Breaking Points with Krystal and Saagar - 4/30/26: Tim Dillon Rips US On Iran AI Lego Clips, Dave Smith On Trump Humiliation, Ellison Hollywood Merger

Episode Date: April 30, 2026

Krystal and Saagar discuss Tim Dillon rips US losing narrative war, Dave Smith on Trump humiliation, actor speaks out on Ellison Hollywood merger.   Dave Smith: https://x.com/ComicDaveSmith?s=20 Indya Moore: https://www.instagram.com/indyamoore/ Rory Johnston: https://www.commoditycontext.com/    To become a Breaking Points Premium Member and watch/listen to the show AD FREE, uncut and 1 hour early visit: www.breakingpoints.com    Merch Store: https://shop.breakingpoints.com/   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Listen to the girlfriends. Trust me, babe. On the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I got you. 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 breakingpoints.com. So as Rory was just saying there, this war has been predictably, I guess, super online, but I think many people, myself included, have been surprised by the high degree of cultural competency

that the Iranians have been able to display in their propaganda videos. And most notably, that shows up in these Lego videos that have been produced. I don't know how many of these have been put out at this point, but they are, you know, very well done. They really demonstrate an understanding of both American online culture and political culture, et cetera. Let's take a look at a little bit of some of the highlights of these Lego videos. Yeah, make America great again now.

We would see what happens. Yeah, watch this . Sacred defense, we're protecting the disorder Why you sacrifice so just to pay for your spoil You put you in the blow Sitting on your throne Now we turn in every base into a bed of stone It's a slaughterhouse

A trap you couldn't see Welcome to the graveyard of your vanity The secrets I leak it The pressure is rising We're locked on the target And now you are hanged Well, what shall we do with the drunken hegs of What shall we do with a drunken heads of?

What shall we do with a drunken hegsoth? Early in. Epstein files, cover up lies where you drop them, but you crawled. Total bust. The detail, too. As. Like, you've got the Epstein files, you got cash in his girlfriend, you got the hockey team thing. You got Pete Hegsteth being, you know, an alcoholic.

Like, they're hitting all the notes here. And I read an analysis of not just these Lego videos, but the evolution of Iranian propaganda in particular. And apparently these guys who produce the Lego videos, which we're going to show you an interview later with one of them and DropSight News, who got like an exclusive with them, but they are not like a wing of the government. They say they're independent and that the government is a customer of theirs. This report that I read also talked about how they have ceded all of these like media labs to sort of independently go out and do their thing. And that there's been a real evolution and modernization of the Iranian propaganda efforts, where it used to be everything

was framed in this very, like, very heavily wrought religious terms. Very flowery. And also the perception was to portray, the goal was to portray Iran as a victim. Whereas these videos don't portray Iran as a victim. They portray Iran as a victor, as a hero that is able, you know, this tiny, mighty nation able to take down this giant superpower. And so every single one of these things goes viral. You know, plenty of normie Americans are watching this content, sort of with delight and enjoying the way that they're picking up on our cultural memes. And I think it's been, you know,

from their perspective, incredibly effective. Of course it's been effective. And that's why it's like, look, you don't want to like cheer it because ultimately it's about our country. But then also, though, there were a lot of people who are cheering it because people don't support the war. This is very and effective, look, I mean, you know, you've had efforts like this. The North Vietnamese famously would do all kinds, you know, the famous Hanoy joint chain, all that. They would invite a lot of anti-war activists. There obviously, it caused a lot of controversy in the U.S. at the time. But this one is very different because you don't even have like this wholesale, like support campaign for the war in the way that even Vietnam did as bad as that one. I also think the Iranian point is really important.

The Iranians, the way that they used to talk, is crazy to be. And actually showed a total misunderstanding. I'm sure you know that famous meme of the Iranian president, Katami, saying, Alexis de Tocqueville, who I'm sure most Americans have read, where it's like, dude, you clearly don't know anything about us. But I went and I actually read the full transcript of that interview. It was crazily like, it was like targeted at a college professor and their understanding of the U.S. Like, I'll read some of this. Actually, it goes, the book reflects the virtuous and human side of the American civilization. In this view, the significance of the civilization is that liberty found religion as a cradle for its growth, and religion found

protection of liberty as his divine calling. And so he seeks to link the American founding and Alexis de Tocqueville and early American society to the Iranian revolution and to theirs, where by about five seconds, the average person is like, I don't even know what you're talking about. You're like, you know, I've read, I have not read Alexis de Tocqueville's full democracy in America. Sorry, sue me. I think it's boring. But like, that's what they used to be. And now it's very internet-based.

I think what they were trying to do effectively is they have AI. They have the tools to be able to create these videos. But they understand like memeification. In the same way that Trump is the first meme president, like the McDonald's thing. Who will forget the image, like of Trump leaning? out and handing out McDonald's to some guy. Well, they get it too. They're living in an asymmetric conflict where they need to try and to humiliate the current president. They can't do it necessarily through traditional media so they're bypassing it. Yeah. It is a genuine new age. It's pitch perfect

for our like brain-rotted. Yeah, exactly. Braineretified. Slopaganda culture. And so yeah, it's going to land much more effectively than the lengthy intellectual discourse. that is being offered by some of Iranian leadership. And I also think, you know, to your point about how different the landscape is, it's impossible to imagine, even if the technology exists, it's impossible to imagine similarly pitched videos during the Iraq war landing the same way with the American public. But because there is such dissatisfaction with Trump, with this cast of, you know, buffoonish characters around him, and then most importantly, with the war, it creates a fertile ground for Americans not to just take in this content, but to actively, like, have it resonate with them, which is bad. Which is a crazy thing, right? It's a crazy thing to see. And I also think, you know, it undercuts all of the, a lot of the Western media propaganda efforts to paint Iran like this, you know, theocratic, extreme monolith, because if you're connecting with us on like the level of our cultural memes and debates, it's. then it shrinks that distance between, you know, the perception of who Iranians are and what

the Iranian state is and the reality that you have to grapple with of like, oh, they understand us well enough to put these videos together, which are well produced and very clever. And like I said before, like really tap into all of these cultural flashpoints. Tim Dillon had a funny bit on this in one of his recent episodes where he's talking about, like, what the hell? How are the Iranians even beating us in shit talking? This should be above all else where we are number one. Let's go ahead and listen to that.

We're not even winning the shit talking war. We're not even winning that. The shit talk? You'd think America would win that, at least. If we're going to win one thing, we're getting bodied by Iranian AI in the war of shit talk. Truly. How embarrassing. We're the country that invented shit talk and we're getting lit up. He makes a great point. I mean, it's not even close, honestly. The, you know, I mean, just think about Pete Hegseth getting up there and talking about like wrapping himself in the Bible to justify

all these bombing campaigns. I mean, that's our version of propaganda. And remember, during the war, what would they do? They would release all these call of duty modern warfare memes from the White House Twitter account, so they were trying to do the same thing. And I mean, I think that actually is more of a, more proof of how this is the modern media landscape. I hate it here personally, you know, like sloppaganda, literally from both,

but this effort to like make you laugh or to make you cheer on, I mean, during the war, I remember, remember a lot of the criticism of the White House, they were like, guys, we're in a war, like it's not a joke, it's not a video game, literally, and that's what you're trying to do. They would do all of these spliced up

propaganda videos of people, people getting incinerated or getting killed. And the whole point was like, there's a real seriousness. But by unleashing this force, I think what they also did was allow the very nation that you're fighting to try to play that same game with irony and with irony, with humor. And that really undercuts like this big, broad, like big strong image that we had here. And the internet specifically and the virality element. Like, these were designed to go viral.

And they did. And like, unless you're going to ban it out. right, this is what the future looks like. And it is a real change for Iran itself. Like really, that de Tocqueville, the time of de Tocqueville and Foucault and like all of their, I don't know what's up with their society, but their leaders just seem to like be extremely like well educated but flourish people like totally disconnected from the way you would talk to a normal democracy. And now though, these people who are running these accounts, it kind of makes sense because what we learn from these dropside interviews, they're not government officials. They're really young.

They're like 25 years old. And more importantly, they were critics of the regime previously, but not in the Razoff-Holavi way, but they're nationalists at the end of the day. And they're like, look, now our civilization is under attack. Literally, the president said that. We're going to do what we can to try and undermine the war effort. Yeah. So let's take a listen to a little bit of this interview that Ryan and DropSight News was able to get with one of the Lego video, one of the individuals behind these Lego videos, just talking about their approach. And I mean, another thing that I think is interesting here is you were talking about the U.S. government videos that are being put out, those are also meant, like the audience is also intended to be American consumers.

These Lego videos, the audience, it's intended to be the world, but I think mostly targeted at American consumers. And it also displays the fact that the Iranians understand us so much better than we understand them, which has shown up in the war strategy and the failed war strategy at this point as well. But in any case, let's go ahead and run D2 a little bit of this interview with DropSight and one of the Lego creators. What kind of messages are you getting from Americans and did it surprise you to get this much support from the American people? You know, the American people, we didn't expect that, but they welcome us much more than our expectations. Many people there are ashamed of what their government and their military service done to us and they say sorry.

I can very well remember that one of our fans told us in America told us that I am on fire of what's our government doing to you and I'm so sorry. And some other people deliver us some points that can help us for our next videos to improve them. How did you decide to use Lego as a medium? You know, because Lego is charming, simple and instantly understood. It doesn't need to exaggerate reality in Lego, yet it gives you the freedom to add the tiniest, most delightful details that you can enjoy that. And it's a universal language, almost everyone, everywhere, has a memory tied to it. How long is the process of making one of these videos? And what is the process?

How do you start? What are the steps that you go through? You know, it's different. For different videos, we locate different times. For videos that including poetry, it takes longer, and for others, it's less. And usually it takes about 20 hours to make a video. And sometimes it takes two days. Could you talk a little about how many people work on one video?

And then how many people are in your team? You're less than 10 numbers, 10 people, and our average rate age is about 25. We gather different ideas from everywhere during the day, and the time is coming. We pick up fun, we think, is much more proper. And after that, directing and writing, directing begins, and editing begins. Incredible to hear the process there. So you've got fewer than 10 people, average age 25, they can spin out one of these videos, which are, you know, really impressive in 24 to 48 hours.

And that speed is part of what has made them so resonant because something will happen of significance, either in American politics or with regards to the war. And by the next morning, when I'm waking up, people are already sharing a new Lego video that deals with the subject matter. I just saw our team sentence, Trita was tweeting about the latest Lego video, and he says it marks a significant pivot instead of taunting the U.S. military reflects a new chapter where Tehran will seek peace by reaching out directly with American people bypassing the U.S. government mirror image of the U.S. strategy of the past decades. Some of the lines are quite noteworthy and will likely resonate with the anti-establishment sentiments prevailing among American youth in particular. Quote, I love the Constitution the way it was meant, but not the way your leaders bypass consent. And that is one thing that's, like, really different in this era. They don't have to go through, you know, they don't have to go and sit down for an interview and hope it gets the American people.

They can go directly to the world and to the American people. And that creates a very different dynamic. Totally. It's a new age. It's the slop age. We're all living in it. I guess it's just about who does it better. It is what it is.

All right. Let's get to Dave Smith. He's standing by. Canadian women are looking for more. More out of themselves, their businesses, their elected leaders, and the world are at them. And that's why we're thrilled to introduce the Honest Talk podcast. I'm Jennifer Stewart. And I'm Catherine Clark.

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What the hell does George Bush got to do a little kill? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam Jay. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick it here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 is big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack on day, but just so you all know.

I mean, at this point, Mark, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack. so I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now. Thank you finishing that sentence. Yes. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really? Yeah.

For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Join us now to talk about the war and some of the political aspects of it is Dave Smith. He, of course, is comedian, commentator, notable libertarian, and host of part of the problem pod. Great to see you, Dave.

Good to see you, man. Oh, good to see both of you guys. Thanks for having me. Yeah, of course. So just give us your sense of where things are right now, where things are going, and what you see as the least bad outcome at this point. Oh, man. It's such a weird position to be in. I know you guys have been in the anti-war world for a while, and I have to.

And it's just for all of us, it's like, this is the war that we've been. warning against. I've been against this war for 20 years, you know, and, and because they've been trying to push it the whole time, but as Benjamin Netanyahu's been saying, they're weeks away from making a nuke. And it's a, it's this weird, dark feeling to be vindicated in the worst possible way. You're like, just so many years of being like, this will be a disaster. We do not have escalation dominance. They can close the straight of her. And then it goes down and you're like, yeah, exactly. Exactly what we all thought. And, and party, like, part of me at the very beginning, of the thing where they're like, they're really convinced that they can take out this regime

through the air. And I'm kind of like, I don't know. I mean, maybe it seems unlikely, but we do have a very impressive air for. Like, maybe they could hit the air. And then it goes, oh, no, it's exactly what we thought. That's right. So, I mean, look, I know you guys have been covering this. I've been watching your show every day for a very long time.

And there's, so I guess if I would just put this together at this point, this is the terrible situation that we're in now is that the best case scenario is that Donald Trump just walks away from this. But it is just so politically impossible and particularly with the personality of Donald Trump. When Donald Trump gave that, what was it a couple weeks ago, he gave a speech right after the markets closed at like 8 or 9 p.m. And he signaled, if you remember, that we don't really care about the Strait of Hermose. He said, eh, that's not really our problem. Everyone else gets their oil from the Strait of Formos. We make all our own oil. And then he said it'll just naturally open up. And he called on other countries

to open up. But there was something very positive about that signal because at least he was signaling, we're going to call it a win regardless. But then, of course, you saw what Marco Rubio said just on Monday about how, well, we can't accept the reality of Iran, you know, determining who can and who can't cross and what currency they can use. And I was saying on my show, I know you guys were saying back then that even when Donald Trump was trying to make it out, like, well, the problem here is that if you were to leave right now and leave around controlling the Strait of Hermose, then this is the greatest military defeat in the history of the United States of America. There's zero comparison, just zero comparison. And no, we didn't lose, you know, we didn't lose as many people or spend as

much money as we did in Vietnam. And we've had losses in Vietnam and Afghanistan and Iraq. However you determine a loss, you know, you lose 100. of thousands of people, kill millions of people, spend trillions of dollars, and the communists still rule Vietnam. Well, then I guess that's a loss. But we've never transformed our opponent into a global power to take around this relegated, sanction, crippled, third world country, and then transform them into a global power. And, you know, I talked about this a bit when I was on Tucker Carlson last, and then me and Saga, we were talking about this a bit after where we were at my place getting really high.

And me and Sager were talking about. We were so baked. And then, I'm just kidding. But we, you're saying how like, I, um, what did Bill Clinton said? He said, I inhaled. I didn't inhale. He didn't inhale. That's, I, yeah, I'll take the same position.

But so, like, and we, me, I'm just so interested in talking about this because it's like, look, if you're trying to be a political actor here, then you should say what Joe Kent is saying. And he, and of course, he's a different guy than me. He's a, a Ken doll military. guy. And so he'll say Donald Trump is the only one strong enough to walk away from this now and still survive. But I'm no good at being a political actor. I tried to influence the Trump campaign. And we all see how well that worked out. So I'm only good at telling the truth on podcasts. And the truth is that that's

not right. That's not right. Donald Trump can't save his presidency by leaving. It would, it's still the best thing that could happen. But Donald Trump would have to accept humiliation and defeat. Just think about where we're at. To avoid catastrophe, Donald Trump has to sacrifice his ego. If that's not out of a Greek tragedy, I don't know what is. But of course, as I think Professor Pape has done a very good job of breaking down, and I never have as much confidence in any predictions I make as he seems to have in his. But I do think that he is right that essentially, it's almost like the obvious answer here would be to just walk away, let other countries figure out the straight. All of the economic incentives are for them to work out a deal, right? Like Iran wants

to have some control, but they don't want the thing shut down. But the problem is that that hands him a win, that hands them veto power over the region going forward. And it's just an utter humiliation. But at least we could end this without a catastrophe if we were to do that. But that still means Donald Trump's sinking down to probably in the 20s in the polls. I mean, if this whole thing is over and he has nothing to show for it, like he didn't get the enriched geranium. They still support Hezbollah, the regime still stands, and we have this issue with the strait that we didn't have before the war, there just is no spinning that into a win. However, the alternative is the escalation trap, which is just really bad.

And he knows he can't follow through on bridge and tunnel day, because he knows the Iranians could take out a desalination plant or two. We just, we don't have options. And then just the last thing I'll say is you guys have been covering very well. We really don't know how much damage. we've already in crude. You know, like, we don't know.

I mean, these things, the markets are not very good at predicting these things. You know, the markets, and I think you guys made this point on the show, but when they were pumping trillions of dollars

into the economy in 2020, while the country was locked down, just huge infusions of cash, the market was at all-time highs. Yes. The bailout worked. The market was crashing. They pumped trillions of dollars

into it, and it went to all-time highs. The market wasn't foreseeing, crippling inflation, but that did come the next year, you know? And so the fact that I don't know, this is beyond my pay grade, but 20% of the world's oil goes through the Strait of Hermuz, I'm reading all the reports the same you guys are. Since the U.S. blockade, less total ships have been getting through than at any other point in the war. It's even worse than just the Iranian blockade. I don't know what we find out in four, five, six months from now. How much longer can

we go. These are big questions. And we're really risking calamity already. Right. I was telling, I talked earlier in the show, there's a new $350 jet fuel surcharge for any flight from Japan. And I was like, well, that's the least of our problems because in a few months there's just been a flight. It was like the flight's just not going to happen, which is, I mean, a disaster. Dave, to your point, we want to turn a little bit to domestic politics, which you talked about. There's some new polling here showing Trump actually lower than Jimmy Carter on the issue of inflation in 1980. Let's take a listen. We'll get your reaction. The number one financial issue.

It's the number one issue folks saying it's facing their families right now. And Donald John Trump is in the worst position he has ever been on inflation. And more than that, these are the worst numbers I've ever seen for any president. I mean, just look at this. Look at this. According to Ipsos, look at this, net approval rating on inflation, we got the latest poll out. He's 49 points underwater. That means that 49% more of the public disapproved than the prove of the job he's doing.

I went back. You remember Joe Biden, inflation absolutely crushed. his presidency. But at his worst, according to Ipsos, he was just 43 points underwater. So Trump is lower now on inflation than Joe Biden ever was, according to Ipsos. And I will note that the inflation rate right now is only about a third as it was back in June of 2022. Yet Trump's numbers are significantly worse than Biden's ever were. You think about inflation seeking presidencies, you think of Jimmy Carter. But just look here. Okay. If we look right now at, we're talking about net approvals on inflation, this number should actually be 46.

And if you look at this, though, even if I raise it a little bit, and I correct my error right here live on air, we're talking about minus 46 points versus minus 49 points. Donald Trump is in worst position on inflation that Jimmy Carter was when, of course, Carter then got blown out by Ronald Reagan back in 1980. On cost of living country is on the wrong track or right track. Look at this among independence, 75%, 75% say the wrong track, just 9% say the right track. Look among Republicans. The plurality of Republicans say that the country is on the wrong track when it comes to the cost of living versus just 39%.

45 versus 39. Donald Trump has lost every single part of this electorate. And when you take his name out of the equation, you see even the plurality of Republicans say that the country is on the wrong track when it comes to... Beef prices. We're heading in the summer. Just take a look here.

Chance that April 2026 versus 2020. The beef prices are 15% higher. According to the Calcian prediction market, 75% people are feeling the pain across different issues, including beef prices, as well as at the gas tank. Quite something, isn't it, Dave, for the president who was literally elected to try and to get inflation under control, to end up back here. And, you know, I was talking about this early in the show. I'm curious for your reaction. I will not forgive Biden.

You and I ruthlessly criticized the man over inflation and over his management of the Russia and Ukraine. at the end of the day, he did not invade Ukraine. This time, Trump actually is the sole reason why this entire thing is happening. The actual choice element of it is, I think, why it's starting to reflect in the polls over inflation and over betrayal by so many of the voters. I'm curious for what you think. Yeah, well, I mean, I think that's almost the only explanation that could explain. Like, I was surprised by that poll because I thought his numbers would be bad.

But worse than Biden when the immediate price inflation, was so much worse and same with Jimmy Carter. And I think you hit on it, right? I mean, the idea is that your whole point, the whole thing you ran on was to not get, to not focus on stupid foreign wars and instead to focus on bringing prices down. And of course, as you guys know, I mean, you know,

inflation is cumulative. So they brag about how it's down. But I think it was Michael Malice who first had the joke, but it's just so perfect. But it's like if you gained 100 pounds in a year and then the next year you gain 50 pounds and you go, I've lost weight. And you're like, no, you have not.

And for everybody who actually, you know, for regular people, which is the biggest story in America right now is that regular people can't get by. Like, you know, the guy, the average guy, even like someone who has like a good job, like a plumber or something like that, can't buy a house, you know. And they're paying, their grocery bills are more expensive than they were under Joe Biden. But I will say, because I just, since you played that clip, I really want to take a shot, I don't know that guy's name, but to me, he's a knockoff Steve Kornacki. He's not as good.

100%. He doesn't have the mastery of the, you know, say what you will about MSNBC. That Steve Kornacki is the best numbers guy out there, man. I mean, he is just, he's memorized every, anyway, it's incredible. You know, I used to, just on the Kornacki boy, I used to co-host show with him on MSNBC when I first started there. And I remember. His brain is just different.

He can, if you give him a date, you can say like January 21st, 19th, 1991. And he will tell you what the headlines in the newspaper were. He can tell you what he had for breakfast. He can remember his day. It's just on election day. I still turn into MSNBC on election days just because Steve Kornacki knows every county in the country. But like, anyway, this guy should be launched to the to the front lines. He should literally have for them running that MAGA 100% approval poll nonsense at the beginning of this thing that actually really seemed to, of course, because Donald Trump is Donald Trump. He's brought it up like 15 different times.

Like, it really seems like that actually pushed him to go. And it's on the level, you know, like, as you guys know, the way you could manipulate polls. Like, so when Barack Obama first became president, he was very, very popular, had approval ratings in like the 70%. He had no track record. He was charismatic, great public speaker. We all hated Bush. We were hoping he would be better. By the end of his presidency, his approval was way down from there, not like Trump's or, but it was way down.

And imagine someone I just run, but amongst hope and change Democrats, he's still at 100%. Well, yeah, if you put his slogan in front of it, but like what, so they really in an effort, and you guys have been doing a good job covering this, but there's this like faux opposition by the Democratic and media establishment that's like, oh, we're against this thing, but we're also going to kind of like give you all you need. This war, if the polls tell us anything, I don't really trust polls. You know, remember during the campaign when it came out that the internal White House polls showed that Joe Biden was going to lose by this huge landslide? But it's like, wait, so you get real polls, but we get nonsense poll? I don't understand it.

It's above my pay grade. That being said, if the polls tell us anything, it's that this is the most unpopular war in American history. Donald Trump's approval ratings are about where George W. Bush's was, were after two disastrous wars and he destroyed the economy. And if this thing keeps going bad, Donald Trump's going to be in the 20%. Like this is going to, and you're going to see, look, as long as he's trying to overthrow the Iranian regime or as long as there's a chance that he might topple the regime and the war is still going, the Israel lobby will be behind him no matter what. If he stopped short of regime collapse, they will turn on him. But what you're going to see in the next few months is the not Israel lobby, just kind of pro-Trump pundits, the Stephen Crow. and Benny Johnson, those guys,

they're going to all start turning on Trump too because as soon as they realize that there's just no popularity anymore in defending this, it's all going to go downhill. So, look, these numbers, I mean, when you really dig into where he is with independence and as you guys said on this inflation, which is the biggest issue. I mean, look, people give him credit for securing the border,

and I do too. I mean, I think that was a real crisis that is over now. But the number one issue, this is why Democrats are winning on unaffordable. It's all anyway. There's one statistic that defines America more than anything else right now, which is that the average first-time home buyer is 40 years old. It doesn't matter if you're left or right or progressive or conservative.

You can't run a functioning society that way. It's sick. If 25-year-olds, 28-year-olds, 29-year-olds have to get a check from their mom every month or have to live at home or have to – then they're not grownups. They can't go start families. They can't go like – there's – as we – all know, right, because we used to be kids and now we're grownups, there's a thing about like, it doesn't matter. I'm not saying you have to be in a mansion. You got to be supporting

yourself in order to like feel good about yourself, in order to feel like an adult who's contributing, to be in the ownership class where you actually care about society. You know how the difference between when you rent a place and when you own a place and all of a sudden when you own a place, you're like, ah, all right, let's let's not freeze any pipes. Let's make sure this doesn't Also, Dave, the idea of some punk-ass kid on my lawn, it enrages me. Now that you own a lawn, you're like, get the fuck off my lawn. Like, you have no idea. Oh, dude, someone drives a little too fast.

Oh, my God. In school zone? Oh, my gosh. I'm hot. You guys would fit in well in my HOA, apparently. Canadian women are looking for more. More out of themselves, their businesses, their elected leaders, and the world are at them. And that's why we're thrilled to introduce the on.

Talk podcast. I'm Jennifer Stewart. And I'm Catherine Clark. And in this podcast, we interview Canada's most inspiring women. Entrepreneurs, artists, athletes, politicians, and newsmakers, all at different stages of their journey. So if you're looking to connect, then we hope you'll join us. Listen to the Honest Talk podcast and IHeart Radio or wherever you listen to your podcasts. 2%. That is the number of people who take the stairs when there is also an escalator available. I'm Michael Easter, and on my podcast, 2%. I break down the science of mental toughness, fitness, and building resilience in our strange modern world. I'll be speaking with writers, researchers, and other health and fitness experts, and more,

to look past the impractical and way too complex pseudoscience that dominates the wellness industry. We really believe that seed oils were inherently inflammatory. We got it wrong. Many of the problems that we are freaked out about in the world, are the result of stress. Put yourself through some hardships, and you will come out on the other side, a happier, more fulfilled, healthier person.

Listen to 2%. That's TWO%. On the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tapped Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking.

What the hell does me? George Bush got to do a little kill. Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick it here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 is big to me, not just because of crack.

I'm down to talk about crack all day, but just so you all know. I mean, at this point, Mark, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack. So I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now. Thank you for finishing that sentence. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really? Yeah.

For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. To your point, Dave, let me put some of there's this focus group done by the New York Times of Trump voters who are disappointed in Trump. And it's very interesting some of the things that they say. First of all, the median voter brain is something I will never be able to fully comprehend. But in any case, put E4 up on the screen. We grabbed a couple of the comments from this group. And first of all, you've got in one or two words, finish the sentence. I'm feeling blank about the country these days. Disappointed and sad. Disappointed and hopeful, okay? Concerned, worried, anxious, frustrated, annoyed, discouraged, surprised and discouraged. Concerned, apathetic, betrayed. And that betray. really ran through a lot of the responses to do. Let's put the next one up on the screen. What grade would you give Donald Trump's second term? One dude gave him a C. Everybody else gave him D was the most dominant answer, and then three people gave him an F. Let's go to the next one here. I think we have one more slide. What word comes to mind when you think about your vote for Trump in 2024?

Regret. Is there anything you wish you could tell your 2024 self as you were about to vote? vote in 2024. Think carefully. When people show you who they are, believe them. Don't trust any of them. Argonus, who's the one who said don't trust any, said it exactly. I would repeat it. Don't trust none of them. If someone's making big claims, they're probably overcompensating for something else. I like that insight. But, you know, you do raise a good point about, look, the truism about Trump's base is he could shoot someone on Fifth Avenue, and it wouldn't matter. And it is true that his voter, like his core base, not as voters necessarily, because some of them were independent and had voted for Biden previously, et cetera, but his core base does still support the war, is still

with him, will still buy if he comes out with some kind of a victory narrative, even as we're looking at it and like, this is insane, they will still believe it. So what makes you think that there will be even among those individuals that there could be some erosion as a result of this catastrophic decision. Well, so like when you, as you said at the beginning there, it's like getting inside the voter, the head of like the median voter is a very, like, it's hard for, I think we always got to remember, right? There's a difference between the median voter and the people who are, say, watching breaking

points every day. Oh, yeah. The people who watch your show or watch my show or they're just, they're more invested. They're more involved in this. Top 5% of news consumers. Right. Yes. Well, look, I mean, if, if Joe Biden,

So when Joe Biden was forced to decide to pull out of the election, right? It's because essentially enough people in the Democratic establishment go he can't win. Like after that debate performance, we don't think he can win. Yeah, they pulled his money. And he would have lost, probably worse than Kamala Harris if he had run, probably. But Joe Biden still would have gotten 30-something percent, maybe 40 percent of the voters. Yeah, I think he probably would have gotten, I would, if I had to guess, 45. Yeah.

Right. So even in the worst case scenario, even when the president is a vegetable, there's still like a huge percentage of people who just, yeah, they vote Democrat or they vote Republican or they, so the question, like the action is always in the coalition. The act, so the difference between Donald Trump having like 50% approval ratings as he did a year and a half ago or having 33% approval. Well, that's the whole different. That's the difference between a blowout loss or winning the popular vote in every single swing state. So he's already destroyed that. Now, you know, I'll just say this because I don't know. I guess, you know, and I've been getting in some arguments with some people about this.

Have you? Have you? Have you? Yeah, you know, I'm known to. Even some people close to you. It's good. I enjoy it. But listen, I mean, and look, I have really nothing against Kyle or anything like that.

But I do think that, look, it is true. There's always been this criticism of Donald Trump supporters that they're like a cult-like following. there's no question that there is an element of that. And then the comment about shooting people on Fifth Avenue, like, yeah, okay, essentially we're running that experiment right now and finding out who will stay by him no matter what. But I do have to say, just my opinion, and maybe I'm not the best guy to sell this message

because I did support Donald Trump and vote for him, and I did come on your show before all the others and apologize for that, even though that is very trendy these days. I was seven or eight months ahead of most people. people on that. But whatever, I can't really brag. I voted for Donald Trump, and now I'm saying that was a mistake. But I'm just saying Barack Obama ran on peace. He ran on ending the wars. He ran on closing Guantanamo Bay. He ran on restoring habeas corpus. He ran on a million things that he just never did. And not only didn't do them, but expanded the worst of the Bush policies and himself

was even worse than George W. Bush. If you look up the civil war that he kicked off in Syria, the toppling of Gaddafi in Libya, backing the Saudis in Yemen, Barack Obama killed like a couple million people, just slaughtered innocent people, destroyed all countries. And by the way, surged in Afghanistan and then pulled out of Iraq and then reinvaded the country of Iraq. And how many prominent, how many of the most popular pro-Obama people turned on him in the middle of his presidency said he ought to be impeached and removed?

he's maybe even the anti-Christ. This guy, not that many. You know, and with Donald Trump, it's been a tsunami. So, look, I'm not, I don't think the move, like at the same, I mourned the death of the anti-war left for 15 years. I was the anti-war left before I got converted to being a libertarian. It broke my heart that they all disappeared under Obama.

And when they all came charging back about Gaza, I was like, let's go. They're back. Like, I don't think we need to sit here and get. into these arguments of, but you supported Biden and therefore the genocide is all your responsibility or something like that. Look, man, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris deserve to lose a thousand times. They deserve to lose a thousand deaths and be launched to the moon and never allowed back on Earth for funding the genocide in Gaza for their whole last year of their administration.

Just totally unforgivable. And Donald Trump deserves the same for all of this. So I think at this point, we're in a really dangerous situation. This war could really spin out of control very easily. And we've never really been in a situation before where there's a war launched and the propaganda apparatus is non-existent. They cannot sell the American people for this. This is why Mark Levine is openly talking about how we got to bring tech censorship back. These guys know they got to shut all of us down. So instead of us sitting here quibbling with each other over who in a forced binary decided this candidate versus that candidate and for what reasons, I think we should just all be opposing this as loud as possible. And just to say,

you know, because people say sometimes to me, they'll be like, oh, so you criticize all the presidents, who was your favorite president. You don't have one who you give a pass to. And it's like, yeah, they're all war criminals. They're all genocidal maniacs. Why should we set the standards so low? They all get an F. The grade from George W. Bush to Obama to Biden to Trump, every single one of them gets an F is just terrible. And I think you do, you know, you do see maybe, yes, there are a percentage of people who will support Trump no matter what, but I think less so than any other president of my lifetime. I hope so. I hope you're right that we at least see that whenever it comes to war. Dave, as always, we appreciate your time, my friend. Thank you very much. I'll see you at our

next smoke session. I got some good stuff. I got some good stuff for us. Don't you worry about that. I think that's what the kids are saying. No, I really, can I just say, I really, I know I say this every time I'm on, but I really do admire both of you guys so much. This show is phenomenal. I've been watching you guys since Rising, and I will say, I think, I think this war in Iran, your coverage, I think this has been the best period of your show. Well, thank you. I think we feel the same way about that as you do about, you know, being vindicated in your anti-war analysis of, like, we would take a lower chart ranking and less YouTube revenue. for the world to be more peaceful.

But you don't get to pick that. So you take your consolation prize, which is 2 million subscribers and 15 on YouTube, is still is really great. And it's really important to get the truth out to as many people as we can. So thank you guys. Well, thank you. It's one of the things that does give me hope is even with the overwhelming propaganda, you know, on the genocide in Gaza, on, you know, pushing for war in Iran and all of that,

that people are seeing the truth. Now, do we have a democracy worth its salt? where that matters too much, that's another question. But that's something to work towards in the future. Dave, good to see you. Thank you so much. Thanks, guys. Canadian women are looking for more.

More to themselves, their businesses, their elected leaders, and the world are out of them. And that's why we're thrilled to introduce the Honest Talk podcast. I'm Jennifer Stewart. And I'm Catherine Clark. And in this podcast, we interview Canada's most inspiring women. Entrepreneurs, artists, athletes, politicians, and newsmakers, all at different stages of their journey. So if you're looking to connect, then we hope you'll join us. Listen to the Honest Talk podcast on IHeartRadio or wherever you listen to your podcasts. 2%. That is the number of people

who take the stairs when there is also an escalator available. I'm Michael Easter. And on my podcast, 2%. I break down the science of mental toughness, fitness, and building resilience in our strange modern world. I'll be speaking with writers, researchers, and other health and fitness experts, and more to look past the impractical and way too complex pseudoscience that dominates the wellness industry. We really believe that seed oils were inherently inflammatory. We got it wrong. Many of the problems that we are freaked out about in the world are the result of stress. Put yourself through some hardships, and you will come out on the other side a happier, more fulfilled, healthier person.

Listen to 2%. That's T-W-O-P-Cent on the I. I-heart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tap Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do a little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast.

I'm Sam Jek. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick it here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 was big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack all day, but just so y'all know. I mean, at this point, Mark, this is the second episode

where we've discussed crack, so I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now, so... Thank you for finishing that sentence. Yes, I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years. from black people in American history.

Listen to look back at it on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Why don't we take a look at another industry in America, known as Hollywood, with a special guest that we have this morning. We have to talk about the Hollywood merger. We have actor India Moore here with us, this morning. They are the star of FX's Pose and one of these signatures, over 4,000 signatures, on a petition to prevent or demand the stopping of the merger between Warner Brothers and Paramount.

India, welcome to the show. How are you this morning? Thank you. I'm okay. How are you? Okay, good. Thanks for asking. Okay is understandable and considering the news. I'm grateful. I'm so grateful. We're grateful to have you. Maybe not grateful for this merger, but one, did you react to the news yesterday that the Warner Brothers shareholders have approved this $81 billion merger to combine Paramount and Warner Brothers. What is your reaction to that? And why did you sign your name on this petition?

I think, well, my reaction is that I was really disappointed and heart sunk, but also not surprised. I think that shareholders are prioritizing and are centering, you know, their financial interests and not really the interests of the people who ultimately were serving through our art. I think that it's a difficult sort of dissonance between the artists, the kids, the kids. creatives and the people who have money, you know, the business people. I don't think that their values are not always in alignment with the motivations of the artists of today. And I think that's what makes this merger so difficult. And I was just going to ask some of the...

Oh, go ahead, Crystal. I was just going to ask, what are some of the industry impacts that you're most concerned about here from an artist's creative perspective? Well, I think that what it seems is that Paramount, the creatives, not the creatives, excuse me, but the executives behind Paramount seem to be in political solidarity with the current administration. And, you know, I think the political agenda of the current administration is really scary, you know, they're. prioritizing a sort of homogenous monolith of values and principles that don't fit everyone and that don't include everyone. And I think that, you know, based on what we've seen so much of this, the political landscape that the administration has created is one where they are deciding ultimately who deserves to live and who deserves to die. And I think that,

that it's really, really unfortunate. I don't think that I think our job as artists is to reflect the times. It's to reflect people. It's to reflect the truths that people are living and experiencing. And also to innovate, right? It's also to be really creative in what we imagine for our future, what we imagine for ourselves, for each other. And I think so much of that could be so beautiful and it can include so many people.

And it should, right? But I think that the current administration feels like a betrayal of the American dream. Because I think the American dream is ultimately what everybody deserves. It's to live. It's to have a family. It's to be safe. It's to have, you know, to have, you know, your country respect you. and they're picking and choosing who gets to be a part of that.

And I think that this is what this merger is going to amplify in our works. You know, I think they're going to continue to amplify the sort of messaging of who gets to be represented and who doesn't. And that should never be up to people whose values are not people, whose values are money, you know. And I think that it's, I think that it's, I think that it's, I think that it's, really unfortunate, but it's not a done deal. The fight is not over. And I think that there's a lot that people could remain hopeful for. I think we have to continue to sustain pressure. But I think it's also really important to look at what that pressure is. Is that pressure a screaming, you know, and saying no, no, this is wrong? Or is it actually bringing context to why this is

a devastating decision? Right. And I think that context, that I would hope people are able to amplify and deliver is that the reason why we reflect the experiences of different people is because we live with different people. We share the earth with different people. You know, we share our cities with different people, the land, you know, supermarkets, you know, businesses. And I think that if we're not able to rationalize

why it's important to include everybody on a planet that we're all from, that includes everybody. I think we're going to have a lot of difficulty, not just in understanding why a merger is bad, but also in understanding why it's important to love. I think ultimately, for me, the political question hits a wall at some point. You know, the political question is, it hits a wall when at some point, at some point, are like, well, why should I care about issues that I'm not affected by? And that's hard to explain if you don't have love. You know, if love is not something that is a value and something that we're not actually sharing a definition around and exploring what that is. And it's okay that a lot of us struggle with understanding what that means for each other and what the responsibility, love holds us to

with one another on a shared planet. But I think that art would not exist without love. And for you on a concrete level as an artist, let's say this merger does go through and basically all of the entities within this new company become basically political vehicles that are off limits to a huge swath of artists. Like what does that take off the table for you?

as you're thinking about, like, what projects are possible. And, like, where, where, where, where are the spaces where in a world where this is approved and goes through, where are the spaces where freedom of expression can still flourish? Like, did Netflix? Like, are, like, are they still decent? Like, what's the, as artists are thinking, like, okay, this would be a cool show. Let's, let's pitch it to X, Y, Z. Like, what are the places left where if you have something that's a little bit subversible?

I'm not sure. I'm not sure what is. where the safe spaces are. I think we were still in a journey to creating safe spaces for people who have historically been marginalized for who they are before this administration came in. You know, we were already still in that journey. And so I think the bar has been set a lot lower. And I think, you know, what it means for me is that, you know, it's going to be a lot more difficult for me to work.

You know, I've been really vocal about the importance of not fighting without the, not hurting innocent civilians and people, not engaging in irrational wars. And also the lack of need, there's no need

for this, the kind of war and conflicts that we're seeing right now. And so I think that if people, if people who are also, if people are benefiting from the war, and those same people who are benefiting from the war are also behind the media landscape and who gets to work, then people who are anti-war are going to have a difficult time working.

And I think also, you know, I am a woman of trans experience, and I know that a lot of people have different, opinions or beliefs or projections about whether, you know, my expression of the sincerity of my inner witness of myself is true or not as a woman. And I don't think that, I think people deserve to work out for themselves how they are trying to figure out what it means to, to understand people, right? Everybody deserves to have that journey. But I think there's so much more at stake for people who are seen as less important or less valuable or just weird because of the way that they exist.

And I think that that's becoming such a political issue and it shouldn't be. I think that it's a devastating direction that we've gone in. My hope is that I think my hope is that, you know, we will still be able to have the resources and motivation and love to continue to build and create our own foundations for media, for media and storytelling. I think that that's a really important thing. But I also think it's important for everyone to value everyone's story. I think it's incredibly important for every single person who carries a different experience to also think about other people who carry a different experience.

in their pursuit to creating spaces for storytelling. Because ultimately, you know, what we want to fight against is this idea that stories get to be told one way and for one kind of people. And I think that when we do take on the responsibility of creating spaces for people to reflect reality, that is respected, you know. And I think, like, it's really interesting because you can take a snapshot of someone's life and make a movie out of it. And then someone will call it political. But for that person that the snapshot is made of, they're just existing. Right. And so I think that even the language political is really confusing.

It's really scary. And I think it's been weaponized in a way that has manufactured consent to erase people. You know, you see a black person on TV. Oh, that's political. You know, it's like, we don't want politics. And so politics has become a word to codify, like, trouble or discomfort or chaos. And it's really unfair to, I think, to create a broad, I think, a landscape out of that. when that landscape is made out of just regular people

trying to live their life who just exist who are human. So I think we have a lot to do and depoliticizing. Sorry. Oh, no, no, I was just going to say, we have a lot of people who are going to be politicizing what it means to be alive. And I think that, you know,

we have to be careful not to define politics by this notion of who gets to. live and who deserves not to live. Because ultimately that's what we're seeing right now. And it's not good for the future of our humanity, for anyone's humanity. And I think the people who are unaffected the most should care the most. You know, the people who are affected the most are very angry, are very hurt, are traumatized, are scared, especially when those people don't have resources.

So I think that we need more voices. We need more people who can articulate why this is wrong without having, you know, people who don't, who wouldn't be affected, I think are really important figures to rationalize why it's important for us to include as many people and everything that is about people. And I wanted to ask about artificial intelligence. My own perspective on this is that there was, already, the industry is already overly consolidated and that was already creating some real ideological weaponization might be the right way to put it. But with artificial intelligence, I mean, everything that's getting fed into the AI, the new season of the comeback is actually really

interesting on this. I was curious, Inja, what you're seeing around you, like, what is the mood of the industry? The letter has so many signatories. You're starting to see this, problems with AI consolidation be expressed in some of the art. itself, like I just mentioned the season of the comeback. There's a real, it seems to me, from the outside, you really do sense that there's some life left in the artists and the creatives who are pushing back right now, that splashy Hollywood reporter profile of the writer who had been, he's now working as a contractor. He couldn't find work that was published this week, and he's now working as a contractor. It seems that people are really, really, really starting to push back and

raise the alarm. Is that your sense? Like, what are you seeing around? you on the ground in the LA area? I'm not in LA. In the industry or I guess. Good for you. Yeah, good choice. Sorry. I think people are, I think there's two things that are happening.

I think that there are people who just really want to work and who are trying to protect themselves by maybe not being too vocal. And I think that there are people who are also who are worried about other people's experience, a lot of people who are worried about other people's experiences, who are being vocal, you know, and who are fighting back. You know, so I think that that's really important. Artificial intelligence is just another way. I think it's another way that people are being erased. You know, a lot of, you know, the heart of what, of what it means to interface with a person that really exists, you know, where an artist is, is drawing from something that comes from the force that makes them alive when they're either writing on paper or performing on screen. And that it's really scary. We don't know what the invisible connections are between a person that is interfacing with art is.

We don't know what the metaphysical relationship is to the way that we receive art. But I think that if we replace, I mean, like, I'm, I don't mean to get woo-woo, but like, No, please. I have a specialist person. We're not afraid. Yeah. But, like, I think that, you know, it is, it's, it, it is, it is, it is, it is, it feels spiritually disrespectful to replace art with artificial intelligence. I think that.

I think a lot of people feel that. Yeah. There's something that feels, like, it's between what makes us alive, what makes us alive, what makes us live and the stories that come from that. And so I think that it's really, I feel really sad and emotional about anything that is taking away from life. I, I don't know. I think that life or money, life money, but those things shouldn't, it shouldn't be life or money. It should, it should be life and money, sort of. Yeah, yeah. Well, I am very sympathetic to the woo-woo case. But for people who maybe just treat movies and TV shows as entertainment,

I do think there's a ton for anyone to be worried about with this merger because not only is it going to potentially silence interesting stories like the ones that you've mentioned, but there's just going to be less, a lot less movies, TV shows, and jobs. Now, I know a lot of people that work at Paramount, and they talk about how everyone at Paramount is walking around kind of like The Walking Dead, like a zombie. They all kind of know when these mergers hits that it's going to be mass layoffs. And for anyone that's used Netflix over the last five years, you can see sort of the slopification of content.

There's just a million shows that look thinner and feel thinner and don't feel like the movies and TV shows that we used to watch. And that comes from sort of a industry consolidation. and of course this one is a major one. I just wanted to list off some of the consolidation that Larry Ellison and David Ellison would be now owning, if this merger goes through, TikTok, Warner Brothers, Paramount, DC Studios, Discovery Channel,

CNN, CBS, HBO, Fandango, Rotten Tomatoes, Nickelodeon, MTV, Cartoon Network, Food Network, Travel Channel, Animal Planet, Comedy Central, Showtime, TBS, HG, TV, among others. So it does seem like there is going to be a lot less for you to watch and what it will be will be worse. Is there a fear in Hollywood right now?

It really upsetting. Less jobs. I can't. I think yes. I think there's a fear for less jobs for everyone outside of Hollywood as well. But I just want to say it's extremely frustrating for, you know, the Ellison's, you know,

and I wish, you know, I think that I wish, I wish them well in life. Honestly, I really want them to be able to have fruitful lives without destroying other peoples. But I think that it's really frustrating. I think I heard the elder Ellison say something to the degree of, there was like a speech or something that he gave to the beat of creating a system of surveillance or some kind of system that ensures that people are well-behaved or something like that. I don't know if you remember that. It will be on their best behavior.

It's really patronizing. It's really condescending. And I think it's really stupid because these are some of the most unbehaved people on the planet. You know, I think that they're supporting people who behave horribly, you know, toward other people. So we don't really, you know, when I look down at, when I look at what it means to be well-behaved to them, it's really to be submissive. They're calling our good behavior submission. And, you know, I think that that's really, really, it's terrible.

You know, they're turning people into slaves, right? They want to create a new, a neo, forgive me for, I don't know if I can find a better language for this. But, you know, if you can't tell the truth about what you're experiencing, about what you're, about what you're seeing, if you can't complain about the experience you're having, if you can't protest oppression and hurt, you know, like, or neglect, that's not good behavior. That is, that's oppression.

That's slavery, right? So I think that that's an issue, and I don't have faith in whatever they're doing. I think that whatever they're doing, it's very dark and it's scary. I also want to say that everyone should be concerned with the advent of AI, especially in TV and film, but especially most of the people who would be audiences to what we make.

Most of the people who are audiences to TV and film are not like business owners. They're not entrepreneurs. A lot of them are people who work under business owners. They work under entrepreneurs. These are people who do more. a lot of manual labor. These are people who, you know, who work very hard to bag our groceries,

to scan our groceries when we're checking out in the supermarket. These are people who work in different areas of service, right? And I think that if those people don't speak up, those people are also manufacturing consent for their jobs to be replaced by AI. So this is a really, if we look at TV and film and the consumer base that we have, the people who are made up of the consumer base of media are people who are working, you know, hard labor that is being threatened. And that hard labor is being threatened to be replaced with the same sorts of computer systems that we're seeing. generate TV and film content. So the connections are overwhelming.

And they are, it's just, there's so, there's just so many reasons why everybody should have an issue with this. And I think a lot of us are tired. I'm tired. I'm tired. We're all tired and for so many different reasons. you know, like, I'm trying to heal from my own, you know, background in history what I've gone through. And it's exhausting.

And like the constant, there's so much fight that we have to do. But I think that we have to evolve the way that we're fighting. We have to evolve that we're fighting so that the way that we're fighting doesn't just take away from us, but it also gives to us. And I think that we're not going to win what we're doing if we don't center. love. I really believe that. Speaking of the fight, now the shareholders have approved it. Some people are calling on California Attorney General to still block the merger. I guess my final question, if I could give from India, and thank you so much for coming on the show, is do you fear a career reprisal from signing this list?

Because this list of people is big, but obviously this could easily turn into a black list if you sign this. Oh, for it already is. I mean, I'm already on a blacklist. Okay. Cool. I guess I would hope not, you know, but I think like, I think, I think we need someone to represent people who care about people. Who has a lot of power, who was behind. You know, I wish Mark Ruffalo and, you know, um, you know, um, you know, um,

There's a ton of names in the list. Robert De Nierrez just joined, Pauli Hunter, Sophia Kothela. Yeah, like, I think a lot of, some of these people are still working, right? A lot of these people are still working. A lot of these people have been vocal about the most controversial things and they're still working. And I think that if they are not in solidarity with artists who share and who share the same values, who've given up their visibility, their platforms, their careers to sound their, the alarm, you know, in what's happening to humanity, not just in these silos that we're referring

to industries, you know, that we're referring to as industries. But like, like, I think that everybody, everybody has to, like, I think all of these people have to, I mean, I would encourage them, you know, Pedro Pascow, like, you know, these are, like, I, I would love for them to advocate more for artists to not be blackballed. you know, for valuing other people, you know. I think that it's just we're advocating in silos. And I think that if we're not creating more solidarity across artistry, across talent, across industry, then it's going to be a lot more difficult to fight,

to fight back, I think, to push back against this. So, I mean, that's my message. I think it's intersectional advocacy and solidarity. And I think, I hope that people are willing to take up the challenge to do that. Okay. Fantastic. Well, India, thank you so much for joining us today. We hope that this merger has a different outcome than what it seems is coming on the horizon.

We'll, of course, link to you in our video description. Thank you so much for joining us today. Great to meet you, Angie. Thank you so much for your work and for amplifying, you know, what's going on. I really appreciate it. Nice to meet you all. I hope you have to move back. Thank you guys so much for watching. We appreciate it. We will see you all. Oh, no, Friday show tomorrow. They'll see you then.

On the Look Back at it podcast. 1979, that was a big moment for me. 84 is big to me. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. With our friends, fellow comedians, and favorite authors.

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