Lovett or Leave It - This is Your Captain Freaking

Episode Date: September 25, 2026

Susan Collins is caught in a corruption scandal, Tommy Tuberville is a dog with a bone, and Trump locks the ballroom doors from the outside. Rachel Maddow joins to talk about attacks on the press and what a county sheriff’s battle with a tiny local newspaper tells us about democracy. Plus, Michelle Collins and Nimesh Patel are ready to buy low and sell high, while The Rant Wheel rolls straight through summer TV, Kash Patel jokes, and hoarding all the little soaps and shampoos from the hotel.Hate listening to ads? Become a Friends of the Pod subscriber for ad-free episodes of Pod Save America, Pod Save the World, Lovett or Leave It, Runaway Country, Offline with Jon Favreau, and more—plus exclusive content, including bonus episodes of Pod Save America. Subscribe now at crooked.com/friends, on Apple Podcasts, or through the Pod Save America YouTube channel.You can request a transcript by emailing [e-mail]. Include the podcast name, episode title, and air date. Please allow 48 hours for delivery.

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As always, I'm John Lovett, and this is America's number one late-night political gay live comedy podcast, and technically television show. We've got a great show for you tonight. Rachel Maddow, Nemesh Patel, and Michelle Collins are here. So let's get into it. What a week. On Wednesday, First Lady Melania Trump stopped by Fox and friends to discuss her husband's second administration. How is the president doing in Trump 2 as compared to Trump 1? How do you see him handling the job differently?

He's very focused. He has a lot on his plate. It's very different what's going on around the world now. But I think he's doing the best that he can. A ringing endorsement. Though when Trump was asked how Melania 2 compared to Melania 1, he said they look pretty similar. Also this week, the Washington,

Post reported that the original architect of the new White House ballroom, James McCrary, fought with Trump over the design's failure to meet basic safety requirements, including emergency exit routes. But Trump loves situations with no way out, whether it's a ballroom or a war in the Middle East. Before McCrary resigned, Trump told him that no building codes apply to the project, reportedly saying, quote, I am the code, before sliding a piece of paper with the words infinity toilet across the resolute desk. According to the post reporting, there was little in the design to prevent a kitchen fire from rapidly spreading into the event space on the floor above.

And that's pretty dangerous. If you die in Trump's ballroom, you die in real life. Speaking of places to die, according to MS now, the White House has started looking into putting Trump's name on Ford's Theater, the site of Abraham Lincoln's 1865 assassination. Boy, that guy's brain is shot, said us and a horrified theater goer in 1865. In fairness to Trump, he'll need a backup venue for events after the ballroom is taken out by the first gust of autumn wind. Meanwhile, Iran's president addressed the U.N. General Assembly this week the first time that the leader of a country at war with the United States has ever done so, saying Iran will not surrender. Trump then said, in the interest of world peace, he would invite the entire Iranian delegation for dinner.

In the new ballroom, no Massoud, it's a trap. Speaking of historic speeches, Alabama Senator Tommy Tuberville took to the Senate floor on Tuesday to say this. Many airline pilots, flight attendants, and air traffic controllers are part of the furry community. Lord help us. It's terrifying when you think about this. When you walk onto a commercial flight, It's possible that the pilot fly in your plane could have a deranged fetus of dressing up like an animal. You can't make this up. That sound means the captain has turned off the fast and seatbelt sign and you are now free to use the litter box. I know this is very stupid, but I would like to make a sincere point about this.

So I've agreed to keep this to one minute, so let's have a one minute timer. Senator Tuberville, a commercial airline pilot is a specific special kind of person who brings pride, professionalism, love of craft, and dedication to the job, qualities that have been slowly drained out of virtually every other part of our society. And because you're an angry, old and curious fool, you've allowed your impression of pilots as ciphers because of the intentional invisibility of their personalities and their use of the Chuck Yeager voice during announcements to create an image in your mind of a person who would only have straight-laced by the book missionary sex, as if the incredible contribution, of commercial pilots. The gift of our collective trust and all the worry and fear were spared because of that confidence is because pilots don't have quirks. While in fact, pilots are all the more amazing and the system that trains and prepares pilots all the more worthy of respect, because of course they're also broken people with flaws like the rest of us who may score in a lower percentile on anxiety and a higher percentile on conscientiousness and competence, but fucking suck in all the

freaky ways people do. So shut the fuck up. Thank your Christian God that these pilots get to live out their dream of flying for all our benefit. Don't introduce the idea that these deadfast men and women should be worried about anything other than the flaps y'all lift and drag. And when it comes to their sex lives, mind your own fucking business, you dumb, lucky, worthless asshole. Former New Jersey governor, Chris Christie, is also apparently weighing a 2028 run, telling a reporter, I need to see what happens in six weeks. What's going to happen in six weeks? You're going to find a genie and a lamp you fat fuck? All right, sorry.

That was not fair. I wasn't right. That wasn't right. Speaking of fat cats, in a bombshell report by ProPublica, we learned that Maine Senator and concerned American Susan Collins was the target of an FBI investigation into an alleged pay-for-play scheme with a top donor. We don't tolerate that sort of thing up here,

said a lighthouse keeper to his wife, a moose. According to the disgraced CEO of a Hawaiian defense contractor, who later pleaded guilty to campaign finance violations, his firm donated to Susan Collins in exchange for defense contracts worth millions of dollars. What an evil clown, said Maine resident, Pennywise, the dancing clown,

to his wife, Moose. And sure enough, according to ProPublica, the Senate allocated at least $10 million to the company, Navitech, while a shell company set up by the CEO, Martin Cow, donated $150,000 to Collins' PAC. The shell company, and this is real, was called Young Women's Scientists and Engineers, not plural. There was a literal typo in the organization's name. Young women's scientists and engineers. That typo caught the eye of a campaigned watchdog group, which began to question the story. source of the funds. Then Cowo tried to cover his tracks and make the fake company seem like a real nonprofit by quickly standing up a scholarship program for women in Sten at state universities

where his company was also trying to win contracts while he was at the same time also defrauding the paycheck protection program set up during COVID for which he was also convicted. Now given this crime spree, I'm not surprised this guy was caught. I'm surprised this guy isn't in Trump's cabinet. Now Senator Collins, of course, denied him. the allegations. It's clearly a partisan hit job, and I've got to say, I do not understand how anyone would take the word of a felon who's been convicted twice, twice, two separate cases. And you can't trust a person like that unless you're confirming their Supreme Court justices. But the evidence isn't just this one guy's word. Here's a photo of Collins christening a Navitech

corruption boat. And ProPublica has a copy of the check from the defense contractors fake LLC to Collins's Super PAC. You don't have to be a woman in STEM to solve this equation, am I right? And ProPublica pointed to an email from the CEO that said, quote, we often use LLCs that can be set up to facilitate transactions. They are super vague and very difficult to get any background info on, totally legal, and typically used in real estate transactions to conceal the identity of buyer-seller, to which Scott Reed, the head of Collins' power. replied, very smart and glad your counsel understands. Thanks for doing this. Added Scott, I'm glad we put this in writing. I will print this out for safekeeping in a file labeled

felony campaign finance violations. Now, you may be wondering if there was all this evidence. Why hasn't anyone connected to Susan Collins face consequences? Well, the FBI opened an investigation, but the FBI shut the investigation down after Trump returned to office in 2025 and eviscerated the department's capacity to investigate public corruption. Yeah, Cash Patel really screwed the pooch on this one, he also fucked up the case. In other DOJ failure news, this week, a criminal hacking group called shiny hunters revealed that it has stolen thousands of sensitive personnel records from the FBI. Said FBI director, Cash Patel, I want to assure everyone, I checked, and this information

does not include our penis sizes and how they are in the normal range. This is only the latest in a series of embarrassing cybersecurity failures by the FBI, including a breach by Chinese hackers of surveillance orders and the leak of Cashmore. Pertel's personal emails by a pro-Iranian group. As a general rule, it should not be easier to get into the FBI's computer system than it is to get out of the White House ballroom. New York mayor Zoraamandhi announced that DoorDash agreed to a $131 million settlement with the city after the company admitted to underpaying or delaying payments

to 264,000 workers. You know what they say, Doordash Revenge is a dish best served cold, like these fucking fries. Tweeted the mayor, this is New York, where a hard. hard work pays and greed will cost you. And the manholes occasionally demand a human sacrifice, but baby, that's part of the thrill. I actually think you could make a Lady in the Tramp romantic comedy about a naive door dash driver from L.A.

and a street smart door dash driver from New York falling in love. The L.A. Dasher asked innocently, so where do you park your car? And the New York Dasher is like, put your hands in these plastic bags. You're lucky it's warm today. Seven degrees. Now get on this bicycle with a dirt bike engine

and go as fast as you can the wrong way down 10th Avenue. Think of these pizza boxes as your whiskers. That's how wide you are. Oh, you hit someone, keep going. It's you or them. If you leave the food, it will be stolen. If you leave the bike, it will be stolen. Never press the buzzer.

The buzzers don't work. Now, deliver this one burrito downtown and these five cinder blocks uptown by six. I know it's 615. That's why you got to move. And by the way, I think I'm falling in love with you. And finally, Taylor Swift posted a cryptic countdown this week, eventually revealing that she has a new single,

Patient Zero, dropping September 25th. It's unclear what the song is about, but the music video was shot. entirely in a Wuhan wet market. As far as her fans are concerned, the song should be called Zero Patience, since they simply cannot wait. Now, I'll level with you.

The producers said that was the only joke about Taylor Swift that wouldn't get my car bombed. God damn it, my car's been blown up. How am I going to tell my wife a moose? All right, and we've got a great show for you tonight. We'll be right back with Rachel Maddow. Hey, don't go anywhere.

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We'll get to my interview with Rachel Manow in just a moment. But first, thank you to everyone who is a friend of the pot. As a subscriber, you unlock so much more, including an extra biweekly episode of Pond Save America-only, only friends. Add free episodes of your favorite Crooked Podcast, discounted tickets to CricketCon plus on-side perks while you're there. and if you're thinking about coming to CricketCon,

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Head to Cricket.com slash events and get those tickets. All right. This week, I sat down with Rachel Maddow, host of MS Now's, the Rachel Maddow show. We talked about Trump's ban of MS Now and the launch of his Trump TV YouTube channel. MSNN., CNN and Politico may be back inside the White House,

but the battle over press freedom is far from over. Rachel had a lot to say about what this moment means. Let's take a look. Joining us in studio, she's the host of the Rachel Maddow show and producer of a new documentary out on Sunday called Killberry Print. Rachel Maddow, welcome to the show. Hi, John Luffett. Thanks to see you, old friend.

Yes, first of all, I just want to say I love the documentary. I loved it. I thought it was excellent. I highly recommend people watch it when it comes out on Peacock. But it also, as I was watching it, obviously, there are parallels to what's happening nationally. So I did want to start with that because MS Now, CNN, Politico, they're out at the White House. I know you've talked about this a little bit, but what was your reaction? My reaction was, first, is this one of these things that he's just going to threaten or say is true?

And then there's no follow-up, like when he announced that there was a truce between Russia and Ukraine. We were like, there is, and then there's no truce. Or he announced that the Strait of Hormuz is open. Like, is this a real thing? But then we found out over the weekend that it was a real thing that they really are instituting what he calls a ban on the free press. So, yes, is it real? And my second thought was, oh, he's playing the hits. Like, he's, this is him doing the YMCA, two-fisted dance. Like, this is him doing a thing that he knows he can get the kind of reaction that he wants from the people who love him the most or the people who share his authoritarian dreams with him. And he's just hoping to return to

safer ground. He wants the kind of attention that he wants. And he's getting attention for all sorts of stuff that he doesn't want for having this record low approval rating and for the economy being in the toilet and the Iran War and the impending midterms and all of his like falling asleep in public and like, it's all bad news about him right now. So he wants to go back to playing the hits, getting the kind of attention that he wants on the terms that he wants it. And I think that's why he did it. So the response from the networks by the Correspondent Association, including by Fox News, led to a suspension of their coverage and this predictable consequence. I want to show you this clip. Okay. So there is no microphone.

because there's no microphone because the pool cameras aren't there. So maybe, Tim, this is one example of it backfiring just a little bit. That was satisfying. That was satisfying. So you have a pretty good statement from the head of the White House Correspondent Association, happens to be from Fox News. Fox News joined with the other networks as part of this protest slash boycott. Do you think this is the right level of response?

Obviously, it's good to see these networks responding in this way, but is there more you think they should be doing? You know, the thing that I think is most important is the unified front nature of this. I mean, our friends at Newsmax, notwithstanding, which is where that clip was from, is they're still desperately trying to cover the White House somehow without microphones or cameras set up by a professional crew.

I think the, the, Unified front, the sort of solidarity among news organizations is important. And I think there's a few different things going on. First of all, the Wall Street Journal reported that the catalyst for Trump doing this was that his aide, Natalie Harp, reportedly showed him footage, I guess, of people saying things about him on MS Now that he didn't like. And so then he responded with a ban on MS Now and CNN and Politico. Now, where does that come from?

I have always had this theory that Trump doesn't come after MS now more than he does other news organizations, even though I think of all the mainstream media organizations are probably the most critical of him. I've always thought that he maybe doesn't come after us in a more concerted way because he's talked himself into the idea that that will help us, right? That that will elevate us. And so he shouldn't pay us attention because we're always going to be, you know, who we are. and that it'll only help us and therefore hurt him to give us too much attention. So he decides to sort of diffuse the attention on us

by bringing in these other news organizations. But in so doing, he ends up taking the swipe that just seems sort of weird and inchoate and also very clarifying to the news business that this is the kind of thing that we ought to all stand up against together. So I think it blunted the impact, the positive impact that he wanted politically on his side,

and I think it stirred the news organizations of this country to realize that this is something that we actually ought to stand together to fight. So the nature of the way that other news organizations are responding, I think, will evolve over time. But the fact that MSNOW, CNN, and Politico are suing together, I think, is really notable. And the fact that Fox News and the other pool networks and broadly, you know, Everybody from Getty to AFP to Reuters to, you know, NPR to Washington Post, New York Times, everybody is pulling together against this in a really, I think, sort of steel-spined way is good. That's the way.

We ought to have learned that that's the way to respond to his provocations. Can I just share two on pure thoughts I've had? Oh, yeah. On pure thought, number one, how can we make this like the Strait of Hormuz in the sense that he picks a fight? and he thinks that media organizations will cave, they'll cover it, they'll divide, they'll kind of ultimately come around, not realizing he's in some way changed

the fundamental strategic imperative. Like how do we make, how do journalists show the same resolve as the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, unfortunately, is the thoughts? It's impure, definitely. So maybe we'll say, That's my first and pure thought. Any reaction? Well, I mean, I think that he's actually doing some stuff

and the White House is doing some stuff that is maybe helping us in that direction. I mean, they chose, you know, right after the ban on MSNN and Politico, they chose right after that to try to roll out their new White House news app. Yes, Trump TV, they were calling it. Trump TV. I mean, half of me,

fully expected them to come up with something that was like real Trump or something, so they could just use RT, right? Or he's very into JFK-era appropriation, so they could use Sputnik, perhaps. I think that one might be available now. Great name. I mean, them trying to do literal state TV, I think is so, is read by the American body politic

as such a, like, infectious organism that it activates our antibodies against it. Like, of all the things that maybe we instinctually can do as Americans, we can recognize state TV, Pravda, you know, RT-style stuff, and that's not us. So Trump immediately going to that, and the White House immediately going to that, I think, might sort of help us

toward the kind of moment that you're talking about. Yeah, the... It's not clear, right? Because on the one hand, you're right. Like, this is the kind of debate he enjoys having. he'd rather be talking about press freedom than he would gas prices the war in iran of course uh but then also it feels in the way trump decisions feel ad hoc he was shown these clips he got mad he does a post that were they already planning to roll out this youtube for that would replace the pool is it something

they've uh stood up really quickly in response we just don't know the other thought is i remember when there was this debate about removing Trump from Twitter. And it's like, oh, you know, they should ban him and they shouldn't ban him. It ends up being a debate in a presidential primary, right, between I think Elizabeth Warren and Kamala Harris had an exchange. It's like the KHAI got mad at me at the time, not rehashing old grudges or anything. But one of the consequences, whatever you're feeling about whether he should or should not have been banned from Twitter, is he kind of went quiet for a while. And Trump does better when he's quiet. Nothing would behoove Republicans running for office more than Trump's microphone.

being off for the next seven weeks. So how do we balance that, right? Like, Trump wants attention. He wants, you know, dominion over how he is covered. He can't have that. A world where he's covered negatively, right, is worse for Trump, which would mean on some level, some news outlet caving and covering Trump

might be better for the Democratic candidates currently running. You know, like, end of an unpure thought. I mean, there's no way that a president of the United States doesn't get covered in the news. It's just, it's not possible. It's not responsible, right? The question is how he gets covered in the news and does he get the royal treatment that is the very expensive, very difficult, sort of ownerous, very professionally produced duty of White House pool coverage? I think right now he does not. And so it'll have to be pieced together in ways that.

are, I think, less what he's used to. But I don't think there's any chance, aside from the sad moment on the ribbon cutting at the helipad, I just don't think there's any chance that he does things and doesn't get covered. The nature of the job means that he does. Yeah, and I've seen some people saying that the White House correspondent's dinner

association should go further. And there shouldn't even be press cover. There shouldn't be press pool. I mean, you know, the written press pool, they should just be pulling out all together. But, you know, that's a fair weather, I think, suggestion because the reason there is a pool is because emergencies happen and we need reporters there, right? So there is attention. So I do want to turn the documentary because it is striking to see the parallels between sort of a thuggish corrupt leader in the White House and these local officials.

in this documentary, what drew you to this story? And why do you think it was important to tell? You covered this on this original tape emerged in 2023, and you covered it at the time. And I'm curious why you felt it was important to come back to it. Yeah, first of all, thank you for watching it. It's called Kilbury Print. It's out as of this weekend on Peacock.

And like you said, in 2023, we covered it on my show on MSNBC at the time, no MS now. And it was just this crazy thing because it's this is this corner of Oklahoma. It's called McCarton County. Ida Bell, Oklahoma's there, Broken Bow. Like, it's a relatively sparsely populated, but beautiful part of Oklahoma. It's got a real drug problem, got a real crime problem. And interestingly, it has specifically. specifically has a missing persons problem,

which is intriguing. And there's this little family-owned newspaper there, published just three days a week, called the McCurtain Gazette. And what the McCurtain Gazette discovered was that the sort of thing tying together all those local problems was that there was a corruption problem. And it, you know from seeing the film, it emerges into this war, basically,

between this very principled, like, shoe lever reporting, local family news paper, totally fearless, and the sheriff who they report lots of corruption and misdeeds about. And so in 2023, when we covered it, what was incredible, and I remember at the time was, we heard about this story, was getting local pickup in Oklahoma. We sort of followed the story as best we could in terms of looking at local media, but the paper itself, the McCurtain Gazette, was so small and so old school, they didn't

have a website. And they had this thing that was lightning in a bottle. They had an audio recording of the sheriff talking secretly about killing and burying the family that ran the local newspaper. They had an audio recording of him talking about it, but they didn't have a website to put it up on. And so they printed a QR code on the front page of the print paper, and they basically set up kind of a drop box site where you could go and download the entire audio. And we did that at the time, and we played these pieces. It was just this crazy story. And then I just kept an eye on it afterwards.

And one of the amazing things is that even after this recording was publicized and this story was outed, the sheriff stayed in his position. And if you thought it was brave for this family to report on the alleged corruption and drug use and stuff by local law enforcement, for them then to have turned into a national news story, his threats to kill and bury them in response for their reporting,

and then to keep reporting thereafter while he's still in office in this county where he's the leading law enforcement authority in a place where lots of people go missing and never turn up again. It's just dark, dark, dark, and it is also an incredible story of heroism and journalism at its most heroic and most brave and most consequential. And it all takes place in McCurton County, doesn't have national element to it at all. But I just feel like if you're looking to understand what it means to really be an excellent American citizen in the worst environment, in the Worst Environment, the Willingham

family and the McCurtain Gazette shows us how to do it. Yeah, one parallel that jumped out at me is the way the sort of corruption builds on itself and the importance of exposing issues as they arise, which is the role of this very small. local pay, shockingly, almost comedically, two on the nose small. Like, you know, owner is the owner and operator, husband and wife, she does the books, he does the journalism, sons on the cop beat, just an extraordinary, like, small operation. But can you talk about how a messy evidence room, right? Like, really, like, this story, this embarrassing story kind of begins this process of leading to just this incredibly dark and shocking series of events.

And their failure, like, that to me is a bit of a Trump parallel because, like, how do we get to the point where Trump's going to put drones on the top of an arch? He's illegally building, right? It's like it starts with what he gets away with at the beginning. And so I think it's worth talking about what they were exposing, these little things and what it shows. showed. Yeah, and it's very Nixonian, too, right? It's, so there's this, one of the stories that this little paper breaks is that the evidence room is in disarray. And that has big legal consequences in terms of drug cases, murder cases even, like all these cases, if the evidence isn't kept in a way that is sound in terms of the legal chain of custody and making sure that stuff

is uncorrupted for the purpose of bringing a prosecution, you end up not really being able to enforce the law. And so they run these sort of blockbuster. pictures of the messy evidence room. And you kind of think that's a standalone story. But then in response to that, what happens at the Sheriff's Office is an effort to, a really aggressive effort, to find out how it is that those pictures got out, how this story got out, who's talking to the press.

And then that sort of cracks open a lot of the dynamics that are happening within the Sheriff's Department, where we learn from members of the Sheriff's Department about somebody who's made up somebody who's mysteriously getting promoted from ground zero all the way up to the very top and having new positions created for her and then having her relatives brought in to run other things. And they say the cover-up is worse than the crime, but usually what that means in practical terms is that the cover-up leads you to worse criminality.

And that is true. I mean, it's almost true in every corruption and malfeasance story I've ever covered. That once some piece of it breaks open, the act of it. reporting on it usually inspires much more bad action from the bad actors. And it's a good, it's a character test, it turns out, to have your misdeeds exposed. How you respond to that usually shows you to either be a corrupt person who ought not be in office and should maybe still, maybe be in jail instead, or a human person who made an error and can learn from it and make up for it and make it right. I mean, that's often the dividing line is exposure. And

And so when Bruce Willingham says to us in the film, corrupt people will always run for office, and we've got to take them on. He's speaking about McCurton County in that moment, but he's also speaking about my whole life in this business and all of our lives right now in this era. Journalism isn't a corrective. Journalism tells you what's true, what's really happening, and it can therefore be a catalyst for democratic change, in part because it tests the character of the people it exposes. That was part one of my interview with Rachel Maddow. Stay tuned for the second part of my

conversation later in this episode. Up next, I'm joined by the hilarious Michelle Collins and Nemesh Patel. Hey, don't go anywhere. There's more of Love It or Leave It coming up. Love or Leave It is brought to you by Helix. When life gets busy and we can't stop seeming to add more to our plates every night's sleep counts. Upgrade your sleep quality and give yourself the best setup for a great day every day with a Helix mattress. You don't have to take our word for it. Helix is the number. the most awarded mattress brand tested and reviewed by experts at major outlets like Forbes and

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Hi, John. Thank you both for being here. Michelle, you just announced your Michelle Collins and Big Letters tour this week. That's right. I'm excited to see all the residents' ends of the country. that's where I tend to find myself, Nemesh. And you know, you've got to make a buck, John. Are you going to come to one of the shows?

Yeah, of course. Okay. I'm in. Liar. I've never seen you lie on your show the way. That was a free yes. Sometimes people say no when the yes is free, right? Like, if someone asks you how they, you know, there's a lot of places where like, when

someone asks you a hypothetical, like, hey, would you rescue me from a fire? Of course. That's a free hypothetical. Right. Say yes. It's like killing baby Hitler, remember that? Yeah, for sure. I wouldn't.

No, I'm kidding with you, obviously. I'm a Jewish person. Cut that. Anyway, I'm sorry, Dimesh. What's happening here? Go on. And Nemesh, it's great to have you as well. Yeah, it's good to be here.

You have a new Netflix special that's out right now. It's out right now. It's out right now. It's called Buy the Dip. It's called Buy the Dip. Thank you. And it's about like you said about like half anti-trans and then half other stuff. I mean, of course. You've got to hit the streets.

That's what the streets want. Okay. A couch full of terrible people today. I'm excited. Wait, you had a stint living in Amsterdam? Yeah. Do you miss that? The bikes? You know, I never got a bike there. I'm too big for the bike.

That's what I told myself. What do you mean? They're all huge there, but I go, it's just, it's very dangerous. You think you're too big for a bike? I always said that. I don't like when I hear you say it, but when I say it's different. I'm like, that is so rude, I'm your guest. Okay. No, yeah, it's tough. The biking there is no joke. It's like I-95 in Miami. They're nuts over there.

Yeah. Have you, you've been? Yeah. You biked? Yeah, it's, I'm terrifying. And you're like high the whole time. So people just fucking zoom and by like, Jesus Christ, what's going on over here? Did you bike?

I'm sure you've been. No. See? I was afraid. Well, it was more that I wasn't there long enough really to get to like to become sort of, you know, a commuter. But the, the, I was, I love biking. But you know what I mean? Like, it's sort of, it's not a, you know, it's like dealing with a bike.

I don't have a place to put this bike. I don't know this place. I'm here to get high and go see a thing. That's the thing. There's a painting by someone. Van Gogh. Right. I learned that there.

Get high, see a Van Gogh. I'm not going to bike around. Yeah. Not going to bike around. Well, I worked from home, so that should answer your question. I wasn't going anywhere anyway. Worked from home in Amsterdam. Worked from home.

I took the tram. I'm a very fear-based person. Like, I don't want to get hurt. It's why I'm, you know, I look so great. Thank you again. They said that in the break. Namash, you recently said that there's never been a better time to be a bad person.

This is your subway take. Yes, that's true. And I was thinking about this, and have you ever seen the movie The Third Man? No. Oh. Sorry. There goes that whole bit.

Well, it's funny. You should check it out. But I think post-World War II Europe, pre-reconstruction was also a very good time to be a bad person. Post-World War II. Like, you know, Berlin's, mess, there's rubble everywhere. You can get away with a lot, I think, in post-World War II,

Berlin, there's the Russian side, you know, it's like we're, they're starting to, there's a lot, there's a lot of arbitrage that could happen when you got the Soviets on one side of town and the Americans on the other, you know? I'll take your word for it. Yeah. And then I was also thinking that 1998 during the whole Clinton impeachment was also a very good time to cheat on your wife. Uh-huh. Why do you think right now is such a good time to be a bad person? Because no one, everyone's gone. Everyone that's supposed to enforce the law is just out. They're either been fired or they're part of the corruption. And if like, if I had a scheme, I would be scheming right now. I just can't bring myself to think of one that's not already been done. Like, if I could,

if I could crypto rugpole, believe me, I'll be shilling some coins right now for sure. You've got a bit of that. You've got like a little, in a good way, like doesn't he like a little bit of a crypto that I could see you like talking me into something what if I knew what it was I could do it yeah I don't know what it is either I'm an idiot if you just add in a good way do you think that makes something less insulting like yes hey I think you're a sleazy piece of shit in a good way yeah every man I go out with basically yeah I don't mind it yeah thank you that's sweet appreciate it was nice you Nemesh yes your special is called buy the dip by the dip so inspired by this we want to quiz the both of you on some other uh

tanking stocks in a segment we're calling, buy the dip. Oh, nice. Look at that. That's beautiful. Yeah. It's really good. Yeah, so good work you do.

It's really good. Yeah, yeah. It's really good, guys. I'll read you a person, place, or thing that has, I think, been in a period of decline. And you'll let us know if you think we should buy the dip in the hopes that they might rise again or if we're leaving it be if we think it's not a good buy. Okay. Are you ready?

This is about dips. I got excited when they said, right? I was like, I love dip. I was like, I want you to know something. That's why we named the special that because people who know the term will be like, oh, this is going to be interesting

about like optimism or hope or whatever. And then other people who just like nachos be like, you know what, I'm going to check this. First up, should you buy the dip on getting drunk? We're hearing that Gen Z drinks lesson their millennial predecessors. Is drinking coming back or is it over for good? Oh, it's coming back.

Things are, like, you look at the bottom of a glass when things are really bad, and I don't think we're at the floor of this country just yet, so hold your hope, alcohol. I'll be there soon. Yeah, alcohol's like, oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, you always come back. You always come back. Oh, yeah, we remember Prohibition. You came back.

Buying the dip on Elizabeth Holmes? I'm in. I'm in totally. This movie, I think, is going to change. When is it coming out in a month? I think next month? I think it's going to be what we talk about, kind of like The Odyssey for like two weeks.

Like everyone's going to go see it. You're not going to be able to escape the talk about it. And like that face has haunted me since seeing that clip. I don't know. I close my eyes. I see it. It's just, Nemesh.

I'm out entirely on this. I don't think the floor is in on Elizabeth Holmes just yet. I think if you've got put options to purchase on her, you should purchase some puts on there because it's like, that's the look. of a sociopath from what... And what about America in 2026 tells you that that's going to mean she doesn't rise again?

You're right. You're right. I am... To me, I'm the opposite. I am buying the dip hard on Elizabeth Holmes. You think she's coming back? Dancing with the Stars. Shark Tank. Traders. She's got so many places to go. Also, I will just tell you, I met her at a party once. And I've told the story before...

Did you give her your blood? So it was right around the time that these stories were coming out. And when I say that this woman looked me in the eyes and was like, oh, it's, look, once the truth comes out, you'll see, like, these are ridiculous. Like, she basically was, like, so sincerely conveying that, like, this was bullshit and she would rise again with, like, with just total conviction. And I remember saying after, I was like, either, like, either she's telling the truth or she is a total sociopath. Wow. But I was charmed. I could see this, that scared me.

This little clip that kind of went viral a couple weeks ago. stayed with me in a bad way. But I agree with you. Her on traitors, the whole axis of the earth would shift. I mean, that would be horrible and amazing. An alliance between like Elizabeth Holmes and like Luanne. Trixie Mattel and Elizabeth. Forget it. It's over. Think about what's happening. Think about their friends. They're bonding. They're laughing. They're having a great time. We're having a great time. We're changing her minds about Elizabeth Holmes. We're excited to see what she's going to bring to Shark Tank. And then like, Mark Cuban's like, I'm in. You know what I'm saying? I think that's possible. You know, I will reconsider given it is still America and she is a white woman, you know.

Thank you. Things turn around for them. Would you buy the dip on America? 100%. I love this country. America will survive all this nonsense. That's nice. I agree. That's the only sincere thing I'm going to say tonight. Actually, by the way, I felt something when you said that. It was really nice. It was a really nice moment for all of us. I agree. I agree. I agree. buying the dip on America. Yep. Yeah. It's a big dip right now.

Yeah, you may have to, listen, and I'm not saying I'm not, I'll have to hold it for a while. You know what I mean? I'm not saying there couldn't big, but it might not be the dip. There might be another dip to come for sure. I don't know if this is the bottom, but I still think it's still worth buying now. Yeah, yeah. If this is like a bean dip, we're at the sour cream, you know, at the top. Yum, that's my favorite layer.

There's still fucking beans and cheese and more avocado. This shit, we're not even at the glass tray just yet. We're at the top. Next up. Buy the dip on human beings. Ooh, I'll go. No thanks. I'll tell you right now.

If you've been to an outlet mall anytime recently or an airport and you've seen how people behave, it's not getting any better, John. I do think there's merit to having AI do everything now because it looks like we've pretty much fucked up a lot that shouldn't be fucked up.

Anyway, I'm still buying the dip on people. Thank you, Michelle Nemesh. Check out the Michelle Collins show on Patreon. and wherever you get your podcast and see Michelle on tour, go to At Mish Kal on Instagram for more info

and watch the message special By the dip. By the dip. It's on Netflix right now and we'll be right back. Hey, don't go anywhere. There's more of Love It or Leave It coming up. Love It is brought to you by Bombas.

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That's BOMBAS.com slash love it. Code love it at checkout. And we're back. Here is the second half of my conversation with Rachel where we get into this incredible story of this local paper taking on a corrupt sheriff in Oklahoma and the parallels to Trump and broader lessons for democracy. The other parallel is just this small paper has uncovered this series of scandals. They're also, this audio tape not only includes one official talking about the two holes that are always ready to be dug, that are waiting for these two journalists, but also about how the good old days in which they used to be able to lynch black people in the community, right?

This sets all this off. They go after one of the journalists in a way that is eerily similar to what Trump tries to do to his opponents. They went to a very troubled person who may have experienced genuine sexual abuse or something terrible that had happened to him. And they seemed to try to get this person to accuse this journalist an allegation that they just put out into the world, which really has this. terrible impact on his life. I mean, this goes to a very dark place. And actually, that journalist has to leave the community and move to Tulsa because he has to get away from what has happened. First of all, how do you figure out how to untangle that, right? It's a serious allegation, even if it is drummed up, right? You have to take it seriously. And then also, like, this person

comes away pretty cynical in a story you're trying to tell that is ultimately about the importance of journalism. I'm just curious. how you thought about that. Yeah, it's really thorny and important and complex. I mean, definitely part of the war that the Sheriff's Department waged on the newspaper that was exposing them was to try to, was not to try to, but to actually push out

to the community by all sorts of different means, really lurid and ultimately unproven allegations of basically pedophilia and, other like terrible sexual misconduct against one of the reporters at the paper. And I mean, to the point where the sheriff invited members of the community to please request a copy of a police report that was full of unproven allegations against the reporter. Like, went publicly and asked people to request this police report because he'd be happy to distribute it in the community.

And it was just, like, like I said, this is as dark as it gets. But we chased all of that, all of the factual elements of that as far as we could. We talked to multiple prosecutors and former prosecutors and lawyers involved in this case and investigators and chase as many of the principles as we could put all the factual allegations to everybody that we could and ultimately kind of picked our way through that story and the way that we thought was most responsible. But it's, for me, it's just a reminder that I think at times, like this, we talk in almost sort of myth-making terms about what bravery means and what heroism

means and what it means to do the right thing, that's the difficult thing, instead of the easy thing, that's the wrong thing, or that's the craven thing. And it's one thing to think about that in mythic terms. It's another thing to live it, especially when you're living it up close, right? when you have to decide whether to get in your car and drive home alone in the dark, having just reported what you reported about the sheriff, which operates all of the cars with red and blue lights on top of them in your town, and they've declared war on you and your family

and have said they want to see you buried. And talked about hitmen who could do it, and the excavators that'll dig the holes. I mean, it's a real thing. It's a life or death thing. And it is not, it's, you know, it's not a ballad. It's everyday logistics of living. And that kind of sacrifice to do what's right, I think, is really centering in terms of us thinking about what's being called on us as citizens right now.

Yeah, the other half of that, right, so that is the bravery on the part of this local paper. But there's also the, sort of, I come back to this all the time. as a sort of a, we talk a lot about shamelessness in the Trump era, but to your point about what happens when some failure is exposed and how do you react to that. And the lack of forbearance, which is a democratic virtue, right, this idea that sometimes you lose, right? Sometimes your ego takes a hit because you deserve it and you just kind of take the L and you try to clean it up or apologize and move on. And this sheriff never resigns, right? He sticks it out to the very end because that to me is part of what's missing here, right? This is idea that like

there should be any kind of accountability that they should have to kind of concede anything. Seems inconceivable to them in that in that room. And it seems like so much of our problem in our politics right now, it flows up to Trump. it flows down from Trump, this idea that an apology, a defeat, a loss, a concession is always embarrassing, right? Even though every resolution requires give and take, it seems like central to what we're going through. Yeah.

And I'm just, whether from the documentary or just more broadly what you're seeing, how you think about that? I think it's a deep point. And I think it's really good to bring that up and talk about that in practical. again, in practical terms, because, again, democracy isn't just a theory and isn't just like a myth and isn't just like a gauzy concept of the way we talk about free countries. Democracy in practical terms means that you lose sometimes, and whoever loses gets to live and stay in the fight and make their case again and try to win in the next round.

Right? That is part of what it means to compete for power in a democratic context. And it's just fundamentally incompatible with an authoritarian mindset or with a sort of Roy Cohen-style mindset that winning is everything, that losing is intolerable and that you should never concede defeat in any circumstances because that's a humiliation and a humiliation is worse than death. And, I mean, that's just not the American system. The American system is that sometimes you're you win and sometimes you lose, but we compete in fair terms, and you get to try again. And that, I mean, I just feel like it's one thing to kind of, I think, recoil at so many of the visible character traits of an authoritarian-minded leader like Trump.

But just that simple fact about him makes him incompatible with American governance. And it's a thing that we don't really teach, but we ought to. Like, losing as part of the game. And not just losing gratefully, you can lose and be a jerk about it. But you don't, but winning is never permanent in a democracy. One last question. Man, you've been out this a long time. And there is nobody.

Look, we're on the road. I'm talking to relatives. I'm at Yom Kippur services yesterday. Boy, people look to you. It's really amazing. All kinds of people, they're just always like, oh, you know, we love your pod,

but it's, you know, it's after Rachel, we love Bonnet, Save America. The number of people, do you know Rachel matter? Have you talked to Rachel? Do you know that, like, you have a kind of mythic place? in the heart of the resistance lips. You really do. Like, it's a special thing.

You have a unique little position in this sphere. Do you, like, think about that? Does that occur... Do you know what I'm saying? What do you think about that? What, I mean, I don't know, I don't... I don't think that's a healthy thing.

I know it does. But you never talk about, but you, but like... Getting hives. I know, but, like, you... Like, there is an army of middle-aged people whose phones have been... kind of scrolling for 10 years, their hands whizzed by holding the screen so tightly. They are keyed in.

And I swear to God, they would follow you into battle. I know that makes you uncomfortable. Very much so. Okay. Listen, I mean, listen, I would not follow me into battle. If I was running for office, I would not vote for me. If I was running for to be president of my apartment, I would not win. And we don't have, and we don't even have kids, right?

And so it's, it's, that is very kind, and I do not take that for granted, but I also have no idea what to do with that. I'm trying to be worthy of people's attention and respect and trying to be conscious of the fact that anytime anybody's tuning in to see a documentary that I made, or read a book that I wrote, or watch a TV show that I've done, or any of these other things that I want it to be worthy.

I want to deserve your time and make you want to come back the next time I do a next thing. But I don't think you can think about it further than that without getting weird, you know? Maybe it's time to get weird, Rachel Maddow. Well, I mean, but you and you and the guys at pot, you guys get a lot of that same dynamic, I know, fed back to you, particularly when you do these live audiences

and you guys could like crowd surf across Peoria at the end of those things. How does it affect your thinking about these things? Oh, I feel like an imposter every single day. Yeah. Now, before we left, I do want to say... Wait, wait, wait, wait, that's it? You just feel like it?

What do you mean? You feel like an imposter? I want to be worthy of people's time and attention. I want to know that we're not just riding a wave of noise and worry, and that it's of value. I feel I am far more aware of the ways in which I could be doing a better job than I am proud of the ways in which I am good at this job. and I'm sure therapy could help with that, but there's no time, so I do this instead. But I take your point, I take your point.

And speaking of being worth you wanting to make sure that you're worthy of the time you're asking, I truly, yes, there's important lessons in this documentary, there's dark stuff in this documentary, it's riveting, it's great, it is worth watching people, I'm telling you, give it a shot, you will be drawn in from the beginning. I appreciate how honest it is too. even about the ways in which forget the specifics of this story.

Part of what they're paying for is a failure of all of us to value journalism. And so I think it's important to lift up stories like this. Now, before we let you go, I have just been handed some second thoughts. This is where the producers watch interviews live and tell me ways I could have done better. And so I just want to run you through away a few of the places where the producers believe I could have done a better job. You don't need therapy. If this is the way you run your business day to day, John Lovett, you don't need therapy. This is therapy.

Let's see. I don't, opening up my cabinet of impure thoughts might have been a mistake. Should have used the term straight bait. Let's see. Giving Republicans advice on winning by leaving Trump's mic off till November might have been a mistake. Let's see. I should be more supportive of Trump as a fellow YouTuber. Ah, okay.

Also, a regret not asking Rachel if she has an in at Peacock who can get me on traitors. She's not responding to that. I don't know what she does. I don't think she's got the end. If I could get anybody to meet Alan Cumming, my girlfriend, Susan, would beat you to the door for it. She is so obsessed with Elkoming. I bet we can get that done. Well, Rachel Maddow, thank you so much for coming on the show.

It was great to talk to you. It's great to talk to you, John. The documentary, Killberry Print. I highly recommend it. Ann, you're doing cocktails. I forgot to mention you're making cocktails on... Cocktail Wars. Cocktail Wars on E.

Yeah. I only did one episode, but I was the guest judge. It was fantastic. You made a drink for me once at an MSNBC party after one of those correspondence dinners. In Washington, yes. Yes. And I don't remember the drink.

I'm sure it was good. I'm sure it was perfect. I once made one of those nights, it was actually the first time I met Michael Steele. I think it was when he was still RNC Chairman, and he asked me to make him a drink and I was all nervous, and I made him a drink, and I put zero alcohol in it. It was just like juice, like tonic,

some sort of, like, maybe some bitters or whatever, but he asked for like a strong something or other, and I gave him a zero alcohol mistake. But he's the, now we're friends. Now you're friends and you've learned from that to bring your new, you sort of, that's no way to win a cocktail war, as you know. Exactly. I would fail.

Rachel, thanks so much. Thanks, John. Thank you, Rachel Maddow. Kilberry Print is streaming on Peacock this Sunday, and we'll be right back with more Michelle and Nemesh for the rant wheel and second thoughts. And we're back. It's that time again, time for a spin of the rant whale. All right, here's how it works.

We got a wheel that'll land on you. You rant for 60 seconds. That's it. Let's spin the wheel. 60 seconds. 60 seconds. What do you got? What am I mad at?

I think Indian people need to stop telling me I can't make fun of a. other Indian people. You know, whenever a minority talks about another minority, a bunch of other minorities from that same minority tell that person that, hey, you're talking shit about us, you're going to bring us all down. No, I'm the one entitled to talk shit about my people because I share that experience. If I make fun of cash or Vivek Ramoswamy, it's not out of jealousy. It's because they're pieces of shit.

And I know exactly who they are and where they come from. And I know all their lives, and I feel like I should be the one talking about it. So fuck you, Indian people, if you want to. All right. That's, it's just, you know, in my special, I talk a lot about, I spend like good six, seven minutes on Vivek Ramoso. I mean, on Cash Patel. I did Vivek in the previous special. And people are like, oh, you're just jealous.

You're bringing us down. He's the head of the FBI. How much further could we get? Thank you. Let's spin it again. Michelle, what do you got? Mine is also that Indian people. Can you imagine?

Let me say what I want. I mean, my God. It's yours. Can you imagine? I love your people. My rant, it's really true. My rant is actually about television, and I was so excited to be here, John,

because I love Survivor, big Survivor fan. But really, my rant is that they need to start putting good TV back on in the summer. It is September now. shit to do, by the way, and you can bleep this. But there's so much good television on right now that I can't leave the house. There's 19 different housewife seasons on. We have Survivor, Big Brother's ending this week. We have traitors. There's now another traitors coming up. This summer I sit, I watch the Big Brother live feeds. I want to shoot myself. Okay, I'm like, there is nothing good on TV. Bravo puts all their worst stuff on. They're like, get it out of the way. Let's kill it in the

summer. Give us something to love in the summer other than Big Brother. I'm begging you. I have no life. And that's it. And now I'm too busy. Now look, I'm here. Why am I going to have time to watch these shows? This is really how I feel. Thank you guys. Let's spin it again.

Okay, I just, this is, here's my rant. It's not really rant. I just want to tell you about something that happened before the show, which is, so, so Gilbert Gaufried, there was like a documentary about him. And one thing that I remember from the documentary was that he would keep the little, and the little toothpaste and all the things in a little box under his bed, and he had just huge piles of all these free things,

like sometimes a first class flight or a biz class flight, I'll give you a little kit with all those things. He'd keep all those kits, keep them forever on his bed, and then he'd take them when he travels. I do that. I keep them all. I have lots of these little kits, and sometimes before the show I'll brush my teeth,

and I took out one of those little kits, and I brushed my teeth, and I was like, huh, orange toothpaste, that's weird, and then came and did the show yesterday, and then tonight before the show, I went to the bathroom and brush my teeth, and I was like, wait a second, oh no, John, you did brush your teeth with hand,

did brush your teeth with hand cream. And because I was like flying back and forth last week and like I'm doing a red eye overnight. I got to do this show now. You better believe I'm lying flat, baby. And so I got that thing. And then I was like, oh, no, I brushed my teeth with hand cream. I'm going to die now. I think I'm fine.

That was great. You got the smoothest teeth. I know. They're supple. They're supple. They're supple. They're supple. They're supple.

I have a Gilbert Godfrey story. I can't, just quick two seconds. Take your time. I beat Gilbert Godfrey on Flea Market Flip. I was on the celebrity, air quoting for me, version of Flea Market Flip with Laura Spencer, you know that show? Of course. And it was me and Gilbert, me and my friend Fiona, Gilbert and his wife,

and we beat him by $5 on that show. And his wife, not thrilled. I'll tell you who hates me. Gilbert Gottfried's wife can't stand me. But yeah. Wow. And he took all the snacks from Crafty after. Hell yeah.

Yeah, and I'll say that I was a little bit, he's one of us, I was a little embarrassed, I'll say, but we can leave it there. You being Jewish? See, here's a thing. I can say that. It's like him, yeah. Yeah, no.

Like, he can say it, I can say that, you can say that. I've said that about Jewish people too, so don't. We know. Here's a thing, here's a thing. There's something about that that I actually respect that, in part because I think it is true to Jewish culture, which is this idea that like, oh, things are not. nice now. These are the fat years now. Take the snacks. It's all going away. That's true. And I like,

I think that's a little bit in the back of your mind to have this idea that like, okay. But also, he owned like many homes and has Disney money. I was off the view in a season as we know and I needed that cash and they were still mad that I won and I didn't take a single snack. Thank you. Round of applause for me not stealing snacks. Thank you. Anyway, but he was, I will say this, he was lovely. And I really am not saying that to be funny. Like he was just. genuinely kind and very, very sweet. We'll be right back. And we're back.

And now we end the evening, as we always do, with a warm, comforting mug of second thoughts. Here's how it works. I have a list of ways that the producers feel I could have done a better job tonight, though I think it's going to be hard tonight. I think tonight was a night where it was hard to come up with ways I could improve.

Ten on ten, dude. Yeah, I knocked this guy out of the fucking park. Yeah. I'm sorry for fat-shaming, Christy. I am. That was a cheap joke. Well, I know. That's fine. No, no. I think it's a funny bit to just be like, to just kind of as a throwaway call someone a fat

fuck like that. I think it was funny because it's a little bit of a joke about calling someone a fat buck. I think that's understood. But we could have, we could have workshoped it a little bit and beaten it. Chris Christie closed a bridge that caused incalculable damage to the thousands of people's lives. If you make fun of his high BMI, go for it. Amanda's up. All right. Okay.

Thank you. You shouldn't regret that. I don't regret it. Let's see. I lied to Michelle about coming to her show in a way that was immediately obvious. Yeah. By the way, you're a loss, my friend. Thank you.

See you guys tomorrow. Yeah. So, how, you asked me if I would come to your show. I said yes. That seemed like a lie. And now it's not only that I haven't said yes, it's that I'm definitely not coming. Well, that's obvious.

I think that's what we're discussing out in the open right now, but I won't see you tomorrow. I think you should have... But I'll see all these beautiful people tomorrow. You should have, like, a third thoughts about the second thoughts. Because you should regret that you even brought up that you did that. Because neither one of us gave a fuck. I was past it.

But I'm glad, actually, I'm glad it came back up. Okay. Because you know what? I do think I am insulting you now, and I can tell that you're growing closer to me. Babe. It feels like a real connection, but only when it's mean. Well, gotta go back to therapy. Gotta find time on the sketch.

All right. Oh, I also didn't call out the fact that when we were representing all of humanity, we chose Joan of Arc and Mr. Bean. As the whole sum to the sun. I mean, Mr. Bean is probably the greatest representative of humanity to ever exist. I mean, Jesus Christ, like, said more with his face than most people do ever in their whole lives. beautifully sad Nehbertz

Dickinson is a humanity treasure okay guys if you don't know he's the man it's the greatest the best yeah the best any second

thoughts onesh give me a second I really don't live with many regrets I think I could have removed the fuck you Indian people from the Indian people

rant but that was really just so I didn't have a end to it so that's usually like a and it was a beautiful button Oh, yeah, no, it felt pretty good. It was a period on the end of this.

It's more so just like, you know, I'm trying to eliminate cursing. Are you? Yeah. Trying to curse less? I have a little child, you know. Oh. I was trying to curtail my use of... Are you cursing at home?

All the fucking time. Do you have any regrets? I really mean it. Regrets? You know, John, I have to say, I was very excited to come here. I'm a long-time fan of yours, genuinely, and I don't really, no. I feel like we really clicked. Yeah, we had a good time.

This is a gentleman. Adore him. And we have a lot of road to cover still, I think, you and I. And I look forward to it. This is just the beginning. I feel it. It's a bicycle built for two. It's the nicest thing you've said to me all night.

Thank you. My only regret is that it has to end. And that's our show. Thank you so much to Michelle Collins and to Rachel Maddow. There are 39 days. Until the midterms, we'll be back next week with Heather Dubrow, Dr. Terry Dubro, and Lauren Benanti. Have a great weekend.

Love It or Leave It is a Cricket Media production. Our show is produced by Kendra James. Bill McGrath, Kelsey Gante, and me, John Lovett. Our production team includes Hallie Kiefer, Sarah Lazarus, Rahman Borsellino, Peter Miller, David Tolls, Claudia Scheng, Jay Banks, Raoul Calderon, Gavin Purcell, and Matt DeGrode. And our production staff is proudly unionized

with the Writers Guild of America East.