Breaking Points with Krystal and Saagar - 1/6/26: Tim Walz Throws In The Towel, Healthcare Costs Spike, P Diddy And Tupac

Episode Date: January 6, 2026

Krystal and Emily discuss Walz throws in the towel, healthcare costs spike, P Diddy and Tupac.   To become a Breaking Points Premium Member and watch/listen to the show AD FREE, uncut and 1 hour early visit: www.breakingpoints.comMerch Store: https://shop.breakingpoints.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed Human. Hi, I'm Dr. Priyankawali. And I'm Hurricane Dabolu. It's a new year. And on the podcast, Health Stuff, we're resetting the way we talk about our health. Which means being honest about what we know,

what we don't know, and how messy it can all be. I like to sleep in late and sleep early. Is there a chronotype for that, or am I just depressed? Health stuff is about learning, laughing, and feeling a little less alone. Listen on the I-heart rate.

video app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. The social media trend is slanding some Gen Z years in jail. The progressive media darling whose public meltdown got her fired, and the massive TikTok boycott against Target that actually makes no sense. You won't hear about these online stories in the mainstream media, but you can keep up with them and all the other entertaining and outrageous things happening online in media and in politics with the Brad versus Everyone podcast. Listen to the Brad versus Everyone podcast on the

Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. From NBA champion, Stefan Curry, comes Shot Ready, a powerful never-before-seen look at the mindset that changed the game. I fell in love with the grind. You have to find joy in the work you do when no one else is around. Success is not an accident. I'm passing the ball to you. Let's go.

Steph Curry redefined basketball. Now he's rewriting what it means to succeed. Order your copy of the new. York Times bestseller shot ready today at stephen currybook.com. Hey guys, Saga and Crystal here. Independent media just played a truly massive role in this election, and we are so excited about what that means for the future of this show. This is the only place where you can find honest perspectives from the left and the right

that simply does not exist anywhere else. So if that is something that's important to you, please go to breakingpoints.com, become a member today, and you'll get access to our full shows, unedited, ad-free, and all put together for you every morning in your inbox. We need your help to build the future of independent news media, and we hope to see you at breaking points.com. Minnesota Governor Tim Walls, once the vice presidential nominee, actually just over a year ago, of course, was the vice presidential nominee, announced yesterday he is no longer running for a third term as the governor of the gopher state. He convened a press conference, and then reporters were a little bit irked because he didn't take questions. He's saying he is going to take questions today.

we'll see. But let's dip into this press conference that Tim Walls, we shouldn't call it a press conference, we should just call it an announcement that Tim Walls had yesterday to make this news clear. 2026 is an election year. Election years have a way of ramping up the politics at a time when we simply can't afford more of that in Minnesota. In September, I announced that I would seek a historic third term as Minnesota's governor. And I have every confidence that if I gave it my all, we would win the race. But as I reflect on this moment with my family and my team over the holidays, I came to the conclusion that I can't give a political campaign my all.

Every minute that I spend defending my own political interest would be a minute I can't spend defending the people of Minnesota against the criminals who pray on our generosity and the cynics who want to pray on our differences. So I've decided to step out of this race and I'll let others worry about the election while I focus on the work that's in front of me for the next year. I don't want to mince words here. Donald Trump and his allies in Washington and in St. Paul and online want to make our state a colder, meaner place. They want to poison our people against each other by attacking our neighbors. And ultimately, they want to take away much of what makes Minnesota the best place in the country to raise a family. They've already begun trying to withhold funds that were meant to help families afford child care. And they have no intention to stopping there.

make no mistake we should be concerned about fraud in our state government we cannot effectively deliver programs and services if we can't earn the public's trust that's why over the past few years we've made systemic changes in the way we do business walls has obviously been going back and forth with folks on the right like nick shirley we can put this next element up on the screen nick shirley spread conspiracy theories about melissa hortman recently said why was she killed after speaking out against the legal migrants, was she a threat to you and your fraudster scheme? This is a pretty popular line on...

Trump amplified this baseless, ugly conspiracy theory, too. So Walls then responds. My opponents have been celebrating this far-right YouTuber as a groundbreaking journalist here. He reveals who he really is, a delusional conspiracy theorist. And Nick Shirley then responded to the news about Tim Walls. We could put this next post up on the screen.

I ended Tim Walls all caps. Capps came out yesterday morning from Nick Shirley. Now, Chris, you don't really even need to read between the lines of the Wall's statement yesterday to say that clearly he is now carrying the weight of these scandals. And that was, to him, made it untenable, this third term untenable. He didn't think, he didn't say this, of course, but he didn't think he could definitely succeed in a statewide election at this point. He has always struggled outside of Minneapolis.

He loses a lot of the rural counties and places outside of the Twin Cities. So maybe part of that factor into this as well. He did, I went back and looked, he did tell Axios recently, around the summer, that he would not run for president in 2028 if he ran for governor again in 2026.

So it's possible he is taking some time and is going to think about maybe doing something bigger. I do not know. But it does seem pretty clear that these two things were related. Yeah. I mean, his, I was just looking at his approval. It's roughly 50-50 in Minnesota, but that is a significant fall from where it was previously where he enjoyed high favorability. Governors actually tend to enjoy high favorability, which is kind of interesting. They're not subject to the same like extreme national partisanship view. But in any case, though, he was at 50-50. So I think he had a pretty good shot of getting past this.

and being able to prevail, but, you know, was certainly not a lock. And look, I think Nick Shirley is right. I think he did end Tim Walls. And I find that deeply unfortunate because the issue of fraud in Minnesota is real. You know, I mean, there have been dozens of prosecutions that happened actually under the Biden administration. I'm sure there is more to be done. I don't think anyone doubts that. I'm done denying the reality of any of this.

But it is also true that Shirley's video was a hatchet job and was completely dishonest. It was not journalism. It was, you know, an attempt at a political propaganda video, and it was an extremely successful one because it got picked up by the entire right-wing media apparatus all the way up to the president of the United States and was effectively used as a weapon to take out this politician. And so while, you know, I think, like, Democrats in the state of Minnesota are going to be fine. I mean, Klobuchar is popular in Minnesota.

She's probably going to run for governor. There's an open Senate seat right now that, you know, there's some jockeying for this. But if Klobuchar ends up as governor, that would create another Senate seat that actually may be Tim Walz. The governor is able to appoint the replacement. It might be Tim Walz. I don't know. It would be Klobuchar if she won's, I'm not sure of that.

Cori Anaxios here, quote, seriously considering a run for Minnesota governor. But I hate to reward this, like, deeply dishonest hatchet job propaganda video is what I hate about this. I hate the Nick Shirley, who is now out, you know, sharing fake videos of Venezuelan celebrating, claiming they're in Venezuela and they're actually in Miami not taking it down. Like, that's how dishonesty is. He did, you know, Zionist propaganda for them, pro-genocide propaganda, got into Seacott somehow and just a propaganda there. Like, that's who he is.

And so I think he's right that he ended Tim Walls. And I think it's terrible that he's able to claim that scalp because that will encourage not only him, but the whole ecosystem to rinse and repeat this tactic against other politicians that they don't like. You know, that's interesting because from my perspective, I think the New York Times, like I've seen people on the right trying to take victory laps on Tim Walls. Yeah. That New York Times story that came out in late November, I actually really think is what politically started to make this untenable.

I mean, I make, I blame Tim Walls for ending Tim Walls because I think there was a total lack of leadership as this massive degree of fraud was metastasizing. and some of it, I think, was genuinely a fear of, I mean, there are people who were engaged in the fraud, people who have been convicted, who were weaponizing identity concerns. And this was during a period of like 2020, 2020, when especially on the left in DFL circles, those types of places, there was, I think we all remember this, like very intense fear of, especially in a state with Minnesota, which was reeling from George Floyd, of coming down on the wrong side of racial issues. And I think that led to a serious lack of leadership and oversight, and that created

lots and lots of fraud. And when the New York Times waded into this finally and nationalized the story in a way that it hadn't quite been, that I think is when it started to spiral for Tim Walls. I see this as kind of an interesting story along those lines of how damaged people are going to be on the left by those years 2020-ish to 2022. I don't know if that's a kind of impossible, well, let's say, I don't know if it's permanent damage. I think, you know, right now it's possible that, like, Gavin Newsom, for example, is already trying to find ways around things from those years. But I don't, I think, I think Tim Walls went from somebody who had this really interesting background. And I remember, we covered Tim Walls before he was even

VP because the DFL guys were doing this interesting, you know, tactically, they were doing something that I found interesting as one on the right, like, I've always found the Reagan mantra to politically paint with, he said, bold colors, not pale pastels. Basically, like, nobody, if nobody believes that you don't believe what you're doing, you're going to lose politically. And what they were doing in Minnesota was saying, well, we're leaning fully into all of this. It's like cultural progressivism, immigration, trans issues, and we're not going to be afraid of it. We're not tiptoeing around it. We're telling you that we support working class people and we support these cultural progressive issues, and that's what they were doing. And it was genuinely interesting.

Well, I mean, and Minnesota's national ratings reflect the fact that from a material perspective, that program was very successful. I mean, it's one of the top states in the country for education. It's one of the top states in the country for life expectancy, one of the top states in the country for health outcomes. And on affordability, Minneapolis has been a national model that like the abundance point to because they did some genuinely smart reforms there that have really tapered the cost of rents in the city, which is like a significant part of the population in Minnesota. And so they have some of the most affordable rents in the country for a significant, you know, a city of a significant size. So, you know, to me the cautionary tale,

like the cultural piece of this is really just frankly, I mean, you know, the Trump and administration is loving to seize on this because they love to paint the picture of like black or brown immigrants who are bad and wrong and evil and stealing from the good and righteous Americans. So they love it from this just like purely ugly xenophobic racist direction. The Zionists love it because it's Muslims who are at the center of this. And, you know, Israel did these focus groups saying like, oh, the best way we can reclaim our reclaim some ground here is by spreading Islamophobia. So it's not an accident that Nick Shirley, who is a committed Zionist and was doing propaganda for the Israeli government, is also at the forefront of this one as well.

And so, you know, I don't, like, you're making the connection to like the Black Lives Matters. I think that's very, I think that's very tenuous. For me, the few, the warnings here are just about the willingness and comfort of the right manufacturing propaganda to serve their ends, which can have some connection to reality. but can also be completely far flung from reality. We have AI videos being shared of Venezuela and celebrating and no one caring, whether they're real or fake, et cetera. The willingness of the president of the United States to grab on that and use it.

So this is a, you know, I can't say it's a new reality, but I think it's an accelerated reality. I think that's a warning. And then I think the part about fraud is certainly also a warning because the other ideological piece here is like these programs have been successful and popular, but if you are,

you know, ideologically opposed to any sort of social spending, the best way to undercut support for that is to convince people that, like, your money isn't really going to feed kids, you know, kids at school or needy kids or health care or whatever admirable thing. It's going to, you know, fund these fraudsters. So, you know, we got to cut these programs because you're just, you're just being robbed and that money is being shipped to people who are undeserving. So it's a, it's a very effective, long-practiced way of attacking any sort of social safety net system. So I do think it's important and to, you know, to take fraud seriously, to demonstrate to the public that you were taking that seriously. And I think during COVID in particular, because of, you know, the weirdness

of that time and the discomfort with like in-person contacts and whatever, it created a perfect storm and make it much easier for that sort of fraud to flourish in places like Minnesota, but probably in other places as well. California I know is doing a big, like, analysis. Rokana has been kind of leading the charge of like, yes, you know, we're going to do this well tax, but we also need to make sure that we're serious about tackling fraud for exactly this reason. I do think that's the right lesson to take from it.

It was definitely a perfect storm. One of the, I think questions this raises is, and I don't know if Rowe has talked about this, but block grants to states as a method of destruction. If you're on the left, actually what you might want to see is more robust administration from the federal government of the way some of these funds are dispersed so that you don't have state politics and that kind of dynamic. Yeah, the block grant thing is a Republican. That's a Republican deal. And I was going to say, oh, you know, let the states experiment. And, you know, for Mississippi, we can take our block grant. We can just give it to Brett Farm, you know, like. Even though it's federal money. Yes. That's not just from the pool of Minnesota taxpayer money, right?

And so, yeah, in the right, what we're already seeing is this idea that the block grants themselves are not well managed. And I'm not an expert in that, and I think a lot of people will spout off. I think I see this actually, especially on the right, who just are opposed to the programs and will spot off and talk about how you dysfunctional they are just by their nature. So I don't honestly have a strong opinion on what has to be done with those grants. that you can expect that to be on the table going forward. Now, DFL politics, I think, are going to be very, very interesting in Minnesota going forward. We can put the Wall Street Journal piece back up on the screen. This is E5, 2000.

ICE personnel headed to Minnesota, as the Wall Street Journal says, quote, amid fraud scandal. And, Crystal, this is testing Minnesota politics, which were already interesting in some interesting ways. And we were just talking about Klobuchar, potentially jumping into the governor's race, which opens up a Senate seat and there was already jockeying in the Senate race in Minnesota now with potentially two Senate races and in an open governor's race, this is going to be quite an interesting time. And by the way, as this journal piece is pointing out, escalation of ice, which has become a barometer, which has become a litmus test in some of these primary competitions. Yeah, for sure. Minnesota is a real place to watch right now, not just because of the fraud question.

Yeah, and I was just taking a look. I know in the, there's already an open Senate seat because I always forget her. Tina Smith? Is that the right Tina? Yes. Anyway, Tina, Senator Tina is retired. That's it. There's an open seat.

And you have Peggy Flanagan, who we interviewed. I know, were you there for that interview? No. It was a Friday show. Oh, yes, I was. Yes, I was. And so she's like, she's like the lefty candidate. And she is Tim Wall's lieutenant governor.

And then you have Angie Craig, who is like, you know, corporatist. I think she used to work as like a health care company executive, something like that. Her politics fit with what her previous work history is. And then there's another candidate who I don't think is as serious in the race. I think it's basically between those two. So, you know, now you have, if Claibashar runs and wins, then you have another Senate seat open up. So, and that one, her replacement would be, as I was saying before, appointed by the governor.

Now, I don't know if that would be Tim Wall still or if it would be the new governor. I'm not really sure. But you could see a scenario where one of these ladies gets the current Senate seat. Another one gets the other Senate seat. But this is also the state that Dean Phillips is from. I don't know if he would want to jump into the running for one of these things, too. Another sort of like, you know, corporatist, you know, type who did, Ted was courageous on. Biden's age, have to always give him that too. Got to give him that too. But in any case,

that's kind of what the landscape looks like politically. I mean, the last thing I just have to reflect on is just, I mean, what an incredible fall for Tim Walz. Like, there he was, you know, Brad's number. He's on the ticket. Oh, God. So much energy. You know, the thought is basically, like that, you know, my hope for him was that because he had been so aggressive in pushing through these, this very comprehensive economic agenda in Minnesota that because Kamala doesn't really have a thing, that she would just adopt that, you know, just embrace that. And she didn't. And he was never, you know, so he was never really put out and able to sort of like defend that and put that at the center of the campaign. I think in a sense she was sort of like worried about him upstaging her because I know he's been

caricatured at this point. But he was very good in those cable news interviews, terrible in the debate. But in the cable news interviews and the other appearances, he was very effective. So I think there was some concern about him upstaging her. But in any case, you know, if she wins and he's vice president, then the thought is, okay, Kamala serves her term. She runs for re-election. And then he's up next, you know, on a track to be potential presidential candidate for the United States or even if he handles himself well in that campaign, then, you know, is a potential frontrunner for 2028. I know you said that you found that thing that he was like, oh, I won't run for president if I run for governor. But I mean, I don't think that's really on the table for

him at this point because his image has been so tarnished. And even among Democrats who have, you know, who have affection for him, which many do, myself included, I think we'll look at him and be like, this guy just doesn't have what it takes. I mean, truly that debate with J.D. Vance was really bad. Got a riz. Alone. He's not brat. I think after all this time. The end of the day. Oh, no. Not brat. Oh, I don't ever want to talk about Brad or Brat summer again. That's the worst. I'm actually really still a fan of that album. I still listen to it a lot.

I think it ruined for me. That didn't ruin me. Yeah, I still like it a lot. Fair enough. Hi, I'm Dr. Priyankowali. And I'm Hurricane de Bolu. It's a new year. And on the podcast's Health Stuff,

we're resetting the way we talk about our health. Which means being honest about what we know, what we don't know, and how messy it can all be. I like to sleep in late and sleep early. Is there a chronotype for that, or am I just depressed? We talk to experts who share real experiences and insight.

You just really need to find where it is that you can have an impact in your own life and to start doing that. We break down the topics you want to know more about. Sleep, stress, mental health, and how the world around us affects our overall health. We talk about all the ways to keep your body in mind, inside and out, healthy. We human beings, all we want is connection. We just want to connect with you. other. Health stuff is about learning, laughing, and feeling a little less alone.

Listen on the I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Are you desperately hoping for change in 2026, but feeling stuck? Just spinning your wheels and old routines and bad habits. I'm Dr. Lari-Santos, and in a new year series of my show, The Happiness Lab, I'm going to look at the science of getting, well, unstuck at work, unstuck in your relationships, and even unstuck inside your mind. I am the absolute worst culprit when it comes to getting into these ruminative loops and just driving myself crazy. We'll look at ways to reignite your sense of purpose, rediscover your values, and get more

creative. We'll also explore how to design a life that feels more fulfilling. It's sort of like the game of life. I don't know if you ever played that game. Oh my gosh, yes. You take the car along and you try and get money, and you try and get degrees, and you try and get to the end where either you have a mansion or a ranch or a shack. And once you get to retirement, you're done.

What about the whole path along the way? So join me to get unstuck in 2026. Listen to the Happiness Lab on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your shows. Dad had the strong belief that the devil was attacking us. Two brothers, one devout household, two radically different paths. Gabe Ortiz became one of the highest-ranking law enforcement officers in Texas. 32 years, total law enforcement experience. But his brother Larry, he stayed behind and built an entirely different legacy.

He was the head of this gang, and nobody was going to tell him what to do. You're going to push that line for the calls. Took us under his wing and showed us the game, as they call it. When Larry is murdered, Gabe is forced to confront the past he tried to leave behind and uncover secrets he never saw coming. My dad had a whole other life that we never knew about. Like, my mom started screaming my dad's name, and I just heard, One gunshot.

The Brothers Ortiz is a gripping true story about faith, family, and how two lives can drift so far apart and collide in the most devastating way. Listen to the Brothers Ortiz on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. All right, guys. Well, we did want to keep our eye on the affordability crisis, and especially as it relates to health care, because as you guys are well aware, there was no fix for the whole. Obamacare premiums expiring. That was what the big shutdown was all about. Democrats back down without achieving any actual material win there. Republicans never were willing to extend those

subsidies, whatever deals they floated, never came to fruition. So here we are in 2026. Those premium subsidies have now officially expired. We can put this up on the screen from ABC News. They say ACA subsidies that lower monthly insurance premiums from millions of Americans said to expire about 22 million of the 24 million ACA Marketplace enrollees are currently receiving enhanced premium tax credits to lower their monthly premiums, and many are preparing to see their premiums soar in 2026. Republicans said the expansions from the pandemic era went too far. They say tried to persuade Democrats to fund a temporary spending bill that did not address the expiring ACA subsidies with promises of discussing ways to continue the subsidies later.

So as this whole Venezuela show is going on, people. are getting bills in the mail, myself included, and looking at the numbers and going, what the hell? And, you know, ABC News interviewed a number of individuals who are seeing their premiums hike who are saying, I genuinely can't afford this. Like, I don't know what I'm going to do. One couple said, we do have some savings so we could probably make it work for this year. But then that's it. You know, then our savings are spent down. And we still have, you know, however many more years of health care premiums that we need to be able to afford. And we're not going to be able to. And in this particular instance, a wife suffers from ALS. So she has

specific health care needs, part of what contributes to expense of this. But it's a really dire situation. And Emily, I remember Trump had come out and was like, I'm going to announce a plan. And there was supposed to be a press conference like that day, Republicans kind of freaked out because they didn't like what he was going to offer. And so then we never heard anything more from him about his health care plan. I guess we're still in the concepts of a plan phase. And the reality is hitting for millions of Americans. Yeah, I mean, this is an election year. So Republicans have this added pressure now.

I mean, one of the points after Zohmdani won in New York City and Republicans got kind of routed down the line, and I should say momdani won by a margin that a lot of people did not expect, he, of course we did, but otherwise, the people were genuinely surprised by that. And it was this conversation that crops up about how. affordability, you know, Trump goes up literally the next day. It's like, they have this new word, affordability. It's like how he calls groceries and old-fashioned word. Yeah. Like, affordability, new word, groceries, very old. Old-fashioned. It's the old-fashioned word. But anyway, they are thinking to themselves, has Trump spent too much time on the right? They're thinking,

has he spent too much time on foreign policy? And that's immediately the conversation in the media after the off-year elections looked like a rebuke of Donald Trump. And now you have him doing regime change talking about rebuilding Venezuela's infrastructure, like it as an actual line from his speech about it in an election year. And Republicans are at square one still, where they have been literally since 2010, they've got square one, which is repeal Obamacare. But nobody now that we are however many years, 15 years, 16 years into Obamacare wants to actually repeal Obamacare, full implementation, I guess you could ping it to like 2014, pin it to 2014. So they're more than a decade into Obamacare.

Nobody thinks that they can fully repeal Obamacare. And they have no plan. And we have covered this over and over again. There is no consensus health care position in the Republican Party. Ryan and I had someone who has seen as the foremost Republican expert on health care policy, Brian Blaze, sitting right here. And he has all of these, like, wonky ideas of how Republicans can change the health care system. But it's not politically something that they can package together and be like, hey, we fixed health care prices.

to see them go down. And that's where the subsidies, Marjor Taylor Green said, unless you have this massive fix that's actually going to bring down health care prices, you're asking people to swallow this increase in premium prices. And now she's out of Congress. And partially because she was chastised for coming out and talking about health care this way. And Republicans are looking at an election year where they're doing regime changes and people's health care insurance, healthcare premiums are spiking. So that's a obviously bad combination. Everyone in D.C. knows it's a bad combination. And that's saying something because people in D.C. are pretty thick, gold. Yes. Well, I mean, the numbers for the Venezuela operation already are

tepid, right? But I think there's another question that's even more important, which is not even just like, how do you feel about this, but how do you feel about this being the use of the president's time? And, you know, that's part of what Joe Biden suffered from, too. is he also had this fixation. I mean, I think a lot of presidents do because it's the area where they can operate as basically like a king. They have the most, the freest hand,

especially in the modern era to apparently just do whatever they want without asking Congress or the American people for anything. So I think a lot of presidents get sort of fixated with Trump, who has these authoritarian instincts, very deep inside of him as a CEO,

loves that too. And I think it's kind of almost like addicted to it. You know, the ability to just snap his fingers and watch the, like he described, I watched it like it was a TV show. This special operation going down in Venezuela was incredible. Like, I think that's very intoxicating for him and he has a sort of addiction to it. It also drives the narrative, you know, now like our whole show yesterday was entirely about Venezuela. This show has mostly been about Venezuela.

He gets to take control of the public narrative in a way that he likes. But meanwhile, even voters who might support this, which there are, you know, there are some, is about 30% of the public. It's like, okay, we're good with this, at least where we are right now. A separate question is, okay, but is this what we really want you spending all your time is? And I, on and I think the overwhelming majority would say, no, there's a Wall Street Journal piece that kind of gets to this point, not exactly like a left-wing outlet here, Murdoch publication. Trump's Venezuela focus pulls him away from voters' economic concerns. And the anecdote they start with here is they say, Dylan Mockley voted for,

Trump in 2024 in hopes of ending wars, reigning in government spending, bringing down inflation upon hearing the president say the U.S. would run Venezuela after American forces captured, I would say kidnapped. President Nicolas Maduro, the 38-year-old sarcastically said, charming just what I voted for. Instead of spending more money overseas, Mugly said he would prefer to see Trump focused on prices in the U.S. He said the pandemic lockdowns and subsequent inflation surge wreaked havoc on his finances. I make the most money I ever made in my life, and I feel the brokest I've ever been. He runs a food truck business in rural Idaho.

He said he routinely sees customers' credit cards declined. He characterized Trump's first year in office as a gigantic disappointment to a monumental degree, and he expects to either vote libertarian or abstain from voting at all in the midterm elections. So, you know, I don't think he's the only one, not to say that he's entirely representative. Many, you know, MAGA base are still with Trump and plan to come out and vote. the midterms and whatever, but I don't think Dylan is like the only guy who's, who's feeling this way, feeling like Trump promised him one thing and having some hope that his finances

personally would get better. And instead, the focus is all on these foreign operations. Yeah, well, I mean, that was, again, this is baked into Trumpism. It's not just this opposition to foreign policy that looks like nation building and regime change and imperialism. Actually, for a lot of people, especially people who are kind of right or leaning right, independence, who are, more likely to vote right, there's, it's not just that. It's also that there's been this hollowing out of the American economy while elites kind of play in the foreign sandbox. And I think for Trump to be so sucked in, I mean, now he talks constantly about all of the wars he claims to have ended. He talks all of the time about that. Like he makes it part of what his message to

the American people. And obviously that's not unimportant. Obviously, you know, whether you agree with them about world peace or not, you want to see stability around the world. Everyone wants to see stability around the world for the most part. The average voter wants to see that. But what they care, the difference politically is priorities. So it's not that it's not important. It's that people are saying, Trump, you were the guy who said you were going to stop the adventurism at the sake. That was coming at the sake of the average American. Right. That was coming at the sacrifice of the average American. And that, I think, is going to be if the economy, I mean, they're hoping that tax season comes around and the bill kicks in in a way that Americans really start feeling, which did not happen in 2018, by the way, but they have all kinds of manufacturing credits and stuff that they hope is adjuiced the economy in the next, what, like six months?

I mean, now we are in 2026. That's happened. So while we're just talking about the raw politics of it, we're in a total, we're in totally uncharted territory with this tariff regime. On top of that, you have the, I mean, the American economy reeling from this new AI change in the job force. College graduates are looking at record levels of unemployment, recent college graduates looking at record levels of unemployment. So there's significant structural changes in the economy in 2026 that they're facing down. So a lot of foreign policy adventurism, just on a political level, is going to be a toxic combination at the ballot box. I think this kind of underscores a point. Let's put F3 up on the screen. This is very, this was very interesting. Axios did this.

You can take a look at the search interest in these given topics, starting the year with Palisades fire. You see a spike there. Greenland inauguration, Elon Musk. Oh, God. DEI. D.C. plane crash, RFK Jr. You could see Gaza kind of has these peaks throughout the entire year. Doge, Zelensky, then comes auto pen. Then you've got tariffs, again, a spike in the beginning, but ongoing conversation. Signalgate, hopefully a real ID. That had a lot more than I thought. Golden Dome. Oh, my God. That got a love attention. Biden cancer. Kilmar Obrego Garcia, again, having these various spikes, ice across the year. But look at Labibu. Okay. And then look down at the middle of the screen there. inflation. The one news item consistently high across the entire year is inflation, followed by Sidney Sweeney and Lubbuboos apparently.

Sydney Sweeney. Well, we were on top of that from day one. Significant interest throughout the year, apparently. K-pop demon hunters also quite a bit of interest in the latter part of the year. So sustained interest there as well. But, oh God, 6-7 is on the list as well. Why did you say it? I'm sorry. I'm sorry. You're not sorry. Anyway, but yeah, if you look at all of those news items, you know, most of them, even something that was massively concerted, Charlie Kirk's assassination, it's a spike and then it drops way down. Most news items are like that.

And yet inflation throughout the whole year, you have this high level of sustained interest. And, I mean, that kind of tells you everything, doesn't it? Like, all these other things are incredibly significant. But in terms of the public attention, they come and go. the one thing that is a constant is, am I making it? Am I going, what am I buying at the grocery store? How much is it costing? Yes.

What is my rent? Am I going to be able to buy a house? Am I going to be able to sell a house? Like, what are the interest in that sense of can I even sustain the life that I'm living right now? That does not go away for people. No, no, no, not at all. And I think this is part of the mistake that the left made for a really long. I mean, we covered this forever, talking about some of these kind of decadent, elite priorities.

Like Elizabeth Warren, first debate of 2020, even using the phrase Latin X, sounds like a silly little thing. But to your average voter, it's like, what the hell are you talking about? I can't pay my bills. Grounding in economic populism. Girl, what are you doing? Exactly, right. But, I mean, it was obviously an odd time.

Yeah, it had to be there. You had to be there. But it was, those types of mistakes actually struck your average voter is like, what are you focused on right now? Because I can't pay my bills. Jobs are leaving my town. This is met, like, the entire economy feels off. As the voter in that piece said, he said, he's like, I'm making more money in my life than I ever have my life and I can't pay my bills.

Like many such cases. And that type of experience, when you hear politicians talking about these priorities, is infuriating. And so it wasn't just that people disagreed with, like, saying Latinx or whatever the, you choose your priority, a cultural priority at that time. It wasn't just they disagreed with it. It was actually that they were angry that it looked like... Like, that was the primary focus.

Yes. Yeah, and so even people who maybe were sympathetic to, you know, some of the underlying goals are like, okay, but, like, where does the rubber meet the road? And why can't we focus more specifically on those things? So, yeah, you know, I don't think anyone should be surprised that. Look, culture war, like, slop is the easiest thing in the world to do. You know, it doesn't require any legislative effort.

It doesn't require any, like, build on of new programs. It's very easy for the DHS account to post a Nazi meme. That doesn't take anything, you know? And I think it's very common for elites of both parties, but I think this administration really leans very heavily into this because a lot of their cohesive glue in raison d'etra is this, like, you know, these culture war battles. And then you marry that together with, you know,

I mean, the Venezuela thing is partly framed in cultural terms from them as well. And then Trump loves that this is this area of just free reign from him, or at least he takes advantage of it as an area of free reign for him as an executive. And that's where you end up with most of the administration's focus going while people continue to search for some political party, some political leader that is actually going to deal with what is increasingly like genuine crisis in terms of, you know, people being able to make it. People seeing these billionaires with skyrocketing wealth and skyrocketing power. Yeah. That comes along to it with it, that are just controlling...

Betting on polymarket. Yeah, betting on polymarket, building and data center near town that you don't want there, that's spiking your electric bill. Like, these things are becoming less theoretical and much, much, much more real for people. You know, the cultural world stuff, again, like, it's important.

I think we all agree that some of these issues are genuinely, like, very important to parents. And that was a lesson of 2020 Glenn Yonkin. And what I think people should be taking from, for example, years pretty stinging defeat. Not that that was particularly surprising, but she really ran on redoing the culture war. And that trying to... In terms of trans bathroom and sports ads. You're in Virginia. Yeah. She really ran a heavy cultural war campaign trying to reanimate the Yonking Coalition

during a different time. We were literally just talking about that in 2020. And Republicans are going to make a mistake if they think they can coast on the same 2020 politics because Democrats have now half a decade of experience adapting to failures. And you saw that with Mamdani. You saw it with Democrats in the Virginia race, for example. That was a much better campaign than Democrats would have run just a few years ago in Virginia. In fact, then they did run with Terry McAuliffe. And that's, it means that Republicans can, and Republicans being in power now as well, means that the dynamic is totally different. And so you can. Hi, I'm Dr. Priyong Kowali. And I'm It's a new year, and on the podcast's Health Stuff, we're resetting the way we talk about

our health. Which means being honest about what we know, what we don't know, and how messy it can all be. I like to sleep in late and sleep early. Is there a chronotype for that, or am I just depressed? We talk to experts who share real experiences and insight. You just really need to find where it is that you can have an impact in your own life and just start doing that. We break down the topics you want to know more about. Sleep, stress, mental health, and how the world around us affects our overall health. We talk about all the ways to keep your body in mind, inside and out, healthy. We human beings, all we want is connection.

We just want to connect with each other. Health stuff is about learning, laughing, and feeling a little less alone. Listen on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Are you desperately hoping for change in 2020? but feeling stuck, just spinning your wheels and old routines and bad habits. I'm Dr. Lari Santos, and in a new year series of my show, The Happiness Lab, I'm going to look at the science of getting, well, unstuck, unstuck at work, unstuck in your relationships, and even unstuck inside your mind.

I am the absolute worst culprit when it comes to getting into these ruminative loops and just driving myself crazy. We'll look at ways to reignite your sense of purpose, rediscover your values, and get more creative. We'll also explore how to design a life that feels more fulfilling. It's sort of like the game of life. I don't know if you ever played that game. Oh, gosh, yes. You take the car along and you try and get money, and you try and get degrees, and you try and get to the end where either you have a mansion or a ranch or a shack. And once you get to retirement, you're done. What about the whole path along the way? So join me to get unstuck in 2026. Listen to the Happiness Lab on

the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your shows. Dad had the strong belief that the devil was attacking us. Two brothers, one devout household, two radically different paths. Gabe Ortiz became one of the highest-ranking law enforcement officers in Texas. 32 years, total law enforcement experience. But his brother Larry, he stayed behind and built an entirely different legacy. He was the head of this gang, and nobody was going to tell him what to do. You're going to push that line for the cause.

Took us under his wing and showed us the game. as they call it. When Larry is murdered, Gabe is forced to confront the past he tried to leave behind and uncover secrets he never saw coming. My dad had a whole other life that we never knew about.

Like, my mom started screaming my dad's name, and I just heard one gunshot. The Brothers Ortiz is a gripping true story about faith, family, and how two lives can drift so far apart and collide in the most devastating way. Listen to the Brothers Ortiz on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,

or wherever you get your podcasts. I can't just expect backlash to dem cultural excesses to distract from economic problems when you're in power. It just is not going to work that way. It was the opposite for people like Yonkin who said, and I went back and looked at Yonkin's inaugural speech recently. He was talking actually about how he was connecting the cultural war in class. And it's funny coming from someone like Glenn Yonkin,

But it was clever, like it was genuinely clever saying that these ideas were hurting people at the bottom more than they were hurting people at the top. And that is really, really interesting. It's not, if Republicans aren't able to make that connection, which is obviously harder to do when you're in charge of the economy. Yeah. Good luck. There was also something very specific going on at that time period, which is a lot of parents, like non-ideologically upset with school closures. which you know was understandable also yeah and so you know I think it was a very sort of specific moment where he's able to achieve that victory that you know like we've moved on from that moment

and so some of those pieces just aren't there to work with anymore either no but I mean this is the future of the Republican Party like I remember going out to Loudoun in like 2020 something made a it was 2020 made like a mini documentary talking to these parents who were organizing themselves in the basement of this barn. And some of them were like old Tea Party hands, but some of them, I remember talking to them, they were like minorities, they'd never been involved in politics.

Maybe I'd voted for Obama, and you're looking at this and you're like, this is the Trump era in politics. But it's not anymore, right? That coalition is fraying. Yeah. And part of it is because on the margins, which really do matter,

on the margins, you had people who, again, I was talking people who voted for Obama and were organizing for Glenn Yonkin. It was just a, it was a strange time to your point, but if Republicans want to keep that coalition into the future, it's not looking good. And it doesn't seem like Trump himself understands or cares much about what that would look like down the road. Very true. All right, guys, we've got Diddy on the show bar there because I recorded a little while back in interview with Toray about the Diddy Netflix doc. Yeah? Toray has some spicy takes. He's also

in the documentary. Yeah, I was going to say he's in it. Yeah, he's in the documentary several times, as a journalist, because, you know, I mean, he's interviewed, he's most famous for that R. Kelly moment. Yep. But he's interviewed, you know, everybody, he knows a bunch of the people that are involved. So I really wanted to talk to him about what he thought. And so, and he did some, I can't wait to watch it. Yeah. And he did some digging, you know, some journalistic digging into some of the anecdotes that are told in the documentary that he's able to, like, pour some cold water on. But in any case, it was really fascinating speaking with him. So have a relatively lengthy the interview with him about the Netflix doc.

I mean... Did you guys get into the 50 cents stuff? A little bit. A little bit. It was more about, you know, what do you make of? Was Did he involved in Biggie's murder? Because that is alleged in the documentary. And Toray's very skeptical of that.

Was he involved in Tupac's murder? Which I think there's more solid evidence for. But Tori's also somewhat skeptical of that too. So I'll have to hear his analysis of, you know, he doesn't fully buy the evidence that's that's proffered there. But there are some other ways that they sort of tell the story that he's like, well, it's not exactly how it happened based on where I spoke with. And in any case, if you haven't watched the documentary, it is interesting.

I guess there's spoilers here, although in this interview, although I get, you know, we all kind of know how this all went down. Yeah. So it's not really spoilers, but in any case, I recommend you watch it. I think guys will enjoy it, certainly, and I liked talking to Tori about it. I can't wait to watch it. So I'll be there with everyone else. All right, guys, bro show tomorrow, and Saga and I will be back on Thursday, and we'll see you then.

See you. All right, guys, so I, like many other Americans and probably some people overseas as well, just watch the Netflix Diddy documentary, which was backed by 50 Cent. And after I watched it, I said there's one person I need to speak with about that. And that is my great friend and the legendary journalist Toray, who is doing all kinds of interesting things right now, including talking to. and Nomiki Const about her breakup with Bill de Blasio. But in addition, has a YouTube channel called Rap Latte that you guys should definitely check out. So great to see you, my friend.

Nice to see you. Yeah. So before we jump in, guys, spoilers, spoilers. Not that, I mean, is it spoilers when we kind of know some of these things? But anyway, if you're waiting to be surprised about how this documentary unfolds, watch it and come back to this. It's a documentary about history that has been discussed. It's interesting because a lot of.

of this history for for gen Xers and older millennials who are into hip hop this is old history that we have been discussing and arguing about for a very long time i think for younger millennials and for zoomers this may be their first time discussing some of these issues especially when you go back to believe it was that 1993 94 it was 92 maybe shooting at quad studios 93 um they had not really discussed this i know for some of them they had never heard of the cc and y tragedy. So some of this... So, Tori, I actually did not know about the CCNY tragedy.

So, you know, I'm sort of engaging on this as not like super like in the weeds with all of it, just like existing in America throughout this time period. But there were some, you know, some sort of foundational pieces here that even I didn't actually know about. And that they use... So maybe talk a little bit about the CCNY piece because that becomes a kind of bedrock part. of how they build out the story of Diddy just being a absolute psychopath in every way.

Let's, I mean, let's start with this baseline that Puffy has been a horrible person for a long time. And I believe a lot of the essay and violence charges that are levied against him. He has been known to all of us as a sex addict for a long time, somebody who does not really care. care about other people and will roll over other people to get whatever he wants. Typical of what it takes to become a leader in this capitalist society, you know, has been an egomaniac, has been, I did a video on YouTube. I know why Did he is broken. And I think there's something broken inside of him that goes back to way back.

And actually, let me tell you a story from his childhood that I think sort of sums up some of who he is. He had a paper route as a kid. A lot of us in Gen X had paper routes. The most entrepreneurial kid in the neighborhood had a paper route where he or she would get on their bike before school and throw newspapers into 20 or 30 or 40 people's homes, right? And sometimes maybe your mom would drive you around and help you do that. But it's always like, you know, the most go-getter kid in the neighborhood would have a paper route, right? So of course, young puff had a paper route. what happened is that he purchased other kids paper routes now that is not super unusual but then

he would have them delivering papers for him so and taking their some of their money and and you might say oh well that's being clever okay but at 12 or 13 he's thinking like a capitalist and manipulating the labor of other kids to enrich himself and like 12 or 13 year old. are not thinking like that. Yeah, it's an instinct for exploitation is what that is. Exactly. So, I mean, you're already starting with that. So by the time you get to CCNY, I believe he was about 20, 21, 22, somewhere and there.

He had left Howard University. He was known in New York City as one of the big promoters. I mean, like, when I got to New York City, he was already known as like one of the big promoters in party promoters, nightline. promoters. And so the CC and Y thing, at CCNY, he planned and executed a celebrity pro-am basketball game, which was kind of an excuse to put on a mini concert inside CCNY. And CCNY for people don't know, a city college of New York, which is up at what, like 140th street, something like that. Yeah, something like that, which is a very, let's say, which is a college

that a lot of working class folks would go to because it's much more affordable. than a lot of other places. And he planned this celebrity basketball game. So all the hip-hop artists who were hot of the moment, who were New Yorkers, who he could just get on the phone, were going to come. So I think there was six or eight. Heavy D was one of them, I remember.

And it was super popular at that time. And they, I think they had, I think it was that they had a capacity of like, let's say, $2,500 and they sold like $5,000 tickets. So there's clearly like a hustle. exploration, you know, an exploitation, you know, we're just going to fake it until we make it and like just, just we'll figure it out on the back. The rules don't apply. We'll figure it out. You know what I mean? And, you know,

you can Google the specifics, but there was a tramp, there was a, there was a, there was a problem, there was a stampede because there were too many people inside and outside the space trying to get in. And, and you had a situation where a lot of people were trying to get out rapidly and people got squished against doors, fire doors that would not open, people got trampled. And about nine people who were, most of them teenagers, I think the oldest was like 27, 28, but most of them teenagers, about nine people died, you know, which is very tragic. Puff was sued.

A lot of people thought, you know, this would be the end of your professional life. He somehow survives that, which starts this whole thing of like, he keeps surviving. these crazy moments that would ruin a lot of other people's careers. Well, in the way the doc frames it actually isn't just that he survived, but that this is part of what made him famous, that this tragedy that would have ended the career of anyone else is part of what helps to launch him in the public consciousness. I mean, perhaps.

I mean, like, he got a lot of name recognition out of that. People who had not heard of Puff Daddy before that heard of him. But, you know, I mean, just setting the record straight often in this climate right now after the trial, the doc sounds like you're defending him in no way, shape, or form am I defending him? And one of my TikTok videos alleges, insinuates that he may have killed his wife, Kim Porter, the mother of three of his children. So I am never defending Puff. But, you know, the tragedy got some people knowing who he was.

but then after that, excuse me, while he was there, he was already an A&R man at Uptown Records. And he launches the career of Mary J. Blige. And he launches the career of Jodicey. And they were massive stars right away.

And there's some significant creative innovations that happened with the rise of Jodice and especially with Mary as far as the merging of hip-hop and R&B that had not happened before. So this was actually the first time, that people were like, okay, the artists are dope, but who's the A&R guy? Who is styling them? Who is really uniquely, like, creating artists that are like these major cultural figures

that are changing the game. So, you know, to me, to a lot of us, it's the rise of Jodicey and Mary J. Blage that make it like, wait, who's that guy? And out of the success of those two and creating Biggie while he was at Uptown, and he gets fired from Uptown, because of it. of a interpersonal clash with the leader of Uptown. Then he's able to go to Clive Davis and get money to start his own label, which is now boy. So I want to jump into the part that people will be sort of boast, I think, fascinated by,

which is the documentary's evidence, mostly circumstantial, but evidence that Diddy is directly responsible for the murder of Tupac and sort of low-key responsible for the murder of Biggie as well. And they spent a lot of time building up like, this is an absolute psychopath. he will do any literally anything he cares about power and control whether it's okay now that I know that's your girlfriend I'm going to steal her whether it's I'm going to call you into my office on a whim just so you can see me getting my sucked during office hours when I don't even want you know need anything from you like I'm going to convince you that you have to give me all of your shares in this business that we co-founded like everything is sort of building up

to this guy's a total psychopath who's just in it for himself and will do literally anything And then before I get your analysis, just take people through what is the evidence that is offered that Diddy is directly responsible for the murder of Tupac? So the Tupac story is a lot. It's it's there's so we really had to go back to in Atlanta there's a club conversation, fight, conflagration between him and Shug. And it ends up that one of Shug Knight's friends in his crew gets killed. Shug Knight is the leader, of course, of death row records, which is really the prop beefing with bad boy during this time. After that, it's reasonable to expect that Puff was very afraid that they would try to come back and do something to him or somebody around him. So the notion that he thought that maybe we should do something.

something is there, we got to remember Puffy is not a street guy. Shug Knight is absolutely a real street guy. He comes from the L.A. gang scene. Puff is a suburban guy who becomes more gangster as he's in the music business, but that's not really where he's from. And especially at this point in the early to mid-90s, there are real street people in the industry. There's a conversation in the documentary

and in the world of hip-hop that Puff hired somebody to get Tupac, okay? In the dock, they say that there was a moment where there was 4-0, 40 gangsters in a room, and Puff says to the entire room, $1 million if you can get, and eliminate Shug and Puck. I find it very difficult to believe that you basically stood on a stage in front of 40 people

and said, hey, I got a million dollar bounty. I mean, I also think as a leader, you wouldn't do it that way. You would say it to one person. You wouldn't say it to a whole room full of people like you're like, hey, guys. Let's get the Zoom call together. Everybody hears your invites. You know what I mean? You know, like, like, you know, but on the other hand, I mean, they have in the documentary.

I mean, listen, I found it compelling, but I also don't know anything, right? Well, but they have in the doc. They have all this, um, testimony from a proffer session from what's the guy's name Keithy B, who's been saying for years that Puff was supposed to pay him for getting Pock and or Shug. Kee FD did not get paid that money supposedly was stolen by a gangster. who was down with Puff. So he says that he did the thing

and was supposed to get paid, but didn't get paid. But let's go back a second. Yeah. Orlando Anderson is a Crip who happened to be at the Tyson fight. He had stolen a death row person employee's chain, death row chain earlier.

So when they're at the Tyson fight, somebody says to Tupac, there's the guy who stole that guy's death row chain and pock and others go beat him up and then later that night the orlando anderson we know this went back and shot pock orlando anderson is keepy d's nephew now i am being asked to believe that pock initiated a fight which i believe against the one person who was hired to kill Tupac. So he picked the one wrong person

who was already looking for their opportunity. And when they beat up Orlando Anderson, Keefe D. and others were like, oh, here's our perfect opportunity to go get Pock and everybody will think that it's retaliation for that. We've already been looking for our opportunity. To me, Occam's razor is, you saw a Crip, you beat up a Crip, and he came back and shot you. That is extraordinarily believable and extraordinarily reasonable. If you beat up a Crip, he will take a gun and try to shoot you, right?

Or a blood, whatever. What do you know about how Diddy at this time was thinking about Pock? Like, what level of threat he perceived? You know, what do you think his headspace at this time would have been? I think from talking to people who was around him and who know him that he was definitely very scared, that there was definitely a fear that these death row guys, we don't know what they're going to do. You know, they could come back us with any level of violence. So there was definitely a genuine fear and a state of like, we need to be, you know, on edge.

We need to be on point because these guys might come back at us in any number of ways. Does that mean that he did this? Is it possible maybe? But I just don't think that that's where he was. Did he this person, this person, this person? Believable. Did he roofy and drug and thus incapacitate and so he could an essay many people? Totally believe that.

But did he? He order pox, I just don't buy it. Is it possible? Maybe, but I just don't. So it's not that you don't think that, like, oh, that would be too far from him and morally he wouldn't. You just don't feel like the story is logical to you. Morally, sure, it's possible. Sure.

From knowing what I know from talking to people, Puff's not a street guy. so the notion that he at that point in his life turned to we're going to kill this guy Park I mean I also feel like he would have seen that Shug was the real enemy Shug was the would be the one who would say you go shoot Puff so you'd be trying to shoot

Pup Shug but allegedly he was right allegedly he was trying to get both Shug and Pock right yeah which is I mean like how did you not you were right there I did want to know, what did you think of the portrayal of Shug? Because the doc kind of portrays him as like, yeah, from the street, rough guy, but he took care of his artist. And Diddy is like, you know, just pure exploitation.

And so that's why a bunch of his artists were leaving, et cetera. I mean, correct about Puff as far as exploitation and such. Yeah. Shug is also a horrible person, you know, from the street, not necessarily as far as we know, the sex addict and people, but like violence, like, no problem. Like, I'm going to, I mean, like, this is a much longer story, but he basically kidnapped me at one point, a very frightening worry. I'm sorry, what? I mean, you know, I mean, if you want to do, if you, I mean, it's a 20 minute story. So I could come back and tell you. But I mean, I went to interview him and I asked him a question he did not like. And there was a long, it was about a half hour where I, where I was not allowed to leave the office, no longer than have him, where I was not allowed to leave the office when I wanted to. And a solid period of time when there was a young blood standing beside Shug.

And I thought he at any moment, he's going to say, okay, go beat him up. And then he would like destroy me. I so mean there was about maybe an hour that I was like trapped in his office and like wanting to leave in death row and like I'm not able to leave because he's like you know you're going to sit there and you know he's so he is a horrible person he is known to have you know dangled people off of balconies and held a gun to people's head to get them to sign a contract that they should not have been signing and he was kind of known for like barging into. your office and stealing your pants, right? Like that happened several. I mean, the first time I wanted to interview him, I called somebody an executive and they were like, don't, just don't. Don't. Don't do it. Because it just, you know, you don't know what kind of worms it could open up. You don't, you know, just like don't talk to the gangster. Just don't get his attention. Just leave it alone. It's a horrible person who is absolutely exploiting people, who's absolutely beating people up. So the

doc definitely makes sure. It makes Shook look a lot better than. I mean, I mean, the Pock story we could talk about. The big story did Puff kill big or have something to do with it. I'm like, guys, now we're really in fantasy land. This was, I don't want to say his best friend, right? Because I don't think he really has best friends. But like, this was his number one artist by far. This was his number one rainmaker by far.

Well, and that's kind of just to give the way the documentary portrays it. I mean, that's actually the motive that they, that they used to portray, like, that's actually why he wanted him out of the way because Big was the star. He was sucking up the oxygen. Did he wanted to be that number one artist? And he was kind of in the way. And so, you know, whereas with pockets, like, he got these gangsters in a room and was like, I want this guy dead. With Big, it was like, okay, we know it's very dangerous in L.A. Big does not want to be there

I'm going to and let me just finish what the documentary says then you can tell me what you know about the situation so Big does not want to be there they play interview of him talking about how you know

how sort of nervous and uncomfortable he is not only does he there does like did he like forces him to go but then they extend it Big was supposed to go to some I don't know interview in the UK or something like that and they're like

no cancel your flight you're going to stay there, we're going to do this big party, and then that's when he ends up getting murdered. So it's not like the doc doesn't portray it like, oh, did he ordered this hit, but basically that he intentionally put his life knowingly at risk, sort of hoping that something like this might happen is the subtext of what the documentary lays out.

The notion that somebody could just tell big what to do is laughable. Hi, I'm Dr. Priyanko Wali. And I'm Hurricane Dibolu. It's a new year. And on the podcast's Health Stuff, we're resetting the way we talk about our health. Which means being honest about what we know, what we don't know, and how messy it can all be. I like to sleep in late and sleep early. Is there a chronotype for that or am I just depressed?

We talk to experts who share real experiences and insight. You just really need to find where it is that you can have an impact in your own life industry. We break down the topics you want to know more about. Sleep, stress, mental health, and how the world around us affects our overall health. We talk about all the ways to keep your body in mind, inside and out, healthy. We human beings, all we want is connection. We just want to connect with each other. Health stuff is about learning, laughing, and feeling a little less alone.

Listen on the iHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Are you desperately hoping for change in 2026, but feeling stuck? Just spinning your wheels in old routines and bad habits? I'm Dr. Lari Santos, and in a new year series of my show, The Happiness Lab, I'm going to look at the science of getting, well, unstuck, unstuck at work, unstuck in your relationships, and even unstuck inside your mind. I am the absolute worst culprit when it comes to getting into these ruminative loops and just driving myself crazy.

We'll look at ways to reignite your sense of purpose, rediscover your value, use and get more creative. We'll also explore how to design a life that feels more fulfilling. It's sort of like the game of life. I don't know if you ever played that game. Oh my gosh, yes. You take the car along and you try and get money and you try and get degrees and you try and get to the end where either you

have a mansion or a ranch or a shack. And once you get to retirement, you're done. What about the whole path along the way? So join me to get unstuck in 2026. Listen to the Happiness Lab on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your shows.

Dad had the strong belief that the devil was attacking us. Two brothers, one devout household, two radically different paths. Gabe Ortiz became one of the highest-ranking law enforcement officers in Texas. 32 years, total law enforcement experience. But his brother Larry, he stayed behind and built an entirely different legacy. He was the head of this gang, and nobody was going to tell him what to do. You're going to push that line for the cause. Took us under his wing and showed us the game, as they call it.

When Larry is murdered, Gabe is forced to confront the past he tried to leave behind and uncover secrets he never saw coming. My dad had a whole other life that we never knew about. Like, my mom started screaming my dad's name, and I just heard one gunshot. The Brothers Ortiz is a gripping true story about faith, family, and how two lives can drift so far apart and collide in the most devastating way. Listen to the Brothers Ortiz on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get It's your podcasts.

Earlier in the career, Puff had been trying to get big to stop dealing drugs, right, while they're making the first album, and I can't confirm if it was after the first album came out. But while they're making the first album, he's like, you know, you don't need to do that anymore. And he's like, yeah, whatever, whatever square, whatever nerd. So, I mean, controlling him as far as I know, because when that was happening, when big, was in L.A. He was with partly my friend Cheo Coker, who's another legendary hip-hop journalist. And Cheo was, I believe, was the last print journalist to interview him.

It was very clear that Big was very happy that that trip in L.A., he was not forced to go to L.A. He wanted to go to L.A. He chose to extend his stay in L.A. because he was having good time. The weed out there is much more potent than the weed in New York City. So being like, he was like, we're staying here. Like, this is cool. The notion that Puff wanted to have a party on enemy territory. The party where Big got killed was a vibe party, not a Puff party. Okay.

Did he throw a party while they were out there? I'm trying to remember. I remember Nause tell me about, I think it was a Puff party, but it would have been like in the hills, not like at a club in the middle of the city. the other thing you referenced the video the interview of big saying I'm scared right with the red shirt where he's laying down and then right after that they show March 9th here's what happened at the Peterson Auto Museum so that interview where he's in the red shirt and he's laying down he's talking to me that's my interview from the first album that interview at that point is a year and a half two years old so he's talking about the street. He came into the game. He was actually a dealer and he was afraid that somebody on the street was going to shoot him. So we talked about that a lie. I had interviewed him before that for the New York Times and we talked about that a lot. So then when we were doing this video interview, I cued him to

talk about that again because I knew that he was very scared. So he's talking. So the documentary is very clever and the way that it places this clip from much earlier next to him getting killed. He's not talk it makes you think he's talking about i'm scared this moment and then puff makes me go to la and then this shit happens no no no no no he was scared earlier of other people not the game his vibe during the battle was like you know he's not i'm not scared like you know i'm gonna move around like you know these guys are talking their shit but like i'm not scared of these guys um so i mean you know there's a lot of sort of circumstantial thing of like Puff pushed L.A.,

Puff pushed Big into a complicated situation in L.A. He shouldn't have been there. Made him stay long. I dispute that entire characterization. I feel like Big chose to go to L.A. He was enjoying himself. He wanted to stay longer.

I don't put anything on Puff. Now, you could say maybe Puff should have been like, we got to get out of here. But I don't really think, I don't know that they really thought that somebody would do that. I mean, like, thought somebody might do that.

I'm sure they wouldn't have been there. It was surely dangerous and contentious. And, you know, I know people were talking shit about him on the radio. I know they went to the mall and people were talking shit. And, like, it was like, you know, it's drama out here. You know, it's loud. There's a lot of noise. But I don't think they really thought somebody's going to roll up and shoot this guy.

I really don't think they, they, they, they, I think if they thought that they would have left, for sure. But I don't think they really thought that. I don't, I just don't buy that story. And then after he's murdered, and actually this moment culturally has been revisited in the wake of with Erica Kirk and doing her grief tour and thing, whatever. Diddy really capitalizes, I think this is fair to say, on the death of his recording artist big and friend. And, you know, that's when he really ascends to sort of. solo super stardom and he's wearing the white jacket and he's doing the you know his whole thing which

again is like culturally relevant again and they also talk about how he was trying to screw over um you know big's family in terms of like secretly changing the contract provisions um there's also this anecdote and you can speak to this because you've done some reporting on this that prior to big getting murdered he was supposed to be on the cover of rolling stone and did he freak sound as like absolutely not that cover is going to be for me um so talk talk about some of those pieces because that's the other side of it is like because they're they're trying to make the case that he intentionally and was in a position to profit and ascend off the death of his friend he does profit and ascend from that moment for sure um i completely believe that he changed

the contract and thus took millions away from Biggs family. And I spoke to somebody who was inside Bad Boy who said that sounds very likely. And you find just Kirk Burroughs, isn't that his name? Who's the co-founder of Bad Boy? And he's very central to a lot of the storytelling here. You find him to be compelling and reliable narrative? I know Kirk. I'm watching the doc.

And many of the things he's saying, I'm like, yes, that's right. yes you are in a position to know that more than anybody else especially something like a contract being changed kirk would be the one that you would go to like is this true or not there's definitely other things that we could talk about momentarily that kirk said that i know to not be true um you know and i'm not i'm not going to use the l word i know kirk he's telling it from his perspective I know other things to be true. I have at least two sources that say don't think that Big was forced to pay for his own funeral, like from inside Bad Boy, that people are like, he would have tried it.

And people inside up high would have been like, nah, dude, we cannot, we're not doing that. So I don't think that that happened. Now, I'll give you a breaking point exclusive. the first time I'm talking about this because I just nailed this down 15 minutes ago. I've been trying to nail this down for four days and finally just 15 minutes ago. In the dock, it says Big was supposed to be on the cover of Rolling Stone to promote his second album, Life After Death, and then after his death, a Puff called Rolling Stone and said, I'm taking that cover, right?

You just referenced that. So when Kirk said that, I was like, okay, I was at Rolling Stone for many, many years, right? I'm part of the long-term Rolling Stone family. I'm like, that is not how anything goes. No outsider could ever call and say, hey, I'm taking the cover, right? I mean, maybe Bruce Springsteen, because he's super close friends with Yon Wenner, could call and be like, hey, I've got an album come out. Can you make room for me on the cover?

But not like, I'm telling you. So I called my old friends to try to figure out what really happened. I nailed down. I spoke to just this morning the woman who was the photo director at that time who she just got off the or got off email with the person who was the editor-in-chief at that time and talking about

how did Puff come to be on the cover? Biggie was never supposed to be on the cover. Period. Rolling Stone at that point in history when Biggie was making life after death would not have put a rapper on the cover. Yon Wenner at that moment did not think a rapper was big enough to be on the cover. So there is no truth to the idea that Puff took the cover from Big.

In the wake of I'll be missing you becoming this gigantic monster single, the editor-in-chief of Rolling Stone said, we should try to get him on the cover. And because he had this monster single and was willing to take his shirt off for the photograph and was willing to wear Calvin Klein underwear because they were a big advertiser because of all of that monster single, you know, big in the news and this amazing photograph with your shirt off and all that. Because of all that they were able to convince Jan Wenner, okay, we'll put Puff on the cover. But this was not motivated by Puff and this was not a rejection or an erasure of big. So that is something that I can definitively say Kirk Burroughs is incorrect. there, right? And the entire story he's telling there is completely incorrect. And I spoke to the two people

who were closest to that decision just today. At the very end, you know, because Kirk is an important narrator throughout, which makes a lot of sense narratively because he knew Puff for so long. Like you said, he's in a position to know this. He's co-founding Bad Boy Records. He's seeing the ins and the outs, getting pushed to the side, like witnessing all this behavior. And then at the end, he reveals, you know, his own allegation that he was sexually assaulted by Diddy? You know, talk a little bit about that. And because we've talked a lot about like the violent allegations here, but, you know, they're obviously throughout the documentary and we know now on the public record.

The, you know, the horrific abuse that he subjected any number of people to. I mean, I did not know that Kirk was going to say that. I was, you know, obviously moved by that. You know, you feel horrible. And I completely believe him. I believe almost, let me just say, I believe. I feel like that would be a hard thing to, I mean, I feel like that would be a very hard thing to come forward with as well. Like that's not an easy thing to put out in the public.

I believe Kirk. I believe that Puff was, had essayed or any number of men. I spoke through a long time to Little Rod. about what happened to him he told me the same story and in more detail than he goes into in the dock um so yeah i mean i believe it puff was definitely known to ruffy or drug people so i shouldn't say ruffy because he was using something that was much more potent and multiple people who do not know each other talked about being given a drug and feeling what being unwittingly drug right, generally through a drink that they were, that Puff Wisconsin, let's take a drink, let's take a drink.

And then suddenly you are feeling way out of it. And like, people are like, you know, large chunks of memory gone, like loss of control of my body. I mean, I have men and women both who have said this to me. So I believe it that he, you know, to establish dominance to, you know, to be depraved, you know, that he was. incapacitating people. He's drugging people and then taking advantage of them. I completely believe that that happened many, many times. It's shocking that that did not come up in this documentary much more because they, because Lil Rod and Kirk, I believe somebody else, talk about being essay, but they don't talk about him drugging people. And he was, I mean,

Aubrey, Aubrey with Dan & Payne. Aubrey O'Day mentioned that. I mean, from what we No, Puff, and his drugging was, you know, was making, we probably could have shown Bill Cosby some things. Like, we're on that level with it, you know. So, I mean, I believe Kirk on that for sure. I wanted to talk about in your analysis on your Rap Latte channel, you said that you thought there was a really big missed opportunity in this documentary to dig into the death of Kim Porter. Yeah. I mean, a lot of us find Kim Porter, his, his, his, his, wife, mother of three of his children, her death, I believe at 47 from pneumonia, to be like,

very strange, you died of pneumonia as like a 40 something possible? Sure, it's possible, but it does not sound likely. And there's definitely a lot of people who are like, what's going on there? And I think if the, it seems that the tone of the dock, the undercurrent of the dock was let's make puff look horrible what can we say that would make him look horrible we're going to talk about cc and why we're going to talk about you know him maybe of killing puck we're going to talk about maybe killing big um why not talk about him maybe killing kim because that's something that a lot of people believe and what would be the what would be the motive there what was going on at that time um i'm not entirely steeped on that but you know there's entirely any number of things that that

she could have been it could have been that she wanted to out him on certain things that she was upset about it could have been that um that you know that she because she had left him i mean like i you know the the why i can't nail down but the the smoking the power piece just that she left you know i mean this is someone who's clearly obsessed with power and dominance i mean that alone could be i mean you know it's just that the If you wanted to destroy his image, I think you would want to go down that. Now, look, you know, 50 is a super troll. You know, that has been his vibe in hip hop from the beginning.

I remember a while ago, he had this whole Twitter rant about his dog, Oprah. And he was, and so then he was to be talking about that bitch Oprah, that bitch, Oprah. I'm going to make that bitch do this. I'm going to make that bitch do that. And then people be like, are you talking about Oprah? No, I'm talking about my dog, Oprah. But of course, he was talking about Oprah Winfrey, right? With the plausible deniability, this is the trolling 50.

His whole career starts with him attacking JAR rule and trolling JAR rule. And then he's attacking other people in the game. He attacked JZ. I mean, his whole, his first single was called How to Rob, where he explains how he would rob all the major stars in the industry in concurrent with their image or their their hot song, which is actually, it's kind of a funny record, but a lot of people, the industry did not find it funny at all. But he's a troll. So this fits with who he has been, that a puppy is down. We're going to get him while he's down. Interesting. And so in terms of, I should say,

by the way, for the lawyers, did he denies, all of this. These are all allegations, et cetera, et cetera. But, you know, in terms of like a compelling piece of content, how did you think that they did putting this together? I mean, I was riveted through the whole thing. I was definitely like, okay, I believe that. Okay, I don't believe that. That doesn't add up for me.

That's compelling. That I didn't. There's not much that I didn't know because we've been. been part of this story for, you know, 30 some years, you know, I mean, I was, I was covering Pock's trial that happened during the, that was happening around the quad shooting. So the day after I'm, I saw him wheelchared into the trial. So, I mean, like, you know, this has been part of our professional life and our conversations for a long time. So, I mean, this isn't new to me. But I mean, like, it's, it's a good piece of work, I guess, as far as documentaries go, finding

people like Kirk gives it a lot of credibility, I think, because he's so important to the history of bad boy and he knows Puff from so far back. I just know that there's messiness in it. There's recklessness in it. There's moments that are just not true. Interesting. Very interesting. Well, I mean, it definitely is very compelling to watch. I think you're right. Kirk comes across he comes across is very credible you know as the the kind of central storyteller here and um you know I had no surprise to people that Diddy is an absolute horrible monster just given what we've seen on camera from him with Cassie if nothing else yeah yeah yeah I mean like just absurd horrible all right Toray thank you very much tell people where they can follow you find you all that good

stuff um follow me on rap latte come to my YouTube channel Toray tube And watch my new show that you reference. Why did they break up? Where we talk to people about a romantic breakup that they went through. It's kind of this wild breakup stories. Yeah. Also, I mean, you are like absolute TikTok superstar. Thank you.

Incredible. Yeah. It's fun. I love the, I love the TikTok. See, I have been trying to like make myself do it and I'll like go for a little while and then I sort of fall off because it does require, it requires a lot of focus. And you've, you've really nailed it. You've kind of really gotten into the format, the medium. Well, I want to be more on YouTube like you. You're like the YouTube star. I'm like,

I need to go over there more time. I mean, like, you know, you do it in depth, TikTok. It can take a couple hours out of your day. You know, I'm like, maybe this time we've better spent over there on YouTube. So I'm trying to, trying to live up to you what you're doing. All right. Well, we'll have to, We'll exchange tips. In any case, Toray, thank you. Appreciate you. Always great to see you. For sure.

Hi, I'm Dr. Priyonguwali. It's a new year. And on the podcast's health stuff, we're resetting the way we talk about our health. Which means being honest about what we know, what we don't know, how messy it can all be. I like to sleep in late and sleep early. Is there a chronotype for that, or am I just depressed? Health stuff is about learning, laughing, and feeling a little less alone.

Listen on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Social media trend is slanding some Jen's ears in jail. The progressive media darling whose public meltdown got her fired and the massive TikTok boycott against Target that actually makes no sense. sense. You won't hear about these online stories in the mainstream media, but you can keep up with them and all the other entertaining and outrageous things happening online in media and in politics with the Brad versus Everyone podcast. Listen to the Brad versus Everyone podcast on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hi, I'm Danny Shapiro. We were in the car, like a Rolling Stone came on, and he said, there's a line in there about your mother. And I said, what? What I would do if I didn't feel like, I was being accepted is choose an identity that other people can't have. I knew something had happened to me in the middle of the night, but I couldn't hold on to what had happened. These are just a few of the moving and important stories on my 13th season of Family Secrets.

Listen to Family Secrets on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.