Lovett or Leave It - Democrats Rocked By Good News

Episode Date: November 8, 2025

Greetings from Mamdanistan! This week, Lovett or Leave It takes a bite out of the Red Apple from Brooklyn’s beautiful Crown Hall Theater. Zohran Mamdani takes City Hall and Democrats across the country give us a reason to keep living. Ana Gasteyer flies off the handle, while David Krumholtz kvetches with the best of them. The Rant Wheel opens some eyes in the city that never sleeps, and musician Victor Jones brings us all the way home. For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email [e-mail] and include the name of the podcast. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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your first purchase, that's B-O-M-B-A-S.com slash Love It, Code Love It at checkout. On the night before Halloween in 1975, 15-year-old Martha Moxley was murdered, but police failed to make an arrest. Until, in 2000, her one-time neighbor, Michael Skakel was arrested. He was also a cousin of the Kennedys. The Kennedy connection is the reason that most people know about this case. But the deeper I dug, the more I came to question everything I thought I knew. Search dead certain the Martha Moxley murder to listen now, wherever you get your podcasts, and follow to get new episodes every week. Hey, everybody.

I wanted to do something special for our New York show. It is great to be here in Brooklyn. So now with a special musical performance, please welcome to the stage, Victor Jones. All right, the song's called I Get Hurt. Sometimes I see nothing in people. Here is the church, and here is a steeple. I'm sending you an invite to a networking event.

I'm in your building, and I'm crawling through the vents. I am a product of time and motion. I know the best spot for beer in Brooklyn. I'm in the garden, and I'm eating all the dirt. I get hurt! There's a guy on the subway on the saxophone. He's got nothing waiting for him back at home. He sees a big green being stuck blocking the sky.

I got my foot in the door. He's got his foot in the door. I got a barbecue Bible and Southern Charm. I got skin in the game with none of my arm. I'm at the funeral. I'm trying not to flirt I get hurt Chandelier comes down

She went back to the back With a guy with a mullet Chandelier comes down She went back to the bag With a guy with a mullet I get hurt real bad And I close my eyes I go back to fly

Chandelier comes down She went back to the bag With the rain on the hudson Too, oh, I start to shiver. I don't want you. Whoa, I start to shiver. I get hurt! Again!

Thank you, guys! Enjoy the show! Strickland. One more time for Victor Jones. Such a fan. So glad they did this. Getting that guy in the fucking rise. You're going to think I was there

when I saw Victor Jones play. Welcome to Love It or Leave It, live at the Crown Hill Theater. We have got a great show for you tonight. David Krumholt is here. Ana Gostar is here. Tonight we're going to let out some battle cries, rank some cranks, and in the spirit of New York, rant our asses off.

But first, let's get into it. What a weep. Good. In a development that has rocked the corporate establishment, confounded the stodgy notions of what is possible in our politics, sent a shiver down the spines of Republicans across the country. Moderate former CIA officer and member of Congress, Abigail Spamberger, has won her race for a governor of Virginia. And here in New York, there was a municipal contest That's also garnered some attention. Yes, Zohran Mamdani's improbable campaign

has ended in victory. He will be the next mayor of New York City. All right. Could you imagine if Cuomo had won I had a walk out here? What a godforsaken episode that would have been? Look, Cuomo winning, it would have been bad for New York, but it would also have been bad for me.

But we'll never know that world. Here's Zoran in his victory speech. Too many among us have turned to the right for answers to why they've been left behind. We will leave mediocrity in our past. No longer will we have to open a history book for proof that Democrats can dare to be great. But there are still a lot of good lessons in there,

said Doris Kearns Goodwin. To the television at her friend's house, because you know she's one of those people. It doesn't have a television. Now, Republicans are going to use this victory by Mumdani to try to dump all over this city. And you know what? They're welcome to it,

because New York is just one big genderless bathroom now. I think the New York Post put it best. The red apple, on your marks, gets at zo. Socialist Mondani wins raised for mayor. The fear-mongering disgusts us. The wordplay delights us. Also, it's pretty good, but 90 Lennon was right there. I'll just...

I saw it move slowly across. Nine a Lennon. New York, not only a... elected Mamdani, New York rejected Andrew Cuomo. I was thinking about this, and genuinely, I'm open to hearing what the alternatives would be, but I think there's a good case to be made that Andrew Cuomo ran the most cynical political campaign in any of our lifetimes, like not just Democrats, like Democrat, Republican. Like, I can't think of a campaign as cynical as the one he ran.

And so I am very glad that New York said, fuck off to that. Cuomo was working so hard to bury his opponent you think Zoran lived in a nursing home in April of 2020. Here's a video Cuomo posted on Halloween. Where's your costume? Duh. I'm a socialist. Hey, man.

God, that guy was crazy. Socialists are terrifying. In fairness, Cuomo can't stand when someone grabs out a woman without first threatening her job. Or let's look at Cuomo's other AI ad in which all the evils of Earth get together to vote for the guy. I'm a criminal. I'm a criminal. I'm a criminal. I'm a criminal. Yep. I'm a criminal. For Zoran. For Zoran, Mom Dunny. It's funny now.

It's amazing how far we've come technologically. Only yesterday. It felt like ads like this were only made the old-fashioned way with just a lone cartoonist drawing ethnic stereotypes for a right-wing German newspaper. Congressman Andy Ogles tweeted, Literal footage from 9-11 with the message,

Wake Up, New York. Of course, someone with the name Ogles supported Cuomo. Cuomo also won the endorsement of alderman Jack Fondel and Governor Hansi McSquiseum. And this is serious when Dick Cheney saw that 9-11 was being politicized for a reason other than regime change in the Middle East. He died.

Fucking chill out. It's not fair, because one of Dick Cheney's final public acts was, unlike a lot of Republicans, voting for Kamala Harris. In a statement, he said, quote, Trump can never be trusted with power again as citizens, we each have a duty to put country above partisanship to defend our Constitution. That is why I will be casting my vote

for Vice President Kamala Harris, and then one year later, I will free solo El Capitan. Sadly, Dick Cheney died of food poisoning. Shortly after free-soluing El Capiton. But back here in the city that never sleeps, and you can kind of see it in your faces, I'm sorry. You're right. You're right. I could have done a pander there. You know?

The city that never sleeps and stopped electing creeps. That was an option. Should have done that. That's the mood. Andrew Cuomo himself laughed at the idea of Mamdani cheering 9-11. God forbid another 9-11. Can you imagine Mondami in the seat? I could. He'd be cheering. It's another problem. Cuomo is doing Islamophobia in a city with one million Muslims as if voting is haram. And speaking of Haram, on Monday, Trump came out of the closet as a quomosexual, saying Mamdani's principles have been tested for over a thousand years,

and never once have they been successful. And of course, we all remember what happened in the year 1022, when Emperor Basil II, 2nd, nicknamed the Bulger Slayer, led the Byzantine army to victory over the Georgians at Swindex, thus allowing him to enact his free buses policy. Added Trump, whether you personally like Andrew Cuomo or not,

you have no choice, you must vote for him and hope he does a fantastic job. He is capable of it, Mamdani is not. Trust me, Trump continued, I know a great New York mayor when I see one, as through the window he watched Rudy Giuliani. Fully nude, except for a flapper's bando around his forehead, running from Secret Service at the Mar-a-Lago pool, laughing and shouting,

I'm Gatsby, I'm Gatsby, I wasn't driving, I wasn't driving. Now, Trump also said, flat out, he will do everything in his power to block funding to New York if Mamdani won, posting, if Mamdani wins, it is highly unlikely that I will be contributing federal funds other than the very minimum as required to my beloved first home. Now, how did Cuomo respond to this? And to me, this is the capstone. The Islamophobia, the fearmongering, the outside money. It all led to what Cuomo said next. Now, he could have said, we're all New Yorkers and nobody in this city should be bullied into voting for me or anybody. But no, he said, if you want President Trump to try to take over the city, National Guard on streets, choking federal funding, vote for Zoran Mamdani.

He told New York to give in to the threat. That, for me, alone, was a reason to treat elected office like any woman in your life you care about, making sure Andrew Cuomo never again got within a hundred miles. Back in the 1970s, when Cuomo's father, Mario Cuomo,

was running for mayor against Ed Koch, posters started showing up around the city with the slogan, Vote Cuomo, not the homo. Because Ed Koch was rumored to be fabulous. Many believe that Andrew was the one responsible for those posters, though he denies it.

Mario Cuomo lost in the primary to the homo, then ran in the general and lost again. And now, Mario Cuomo catching strays. And now, here we are, all these years later, and Ed Koch and Mario Cuomo are in heaven kissing because everybody is into everything up there.

Nothing else makes sense. Think about it. Cuomo and Trump and wealthy backers like Bill Ackman wanted New York to be afraid of a caricature. Some of that caricature is based on Mamdani's actual past comments. Some of it is created by exaggerating or lying about what he has said in the campaign or what he's promised to do.

But most of it requires just ignoring who Mamdani actually is. Mamdani built a massive, enthusiastic base of support in this city and at the same time he has shown a genuine willingness to listen to and bring in more skeptical voices into the coalition when he faced hard questions i asked them myself he answers those questions without defensiveness or hostility because he is in the game of persuasion of addition that is to say he acts like a person more democrats should try this Omdani makes buses free or builds five grocery stores, that alone won't determine whether or not he succeeds.

The job of mayor is a role that requires attending to disparate parts of a coalition. It requires finding ways to adjust and negotiate and persuade and get to yes in those few precious moments between attending parades. The job is mostly parades. And Mamdani has tried to do that, Not to the satisfaction of everyone, but he has certainly tried. In conversation, he is animated by top-line policies, yes, but also by a project that should unite every part, not just of the Democratic Coalition, but of the pro-democracy coalition, which is making government work again. He came out in favor of the housing reforms, which passed.

He talks about fixing ridiculous and onerous processes that stymie construction and business development. He talks about what it will take to make transit faster, safer, and easier to expand. what was clear going into election day is that the outcomes under a mayor Cuomo would be pretty limited and familiar. But what's exciting about Zoran Mamdani, even for those who have skepticism, is it is possible to imagine an outcome

far more terrifying to people like Cuomo and Trump and Stephen Miller, which is that he can succeed. Which is why Trump's out there right now depressed, trying to process his feelings by making Scott Bessent do his gay voice. while driving a bulldozer through a wall of the Roosevelt room. And by the way, the fact that Zoron is excited so many people

isn't just about electoral success. A vision that captivates people that doesn't just earn votes but earns genuine loyalty, it gives you space to govern, to operate, to make hard calls. Trump actually gets this instinctively. Many Democrats do not. Here's Chuck Schumer when asked who he was voting for. Today's election day in New York City, did you vote for Mondani or Cuomo?

Look, I voted, and I look forward to working with the next mayor to help New York City. He then said, what's that? While throwing a bag of loose day-old bagels at Brian Schatz to create a diversion. But he walked away so slowly, he was still there. He's like, ha-ha! Not a magician. Now Schumer is worried about Republican attacks, and I get why.

When you lead a party that the country sees as aimless and weak, it is far easier to be defined by your opponents. But it means, in a moment like this, you're afraid of attacks from both the left and the right, and so you stand for nothing. And boy, does that look aimless and weak. The New York Times had a piece about the 90,000 New Yorkers

who volunteered for Mumdani's campaign, a number in which I assume many of you are including, including, especially the hot ones. The Times described the campaign as an antidote to loneliness about the meaning and connection and community politics can create. That is a lesson for Democrats across the country. Schumer doesn't seem to understand that his job is proving to those young people, that he is on their side, instead of being afraid of Republicans saying that Zoron is on his.

AOC put it best last night. We have a future to fight for, and we're either going to do that together, or you're going to be left behind. And I think that that is not a partisan issue. It's not about progressive, it's not moderate, it's not liberal. This is about, do you understand the assignment of fighting fascism right now? And the assignment is to come together across difference no matter what. And boy, did a lot of New Yorkers come together last? night.

When Zoran was asked if there should be room for more moderate candidates, as we saw in New Jersey, Virginia, he said, quote, absolutely. I think that it has to be a party that actually shows Americans to see themselves in it and not just be a mirror image of just a few people who are engaged in politics. To me, what binds us all together is who we are fighting to serve, and that is working people. That is the lesson of the 2025 elections. Who is the future of the Democratic Party?

We all are. Centrist candidate Abigail Spanberger in a nice change of pace for a former CIA officer successfully overthrew a regime in America and will be Virginia's first female governor. State Senator Gazzala Hashmi won the lieutenant governor's race

making her the first Muslim woman elected to statewide office in Virginia. An amazing accomplishment because based on an A. video I just saw, she was also apparently the architect of Girl 9-11. What that is. Meanwhile, the Virginia

Attorney General's race was rocked this fall by a scandal. Democratic candidate Jay Jones sent texts in 2022 in which he imagined shooting the Republican Speaker of the Virginia House in the head and urinating on the graves of other Republican politicians. And I am sorry

that I did not reply to those texts, Jay. I was in the middle of a breakup. We had the midterms. 2022 was like a wash for me. Jones apologized profusely for the text, as well as for a reckless driving conviction in which he drove 116 miles an hour.

I know. Honestly, I feel like the text got the focus. The driving is insane. 116? That's too fast, Jay. Too fast. But he is on track to win Virginia by a greater margin than Kamala's victory last year, which suggests that Kamala would have fared better with voters

if she had threatened to murder Joe Biden on the view rather than say she would govern like him. In New Jersey, Democratic Congresswoman and former Navy pilot Mikey Cheryl won the governor's race. This mark, this mark. marks the first time New Jersey voters elected two governors of the same party in a row since the 1960s. The last time New Jersey was perfect. Any people from New Jersey here tonight? Oh, wow. California voted to redraw our congressional maps to help Democrats

improve our chances of winning the House, despite Republican gerrymandering. And if Arnold Schwarzen-Anger doesn't like it, he can fight me. and you can tell him where to find me. Podcast host Tommy Vitor. Democrats also won two Georgia commissioners' races in a blowout. The largest margin in the state in 20 years, we won a mayor's race in Miami,

picked up two state Senate seats in Mississippi, won judicial contests in Pennsylvania, and passed that constitutional amendment to make all cyber trucks gay. Now, they're all swishing around out there. And despite a lot of cops, Pope online. Trump said it pretty clearly when meeting with Republican senators at the White House. I don't think it was good for Republicans.

Whoa, sir, slow down. Your mind works too fast. We can't keep up. Trump once again urged Senate Republicans to abolish the filibuster, claiming that Democrats would do so if they retook the majority. They're going to do it the first day. They're going to pack the court. They're going to make D.C. a state. And they're going to make Puerto Rico a state. So now they pick up two states. They pick up four senators, okay? You think you have problems? They're going to do all of the things.

You're going to pick up electoral votes. It's going to be a very, very bad situation. From your weird, tiny lips to God's perfect giant ears. One part of why there's a reluctance, I think, on the part of Senate Republicans to get rid of the filibuster, which they're obviously not going to voice, is if there's no filibuster, it's no longer dead. Democrats that are stopping the craziest shit House Republicans can pass.

It's the least conservative Senate Republicans. Suddenly all the political pressure that now kind of spreads diffusely across the Congress will land just in the emails of like Susan Collins and like whoever else is going to, you know, consider themselves the what we used to call Republican right-wing conservatism, but now represents sensible moderation. Like it will all fall on those types. And they don't fucking want that. They want to be able to blame Democrats.

They want to stop some of the craziest bat-shit, bat, dumb, ding-dong, fuck, bat, wing, wing bat, ding bat. Stuff that comes from the worst house Republican. So that's a little bit of something that's protecting the filibuster. It doesn't mean they won't kill it in the end, but it's nice to see. Nice to see Trump explaining what we could do. And now, let's live out. New York will remain a city of immigrants, a city built by immigrants,

powered by immigrants. And as of tonight, led by an immigrant. So hear me, President Trump, when I say this, to get to any of us, you will have to get through all of us. said Chuck Schumer, wriggling into a hot girl's for Zoron t-shirt, trying to act like he'd been there the whole time. Do you believe in standing up for those we love? Whether you are an immigrant,

a member of the trans community, one of the many black women that Donald Trump has fired from a federal job, a single mom still waiting for the cost of groceries to go down. or anyone else with their back against the wall, your struggle is ours, too. Whether you're trying to haul a granny cart full of dirty laundry up the steps of the seven train or stuck behind the person hauling said granny cart,

your struggle is ours too. Whether you're a Miranda who thinks she's a carry or a Charlotte who thinks she's a carry, whether you're asking the bagel place to scoop out the bagel, or you're behind the person in the line thinking, oh, yeah, that's your problem. The bagel's interior. Whether you're a rat fighting a pigeon

or a pigeon fighting a rat, we're all in this together. So way to go, New York. And now let's remember this feeling because one year from now, we've got midterms to win. But first, we've got a great show tonight. Next up, Ana Gassire has a wicked attitude.

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Go right now to Sundays for dogs.com slash love it. Get 50% off your first order or you can use code Love it at checkout. That's 50% off your first order at Sundays for Dogs.com slash love it. Sundays for dogs.com slash love it for 50% off your first order or use code love it at checkout. And we're back. Please welcome to the stage. S&L legend, star of stage and screen and one of the best alphabas to ever leave green grease paint all over Broadway. It's the wicketyly talent. on a gas tire.

Hi. Thank you for being here. Come on. So nice to meet you. Thank you. And also with you. I think you're the first alpha I've ever met. You've never been to Mass, evidently.

No, I've been to a confirmation. Okay. Yeah. And I've been in a lot of European cathedrals. Yes. That counts. That counts. It's all good.

We're moving on. It was just a, thank you. Go back to your compliment, please. Your transitional compliment. You were Elfaba. I was. I'm not sure that was a compliment, but it was a statement. You know that everyone says,

people say that comedians want to be rock stars and rock stars want to be comedians? Yes. I think because you are known for being so funny, I don't think you get enough credit for being an amazing singer. And when I tell people, you know that Anagastar was an amazing alpha-bo. People were like, she was?

I'm like, get your heads out of your goddamn asses. I'm impressed that you know. It was pre-bootleg because it was so long ago now, which is shocking, because I was like the third or, I don't, fourth alphabet or something real early. It was before the producers knew that it was helpful for people to bootleg their performances for ticket sales. So like the second that someone would bootleg, something and you would see like the maybe the picture of like a bottom of a duffel bag and like a little bit of your face and go up and down um they would pull it off the internet so just like in the last

because of the movie more old elphaba tape has resurfaced and so it's yeah i feel like people are just kind of maybe figuring it out it's just weird because it's a totally it's understandably confusing is what i'm trying to say because if you're known from television and then you're accidentally a really good singer, it's upsetting to people. Yeah. Yeah. So God doesn't give with both hands, they say. I mean, I was going to be a vocalist. I was a voice major. That's how he started my life. Like, that was the first thing that I did well. My parents wanted me to be an opera singer, which was a bad fit. But, you know, I, so I went to Northwestern to be a voice major,

and then go cats. And then, thank you, Rao. And then, um, But then, you know, Chicago's the birthplace of improv comedy, and I met the funny people, and some, you know, things happened that I started inappropriately laughing in a couple of lectures, you know, ethnomusicology lecture, and I was asked to leave. And so I called my parents and I transferred to the school theater, and then I kind of never looked back, but because in comedy, you use your toolkit, like whatever's available, you're going to use it in sketches or whatever. So I always kind of sang, and so I came to it in a really backwards way. So by the time I was in New York, and I was doing SNL, and I was kind of singing in character, you know, casting people would call me in. And then when I left SNL, I was like, okay, in earnest, I'm going to start studying again. And because, as I'm sure you know, the human voice doesn't really mature until your 30s.

Really? Yeah, it's one of those weird, yeah, it's like marathoning. Like you don't get good at marathoning until you're a little bit old. if you're a guy. Like it really, after 25, same thing with the human voice. So I knew I was like young enough to go back and study. And then those shows that I did, you know, Elphaba and Three Penny Opera and Sondheim's passion. Like I did all these shows that it's a very Olympic experience eight times a week. Your voice just gets better. What is that like? You can wake up now. A gentle slumber came across the,

audience. See, that's the comedian you. You want them to be laughing. But you're saying something so interesting. I just, they were so gentle. It was a gentle feeling. They were a sweet and gentle group. It's a late night last night. They're very supportive. It's Brooklyn. They had a rough, a big fun night. So they're tired. People cheered themselves up at the Cuomo HQ, you said. Yeah. People were, it was like sort of gallows humor. Gallo's humor. I have so much I want to talk to you about. Go, go. Go. Do it fast. You brought up your childhood. You were friends with Amy Carter. I was friends with Amy Carter. And you used to go to the White House. Did you go to the parts that were

torn down? They're gone. I was in the, it was in the movie theater, the beloved movie theater that they were just talking about. It's a historic place. I know, because we, the first time I ever went to the White House was to see Pete's Dragon starring Helen Reddy. Yeah, because, and I mean, you probably read this and it is weird to talk about, but it is now that, I used to not talk about it at all because it was, it felt gross and braggy. I don't know why, but But anyway, because I was at the Camp David Accords. And as you can tell, I literally was. And that obviously it worked.

Middle East peace has been accomplished. I went to the Camp David Accords. I like to say Jimmy Carter loosened it for Trump. I went to the Camp David Accords. I was there. I was there. If you look it up in the paper, it's insane. It's like Zellig where they're like the first day they couldn't report on anything.

They were like, you know, Monach and Megan and Anwar Sadat, and the president watched Amy and friend Anna Gastire play lightly row on the violin. Like we both played some like Suzuki. That was the, because it wouldn't report on anything. And then that night, Mrs. Carter came in and said, Girls, brush your hair. The Sadats are coming over to watch Star Wars.

And that is a true story. And what's really sad is that I didn't, it didn't really spark a lifelong interest in the Middle East. I was just fascinated that you could see Star Wars in your house. It was so mind-bending in whatever, 1977, to have a movie in your house?

It was insane. Anyway, as you can see, I left Washington. Okay, now back to Broadway. Sure. So you're on Broadway. Yes. I saw Wicked at the Kennedy Center.

I'm so excited that you're into this. I would not have ever guessed this about you. Oh. Yeah. Anyway. Are you from Washington? I'm trying to think of why not. Are you from Washington?

I worked in D.C. Right, of course. But I'm not from there. I'm from New York. But I saw Wicked for the first time with my mother because the president has a box of the Kennedy Center. And if the president is going to use the tickets, you can get into like kind of like a lottery or to get the tickets.

And I got them. I took my mother to see Wicked. And sitting to my right, was the late Senator Harry Reid, who did fall asleep. Sure. I have a good story after this. And I stood up applauding at Defying Gravity, and then I looked over in Harry Reid out cold.

I was like crying and applauding. I was going to say, it's very, very hard to fall asleep during Defying Gravity. It's very loud. Harry Reid was very good at it. Yeah. But I've seen it a couple times, and I can't imagine the stress of having to try to hit that.

the battle cry night after night. Yes. I mean, it's insanely Olympian and exhausting, and that's all you do is worry about that and worry about your voice, and you're just an annoying person who worries about it. It's like being an athlete. You just, whatever, sleep and water and all the things, and you're very mean to people with children who I'd have colds, you know, that kind of thing. But more than that, it's very physically challenging. I mean, above and beyond the actual vocal pyrotechnics, it's really in defying gravity, what's so hard is like that you're you've got the broom and you're flying and you're

supposed to look like you're flying and the green and all of the costumes I guess adina manzel must be like a very method actress because everything is very real in the show and once it's set on broadway it's set so like the second act costume is that costume is 40 pounds somebody it's so heavy I was so skinny when I was doing the show I was it's so Herculian, like all of the, the buckets really heavy, the stupid spellbook. Like, if it were, it's like a phone book, you know? Like, I'm serious. My, like, fifth or sixth performance in Chicago, my, my, my fascia blew up, and I had sort of like a triangle of bloat between my ear and my shoulder, and I, that ran me to the ER and everything. And it turns out it was just from the weight

of the phone book, spell book, in the backpack, in the book bag, like pushing against my neck. For eight shows a week. And I came back and I was like, can we just do balsa wood? That's what we did in our town in high school. But anyway, they just replaced it. It was very, very heavy. That's what's hard. That's actually what's hard.

Was there ever? So there are rarely shows, but it happens where the lift doesn't work. And you have to do the best. It's the funny. This is my favorite thing in the world. I don't know if, is this entirely audio? No, there's video. Is there video?

Yeah. Because, you know, it's Broadway. So they're probably. pros. And it's great. So since you seem to be interested in Wicked, I'll tell you about it. So the way that it works, you know, most people think, oh, is it like a harness or whatever, you know, all the flying techniques? It's a cherry picker. So it comes out from the back wall. It's hidden by curtains and so forth. And it's a long arm that comes in a little sort of, it clasps around you. I don't know what to call that, a clasp. What? A claw. Yes. Like a claw sort of goes around

your waist with a faux skirt. So your own skirt... I was telling them, never ever do that again. Okay. You never correct Anagastair in my presence again. He'll help me. So it comes together like this, and actually I thought it was just you throwing your voice.

And you're kind of running forward, and then the idea is like, in the Wizard of Oz, those big scary guards come up, and they hold their spears up at you, and they go, seize her! And whatever, they run up. And just at that moment, You fly up in the air. The whole thing elevates, right?

So it's Broadway. It's the big leagues. They've got to be planned, obviously. They're not going to fuck around with this, right? So it happened once in the Chicago production I did, and it happened once on Broadway. You're coming out. You're running away.

It's me. It's, and you're not moving. You can feel that it's starting to come up. So what these guys do, it's theater. they're tall, they've got big hats, they got spears, they go, and they lay on the floor. And they go, she's her. So then you stand.

You stand like this and you fly over. And the whole time, the whole thing, so you can't find me, and you're just doing like, and you're sitting there thinking, these people spend so much money and they are now seeing what basically amounts to the same kind of show your family would force you to watch

in the basement on Thanksgiving you know what I mean when kids are like come see our wicked you know one of them it's so hilarious well for the true freaks their dream is to be there on a night a no fly night

a no fly night because then it's like I was there I was there I saw the guards lie down on the ground That's so funny. I also had one where the elevator didn't come up in No Good Deed, because it comes up through the pit. And I'm actually out of breath, which is not a great sign for my physical fitness

because I just did a very light impression of someone lying down. Right. Which is upsetting. But anyway, back in the day, so you start elegant nom and nom and knob, but you're like crazy of that, right? No good deed. freaking out. Okay, so you're what? I'm being cool, but this is awesome. So you're down there

and you're singing and then the elevator comes up, right? And it's all smoky and you've got this kind of lectern with your spellbook and you're making smells. And it just didn't go up. And so it's so great because the music had already started. There's a little monitor. I'm way under, I'm a whole floor down there in the pit. And it's the greatest thing when things go wrong because for every actor that's keeping their cool, there is a dresser losing their shit. And somebody's going, well, it's not fucking going!

The elevator's not fucking going! They're just like, people are melting down. And you're just, like, and non, and ha, too hot, you're singing and singing. So it's starting to come up. And at a certain point, they're like, go, you're going to run!

Like, just... So you're sprinted, I sprinted the length of the football field-sized theater to a cinder block stairwell where there was no monitor so you have no idea if you're in pitch

if you're on rhythm, whatever and they're just like repeating this vamp like um blah mum you know over and over and then you run on and like my lungs are on fire at this point because it's 700 of those

basically really down and then there's just a bunch of monkeys like I've been here for an hour it's fantastic I love mistakes. Broadway. I live for them.

So you're in a show of your own on December 15th at Town Hall. It's called Sugar and Booze, a holiday spectacular. Yeah, I mean, it's really just sugar and booze, but I had to make it sound fun. So it is fun.

It's my holiday album. It's a collection of seasonal secular favorites. A lot of songs from the songbook. You know, all the great. Christmas songs written by Jews in America, and a few originals, the titular song I wrote, Sugar and Booze. And we have a great time. It's a holiday spectacular. There's a horn section. There will be giveaways and prizes for people who wear ugly sweaters and a white elephant and all kinds of things. You must come. I would love to go. If you enjoy holiday fair,

if you enjoy seasonal secular favorites. And I do. And if you're lucky, I'll bust out the fiddle. I'm not going to make a promise I'm not going to make a promise You know what's interesting about the fiddle Go on What makes it a fiddle Is the song you play on it That's right

And so if you take it out And say it's a fiddle That's a lie If you start playing Mozart But it's true if you play something If you play Mozart You call it your axe It's your axe

This is my axe A couple years ago So I was a very nerd violinist and a very sad, a very sad nerdy violinist growing up before I sang. And, or probably at the same time that I sang, but I didn't know yet. And when I turned 50, I turned to my whole family. They were all like, hey, what do you want to do? Like special big day. You want to go to Italy?

You want to learn how to make pasta? And I said, no, I want to go to country western fiddle camp. And they went, no. All of them. But I went. anyway, and I had the best time. I had the best time, because it's like improv to, you know, opera. It's like just letting it rip a little bit and learning not to be so tied to the page.

I really wish I'd fiddled at Camp David. Because, you know what, we might be in a different position today. And that's a lot to think about. Everybody, go see Anna Gastire at Town Hall for Sugarview. Sugar and booze. Thank you so much for having me. We'll be right back. Hey, don't go anywhere. There's more of Love It or Leave It coming up. This ad is sponsored by BetterHelp. As seasons change and days grow darker sooner, it can be a tough time for many. This November, BetterHelp is encouraging everyone to reach out, check out on friends,

reconnect with loved ones, and remind the people in your life that you're there, just as it can take a little courage to send that message or grab coffee with someone you haven't seen in a while. Reaching out for therapy can feel difficult too, but it's worth it. And almost always leaves people wondering, why didn't I do this? sooner. Better help therapists work according to a strict code of conduct and are fully licensed in the U.S. BetterHelp does the initial matching work so you can focus on your therapy goals. A short questionnaire helps identify your needs and preferences. And their 12-plus years of experience and industry-leading match fulfillment rate means they typically get it right the first time. If you aren't happy with your match, switch to a different therapist at any time from our tailored recs. With over 30,000 therapists, BetterHelp is one of the world's largest online

therapy platforms having served over 5 million people globally. And it works with an average rating of 4.9 out of fine for a live session based on over 1.7 million client reviews this month, don't wait to reach out whether you're checking in on a friend or reaching out to a therapist yourself. BetterHelp makes it easy to take that first step. Our listeners get 10% off their first month at betterhelp.com slash love it. That's betterhelp, H-E-L-P.com slash love it. My next guess is an incredible actor who gives off pure uncut New York energy, which I am not using as euphemism for Jewish, but maybe I am.

I don't know anymore. Please welcome to the stage, the incredible David Krummholtz. Hi. Hi. Thanks for being here. Thanks for having me. Hello. Yeah, there I am.

I am. I'm not even. Jewish. I have no interest in being Jewish. I'm an individual. I can adapt. Yes. Hello.

Could you use you? I might, yes. Oh, fuck. All right. Let's get through this. All right. I'm already having fun. I like you.

Yeah, we'll be fine. So you're in the Bruce Springsteen movie. Yeah. It's called Deliver me from nowhere. The what? Deliver me from nowhere. I thought you said the little kike from nowhere for a second. I swear, that's what I heard.

The little kike from nowhere. And that's what I said. Yeah, deliver me from nowhere. That's right. Now, you're in the Bruce Springsteen biopic. You live in New Jersey. Do people even let your feet touch the ground anymore? Nobody cares.

Nobody cares. Have you met Bruce? I did meet Bruce when I was filming the movie, and he was a very, very nice person. That's the whole story. He was very nice. and you know he came to the set and everybody you know greeted him

and they treat him like you know a god and I walked over and I said and what is your involvement with this and he liked that that's good. That's a good joke yeah that's a good joke David Krumholtz thanks so much

you guys want to know something you have in common okay Anna you were on an episode of a show called Running Wild, but Wild has an E at the end of it, because it's the character's name. Sure. And David, you were in a show called Lion's Den, but Lion was spelled with a Y because that was a name.

I feel like this is a question for a diagnosis for you. I say that with no judgment. It's just an observation, as my mother likes to say. next question so I was thinking so I first you were in a very formative role for me which was Adam's family values

okay thank well that's nice yeah that was me and I think it's interesting because to me like when I think of you and you can tell me how this how you react to this okay there are times when you you are a smart outcast who's kind of nebushy and nerdy and put upon.

Sure. There are times where you are dashing and handsome. God damn, right? Then there are times where you go between the two. Like in freaks and geeks, you were a former nerd who comes back and is like, there's a future for you. In college, you can be confident. Right.

That's called range. something I specialize in without makeup I'm the Lon Cheney of my generation what for the young people Lon Cheney was the forget it

God help us yeah that's interesting well thank you I don't know am I don't know should I thank you I don't know what thank you I just I'm wondering What I'm thanking you for. Well, what I was going to ask is, do you feel like your character

in Adams' family value was Jewish coded? Oh, 100%. Because his name was Glickman, I believe. Yeah, Glickr. Glickr. And it feels like that camp is like, they don't ever come out and say it, but they seem like they're kind of anti-Semitic.

Well, they're Aryan. They're Aryan, so... No, obviously, yeah. I actually played up the Jewishness in that one. which is something I have to do quite often because this really isn't enough. No, I was saying backstage, all the Jewish friends I have that don't,

this is, how do you say this, that don't look typically Jewish, that may pass for something that's not, are really religious. I have done enough. My name is David Krumholz, and I look like, like this, I'm so not religious at all, I've no interest, I've never been, this is plenty.

I am, I carry the cross. In the show Numbers, yes, the E, in Numbers was a three. Careful. That's right. Careful. Because the show was about numbers. Right. Yeah.

Put down the car. In the original, they fucked it up because in the original pilot, it said three and it would go to a two and a one and the show would start. Because like, here we go. And that was brilliant. I was like, let's go. And then they kept the three but never did that again. In the movie seven.

Yeah. The V is a seven. Which makes no sense. But it does because it's about seven. I get that. But VN7 don't look alike. Well, it's rotated. Three could be an E backwards.

But the seven is rotated. One is reflected through a vertical. It's going to be okay. It's going to be okay, John. You're all right. Don't get emotional about it. Do you think... Hey, do you ever think sometimes

you've been typecast as a curmudgeon? That's another veiled... Jew question. You know, the typecast as a Jew. Yes, I played rabbis. It's a nightmare, but no, do I ever get typecast as a curmudgeon? No, I get, you know, lately, I'm an agent in everything. And you're great, by the way, in the studio. Well, and that's true. This is, thank you so much. The truth is, and this is real, for many years in Hollywood, I would go to, you know, they tell you, hey, go to the parties, be seen, you know. And I would go, and people would think I was an agent's assistant.

Because I'd wear a suit and look nice, and people were like, so what agency do you work for? And I'd say, well, I'm with, you know, whatever, C, UTA. And they would say, in what department? And I'd say, well, fuck you. This is a traumatic life I've lived, yeah. It's cozy to rest my mouth on this phone. I just want to say that.

Have you have any experiences with some classic hermensions? Yes. I worked. They're both dead so I can bash them. It's Dick Cheney. You were telling me backstage. What's that? Dick Cheney.

Dick Cheney, yeah, I worked with him. closely. What up. Just constantly complaining about his back. No, I don't know. I worked with Alan Arkin, who was quite curmudgeony and hilarious and lovely and way funnier when he was angry than when he was trying to be funny. You ever be around someone where they get super duper angry and it's the funniest thing you've ever seen and you have to hide your laughter? He would Not it. It's not even funny. I don't know why you're laughing. I was standing on a bridge in Nova Scotia looking out over a lake, and I thought, I should kill myself. So I'm going to throw myself in the lake. Instead, I decided to spend the rest of my life working on myself. I was like, wow, thanks for that. And then Ed Asner. Oh, boy, was Ed Asner. I mean, literally, the talk about type. curmudgeon type. And I did, I was telling on a backstage, I have done eight failed

multi-cam series, multi-cam comedies, meaning none of them made it past 13 episodes. We all got canceled. They all got canceled. I did eight of those motherfuckers. There's nothing like bombing in front of a live audience with someone else's bad jokes, you know, that you know are bad. We call it turd polishing. Oh, God. And I did one with Ed Asner called The Closer. It was Tom Selleck and Ed Asner. Was his last name, Closer, or is it just a different?

You know what's weird? I'm sorry? The E was a three. The E was a three. Yeah. He was a three. Both E's, the Closer, both E's. And so what happened was, you know, I remember, you know, Ed was really depressed sometimes.

And some older actor came and did a guest spot on the show and said, Hey, Ed, how's it going? A big smile on his face. And I said, how can it be going for any of us? And wanted the older actor to commiserate, like, let's face it, we're old, and it's terrible. And the older actor was like, I feel fine. But what happened was we got canceled, and they came down, and they, from, I don't know why I say came down, but they came over to the set.

And we were in the middle of rehearsing a scene and said, guys, we've been pulled off the air, we're just going to finish this episode. We're going to film this episode, but basically that's it. So why don't we take a 20-minute break? Everybody take a break and process this horror that the show has been canceled. Meanwhile, half of us were like, thank God. So Ed took off, and 20 minutes later, the director of the episode was an older man named Alan Raffkin, who had directed a bunch of Mary Tyler Moore and the Lou Grant Show.

So they were old friends, and 20 minutes later, we're all back on set. we're going to rehearse the scene, and Ed is gone. And 10 minutes, 15 minutes, we're like, did Ed leave? Everybody's looking for Ed. And finally, Ed came moseying towards set with a large bowl of hot oatmeal. And he's walking slowly, and he's just eating this oatmeal. And Alan Raffkin did the whole, hey, thanks for joining us, Ed thing. And Ed Asner had a mouthful of oatmeal and spit it all oats.

over Alan Raffkin's head, his face, it was like in his nails, and Alan, oh God, Ed, oh, gee. And we're all like, oh, Ed, man, taking us too far, man. It's not that big a deal. And then we started rehearsing, and in the corner of our eye, I just see, like, people coming over with towels and wiping down this old director. And Ed was, man, that's a real thing that I saw. Yeah. Wow. I love that he bothered to come back to do that. He did. He came back.

I mean, I would have been at the smokehouse on my third martini, I think. That's the thing about getting old and cranky. You'd be like, whatever, we're going to get paid. I'm not going to get fired. Let's go get fucked up. Yeah, let's get fucked up. You know, he had a piece of toilet paper on his shoe, and I'm glad I didn't say anything. Yeah, I am too.

I'm glad I didn't say, hey, Ed, you got a piece of, I would have got a caught a face full of oatmeal. Like, that's what you're going to go for, is the oatmeal? Yeah. Like, I feel like you got to look for the most expensive craft service item and pack it up. Or it's donut time. Or it's just donut time. Yeah. That's show business.

Yeah. Yeah. And now it's time for a game. We're calling Arma Kamajigeddin. Here's how it works. I'm going to name her Kamudgeon, who's either from New York or really seems like they should be. David and Anna, you're going to blind rank that mudge on a scale of one to five. with one being the most mudgeonly,

but you won't know who the next curmudge will be. So you're ranking them from one to five, but you have to be careful because you don't know who will be next. Okay. Okay. First, uh...

Yeah, I'm checking to see if she understands it as well. Yes, okay. I just want to make sure everyone's comfortable. I'm fine. This is fun. Remember Ovenheimer? Yeah. Math, math, math, math, math, math, math, math, math, math, math, math, math.

Do you know that the show Numbers is about math? Yeah. Okay. I'm ready. First up. Yes. We have Vermont Senator and Brooklyn's native son, Bernie Sanders. Oh, man. Wow.

Here's the classic photo from Biden's inauguration. Yeah. I was once interviewing Bernie Sanders, and mid-question, he went, he leaned back and looked to his aid and went. That's real. that really happened to me it was a real blow it was a real blow that's curmudgeon behavior

that's curmudgeon behavior where do you think where do you think you're going to rank okay I'm just going to say he has messages of hope that are veiled under messages of doom and dread so I'm going to say he's a three

I'm not going to give him the number one spot one is the most curmudgeon I'm going to say three I think I was actually going to say the exact same thing so much of it is about hope and optimism. So I'm actually going to go pretty high. I'm going to go six or seven.

I know, I know. Isn't it one to five? Because there's failed kindness. There's failed kindness. Anna, I asked you if you understood. I'm not ranking him on a scale of one to five. Did you know that if you turn a U upside down, it's a horseshoe?

Wow. And that represents luck to a lot of people. Now, some people would say that a movie like Too Fast, Too Fast, to Furious, also uses numbers, but that's using numbers in a different way. It's so true. So true. And also, sometimes people refer to a song as a number. Oh, that's true.

Hey, yo. Why do they do that? All right, well, let's say, can we say three, feel good about three? I'm gonna, yeah, so five is our top. Five would be the least curmudgeonly. Yes, I'm gonna say three. I'm in, I'm in consensus here. Next up, we have Fran Leibowitz.

Huh. Yeah. One thing about leaving your apartment is that there are so many other people out there. The great thing about my apartment assigned from the fact that it's a great apartment is that I control if there are other people in it. A classic curmudgeon sentence

if I'd ever heard one. I'm going to go, you know what? She's really... Yeah. I'm going to say number one. I'm going to take a risk and say she's the most curmudgeoning New Yorker. Well... Are there any non-Jews on this list?

Yeah, okay. I thought about that. I thought about that. I'll tell you something. Not when I first made the list. Yeah, I bet. I bet. It's hard.

Yeah, yeah. Wait a second. Wait a second. Am I doing it? Am I a part of it? Am I, wait a second? Yeah. I'm going to just say two because we've got to do the math.

You like math. I do. I do like math. Okay, a two from Anna. Next up, we have the character George Jefferson. George Jefferson What do you mean, are you kidding me? That is a classic curmudgeon.

Are you kidding me? This is how you diversified? Yeah, I guess so. In hindsight, is it for Jews and George Jefferson? I think it might be. And that's something we can talk about after. I don't know how it happened. It was a fabulous list of Jews and George Jefferson.

But the reason I wanted to include George Jefferson because Sherman Hemsley Hemsley is so funny and he was also, he never came out of the closet, but he's rumored to have been gay. Okay. You know, he was also a big psychedelic tripping hippie guy. Really? Yeah. True story.

He was a big, you know, counterculture guy. I'm going to say, because he would dance, on the show, and he loved Weezy. He loved him some Weizie. Kindness and Hope. Kindness and Hope. They always take the number. Yeah, you should have went Red Fox, man. Yeah. You blew it. I'm going to say five.

I'm going to say five, yes. Thank you. I don't want to get canceled, so I'm going to agree. Smart. Andy Rooney. He's not Jewish, I don't think. Ah, we're good. Yeah, we're good.

He's a kermudgeon, right? Not Jewish, I don't think. Is he? Google it. He's an Irish grump. Yeah, he's an Irish grump. You're right. An old salty Irish grump. Oh, you stamp me feet. You know the things.

Oh, you make a rumple steel skin. That's how he spoke. Imagine the Jewish version of that. You just saw it. I just saw it. I just saw it. I just saw it. So where are we ranking Andy? Now, wait, we don't need the... I say two.

Two. Someone shouted he was an atheist. Okay. What's his nationality, though? I say two. But he also made a living of crumaginliness. He did, yeah. He actively sought out stuff to be bummed out by. You know, that was the whole point of that section.

Who needs bird clocks? You know, like whatever it was. Yeah. I don't need a cardinal to tell me it's 2 p.m. I mean, that would be like walking through your day. Just like, you know, why take the pulp out of orange juice? It's not a good example. But you know what I mean.

I got a pedicure the other day, and I got to tell you I could do that at home for myself, with my teeth. Yeah. So it actually takes that, it takes, it adds something considerable to the story. Even if it's like, even if he's, you know, just a, you know, functioning dry drunk, Irish. crank, then, you know, it's still, it's an act, there's active work there. There's not just, I'm not participating, which I think is the bottom, like the Bernie comogenliness is, I'm not, I'm too old. That's, I'm not participating. You guys take care of this, you handle it. And then if you're like going up, anyway, I've said too much. I think Andy Rooney

thought he was speaking for the youth. No, he did. I think it was very much. Did you ever? He's trying to get through to like 18-year-olds. You ever just put your penis down and think it's lonely? Maybe I should pick it back up. Last up, we have Larry David. Where are we on the...

Caroline, where are we on the rankings to this point? Because we're going to have to put him in a slot. That makes sense to me. Because It's all a joke. It's all a bit. His mind works.

He's a comedy machine. It's all a bit. Do I think he's like that in real life? Probably to some extent. Yes. He's very much that in real life. Yeah. I saw him. I had a fake and orgasm for four hours on a car rig

driving around Park Avenue up and now because I did an episode of Curb where my running board of my car was broken and we were on a date and by the time we pulled up in front of my apartment. He was like, do you want to go up? And I was like, no, I'm good. So, that's like a long time to chat with someone in between fake orgasms, four hours, just going around and around. And he's hilarious, that he's, he's a crank.

Yeah. I sat behind him at a premiere. Yeah. And he was, his guest, he was Greg Keneer. And it was obviously that, this was like a blind date business thing. He had never met Greg Keneer. And Greg Kinnear was attempting to sort of make fun of him. And he seemed incredibly annoyed by Greg, Greg Kinnear.

Yeah, and he's got the high bar of like not, he's got, I guess he's got the Bernie thing a little bit where he just, it's not important to him to worry about the niceties of explaining his cremachianliness. What an amazing achievement to make, I don't feel like talking to people. and sometimes I'm in a bad mood, your delightful brand. I know. Because he can just walk out at any room he wants at any time and everyone's like, classic Larry. Yes.

Brilliant. What a genius. And to take everything insane he's ever done and make an incredible piece of television out of it. I mean, he really did famously storm out of Saturday Night Live, which absolutely everybody has, at one point or another, wanted to do, and several people have, but where he like threw his pages and stormed,

warmed out. He famously tells the story. He was one of the things we talked about. We were driving around the block. Have you ever quit a job? No, I'm the worst. I just put up with abuse. Just take it on and have a lot of extra therapies. I had to quit one once. You did? Because of a curmudgeon. Okay. Go on. Who absolutely hated me. And every time I told him I loved him, it made him hate me more. and you have had him on this show and he fucking loathes me and I was lovely to him

I worshipped the guy I would have combed his hair if he asked me to and he's been on this show he has goddam and he's curmudgeonly one of his most iconic characters is an incredibly curmudgeoning person

you know who I'm talking about I don't okay now maybe we should leave it that way. We'll leave it there for... That's where we'll leave it. Oh, you want that...

No, I'll say it. Danny DeVito fucking hated me. And it was so bad that I had to quit. What happened? It was unbelievable. I don't want to tell the story, but it was unbelievable. Look, he had just gotten sober and gone vegan at the same time. That's a mistake.

Too many changes. Too many changes. Too many changes. It was. I can't give an alcohol and meat protein. You've got to have a Big Mac and a beer. He cursed me out one day so bad. I said there was a line, we're doing this play,

and we were in rehearsals. And there was a line where I say, you know, you could go to the actors' home in New Brunswick is the line. I don't know if you guys know what play that is, and I'm not going to tell you. But anyway, and I said, in rehearsal, you know, I said, well, there's the action. home in New Brunswick and he said wait a second is there a question mark at the end of that

line and I said well no then why do you say it like a question I said I don't know just rehearsal and he said say the fucking line and that was after a long string of abuse and I thought and my wife was pregnant with my first child and I had like all this insecure I was like freaking out. And I was like, I said, I need a break, and I went outside, and I called my dad. And my dad, was a New York City mailman, worked his ass off, just had to be at work at 2 a.m. every morning for 30 years. And he was always the guy that was like, take the money and don't complain about anything. So I knew, and I called him, and he was like, you quit. He was so upset. And then I told him the story. And he said, good for you, son. Don't take shit from me.

anybody. And I went back in and I said, I'm sorry but this is not for me. And I'll never forget, he was sitting on a bed and he got up, which wasn't much of a change. And he looked to me and he said,

the fuck! And I said, I can't make you happy, man, fucking nasty. You hate me. Cursing me out in front of everybody. I'm fucking saying a line. What the fuck? Yeah. It broke my heart. Really, truly. Yeah, but you did the right thing.

You did the right thing. I would have cried too, but you did the right thing. I did the right thing, yeah. Yeah. Really, you did. Yeah. Thank you. Because, by the way, too, it's eight a week.

It's rehearsal. Like, that's not going to get better. And look, he's probably a lovely guy. He was going through a very difficult time. Yeah, I kind of wanted to be a reconciliation. And I just want to say that, although no one, if this ever gets out, no one's going to see this part where I say. No one's going to include the power of your new art.

I have compassion for the curmudgeon. Of course. And I'll tell you why. No doubt. Fran Leibowitz's incontinent. No doubt. And if you were walking around with a giant shit between your ass cheats all the world. 80% of these people have IBS. That is true. It just goes with the territory. Right. It's, there's a reason they call it a sour stomach. And we'll be right back. Hey, don't go anywhere. There's more of Love It or Leave It coming up.

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And we're back. One note before we get back to everything. Sorry, I didn't even laugh at me. I've been doing this for so long, and I have so much practice, and yet it seems like in some ways I don't. But is that part of it? Am I doing a character? Yeah.

Fascinating. You're amazing at this, though. I mean, really. Thank you. You're excellent. Very sweet, funny, and engaging, warm. I love you. Everybody does.

We've got a brand new episode of our limited series, Bravo America, on the love and relieved feed. Next week's guest, Dorinda Medley. Her Rony Arjun's story, lessons politicians can learn from reality TV, which politicians are better suited to reality TV. I talked to Dorenda about what I felt is something beautiful about her as a person on reality TV,

which is she seems to be both vulnerable and at times can be mean, at which point her eyes changed, and I realized, just remember the first part I said. It's a really great conversation, so that'll be out on Tuesday, listen on the Love It or Leave It Feed, or watch on YouTube. Okay.

New York does a lot of things best, most recently electing mayors, but you all treat ranting like an Olympic sport. So we're going to wrap things up with our favorite segment, the rant wheel, or as you'd say here in New York, hey, we're ranting here. What's with my Melania here? What's with any of it?

Let's spin the wheel. It has landed on David. You have 60 seconds to rant about a topic. Okay, you ready? Yeah. It seems that we are in a period of chronic dissatisfaction in this country because we confuse freedom with abundance. You see.

We see 26 flavors of Pop-Tarts at the grocery store, and we think, we're free. But really, it's just a lot of stuff. And what ends up happening is, it's never enough. Where's the 27th flavor? Where's the 28th, right? And so now what we've become is this drama, like desperate for drama, desperate for chaos,

a nihilistic culture where every candidate who might take, you know, control of like Mamdani or even Trump, is like going to destroy the fabric of the world. Now, wait a second. Democracy is not so thinly spread. It's not fragile. It's not sensitive. It's actually the strongest form of government that's ever been created. And no, I'm sorry, but not one man or even 10 men can undo the foundation of democracy.

But when we tell ourselves that, and when we hit social media and tell other people that, we are engaging in our own nihilism, which we are responsible for solely. I don't care how badly it scares you, okay? At the end of the day, they pray on the fear. So perhaps be strong, be positive, send encouraging messages. I'm not saying lie down and don't do anything. I'm saying maybe calm the fuck down. Thanks.

It's an important message. You're talking to a group of people whose phones haven't actually successfully gone into lock mode since Trump was elected in 2016. I've just been glued to them. So it's an important word of wisdom. Thank you. David Krumholz.

In Oppenheimer, an Italian man played Einstein, which I think is fine. I like when Italians play Jews and Jews play Italians. What about Greeks? What about Greeks? They're not part of it. Killian is Irish. Killian is Irish, Killian Murphy, and Oppenheimer was Jewish. That's right. Yeah. Let's spin it again. Oh, no. Oh, no. That's me. Uh-oh. I did not prepare very well for this. but the thing that the person that makes me the maddest on planet earth right now and it's it's not really the point but it's Mike Johnson he's so fucking smug you know what he drives me crazy

because he's the super unpopular guy who gets cast in the play and you're like you weren't the choice man like nobody wanted you to be playing you know like I know you played rumple still skin in fourth grade but apart from that you know nobody thinks that you're good as curly Like, you're just the only guy that has the tenor range, right? So he got to, and guess what? You're running around and you're collecting the money for the director's gift for everybody, and that's not like a cool position to put yourself in.

And now he's like the guy that thinks he's, like, landed in, like, you know, big, big, big dick of Cock Island. And it's so enraging because no one wants to date him. Everyone's vagina dries when he walks into the room. I think some fellas here discovered they have drive-a-johners, too. Do you guys remember MASH, the show MASH, some of you? He's like the radar of our government. He gives off radar. No one wanted to fuck radar.

No. Ain't nobody trying to fuck radar? Nobody wanted to fuck radar. Let's spin it again. Oh, God, there's more? Or it's your turn? It's me. Okay.

So I want to talk about whatever the fuck is going on with the rehabilitation of Marjorie Taylor Green. Oh! But I don't, I actually don't, I want to understand why it's working. Like, it's like, people like, ha-ha, broken clock, it's more than a twice a day now, you know what I mean? It's like, I'm sorry, but like, broken clocks aren't right this often, what's happening, right?

Right? And it's like, like, what? And it's also like, wait a second, I didn't realize you were a capable, like, you know, there's like, David Auxra, I would have this expression, which is like when you see a bear on a unicycle, you don't judge his technique. You're just amazed. That's it. I have a theory, though. Do you want to hear my theory? I mean, you probably have already thought of this, but basically,

the thing about conspiracy theorists is you just have to think of another conspiracy to dismantle the first conspiracy and i think that's what's happened with her i think that she's actually like we threw epstein in there not that that's a conspiracy it's real but all the things about it are suddenly making sense to her so suddenly all the other conspiracies that she's had she's suddenly waking up and saying like wait the moon landing was fake and like having lots of other things like that right you know what i'm saying yeah it's like the political equivalent like the armageddon day didn't happen so she went back in and recrunch the numbers and came up with a new date that's further away and it's like i guess it is more reasonable for it to be far

away. That's what Jehovah's Witnesses do. Really? Yeah. Yeah, they just do the math again. Yeah. That's so cool. David Krummaltz, thank you so much for being here. Annie Gassar, thank you so much. We made it. Fun. Thank you for having me. The Bruce Springsteen film is out on a show at Town Hall, December 15.

December 15 Town Hall. We'll be right back. And we're back. Come on out, guys. Before we go, I want you guys to hear Victor Jones one more time. But before we do, Victor, I reached out to you just via Instagram. Yes. Because I was being served your music via TikTok over and over again.

And I really loved it. And you have such a fascinating way of associating and writing. And there were people that were accusing you. of using AI, and I want you to have an opportunity to respond. Yeah, so I had a whole response plan, which was inclusive of, you know, points like AI being generative from lots of sources, which would turn out something a lot more lowest common denominator and generic than the whole idea that you hear something weird and quirky, and you're like, oh, it must be AI.

It shows a fundamental misunderstanding of what AI is capable of in the modern era, but I thought it would be a lot more fun to just pull up my notes app and to prove that this is actually how my brain works. So I'd like to show John just so this is not a magic trick. These are many different dates

from over the course of years, correct? Yeah, and that says January 6th, be there will be wild. We're not talking about that. It's weird. I'm a little nerve-wracking to see. Of course, of course, but we won't get into that today.

I just want to really quick Brush through a few of these. We've got some good ones. Some that are actually going to end up in songs like, I love you, happy birthday. I think I am an island, which is going to be a song, and maybe the title of a song.

We've also got some ideas like Evil Doctor Doolittle uses powers for murder but gets away with it because no one believes he really told the animals to do that. More lyrics that'll probably end up. We've got Heaven Hot Dam and Seven Piper's Piping. I don't know what that means. I have OCD. I get intrusive thoughts.

Like, genuinely diagnosed OCD. So I get, like, thoughts that I don't know what they mean, and they go on paper, and they go into a song. We've got one that I love. I don't know. It just says a dozen guys. We got crab haircut. Oh, that became a sketch.

This one says crab haircut, too short, too long crab riddle. And that actually turned into, and then, yeah, I'll just end with this one, which is a line, two lines that are going to be in the same song. one of them is she told me that her cousin is a cop but he's actually really nice which is I thought

kind of political and interesting which is half my stuff I'm like oh it's political what is it's political and then the other one is my heart is my own goddamn property which I am going to show up in a song next year so not AI my notes app everybody

and where can people find you oh you can find me on any of the socials at Victor Jones music but if you're just kind of the kind of person who listens to music. You can find me on any of the streaming services, Victor Jones. I'm the first search Victor Jones. And as of two weeks ago, if you Google me, I have ousted a 60-year-old linebacker as the top Victor Jones on Google.

All right, everybody, one more time. Thank you. Victor Jones is going to sing a song. Love it. And I'll be right back. So, yeah, this one is called Shoulder Song. We're dialing an end for you. Let's hit it, Marcus.

Sometimes I feel like I'm just a hot air balloon, lifted up by the things that I want out of life. Like what? Like, I want to be famous, famous and happy in that order. And also, sometimes I kind of want to die. Does that count? I want to get your number. I want to touch your shoulder. I want to get close to you.

I want to get your number. Touch your shoulder and get close to you. I like mean women. I like soft men. Oh, ha. Oh, darn. Sometimes I need to be alone. I, yeah, be alone.

I, yeah, be alone. I like mean women, I like soft men I heart to die, die Sometimes I need to be alone I be alone To be alone So I can get your number I want to touch your shoulder

I want to get close to you. I want to get your number. I want to get your number. Touch your shoulder. I want to get close here. You slide like a marrow from a broken bone. Tell me what to do.

Tell me what to, what, two, what, two, one, two, three, four. You got your hands in your pockets. You got your eyes on the floor. You got your digits on doorsteps. You got your brain in a jar. I got you under me. You kept up with the news I don't know how you stayed strong

If I kept up like you do My best worst enemy You leave me laid out Can't take you anywhere I got a friend Got a friend And she's not from here I wish you'd tell me

What you do When you're not around Yeah I wish you'd tell me I wish you'd Fafaf Fah Fah Fah Barrel like a tiger And heat

I got Fear dripping off of my teeth You leave me light out Lidau You leave me light out You leave me light out I wanna da da da da I wanna get your number

I wanna touch your shoulder I wanna get close to you I wanna get your number Touch your shoulder. I want to get close to you. I want to get close to you. I want to get your number. I want to touch it to your shoulder.

I want to get close to you. to you. I want to get your shoulder to you. I want to get to you.

Yeah, close to your shoulder. I want to get close to you. Close to you. Close to you. Close to you.

Thank you, everybody. Have a good night. One more time to Victor Jones. Thank you to Anna Gass, I'm David Kromholz. Thank you all for coming out. Thank you to Crown Hill Theater. Thank you, Brooklyn. Way to go, New York.

Let's keep it going because we have 360 days until the midterms. Have a great night and have a great weekend. If you're already scrolling endlessly, which we know you are, don't forget to follow us at Crooked Media on Instagram, TikTok, and all the other ones for original content, community events, and more. You can also find Love It or Leave It on YouTube for videos of your favorite segments and other YouTube exclusive content.

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