Factually! with Adam Conover - Iran Deal, World Cup, and Trump’s UFC Birthday Party with Alissa Walker and Chris Estrada

Episode Date: June 19, 2026

It's a big week for global humiliation! This week, Adam is joined by journalist Alissa Walker and comedian Chris Estrada to talk about the Iran "Deal" and baby Trump's big boy UFC birthday bash. Also, have you heard about this World Cup? --SUPPORT THE SHOW ON PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/adamconoverSEE ADAM ON TOUR: https://www.adamconover.net/tourdates/SUBSCRIBE to and RATE Factually! on:» Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/factually-with-adam-conover/id1463460577» Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0fK8WJw4ffMc2NWydBlDyJAbout Headgum: Headgum is an LA & NY-based podcast network creating premium podcasts with the funniest, most engaging voices in comedy to achieve one goal: Making our audience and ourselves laugh. Listen to our shows at https://www.headgum.com.» SUBSCRIBE to Headgum: https://www.youtube.com/c/HeadGum?sub_confirmation=1» FOLLOW us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/headgum» FOLLOW us on Instagram: https://instagram.com/headgum/» FOLLOW us on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@headgum» Advertise on Factually! via Gumball.fmSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This is a headgum podcast. Everybody, welcome to Fax Shirley. It's Friday, so I'm breaking down the news with some very funny and smart people with me. I have Alyssa Walker. Hi, Alyssa. Hello. A host of the wonderful show, L.A. podcast, a reporter around Los Angeles. Anything else that you do so many things?

I have a newsletter called Torch, where I'm tracking what's happening right now as well as other mega events. Thank you. Your incredible work. And we got Chris Estrada, incredible stand-up comedian, creator of the show, This Fool. This Fool. anything else that I stand-up comedian kind of fucking they'll do it

you and me both brother okay well let's get into it hey congrats to us for losing a new war we have officially lost the war against Iran we have signed a deal Donald Trump has signed a deal ending the war with absolutely nothing being accomplished of any kind except that

Iran now knows that they can block the street of Hormuz anytime they want any other country to do anything at all. They have power over us that they did not really know they had before because 20% of global fossil fuel goes through the canal. And let's see. Oh, they promise not to have a nuclear weapon, but there's no enforcement mechanism of this at all, which I believe there was in the treaty that Trump ripped up that Obama signed

like 10 years ago. So that's a backstep. And, oh, yeah. And I believe Trump originally said we were. going in for regime change, and instead we have guaranteed Iran's sovereignty going forward and basically secured the regime even more firmly in place. With a whole new generation of leaders now. Yeah.

Oh, and I forgot we're also going to give them $300 billion, which I'm not sure isn't all entirely coming from the U.S., but like they're going to get $300 billion. They're going to be able to sell oil. So we're like enriching them and, I don't know, turning them into the new Qataris, I guess. Yeah, I mean, where do we even start with this? Like, okay, have you guys felt like this war, like, people just have not been talking about as much as you would expect for like a major American war? Yeah, I feel like people haven't been talking about it as much. But the approach to me, like the continual losing wars is kind of the same.

I feel like they're following the Estrada approach, which is I've lost several physical fights throughout my life. And I just keep starting them. for no reason. I've lost several and I keep starting them. And I'm not done. And neither is America. We're going to start another one. And we're going to lose another one.

I have a little bit more of a Switzerland approach where I do everything I can to avoid getting into a fight. If there is a fight happening, I leave the room. I don't take sides. I've never been punched. I never will be. If I ever am, someone ever does fight me, I will drop to the ground and show my back is my main strategy.

But I think what they're doing, though, this administration. is they're not letting people know how much we've lost. Because I think there's some people who are like, you know, people who agree with this war, people who are fans of this administration are probably like, yeah, we showed them, you know? And I think if you kind of suppress what people see, you know, people are just like, yeah, good.

They would never do that. We're on top of that. But I feel like it's like one of those things where I like, you know, if I lose a fight and nobody's there to see it, I go and tell you, yeah, I kicked it out. Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah, at the bar afterwards, Trump is telling everyone you want. Yeah.

Alyssa, what do you think? I feel like there was more conversation about like the Lego AI videos that they were making, those like propaganda. And in that sense, maybe that is the new era that we have reached. Yeah. Where we fight through. Through memes. Through memes.

Yeah. Through video memes. We fight through memes. AI memes. Great. I just mean, you guys were both. The first war that I was like really conscious for was the second Iraq war, obviously. I mean, I remember.

the first Gulf Storm because I was a kid, but like I was reading the newspaper for the for the George W. Bush-Iraq War. And like the drumbeat of there's weapons of mass destruction. We have to go in and blah, blah, blah. And then it was years, you know, I watched the Daily Show for like five years. Every night it was about the Iraq War.

And of course it was a longer conflict. But like it was the central fact of American life was that we were at war for so long. But you know what? I think that war had the, and this sounds like, fucked up, but I don't mean this in a bad way. It had the PR of 9-11. Uh-huh. You know what I mean? Like people... Propelling it. Yeah. It's true. And they, and, you know, they lied to everyone and said,

hey, these guys were, you know, they were behind it and then it turned out to be... But we didn't have sort of a 9-11 this time. Because I don't think... I was telling my wife the other day, that would never happen again because some kid on TikTok would figure it out. Like, you know what I mean? Like, be like, actually, this is what happened. And like, it just, I think it had the PR of 9-11. And this one didn't have any of that. Yeah. Yeah. It, uh, the fact that they didn't even try to come up with a justification or whether they threw some out there. They were like multiple ones. I think it wasn't even just one. Yeah. It was, it was and it always changed. It was dependent on this week. Yeah. At one point, Trump said, yeah, we want their oil. I don't know if you remember that.

Yes. At one point, he blatantly said that. At least that is honest. Yeah. But except that that, The craziest part... And that wasn't even necessarily honest because it was like... Netanyahu had been like coming here and suggesting we'd go to war with Iran for years. Yeah, this is... So I had Reza Oslan right after the war started on the show

and the way he put it was, like, just Netanyahu's been trying to get every president to do this for like as long as he's been in power and every president was smart enough not to do it. And then Trump is just crazy and stupid enough to, on one particular day, Go, okay, you know, sure, why not? And the Rez's take was at some point, Trump will be like, I'm done. I don't want to do it anymore.

Like the political pressure is too annoying. I don't like it. And pull the plug. And that is exactly what he did. He like pulled the plug on Netanyahu. He like yelled at Netanyahu for continuing strikes into Iran. And I think the craziest thing is, you know, Trump is like pretty good at politics. Most of that he won two elections.

You know, you got to be good at politics. He has pissed off. literally everybody in his coalition. I don't know who can be happy about it because he already pissed off the sort of original populace like the Tucker Carlson people already completely turned on him against this

and the anti-Semites who hate Israel for that reason. But now he has pissed off the Iran hawks like the neocons like the Mark Levin types who are all like you lost. Like you didn't actually do any of the things that you said you were

going to do. You pulled out and accomplished nothing. He's also pissed off Netanyahu. It's like, what's the, it's the most, one of the most self-destructive things I've, like, ever seen a president do. Was it really about, like, getting, like, shorting, like, the oil market? Like, was that really what it was about? Because it seems like you saw all the price fixing, and now we're still in that situation.

So in the end, they were kind of like, oh, we actually could have gone through any time we wanted. We could have gone through the straight anytime we wanted to. Like, it was, we could have gone. gotten through it, but they just didn't. But that makes me question if that's what it was about. You think there was some, you think Trump's on like Kalshi, like betting against the price of oil? I know that there's a real market and you don't have to go on Kalshi, but like everything

is Kalshi. We've moved everything to Kalsi now, unfortunately. Unfortunately, the NASDAQ is on Kalshi. I think Trump let Narene Yahoo get him into this. Again, this is just describing it to the layman like me. I've been in situations when I was growing up that my friends like, we're going to go fight these dudes. And I go, are we?

goes, yeah, and we're going to, along the way, we're going to pick up different friends that are going to come and back us up. And then along the way, no one did. All the way, there's an episode of this fool where you do this exactly. And that's what it's based on. It's actually based on a real, one time I was walking in my neighborhood and one of my friends pulled up and said, hey, get in. We're going to go fight some guys who disrespected me.

And I said, no, we shouldn't fight. He goes, come on, you're my friend. And I said, all right. And we got in, I got in the van. We tried to drive around and look for different friends. No one came with us. and we showed up at the park and got our asses kicked. And then that was it.

This is, and I think this is what happened. He took, again, he took the Estrada approach. He got in the van. And you know what that tells everybody else in South L.A. in your neighborhood is people can disrespect you and your friend any time that they want, right? Because, like, look what happened. Yeah. Imagine if you're, like, China or Russia or another country that, like, wants to do some shit but is held in check by what the U.S. might do.

Like, you see this happen. Like, Iran comes out looking more powerful because they discovered this like strategic reserve that they had never tested before. And it worked incredibly. Yeah. Like it, it just manifestly weakens the U.S. Also, we shot up. We ran out of missiles. Like, yeah.

Like, I don't know. China, go for Taiwan if you want. It seems like a good moment. Don't really do that. But, you know. Yeah. Yeah. Just bet on it.

Yeah. I think they just underestimated what they could do. Yeah. And I think they just went in there and they're like, oh, fuck, these guys actually can put up a fight against us. And I don't think, I don't know. Also, I think like the people who are happy about it are probably whoever profits from the war machine is probably like they're kind of the ones we don't hear from. That are just like, you know, that are like good. Defense contractors. I mean, look what happened.

I don't think care if you win or lose. Oh, course. They just need it to keep going. Yeah, they want. They're actually probably disappointed that it stopped, that it might stop, you know. Because, like, I, you know, I got to imagine defense contractors. We'll find another one. We'll get another one. Yeah, we'll get another one.

Get the van. Get them in the van. Drive around. Drive around. Find another one. Yeah, find another one. Yeah. Was anything else on this? I mean, the oil thing is a big deal.

I mean, and I, you know, you and I, we like to get around without cars and we're trying to, you know, you got your van. Maybe you get like a hybrid now. But, you know, this is, we lose no matter what, because we're still dependent. on foreign oil in this way. And if we really wanted to change everything that was going to happen here for our 250th birthday, we'd be moving the other direction. Yeah, I mean, I did a video on this on the channel a couple weeks ago, like when the war

started, that like, you know, the conservative argument for like green stuff for electric vehicles and public transit is like to be less dependent on foreign oil. and Trump killed all that stuff aggressively. Yeah. And then started a war that increased the price of oil, proving why you not want to be dependent on oil. That's what made it seem like more like it was orchestrated. But also, like you saw that we had like one tanker left coming into the port of oil.

And then they're like, that's it. We got no more. Like California is screwed. And, you know, we're the only place that's actually advancing this stuff. But we're still dependent on it. Like, we're not doing that good of a job. I think the real problem is, like, in the reporting about this, I saw, well, Trump may have lost this war, but pretty soon he's going to start looking towards Cuba. Like, there's a list of other things he wants to do because he's only going to become more of a lame duck at home over the next couple years.

Yeah, Marco Robio's going to convince him to invade Cuba. A hundred percent. You know, all the corporate power that wants to be in Cuba. Yeah. And they didn't allow them. They'll convince him of it. I mean, I'm surprised they haven't completely invaded Venezuela. I think that would be first.

And then, like, it's just, you know, I think they're looking to, I think their eyes next will be in Latin America. Yeah. And Greenland. Don't forget Greenland. Oh, yeah, Greenland. Yeah, Greenland. Yeah, because they believe this is like our part of the world. It kind of followed the Monroe doctor into it.

Yes. Stay in the hemisphere. But, like, those countries, they're going, okay, let's go pick a. around, pick on someone a little smaller, do some other stuff. But that's still what Trump can do, like in foreign policy. That's where he can swing his dick around and not be checked by anybody and declare victory. And like, I don't know, to keep using your metaphor of like your, the weaker, I don't know, the weaker your friends get, right, the more they start lashing out, right?

The more fights they start to start to start. Or the fact that you think somebody might come with you to back you up. You know, I think America thought it had a lot of friends on it. side. Yeah. Like, come on, Europe. Where are you at? And they're like, no, we're not going to go. Yeah. Yeah. It's like, you hand, we didn't get in this with y'all, you know? You're increasing our heating prices. Yeah. Yeah. Like, Macron was like, just like, few. Like, he was like, oh, thank, thank goodness it's over. That's all anybody else cares about. Yeah. We don't need the smoke right now. Yeah. Just fuck off. Scammers, they're out there. Is there anything? They won't try to get your

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Well, let's go from there to talking about the World Cup, which is also going on right now, particularly because it's really weird that the Iranian team is currently playing in the World Cup and just played in L.A. like a couple days ago. That was the day he announced the peace deal. We didn't see it yet, but that was the day. It was the day before they played. The same day they, oh, the day before they played. Yeah.

I think what I like to make me laugh was that they were playing here, but I heard they were spending their nights in Mexico. They're not allowed to stay here. They're not allowed to stay here. So they were staying in Tijuana. What do you like about that? Because they don't like it. I mean, the coaches, they're saying, like,

they're basically saying we get no rest time. We're being treated differently from every other team. We, like, need rest is obviously so important for teams. I feel so bad for all the soccer teams that come, their first games are here. Because you see all in, there's like a meme going around that cracked me up. In Mexico, they're getting greeted by mariachi's and people are giving them like hats and everything. It's like this beautiful kind of like, hey, welcome.

We welcome you, you know, to this World Cup, a melding of the cultures. And then they show they're welcoming to the U.S. And it's like TSA guys patting them down. Yeah. They're being treated like. They're not letting them in. They're being treated like a prison team that's like being let out for one day to go play. against a local college or something.

Yes. Which is bizarre because they do, they are citizens of another country. Like they're not literally, there's no reason to think these people are terrorists, you know. But I believe that like the U.S. government literally made them agree. Don't smuggle any terrorists in when you come play a soccer game. And they took a bunch of people off. You were, they made a deal and said that you could bring like coaches or your support staff. And they actually took a lot of people off the list and said they couldn't come.

and you saw also a referee was set back. Yes, that's right. I mean, we have this, you know, it was completely random, it seemed like. Yeah. We would just be like, you know, we'll take five, but we're not going to take these other people. Well, listen, the game was in L.A. and you went to the game, right?

I mean, it's not a game. I don't care about soccer. You care about the event of... I care about that it's happening. Yeah. What's really... Don't ask me about anything that happens in there. You're like one of, like, the most prominent reporters

writing about the World Cup and the Olympics. But from a perspective of civic events, not from sports. Everyone else is covering the sports. And you're covering the literal, everything that's happening apart from the field. And your vocal that you don't care about what happens on the field. I had to look up how long a World Cup match lasted. Which is apparently a little bit different now. And that's great because sports are so many things other than literally what happens on the field.

Their culture, their civic pride, their economics, their media. And so those are all great things to cover. So one of the things that really interests me about the Iran game is that, I mean, there's a pretty large Persian expat population. I would say that's the largest. Yeah. I mean, and this is for multiple matches, right? So multiple countries, the most people from that country live here in Los Angeles.

Not just, you know, it's in the United States, like literally in Los Angeles. So you had, I mean, so I took the shuttle because Mentor has these shuttles that you can take so you don't drive because that's another big part of our mega events. you're not supposed to drive to them. I took the shuttle down and it was super fun. You know, it's always just a wild street party, you know, happening in Englewood, blocking all the traffic. So that's why you should take Metro. But there were so many flags.

I mean, and you saw like there was a court ruling. They ruled with the side of FIFA that you couldn't bring in the pre-revolutionary flag, right? You weren't allowed to bring it in because it's a political statement, right? Did you hear about Haiti? No, I didn't hear about this. Everybody has all sorts of rules now. Their jersey got banned and they had to wear a jersey because they had a jersey celebrating their independence where it's a figure of, I guess the figure of who led their

revolution, their independence, you know, from the French. And they said, yeah, that's too political. FIFA was like, and it was like kind of right here at the bottom of it. And it was like, dude. That's like, I'm playing on the person's name, but it's like one of the most incredible people from like North American history. Yeah. the leader of that revolution.

And that's like banning like George Washington being on an American jersey. Like it's just the founder of the nation. And so the Iranian team wasn't able to use the pre-revolutionary flag. Well, I mean, that was the thing. It was they said it was banned. And so you're outside and there's multiple protests. Like one was like permitted. They had taken over the whole street.

And then there were also just like ones that popped up. You know, so there are people just like waving flags, like holding signs, like people who were upset because, you know, they didn't want, they didn't, they were telling people not to go into the game because then you're supporting the regime. You know, there's, you're trying to kind of not really stop people from going in, but like, you know, make them pay attention as they're going in. And so you have all these flags and they were not supposed to bring them inside the stadium. So you're, you're about to go in the security line and people were like putting them down and just leaving them there. But then some people who were saying, oh, I heard you can take them in.

People are just putting them in their pockets. And then you see the shots and you, you know, see photos of what happened inside. And there were a lot of people that had them inside. I mean, I think if they saw you, they would tell you to put them away. Yeah. But at some point, it's probably so many people. Yeah, there's so many. There was so many that it was just, they couldn't do much.

And probably not like every security guard in Los Angeles, like, understands the difference between the emblems of the different Iranian regimes. Yeah, yeah. Absolutely. Basically, the one that's not on the field was the one that it was. Yeah. It's so funny when they try to take politics. out of soccer because it's like the most political sport like in Europe some of the teams are like

literal like there's like anarchist teams and like right wing teams yeah yeah and like there's teams that working class people cite more than others exactly and then FIFA it's like explicitly national so you get like these questions of nationalism um and that's like one of my favorite things about it like yeah i used to go to lafc games all the time and one of my favorite things is how many like political signs there were and that were like related to what was going on at the time. Wait, so, but so Alyssa, you felt that that Persian folks in L.A. were mostly saying, like, don't, or there was a contingent of people saying, don't go to the game because that supports the regime. I think it's complicated, right? So it's, it's, it's, I may be conflicting. Right. So, you, so some people

were like, you know, I love the game. I support the game. You know, I'm going in for that reason. It, you know, transcends politics, right? So even for us, like, I think there's a similar feeling. But then it was interesting. I mean, I did not see a single New Zealand jersey. I had to look up what it looked like later because people were wearing the number one, most people were wearing Mexico jerseys, even though it wasn't that game. And then it was like USA jerseys even though it wasn't that game either. And again, I had to look all these up because I don't know what they look like.

I'm trying to guess. But there were so many people like supporting, you know, the team, I guess, or the sport or whatever, you know, you want to call it, even if, you know, we've, Yeah. We were polite to end the war the day before, I guess. I think so too. One less uncomfortable conversation to have. Yeah, I mean, I read that people in Iran are like basically not following it at all because it sucks to live there right now.

Well, I think, I mean, who knows how much media is getting to anywhere, you know, right now. And it's interesting, too, to watch. I mean, again, like, I don't know what it's going. I don't know what's going on. but to go to the watch parties in all these different neighborhoods and different parts of the city. And you learn so much about just even those relationships between different teams or, you know, with the diaspora, you know, thinks about their team. It's been really a fascinating way to, we always knew this was here in L.A., but it's been even more. And the food, of course.

Like, you get to go to the restaurants where, you know, the places are playing in the bars. And that's amazing. So the game you're going to right after this recording and this will come out tomorrow. So it'll already happen by the time. you guys at home hear it, but you're going to the Mexico, South Korea. Right, the watch parties for that. Yeah, yeah, yeah. But like, this is the most L.A.

Yeah. You cannot get, calling it the Gala Getsa, you know, a match because it's like, this is like the, this is the Wahakian restaurant that's in Korea town and they're having a big party, you know, but it's like you see these with, I think they're having like Michiladas, like, but with like, you know, like. Probably like a Korean. Oh, chisholada. Yeah.

Kimji, wow, that would be, like a little kimchi rim. It's the right color, yeah. A little kimchi rim on there. That'd be good. Okay. Yeah. I would try it. There's got to be a flavor combo that would work.

I don't know if that is. But this is what we're all about. And that's what's been great to me as someone who doesn't really, you know, like I said, know anything about it to go and see the celebratory spaces. I like to imagine that I'm, I started blaming my that I'm not selling tickets in Iran because of the war. I'm just like, oh yeah, that's the reason no one's going to see me. I'm not to chuckle her in Iran and Toronto.

Yeah, it makes a lot of sense why people aren't fired tickets. They're all busy with something else right now. Yeah, they're busy. There's a war going on. Elizabeth, you've also been covering like the World Cup from a civic perspective, right? It's as a physical event that's been happening in, in L.A. and Canada and Mexico. So just like what's your what's your take on that? Again, it's complicated, right?

I mean, we thought, I guess we thought he was going to acquire both of those countries at some point during the past year as well. I think, well, the one thing is that it's gone pretty well. I feel like despite everything, I mean, Trump didn't even come to the first game. You know, we had the first U.S. game here in L.A. And so it was a really big deal. We have like an opening, opening ceremonies, which I guess they don't really do that. They just kind of invent, Fiffinvents things now based on, you know, how they have to market it and, like, broadcast it.

So now we have hydration breaks that are actually like half down, you know, things like that. So to have the first game here and have Trump not come to it, right? I mean, we had the whole thing kicked off in Mexico. That was the beginning being. But maybe that's why he was mad. He didn't want to, you don't want to come here. But, you know, he didn't come. He threw his own party.

We're going to get to that. Which we're going to talk about, you know. with the different sport. But I think like just that, you know, when you look at the biggest challenges, I think people like we're looking at things like transportation and like our hotel room selling. And, you know, LA is actually like doing kind of good compared to everyone else. You know, we have, like, you can go to the match for $1.75 on this metro shuttle.

You don't have to pay like $100. I thought you meant I could attend the match for it. I can physically get to the match for $1.75 to get to get to my $20,000 seats. Sure. I mean, that part, I'm not going to, I mean, that just seems like, that just seems like what it's like now. Yeah. I think it was, I do think it's a little weird to have them in three different countries. I think you should all just focus it in one place. Yeah. Because I feel like, you know, the fact that there's, I mean, not to take away from soccer fans here, because there is soccer fans here, but there isn't just the culture of soccer like there is maybe in Mexico, like there is in Mexico clearly. or I don't even know. I can't imagine there's much of a soccer culture in Canada.

I know there is. I'm sure there is, but not the same as it. That's the same. Yeah. Where I'm just like, also I feel like if you were just going to have one, just have it in one place. There's something about like it being spread out in different countries, like between the three different North American countries.

It's a little confusing like, okay, who's playing where and what game is happening where now? And it's like, I think, also I just feel bad for all those plays. players that are like being greeted here in the U.S. and no one, like, there isn't, there isn't,

like a ceremonial celebration about them coming. Yeah, there's no one big party where they're all in the same place. Yeah. There's no, like, compound that they all get to have sex in. Yeah.

Or whatever. Like Irvine, the men's team is staying, you know, in Irvine. That's there. Great. Which is,

I know, very hot, very hot scene. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. They can go to the Irvine spectrum afterwards. And that's a really good target over there.

They got a good BJs too over there. They go to the improv. They go to the Irvine Improv. They go to the Irvine Improv. They can go to BJs, you know. Don't knock a BJs. That's what I always tell people when people want to come from another country and I go, go to the BJs.

I mean, at least they're really seeing America. You come to Los Angeles. Can they still go to Pazuki? Yeah, they still got, oh, you better believe it. I will endorse. I will endorse. Your boy was there last week with my wife. You better believe it.

I guess I'm wondering if these big events, the Olympics in the World Cup, are becoming less desirable for cities to have because they split this one up. And then the Paris and L.A. Olympics, my memory is, and Alyssa, I'm sure you can correct me on this if I'm wrong. Like, normally the cities used to all compete for the Olympics, like who's going to get it? And when they announced Paris and Los Angeles, they announced two in a row. They were like, it's going to be Paris in four years and then Los Angeles in four years, or however long it was. And they did that partially because they weren't actually. getting the bids and L.A. under previous mayor Eric Garcetti was just like so thirsty.

They're like, okay, you can have one. Oh, if you want us that bad, you can just take it. Thirsty is correct. I mean, I think, yeah, that's what it was unprecedented. And let's just say, too, like, yes, the World Cup is big if you look at that it's, you know, multiple cities spread out across, you know, the continent, I guess. But it's nothing compared to the scale of the Olympics, the summer Olympics, right? In winter Olympics, it's smaller. But like the summer Olympics are, you know, they say the summer Olympics are going to be like seven Super Bowl. a day or two weeks. Right.

And then so they do a whole World Cup in the Olympics. Exactly. Yeah, exactly. So just to even like wrap your head around it, like, yeah, it's not that hard to like throw basically a few Super Bowl, like eight Super Bowls or whatever each city is responsible for doing, which is kind of what we're doing right now and getting people there and doing things like that. Like that, that's easy compared to what we'll have to do then. And this is coming up in 2028 for those who, you know, don't know.

It's coming. It's coming. And when you, I went to Paris, you know, earlier this year and talked to a lot of people who worked on what they had done and where they were in the process compared to where we are now, even though we had four extra years. So you look at it and you're like, oh, my God. Like now you have to kind of take a step back and be like, what did we get ourselves into? I mean, there's a lot of shit in L.A. that we've had a lot of time to do that we haven't even started on yet. We haven't paved a street in a year. That's right.

We might have to start doing that. So we won't. And what about this argument that, not to make it too LA specific, but, you know, there's this argument that, like, L.A. already has so much infrastructure. Sure. So we don't need to build a bunch of stadiums like they did in Beijing or whatever. Yeah. I mean, it will be more of these same hosts.

Like, the same cities will pop up. Like Salt Lake City already has the Winter Olympics next Winter, you know, coming back, not the next one, but, you know, one of that. And, yeah, the argument will be. that certain places can host, you know, because they're good at it or because they have the venues all set. So, yeah, is this like our new reality where they keep booking stuff here? You know what it is?

I figured it out. L.A. is the friend with the truck. That's what we are. We're the friend with the truck. You boil down everything into a friend you know, but elaborate. When you have a friend with a truck, you're like, dude, can you help me move? Yeah. Can you help me pick up this couch?

That's our infrastructure here is our truck. That's, I figured it out. We're the friend with the truck. But the thing is, we're that like the IOC, whatever, like whoever we're helping move. But they, we have so much leverage over them that we kind of like let go of. Like we were like, you can't have this without us. Like we have to fight for these things. Well, you know what we're doing?

We're letting them borrow the truck and they don't have a license. Yeah, we're whims about it. We're like, oh, we're just happy to be included. Yeah. We're so thrilled. We've got to start acting like a little more classier, you know? We start acting like more of a world-class city. What I think is so interesting about these events is I feel like the public knows how shitty

the events are now. I was just in New York for the Knicks winning. Everybody hates the owner of the Knicks. That's kind of a different situation. Well, people are aware of the, you know, like everybody hates FIFA. I think every soccer fan hates FIFA. Right. And yet, we're saying.

able to compartmentalize enough to like enjoy no yeah not just the competition but like the the symbolism and like the national whatever uh character of it as as members of the public maybe the governments aren't able to yeah our civic government is enabled to do i mean do you think people don't like like the dodgers owner like mark walter he he's kind of like a neutral person like people don't really feel the same way about him like even though we keep winning and people complain about stuff but you know there's some things that people don't necessarily like I think people compartmentalize. I think people compartmentalize.

Yeah, but I don't see that type of, there's some protests. And there's actually like a big sports watching protest that's going to happen simultaneously at SoFi and Dodger Stadium because they both have these huge big big oil sponsors going back to what we were talking about before. You know, both FIFA and Dodger Stadium, you know, there's a big like 76 ball in the outfield of Dodger Stadium. Like it's all underwritten by fossil fuels. Well, let's talk about one final sporting event. hot on the heels of Trump making the Knicks lose the only game that they lost in the finals by attending. He hosted an event called UFC Freedom 250 and insanely embarrassing mixed martial arts event on the South Lawn of the White House celebrating both the 250th birthday of America and his own 80th birthday, which don't do the math on what percentage of the age of America Donald Trump is. It's more than probably he would like to think.

But, you know, it had like, the people who attended this, David Ellison, Mark Zuckerberg, Pete Hacks, that's Joe Rogan, of course, a bunch of comedians. To me, I feel like this event is sort of the beginning of, like, the Trump administration and right-wing culture entering, like, its cringe period. Like, do you remember when, in retrospect, the Hamilton moment in the last, couple years of the Obama presidency when like Lin-Manuel Miranda like goes to the White House. They got a little cringy. Right.

And it was like, it was like we've liberals we have won so thoroughly that we can do this embarrassing nonsense at the White House and expect everyone to applaud. Like everyone loves it. And I feel like that's what they're doing. Like the like UFC is it's so cringe. It's so sweaty. The event itself was so garish. It's like, I think I was, this, that whole event reminded me, like, it made me think of my, my eight-year-old nephew who's in judo right now.

He's, if he became president, that's what he would want to do. He'd be like, there's going to be motorcycles jumping. We're going to have a UFC fight. That's exactly what he would want, you know. But weren't they saying that, like, speaking of cringe, like younger people, this was kind of to make younger people think that he was cool. I mean, that is a problem. And that's why you have... East D. B. Shemi with a skateboard.

Right. What's up, my fellow kids. This is my point. Because, like, look, UFC is popular. But, like, the NBA finals this year, like, doubled their rating from the previous year. More popular, yes. Like, and, and again, Trump was booed at the event. If you look at, like, the way, like, Zoran in New York is harnessing the popularity of that team to, like, dovetail with his political agenda.

It's working. obviously really, really well. And with Trump, it's like, does anybody are people going, oh, yeah, I like President Trump because a bunch of guys with no neck, like bunched each other and a bunch of blue lights on the lawn of the White House? Like, it doesn't seem to really be for anybody,

even for, it's not even for Donald Trump. Yeah, I think that's the thing. What's funny about him is I think he doesn't like, he's not into any of this stuff. He just knows this is what people like, so I'm going to put this on. Like, there was a boxer there that I really like named Terrence Crawford. He's a former world champion or he is the world champion.

And he said something that it was like kind of disappointed. Not that I expected him to be political, but he said, apparently the president's a big fan of mine. No, he's not, dude. This guy is just a smooth talk. He knows what to tell you. He knows what to tell you. He's not a fan of yours. You're an amazing guy.

I'm a fan of yours. Chris Estrada is a fan of Terence Crawford. Not Donald Trump. He's just. telling you, I put money on you when you fight in Vegas. I'm a fan. Do you really? Yeah, I have before.

Yeah, I went to go see him fight Canello. And like last year, he's amazing. And I just, when he was just like, I, you know, I think when you, I think it's just anybody will find it, somebody will find it an honor to be like, wow, I can't believe the president's a fan of me. He's not, dude. Yeah. He's just telling you that.

And J.D. Vance is like telling him that he heard the guy was popular. Yeah. You know, like, I read some anecdote that, like, when the Epstein Files shit was happening, J.D. Vance was, like, telling the other people that he was worried that, like, the hosts of his favorite podcasts were going to be mad if they didn't release the Epstein Files. He was, like, worried, I don't know, like, Tim Dillon or whoever. Or, like, and that's, it feels like these guys are as silo as anybody else where, like, they are listening to the little bit of maga media that is very prominent in their worlds.

They're thinking it's very important. and that they can like, you know, ride this stuff to victory. But like, I'm not seeing shit here that is actually the cultural zeitgeist. I mean, the Knicks, again, refused to go to the White House because they don't want to be associated with the White House. Those are actually the most popular athletes in America, right? Jalen Brunson, you're going to hear his name for the rest of your life, you know? I think, I think you're right. Again, I don't want to assume this because I know UFC is very popular.

But I don't think, but I don't think it's as popular. and as cultural as like basketball is to, you know, America. Well, how about soccer even? I mean, I think, like, the fact that he was doing counter programming during, like, this major thing that he said he, like, he's responsible for bringing both the Olympics and the World Cup here because he was in office not thinking that he'd be back in office to actually be participating. He signed all that shit and got, like, the bids approved. So it is kind of because of him that we have these things happening. I think they did that. like his administration was like,

they knew they lost all those kind of like the more traditional conservatives that we were talking about. Like, what's the guy with the little bow tie that used to wear the bowtile? Oh, Tucker Carlson. They lost those guys, right? Yeah. So now it's like, well, let's go with the kind of

the people who border on a political conservative. Yeah. You know, let's go for them. The cultural conservative. The cultural rude conservatives. Yeah. So let's go for them. Because I think they lost like the establishment conservatives.

you know, and they were kind of like, and they were like, let's go for them because it's actually more of them. Yeah. On the cultural side, you know. It might also just be that this is the group of media enterprises that, like, infiltrated the presidency. Like, Dana White is just tight with them.

Like, the person who comes out the best is UFC and Dana White because he just did fucking a wrestling match on the front lawn of the White House. And he gets to us that he's done that for it. Like, UFC will certainly grow. I don't know if the Trump administration will get anything out of it. But yeah, do your point, Alyssa, like why it's kind of baffling, again, thinking about what Zoran is doing in New York, where it's just he was like associating himself with the victory.

Trump is not like here in L.A., you know, putting his arm around Christian Pulisicic or whatever. Because then we would have lost. But I think like to think about it in a way that it's like, you know, the whole 250th birthday, which now his birthday is over, we can focus on the other, you know, remember he also had like a military parade. last year. Like, yeah, was a little bit

last year. But so that match is going to be in Philly on the 4th of July, and he's definitely going to be there, I feel like.

And he'll be at the closing one because that's going to be it, you know, in New Jersey. It's going to be in New York. Like, I think he knew not to go to the soccer one

because I think soccer kind of presented itself as like, in America as maybe like, it's too foreign base. Yeah, you know what I mean?

And he doesn't want to go to that. He's like, no, I think he's like, we're exceptional. It's like part of, of American exceptionalism. And it's like, no, we're not going to that.

We're going to have a UFC fight right here. You know, and then we're going to have mortar cross. It killed me when I saw, I couldn't believe it. I saw this mortar cross going through, like, jumping through, like, in front of the way. Everybody was like idiocacy, but it is, it can't. It's like there's no other better way to explain it. It was like, if I was 11, I'd love this. Yeah.

Trying to get the youth. It's also one of those moments where, you know, I read history sometimes and sometimes you'll be reading a history book about something that has. happened in like 1890 and you'll be like, that fucking happened. And like, what? We don't, we don't talk about that all the time. Yeah, be in the history books. And it's going to be one of those things where people are going to be 150 years from now when

Trump is not going to be like a super famous president. He's going to be like Warren G. Harding where it's like, oh, yeah, wasn't that guy super corrupt? Yeah. Yeah. They'll take the ballroom back down. Yeah. And put it back.

They'll be like a medium good HBO mini series. Whatever space HBO is. Or a musical. Maybe it. The Hamilton of its time. Well, one more dimension of this that I want to discuss quickly because it relates to comedy is a bunch of comedians went. Tony Hinchcliffe attended, famous Trump supporter. Shane Gillis attended.

Famous liberals say he's not a Trump supporter. Others are less. Some people say this. Others are less convinced. And then also Nate Bargazzi went. And Nate Bargazzi has been criticized a lot because he specifically has presented himself as an apolitical comedian for many years. Oh, I don't know. I don't really get involved.

And he's a clean comic. And he's one of the biggest comics in America because it's like, he's a good comedian. He tells nice stories about his family. Everybody loves him. He's, you know, and I've got no problems with this comedy. But I find this really interesting that he's... You know why he's there? He's part of a big roller coaster.

I don't know if you know this, but he's trying to build a theme park in Nashville. Yes. It's called Nate Land. Yes. So that's what I mean. He's part of big roller coaster. He's there. He's part of big roller coaster.

Wait, how's the roller coaster involved in the UFC fight? He's there like, you know, like, because it's a big spectacle. It's a big spectacle. And he's now part of the theme park lobby. You know, he's there. I think he's just like, hey, how can I get my theme park made? He wants to make his dollywood, you know? He wants to make his dollywood, yeah.

And I do find that charming, and I find a lot of what he does charming. He's a funny dude. Yeah, I mean, he was around in New York when I came up, and he's one of those guys who everybody respects as a comic. To me, what I think it shows is like the bind you get yourself into by trying to be a political. Yeah. Which means trying to keep it under wraps what you really think because the truth is nothing is a political. Sports are not a political.

Media is not a political. Politics is the stuff of people living together in a society and having to work out their differences. Everybody is involved in politics. So when you try to hide it, you just create this space where. later people can get mad at you. Whereas like, at least Tony Hinchcliff is like, I like him. Yeah, he's my guy.

Yeah, he's racist, I'm racist. We can agree. I like him. Like Tony Hinchcliff says, black people eat watermelon. Donald Trump laughs. Tony Hinchcliff says, I'm voting for him, right?

Yeah, but he was, you know, you're not surprised to see him there because he's like, I like this guy. I spoke at his, you know, one of those rallies or whatever, you know. The Puerto Rico Garbage Islands. Yeah. All that stuff.

with like someone like neighbor got to i think because it's like people are calling them out because it's like you're a it was like when joe rogan said recently said i'm politically homeless and everybody's like no you're not yeah you're you're not when you're attending like the white house then you have a direct line to to like the president to trump and everything and this is who you're hanging with you're not politically homeless that's you you you know i find it to be a really like wimpy way to to do politics at all because I think it's way stronger

just like say what you fucking think like you're a comic stand on what you believe and be willing to piss some people off because that's what it means to do politics I've learned it just in my involvement in local politics when you actually do something and say here's who I support or show up

some people will get pissed at you because they disagree you have to like weather that and move forward but if you do that honestly you get more respect like Like Bill Burz a guy who's had a bunch of different political positions, half of which I don't agree with. But a lot of people are pissed at him all the time. But at the end of the day,

a lot of people go, well, Bill believes what he believes and he's a person in the world, you know, who I feel like I know. And I might disagree with him or hate him. And then on the line, he might change his mind.

Yeah, exactly. And you don't even have to, like, respect them for that. I just think it like, you do better generally rather than when you try to, like, appeal to everybody all the time. But at the very least, if you're going to do it that, way, then you have to never do anything related to politics at all. And going to an event at the

White House is political. He also probably shouldn't like be photographed with Barack Obama if he wants to be a bad apolitical. He had his big party. He had his opening of his library or center. I don't know. Oh, yeah. Sure. Oh. You saw all the people performing at that. I mean, that was I guess the golden age of a different, that other era that we were talking about before. That's right. I just think we have to stop trying to have it both ways or trying to stay neutral or objective. If you're into them, say you're into them. Yeah. Yeah.

I would rather. Yeah. I was going to say I would rather Bargotsie do what Hinchcliff does, which is not the case because Hinchcliff is not even a comedian, but at this point. But like, yeah, you know, you dug your, you dug your row like lie in it. That's a horribly mixed metaphor, but you go. Yeah, yeah. Any other reflections on that event?

I mean, it's to say it honestly is kind of the same thing happening in journalism. I'll just bring it back to that. You know, we have a lot of publications that try to be apolitical. You can't really do that anymore. You do have to take sides. Like, columnists have to decide what they're going to write and say that this is, you know, fascism is bad. Like, try it. And then, but then we lose our publications because the people are buying them.

billionaires are buying them out and taking the endorsement sections down and taking, you know, all the opinion sections out. So it's the same thing. You know, it's in every industry. Yeah. I'm sure you're thinking of like the L.A. Times, which used to take positions on candidates or whatever. And then the owner said, oh, that's too political. We should be less political. Which is itself a political decision for him to make.

And then a bunch of the readers of the paper said, well, fuck you. and also the paper is now less useful than it used to be because the people who wrote the certain section of the paper that would make the endorsements would like look at all the candidates, look at all the policies. I was looking at the voter guide recently

and it was very like it kind of didn't take a stance on anything. Yeah, they don't do it anymore. Not anymore, yeah. And like I don't think it's choosing sides, which I feel like the owner of the Times did and a lot of reporters do. It's not that. It's having a perspective

on reality. It's like I read what is going on. I have a point of view on it. And now I'm going to tell you, how is that not the job? Like it's not a left versus writer A versus B. It's like, take in the world as it is

and like come to some fucking conclusion. Like how else are you supposed to live as a person? I just don't get it. It's like trying to claim that like, trying to be apolitical is like trying to claim that you're like celibate and don't think about like sex or love or anything like that, right? Which like everybody does to some...

I know what it is. It's like when somebody says, what kind of music do you listen to? And they go, I like everything. No, you fucking don't. There's one thing you like the most. Yeah, there's one thing you like the least. Have you ever met people like, I like everything?

Really? You like everything? Yeah. Like Hungarian folk music, that's your thing? Also, no. You like one thing the most. And if that's the one thing you like the most, that's cool. But tell me the thing you like the most.

Yeah. Yeah. Or say there is something like. the most, but I don't want to fucking talk about it. Like, that's, privacy is fine. Less so if you're a public person who makes a living saying your ideas into a microphone.

But like, you have a point of view, so, you know, stand on it is where I'll leave it. So that's what I try to do on this show, and I thank you guys for coming on the show. Yeah, thank you for having your points of view with me. Chris, where can people find you? They can find me on Instagram at Chris Estrada comic, and yeah, follow me

on Instagram. And Alyssa, people can read your incredible news newsletter on sports. How do you put it? I think it's mega events. Yeah. Mega events, not mega events. Well, they've become mega events now.

But yeah, it's mega events. But I like what you said. It's like the civic side of it. We're looking at everything outside of the stadium. Yeah, everything except what's on the field. Policy decisions. It's, you know, what our leaders are doing and not doing to prepare us as a region. It's incredible work.

Torchta.org. com. Thank you guys so much for being here. Thank you guys for watching. If you want to support the show, patreon.com slash Adam Conover. We'd love to have you there. And yeah, thank you guys for being here

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