Close All Tabs - The Emily Hart Saga, Part 2: The AI Thirst Trap Grift

Episode Date: August 19, 2026

Emily Hart, the bikini-wearing right-wing AI influencer, had captured the hearts, minds and more of MAGA men online. But her creator, Sam, had grown sick of the creepy messages and unsolicited explicit photos he’d received from Emily’s adoring fans. And he was about to be outed as a “scammer.” In this follow-up to last week’s episode, we dig into the downfall of the MAGA dream girl, the explosion of AI “thirst” grifts and why Sam says he shouldn’t be labeled as a “scammer” at all. Guests: Ej Dickson, senior culture writer at Wired “Sam,” creator of AI MAGA Influencer Emily Hart Further Reading/Listening: This Scammer Used an AI-Generated MAGA Girl to Grift ‘Super Dumb’ Men — Ej Dickson, Wired  Goose, a New Gay Dating App, Appears to Be a Psyop — Ej Dickson, Wired How India's Cyber Scam Industry Causes Global Havoc — Hanan Zaffar, Inkstick Inside the Booming ‘AI Pimping’ Industry — Jason Koebler and Emanuel Maiberg, Wired Delays in Visa Program Threaten Placement of Hundreds of Doctors in Underserved Areas — Arielle Zionts, KFF Health News  White House Wants More Doctors But Its Immigration Policies Block Them — Stuart Anderson, Forbes Foreign medical residents fill critical positions at U.S. hospitals, but many now face visa issues — Adithi Ramakrishnan and Devi Shastri, PBS News Indians lead UK exit wave as Britain's migration crackdown begins to bite | Immigration News — Sunainaa Chadha, Business Standard Read the Transcript here Email us at [e-mail] Follow us on ⁠Instagram⁠ and ⁠TikTok⁠ Credits: Close All Tabs is hosted by Morgan Sung. Our team includes producer Maya Cueva, editor Chris Hambrick and senior editor Chris Egusa who also composed our theme song and credits music. Our intern is Lauren Yoon and also was the associate producer on this episode. Additional music from APM. Audio engineering by Brendan Willard. Audience engagement support from Maha Sanad. Jen Chien is our Director of Podcasts. Ethan Toven-Lindsey is our Editor in Chief. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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So this is actually the second part of our series on the saga of Emily Hart, an AI MAGA influencer, and Sam, the guy who created her. If you haven't heard part one yet, check out last week's episode. And just a heads up, this episode contains mentions of explicit sexual content. So listen with care. We first met Sam in last week's episode. He's a 22-year-old medical student from India. And he had been chasing side hustles in order to make extra cash while in school. I needed some extra pocket money.

I started first with YouTube shots. I started making AI horror shots, then Roblox, then Roblox, then I'm a medical student so I teach other people sell notes but like it didn't work that well. Emily Hart was by far his most lucrative venture.

Hey, handsome. In this private ward, there are no supervisors and no rules. Just me, you and whatever happens when these scrubs finally come off. She was the MAGA dream girl and she was

completely AI generated. She rapidly gained a following thanks to her Trump-supporting thirst traps. Every time Sam posted images of her ice fishing, shooting rifles, drinking beer, complete with an American flag bikini and bright red maga hat, her fans went wild. In just a few weeks, Emily had 15,000 followers on Instagram, over 20 million views on reels, and a small army of subscribers on fan view. That's a site kind of like only fans. And these guys literally paid to DM her. Well, really, paid to DM Sam. They didn't know it was him.

But they also didn't seem to care that Emily wasn't real. Sam was making a couple thousand dollars a month. So he wasn't quite rolling in it, but that's really good money for a student in India. Initially, I enjoyed it. Well, it made it less enjoyable for you. Actually, it was a bit strange. It was a bit creepy like other. male is talking to me in like that way. It felt weird. Sam was getting sick of it. It started with

the unsolicited dickpicks. Like directly, blatantly, like, no context, no high, and then the image. And then the unsolicited come tributes. And I was like, what the hell is this guy doing? He's like, he, he sent me the video. And I was like, people do all this weird things. Like, it was super critty. who was really Sam, was dealing with some real creeps. Like, there was this one guy who wouldn't stop harassing her account. He used to call me. He used to call me on Instagram. He used to, like, call me 10 times.

Like, why aren't you picking up? You shouldn't disrespect someone like that. Like, I muted him. When Sam ignored him, the guy sent a nude. After, like, 10 miss calls, he just sent that pick. I'd like, why are you sending it? Like, are you thinking that seeing this? will call you or something. As a male, I can say like, many male are like super creepy. And I hate

such men. And that was just the start of it. Emily Hart was a success. But Sam was starting to get uncomfortable. Like on Instagram, I didn't use to reply because like my DM was sold every day I get 100, 200, 300 messages. And then Instagram flagged Emily's account. And that was the beginning of the end. Today, we're diving into the rest of Sam's story, from the Instagram bands to the scammer accusations, to what happened with his lifelong dream of moving to America. And we'll take a look at some other AI grifts as we try to answer the big question. Is it fair to call Sam a scammer? Buckle up.

This is Close All Tabs. I'm Morgan Sung, tech journalist, and your chronically online friend here to open as many browser tabs as it takes to help you understand. how the digital world affects our real lives. Let's get into it. Before we get into the other questions, let's talk about the rest of Emily's story. Unfortunately, her ending is not a happy one. That's our first tap. The Death of Emily Hart. At the peak of her popularity, Emily Hart was gaining about 2,000 followers a day. Sam was on top of the world. But then, Instagram started picking up on some suspicious behavior in Emily's DMs. So, like, initially, like, Instagram, I used to message people.

I didn't know that Instagram reads all the DMs. Not only does Instagram monitor DMs, but it also does not allow adult content. And it doesn't allow users to advertise adult content. Even mentioning only fans can get you banned. Sexbrookers usually bury links to their paywalled explicit content within a sea of other links, three or four clicks deep. I didn't know that.

I sent a link to my fan view personally and DM. And like Instagram flagged my account instantly. Like within 5-10 minutes, my account got flagged. It got banned. Like, I cannot use it. Panicked, Sam got in touch with META and appealed the ban. They asked for my personal ID and my mobile number, my email, all my personal information. And like my account got recovered next day.

And then it was flagged again. like two five days after. He wasn't sure what triggered the second ban, but it could have been for a number of reasons. He didn't disclose that the account was AI, which goes against Instagram's policies. He avoided even mentioning Emily's fan view, but Meta could have flagged your account anyway

using data about Sam's internet usage. That happens to human sex workers all the time. Sam appealed again, and again, managed to recover Emily's account. But then, about a month, later on the night of Valentine's Day. It was like, boom, it's over. They deleted my account.

They don't even give me the reason. It was just written that. You don't follow our community guidelines. That's why we are suspending an account. But then, Sam remembered one certain post. And if he hadn't already racked up a history of bands,

Meta may have let this one slide. It was the death by a thousand cuts. That's E.J. Dixon, who first reported the story. for Wired. Well, the Instagram guidelines require that creators disclose whether or not their profiles are AI generated. And he wasn't kicked off for violating that.

He was kicked off for basically leaning into MAGA hatred too much, which I kind of thought was funny in a really dark way. Like, he posted something really racist. We're not going to repeat what the post said. But here's how Sam explained why he did it. Like, I don't hate African-American people. Like, but it's generally like, MAGA people don't like them as much. Maga people were like super racist, okay?

So, like, I thought that, like, if I make a racially inappropriate joke, so like I thought that people would appreciate it. He girl boss too close to the sun, basically. And that's what got him kicked off, not the fact that it was AI generated. Emily's audience loved Sam's post about deporting immigrant. and demonizing abortion. But this went too far for even them. Like Instagram is basically racism up.

It's like filled with racism. And like people appreciate it in comment section. Like people make jokes of it. But one thing that was super surprising for me is that like when I posted it, like even the mega people like no one supported me. Not like even a signal that supported me. And people were like, this is straight out racism. And people mass reported that reason.

and it got my third account, man. So it was surprising for me that people didn't entertain that racism. And it felt good. Like, at least people are not like that racist. Sam tried to appeal it, like he did with previous bands, but Emily Hart's Instagram account was gone forever. It was particularly devastating because he had been chasing side hustles for months. And this was the one that finally paid off.

I was super upset. Like, I tried many things, like 10 things. 15 things. And finally, there were a hope. Like, there is this thing that worked out for me. There is this thing like that I figured out. He didn't have much time to dwell on it, though. The big entrance exam for Indian medical specialty programs was just a few months away. So he had to lock in and study. And then, he had to navigate a different kind of internet fame. E.J.'s wired story about Emily Hart was published shortly after the final Instagram ban. And it became even more viral than Emily herself.

EJ expected some backlash from the MAGA crowd. After all, the headline of her story was literally, this scammer used an AI-generated MAGA girl to grift super dumb men. But a really interesting thing happened after the story came out, where even MAGA accounts were reposting it being like, good for this guy, like, applauding his efforts to scam, basically. There were some people who were saying like incredibly racist things about brown people, but in the same breath we're like, but honestly, good for this guy.

If this is what these guys are capable of, like more of them should come over here. Like that was a sentiment I saw more than once. And it's a disgusting sentiment, right? It's a despicable sentiment. But I was very surprised to see that even the people who were being duped by this guy were applauding the level of. of grift that it took to tube them. I mean, that's what they were doing.

There were a couple people who were mad, but for the most part, they were like, this guy, good for him, you know, game-recognized game. Sam also loved E.J.'s story. He said he sent it to all of his friends, and even though his name and identity were kept anonymous, for a brief moment, he was kind of a celebrity online. This story was everywhere. So-called MAGA men, they were drooling over a social media personality

And he named Emily Hart, a cute little blonde who would post pro-Trump content and even send bikini photos of people paid for it. I mean, this is catfishing on steroids, period. And you can see why the guys fell for her. She is not real. Wait, what? That is AI. Oh, wow. That is AI.

Turns out this is a viral MAGA influencer. And she was ran by a med student from India. Oh, he's so smart. Yes. So smart. Like, like, thousands of comments. And like, people were appreciating. Like, give this guy a green card.

You know, give this guy a citizen. It's an example of good Indian. We need them in the USA. And like, people were, like, super appreciating. Like, that he's just smart, mega are dumb. Like, it's not his fault if people are dumb. It's a super genius idea. I should have thought of that.

It was a very positive reaction. But he did have an issue with one part of the article. In the article, headline they called me a. To this day, Sam insists that he never scammed anyone. He says it's a racist assumption that all Indian people online are scammers. We'll hear his case in a new tab. That's for after this break. But first, we want us to remind you that close all tabs depends on listeners like you to keep us going.

You can support us by becoming a member at donate.kkud.org slash podcasts. Okay. After the break, what makes a scammer? Don't go anywhere. Get your tickets now for the dog stars. It's no surprise how fast civilization can disappear. Go! Out there, it's kill or be killed.

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Time to open a new tab. Is Sam a scammer? After EJ's story came out, people praise Sam as innovative and creative and a master of his craft. even Trump supporters applauded his dedication to the hustle. Sam aided up. But he was genuinely offended by the way everyone called him a scammer. I didn't scam even. I disclosed people that they shouldn't tip.

I disclose people that they shouldn't spend so much money on me. Like, didn't have any bad intention. A scammer, according to Merriam Webster, is someone who participates in a fraudulent scheme. Cambridge Dictionary, someone who makes money using illegal methods by tricking people. Wikipedia, someone who defrauds a person or group after gaining their trust. I just want to make some money. You can say it's not ethical, but it's not a scam.

Like, I didn't do anything. You can say illegal. Sam technically didn't defraud anyone. While Emily Hart's Instagram account wasn't labeled as AI generated, Sam did disclose it to subscribers on FanView, where he was actually making money. He said he had plenty of opportunities to scam Emily Hart's subscribers.

Multiple fans had offered to pay her thousands of dollars to meet in person. But Sam said he never took the money. People were like, we will pay for your plane ticket and please just come to California. We will have a dinner. Let's have a dinner together and all that. Like, I could have easily taken that money.

Like, I could have easily sent them, you can say Bitcoin or like some, You can say crypto link. But I would, like, super clear with that, like, I will not do anything wrong. And I knew that, like, I can't meet them in real life. They will just waive their money. And I didn't want that. Sam felt that the money he earned selling fan view subscriptions and pay-per-view content was earned,

even if it was through AI-generated soft-core porn. He disclosed that the content was AI, and he was providing something in return for their money. But he wasn't comfortable accepting direct tips from Emily subscribers. He even sent some tips back. Like there was this guy from New Jersey. And like, he was tipping me a lot. And I wondered like, why he's tipping so much? I asked him like, why are tipping me so much?

He was tipping so much in hopes that I will meet him because my model was behaved in New York City. And it was close to New Jersey. So he would, like, if I tip her so much, maybe she will come to meet me. Sam told the subscriber that Emily was AI generated. And I returned all the tip money. And I was like, if you want to cancel the subscription, it's completely fine with me. He was like, no, like, he didn't even take all other tip back. Like, he took me $10.

And he was like, that it's okay. And like, I returned the rest of the problem. Sam was offended that he was being labeled a scammer. Because in his eyes, if he had actually scam people, he'd have a lot more money. He also said it feeds into some of the rates. assumptions that many people online make about India. There is the stereotype for Indian people, like all the Indian people have scammer. Like, I didn't want to do that.

India dominates the IT industry. The English-speaking world's major tech support hubs are based in India. But as this booming market grew, the cyber scam economy exploded too. Callers often pose as tech support agents from Amazon or fraud investigators from major banks and persuade gullible victims to hand over remote access to their devices and accounts. And like people in India, they scam them out of hundreds of dollars and I really feel bad. India's economic strain and rising unemployment rates are pushing more young people to work at cyber scam centers because no one else is hiring.

And that has really affected Sam, especially when he tries to make friends online. That hurt Indian image so much, like that even like I meet people online. I can't even tell them that I'm Indian. They straight out hate me. Like, you are scammer. Like, you know, all that racial comments. And I'm like, you haven't even talked with me. You don't even know what kind of a person I am.

He specifically tried to adhere to his own moral code with Emily Hart, in part because he's aware of the scammer reputation. And I absolutely hate that. Like, it ruins image of my country and I don't like it at all. So I'm like that I am doing it. and I will do this as ethically as possible. So, yes, Sam did dupe conservative men into following Emily Hart's Instagram account. And he did build a following using racist, xenophobic, and downright offensive content. But when it comes to the question of whether he's a scammer, sure, he profited off of the maga fantasy of a woman that doesn't exist.

But there were lines he refused to cross. And if subscribers tried to tip him more than the $5 subscription fee, he'd remind them that Emily Hart wasn't real. The thing is, scamming is not a term in our legal system, unlike fraud and theft, which can be prosecuted. And Sam didn't do either of those. So whether he's a scammer is really a moral question. And we can't really weigh in on that until we understand the other ways people are using AI to deceive and profit off of others. Which, of course, means opening a new tab. The AI Thirstrap Grift.

AI models took off for the general public in the early 2020s. And since then, the grifts have been booming. I think there's a spectrum of this, of the AI influencer grift, right? EJ has been reporting on this a lot for Wired, tracking all the new developments in the AI influencer world. The industry is thriving. It seems like there's a new synthetic personality going viral every day. They dominate streets.

with their AI-generated music. They represent brands as AI-generated models. They crank out YouTube videos and TikToks and reels faster than any human influencer can. And, like Emily Hart, they even sell AI-generated nudes. I think we're at a point where low effort is being rewarded and there's a premium put on it versus hard work. And like there are a lot of, especially younger people,

are people who think that the mark of success is basically making as much money with as little work as possible. And there's one trend in the AI influencer space that really freaks E.J. out. So Emily Hart is not necessarily based on a real human being. Sam generated her from scratch by prompting Gemini. You could argue that Gemini was trained using real people's photos and that there's a chance that someone out there does look like her. But that's a conversation for another deep dive. What actually concerns EJ is this growing trend of using AI to modify real women's photos and videos and selling them on adult content sites entirely without their consent. I did a story about these 19-year-old boys who had developed this side hustle of taking random girls' photos from Instagram, like private citizens,

people with 1,000,000, 2,000 followers, not models or anything like that, and using NUify apps and posting sexual content in them on sites like Fanview. And they were literally making YouTube tutorials and teaching men how to do this and how to make these photos, like what types of girls' photos they should feed into the model to train it. It was really, really dark. And I think that we are headed for a future where that's going to become more normalized than not. YouTube is teeming with tutorials to get rich quick by using generative AI to make explicit content. Almost all of the tutorials are taught by men who are profiting off of AI content based on real women. Some people refer to this as digital pimping.

EJ thinks that phrasing is actually too mild. I think it's digital exploitation. I think it's digital trafficking, essentially. These guys are really invested in creating a reality where women who do not consent to being sexualized at all can have anything they want done with their images, no matter how old they are, no matter where they work, what they do. These guys just use the internet as free reign to humiliate them, because that's really what it's about. It's not about getting off. It's about humiliation. It's about the lack of consent is the point. Then there's this practice of using

AI influencers as bait. EJ. recently broke this big story about the gay dating app Goose. Goose was marketed as a wholesome social platform. Basically positioning it as a competitor to grinder, except it would be less casual sex and hookup focused and more focused on socializing and making friends and forming real human connections. Goose deployed a small army of hot gay influencers to recruit other gay men. These influencers would follow gay guys and add them to their close friend story or slide into their DMs with a, hey, you seem cool. And eventually, they'd send an invite code to Goose. All of these influencers were AI generated. That was a big part of their marketing strategy is making these very believable-looking hot guy accounts with like 300, 400, 500 followers who

worked in very realistic jobs. One of the guys said he worked for Strava. Like another one of the guys said he worked for like David Swarner Gallery. And that's really convincing. And I think it really messed with a lot of people's perceptions of reality and their ability to discern. what is AI and what isn't. E.J. said she could understand why people fell for it. In order to get on goose, because it's invite only at this point, and you obviously have to be a gay man to join it, I made my own AI-generated hot guy influencer account. I was trying to make it really convincing. So I was like, gave him beards, give him tattoos, like make him live in Crown Heights, make him be like a record producer slash engineer. And the more that I was

like generating these photos and generating this guy's biography, I was like, oh my God, I've made the hottest man in the world. Like, I would absolutely have sex with this. Honestly, and this is a huge compliment to my husband. Like, he looked a lot like my husband. So even I, like, for a split second, was kind of deceived by the too good to be true element of AI, at least momentarily. Compared to other examples E.J. just talked about was what Sam did really that bad. There's a spectrum of AI thirst trap grifts. Ultimately, Sam did profit off of Emily Hart. But was he causing harm to anyone? That's less clear. And then on the other hand, you have those evil motherfuckers who are posting YouTube tutorials to young men teaching them how to take some high school girls follow off of Instagram and run her through a notify app and make money off that.

And the technology is getting better every day. It's just getting easier and easier and easier and easier to do. It took me five minutes to make my hot gay man thirst trap guy for Goose. It took the guys who were posting those YouTube tutorials. They were saying it took them 10 minutes. I think six months ago, the question would have been, is the juice worth the squeeze? And now, like, there is no squeeze, you know? Well, the squeeze is no longer worth it for Sam. After Emily Hart's account was banned for good, Sam tried to make another. But he found that somehow, meta banned him too. Even now my phone is blacklisted.

If I use another number, it will be blacklisted. So I cannot even create an Instagram account, even if it's not for all this. Like I created another Instagram account for personal use and stuff, and it deletes it. As lucrative as Emily Hart was, Sam's kind of over the whole thing anyway. He doesn't want to deal with the creeps, and he's tired of pretending to be racist for engagement. And he's got other stuff going on in his life. He's about to graduate from medical school. His whole university career, he dreamed of moving to the U.S.

It was going to be his ticket out of India's economic crisis and caste system. But this whole ordeal with Emily Hart, combined with other factors, has him second-guessing his life plan. That's a new tab. Should I move to America? Sam had mapped out his entire career strategy when he started university, making sure to check all the boxes required to land a residency match in the U.S., which is already competitive, but even more so for international students.

But he was determined. The United States medical licensing exam is an incredibly rigorous process. It's split into three parts over multiple years. Step one, which students take during their first years of medical school, is eight hours long. I cleared it. In my first attempt, like, you only get one jump and I cleared it. According to his plan, he should be taking step too soon. But since clearing the first exam, he's watched immigration to the U.S.

become more and more difficult under the Trump administration. And now he's rethinking his plan. Like Donald Trump has made it so difficult to, even if you're talented, they don't want you. Like, even if you do everything right, there is no guarantee. He did like hundreds of policy changes. Like, every day he wakes up, he do a policy change. Like, you know, you can't predict him. The Trump administration's immigration policies have wreaked havoc on the medical training system.

From implementing strict time limits on visas for trainees to stalling visa renewals for doctors who are always. already practicing here. There's also the $100,000 entry fee for H-1B visa holders, which a lot of rural hospitals just can't afford. And amid the constant flux in the White House's policies, ICE officers have targeted, detained, and deported immigrants, even if their visas are still valid. Sam has watched it all unfold while finishing school. And one day, I would like, it's enough, I give her. Like, I don't want to gamble with my future. And immigration policies aside, his interactions with Americans, as Emily Hart, have soured his opinion of the U.S. He did choose to pander to people who have extremely racist and xenophobic stances, and he did stoke these viewpoints with Emily's content.

But at the same time, it wasn't lost on him that if these followers knew who he really was, he'd probably be the target of their vitriol too. He said that a lot of these interactions reinforced his beliefs about conservative America. I don't want to stereotype, but you know, stereotype doesn't write themselves, okay? Like, stereotype exists for a reason. I learned that. So making it in America, the land of opportunity and Grand Theft Auto, is no longer Sam's goal. He said many of his classmates feel the same way. Like because of this, many of the talented people are. are going to countries like Japan, Germany, like good European country, like even UAE, people are

like saying like, don't go to the United States. And even after all this, you have to face racism on that. It's not worth it. Sam consider trying to get into a specialty trading program in other English-speaking countries. But he's not sure of that either. The political climates in those countries aren't the most welcoming right now. The UK has tightened its visa pathways, and increased restrictions for international workers. And Australia recently placed Indian students in the high-risk visa category. Like nobody is willing to accept Indians, but the sentiment is very anti-immigration right now. Sam said a lot of young people would actually want to stay in India

if it weren't for the caste system and tanking job market. He said that the reservation system, which was designed to uplift the most oppressed cast, leaves the middle class to compete for opportunities with the ultra-wealthy. But despite all his gripes with his home country and his lifelong dream of getting out, he's actually planning to stay for now. He's scrapped his U.S. immigration plans. Instead, he's been studying for the big national entrance exam for India's medical post-grad programs. He's sitting for it at the end of the month.

It wasn't worth it for Sam to maintain Emily Hart's fan view without having an Instagram to direct traffic to it. But he does still need to make money. And since he's studying six to eight hours a day on top of his clinical work, he doesn't have time for a nine to five. A few weeks ago, Sam started working on what he calls a more ethical version of Emily Hart, helping brands create AI influencers to promote their products. He doubts it'll be as financially rewarding as Emily Hart.

It's essentially a marketing gig, which he said, was kind of boring. But like Emily was another level of fun. It was like, you know, you get an adrenaline rush. Every day you see like 2,000 followers are adding up. There are people tipping on you. There are people that are going crazy for you. And like people are copying you.

It was a whole different level of, you can say, fun. But even if he could get around the meta ban, Sam has zero interest in attempting to create another Emily Hart. I used to think that you can, you know, easily make good amount of money effortlessly. All this AI creator and stuff didn't take a lot of effort. But what I concluded with that, like, you can not make a good amount of money consistently without putting in effort. If it feels too good to be true, then it is too good to be true.

That's it for this extra deep, deep dive into the saga of Emily Hart. More importantly, the story of the real guy who created her. Special thanks to Sam and EJ for sharing this with us. We have opened so many tabs for this series, but if you feel like you still need to open more, we'll link to some further reading in the show notes. And as usual, stick around after the credits for some bonus content. Okay, it's finally time.

Let's close all these tabs. Close All Tabs is a production of KQED Studios, and it's reported and hosted by me, Morgan's son. This episode was produced by Maya Cueva and edited by Chris Agusa, who also composed our theme song and credits music. The Close All Tabs team also includes editor Chris Hambrick and audio engineer Brendan Willard. Lauren Yun is our intern and was also the associate producer on this episode. Additional music by APM. Audience engagement support from Mahasanaad.

Jen Cheyenne is our director of podcasts and Ethan Tovin Lindsay is our editor-in-chief. Some members of the KQED podcast team are represented by the Screen Actors Guild, American Federation of Tate. television and radio artists, San Francisco, Northern California, local. This episode's keyboard sounds were submitted by Alex Tran and recorded on his white, epilemaker, high 75 keyboard with Fogred in Red Samurai keycaps and Gator on Milky Yellow Pro V2 switches. This episode also includes clips from The View, Fox and Friends, and Hot 97. It also includes AI-generated clips of Emily Hart, courtesy of Sam.

Thanks for listening. Yeah, actually, I've tried a lot of things like trading bots, like stock market and stuff. I got good success in that, but then I lost a lot of money. I lost $1,000 in stock market, then I quitted. On the California Report Magazine,

we bring you stories about Californians helping out their neighbors, like a little store in Oakland where shoppers can walk out with one item for free. I mean, opening up a shop and giving away stuff for free, my first customers thought I was insane.

Still here, so it seems to be working. I'm Sasha Koka. You can hear more community connection stories on the California Report Magazine podcast. Hey, I'm Sasha Koka, host of the California Report Magazine. Every week, we bring you stories about the places and people who make the golden state unique. Like the Batman of San Jose. He hands out water and first aid supplies to unhoused people wearing a mask and a purple cape. If someone needs a blanket and I don't have one to give them, I can give them the cape. His superpower, noticing people who feel ignored. Hear more community connection stories on the California Report Magazine podcast. There was always something special about Bruce Lee.

I said, empty your mind. Be formless. Shapeless like water. But before he was the Hollywood icon we know today, he was refining his practice at his martial art studio in Oakland. To get better when you're already good ain't easy. You really have to be. Break things down completely.

Learn more about Bruce Lee's time in the Bay Area on the Bay Curious podcast. Find us wherever you listen.