Higher Learning with Van Lathan and Rachel Lindsay - COVID-19 Is Surging. Plus, a Special Thanksgiving Mailbag.

Episode Date: November 24, 2020

Van Lathan and Rachel Lindsay discuss the recent COVID-19 surges and Los Angeles’s new orders (7:00), Joe Biden’s reported interested in Rahm Emanuel for the Department of Transportation (18:00), Black Panther 2 beginning filming in July of 2021 (37:00), and the recent pictures of Jay-Z (47:00), before doing a Thanksgiving edition of the mailbag (1:08:00). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Yo, yo, yo, thought warriors. What is up? Higher learning is on. It is I, Van Lakin. It's me, Rachel Lindsay. Now, let's talk about the mind space that we're in right now. Let's talk about the state of mind and life. Let's just be honest with the thought words.

So, Thought Warriors, you guys have a unique treat that is coming up at the end of this week. Yes. Because at the end of this week, for Thanksgiving holiday, we are doing a very special podcast. and that podcast is going to be with our parents. My mother and my grandmother we talked to, and then we also got a chance to talk to Mr. and Mrs. Lindsay. Yes, the Lindsay's. So for all of you who normally listen to the podcast,

make sure you're actually watching a video of this because Van and I have talked about that we grew up differently. You're going to hear it and see it on the podcast. I asked when you watch it. But it's so good. It's going to be such a good episode. It's, I think you get a better understanding of who I am, where I come from.

Same thing with Van. Might see Van get put in a corner. So you want to do it in. Yeah, you might see Van. You might see Van talking to a federal judge and kind of getting told about himself a little bit. I'm not a lie. I'm frazzle.

I'm frazzled. I'm frazzled. Man, judges are different, man. I know that your dad, shout out to Judge Lindsay, a true gentleman. I know that your dad said that they're not, that they're regular people, but they don't seem like it. What was it like having, like, a judge to be your pops, man? He just seems so serious. He is serious.

Yes. He is, but he also has three daughters. So we are his soft spot. So he's like a big teddy bear to us. I mean, my dad, listen, he never, he always takes advantage of a teaching moment. He definitely was strict, but he has the biggest heart. So I feel like I see a different side of him than most people do. But you also have to realize my dad didn't become a judge until I was 13.

So a majority of my time growing up in the household, he was an attorney. So for me, my dad is my role model because that I was like, I want to be just like him. I want to be the city attorney. I want to go to law school. I want to practice like my dad. Never wanted to be a judge. But I wanted to be just like him. And then, you know, here I'm at that.

Was it like a celebration when he became a judge? Oh, yeah. There's an inauguration. So it's like a, and he was the first black in the northern district in Texas to hold that position. So it was a big deal. Like all of the powerful, I mean, powerful people in Texas came to this inauguration. especially blacks.

We had a black mayor at the time, who's my dad's friend. They went to law school together, Ron Kirk, who went on to work in Obama's administration. It was a big deal. I remember being 13. I thought I was cool

because I got to take off from school. My grandmother came into town. Where was the inauguration? I was in Dallas. I think it was at the convention center. Did the president? Did Bill Clinton come? Bill Clinton was not there.

But I was going to point this out to you. In the video, there's a picture behind my, dad, that's the picture of him and Bill Clinton shaking hands, but I didn't know where you were going to go with it. So I just let that slide. Getting off of the plane. President Clinton was not there. So he was appointed by Clinton.

I went to the Senate confirmation hearings. So what you see on TV as a kid, I went there where they questioned my dad and voted on my dad. I remember that. Yeah. Huh. Crazy experiences. Yeah.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, my parents are definitely my mentor. Mentors. Definitely your mentors. Like your parents are. They seem like very, very, very, very, very nice people. Like super nice people. They are nice.

But so is your mom. Listen, I don't want to talk too much about it because I want people to watch it. But I felt very much at home with your family. I'm not kidding. I'm coming over. Do you think that your parents and my parents would be friends? Yes. You do?

Your mom and grandmother remind me of my mom's side of the family. Very much so. So I give me the example of the difference between my two, my families is my dad's side will say, oh, you're in school, what's your GPA? Where do you rank in your class? What are your future plans? Where do you see yourself in the next five years? My mom is like, you went to college? My mom's family.

What? Yeah. Can you give money? Can you make a, can you? What's your deal? I give money to my. my mom's side of family all the time. My uncle's, it's a totally different dynamic.

So I get the, I have the best of both worlds. And my mom's side, they're people, they're more welcoming. They're people. Did you just call my mom and them some begging ass non-college educated? No, because you just stopped me. Because what I was saying was, they're more welcoming. I was talking about the difference.

You cut me off. It sounds like you were saying, with one side of my family as educated and the other one side of my family can't read and that's how Richie

no no absolutely not because your mother is extremely intelligent and I can tell I'm more so mad my dad's side

like they're not as friendly they're not as socially adapt yes and my mom's side I said what's the first thing I said I feel very welcome

your family made me feel welcome I feel at home that's my mom's side of the family the door's always open come over Yes.

Yeah, maybe the doors a little too open. Stop. A little too open with my mom and them. But they're beautiful, brilliant people. It was a lot of fun. It was a lot of fun talking to everybody's parents, and it gave me a little sense of the holidays. The playoffs are here,

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a vaccine. Imagine being a million miles away. Explore What's possible. Ask your doctor about trim fire. Tap this ad to learn more about trimfaya, including important safety information. And my mother would be here right now, except for one fact. That COVID is going brazing out here in these streets. We live in Los Angeles. And starting, I think it's at midnight on Wednesday. Yeah. All outdoor dining facilities in L.A. are shutting down for the period of three weeks. weeks. So anybody that was enjoying going to these places sitting outside at catch. And some of these restaurants around town have done a fantastic job of providing the outside dining. They've built little makeshift deals and all that, stuff like that. If you're into that, you are going to have to wait until around mid-December to go back. Actually, late December to go back because

it is over. The numbers are crazy here and around the country. Your thoughts when you see the spiking that's happening. Well, I just want to get everybody's mind right. First of all, if you are struggling, we have an excellent podcast with Dr. Jess, which I'm like, that was so timely that we did that because we didn't even know that we were going to be on the brink of shutting down again. So please check that out if you haven't already. But I'm listening to you say, because I know what the mandate is right now, it's three weeks. There's no way that it stops at three weeks. I want people to know it's going to continue because of the traveling. I don't know if you've been watching the news, if you've seen the lines at the airport, even though the CDC.

recommended you do not travel during Thanksgiving, people are still traveling. They don't care. They don't care. So all that's going to do is you're going to see a rise in numbers in the next couple of weeks. It's happening. So the only logical thing to think of is that they will continue the mandate that they have in place in California. What's frustrating is when I see this, I'm like, if they're doing it again, it's obviously

necessary. Because you see these businesses who've spent all this money trying to comply. with the new protocols only to be shut down again because people are so irresponsible and how they're handling this disease. You got the people in Huntington Beach protesting, waving American flags, upset that this is happening again. You've got Texas where everything is open. People aren't respecting it.

And there's a slew of other places not respecting the protocols in place, not respecting what's going on, not respecting the fact that the hospitals and doctors and, you know, all the frontline workers are overwhelmed. It's honestly, Van, I, we, when we started the podcast, we talked a lot more about COVID. And I remember talking about feeling hopeless.

I'm starting to feel that feeling again. And part of it is because the numbers are going up. Part of it is because I'm seeing the stories again about the shutdowns and how people are being affected and there hasn't been any government relief. and nurses and doctors are telling their own stories that are horrific about what's happening in places like El Paso, Texas. Then also with the weather changing, like I'm a person who's affected by it. My mood is affected by the weather. It's the holidays.

Yeah, yeah, sad seasonal affective disorder. Your mom can't travel because of it. I haven't seen my family in almost a year. I'm feeling a little bit of that hopelessness again. And I'm sure a lot of people are out there. I mean, how did you feel when you heard about the shutdown again? There's an interesting, I don't think that I've ever had to face mental fatigue like I'm dealing within the pandemic. We've all been mentally fatigued before, right?

Yeah. Especially in these industries where you wake up at six and then you talk all day long until like, you know, whatever, you go to sleep. So you know when your mind has had enough and you just got to watch you. videos until you crash or whatever. But this type of mental fatigue is different. And it's very, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, I have chosen to do something that I didn't think that I would ever do, which is to stick my head in the same.

I just, uh, I just don't watch COVID related news yet, anymore. Only, the only, the only thing I keep up with, I don't keep up with any number. numbers from anywhere. The only thing I keep up with now is our vaccine updates. Like, when are they going to have something that might be able to stop this? I can't watch the videos of people crowded in airports. I can't because there's, what I've realized about it is that the feelings are too complex and to feel all at once. It's like a speedball of feelings. It's sadness that so many people are losing loved ones.

It's sadness that you, that things aren't normal, that you can't be with the people that you love, that you can't go play basketball, it's all of that stuff. And then it's anger that some other people's actions are leading

to the rest of us not being able to do to certain things, right? That people still don't want to wear masks and people still don't want to do that. And then there's sort of fear in all it is.

Fear, fear, your friends more, I've had more friends come down with it this time than than they did the last time. Way more. It's not even close. So yeah, I can't juggle all of those emotions at the same time. I can't. I can't. I'm incapable of it.

It's too hard. So I've chosen not to try. And it's just interesting that when this whole thing is over I just want to know I want to be able to feel like I got better in some way. I want to know what the

there's got to be some reason that we're all sitting here at the same time going through this. There's got to be something to this. Yeah. I mean, I don't think that what you're doing is wrong. I actually think that I need to take a page out of your book because I think what you're doing

is a defense mechanism. You're protecting yourself. You're protecting your peace of mind. I'm not right now which is why I'm starting to feel this way which is how I felt when it all first started. So I think a lot, I don't think it's bad what you're doing. It's not that you're ignoring what's happening.

It's that you're protecting yourself. And we need to do that for ourselves sometimes. What I do think is when I do interviews at extra as of lately, I'm having to ask everyone what they're thankful for. And that's something that we're putting together for our Thanksgiving piece. And when I hear what people say that they're thankful for, I feel like it's different than the typical things we normally say. And so I'm saying this to say what we're gathering from all of this.

Like what are we learning from this experience, what's happened in 2020? And it really seems like everyone is prioritizing the importance of things. Everyone is realizing that the things that we worry to complain about don't matter. It's the simple things that we need to be thankful for. So what I hope out of all of this that we've been through in 2020, that isn't necessarily going to stop when 2021 starts. Right. Is that we will be different mentally going into this year.

And hopefully it wasn't just a phase where we forget what we learned and what happened in 2020. That mentally forever, we will recognize things differently. We will be aware of them. We will prioritize what's important. And we will shift our focus to what really matters and not get caught up in all the stupid little,

you know, insipid things. Yes, true. It's very well said. Like, I thought about, you know, you go back and you look at people who got Spanish flu in 1918, right? And we thought, I think we talked about this before, you know, Walt Disney got it.

I don't remember you saying that. I don't know that. Walt Disney survived the Spanish flu. He survived it. And I think about that, right? I think about how one cough could have, like, changed the entirety of history. You know?

I'm not about to get out here and talk about what a great guy at Walt Disney was because he wasn't. But what I will say is that, you know, if there's one thing about life that we all know is that there are going to be certain things that you're going to have to survive. There are going to be times when you're going to live and then they're going to be at some point,

there are going to be things that you're going to have to survive. And this is just a snail's race in terms of survival, mental, mental, physical, emotional survival. And it's just not how we were living, you know. That plus, it just doesn't seem like there's not any part of America's society right now where there's not an intense strain. Politically, socially, you just, it's just such, such a crazy time.

But when I saw that, when I saw that the shutdown was coming again, man, it disappointed me in a way because there is a part of you that thought things were different. You had turned a mental page from how things were this spring. You would go out and you see people. You go, oh, man, I mean, they're outside. But it's kind of, and now these streets about to be empty again. There's already no toilet paper. What?

Yep. There's already no toilet paper in Target. We in ground halls here. I didn't even, I thought about that, but I didn't realize that was happening. Because question, I don't know. this because they're just talking about outdoor businesses. What about nail salons and hair salons and stores? I'm not sure about, I have to look, but I think they're starting with the outdoor dining

facilities. And I think that if things don't start to look better, then you might see stricter measures coming. Were you shocked by that, though? I think it was, well, no, no, no. It was shocking to me, one, that we're getting back here again. but I was shocked that the first thing they pulled was outdoor seating and not nail salons where I'm right here.

As you can see, I literally just got my nails done this weekend. You're right here in my face. Hair salon where you're standing over me and washing my hair. I was shocked that I don't want to see anybody go out of business, but I guess I was just shocked that the outdoor seating is what they pulled. Well, I just think those are recreational things. And so you have a lot more people crowding in those areas. I don't know.

Or maybe they've learned something about the virus and the transmission of it outside. Yeah. Or I really don't know. But what I do know is that the numbers are bad enough in terms of the caseload that they think that we have to kind of rewind the clock a little bit. So everybody out there be safe. No, my mother did not come out for Thanksgiving. I am not about to put my mom in an airport or let her put herself in one. She offered to drive.

Oh my gosh. I love her. What a crazy lady. No. She's like, she loves her baby. She's like, I'll drive. I'll drive out there. It's just be me. I'm like, no. You got driving from Louisiana to L.A. No, she's like driving. I can see that now.

Baby, I'm in Flagstaff. I got a flag. No. But she's made that drive before. She was much, much, much, you know. All right. So, we start off with the bad news. and now we're getting to some other stuff. But first, we're going to take a break. This episode is brought to you by WeatherTech. Everyone knows winter is the MVP and making a mess.

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Services not available in all areas. All right. Joe Biden. Joe Biden already starting what I like to call the IS. The iffy shit. Okay. Now, it's already the iffy shit starting. Hold on for a second.

I'm getting text right now from my mom. Y'all, she wants to know how she did on the podcast. You all did great. Tell her she was amazing. Y'all did great. A little professionalist. Yes. So Joe Biden and him, the transition, like most other things in America, not going smoothly.

Number one, because the concession never came, the government is not participating. The White House isn't participating with Joe Biden's transition. And it is not funded. And because it is not funded, they haven't released the month. money. Oh, what? What are you saying? Actually, while we've been on this podcast, we got a CNN alert. Oh, what's that? And it says that the Trump administration informs Joe Biden, they are ready to begin the formal transition process. According to a letter obtained by CNN. That is actually some good news. Yeah, yeah. That is actually some good news. That is, if true, that is actually some good news. That is actually some good news.

news. The Trumps are ready to begin the transition. That's actually good news. Now, that changes a little bit what I was about to say the first part of it, but not the last part of it. Because transition funds were not being made available to Joe Biden and them, they asked last week for people to donate to them so

they could have the funds they needed to make their transition, which was fucking horrible. A terrible look. They got slammed. But there's something else that people are are upset about black people mostly is the fact that Ron Emmanuel the former

mayor of Chicago and a former official in Barack Obama's White House is a name that's being floated for Transportation Secretary. Okay?

He's floating his name according to CNN to the department to head up the Department of Transportation. I don't think that's Transportation Secretary. I don't know why I said that. But people are saying that he might be the head of the Department of Transportation. This is making a lot of black people mad and starting off on a sort of iffy footing in terms of their relationship with Vice President Biden. Rachel, do you know why that is?

Yes, because of his time when he was mayor of Chicago. It was mayor, right? It was mayor of Chicago. When he was mayor of Chicago and how he handled the Laquan McDonald case. Absolutely. Okay. Yeah. The main point of contention for Ron Emmanuel, for a lot of black people,

is his handling of the Laquan MacDonald case. Laquois McDonnell was a 17-year-old boy who was shot in his back 16 times by the Chicago Police Department, and he was walking away. There was video of this. And the Chicago Tribune reported back in the day that Ron Emmanuel had worked to sort of suppress the video or block the release. of the video that pissed off a lot of black people in Chicago.

Rahm Emanuel came under fire not just from that, but from also the handling of the city of Chicago and talking about in the inner cities, the murders that were going on there, and why he hadn't been more effective in bringing some sort of peace to areas of Chicago

that were, quite frankly, in flames while he was the mayor there. That pressure led him not to even seek re-election to the mayor, office in 2018. Yeah. So there's a lot of black people

that view the Rahm Emanuel as persona non grata because when a young black man was shot, it seems as if he worked with the police department to sort of decrease the transparency of what actually had happened with Laquan McDonald.

So for the Biden transition team to even be thinking about putting him in a prominent role in the cabinet is really pretty baffling to me. Do you find it baffling? Yeah. Well, one, where is this information coming from?

Because we know he hasn't been chosen that the Secretary of Transportation has not been fulfilled yet. Hasn't. But it's rumor. It was coming from a report from CNN. Okay. So then it's probably true. Right.

So. Considered. Considered. Right. To me, for Joe Biden, this is very simple. you have the pick of the litter whoever you want to fulfill this position and the fact that you're considering somebody

that's problematic to me is alarming especially because what he is problematic for right we're a lot of what the reason that Biden was put in office or what people are trusting him to be able to do is his stance on handling

not just the police because he's never said that he's for defunding police but before bringing, like lessening the tension for bringing the unifying this nation together or bringing this nation together. So the fact that you're picking somebody who there is evidence of him not being totally against what people are fighting for to happen is pretty alarming.

And if he actually gets in office, that means that you aren't considering anything that what people are saying for when it comes to how you're handling the police, that there needs to be police reform, and what your stance is going to be to rectify that. Because to me, you're giving this man a position in your cabinet.

That could go to anybody. I'm sure there are more qualified people than the mayor of Chicago for this position. So I'm hoping it's maybe he's being considered as a favor, but it's never actually going to happen. I'm not quite sure. But to me, if he gets this position, then I think it tells you everything you need to know about Joe Biden.

You'll be honest. So, no, I get it. So here's the situation. Number one, I doubt he gets it now because it was probably a name that they were seriously considering that they floated. And then just to see how people were going to react to it, much in the same way that there was a small dailants with Amy Klobuchar. I was just about to say that. Right. During the time when he was thinking about picking a vice president and the Twitter streets were encouraging.

crazy, and then he ended up going with Kamala Harris. Now, a lot of people are looking at that and they're going to think, hey, it seems as if black Americans, black people are trying to shoehorn into the Biden administration who they want. I have news for you. You're right. I don't even see it that way. I'll tell you how I see it.

It's not so much that we are trying to do that, is that we're telling you specifically what it is that we don't want. Okay? So it's not so much that we're saying, hey, we're telling you what it is we don't want. Amy Klobuchar had a fucking terrible record as a prosecutor up there

in Minnesota. That was in her past. Now you have Ron Emmanuel, who, to be fair, served in the Camelot of the Obama administration. So there were a lot of people who have warm, fuzzy feelings about Ron Emmanuel going back before he was the mayor of Chicago.

But now he is embroiled in something that, to be honest with you, to a lot of black people, is disgusting. Okay? That have any knowledge of the situation. So what people are saying is they don't want to be reminded, you know, in these choices of the status quo America. Like, they're railing against that. That's not what they want. They showed up black people in force en masse to vote for Joe Biden and to deliver the presidency to him.

What they don't want is to turn around and be kicked in their nuts for it. Yeah. This also is indicative of the needle sort of that Joe Biden has to threaten. Very true. This is a very unique needle. I'm sure he has a high opinion of Amy Klobuchar. I'm sure he has a high opinion of Rahm Emanuel. The reality is this.

Our relationship with Joe Biden is not a fresh one. It's not a fresh relationship that we have with Joe Biden. Okay. Our relationship with Joe Biden is more akin to the relationship. that you would have with someone after you reconcile with them when they've cheated. Very true.

So if you, if you, if you, if you have a new marriage. Exactly. If you have a new marriage, right? Everything is on the table. The Obama was a new marriage. Everything was on the table. It was like, oh, you, you're not waiting for the next shoe to drop

because you just jump the broom and you're super happy. Joe Biden is different. You've been to couples' counsel. right you've done all of these things and you've accepted I'm going to move on with my life with this person but if you've been caught out there like Joe Biden has been with his record with some of the things that he said in the past

if you decide to move on with that person it's some shit they can't do your home boy wrong who still be with these hos he can't come over you can't play madden with him your homeboy rom who was with the the funny stuff with the cops back in the day in chicago you can't have him if you're going to move on you have to reestablish trust and there are going to be some things that you're going to have to keep your eyes on right and that's what you have to do if you want that relationship to work yeah and that that is what joe biden is going to have to do with the black community like we we took them back we took them back But now, guess what?

You can't go to the club. Well, you got to prove yourself to us. I love this comparison. Because I think everybody, sadly, can relate to that experience. We understand that. If I accept you back, I'm not accepting you back with open arms. I'm keeping an eye on you. I'm watching you closely.

You know what bothers me about this is with Amy Klobuchar, you're supposed to be vetting these people out and doing your research. Why is it the outrage from the black community, especially because of our vote, that you're like, no, I'm not going to go that route. Why is it going to be the outrage with him that says, you know what, I'm not going to consider him for this cabinet position? It shouldn't be like that.

To me, it's just as damaging the fact that you're considering these people who are problematic because it lets me know that our agenda truly isn't on your table. And that's the only difference I'll say in what you were saying is it's not that we're telling you who we want or not or not telling you who we want. It's just more of we have an agenda. And on that agenda is police reform, among other things, is racial equality among other things. And this guy stands against two of our points and maybe more on our agenda. So to me, that's why I say, all of this is very simple.

This could be easily avoided. And I don't want it coming down to black Twitter and protest and outrage in the media over what you should be doing. You should know better. Also, it's It's also troubling that we're going through a ton of retrans That, you know, that we're going through a ton of retrans That we're falling back into the habit of business as usual in Washington I know that Biden and Emmanuel have

A longstanding relationship, I get it It's troubling that That we're digging up people from There are new voices out there. And there are people out there that need to be heard and need to be empowered. And we need to kind of look at those people. Now, everybody needs to be qualified. And look, you know, notwithstanding, I'm sure there's a reason that the administration,

the president-elect and his team like Ron Emmanuel. But for a lot of people, what he did is too far. And I'm one of those people. I think if you look at it on its face, at this particular point in my life, I don't want to see that anymore. That's too much of a life was lost. What we want now are people that recognize the problems that need to be solved for people in America and then are dedicated to solving those problems. Now, maybe Ron Emanuel in his career, I'm not throwing a man away, but maybe in this career going forward, he can come to terms with some things and he can do that work. and I'm sure he's done some things that are good.

I don't know enough about his record to be able to say that. I know, like I said, just from hearing about him from when he was in Obama administration, I know a lot of people that up in Chicago that fucking hated his guts. But what I would say is that for Joe Biden, do this right. Right. Seriously. You'll make for a very, very tough for years, not just for yourself, but for the Democrats. Because there are a lot of people that are waiting to catch you cheating again, dog.

There are a lot of people. They sleep next to you with one eye open. You know what I mean? And they give me your phone, Joe Biden. Joe Biden, give me your phone. Let me check the text messages. Um, there are other nominations that are coming. The cabinet is slowly taking shape.

Tony Blinken. Blinken? I like that name. Because. Tony Blinkin looks like he is going to be the Secretary of State. He's been named. Jake Sullivan, National Security Advisor, Director of National Intelligence,

Averillianne, Department of Homeland Security, Alejandro Mayorkas, the ambassador to the UN, Linda Thompson, Linda Thomas Greenfeld, and the special presidential envoy on climate, a very, very familiar name. John Kerry.

Oh, I didn't see that one. Yeah, they could swift boat my man. Where's he been? They couldn't stop John Kerry from coming. on back. So that is that. Now, I want to ask you about something else. Good news.

Oh, first of all, some personal news. I got, I bought my dog. I bought my dog. Already? You were supposed to babysit copper first, but okay. I bought the dog. When we go to the dog park? Wait, where is he?

When does he come home? He comes home next week. Now, I will say this. I heard from a lot of people on this. Heard from a lot of people that were saying, the American Kennel Society or whatever reached out to me

and said, told me not to get a burner doodle and told me different dogs to get. The American kennel. What's wrong with those? Well, I think everyone, number one, people, there were a lot of people out there and I really do appreciate all the messages that were saying, hey, van,

don't buy from a breeder. Oh, yeah, it's very big. Copper's adopted. It's a big deal out there to adopt, don't shy. Don't shop a dog. Okay. I didn't do that.

I knew from last week you didn't do that. All right. I didn't do that. And we're playing to get more dogs. We will adopt the dogs that we get from this for. But we fell in love with the dog that we saw on a site and we bought the dog. Okay, the dog would be here next week. What's his name again?

Him or he or she? It's a male. Okay. The dog's name is Captain now, but of course... Captain's a good strong name. But he's not going to be Captain. That's a white people's dog name. Okay.

It's a strong name. It's a strong name. The dog's name is going to be Bozeman. Oh, that's right. You told me that. Bozeman. So I don't know how that works in terms of changing a dog's name and if he'll be cool with it or...

How old is he? I think he's eight weeks. Oh, he'll be fine. I don't know what Copper's name was, but he sure did adapt to Copper. And he was two. He was over around two when I got it. Wait, wait, you changed a two-year-old's name?

I found copper in the streets. So I'd have no idea what copper's real name was. What, so, but it's, so basically copper was 14 because it's like seven years, right? See me? See what that is? Yeah, he's going on. He was four, yeah, he was around 14. They had to estimate by looking at his teeth.

But he's in the streets. He had a lot of issues. So he was a 14-year-old human and you just changed. his name. Well, how would I know what it is? He was in these streets. So basically, let's be honest, you sort of No, no. Couticente

roots. No, no, he's not Toby. I did not tell me. You sort of, because there's one thing to do it when they're a baby. You know what I mean? But you sort, you kind of, you kind of, Kootta Kinti roots to copper a little bit. Let me tell you some. All

the people who got on to you about about buying a dog girl come at you. Because this is what you deal with. I didn't know Copper's name. He responded to Copper quite well. So for all I know, that was his name before. Maybe he, you know, it would be crazy. It'd be crazy if he told you his name was Copper in telepathic dog language.

Maybe he did. Maybe he was like, maybe you came in and he was like, yo, straight up. My name, Coppa, though. That's on G right there. My name Copper. It was between Simba and Copper. I'm so glad you didn't go with Simba. Yes, what I'm saying that too.

I'm so glad. you didn't go with Simba, man. So glad. Now, um... I'm so excited for you, Van. I'm so excited for you. I'm excited. I'm excited. Bozeman's coming home.

Now, the reason why I've decided to name the dog Bozeman is because, of course, in honor of Chadwick Bozeman, and there was some news that came out around Black Panther 2. Black Panther 2. Black Panther 2 is set to film in July of 2021. They are going to start filming Black Panther 2. And while there has been no news on recast. black panther, there is talk that Shuri's role is going to be more prominent. Now, in case people don't know, Shuri is Black Panthers, is the princess of Wakanda,

is a black panther's younger sister. She is one of the most brilliant minds in the Marvel Cinematic Universe in the Marvel Universe period. And in the comic books, there is definitely a point where Shuri becomes Black Panther. The question is this. That's not a question. I'm going to just go ahead and say it. Oh.

Am I weird for wanting to see Black Panther recast and moving on with the new actor? Is that a weird place to be? Well, here's the thing. I defer to you in this department, obviously, Marvel, comic books. So I don't think it's weird. You know, I read about it. My more question is, why do you not want to see Shuri

step into a bigger role and potentially take over because from what I read, or you just said it, in the comic book, she does that. Why do you want to see another person step in there? Because we haven't had enough time with Tichala yet.

So the Tchala that we got from, and I know people are going to say it's been, because I think it's Avengers, Affinity War, Avengers, End Game, then it's Black Panther, then it's Captain American Civil War. So that's four movies with him, appearing as Black Panther.

People are going to say that that's a lot. But as far as the story of Tachala and Wakanda and the inner workings of that, we've only got one story. We haven't spent enough time with Tachala yet for anybody else, anyone else to be Black Panther to me. And to be honest with you,

now don't get me wrong, Shuri was one of the most amazing part of Black Panther. Yeah. But I just, I want the role recast almost also so I can let go of some of the pain. You know, it feels like it would help some of the fans move on if they recasting. I see, and I know you're a bigger fan than me, but I don't want to see it because I feel like if we see somebody take in that role, it's going to be innately within us to compare

the two together. And I think it's more It's done in a more respectful way If you don't change anything They already said they're not going to see GI him Thank goodness I definitely don't want to see that But for someone who was already a part of the original story To take a role especially if that's how it all goes down on the comic book

Which I would also want you to tell me why she ends up taking a bigger role I mean why she ends up becoming Black Panther I'm not sure why that happens in the book But do you even could you even fathom in your mind who would play that role? No, but I mean, not right now, but also, you know, I think, and somebody made this point on Twitter,

is that Batman isn't the same guy that he's been since, it's been like a bunch of different Batman's. But this is the first. I know. You know, with Black Panther, that was the first time. I didn't even know about Black Panther until I saw this movie.

So for a lot of us, the first time I, we had even heard of a black superhero. like in 2018. I get it, but what I'm saying is that number one, Black Panther, there's all kinds of reasons why.

Black Panther is the protector of Wakanda, right? So sometimes Black Panther will leave Wakanda. Like Black Panther will leave Wakanda, go on adventures with the Avengers, or one time he came over here and he fought the KKK for a long time. And when that happens, somebody takes up the mantle of Black Panther back in Wakanda.

You know, Shuri, take up the mantle of Black Panther. There have been a couple of different people who have taken up the mantle of Black Panther. Tachala is sort of the character and the mantle of Black Panther is what he wears as king and protector of Wakanda.

So those two things are completely different. I'm talking specifically about the character of Tachala. I'm not ready to say goodbye to that character yet. We just got to know the character in terms of the cinematic universe. And also, as far as chat, we both, is concerned, there'll never be another Black Panther like him,

but there has to be another guy to play to Chala. So can't we wait? Because this movie's going to come out in less than two years. That's the goal. Right. So why not sure he step up? And then in the next movie, another one comes. I mean, I guess for me, I can see the argument of it being too soon.

But at the same time, now I'm kind of like if it doesn't come out until 2022, too, maybe it's not too soon because by the time we see it, you know, some time will have passed. Right, right. I have to worry to you on this. Well, I'm going to ask you a question. Oh.

Is my hesitance to see Shuri in the next movie as Black Panther due to the M word good old misogyny? Is that the reason that I'm...

yourself that question because I haven't seen anybody really up you're not upset but I haven't see anybody really no yeah I don't use that word but I haven't really seen anybody say I'd rather see this role played out by someone else from what I everything I saw people are very accepting of Shuri especially because that actually does happen in the comic book um I don't know man you got this is a a question that you have to ask yourself. Are you, I can't answer that.

It's just, it's tough. It's tough being connected to the character of Chitala. It is. It's tough. It's, it's very, it's very tough. It's, it's also tough because of you waited so long for that character to be on screen.

Like for me, I get it. I get that. You waited so long for that character to be on screen. I remember they were talking about doing it in the 90s with Wesley Snipes. Wesley Snipes. Wesley Snipes, was going to do it. And then they talked about Tyrese doing it. There was always talk about different guys that might step up and play Black Panther.

And every time you were wondering, yo, what are they going to make this movie? And how are they going to make this movie? Because there was no universe around it, right? And then you get it. And it seems like you get one movie with Tichala. And then God, I mean, one movie, one Black Panther movie, God bless his soul. There was nothing Chad would have done. He did it, you know, it is just horrible.

horrific and just goes in line with like what what's going on this year. And now you have to, you have to kind of get used to a sort of new take on it. We were just kind of settling in to what we had. But I don't know. I don't know. I asked myself, I was like, no, man, man, breathe the chala back. Then I was like, wait a minute. Wait a gosh darn minute.

Man, are you? When I hear you explain it, it's deeper than that for you. And it makes sense to me that you're like, we just. just got him. It's not about that. It's just like, can we continue to play out his role? I understand that. That's why I say, I defer to the expert when it comes to this. For me, it hits a little differently because I didn't, you know, I'm not as familiar with the Black Panther story. So I'm more connected to Chad with Bozeman than I am to the Black Panther character. Do you know what I mean? So for me, I'm like, let's leave that alone and let's keep the story going. You have known about Black Panther

for years. So I get it. I get it. I could see both ways. I wouldn't be disappointed either way. I think I'm just more happy that we're getting a Black Panther too. Yeah.

And we're going to see the story continue. Yeah. Yeah. And I'm sure that I'm sure that whatever they decide to do, they'll make a top-flight movie. Especially if they're able to bring back Ryan Cougar, which I think Ryan Cooleger is coming back.

It's very important to have Ryan Cooleger, to have Ryan Cooleger back. Several people. Winston Duke, Angela Bassett's coming back. And, you know, Letitia Wright was fantastic. She was fantastic as Shuri. Not just in Black Panther. She was fantastic as Shuri in Infinity War. In-game, she's in the movie smaller.

But she was in it. She's a fantastic actress and Shuri is a great character. But damn, man, just of all the things we have to say goodbye to, It seems like right now we have to say to goodbye to Chala too, so it's just tough. It's just tough for us Black Panther nerds. It's very, very tough. Real quick, we're going to take a break. Did you know about one in three people with plaques psoriasis may also develop psoriotic arthritis,

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Garlic aoli. Crumbled bacon? Corn, salt. 40 grams of protein made to keep up with whatever comes next. New sweet green wraps hit different. Order now at order.orgate.com. All right, you ready to talk about some bullshit real quick?

Let's do it. You love a little bullshit. You see those pictures of Jay-Z. They have some pictures of Jay-Z. He was out in Hawaii. You see that? Okay, I, when you said, when you brought this to my attention,

I searched everywhere. My Google search with the with the Jay-Z and what I put in, finally I saw the picks in Hawaii but he had a shirt on He had a shirt on in Hawaii and people looked at him

and it wasn't people looked at him Trippy Red made a comment about Jay-Z said that he weighed 444 pounds Okay I didn't see a picture Maybe it was the ankle that I saw People looked at them and they thought maybe they thought you know

Hove Here's what I understand about this And I don't get this. Like, Jay-Z is a 50-year-old man. He's a 50, Jay-Z is 50 years old. How long does Jay-Z have to look like he looked in 1997? It's because he's got money. So people are like, when you have money like that,

then you have no excuse. I feel like this what people think, to look your best at all times. Whatever it takes, you should always look like better than the rest of us. This is a perverted thing to me. I got out of my eyes with you. I look at people, someone sent me a picture of Demi Moore not too long ago. Like, damn, Demi Moore is like, I'm like, Demi Moore is like 62 years old.

So I think she looks just fine. I think she looks great. But the reality is that you expect to see striptease every time you look at Demi Moore in perpetuity. Like forever? Like why Jay-Z is on the beach in Hawaii? He looks like a perfectly healthy and 50-year-old guy. The problem is people have these unrealistic expectations for celebrity, right? Like you're supposed to be perfect at all times.

It's not right, but it's just what people do. And that's the same thing that they're doing with Jay-Z. You're laughing with your pictures, by the way. No, I always see one picture. And I'm like, why would somebody's, but see, he doesn't look bad to me at all. He looks just fine. This is so exaggerated to me. Why are you laughing when you see it, though?

Just, just a quick question. Because I think it's ridiculous. I think it's ridiculous that people are coming at Jay-Z, who is completely unbothered, I'm sure. Now, I did in my research, when I was looking at this, I did note he just teamed up with climber. I think that's what it's called. And I don't know if that is recent. or because of the outrage of the pictures. I'm not quite sure.

Wait, wait, wait. You think they ran Hove to the gym? Well, you think Hove is on a versatile climber now? He said, I'm going to make some... Have you done one of those before? I think it's very hard. It's very hard. It's very hard.

Because Beyonce has that Peloton sponsorship, and I'd much rather have that. Yeah, it's very hard. It's not easy to do the whole thing. First of all, I think he was actually working out when he was on the beach. It looked like he was working out. He does look fatigued. He looks like his hands are on his hip

He looks like he's breathing Like he's working out Is what I'm saying Is there anybody that you would be Really really any celebrity out there That you would be really upset If they got fat I mean upset is a strong word

But you just like you need them to be sexy Backing off of last The last podcast we have I'm gonna say Michael B Jordan You know your name's Sexiest Man Alive You at least have to hold that title for a year If in six months he's looking different.

I'm going to be a little upset. You'll be a little upset. So what you're saying is Michael B. Jordan can't have extra fries. Hold it down for a year. He can't have extra fries. So this man got to be in creed shape. That's just so much pressure.

That's so much pressure. Heavy is the crown. Heavy is the crown. Heavy like he got to be in creed shape. And by the way, it's so funny. Because these places like page six, Jay-Z gets in beach workout in Hawaii. They know what they do.

That's garden. I was looking at it. I've worked at places like this. It's Jay-Z. I see Hope doing some squats right here. He's working. He's doing his thing. He's staying healthy.

I'll never forget the funniest headline I think that has ever been written at TMZ. So Chris Brown went to jail. Remember Chris Brown went to jail? Yes, I do. Well, Chris Brown came from jail. Most people go to jail and they lose weight. Chris Brown went to jail and he gained weight, right? He came home for a little while.

Chris was a little chunky for a little while. And there was a picture of Chris. with his shirt off. I guess it was from his, like he went to Miami after he got out of jail or whatever like that. And I won't name

the guy who wrote this headline by knowing well, he's a friend of mine. The headline was, these roles ain't loyal. I was like, yo. You should say his name

because that shit is funny. Like, these roles ain't, like his name was, like, it's Daniel. Shout out to Daniel. Daniel was like, Daniel wrote a headline. Still Daniel's finest work.

Daniel wrote a headline and then said these roles ain't loyal. And I remember walking by and as he was, and I'm like, yo, motherfucker, are you kidding me? Like these roles ain't, but I always think, okay, so that was funny.

But imagine being Chris Brown and you wake up. I always wondered that because it happened to me, right? I ended up on page six. After I lost my job. And I tell you what, it was not a good feeling. It was everybody hitting you up, calling you up, blah, blah, blah, being on the other side of it, that was God's last test for me,

for me to get away from there because I had to go through it. You know what I mean? So Michael B. Jordan gets, if Michael B. Jordan would get big, like you, you offer it. I would be surprised. I wouldn't be upset, right? Because you never know what people are going through. Why did they gain the weight? It could be a medical condition.

They could be going through depression or something. But I would be shocked. Do you think that body shaming men is more acceptable than body shaming women? Hmm. I've never thought about that before. But yes, I think it is looked at as more acceptable. I don't think it is, but I think people think it rolls off of men's back in an easier way. I think...

Just go ahead and go. Just do your thing. No, I'm just laughing. I was like rolls. I think the only reason I said rolls is because you said these rolls ain't loyal. So I think it's in my head now. But no, I just think people think men aren't sensitive to that kind of stuff, which I think is obviously a wrong assumption to make.

I think with women, it's obviously looked at as bad. And there's a whole history of women being, you know, shamed for, shoot, Megan the Stallion, you know, doing a whole AMA tribute in the first minute is her talking about body positive. With men, I think people don't think it's as big of a deal and just affects them. I don't know. It's a societal thing that we do. I'm not saying it's wrong. No, I do think it's wrong that we think it's different for men than it is for women. It's just wrong to shame people over weight, period.

It doesn't matter what your gender is. So it, when I've obviously been body shame from my weight before, so it's not a good feeling. It doesn't even compare to the beauty standard. that women have to go through. I'll tell you why. One reason is because, like, you know, I was a big fat guy watching the King of Queens

and there you have a big fat guy with a super hot lady. You know what I mean? Yeah, you're right. Great show. Like, right. You see, it's a good show. Okay, great.

Great show. King Queen's great show. Okay. It's a good show. Excuse me. It's a good show. You don't want to say you watch it. I did watch it.

It's a good show. That is a half. happen women who society deems unattractive are told that they're the dredge that they're the worst but they have no worth or whatever like you don't ever see them portrayed out in situations like that it's completely different i think nowadays there is a lot of shaming with men look at rob cardassion people shame him look at conier when conier talked about why he got lipo because of the pressure he felt to look a certain way now i think it's universal I think that if Yeh got fat,

I think Robert, Rob Kardashian definitely got shame because of the family that he's in. I think he definitely did. I think if Yey gained a bunch of weight or whatever like that, I think, look, it's something that happens. A lot of these guys, you see, like, they gain weight as they get older.

I can understand, look, I understand what he's talking about, maybe more than anyone. I get it. But also, I don't think in comparison to what women go through, except for in one area that seems to still be,

completely acceptable. The real way that men get body shamed, it's body shaming to make fun of somebody's penis size. Oh, yeah. That's body shaming. We did this on a loud podcast with the micro penis jokes and stuff like that. We were doing it. We were body shaming people with micropenis.

There are people that listen to this podcast that have micropenis. They have it. Sure. And they probably, that's the shame of all shames. And I'll be honest with you. So you're calling them out. You're shaming them. I'm not shaming them.

You just called them. it the shame of all shame. I'll tell you why. I tell you why, though. I'm not saying that it's, I'm telling you, I saw this, there was an HBO documentary back in the day one time, and it was talking the guys of all different

penis sizes. This is the true thing. It was an HBO documentary. And they talked to this dude and he had a micro penis. Do you believe me that this happened? That this was a thing? I believe you. I'm just, I've never seen one.

You've never seen a micropenus before. Never. In all your years of Ronnie and Trixie, you never ran across a micropine. Neither Ronnie nor Trixie. Right, okay. So this guy he was talking about when he lost his virginity.

And what he had done, he was smoking on a cigar, small cigar. And what he said was that he decided that he would lose his virginity to a prostitute or something like that because he was too ashamed to go find a girl or whatever. It's so sad.

Yeah, it is. I never forgot watching this. And the guy goes, you know, you get with the girl, you're doing all of this stuff like that, and then he takes his clothes off, and he goes, I never forget what he said.

He goes, well, you forgot something, buddy. You got the smallest penis on the block. And then he said, my penis when erect is smaller than this little cigar thing right here. And he says that, she saw it and she laughed and freaked out. And I thought, damn, what a terrible fucking thing.

But you know what the thing is? What is it? I'm Googling. You're Googling like that show? No. Like men have done just too much for people that. A penis ego. The male ego is just really.

responsible for too many horrors in the world? You're looking at micropenuses right now? Wow. You guys got to zoom in on Rachel's face as she sees the micropenuses. Like you guys got to see... I don't believe this. You don't believe what? That that's real?

You're looking at the micropenus right now. The pictures that I'm looking at. Why wouldn't you believe them? You sound like... You should just see... It says, no, you should just see the Google search. Right. It sounds like it's...

But what I'm saying is, men do, I don't really feel like men get that same deal. Like even you, you're laughing right now at people's pain. I'm not laughing. Okay. I, but they always say it's the motion, motion of the ocean. That's what they say.

I can't, I don't, honestly, like, real talk, I can't even imagine how hard that is. I can't even imagine how hard that is, like, knowing that that's what you have and, like, locker rooms and PE classes and, you know, like, guys, like, that's, that's really, really tough. So I actually don't think it's funny. I can't even imagine what it is to go through that. Because for women, there's no body part for us that you're completely shamed for like that.

Is that true? Yeah. Like, there's no, that nobody is like talking about. Because you got a fat. I'm just saying, I'm just saying, like, is that true? Is that a thing? There's no, there's women's body parts that, like, that brings shame. You know what I mean? Like, you might want something to be smaller, but nobody's looking at you in a locker

room like, oh, my gosh, she's got a big butt. She's got big thighs. You know? No. Anyway, the name of the, the name of the documentary. It's called what? Private Dicks, Men Exposed. That's the name of the documentary.

It's the name of the documentary. It came out and it was that you're laughing. And it wasn't, it's not just about micropenus, it was just about the way, it was about the whole cornucopia, the whole totality of the penis's influence on society. And it had guys, they had Lexington still on there.

If you guys are of a certain, hobby, then you know who Lexington still is, all the way down to the guys that have the micro penis. I take that back because I think that women who have very, very flat chest are made fun of. Yeah, probably so.

Yeah, yeah. Yeah. But look, this all got started from Jay-Z, it's the body shaming. How do we get here? Because, because, the body shaming is, it's almost like the body shaming is one of the worst ways that you can insult someone,

because you're insulting them a lot of times over something they have absolutely zero control of. So true. So true. For who they are, for how they were born. For how they were born. That's so true. Anyways, y'all get up off Jay-Z.

He's probably not even worried about y'all, but... What does Jay-Z don't care about that? It's just a bigger picture of it. Like, let's stop shaming people for who they are. Married to Beyonce. It's married to Beyonce. Now, we have a very special edition of mailback

real quick but before we do it I want to give a shout out to somebody real quick if this is okay let me give a shout out to Pope Francis I give you a shout out Unexpected ally of the week it should be but he still is though

before it's come I want to shout out to Pope Francis because you know you think a lot of times with popes and people like that that you can't really relate to who they are. It turns out Pope Francis

likes an Instagram model just as much as the rest of us because the Vatican liked a picture. The Instagram of Pope Francis liked a picture

of Natalia Garaboto. Okay. And she is a Brazilian Instagram model. She was in a school girl uniform and the Pope liked the picture and the Vatican is investigated. They want to know why the Pope's account allegedly liked this picture.

Did they question the Pope? I don't know. Can you question the Pope? First of all, is it wrong? Well, he has an account. No, it's not. I can't see what's wrong about it. How do you know why he liked that picture?

The Pope got 7 million followers. He's following no one. Interesting. That's actually, to me, more of a big deal. Is it wrong for the Pope to like that picture? Is that wrong? She's in a schoolgirl uniform? Yeah.

You never know why he was like that. So she's in like a Catholic schoolgirl uniform. And you think it's Catholic? It could be Catholic. Maybe that's a reason why. Maybe that's why. Maybe he's like, you know what? this is this is what's up

I like the pattern Do you think So you think he was liking it more because because she was in a Catholic school girl I just think it's more funny than it is a big deal this man follows no one

but somehow he found his way to this woman's page right? Like you don't following one that means nobody pops up on your as you're scrolling through it's only your popular feet and somehow you came across

this woman's page to like it and of all pictures her dressed up in a uniform Well here's the deal it could have came out on his explore page. On the poppy? Yeah, yeah, yeah.

It clearly did. Or maybe he's just a fan and he goes to her page and frequents it. And that one stood out more than others. Has the Pope ever liked any picture? See, I don't know about this. Is it wrong to look is the thing? What if he was?

I don't think it's wrong. Is it wrong to look? No. I don't know if it's wrong. I'm on an Instagram right now. She's got 2.5 million followers. Mm-hmm. She is...

Probably increased after the Pope gave her his blessing. Right. She's on Twitch. She's got her own website. Even better content. Let's see. At natagata.com. Even better content.

Let's see what she's got on here. What's her name? It's Natalia Garbata. So exclusive content. She's... got exclusive content and you can connect with her. The only place to talk to me directly, I direct message with my subscribers

and then is basically her ass on there. So what I'm talking about, I mean, subscribe now. Yeah, this is her, she's got a whole website and everything. She's going for her. She's making a thing. I don't know. I don't know. I think the Pope got a raw deal on this.

You don't like her. You're looking at her right now. Too much. Wow. I didn't know that I had been to her page yet. I take it back. Take it all back. Because now I'm scrolling.

Where is the schoolgirl picture? This is the schoolgirl picture. It's down. It's all the way down. Yeah, she ain't. Whoa. The one where she's at the locker? Yeah.

Yeah. You can't like that picture. Oh, my God. Pope. Pope. Pope. Sir. Mr. Pope.

You can't like that picture, though. Wow. When I looked at the picture, it was cut off in the picture, her whole ass out. she's like like really Moses can see her this is not a uniform she's not wearing a skirt she is not come on Pope is there a glitch in the system

because I see I heard that they were going to reach out to Instagram and figure out what was wrong as if there was some type of glitch could be could be that he just liked that's a big deal to me but do you think do you think that the Pope is just scrolling through Instagram like this

I just hit like but I'm not no that one now after looking at the picture Pope you got to do You got to do better. You can do better. Like, you, bad Pope. You gotta,

you gotta, you can't like that one. If it's a picture, if it's a picture of like Nicole Scherzinger and she's in a dress or something like that, maybe you had like a thing that you could do or whatever. But I hadn't, I'm sorry for the listeners of higher learning that we hadn't really,

I hadn't looked at the full picture on the Instagram. I had only looked at the part. Please forgive us. In the article, Pope, you can't do that. That's too far. It was told it was a schoolgirl uniform. It was not. It was schoolgirl theme.

She was wearing a... Wow. How embarrassing for the Vatican. How embarrassing. Nah, Pope, you can't. You can't... Nah, Pope. Chill out, dog.

All right. It's now time for a very special Thanksgiving Elmeli El Mali El-Bagio. So, Jackson, Saffan, would you please hit us up with the Thanksgiving mailbag questions? from Nicole Green is mac and cheese a Thanksgiving food

Nicole you got to be you got to be white yep that hands down period I don't I don't eat mac and cheese but it's never been even though I don't eat it has never been on my Thanksgiving table oh wow now Rachel you got to be white it's never been on our table growing up I bet it hasn't I bet it hasn't been on your table growing up so she's white because she asked she's white because she asked its question but I'm white I'm white.

If you don't think that match and cheese is a Thanksgiving dish, white. Well, maybe if we had had a longer conversation with my parents, you could understand how triggering it is for you to say that to me. Casual question? What's on your Thanksgiving menu then? Too much to name, but I... Tuna casserooms and shit like that. Maybe if we...

No, no, no, no, no. Maybe if we went to someone else's and it was a joint one. one, maybe there was mac and cheese, but if it was our immediate family, no. Like, none of us really eat mac and cheese. It's like yams, greens, cranberry sauce, turkey, ham, cornbread, homemade cornbread at that. Cabbage is usually there. What other kind of cornbread is there?

Jiffy. Out the box. Okay, you want to keep going? All right. Is that, was that homemade cornbread for you? No, it's not. I'm not talking about that. I'm just talking about, you know,

just getting a little, getting a little upset now. Y'all just homemade cornbread at that. Like, what else? So you got, so you got, so what else do y'all, what else y'all got? Y'all do a turkey and a ham? Turkey and a ham. Yeah.

Eating that swine, huh? I have no shame. Pork chops are my favorite food. So, you told me. Judge me. So no mac and cheese, though. Adopt, don't shop. She got ammunition.

Every time little Bowesman runs around now, I didn't have done it. But look, I'm sorry, guys. He's so cute, man. Cute little puppy. Buy him. I'll feed him some food. So, no, yes, definitely mac and cheese is a thing. I don't think it's Thanksgiving without mac and cheese.

You have to have the mac and cheese. Okay, for some. What are you doing for Thanksgiving, by the way? Actually, Brian's not going to be. here. So, I know, but it's okay. Like, the traveling situation is a lot. And Brian treats patience. So he doesn't need to be traveling during this time of year. I'm just going to go over some friends house. One of my closest friends from growing up lives out here in L.A. So her mom's here. Her daughters are here. I'm going to spend it with them. And then I'll

probably go to somebody else's house. Okay, cool. Yeah, yeah. What are you doing? I'm just going to stay here and make some Cornish hands and some mac and cheese. Cornish hands. Cornish hands and mac and cheese, baby. Jackson, next question. What's on your Thanksgiving food Mount Rushmore, aka pick your top four parts of your Thanksgiving meal. Dersersers are included.

Interesting. First of all, I should say something about Thanksgiving real quick. And just so you guys know, Thanksgiving is an amazing time to be with your family. It is an amazing time to be around your family. But let's not forget that the indigenous people of this country suffered so that you can have your Thanksgiving holiday.

I'm not talking about a small, small degree of suffering. I'm talking about the fact that the same people that sat down and ate with these indigenous people that took their methods of farming and that these indigenous people helped kept alive, slaughtered them. It slaughtered them and made sure that they were pretty much wiped away from the land that they had had had. for a long, long time. Okay. So Thanksgiving, Thanksgiving is

I get it's a day about family, but we must never forget that it was the harbinger of doom for a lot of the indigenous people that lived here. And I can never not say that. What? Van? You mean the pilgrims and the Indians didn't come together and break

bread at the table? Maybe they did, but I can tell you what, after a while, the pilgrims still got all their bread. Did you know that George Washington's family, not George Washington, George Bush's family was on the Mayflower. I say that all the time. It's true. So those people are still rich. The indigenous people of this continent are still trying to figure out how to live amongst the people that came and wiped them out and stole all their shit.

Couldn't agree with you more. Thank you. No, seriously though. So as we talk about all of this stuff, just remember there was a human cost. How it got started. Yeah, it was a human Cost. All right. So, uh, your Mount Rushmore. Mount Rushmore of me, uh, the things. Turkey is not on there.

Fuck turkey. It is. You don't like turkey? Y'all niggas have tricked yourselves into believing y'all like turkey. Y'all don't like turkey. I only like the dark meat, actually, of turkey. And I do like turkey. Really? You only like the dark meat. What a change for you. Uh, like,

It, No. Uh, uh, uh, Uh. Uh. Yeah.

Another trigger. Um, uh, I would say it's mac and cheese. Actually, seriously. Wow. It's mac and cheese. Dressing.

Dressing. Yes. Dressing. Mac and cheese. Dressing. Really mac and cheese and dressing is all I really need. Uh, mac and cheese.

cheese dressing greens and sweet potato pot. I can't believe you don't put any meat on there. I actually prefer a smoked baked or a honey baked ham over turkey, but I do like, yes, man, the dark meat of turkey. For me, I would say ham. Okay. I'd say sweet potato. Corn bread.

Homemade. Homemade. And I'm picky, so I don't, even though apparently my mom makes the best dressing. It's a recipe that's been passed down for years. It's not in my top four. I would have to say greens.

Greens. Greens are good. Greens are good. Your mama looked like she can make some good dressing. My mom is a really really good stuff. Women that have that little hair flip down there. Your mom got that little hair flip. You can't have that little hair flip at the bottom and not be able to cook.

Man. All women, all of them. It's like that hair flip is there so that you can carry a tray easier. You know what I mean? So that your hair could sit on you, you can raise your shoulders. That hair flip, that means you could cook.

Remember how you asked me earlier if you said something that was misogynistic? I think that, this, this might be. That's a massage. Because you said she could carry a tray. Well, you know, if you carry the tray,

I'm just here, I'm just here to let you know. I'm just here. All right, well, that's misogyny. You know? All right. Jackson, what else? What are you guys thankful for this year? Oh, Rachel.

You want to start or you want me to start? I mean, I'll start. I, you know, we touched on it. You kind of talked about it. For me, it's tough. This is the very first Thanksgiving ever that I have not been around my immediate family. My sister's here. But like home, you know, home cooking, that nostalgic feeling of just like all of it.

I'm missing that for the first time ever. ever at 35. But I am still thankful for the fact that my parents are healthy, my grandmother's healthy, I am healthy, and although we can't be together, I know that they are in good health, they are in good spirits. I'm very thankful to be working right now. I'm thankful for, even though I'm feeling a certain way at the moment with everything that's going on, I'm thankful for peace of mind.

and I'm thankful for my friends. I'm really thankful for my friends because that is who I'll be spending Thanksgiving with. Nah, I'm thankful for all of those things, but I have to say something specifically, I'm thankful for Kalika. Because if not, I'll be going crazy by myself. And I've been held down and tethered.

And, you know, so I'd say, the only thing that would make this time harder is if you had to, if there wasn't somebody there to be like, yo, it's going to be cool, just chill. Yeah. And doing all of those things through all of that stuff.

I think that the most thing that I'm thankful for is the opportunity to heal. And as long as we're still here, we have the opportunity to do a little bit better. I think that I took that for granted before.

Yeah. That, you know, you have an opportunity to find your peace and to get better and to do all of that stuff. But I think I won't anymore. So the opportunity to heal, the chance to do better. Yeah. It's just very, very important. I think that I'm thankful for that.

I really am. Now, because we are doing this podcast and we're not going to have a chance to do unexpected ally of the week, the next podcast because it's the Parents Day podcast, because we recorded that already. Rachel, what are you doing off camera right there? Can you tell that? Yeah, what are you doing? Of course I can see it.

I'm pulling up my other laptop just to make sure that. So you can see your unexpected ally of the week? No, I actually don't have one yet. We're a bit early. Mine is the Pope. Yeah, and it's a fantastic one. And it's not because he liked the picture. It's because the Pope met with several NBA players on the issue of social justice.

Did you see that? No. He met with a couple of players. He's had a busy week. Yeah. See? You know what? Who knows if the Pope meets with those players

if he don't like that picture first? Because the Pope was probably, I got to change the narrative, man. Hey, hey, hey, hey, seriously. I got a chance of narrative, man. Bring some niggas in here. Who did he meet with? I got a look. It was none of your big name guys.

Let me see. That's so interesting. None of your big name guys, but players, solid players. Pope NBA. And Michelle Roberts was there as well. P. MBA players meet with Pope Francis. It was Dennis Rodman, Ron Artest.

Old school. Yeah, it was Dennis Rodman, Ron Artest, Charles Oakley. No, that's not who he met. We think about Dennis Rodman and Ron Artest and Charles Oakley Gordon. Oh, I thought you were serious. I was like, wow. No, it was Anthony Tolliver.

What a group. No, it was Anthony Toler, Kyle Corver, Sterling Brown, Jonathan Isaac, and Marco Bellinelli. So all of those guys, obviously, you guys know who those guys are. Jonathan Isaac, you know, we've talked to about Jonathan Isaac here on the show.

They also met with Michelle. He also met with Michelle Robertson. Obviously, you know, Sterling Brown had a very, very, very, very well-known story involving the Black Lives Ladder Movement and how he was treated during the time that he was playing there, I think in Milwaukee. Yeah.

So, yeah, so that, the Pope did that. So I think that it's cool when guys that have huge platforms and huge Instagrams like the Pope lend their worldwide attention to issues that we're facing here in the good of US of A. Or right off the top of your mind, right off the top of your head, top of your head. Do you think, can you think of an unexpected ally of the week?

I'll put you on the spot right now. Right now. Top of your head. Think about somebody. Unexpected. Man. Think of a white person. Any white person.

Any white person. Is it bad that I can't name one? Does that mean that nobody really did anything that was worth recognizing? It means that you're not. I mean, should I, you know what? You know what? You know what? Who?

Gavin Newsome. Gavin Newsom. Okay. That's interesting because he shuts you down. And this is why I will say this. I am so sorry for the people who, like I said earlier on this podcast, have obeyed the rules and the protocols and have spent so much money to get their businesses in order. And they still have to shut them down. And I'm hoping, I'm praying that there is some incentive giving to them, not only them as business owners, but to the people who work for them.

because you really just leaving people out here out here like that. But I'm giving it to him because unlike other governors, like in my home state of Texas, he is trying to take the coronavirus seriously. Right. Maybe we don't agree with the way he's doing it, but he is trying to relieve frontline workers.

He's trying to protect the citizens of his state. and we might not agree to the means, but he is trying to protect people. And I see a lot of governors out there who are just letting people wild out. So I'll give it to him. Okay. We're going to go ahead and go now.

Before we go, before we go, who won the battle versus battle? Oh, shit, we even talk about it. GZ won, and I'll tell you why. GZ won, this is a lesson for everybody. The versus battle is a lesson. Tell you why GZ one. Gooch is still holding on

to a lot of the stuff between him and Jeezy. Now, if you guys don't know, Gucci and Jezy have real beef. In case you guys are listening to it. Real beef, street beef. Like, people were killed. It's like a real beef. Gucci has not let go of that yet,

and I can't blame him from not being able to let go of it, but he hasn't let go of it. So when he was going with the versus battle, he played a lot of his disc records against Jeasy. And some of the most brutal ones, right? some of the most brutal disc records he had against Gizi. But the thing about it is that because he did that,

he didn't play some records I thought he should have played. He didn't play freaky girl. He didn't play some of the other records. And then he made such a big deal about going at it the way Gizi played all of his hits, the songs that we wanted to hear. And then also when Gouche got crazy, when Wob got crazy with Gizi and said,

yo, yo, you sent somebody else at me. I'm going to do all of this. GZ handled it like such a well-adjusted gentleman that you cannot help but say that he came away from that battle looking better. But I'll tell you this, I am happy. I was relieved at the end of the verses when they did Icy. I was relieved when they did ICE. Yeah. If you watch the battle, there was a lot of tension in the air.

Sure. To where it started, to the middle of it, to where it ended, you would have never thought it would have. got to the point where they were performing a song, they hadn't performed in 15 years. I don't know what it's like for someone to try to, or allegedly, for someone to send people to try to get after you. Yeah. I don't know how you let go of that. And if I couldn't let go of it, I probably would have never even been at the versus battle.

But the thing is, is that Gucci did agree to be there. So the way he was acting to me, when you agreed to partake in this, even though if he was, He agreed. He said, he told Jezy, listen, I told you I was going to keep this street. I was going to do me. I felt like that was a lost opportunity because you agreed to be there and it could have been something more. But the line of the night outside of Jeezie and his speech, which I still think was planned. You know, it was great what he said. I love that he took it as an opportunity to recognize those who have lost their lives in the game and to say we have to do better and be better. And we're doing this all about the culture. and then transitioned into that song.

That's why I say it was playing. It doesn't matter. It doesn't take away from what he did. But outside of that, the best moment of the night was when Gucci was like, look at how I'm dressed. Look at how I'm dressed. My outfit costs 10K.

You're right. Look at my opponent. He was like, it was hysterical. Look at my opponent. He goes, this outfit costs 10. bands. I told you I was going to show up here. Man, look at my opponent. Look at my opponent. I laughed for a good 15 minutes.

Right. It's crazy. I said, I'll tell everybody that. Look at my opponent. But you know how Gizi came back, though? I didn't spend 10 bands on no outfit, but I got a bunch of real estate. I got a bunch of real estate. He was awesome, Gromans stuff. I, listen. But still, though, that look at my opponent. It's hysterical.

Look at my opponent. Like, look at my opponent. Like, this nigga. That's so disrespectful. Like, look, I'm so. I mean, look at my opponent. I never type in, but I couldn't stop writing in the comments. With Gucci was on one. But then he had nothing else to say when Gigi said what he said. And it was nice that he recognized the opportunity.

And then everybody went to the compound. I wanted to go to the compound after that. Yeah, everybody went to the compound and breathed each other's air. Nick is crazy out here. I said, it's just wild. Anyways, it was one of the best verses for me. Magic City, sitting on thrones. It's just the whole setup was just wonderful to me.

They did they think. Yeah, yeah. Took me back to college. Loved it. All right. Now we're really going to get out of here. We hope that you guys have a happy and more important healthy. Yes.

Thanksgiving holiday. We will see you guys back next week. The news changed while we were doing this podcast. So the news is going to be changing a lot over the next week. And I want to tell us a little tidbit of information. You guys, be on a lookout for celebrity breakups this week. Divorces and breakups. I'll tell you why.

Quick TMZ tip. They do these things the day after Thanksgiving because nobody's in the courts. So they do these things that. So if you're looking around, celebrities, people you think are on the iso, iso, ISO outs. Look, they do these things after Thanksgiving. We out of here. And we'll talk about them on Monday.

We will. Or Tuesday. Tuesday. Hi, Learn is done. Take the thing caps off, but do not stop learning. I am Van Lathen. I'm Rachel Lindsay. We out.