The Adam and Dr. Drew Show - #1979 Straw Suckers

Episode Date: February 26, 2025

Adam and Drew open up the week talking about the evolution of technology and the cell phone, job security for those who are good at what they do, and people in the government. They also discuss if AI would take all the jobs once its fully established, and tells us about a terrible hypothetical gilded cage.

Recorded live at Corolla One Studios with Adam Corolla and board certified physician and addiction medicine specialist Dr. Drew Pinsky. You're listening to the Adam and Dr. Drew Show. Yeah, get it on. Got to get on. Test it with them. I'm going to put them around. Dr. Drew, four, five, five, six, seven, six, seven, one, two, three, four, five, test.

What's going on there, Drew Ski, New York City? No, man. We've been on the road a lot, you and I, but just for a second there, I heard a whiff of mana-mana. And nobody except you and I would probably know exactly what that refers to, but it sort of brings me back to sort of middle school years. Your acoustics aren't what they normally are. Are you? Oh.

It's not horrible. But it's not as good as it normally is. I just want to point that out. Adam says the acoustics are not good. For the listener. Is it echoey? Do you have, maybe you're not. Is it echoey? Is that the issue? Yeah, it's a little less than what you normally do,

but we can get by. Let me try this. Let me try this. Yeah, it's a little less than what you normally do, but we can get by. Don't- Let me try this. Try this. Do not be too distracted. Is that better? Is that better?

That's about the same. It doesn't matter. I shouldn't have brought it up. Better? Yeah, better. So we can move on. Thanks. All right.

You need to do it. All right. All right. Do you have this thing, Drew, where women, even if they know you're on the phone, don't fully recognize you're on the phone? Turn it down a little bit. I talked to a lot of male friends of mine

and their wives are talking to them while, and they're going, yeah, I'm on the phone. And they go, yeah, okay. And they just keep talking. It takes time, right? The second you get your hands. I know, I'm saying it's a female thing, right? Men? You called me out to help you. Oh that's about me. No not this. No this is apropos to nothing. Apropos you know what I realized Drew going it's the the problem is the earbud

The problem is here, but okay remember Okay, do you remember in the 70s the 80s in the 90s if there's ever like a TV show Yeah, we're like the boss was sitting on his desk and And he and he was on the phone and he was holding that big receiver up to his head. And then somebody would like walk in and go,

Bird, I got the, oh, and they do the, sorry. And they back out of the room. 100%. Because the guy was on the phone, but it's because he was holding up a giant receiver. Now it's an earbud and people come in and they'll go,'ll go I'm on the phone and they'll go. Yeah. Okay Anyway, we just got the Jenkins report in and I think we need and it's like oh cuz it's smaller It doesn't count like you know such animals that yes

I mean, you know, I've been filling up my gas tank at a gas station and had guys just come up and talk to me. You know, hey man, Bamancio Van. And I go, I'm on the phone and they go, oh yeah, my brother-in-law is a huge fan of yours. But I realized if I was holding a phone, old school 70s phone to my head and I was in an office, that guy would stop talking. Oh, absolutely.

Is this better or worse? I turn my mic around. It's the same. Same. That's right. Keep going. Keep going. Not only that.

Keep going. Keep going. Not only that. He's doing 10 minutes on this phenomenon that he's witnessing right now. I'm putting my PS on. All right, here we go. The fact is though, I remember a time

when holding the cell phone up to your ear when you walked outside felt bizarre. Felt like people are like, I'm talking and I'm in outer space here. I'm not in a kitchen or a bedroom. How does this work? What are people gonna think? That went on for about 10 minutes.

Yeah, well, you are an early adapter as a doctor. I mean, just with a pager, for Christ's sake. Oh, dude, I still have remnants of that. That's why I can't text, because when people text me, I have to respond immediately, because something going off in my pocket meant emergency. Yeah, yeah. When do you think you got your first pager?

Oh, 1984. Oh really, you know the exact date. Well, because as an intern, I definitely had a pager. Oh no, no, it was before that, because I had one for a minute as a third year medical student. So actually 1982, 83 in there. There was a moment where I had one for just a brief bit just so the residents could get a hold of me.

But actual being tethered to a pager was 1984. And that one, a voice would come over the pager. Oh, really? It would go off so loud, you could hear a block away and then a voice would say call such and such station. All right so we got a subject which is AI and I don't really feel anything about AI. I don't have strong feelings about AI. I'm kind of curious for those who have very strong feelings about everything that shows up.

Do you know what I mean? Yeah, I'm the same way, especially with so many unknowns. Like I'm listening, I listen to people that know something. I listen to Sam Altman and Peter Thiel and Elon Musk. I figure they know something more than me. I didn't understand the inner workings of AI. I mean, I understand the applications, kind of, and I don't know what it's going to be.

Who knows? But I do, I have lived long enough to remember similar panics over many things such as, what was that, Y2K over certain kinds of vehicles taking over, over, I just, anytime there's a panic, I'm suspecting. Yeah, well, that's what happened with me and COVID. I was sort of out before it began. And I'm normally, normally my posture is I'm out. Okay, the reason I'm out is because nothing ever happens.

And historically, and by the way, when something does happen, you're not gonna have a choice whether you can be out or in. You'll just be in, and you know, the meteor. And that's what humans do. They deal, they manage when shit happens. Yeah, it's a strange phenomenon. AI thing and the self-driving trucks and doge,

it's all the same. It's like these government officials count on checks and it's like, and what about their pension? It's like, I don't know, what about my pension? What about your pension? What about anyone's pension? What about anyone's guarantee? I mean, over the course of your life,

you've had, you know, I've had 25 different jobs over the course of my life, you know? As a matter of fact, when you work construction, you just go from job to job to job. Your job ends. Every single job, I mean, the average length of the job I was on when I worked in building people's houses, the average time I was at that job site was probably about six weeks.

I wouldn't be there from the time we poured the foundation to the time, you know, we gave the keys to the new owner. I'd show up to do finish work or whatever. By the time I got there, the place was three quarters of the way done. And I would just finish. And then at some point, Monday would come around and you weren't going back to that job. You were done. You would go to Simi Valley to do another house

or then go down to downtown LA and work on earthquake rehab. You know, like I I never knew where my next job was. I didn't go to the same place every day Like I said, I probably put together about on average about six or seven weeks And then it was off to the next site and you never knew what the next one was while you were still on this job You're just Assuming and kind of hoping that when this wrapped something else opened. Just out of curiosity, who would refer you for it?

Just a contractor, a general contractor? You know it's a weird very old kind of how did any of this work before the internet kind of world. Yeah. There was magically just another job to go to. Even when I was on my own, even when I was completely independent, there was always another job to go to. And it was all word of mouth, even though it wasn't even, you know, it wasn't word of mouth, like it was a musical or something where people are, it was word of mouth, even though it wasn't even, you know, it wasn't word of mouth, like it was a musical or something

where people were, it was a word of mouth. It was just sort of, you worked. And really what it was, I mean, here was the lesson. If you were good, you would work, pure and simple. If you were a good carpenter, you were never out of work, is what I'd say. That's why medicine used to work too. Really?

And the other thing I noticed in medicine is that high quality people tended to congregate, they kind of know, they see quality and they hang together, you know what I mean? That happened in construction too. Yeah. Yeah, no, yeah, you did, I mean, you did know the guys that were good

and the guys that were sorta hacks, you know, and you tended to wanna be associated with the guys that were good. And you would kinda get cherry picked a little bit. They'd be, I wouldn't call them head hunters, but at some point, the guy guy would go I'm starting my own outfit and I want to know if you want to come with me because we're doing our own thing. You know, yeah, then you'd end up going with him and working on on his stuff.

And that guy's name was Tom Johnson, who used to work with and in Chatsworth, you know, and he taught me things, you know, and was. Yeah, I did the and was- Tom Johnson. Yeah. The guy that did the screw backwards and then forward? No, that was Rick. Rick, Rick. That was Rick, and that wasn't on a construction site.

That was in the desert riding motorcycles where I was trying to re-thread something. No, Tom Johnson was a blonde dude from Chatsworth. He was just a bro, you know? And he had a facility and a little cabinet shop and I used to work with him. And then I'd use his cabinet shop for side jobs and stuff like that.

But I was never out of work because I didn't charge much and I was honest and I was pretty good. work because I didn't charge much and I was honest and I was pretty good and I cleaned up after myself and did little stupid stuff that nobody does anymore and I just worked. I just always worked. So this notion of like-

Also part of that is also availability, accountability, ability, affability they used to say and then you should speak, well I ask you, you show, and so they'd ask you. Yeah, and then what they would do is Word would sort of get around and you get a call from so and so's friend. But so the righteous have nothing to fear in the work department, but if you work for the government

and you only show up once or twice a month and you don't do much, which I suspect many people do, then you're going to have to find a real job. And I'm okay with it. And it's an interesting concept, sort of bigger picture, which is I was always okay with the concept of me working. I never had any thoughts about what I was always okay with the concept of me working. I never had any thoughts about what I was owed or what I deserved. I just thought I have to work.

And I never thought about days off and I never thought about 401Ks. I never thought about, here's what I thought about. I will show up, you will pay me X amount an hour, and then we're done. I will pay for my own, you know, I was so basic back then. That's like dental, healthcare, a 401k, retirement.

That'll all be up to me because we are done with our transaction. I showed up, you gave me $14 an hour. You're done. I'm done with you, you're done with me. Is that still the world you live in? Yes. It's actually, yeah.

I mean. Yeah, no, yeah, it's now, it's up to 17 an hour, but it's, yeah, it's still the same. No, it's the same world. I show up to the theater, I do the show, you pay me. If I don't show up, then you don't pay me. That's the way it's always been. Yeah. It's weird. Do you think the degree to which we were attached to just putting our head down and working was a historical moment? I mean, I imagine when we were on

farms, it was like that. But in terms of, you know, construction and professional careers, it sure is different now. And the question I have is, has it always been kind of the way it is now? Or were we the anomaly? I don't know. It feels weird to say that. Well, there's an evolution.

And the problem with evolution, I've been screaming at you for over 25 years. It doesn't mean it's good. It doesn't mean it's good. That's right, evolution doesn't mean progress. It doesn't mean it gets better. No, I yelled at you just because it's progress doesn't mean it's good.

Yep, that's right. Now, people who are progressive think all progress is good. And so that's the problem. They think all of it is good. I think some of it is good. And then there are many things that our grandparents and great grandparents got right. And so when Barack Obama was talking about hope and change, I was like, slow down with the change. Slow down. There are many core principles that we have as Americans that are hundreds of years old

that we should not change. You want to change everything, because you envision some sort of world where you want to reimagine everything. You know what I mean? Gavin Newsom wants to reimagine safety in California. What's to reimagine everything? Well, I don't like his imagination. I've seen what that leads to. Yeah, why don't we imagine each of us taking care of our own safety?

Why don't we imagine that? What a world that would be. Well, that's no, no, he wants to imagine shit for you, Drew. That's his, he imagines a world where he imagines stuff for you and then you have to do it, whether it makes sense or not. That's the world he imagines. So as far as AI goes, and any, look, let's take a break, and then I got a concept for you, Drew. Right after this.

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I don't know anyone who's good at their job who's out of a job. I've said it a million times. I've never. I love you. All right, anyway. I don't know anyone who's good, who's ever out of work. Do you?

I agree, no. But let's really think, because I don't, I know people who think they're good. It's not whether you think you're good or not, it's whether the people around you think you're good, especially your boss. Right. Who's really good?

Who works hard? Who works hard and is out of work, ever? Right. Ever. I mean, something could happen to the local economy or something, or something weird could go on that people could temporarily struggle,

but they would adjust, move, and continue to be the hardworking person. People would identify it, and they would work. Yeah, so there you go. So what's the answer? I mean, how do we prevent this from happening to you or one and the answer is be real good at what you do? And, but you're pointing at something else too though,

which is work really hard. And there's even a second layer of that too, which is if you work really hard, you tend to get pretty good at what you're doing. The 10,000 hour stuff, you're good after that. Agreed, so I don't think AI is an issue. But putting people out of work, it really depends how you approach it.

And I think a lot of people approach like Doge as we have this factory that employs 5,000 people that makes a product that nobody needs or wants, but we can't close the factory because 5,000 people will be out of work. My response to that is tough shit, you have to close the factory. Historically, that's the way it works.

And those 5,000 people need to figure it out. I'm not even telling them what to do. I'm saying they need to figure it out. And when these people, like you remember all those 80s, 70s, 80s kind of Dearborn, Michigan, we're closing the Flint factory and you'd have all those guys and they'd go, I worked for Ford and I made $38 an hour.

And by the way, I used to watch this stuff when I made $12 an hour, you know? I was like, you live in Flint and you make $31 an hour and I'm making $12 an hour swinging a hammer. But, you know, I made $31 an hour and now the only thing I'm making $12 an hour swinging a hammer, but you know I made $31 an hour and now the only thing I'm qualified to do is flip burgers at the fast food joint for four bucks an hour. I'm like, well that's kind of on you. I remember I encountered that in the early 80s. I was treating a guy and he used to work in the auto plant in Michigan and he just put the rear glass in position

$50 an hour retirement and health, right? Right, which everybody wants I mean which AOC and the crew won except for that factories not there anymore right, and that's not the way it works and That's the problem. So everybody And that's not the way it works. And that's the problem. So everybody also, I don't like the, in general, I'm working for the government, just doesn't feel like you have enough dominion over yourself. It just feels like you just work for somebody else

and it's just there. It's a gilded cage is what I'm saying. Like if somebody said the greatest trick you could have played on me when I was 25, the greatest, I don't say trick, the cruelest trick you could have played on me when I was 25 is if you'd said look Adam You're gonna get $65,000 a year whether you really work hard or not You're gonna get full benefits and you don't know you don't have to come into the office that and unless you really want and you Can kind of do your own thing and no one's gonna be looking over your shoulder and you don't really have to be accountable For what you're doing or how much work you're putting out every week. So there you go. I'd just be sitting on my sofa drinking something through

a straw right now and I'd be 700 pounds and I'd be angry. Be angry, that's right. I'd be angry. Because you'd be angry the way a polar bear is angry when it's in captivity. Yes, yes. I would be pacing my one bedroom apartment and angry and day drinking and talking to myself. Yes, that's what you can do to anybody. Yes. You can do that. It's interesting that you had anger though to that.

The anger part was not self-evident to me, but I think you're right about that. Yes. That's interesting. You can ruin people with this stuff. Yeah. And then you ruin enough and you get enough people and then that becomes your constituency because they never want to get off it.

Even though the best thing they could do is get off it. The best thing that ever could have happened to Chris Corolla, some guy just walk in and go, no more welfare for you, No more food stamps for you to get up, fucking take a shower, put yourself together and go find a goddamn job. That would have been the best thing that ever happened to her. Yes. It's it's I buy it. When people are left to their own devices, it is very, it's a, it's a, it's, look. What percentage of people who find money cash, you know, what percentage of money,

what percentage of human beings who would just find cash on the ground at an airport, a hundred dollar bill would walk over to some sort of lost and found or some sort of kiosk where the, you know, where the retired guy, the information booth and said, excuse me, I found this hundred dollar bill. Obviously it's not mine. Is there a place you can keep it if someone comes and claims it? What percentage of that human being? I'm not to, not to sort of, 10 to 20%. 10% to 20.

I think 10, 20 there. I think the same percentage that would stand up and say, what's up with this COVID shit? I don't think it's 20. May not be. I think it's, I think we're into single digits. But the point is, the point is, that's the same amount of people who would sit home

and take government checks and say, you know what, I really don't do anything. I'm not earning this. You know what I mean? I should be going into the office. I'm getting all these benefits and stuff. I'm not even breaking a sweat. I'm not doing it.

You know what, I'm not gonna accept this anymore. Listen, I had a really interesting take I'm not gonna accept this anymore. Or I'm- Well, listen. Yeah. I had a really interesting take on the Musk letter. We have to write a letter to describe what you do. If I had gotten that request and I was employed in some federal position, my first thought would be, oh, this is awesome.

I can really try to make a case for an advancement. I'm gonna tell them all I'm doing, I'm gonna get on this. I can't wait, I wanted to see what I'm doing. And if I'm not doing it, here's some ideas I have what I should be doing. Now I need to one effing person say anything like that. It's kind of a tell. Yeah, well, it is interesting as we go back

and we play old guy talking about new folk, which is a posture thing. If somebody came to me at any point, even now, and they said, hey, I'm not trying to insult you, but I kind of wanna know what you've done the last week, just to make sure I know what I'm paying you for. I would immediately get back on my heels and go, Oh, oh, yeah, yeah, sorry. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. I would get a little nervous. I would go, Oh, okay. Yeah, I could teach you. I'll tell you what I'm doing. And then I would go, oh, oh, okay. Yeah, I could teach you.

I'll tell you what I'm doing. And then I would go about doing it. I would never get on the offense and go, hey, fuck you, man. Yeah. Which is the- So weird to say. It's the weirdest. It's the new world order.

But it is you and I as old guys talking about 28 year olds going, where, what is this? Oh, let me tell you, it's something. talking about 28 year olds going, what is this? Oh, let me tell you, it's something. I've experienced it here many times over the years, many times. It's such, it's a shame because it is opportunity missed. It really is. Well, we're not, listen.

Part of it would be, I hope I did, I hope I was doing something, let me check. Well, let me check. Thank you, I'll check it out. Let me explain something. The righteous have nothing to fear. And we do this stupid thing all the time where, where you go, I don't get why, you know, we used to do it. We do it with politicians, you do it in many walks of life. But it's like, we used to do it, we do it with politicians, you do it,

in many walks of life. But it's like, I don't get it. Why doesn't Joe Biden just go on Joe Rogan's show and tell him all the stuff and explain to America, you know, why he's not a crook and why his son didn't do anything illegal and how come he wasn't a part of it and all. And the answer is, he would if that was true.

That's not none of that's true. Yeah. So he has to go to friendly places and lie. Okay. What you're talking about is, oh, I would love the opportunity to tell Elon Musk all that I've done this week. Perhaps I would get an advancement. Maybe I'd get a promotion out of it.

Yeah, that's the person who did a bunch of shit that week. That's not who these people are. Right. These are the fat, angry people who drink to a straw. Why the straw? I don't know. They're just walking around with that cup. Most people with the cup, the plastic cup of the straw on it

Mostly dumb and then a handful of geniuses Just a plastic tumbler with that with the thing on it, they're just sucking that gruel through there all day It's something and if it's bedazzled, they're really dumb like the nicer the cup the dumber they are No a handful of them are geniuses And then the majority are dumb and you guys can figure out which ones you are But what I'm saying is is that's my experience with the constant straw suckers If you did a survey, if you did a thing. Straw sucking.

All right. Can we do this? How many, if you did this graph, and now I'm going to paint a picture Drew and I want you to stay with me. If you did a graph of how many Linear liquid feet was sucked through a straw in a year For an average person or for a person. You know what I'm saying? Yeah a linear Yeah Let's say let's just say straws 12 inches long for the sake of argument Let's just say straws 12 inches long for the sake of argument. So you're trying to document how much, what distances these liquids pass. You would add up each foot. Every time you took a draw off a straw.

So every time you take a draw off a nine inch straw, that's nine linear inches. It gets added to your portfolio. At the end of the year, if you looked at my portfolio, you'd see like three feet. It's a coffee cup. It's a martini. It's a sports bottle, but it's rarely Diet Coke at the movie theater. You know what I'm saying? Or whatever, or that bedazzled thing. And then there's others would be 80 nautical miles, right? Yes.

Now, if you just took a look at those two things with knowing nothing else, not even names, wouldn't put a name next to the 80 nautical miles and the three foot, who would you assume is smarter? in the three foot, who would you assume is smarter? I don't see the Caltech professor sitting through that cup, let's put it that way. So I'd be, my study sense would be up. And number two, my thing would be who would you want to hang out with?

Right. Because I don't dig straws myself, I just think. Okay, well now that we got it All right, I'm gonna be in Austin with the Barry Weiss that'll be tomorrow Do it. Oh my god, that's gonna be great the Paramount theater. Yeah, it's gonna be awesome when Mike August calls her barry to her face Because August calls her barry to her face because Mike August mispronounces everyone's name.

And then when I tell him that's not how she does her name, he goes, yeah, so what? He gets dismissive about it, which is always funny. I'm always like, OK, well, I don't know. First off, I'm only telling you how the person says their name. That's all. You can say it any way you want, but you will be incorrect.

He fights for his mispronunciation. It's an interesting- Good for Mike. Good for Mike. He's all in. Again, I wish I had that. I wish I had some of that, don't you? I'm wrong, and I'm gonna fight for it.

All right, San Luis, the Fremont Theater, that's Friday, that's almost sold, but Monterey, the Golden State Theater, there's tickets there, and then NAP is almost sold. That's Uptown Theater, that's Sunday. But Phoenix coming up, Desert Ridge, Improv, go to Amcro.com for all the live shows. What do you got, Drew?

Go to Amcro.com, it's all there. And by the way, on March 17th, I'm gonna be doing a book release sort of presentation with Rob Henderson in New York. So check that out, it's on my Twitter feed. So, until next time, Adam Kerl for Dr. Sam. Mahalo.

Hey fans of freedom and open discussion. I'm heading over to Substack and there's an ad free audio and video version of the Adam Corolla show that's gonna be waiting there. In the near future, you'll even be able to watch ACS Live unedited as we record it, participate in the show via live chat, that'll be coming up very soon.

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