because they're like, well, get the numbers marketing people in here. Because we just got to get stuff that does well. Let's not take risks and make fun things.
Starting point is 01:10:31 Let's just get nailed on after nailed on hit. And at the expense of giving people the freedom to like ideate or experiment and things like that. And so, yeah, I don't know if it's like what makes it as 26.5 million because I didn't get to 30 that it fell like under 4 million short. People need to calm down for God's sakes. It's opening weekend. In the middle of a pandemic. In the middle.
Starting point is 01:10:54 And also with all the streamers and then right. We're not going to know numbers and this whole definition of success. This whole model's changed. Everything. Throw the books nobody nobody everyone just has to be like this is how it's done so if it doesn't hit 89 million is you know i mean stupid whatever the movie's gonna be fine the movie's gonna be fine i just think that like for me this is indicative of such a much larger problem within the film industry which is we're no longer
Starting point is 01:11:21 interested in making middle movies right it's blockbusters or bus and i think that's a really bad it's a it's a bad call for movies because then you're relying very specifically on star power alone which doesn't allow you to develop new talent at all and so what ends up happening is you get a lot of indie guys who've made a small film that did well at a film festival get pulled up into the stratosphere of doing a hundred million dollar box office sensation that they don't have any idea how to run or operate or direct because they're going from maybe they had 65 000 to make a film to now they have 100 million they've got two separate crews shooting around the clock it's just it's not as far as like creating developing talent a sufficient
Starting point is 01:12:01 model moving forward and i do think that if we don't take some time to like find that middle ground and find and create movies that like really i i feel like tug of the heartstrings and become these like indemnable classics that we truly love i mean you can look at things like a kramer versus kramer like all of these different kinds of movies that have you know young star talent young directors and writers who are sort of just working on their craft and who want to tell something that isn't about appealing to the widest demographic, but is a story that is personal to them. That can't just stay in the indies, or it shouldn't. I just think that there has to be space for that at these larger places. And I think that while
Starting point is 01:12:40 Suicide Squad was never going to be that, because I mean, it's got all of the superstars. I think when we can't even allow a movie like this to do OK instead of great, then that definitely doesn't leave any hope for the rest of these films that, you know, I think we should be making. And even last week when we were talking or I think the day maybe yesterday when we were just talking about how this even affects like black filmmakers, too. how this even affects like black filmmakers too. When you're, you're focused on this like sink or swim model and it has to be just, just buku bucks out the gate. And especially when it comes to, you know, black writer,
Starting point is 01:13:13 director, whatever, trying to get their foot in the door. If it's not there, then boom, that immediately evaporates because we're so over leveraged on this idea of like immediate success. Like we have to do numbers.
Starting point is 01:13:22 Like we've got, we've got to tell people what we've earned this quarter type things and we've lost. Isn't the middle ground though, couldn't it be more like when this whole new model of releasing a movie on HBO Max or Hulu at the same time as theater,
Starting point is 01:13:39 does that take some of the pressure off? If it's a lower budget or middle movie? No, no, no. I'm sorry. I didn't ask that right. I meant your point, which I think is a really great point of just it has to be this blow up. It has to be so huge.
Starting point is 01:13:54 Is there a model where all these movies that have to be so big and so huge, there's a different model now of success in the theater versus maybe the smaller movies will gain traction of just a release on Hulu and a release on HBO and a release on Netflix. The problem is we're still working out contractually how to make sure everyone gets paid in a way that's fair and equitable, right? So Scarlett Johansson just had to sue Disney and, you know, no love lost between me and Scarlett Johansson, but I still hope she wins her suit because in her original contract, it was based off of ticket sales, right? When she's suing for it. Pre-pandemic realities.
Starting point is 01:14:30 Right, right, right. And, you know, very well documented. Her lawyers and her team was like, yo, if you guys want to release on streaming, that's fine. But we need to renegotiate what her back-end sales looks like, right? And this is a problem that's happening all over the place there's a really great article just came out this morning about uh comic book creators who are maybe maybe seeing five thousand dollar checks from these movies based off characters that the whole clock came from their head right and so the the issue then becomes like if if you're putting these smaller movies on streaming and they go, well, we didn't make any ticket sales off that. So you're not getting jacked.
Starting point is 01:15:06 You know, we understand like in order to for again, for a lot of black folks, you have to create your own production company in order to get any kind of good content out there. Viola Davis has had to do it. Ava DuVernay has her own production company. Even the little girl from Black-ish, I don't know, created like a 13-year-old mogul, created her own production company. Thunder Rhymes. Yeah. Yeah, exactly. Yarsha mogul. Created her own production company. Thunder Rhymes. Yeah. Yeah, exactly. Yarsha.
Starting point is 01:15:26 Edie had to make her own too. Yeah. There's a necessity in developing your own space so that it's easier to say yes or no. You're putting up a little bit of capital. But the hope is then that you're getting some of that back in the back end. And the only way we've done that so far is through ticket sales. And so I'm just not sure if relegating smaller films strictly to streaming is going to solve or exacerbate that problem gotcha my hope is that
Starting point is 01:15:51 you know we find a way because i don't think the streaming model is going anywhere people like watching films from home and unlike previous years people have whole movie theaters in their house right projectors and you know whatever couch sometimes they actually have the reclining chairs like whatever it is people are comfortable watching movies in their house right projectors and you know whatever couch sometimes they actually have the reclining chairs like whatever it is people are comfortable watching movies in their house and it's less expensive i i just think what i thought for a while is that what's going to continue to do well in movie theaters are event movies suicide squad is absolutely a movie i want to see in theaters because it's so freaking big and loud and and there's something to watching like those like event movies and horror movies are better in an audience than they'll ever be at your house
Starting point is 01:16:28 right a scare is not as scary yeah by yourself when there's 60 people oh god no that's worse you're like i'll turn off it's totally worse oh shit i'm like no no i'm off but then you're in the ride together and it's like a very visceral as close to like theatrical theater as you can get right and that's what makes movies great is there's this opportunity to expand theater to places that don't typically have theater right it's just like it's just fun the joy of going to a movie theater yeah yeah there's something so great about the community of theater and movie goers that i genuinely don't want to lose but there's also something so great about the community of theater and movie goers that i genuinely don't want to lose but there's also something so great about film and theater creators that i i really i just want to see them be able to do well and maybe the answer will be more like arc light and uh
Starting point is 01:17:14 crap what's the austin texas movie house the alamo the draft house yeah more like if alamo post pandemic they've got a pretty solid plan post-pandemic to roll out a bunch of new movie theaters across the country. If theaters like that who really, really love cinema, the artsy aspect of it, the weird, the different can come along. And then, you know, your standard AMCs can continue to do big budget things. I would really like to see that. And then maybe there would be like a ticket price disparity between those two. I'm not 100%. I'm not. I don't the the money science math stuff but i i think that there
Starting point is 01:17:49 might be a way forward in that because little movies they deserve respect too yeah absolutely suicide squad was great it was what it needed to be we deserve adult content damn it not everything needs to be pg-13 okay thank you. We deserve adult content. Damn it. I want to see a shark rip a man in half. It's all I'm asking for. And it's great. And you do. And you get that. And you shall receive. Well, thank you so much, Aaron, Joelle, for joining me today on this journey. Aaron, where can people find you and follow you and hear you, see you, listen to you? And what's a tweet that you've been liking recently? Well, I'll be crying in the corner
Starting point is 01:18:29 about the environment. And then I'm going to continue to not eat meat. You're welcome, globe. Erin K. Foley, there's all kinds of informations and then you, informations, we're information, shows, and then you can link to podcasts, socials, whatever. Erin K. Foley. That's too much information. A tweet real quick. I was trolling on the Twitter and Jackie Hoffman is one of my all time favorite comedians and actresses. She's just a basically, you know, poster child for how wonderful New York City is.
Starting point is 01:19:02 She tweeted this. Can we get the romantic part of this marriage over with so I can tell you about the diseases I think I have? That brought such joy to me this morning and I love Jackie Hoffman so much. So follow Jackie Hoffman. Oh man. Joelle, where can people find you,
Starting point is 01:19:24 follow you, hear you, experience you? And what's a tweet that you're liking? Y'all know me. I'm Joelle Monique. You can find me all over the internet at Joelle Monique. That's J-O-E-L-L-E-M-O-N-I-Q-U-E. A tweet I'm loving just out of its adorable sweetness. For Black folks, probably for a lot of people, when an older person of your ethnicity dabs
Starting point is 01:19:44 you up and tells you you're great, it's like, transcendent. You're like, oh my god, I'm doing it right. So Maxine Waters tweeted out, I'm so proud of Simone Biles, who has displayed courage and confidence and extraordinary talent. Some have said, young people aren't using all of their God-given intellect and talent for success, but they're
Starting point is 01:19:59 wrong. Doesn't get any better than what Simone has shown us. You go, girl. I know that you go, girl, sent Simone into the heavens. All the Olympic medals, great. Blah, blah, blah. Maxine Waters is proud of me. Excellence. I love it. If Maxine Waters was like, Erin, you're doing a good job, I would die and go to heaven.
Starting point is 01:20:16 Yeah, that's it. Everyone's most thoughtful, kick-ass grandmother you could possibly have is Maxine Waters. Someone just even looked at my shoes and said, all right. I'd be like, and said all right yeah all right thank you sir miles you're doing great you're every day you're doing great miles you are not old enough for that to register unfortunately miles i think you're doing really great okay i felt that that would hit different um a tweet that i like uh first one is from
Starting point is 01:20:49 at otf ray yan r-a-y-y-n he said imagine your card decline at the hookah lounge so they delete your ig story sorry you can't be. We're taking away your memory. That's hilarious. Another one is from Yedoye Travis, at Yedoye underscore Y-D-O-Y-E underscore. He said, if I say aunt, that's my aunt. If I say auntie, that's my mom's friend. And that's something everyone needs to realize, the distinction between the two. You can find me at Miles of Gray on Twitter and Instagram. You can find the show at Daily Zeitgeist on Twitter At TheDailyZeitgeist on Instagram
Starting point is 01:21:27 We have a Facebook fan page and a website DailyZeitgeist.com I believe Where we post our episodes and our footnotes Footnotes! Thank you! And that's where you get that stuff Just to let you know, what is this? Yes, this is The Daily Zeitgeist, that's correct
Starting point is 01:21:39 And it's also a production of iHeartRadio So for more podcasts, check out the iHeartRadio app Or wherever you get your podcasts And along with that, where you go see the footnotes, check out the song that we are going to ride out on today. You say, what are we riding out on today? Well, I have something in store for you. This is a track by Samir and Abud, which I believe they are like a Lebanese funk disco act from the 80s. And they're on this like other album that's like a collection of Middle Eastern, like funk and disco songs. And this track is called Games
Starting point is 01:22:10 because they're done playing games. And I think a lot of people are done playing games too because we need to start doing some real stuff on this planet. But this track is really upbeat. And when you hear it, you're like, okay, go off Samir Nabood in the 80s in Lebanon. Yes.
Starting point is 01:22:24 So check this out. It's called Games. So, yeah, until then, we will see you later with the trending episode to tell you what's trending. Other than that, take care of each other. And we'll see you then. Bye. Bye. There's so much beauty in Mexican culture.
Starting point is 01:22:39 Like mariachis, delicious cuisine, and even lucha libre. like mariachis, delicious cuisine, and even lucha libre. Join us for the new podcast, Lucha Libre Behind the Mask, a 12-episode podcast in both English and Spanish about the history and cultural richness of lucha libre. And I'm your host, Santos Escobar, emperor of lucha libre and a WWE superstar. Listen to Lucha Libre Behind the Mask on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you stream podcasts. In California during the summer of 1975,
Starting point is 01:23:11 within the span of 17 days and less than 90 miles, two women did something no other woman had done before, try to assassinate the president of the United States. One was the protege of Charles Manson. 26-year-old Lynette Fromm, nicknamed Squeaky. The other, a middle-aged housewife working undercover for the FBI. Identified by police as Sarah Jean Moore. The story of one strange and violent summer, this season on the new podcast Rip Current.
Starting point is 01:23:37 Hear episodes of Rip Current early and completely ad-free and receive exclusive bonus content by subscribing to iHeart True Crime Plus only on Apple Podcasts. Señora Sex Ed is not your mommy's sex talk. This show is la plática like you've never heard it before. We're breaking the stigma and silence around sex and sexuality in Latinx communities. This podcast is an intergenerational conversation
Starting point is 01:24:01 between Latinas from Gen X to Gen Z. We're your hosts, Viosa and Mala. You might recognize us from our first show, Locatora Radio. Listen to Senora Sex Ed on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Dr. Laurie Santos, host of the Happiness Lab podcast. As the U.S. elections approach, it can feel like we're angrier and more divided than ever. But in a new, hopeful season of my podcast, I'll share what the science really shows, that we're surprisingly more united than most people think. We all know something is wrong in our culture, in our politics,
Starting point is 01:24:38 and that we need to do better and that we can do better. Listen on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

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