The Daily Zeitgeist - Weekly Zeitgeist 340 (Best of 9/23/24-9/27/24)

Episode Date: September 29, 2024

The weekly round-up of the best moments from DZ's season 357 (9/23/24-9/27/24)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....

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Starting point is 00:00:00 Daphne Caruana Galizia was a Maltese investigative journalist who on October 16th 2017 was assassinated. Crooks everywhere unearthed the plot to murder a one woman WikiLeaks. She exposed the culture of crime and corruption that were turning her beloved country into a Mafia state. Listen to Crooks Everywhere on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. To listen to new episodes one week early and 100% ad-free, subscribe to the iHeart True Crime Plus channel, available exclusively on Apple Podcasts. Kay hasn't heard from her sister in seven years. Can Kay trust her sister? Or is history repeating itself?
Starting point is 00:01:03 Dream Sequence is a new horror thriller from Blumhouse Television, iHeartRadio, and Realm. Listen to Dream Sequence on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Curious about queer sexuality, cruising, and expanding your horizons? Hit play on the sex-positive and deeply entertaining podcast Sniffy's Cruising Confessions. Join hosts Gabe Gonzalez and Chris Patterson-Rosso as they explore queer sex, cruising, relationships, and culture in the new iHeart podcast, Sniffy's Cruising Confessions. Sniffy's Cruising Confessions will broaden minds and help you pursue your true goals. You can listen to Sniffy's Cruising Confessions, sponsored by Gilead, now on the
Starting point is 00:01:38 iHeart Radio app or wherever you get your podcasts. New episodes every Thursday. What happens when a professional football player's career ends and the applause fades and the screaming fans move on? I am going to share my journey of how I went from Christianity to now a Hebrew Israelite. For some former NFL players, a new faith provides answers. You mix homesteading with guns in church, voila, you got straight away. He tried to save everybody. Listen to Spiral on the iHeartRadio app, Apple
Starting point is 00:02:10 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, the Rebels, into something everyone in the South loves, the Biscuits. I was a lady rebel. Like, what does that even mean? It's right here in black and white in print. They lying.
Starting point is 00:02:35 It's bigger than a flag or mascot. Listen to Rebel Spirit on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hello, the internet, and welcome to this episode of The Weekly Zeitgeist. These are some of our favorite segments from this week, all edited together into one nonstop infotainment laugh stravaganza. Yeah. So, without further ado, here is the weekly Zeitgeist.
Starting point is 00:03:07 Miles, we are thrilled to be joined in our third seat by one of our favorites, one of your favorites, a stand-up comedian, writer, producer, podcaster, who you know from lady to lady. She performed everywhere from a basement in Weisburg, Kentucky to the stage of the Kennedy Center. It's Brandy Posey. Brandy. Hey.
Starting point is 00:03:29 Speaking of liquid. Cleaning up all this glass from all these broken. You broke all these things over here. Thank you. What was that movie? The woman. Tornado flew around in there. Splash.
Starting point is 00:03:42 Isn't that like a thing in Splash? I think so. Shatters all the glass from talking because her voice is so high pitched. Anyway, timely reference for people 40. That was up there with Quicksand as a problem I thought I was going to have to be dealing with as an adult based on these movies. Glass shattering? Yeah. Glass shattering because of high pitch noise or bad sounding music or yeah.
Starting point is 00:04:01 Yeah. They loved that. Do you think it more crazy that they had? That was Splash, right? Yeah Do you think it's in Splash? Yeah, I want to believe it is. I mean, God, I'm such a fan of Darryl Hannah. Do you guys feel like Mariah Carey has ever, her assistants have ever had to
Starting point is 00:04:17 fake shatter glass around her because of her voice? Just to reinforce it. As someone who has that kind of range, she's probably, you know, her and Ariana Grande, probably can get up there with those whistle tones. But that would be funny. Like, did you get the fucking breakaway glass? She's like, oh, fuck, I'm going to have to break a real
Starting point is 00:04:36 pane of glass again. My hands all cut up from punching the window. Damn, look, look, look. Oh, my hand's bleeding too and a completely unrelated note probably not from putting it through a pane of glass anyway. Yeah. I am googling has no one's ever broken glass and according to PBS Learning Media even resonance produced by sound waves can cause a material to break such as when a glass goblet is shattered by sound. It is not made up folks, it's real.
Starting point is 00:05:06 Take it seriously. A sufficiently high note, our right research also a sufficiently high note can break glass according to this person on Reddit and that's all we can trust. Because the Google AI doesn't know how many ours are in strawberry. You see that? Yeah, I can see that. You can't successfully answer how many ours are in strawberry because the wrong answer.
Starting point is 00:05:31 Oh, yeah. I saw someone arguing with it. Yeah. Yeah, y'all. Yeah, let's move on to other things. It's given me a number of wrong answers lately. It's just not great. It came out.
Starting point is 00:05:43 We were like, this is bad, but like probably buggy. And they just like dropped it too early. And then it's like since continued to be bad because it's just, they don't have the technology to crawl that many results and get the right answer. It's gonna be fun to tell our kids and nieces and nephews and stuff later, like 20 years now. Yeah, the internet used to have the answers.
Starting point is 00:06:06 Yeah. Yeah, right, right, right. You used to be able to find them. Yeah. But now it's like buried under auto, auto finds. This is your friend who is going to tell you confidently the wrong answer. So basically like what it was like before the first five years of the internet. Yeah, the internet's just a guy at the bar now
Starting point is 00:06:25 Yeah, right or being in sixth grade. You know what I mean? Yeah, like that's just where we're gonna go revert to it's like I don't know someone told me that you like you really think Richard Gere did that with a bunch of gerbils. Yeah Yeah, I don't know. I do I do think that I'm a truth around that one in this house Yeah, we need one of those signs absurd that Twitter In this household, we believe. We need one of those signs. That's absurd. That Twitter, X is always Twitter. Richard Gere did have that many gerbils up his ass. And Taco Bell is hell food.
Starting point is 00:06:56 Yeah. Brandi, the Kennedy Center, I just wanted it to be clear. That was, we performed on the stages of the Kennedy Center. That was the Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Center, right? Yes, absolutely. It actually was a dumpster behind his house full of bones. You'd be surprised. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:07:15 I just want to make sure it wasn't the Washington DC one named after Kennedy, the 90s VJ from MTV. No, no, no. Yeah, yeah, yeah. No, on Fox, no on Fox. Yes, one of our greats. Yeah, hers, yeah, yeah. No, on Fox. Now on Fox. Yes, one of our greats. Yeah, hers as actually her Kennedy Center is actually just is a is a cyber truck that people also think is a dumpster.
Starting point is 00:07:32 Right. That's right. What is something from your search history? Okay, I googled Dunk-a-Latte. Have you heard about these? I'm I've can almost infer where it's from and what it might be about. Mm hmm. Mm hmm.
Starting point is 00:07:47 My friend was like, I've been hearing about these Dunk-a-Lattes, let's go get one. And for anyone- You're very kind to Jamie. Not? To say, my friend, notorious Dunkin' addict. It actually wasn't Jamie, but it was our mutual friend, Bryant, who he, Jamie, and I are in a group chat together called, wait for it, Olive Garden Friends. Hell yeah.
Starting point is 00:08:16 So you're at the Olive Garden, but at the Olive Garden, you're not friends, you're family. So what's going on with you guys? That's the thing. We're very subversive. Okay, you don't give a fuck what they tell you. It's like when we're at Olive Garden, we're friends, is how I feel about it. Yeah, yeah.
Starting point is 00:08:34 So we're in this group chat together and we were making, cause it's right now endless, like limitless pasta at the Olive Garden. And so we were trying to figure out when to go. And then Brian was like, well, I also need to get a Dunk a Latte. And so if you don't know, apparently, and this is what I learned upon my internet search, it is a latte that is made from espresso and then something called coffee milk.
Starting point is 00:09:08 Okay. And you're like, what's coffee milk? I've heard of cereal milk. I've not heard of coffee milk. Coffee milk is a blend of whole milk and coffee extract. Coffee extract. Okay. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:09:24 So I guess they mix that together and that's the milk. Then they put espresso in that and that equals a Dunkin' Latte. Now I know. Have you taste tested it? I have not. Yeah, we have not. Well, we've made grand plans to go to Olive Garden and then go to Dunkin' Donuts. This is what I was going. to go to Olive Garden and then go to Dunkin' Donuts. Or Dunk's or whatever it's called.
Starting point is 00:09:45 I mean, but a latte is espresso with the steamed milk. Correct? But this is taking it one step further. Espresso with steamed coffee milk. So it's just adding like a redundant coffee layer to this now? Yeah, there's just extra coffee, I guess. Oh, so is it like higher caffeine because there's like a redundant coffee layer to this now? Yeah, there's just extra coffee, I guess. Oh, so is it like higher caffeine because there's like a coffee extract?
Starting point is 00:10:09 I guess so. Jack, let's find out. I'm on it, Miles. I know this guy's already, yeah. So we're looking at 138 milligrams total for the small Dunkalette. That do anything for old Banjo Eric or no? Yeah, I mean, that's not bad.
Starting point is 00:10:23 That's pretty good. That's about as much as a, you know, drip blonde roast of Starbucks, but you know, drip coffee is actually more highly caffeinated than people give it credit for. And espresso, less caffeine because it's so little. Right, the amount, sure, sure, sure. Okay, huh, huh.
Starting point is 00:10:43 But it's a solid amount of caffeine. I, this all feels like, I don't know, when something goes viral from Duncan or like what Starbucks or, you know, one of these coffee chains, it's usually they're doing way too much, right? It's like a unicorn thing that looks like cotton candy or some shit. Uh, but this just feels like they've invented something called coffee milk and are doing a latte with coffee milk. Yeah. In fact, I'm surprised it doesn't already exist.
Starting point is 00:11:17 Right. You know? Yeah. Well, they made coffee milk. So of course it doesn't exist. That's cutting edge technology. They use the Large Hadron Collider to invent coffee milk. Precisely. Yeah. And they got Kristen Wiig. This like whole, they really launched
Starting point is 00:11:33 this whole Dunkin' Dunk-a-Latte thing. There's like merch. They're so excited about it. Yeah, there's like special merch. They're like, you can get merch about it. We gotta eat the beanie and the sweatpants. Yeah. Oh yeah.
Starting point is 00:11:42 You're gonna want a Dunk-a-Latte. Yeah. I think so. That's cool. I'm trying to imagine wanting a big, creamy Dunk-a-Latte after a bowl of endless pasta. And I can't get there, but I'm sure it's possible. No, it's a pairing that makes perfect sense. Oh, 100%.
Starting point is 00:12:09 100%. And you just don't have a refined enough palette. Yeah. My palette, I'm not there yet. Okay. Yeah. Yes. Jason, what is something you think is overrated?
Starting point is 00:12:19 I think all of the panic about like fake news generated by AI and it was deep fakes for a while and all of that. Like generating a completely fake story from whole cloth is not and has never been the real threat. I think the way that the news media manipulates you will always be based on what stories they choose to cover and not cover. Yeah. Like all of the news outlets choosing not to publish those hacked Trump emails and decide they're going to sit on that. But like the thing that you guys referenced about the story with the Haitian immigrants eating the pets. The reason that fake story worked is because Fox News had been laying the groundwork for
Starting point is 00:13:06 years by just cherry picking actual crimes because in a country of 300 million people, you can find a trend, whatever trend you want. So anytime an illegal immigrant ran a stoplight, Fox News ran that as a headline and creates by just carefully sorting through. Again, if a report comes out that says, well, actually, native born people are more likely to commit crimes than immigrants, you simply don't report it. And likewise, like this thing with the governor of North Carolina and that guy is Mark Robinson is his name, but all that crazy kind of like Fox news devoted like seven minutes to that yesterday. Like they simply just bury it and in their broadcast. That will always be the
Starting point is 00:13:54 way by which people get into bubbles and get programmed. It's not, it does not require, the fake news stuff will be a problem. It doesn't require a hoax. Just filtering what you report and choose not to report will always by far be the most powerful thing because for the most part you're sticking to things that are real, it's just that they're not representative of what's going on, but you can absolutely create the impression that they are. Yeah. Just a wild selection bias has always been the way that the U S media tends to
Starting point is 00:14:28 operate because it's a big country and they know what stories they can get a lot of eyeballs on because they're scary and reinforce preconceived fears and beliefs and, and probably the, like the easiest way to manufacture consent too. It was just by being like, and what if we just tell people about this all the time? And now when the decision comes to do something awful, you're like, oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay. I don't know.
Starting point is 00:14:52 That makes sense. I didn't know that, like, so they're just not publishing the Trump emails. They're because they- Politico, the Washington Post, I think Judd Lugum also at Popular Information said he was offered these documents and he said, because he was involved in the Podesta emails and he just doesn't think that anything in the emails are necessarily of note outside of just showing like a shitty campaign that was like his logic. But then it's also like, well, what's the logic of these other papers?
Starting point is 00:15:23 Because they were more than willing to publish the emails in the 2016 cycle. But yeah, it's just like, well, tell us what the logic is of it. Yeah. But yeah, that's where I feel like that story is at at the moment. Yeah. We were talking about this a little bit last week with regards to there was
Starting point is 00:15:41 a Russian created fake media, like fake local news story about Kamala Harris running someone over in her car and then driving away in San Francisco. And people were just, you could see that it was a fake news site that doesn't actually exist. They created the URL two days before. It wasn't overly convincing and it didn't seem to like get that much media attention other than the debunk debunking of it got a lot of attention. Whereas, you know, just Elon Musk having as many followers and as much sway as he
Starting point is 00:16:19 has just tweeting any dumb bullshit absentmindedly is pretty, I think, more influential than I want to believe it is also. Well, yeah, now, especially with the block function being like, ah, even if you block me, you're still going to see my bullshit. Yeah. Yeah. I think that the thing with Hillary's emails in 2016, I think that is the perfect example of what I'm talking about here, because that was the case where I think if you interviewed a thousand people,
Starting point is 00:16:47 both sides, and said, can you summarize what was scandalous about her emails, the whole, but her emails theme, which became the number one story of that entire campaign, because those were released in a drip feed where it's like a new revelation every day. Can you summarize what the deal was with those emails and why that should be a deciding factor in who you vote for? I think not five people in a thousand could accurately explain, but when the New York times has Hillary Clinton emails as the A1 story every day,
Starting point is 00:17:21 Hillary Clinton email scandal. By putting it at the top of the front page, you are saying that it's important. You are saying that it's huge and impactful and this must be a terrible crime. That's been like this must be disqualifying. So even if you watching it, don't fully understand what's bad about it or what it means or whatever, it doesn't matter because giving it that place on the front page indicates that it matters.
Starting point is 00:17:50 And it's a negative story. So you're saying, Hey, all the other stuff in this election, not important. This email server, your personal email server security, candidates using personal email for like, that's what matters. That's the thing that's at stake in this election. And they set the agenda that way. Again, the stuff they were reporting wasn't fake. It's just the amount of spotlight they chose to give to it as opposed to
Starting point is 00:18:16 anything else that created the impression that it gets, I think, as false as any something that was, you know, that had been gened up out of whole cloth. Yeah. I mean, I think, yeah, I gave a look into like sort of what was going on in the DNC, but then people like, John Podesta called a guy a prick and this is his risotto recipe. And you're like, what?
Starting point is 00:18:35 But then at the same time, like, you know, Colin Powell also had a private email server. A lot of people like, what's the emphasis about? But yeah, now it's just very much like, it's not in the public interest. Blake, what's something you think is underrated? Underrated cuckoo clocks. We have a cuckoo clock. Don't you dare. What are you?
Starting point is 00:18:59 The anti cuckoo clock. OK, go on. Go on. Why was that? Was that a hard like, you know, it's just being a foot pervert. No, no, it's just cute. No, I'm just going to take the foot off. I'm like anticipating just laughing really hard. That's I'm like, get the fuck out of here because I know you're about to.
Starting point is 00:19:19 OK, go on. Well, I'm not. I don't have to tell you what this what this pic makes me pick makes me do. It makes me go cuckoo. Yep. Cause you're cuckoo for cuckoo clocks. Yes. Thank you for cocoa clocks. By, uh, my friend, Todd and I used to have a bit where it would be like, Todd glass.
Starting point is 00:19:34 I don't. Yes. Yes. It would be like, God, did you hear about, um, about our friend Eric? Yeah. He's in really bad shape. He went cuckoo for cocoa puffs and he's so, he's sick. He's completely sick. He knocks on the door for Cocoa Puffs and he's so, he's sick.
Starting point is 00:19:46 He's completely sick. He knocks on the door in the middle of the night trying to get them. Um, but yeah, no, I think, I don't know if you noticed most clocks don't have a bird that comes out of them. I would say 55% of clocks don't have birds that come out. Yeah. But the ones the other 45% do. don't have birds that come out. But the ones the other 45% do.
Starting point is 00:20:04 And I love the fact that it kind of helps you keep track of the day and kind of takes the edge off of the eternal clock taking towards your death off a little bit where it's like, oh, I lost another hour, but listen to how many times the bird makes a noise. Yeah, it's like, it's really not that bad. Full of life.
Starting point is 00:20:26 Does it do a full of life? Wait, it cuckoos for every hour? Is that how it works too? Like how a normal grandfather, oh man, when it hits noon. 11 o'clock sucks. Insufferable, yeah. Cuckoo, cuckoo, cuckoo, cuckoo. You're like, yeah, we fucking get it.
Starting point is 00:20:38 It's actually cuckoo for punctuality. Yeah, it is. It's a stickler. Yep, exactly. So sue me. Cuckoo for punctuality. So what? is. You know, stickler. Yep. So sue me. Cuckoo for punctuality. So what, so what are that bad? But yeah, no, I love them.
Starting point is 00:20:50 But one o'clock, two o'clock. Three o'clock. Three o'clock. Four o'clock. We're going to rock around the clock tonight. The show's no good. We really are. We're going to.
Starting point is 00:20:58 The show's no good. The show is a blemish. I wonder if people like didn't recognize it was bad when it was just recorded, but now that there's a video component, they're going to be like, wait, what the fuck? Are we listeners? Okay. This is people?
Starting point is 00:21:11 This is people with brains. Yeah. They're just saying nursery rhymes right now. All right. Let's take a quick break and come back and talk about a Bridgerton themed ball. We'll be right back. Daphne Caruana Galizia was a Maltese investigative journalist who on October 16th, 2017 was murdered.
Starting point is 00:21:38 There are crooks everywhere you look now. The situation is desperate. My name is Manuel de Lilla. I am one of the hosts of Crooks Everywhere, a podcast that unearths the plot to murder a one-woman WikiLeaks. Daphne exposed the culture of crime and corruption that were turning her beloved country into a mafia state. And she paid the ultimate price. Listen to Crooks Everywhere on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.
Starting point is 00:22:26 To listen to new episodes one week early and 100% ad-free, subscribe to the iHeart TrueueCrime Plus channel, available exclusively on Apple podcasts. This summer, the nation watched as the Republican nominee for president was the target of two assassination attempts, separated by two months. These events were mirrored nearly 50 years ago, when President Gerald Ford faced two attempts on his life in less than three weeks. President Gerald R. Ford came stunningly close to being the victim of an assassin today. And these are the only two times we know of that a woman has tried to assassinate a U.S. president. One was the protege of infamous cult leader Charles Manson. I always felt like the one that was kind of his right hand woman. The other a middle-aged housewife working undercover for the FBI in a violent revolutionary
Starting point is 00:23:11 underground. Identified by police as Sarah Jean Moore. The story of one strange and violent summer. This is Rip Current, available now with new episodes every Thursday. Listen on the iHeart Radio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, it's Jay Shetty and welcome to On Purpose. I started this podcast to have real conversations that help you live with more meaning,
Starting point is 00:23:37 whether it's navigating relationships, working on your mental health, or figuring out what you're truly here to do. This week, I welcomed back Dr. Andrew Huberman, a neuroscientist and professor at Stanford University, known for his insightful work on brain development, neuroplasticity, and the intricate connection between the brain and body.
Starting point is 00:23:56 Letting go and not trying to control everything, but also pushing oneself to be more resilient and tenacious and things of that sort. I feel like all of life is like that. All of life is about, yes, you need to take care of your physiology. You need to get your sleep at night, but it's also okay to get a bad night's sleep
Starting point is 00:24:11 every once in a while. It's okay to not do every protocol. In fact, it's encouraged to not do every protocol. The expectation on us is not perfection, right? It's being able to toggle between these different states. Listen to On Purpose with Jay Shetty on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. to toggle between these different states. All you need to do is record everything like you always do. One session. 24 hours.
Starting point is 00:24:48 EPM 110. 120. She's terrified. Should we wake her up? Absolutely not. What was that? You didn't figure it out? I think I need to hear you say it. That was live audio of a woman's nightmare.
Starting point is 00:25:03 This machine is approved and everything? You're allowed to be doing this? We passed the review board a year ago. We're not hurting people. There's nothing dangerous about what you're doing. They're just dreams. Dream Sequence is a new horror thriller from Blumhouse Television, iHeartRadio, and Realm. Listen to Dream Sequence on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Starting point is 00:25:29 Hi everyone, it's me Katie Couric. If you follow me on social media, you know I love to cook or at least try, especially alongside some of my favorite chefs and foodies like Benny Blanco, Jake Cohen, Lydie Hoyt, Alison Roman, and of course, Ina Garten and Martha Stewart. So I started a free newsletter called Good Tastes that comes out every Thursday, and it's serving up recipes that will make your mouth water. Think a candied bacon Bloody Mary,
Starting point is 00:25:58 tacos with cabbage slaw, curry cauliflower with almonds and mint, and cherry slab pie with vanilla ice cream to top it all off. I mean yum, I'm getting hungry. But if you're not sold yet, we also have kitchen tips like a foolproof way to grill the perfect burger and must have products like the best cast iron skillet to feel like a chef in your own kitchen. All you need to do is sign up at katiecurrick.com slash good taste. That's K A T I E C O U R I C.com slash good taste. I promise your taste buds will be happy. You did.
Starting point is 00:26:39 And we're back. We're back. It's true. We are. We're back. We are. And this is. Yeah. This is. It's a theme. Giving. Glasgow. back. It's true. We are. We're back. We are. And this is yeah, this is the theme giving Glasgow.
Starting point is 00:26:48 Yep. Willy Wonka chocolate factory. Yeah, a lot of a lot of a scammy balls and fan events out there. And yeah, it's happened again. So obviously, like Bridgerton is a huge show with a ton of fans that would like love to pretend that they are in the show I totally get the appeal like it has its own aesthetic and like musically, you know fashion wise, etc And so Netflix knows this and they have an a legit event called the Queen's ball that has like gone like traveled across the country and world like cities like in like LA New York Melbourne in Australia
Starting point is 00:27:24 And it's like a fucking full-on production like set recreations and world like cities like in like LA, New York, Melbourne, in Australia. And it's like a fucking full on production, like set recreations, they have actual outfits from the productions that you can look at, really like a portrait, the photo booth, themed bars with bartenders dressed in period clothing, a dance show like a queen that shows up and chooses a diamond of the evening.
Starting point is 00:27:44 It's like an event. And that Netflix party has tickets starting at $39. So I'm like, okay, that's not bad. So when people in Detroit, yeah, when people in Detroit heard about a Bridgerton ball with tickets costing anywhere from $120 to $1,000, people got excited. My brain, Miles, my brain when I hear, okay, the other one's $40. This one starts at $120. It's gotta be, it's gonna be three times better at minimum. At least that is, yeah, I'm such a sucker for shit like that. Oh yeah. That's, that's definitely fan math for high price equals good goodness. We have 100% 100%. The website said, is it made in America? Can I ask you that? Is the
Starting point is 00:28:24 effect? Cause I know the shows in Britain, but is is it made in America? Can I ask you that? Is the, because I know the shows in Britain, but is the event made in America? Yes, the event is. Is it built for tough? Yes, it is built for tough. Exactly. Okay, good. It's patriotic. Thank you.
Starting point is 00:28:35 But the, so the, the, on the event website, it said, step into the enchanting world of the Regency era at the Detroit Bridgerton themed ball. Join us. At the Hyatt Regency. That was the Regency era that we were referring to. 2002 to 2004. In the early 2000s. Yeah. And we know it's a bando now, but we've turned it into a whimsical event space. So it says, join us for an evening of
Starting point is 00:28:59 sophistication, grace and historical charm experience a night like no other filled with music, dance and exquisite costumes. And but this event started off shaky though the event was originally supposed to happen in late August. But at the last minute, organizers had to cancel due to unforeseen circumstances and people didn't get a refund. That's the first red flag for people. Okay, they rescheduled it to this last weekend. And people still shelled out the money
Starting point is 00:29:25 to get in on the unique experience and paid a lot of money also. Like people were dressed up, like custom made outfits, doing their hair, all kinds of shit like that. And what they got was not quite what was advertised here. Look, this is from a local news report about the would be fantastic event.
Starting point is 00:29:46 The way that it was described is that this was going to be a Bridgerton evening. We were going to have classical music, good dinner, and there was going to be a play and they were going to pick diamond of the season. They were going to give away all of these prizes and we went in and it's completely empty in there. Organizers Uncle Amy LLC have since disabled its website and turned off social media comments. I said we're reaching out to the co-owner Chelsea Beard as early as 5 a.m. Monday.
Starting point is 00:30:13 Monday afternoon, 7 News Detroit's Whitney Bernie also called. And they got doorstep in someone. They got no response. OK, and yes, you did have a hype man who was also like a play. Because they really if either of us ever gets interviewed for a local oh, yeah, like something terrible happens to us. We have to make a promise right now. Yeah. The other of us will go and we should just be cruising for news crews.
Starting point is 00:30:40 Just to be normal. Yeah, exactly. And I'll just do like, well, I'll do West Side Gun fucking ad was like Anyway, so that event was fucking shaky the like the event space was empty The food was some regular ass buffet that ran out within one hour I put a picture here in the dock that you can see that is like, it is all giving like a mediocre prom. Like what it looks like. It's like frozen people waiting in line outside like the,
Starting point is 00:31:14 yeah, the food. I guess the proms have food. Maybe, maybe it's like a cash bar wedding. They have food. Yeah. They have. I forgot Blake. Blake's a prom connoisseur. wedding? They have food. Yeah. They have. I forgot Blake Blake's a prom connoisseur.
Starting point is 00:31:29 I'm a prom king. So the shit was like, you know, the, they said people weren't even scanning your like tickets at the door. There was like nothing. So randos are just walking in and eating the food that ran out within one hour Like I said, the Netflix event had a full bar. They were promising people drinks The only drinks they had was I'm not joking blue Kool-Aid you had to buy that was the only Beverages on sale for people they were promised Libations, okay, and they marked it up to apparently the woman is playing the queen, people were saying was totally out of character
Starting point is 00:32:07 while basically hustling her business card to anyone that would listen. So you could pose and take a picture and she was like, hey, like, yes, I knew it. Here's my card. That's my favorite detail. Just not even in character. It's like, okay, yeah, so if you need me, this is my card.
Starting point is 00:32:19 Yeah, good to see you. Okay. No, I'm the queen of Detroit real estate. I'm a realtor. So here, why don't I hand you this and hand you that? I'm Detroit's muffler queen. You got any muffler problems? You come see me, okay?
Starting point is 00:32:30 Your car making too much noise here. Take this car. Absolutely. I will shut that car. Yeah, there are pictures from inside the event that have like promotions for other like events on the wall and shit. Like it's supposed to be this immersive thing and it just looks like you're inside a
Starting point is 00:32:47 fucking yeah My favorite part is like so there was a main sort of dining room floor that filled up immediately So people were relegated to the upstairs that was this it was just a fucking empty room I like yeah bummed out people in the nicest fancy dress, like sitting on like on their phones like man, this shit was like a redis and yeah, not a higher agency. Honestly, no, not even a region. The live music they were promised. Okay.
Starting point is 00:33:13 They had live music. It was the people felt so bad for this woman. It was just this young woman on violin by herself who played. They said for like four hours straight. No breaks. Just having to work that violin. I don't know how many times you can play, you know, Despacito on violin for people, but that's what she did.
Starting point is 00:33:33 It is. I mean, look, shout out to what is it? That vitamin string quartet that their entire catalog blew up because they were using their like sort of rethought up remix current songs with like string arrangements throughout the show. Mm-hmm. They said the backdrops. What if Coldplay?
Starting point is 00:33:49 Right. Though. What if we played yellow on violin? What? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. We had one of those at my wedding.
Starting point is 00:33:56 FYI. Oh, really? Oh, yeah. Have you heard Clocks on cello? Yeah. Actually, it kind of goes. Is that a, that's a Coldplay song? Or is that, Yeah, Clocks. Wait, are we making fun of kind of goes. That's a Coldplay song, is that?
Starting point is 00:34:05 Yeah, clocks. Wait, are we making fun of this, or are we saying that we like it? Cause I like it. I was making fun of it and also saying that I fully did it, I have my way. This shit goes hard. But like the backdrops, again,
Starting point is 00:34:16 this is supposed to be, like again, anywhere from 120 to a thousand dollars, you can see like they just unfurled some plastic rows, like tablecloth print, they're like and that's your backdrop for photos. This is this poor like lady having to serve a bunch of angry upset people in fancy dress the food and then the dancing right the dancing was one exotic dancer they wheeled out the play or whatever they wheeled out like
Starting point is 00:34:44 one of those, like you don't need a ceiling to put this pole up for someone to dance on. Yeah. And then this is the quote unquote entertainment for the evening. I'll just play a quick clip of this. ["I Don't Remember This in Bridgerton"]
Starting point is 00:34:59 I don't remember this in Bridgerton. I don't remember this. Oh, these poor people. I don't remember this. These poor people. I don't remember this in Bridgerton. You weren't looking hard enough because obviously- There was string music, okay? The Royal Pole Dancer has arrived. Now please get out your shillings for this intrepid young business person.
Starting point is 00:35:22 But yeah, like every other fucking scam event, the organizers are saying anything but, sorry, here's your money back. This is what they said, quote, we understand that not everyone had the experience. This is almost like identical to the fucking Glasgow, Willy Wonka one. We understand that not everyone had the experience
Starting point is 00:35:41 they hoped for at our most recent event Sunday night at the Harmony Club. And for that, we sincerely apologize. Our intention was to provide a magical evening, but we recognize that organizational challenges affected the enjoyment of some guests. We take full responsibility and accountability for these shortcomings. Please know that we are working diligently to address all concerns to ensure that all guests have the enjoyable experience they deserve.
Starting point is 00:36:03 Your feedback is invaluable invaluable and we truly appreciate both the positive and constructive comments shared with us. They deactivated their website, they took down their website, they took down fucking everything. There's no comments, all the comments are disabled on their Instagram account. So that's where things are
Starting point is 00:36:19 and people are basically out a lot of money, unfortunately. This one, it seems like, I don't know if this is funnier or sadder, which is a question I ask myself about pretty much any topic, but because a lot of these had to do, these scam events were geared towards children before. Sure, right, right, yeah.
Starting point is 00:36:36 And this is one of the first ones that's geared towards adults. So like, it is sadder in a way where at least you could get angry, where like, oh my God, these people, they deceived my child and like, Yeah, God, these people, they deceived my child. And like, yeah, yeah, yeah. Some more righteous anger.
Starting point is 00:36:48 Yeah. Yeah. And that was just like, Oh, I wanted to, I wanted to have a nice magical evening as a princess. And you took this away from me. Yeah. Like as someone who is part of a few fandoms, like I totally understand the urge to do something like this.
Starting point is 00:37:03 Like, you know, someone is creating the world that you secretly want to live in, or not even secretly. You tell everybody about how you wish you lived on a Karelian cruiser. But people, I think this is the thing, to your point, Blake, for an adult event like this, we have to be more diligent when it comes to assessing the bullshit. Because you start just like vague clip art and stock images from the show without anything really being there.
Starting point is 00:37:26 And again, they canceled the first event. I was looking on Instagram, someone claimed in a comment, they worked for the first venue. And they said the reason the first event was shut down is because the event planners did not fully pay out all the deposits they needed to, to actually hold the event.
Starting point is 00:37:42 Now I don't know if that's, yeah, how true that is. But red flags, you already paid once they didn't give you a refund. By the way, the company that, the company that organized it was called Uncle and Me LLC. So I don't know, I don't know why that gives you the sense that they're going to do a good job of putting on a Bridgerton gala. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:38:01 Have you ever done anything with your uncle? And it was like, it ended up okay. I remember like helping my uncle build something. Wow, so tasteala. Yeah. Have you ever done anything with your uncle? And it was like, it ended up okay. I remember like helping my uncle build something. So tasteful. Yeah. It's a support group for perverts is what you would call uncle and me. Like that's what that should be called. I big unc energy.
Starting point is 00:38:18 But huge unc energy. I got scammed recently where with stand up, which I should know better. Like this is a thing where I should know better. I've been doing this long enough where there was this a book or a quote unquote Booker being like, Hey, we're putting on this event. It's a Kenan Thompson is presenting it and it's a talent event. And I'm like, it didn't say he's hosting it. He said he's presenting it.
Starting point is 00:38:42 They didn't say he's hosting it. He said he's presenting it. And it was very vague as to like who the like talent bookers were going to be there. And I'm like, all right, this thing's not costing me money. It's five minutes from my place. Like it's really no sweat off my back if this is a scam, but this seems like a scam. Fuck it. I'm going for it. I'm like, Kenan Thompson is also in France for the Olympics right now.
Starting point is 00:39:04 Like I know he's not coming to this. Verifiably, not even on the same continent, but you're like, I'm watching him with Kevin Hart on NBC right now. I know he's not flying back for this shit. And yeah, it was a total ripoff, but it was funny because it didn't cost me money. Whereas if it costs like 120 bucks, a thousand, but like that is, it's double devastating. So they booked you for this gig and you're like, I'll do it.
Starting point is 00:39:31 And then you showed up and there just was no gig or it just was no Keenan. There was no Keenan. There were no talent book, like, you know, like agents or like, you know, talent bookers. So it was just some scumbag from Atlantic city. Showed up and did stand up. I did stand up, I killed, but it was all some scumbag from Atlantic City. You just showed up and did stand up. I did stand up.
Starting point is 00:39:46 I killed, but it was all, you know. I killed the organizer who fucking invited. I killed, I committed, yeah, first degree murder. And we're trying to get that down to manslaughter because- Premeditated. No one's ever, hey, listen, I have passion for everything I do, particularly crimes of. And yeah, it was a thing where, you know,
Starting point is 00:40:05 they clearly were taking the door, the money. This was the saddest part is that the audience who did pay money thought Keenan Thompson was going to be there. So there were like 250 audience members there. And then the host in passing is like, all right, everybody, we got a great show for you tonight. You know, Keenan couldn't make it, but I think,
Starting point is 00:40:24 and then you just heard the whole crowd go, oh. It was such a- Did people get up? Or at that point, it's like diminishing- I think couldn't make it. But he's still confidently and fully presents this. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:40:37 But we are using his name with or without his knowledge. So there's that. Please don't tag him in anything. Don't tag him. Got a bunch of cease and desists already. It's a, it's a headache. You know how it is dealing with these stars. A lot of desists.
Starting point is 00:40:48 I'm sorry that, that it didn't work out for you, but you know, we're here to support you. Thank you. Well, I'm the next host. I think these Bridgerton things are going to be more and more calm. Like, I think this is just the beginning. Like we, I read an article about the orb or whatever the fuck is, you know, the sphere in Las Vegas and like that is part of this big like thing that whoever like advertisers and marketers, whoever like creates psychographic networks, like says
Starting point is 00:41:19 that is like, it's the big thing that people just like want immersive experiences because our lives are bad. And so we're like, they're like, yeah, they just like want to feel like they don't exist in the context of their lives. They want to feel like they are in some other world. And so I think other than the orb, the orb is the only one that I've like heard of that like consistently people are like, yeah, it's really weird.
Starting point is 00:41:48 You don't feel like you're on the planet at all. From some people, some people are like, yeah, it's just a weird bad motion sickness experience. But if you go to Disneyland or Disney World as an adult, it does, that's what that whole experience is about, is immersive immersive feeling like you're not there and it still feels kind of to me, not to everyone. Obviously they're like Disney adults who like love Disney.
Starting point is 00:42:14 And I think that's great. But like, to me, it still feels like you're like in a bar when the lights come on, like on your childhood. Right. Yes. Yeah. Because you don't just see Minnie. And you don't just see like Goofy or whatever.
Starting point is 00:42:29 You also see a guy vomiting in the corner. You know? You do get the whole, yeah. That's why it's, you know, for kids, it's, they don't, they have tunnel vision. Like they see, like, oh my god, it's, it's, you know, I was trying to think of a celebrity equivalent for an adult.
Starting point is 00:42:45 Jeff Bezos was the only name that came to mind. Oh my God, it's Bezos. Have you been to Amazon land? It's one of my, it's incredible. Oh yeah. And everybody's going to be disappointed in it because I think the, the ideal that we have is like most of being like transported by an immersive experience is mostly from our childhood.
Starting point is 00:43:06 I totally sympathize with it. I think like we all crave that, especially more and more in the current environment of a disintegrating empire. But I do feel like we're just going to continue to have stories where people are like, yeah, yeah, come on in here. If you just go through that door, it's fully immersive. And like, you're going to forget the world that you live in. There's, there's like a sports bar, like a venue downtown called, or not by the SoFi, like an Inglewood called Cosm. That's basically a half sphere screen where they show sporting events now. And it's like in a, like in like the fucking screen is.
Starting point is 00:43:46 Oh, yeah. And they show like soccer games there. And I was going to go see Arsenal play and like the tickets are so much money. It's unbelievable. I hear like this is just give you an idea of like what these seats look like. God, like, look at this. It's pro. Oh, my God. Like, so it's a full it's like two levels and you can buy like a
Starting point is 00:44:08 booth has eight seats and it's like 300 or $400. It's a shit ton of money just to watch on like a freaky screen. But again, I think for a lot of people, especially if you like to watch sports in a new way, it's kind of worth the money. But yeah, like everything is just becoming more and more immersive. And like they pump stadium sound into there and they try and give you a field like, Hey, can't make the game. Give us $90 to sit down.
Starting point is 00:44:34 Like, yeah, it's like, I could just go to the game, but to your, to your point, miles, like that's, you know, Arsenal plays in London. You can't just go to the game. So there must be some people who love you guys in other countries. Yeah. It's like, Hey man, you know't just go to the game. So there must be some people who love fans in other countries. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's like, hey man, you know, doing drugs is pretty cool. And you're like, well, I guess so. All right.
Starting point is 00:44:53 Let's let's take a quick break and we'll come back. Daphne Caruana Galizia was a Maltese investigative journalist who on October 16th 2017 was murdered. My name is Manuel de Lilla. I am one of the hosts of Crooks Everywhere, a podcast that unearths the plot to murder a one-woman WikiLeaks. Daphne exposed the culture of crime and corruption that were turning her beloved country into a mafia state. And she paid the ultimate price. Listen to Crooks Everywhere on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.
Starting point is 00:45:48 To listen to new episodes one week early and 100% ad free, subscribe to the iHeart True Crime Plus channel, available exclusively on Apple podcasts. This summer, the nation watched as the Republican nominee for president was the target of two assassination attempts, separated by two months. These events were mirrored nearly 50 years ago when President Gerald Ford faced two attempts on his life in less than three weeks. President Gerald R. Ford came stunningly close to being the victim of an assassin today. And these are the only two times we know of that a woman has tried to assassinate a U.S. president.
Starting point is 00:46:30 One was the protege of infamous cult leader Charles Manson. I always felt like Glenn Nett was kind of his right-hand woman. The other, a middle-aged housewife working undercover for the FBI in a violent revolutionary underground. Identified by police as Sarah Jean Moore. The story of one strange and violent summer. This is Rip Current, available now with new episodes every Thursday. Listen on the iHeart radio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Starting point is 00:47:01 Hey, it's Jay Shetty and welcome to On Purpose. I started this podcast to have real conversations that help you live with more meaning, whether it's navigating relationships, working on your mental health or figuring out what you're truly here to do. This week, I welcomed back Dr. Andrew Huberman, a neuroscientist and professor at Stanford University known for his insightful work on brain development, neuroplasticity, and the intricate connection between the brain and body. Letting go and not trying to control everything,
Starting point is 00:47:31 but also pushing oneself to be more resilient and tenacious and things of that sort. I feel like all of life is like that. All of life is about, yes, you need to take care of your physiology. You need to get your sleep at night, but it's also okay to get a bad night's sleep every once in a while.
Starting point is 00:47:44 It's okay to not do every protocol. In fact, it's encouraged to not do every protocol. The expectation on us is not perfection, right? It's being able to toggle between these different states. Listen to On Purpose with Jay Shetty on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Trust me, you won't want to miss this one. I've been thinking about you. I want to miss this one. One ten, one twenty, she's terrified. Should we wake her up? Absolutely not. What was that? You didn't figure it out?
Starting point is 00:48:30 I think I need to hear you say it. That was live audio of a woman's nightmare. This machine is approved and everything? You're allowed to be doing this? We passed the review board a year ago. We're not hurting people. There's nothing dangerous about what you're doing. They're just dreams. Dream Sequence is a new horror thriller from Blumhouse Television,
Starting point is 00:48:53 iHeartRadio, and Realm. Listen to Dream Sequence on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hi everyone, it's me, Katie Couric. If you follow me on social media, you know I love to cook or at least try, especially alongside some of my favorite chefs and foodies like Benny Blanco, Jake Cohen, Lydie Hoyt, Alison Roman, and of course, Ina Garten and Martha Stewart. So I started a free newsletter called Good Tastes that comes out every Thursday and it's serving up recipes that will make your mouth water. Think a candied bacon Bloody Mary, tacos with cabbage slaw, curry cauliflower with almonds and mint, and cherry slab pie with vanilla ice cream to top it all off. I mean, yum, I'm getting hungry. But if
Starting point is 00:49:40 you're not sold yet, we also have kitchen tips like a foolproof way to grill the perfect burger and must have products like the best cast iron skillet to feel like a chef in your own kitchen. All you need to do is sign up at katiecurrick.com slash good taste. That's K-A-T-I-E-C-O-U-R-I-C dot com slash good taste. I promise your taste buds will be happy you did. And we're back. We're back. And NATO wants to improve your movie going experience.
Starting point is 00:50:18 No wonder Biden was so reticent to drop his bragging about NATO. You know? Yeah. NATO's about to do big things. They're planning to put $2.2 billion investment into, oh, I'm sorry, this is the National Association of Theater Owners. I love that they are just sticking with that. We're actually the more famous NATO. So everybody should just shut the fuck up and stop asking us if we're that NATO.
Starting point is 00:50:47 Ask them if they're that NATO. Yeah. Cause they're not. We're that NATO. We are that NATO. They're going to invest $2.2 billion in movie theaters to fix problems that I personally didn't notice movies having, but I don't know,, Caitlin, you go to more movies than I do. Thank you so much.
Starting point is 00:51:08 Are you ready? Are you? Was this something you're asking for? They're like asking for they're like, well, I had bowling alleys and video game arcades like 1980s. Better air conditioning and better projectors. And I don't know. Come on down to where the movies are played.
Starting point is 00:51:26 It's dope, it's fresh, it's cinema cave. All right. Great. Waves world reference. That was wonderful. Yeah, I don't want any of that stuff necessarily. What I do want is honestly more air conditioning. Bad idea. AMCs are too cold.
Starting point is 00:51:45 Freezing. Oh my God. Freezing and so like lay off the AC honestly and they're too loud. You need to pack for mountaineering to like go to an AMC. It's fucking freezing in there. Yeah, you need layers. So this is it. So NATO, right? They represent the likes of AMC, Cinemark, Regal Cinemas, and they control about like 70% of the market. So their time like we're putting 2.2 billion, like 21,000 screens basically. And I think ever since Barbenheimer summer, like the industry has been really positive, like the theater industry has been really positive, like that
Starting point is 00:52:22 the movies are fully back. But now they want to evolve in order to compete with like smaller chains that offer premium experiences like I pick or Alamo Drafthouse. And we're like, how do we get in on that? So again, it's like arcades, it's bowling better, better sound systems, Caitlin, better seating, improving concessionsions and like all this other stuff, new signs revamped carpeting, which are like, okay, but they also said that the competition, the quote competition for consumers hard earned dollars is fiercer than ever. But I'm like, is making the movies a more premium experience the way like if you acknowledge the hard earned dollars part,
Starting point is 00:53:05 but then make the movies easier to go to, rather than be like, well, now you got recliners or shit, this shit 45 bucks for a ticket. Right. The thing that gets me to see so many movies is like a pass, a movie pass, the AOC, A-list, because yeah, movies are inaccessible price-wise for most people unless you have some kind of thing like that. The reason I go to AMCs is because I
Starting point is 00:53:32 have the thing. So they need to like incentivize people that way, not by being like, we have a bowling alley now. And it's like, well, I'm not, I'm going to see a movie. I'm not going to, I'm not I'm going to see a movie. I'm not going to I'm not going to here for fast bowling. I get that they probably see an opportunity with like families and shit like that. But like, to your point, Caitlin, like if the point like if I think the emphasis should be on ease rather than like, so there's more friction as it can.
Starting point is 00:53:59 So for example, I saw Beetlejuice Beetlejuice the other night. And when her majesty and I were looking at tickets, we based our decision on the price. You're like, how come the fucking Grove is like 10 bucks more than this other theater? That's like closer. Like, fuck all that. Like, I'm going to pay fucking $30 to be disappointed in the movie. I'll pay, I guess, 20 to do that. So like I get though, to like on a premium experience is nice for like a date night.
Starting point is 00:54:24 But I just like, if I get the itch to see something, I don't wanna pay more and be like, well, I need all this other shit. Like I've always been fine with a dark theater that has a functioning chair that isn't dirty and it's reasonably temperature controlled. And that's fine. I don't need to fucking,
Starting point is 00:54:43 like I don't think the reason I'm gonna sit down and sit through sonic The Hedgehog 7 is just because I get to eat pizza in a suede recliner like no Gonna go for the film Characters is called miles. Yeah They do have those like what's it called? I think there are a few different versions of this but they basically, you watch a movie, ever heard of it and it's- Please, Caitlin, film.
Starting point is 00:55:14 Yes. It's an existing movie, like one that came out probably 10, 20 years ago, but it's like a beloved movie and then they design a menu around it and then they bring out. So like, for example, this is a thing with Shrek. So you buy a ticket to this like Shrek experience where at certain points of the movie, they bring out food, like the food that they're eating on screen. And they're like, Oh, we made this little airwax.
Starting point is 00:55:41 Yeah. A little eyeball cocktail and you drink that, but it's whatever, apple juice or some shit. So I would pay more money for like a fun, immersive experience like that, but that's only like something I would do once every six months or so. Right, yeah.
Starting point is 00:55:58 So something like that, I get it, but don't upgrade your like shitty theater and stick in an arcade that I'm not going to go to and use that to justify higher ticket prices. Yeah, exactly. Like we, this is going to entirely be passed on to us, the filmgoers, like whatever, 2.2 billion dollars, so much fucking money. Well, and what's crazy is it's because they've made so much money
Starting point is 00:56:26 from raising their prices over the years too that they're like, man, we got a lot of money we can play with right now. And that's kind of like, all right, next phase, make it more expensive. Right. It's also like, don't spend, don't give Nicole Kidman $25 million to make a commercial for the theater that I'm already at. Right. Like, low, like make your concession prices a little lower because then I'll buy a popcorn, but I'm not going to buy a $12 popcorn.
Starting point is 00:56:51 No. Well, Katelyn, but you can't recreate poetry like Nicole Kidman saying, and we go to the movies because here we are in the movies. We come to this place for magic. We come to this place to laugh, to cry, to care, because we need that, all of us. They really hit that last line where she's like, because here it is.
Starting point is 00:57:10 Like it's the fucking best line that's ever been written. And it's like, we know. It is. It is. Because here they are. Heartbreak feels good in a place like this. You sick fucks. All right, so I'm a weirdo.
Starting point is 00:57:24 I mainly go to the movies because of the movies they are showing there. What? Ah, see? I knew he was a cop. I'm a sicko. Banjo Eric. What the heck? Banjo Eric looks sick.
Starting point is 00:57:35 Ah, Banjo. Come on. The two pictures I've heard that are actually, I think, would benefit make like movie theaters more solvent. One is the one that you always talk about, Miles. Do you want to pitch your idea? Yeah, being able to smoke weed in the movie theater. You can smoke weed in the theater. You can, or at least vape weed in the theater or have like designated smoking shows.
Starting point is 00:57:58 Yeah. Yeah. And like sell weed and like it's basically a glorified like weed cafe anywhere. Yeah, because half these places got a little mini bar out front, so just fucking burn up. Whatever. Okay. All right. All right. What's one? The other one is doing the thing that you said, Kailin, about having the locally programmed, basically replacing... There used to be this thing at video rental places where you would have people who worked there, who had the same taste in movies as you, and they would have a section of like movies
Starting point is 00:58:31 that they were picking. If you create, because the other thing that we're lacking, uh, other than like independent cinema right now is community. If you make theaters a place where people can like have, like we're all fans of Banjo Eric's taste in movies, and he shows here every Wednesday and gives a little speech before, and then everybody comes and watches his great movie selections for this month.
Starting point is 00:59:02 I feel like that would be cool. And you know, especially if it's a place where people can like have drinks and smoke like that would actually, and local theaters do that, but like, I don't know. If you're going to invest in like making this a really cool place, like it would be great if people could just pay to. Like right now you can rent a theater and screen a movie, but it has to be like one of the movies that's out right now. It'd be awesome if like, you could just be like, yeah, like I want to show this movie from the eighties and like, if I let you know a month and a month
Starting point is 00:59:40 and a half in advance, like, you know, the fucking public library can get a book for you that's like rare. Like why shouldn't they be able to just like get a digital printer, like a print of the movie? And I feel like people would pay for that. It would be a lot of fun. Yeah. Me and my friends want to see Dunstan checks in. Hell yeah. A thematic menu. Yes. Baby's Day out. Fuck. Thank you. Can we get on the same page here? Yeah. And I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm sure so many of these like, you know, movie passes are becoming like huge parts of their
Starting point is 01:00:26 business, and realizing, oh, maybe like, it should just be that it's easier to come to the movies and that through having more affordable prices, and I'm sure you're gonna sell it will offset the amount of empty seats you have by having seats that are just reasonably priced. But again, these are mostly publicly traded companies. So line has to go up and now they're like, yeah, they're going to love these $2.2 billion you put
Starting point is 01:00:50 into new seats or whatever. I feel like we're at the peak of the cinema experience right now. I don't know what else you need to add for people to be like, oh God, there's such a gaping hole in the offerings of what a movie theater is giving people. I don't see it. People are craving that 4D experience where they splash water in your face. Splash me with water, make it smell like someone farted on me, and call me a dirty, filthy
Starting point is 01:01:19 Banjo Eric. Yeah, exactly. All right. Should we check in with the billionaires? Because we are always concerned about the billionaires. Over the past four years, we were worried, you know, like Bernie Sanders got a little bit of heat, you know, he got some national attention. And we on this podcast were like, okay, that is dangerous. What is going to happen to the billionaire's wealth? No. Because what if I become a billionaire?
Starting point is 01:01:30 I'm going to be a billionaire. I'm going to be a billionaire. I'm going to be a billionaire. I'm going to be a billionaire. I'm going to be a billionaire. I'm going to be a billionaire. I'm going to be a billionaire. I'm going to be a billionaire.
Starting point is 01:01:38 I'm going to be a billionaire. I'm going to be a billionaire. I'm going to be a billionaire. I'm going to be a billionaire. I'm going to be a billionaire. I'm going to be a billionaire. I'm going to be a billionaire. I'm going to be a billionaire. I'm going to be a billionaire. I'm going to be is dangerous. What is going to happen to the billionaire's wealth? No, because what if I become a billionaire?
Starting point is 01:01:50 Yes. Good news for those of us with a growth mentality. Billionaire wealth has grown by 88% in the last four years. 88% is so wild after Trump left office. It's grown by 88% because the pandemic was really good for them because basically every event it turns out in our current system is really good for them because they will take any opportunity to manipulate the rules to be better for them. And we live in a society where that is entirely possible and
Starting point is 01:02:27 will not stop unless they are stopped. So billionaire wealth way up, staggering amount of money that should never be accumulated by a single person. Right. But if they're not, like, if they're not unburdening themselves of this wealth by buying Nazi memorabilia. Yeah. Because that's apparently not allowed anymore.
Starting point is 01:02:47 Shout out Harlan Crowe. What do they do then? Where do you take your ill-gotten gains? The problem with having that much money, we're learning, is bad for us who don't have that much money. Also bad for them because they go a little bit crazy and they get very scared of us. When, when you get that much money, you start to be afraid of all the money you have because it is a unjust, just irrational amount of money that you have.
Starting point is 01:03:18 And you turn into golem and you start just wanting to be isolated from everything around you and treating everyone around you like an enemy combatant. And so that brings us to Indian Creek, which is a island that is privately incorporated by billionaires in Miami's Biscayne Bay. Jeff Bezos recently bought in, bought like three homes on this island. It is essentially a military fortress at this point. Okay. So there's guns and stuff. Yeah.
Starting point is 01:03:58 Oh, well it has, so it has basically a cop for every person who lives there. Not quite, but they have 19 cops and I think like 60 something people who live there. So if New York had the equivalent citizen to cop ratio, it would be, it would have like 6.5 million cops or something like that. That is crazy. But they all also have private security for it. Like Elon Musk travels with 20, travels with up to 20 bodyguards at a time. So this Indian Creek place, it used to be just, you know, a place where rich people lived in Miami.
Starting point is 01:04:35 There is a publicly funded bridge that goes to the island that is part of the Miami like city municipality. And it used to be a thing where people, like this one guy said, who lives on the other side of that bridge, on the Miami side of that bridge, said, the security is very different from how it used to be. And then recalled a time in the early 90s when he could bring his college friends to Indian Creeks Gate and get permission from the police to give them a time in the early nineties when he could bring his college friends to Indian Creek's gate and get permission from the police to give them a tour of the island. Now, if he approaches the bridge, the cops start flashing their
Starting point is 01:05:13 lights and order him to back away. Approaches the bridge. Not even on it. Get the, don't even fucking approach this bridge. We can tell what you're thinking and no, don't even fucking come close. You're visibly too poor to be anywhere near here. Yes. Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Starting point is 01:05:33 Threat, threat identified, threat identified. The community on the other side of the bridge is called Surfside and people are like, and on the island they call it Surf with an E. Surfside. Oh my god. Ooh. Yeah. are like, uh, and on the island, they call it surf with an E surf. So, but if you, if you want to approach it or just like be in the same bay as this island, that's going to be a bit of a problem for the billionaires who live there because the trees all have AI equipped cameras that watch every boat that passes basically between the island and the horizon and is attempting to determine if it's a threat.
Starting point is 01:06:10 People who like run tours out of Miami Bay are like, yeah, like you will just see a red light like lock onto your boat and just follow you across the entire bay. And then if you come within a certain distance, the, they will basically, the security force will come out, meet you and probably give you some bullshit ticket for like creating too large of a wake or something. Basically it's just stay the fuck away from our Island, Lebowski. And yeah, so I don't know, like a lot of the surveillance technology and weaponry comes from Israel. so that's another kind of detail we'll link off to
Starting point is 01:06:50 the article, it's worth giving it a read. But in case you're a person who lacks empathy and like wants to know why you should care about Gaza and the West Bank from a self-interest perspective, it's because the wealthy want to do what Israel does to Palestinian people, to all of us. And that is where they're headed. The extremely wealthy want to watch you and monitor your every move in the name of their safety. I just want to read a couple paragraphs from this article. It was on MSN. I think it was originally written by Business Insider.
Starting point is 01:07:24 It says, multiple billionaire security professionals I spoke with described an increased interest in security among their ultra high net worth clients. Some are shelling out millions on highly trained bodyguards or deploying high tech surveillance drones. Elon Musk travels with up to 20 bodyguards at a time. Others are building bunkers to wait out the apocalypse in India, which we've covered before on a Evergreen episode, if people want to go find that, in Indian Creek, if you somehow evaded the island-wide surveillance
Starting point is 01:07:53 dragnet that Bezos and his neighbors have amassed through public funding, you'd still have to contend with the formidable private dragnets guarding their individual mansions. And then they speak to somebody who's an expert in this. And he says, security has become a really big concern for billionaires now because there's never been more talk about the divide between the haves and the have nots, says Brian Daniel, who operates the celebrity personal assistant network, a company that connects billionaires to security staff. So basically it, by pointing out that they have too much money for the successful
Starting point is 01:08:31 operation of a civilization, we are forcing them to arm themselves to the teeth and invest in military technology to, you know, aim at us when taking a boat by their private island, their private military fortress island. Oh, man. I look, I also Brady lives here. So it's everyone from Tom Brady to Bezos, baby. I don't want to have killer drones, you know, I said last thing I want, but I'm sorry, pores the increase in class consciousness.
Starting point is 01:09:03 It's kind of freaking me out. I got to admit. So now I have to arm robots with weapons because yes. Man, I just heard about like proletarian revolution. I don't miss. Yeah, this is freaky stuff. It's freaky stuff. So we're going to go to the silent and you will fucking die if you get near the bridge. How's that?
Starting point is 01:09:20 Every time you point out how much money I have another gun gets cocked behind me I'm not even looking back there, but you're gonna hear it and just know that you're making me nervous And when I get nervous somebody else shoots you so Yeah, yeah, why can't more billionaires just like go in those submarines looking for the Titanic wreckage and then really? implode. It really was our finest moment. It was really the greatest. It was the best we could hope for. Can't sea level rise just consume this island or something too?
Starting point is 01:09:54 And just render it fucking non-operational at some point? I know, maybe not in the immediate future, but I know that is a huge, obvious concern in South Florida. In Miami. Yeah. Miami, especially. I mean, it was originally dredged from the bottom of Biscayne Bay. And so it was like manmade. I believe that's what that means.
Starting point is 01:10:15 Originally just a place, uh, exclusively for white Gentiles that where they would not allow any non-white or Jewish person to live. And the way they enforced that is all electricity was doled out by the local country club. So if somebody moved there and was either not white or Jewish, they just couldn't get electricity. So, wow. They just couldn't get electricity. Wow. They've come along and now they're super woke billionaires who will kill you for not having a high net worth.
Starting point is 01:10:52 God, make these fuckers sweat more, please. It's interesting how the increase in awareness around the absolute greed of these freak billionaires. It also manifests in how different political campaigns are elevated or how discourse is controlled. Because yeah, they're like, don't, we need to stop with this conscious shit. We need more ignorant people to completely ignore the fact that I exist and I might be the architect of a huge portion of climate change or whatever or inequality or lack of access to certain things. Please just shut the fuck up or else more of us are going to have to vote for Trump,
Starting point is 01:11:34 unfortunately. Yeah. It is interesting that the people who have access to all the information about what they're doing to fuck up the world and to keep the proper amount of resources from the rest of the world. They are like, we better arm ourselves with fucking radar on every tree. Like we better treat it like a military bunker because when they find out what we're doing, you know, like it's very telling how they are pressing. They're preparing for this violent backlash from people.
Starting point is 01:12:08 And so we should do it. We should unleash our violent revolution onto them. You're forcing our hand here, Caitlin. You're forcing our hand. We're going to have to put missiles next to the radars now. Yeah. Yeah. Boy.
Starting point is 01:12:24 I was telling my friend about this. He was like, why have a bridge? Like why, why do they even have a bridge? And the answer is because they have hundreds of laborers coming out because they're all cons like Jeff Bezos just bought three properties and he's like building them into one giant mega mansion. So there's tons of blue collar workers having to go onto the island every day. So just a note.
Starting point is 01:12:52 Yeah. F-Y-I. So what we need to do, we need to learn a trade. We need to become masons or something, get hired. Electricians, yeah. Right. And then we're like, yeah, we're here to work on your house and then we sap we do something bad and we make their slash good their stone fireplace ugly yeah not like as good what's the new Daisy Ridley movie
Starting point is 01:13:20 that's coming out there's a new day's rid Daisy or no. Which one is it? Is it. There's like some movie where it's like activists take over a thing. And then it's like, it's like all about like, it's sort of painting activism, like these like boogie men type characters. Oh yeah. I mean, that's coming for sure.
Starting point is 01:13:39 No, but I mean, like, it's funny again, how then you're going to see like movies made that are kind of sort of being like, well, these people suck because, you know, I'd love to see a movie that was about kind of what we're describing, Caitlin, or it's like working people being four steps ahead of billionaires in this race to the end. So like when they think they can close up shop, it's like we had the keys the whole time, y'all. Yeah. I know that's what the Ministry for the Future covers.
Starting point is 01:14:04 If people we talked about that last year. That's a cool novel that talks about like potential ways to activate some manner of change, but it's also, I feel like if you want to actually sell a movie in Hollywood, that shit's not going to resonate with the studio heads and the people who are approving the movie. The thing that's going to resonate with them is like, man, it's poor people are like getting scary, right? Yeah.
Starting point is 01:14:31 That's why I do. I don't know. It feels like now more than ever, a phrase that I love to say, we're due, we're ripe for a resurgence in independent film because there's better technology that people have access to and also the studios are just making dog shit. But I also feel like we're in a sticky situation because distribution is now being controlled more and more by the big companies. By NATO?
Starting point is 01:15:08 Yeah, by NATO. Exactly. So, I don't know. I do hope that there's a resurgence in people making movies that actually are from the perspective of people who don't have a billion dollars. On that note, I highly recommend the movie How to Blow Up a Pipeline, which is about activists who, I mean, just watch the movie. This is the synopsis for the movie Cleaner, which is an upcoming British action thriller film
Starting point is 01:15:37 starring Daisy Ridley. When activists take over an energy company's annual gala held at the Shard in London, some more radical members of their group try to take the guests as hostages. And that's where Daisy Ridley's character enters to help. She's the cleaner. She's like, I take care of problems. Knuckle crack, knuckle crack.
Starting point is 01:16:00 She's like, apparently a soldier with, I think that's a good question. I think that's a good question. I think that's a good question. I think that's a good question. I think that's a good question. I think that's a good question. I think that's a good question. I think that's a good question.
Starting point is 01:16:12 I think that's a good question. I think that's a good question. I think that's a good question. I think that's a good question. I think that's a good question. I think that's a good question. I think that's a good question. I think that's a good question.
Starting point is 01:16:20 I think that's a good question. I think that's a good question. I think that's a good question. I think that's a good question. I think that's a good question. I think that's a good question. I think that's a good question. I think that's a good question. I think yeah, yeah. Right. It's not like this billionaire is actually fucking cool. Oh, I'm sorry. Just because we're making the earth uninhabitable, you think you can like resort to this kind of extreme shit?
Starting point is 01:16:32 I don't think so. I mean, I don't know. All right. That's going to do it for this week's weekly zeitgeist. Please like and review the show if you like the show. Means the world to Miles. He needs your validation, folks. I hope you're having a great weekend and I will talk to you Monday.
Starting point is 01:16:56 Bye. So music Defne Karwana Galitsya was a Maltese investigative journalist who on October 16th 2017 was assassinated. Crooks everywhere unearthed the plot to murder a one woman wikileaks. She exposed the culture of crime and corruption that were turning her beloved country into a mafious state. Listen to Crooks Everywhere on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. To listen to new episodes one week early and 100% ad free, subscribe to the iHeart True Crime Plus channel, available exclusively on Apple Podcasts. That was live audio of a woman's nightmare. Can Kay trust her sister? Or is history repeating itself? There's nothing dangerous about what you're doing. They're just dreams.
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