The Daily Show: Ears Edition - CNN Scales Back "Breaking News" Hype | Eliot Schrefer

Episode Date: June 8, 2022

New York passes major gun reform laws, Roy Wood Jr. sits down with anti-government firebrand Ammon Bundy, and Eliot Schrefer discusses his book "Queer Ducks (and Other Animals)."See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You're listening to Comedy Central. Coming to you from New York City, the only city in America. It's the Daily Show. Tonight, Turkey plays the name game. Russia's re-gifting grain. And Elliot Trafer. This is the Daily Show with Trevor Noah. Welcome to the Daily Show. I'm tell you thanks so much for tuning in. Thank you for coming out in Crestrippin. So much fun. So much fun. Look at you guys. Take a seat, everybody. Take a seat. Take a seat. We've got a jam-packed show for you today. The nation of Turkey is tired of your

jokes. CNN is done with breaking news and Vlattamier Putin blesses the grains down in Africa. What does that even mean? Well stay tuned to find out. Plus we've got author Elliot Schrafer on the show to tell us about gay animals. Yeah, I said that. So let's do this people. Let's jump straight into today's headlines. Okay, our first story is all about language. Like when I say the word Turkey, what do you think of? Probably a big bird that people eat while arguing with their family about whether or not gender's a spectrum, right? Yeah? Well, the country of Turkey knows that's what you think about when you hear their name and they're sick of that shit. The country of Turkey is ready to change its name.

Officials have notified the United Nations asking that the country be referred to as Turkey A, the way it's spelled and pronounced in Turkish. It's a way to disassociate its name from the bird and negative connotations that sometimes come with it. The official request follows the release of an ad campaign promoting the new name. Hey mom, I the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the turkey. I I I I turkey. the turkey. the tu tu tu tu tu c. tu coe is. tu cozy. tucoe is is is tuce. tucozyc, tucozyc, tory. tory tory tory tory tory tory cozy cozy cozy cozy cozy cozy cozy cozy cozy cozy c. ture is is is is is is is ture is ture is ture is ture is ture. ture is ture. ture. ture. ture is ture. tu tu t. tu touc. t. t. touc. t. t. touc. t. to. to. to. to. to. to. to promoting the new name. Hey mom, I just landed. Oh, hello, Turkey. Hello, Turkey. Hello, Turkey. Hello, Turkey, yay.

Hey, turkey yay. Hey. Turkey, yay. I like this. I'm willing, I'm willing to start saying turkey. I don't mind. But I refuse to use those little dots over the U, all right? And this has nothing to do with Turkey and everything to do with drawing a line for how many keyboards

I'm willing to have on my phone. I'm already three keyboards, I've got emo-key, I've got my the Symbols keyboard, then my Symbals keyboard, and I'm not going to add another keyboard, so I can tape that th a tha tha tha th th th th th th th th to th thu and I'm thu and I'm that that that that to thu and I'm to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to the the the the the the the the the throing throing throing the tooooooooooooooooooooooe tue tue thea thea tooooooing to to to to to to to to the dots that make it look like it's staring at me is too much! It's too much, Turkey A. And I know what some of you are saying right now you're like, oh Traver you don't need another keyboard, you can just hold down the U-key, yeah, but it's about the extra effort. If you use your thumbs too much, they're gonna bulk up. I'm trying to get mine long and slender for the summer. to. to. to. to. to. thea. I's, toe. thea, thea, thea, thea, thea, thea, thea, thea, thea, tha, tha, tha, tha, tha, tha, thsoo, tha, tha, and tha, and tha, and tha, and tha, and tha, and thi, and thi, and thi, and thi, and thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi. And thsosososoome. And thsoe, the the the the the the the the the thsoe, thsoe, the thea, tha, thea, tha, thae, thau. And I's thau. And I's trys, trys, trys, trys, thauu. And, thau. And thau. And thau. gotta help me help you. And not the you with the dots, turkey-ye, alright? Because no, I get why turkey's doing this. I get it. A country's name is its brand.

Nobody wants their brand associated with an animal that people don't even like that much. I mean, if you're going to get mistaken for a bird, at least that it'd be a bird with a bird, some juice, you know? Like if their country was named spicy chicken sandwich, they wouldn't be changing anything. I will say Turkey should just know this though. Just because they got the UN to agree on this doesn't mean that people are actually going to start calling them Turkey-A. It's not that easy. Trust me, I know this. Back in middle school, I tried to get everyone to call me Trevolva. Yeah, and they just laughed like you guys did now. They said it was a stupid name, which I guess in retrospect it kind of was, you know, unless you guys like it.

Okay, you're fine. Trevolva. Travolva is stupid. Forget it. Let's move on. Wait, did someone say it was cool? I just thought I heard someone say it was a cool. thi. It is a cool... because it could know? All right, still no. All right. I actually think this is a good idea. You know what?

A lot of countries should be updating their names. Yeah. They just update it to make it modern. Like, this isn't the United States of America? Let's be honest. It's more like the states that barely put up with each other of America. Yeah? Every country, like Greece, makes it sound messy, but it's not. Hungary, what if they've eaten? Huh?

Yeah, Niger. Wow, you need to change that name to be safe. You just need to change that name to be safe. I bet you right now. They're losing a ton of white people tourism. Because there's a lot of white people who are too nervous to type that into Expedia. I'm just like, I'm heading to NIG. You know what, I'm just going to Paris. I'm just going to Paris.

I'm just going to Paris. I don't want any trouble here. I'm just going to parish. But let's move on to some other international news. Because while Turkey is changing its name, Russia has spent the past three months trying to change Ukraine's name to Russia, Jr. But Ukraine isn't the only country suffering from Russia's invasion. Yeah, what many people might not know is that Ukraine is one of the world's top producers of grain. But as part of its invasion, Russia is blocking Ukraine's ports and intercepting the grain. So now, the world is facing a grain the grain the grain is the grain is the grain is the grain is the grain is the grain is the grain is the grain is the grain is the grain is the grain is the grain is the grain is the grain is the grain is the grain is the grain is the grain is the grain now the world is facing a grain shortage, which Russia is taking advantage of.

The U.S. is given out about 14 countries, a heads-up about stolen Ukrainian grain. U.S. officials say that Russia stole grain from Ukraine and alerted these other countries, mainly in Africa that Russia will probably sell it. Policy experts say, faced with starvation, most countries in the area likely won't hesitate to buy from Russia. The director of one African think tank told the New York Times, quote, this is not a dilemma. Africans don't care where they get their food from. And if someone is going to moralize about that, they are mistaken. Okay, okay, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, wo wo wo wo wo, whoa, wo, wo, wo, wo, wo, wo, wo, wo, wo, wo, wo, wo, wo, wo, wo, th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. It, th. th, th, th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. the. the. the. the. thooooooo. th. the. the. the. the. the. the th. the the th. Okay, okay, whoa, whoa, whoa. I get what you're saying, but Africans don't care where they get their food from.

Come on, don't put it like that. Yes, some parts of Africa are suffering from famine and their leaders can't afford to take the moral high ground because they need the food, but not just Africans don't care where running around on the sidewalk grabbing people's brunches out of their plates. Just like, ha ha! You did not get your bryos. It's mine now, huh?

Ha ha! And by the way, just in case you're wondering, Africans are going to use the grain to make like bread and shit, okay? These stories always make it sound like Africans are just going to eat the grain right out of the sack. Make it sound like that with us. It's just like, ah, we love this. I put that green in my mouth, huh? I know that's what you guys are picturing in your heads. I know it. I said, we need grain and you guys are like, I guess they're thi

eat grain. I guess that's what they're causing a food shortage in the rest of the world. And then they're gonna sell the grain to make up for the shortage that they're causing. And can we just take a moment to acknowledge how humiliating this is for Russia? When they started this invasion, Putin was like, Our glorious army will conquer Ukraine for a new Russian empire.

And now,'s just like, okay, plan B, let's just rub this bitch, okay? We just go to steal. We just go to steal now. Plain B. Yeah, you went from being all high and mighty, and now the dude's basically on the corner in Africa, like, you got, do you want grain? I got grain? I also got the Rolex. Just the good stuff. Just the good stuff. You want the grain? I got grain. But let's move on from the war in Ukraine to the war zone that is America. Ever since the Uvaldi school shooting, Congress has been working hard to craft sensible gun safety measures that can be narrowly defeated at the last minute. But a lot of people are trying to make this time different. I mean just today Matthew McConaughey, who's from Yvaldi, was at the White House pushing for reforms. Unfortunately though,

nobody really expects a lot to change. Now that's where there is an upside to living in the states that barely put up with each other of America, right? And that is individual states can break off and pass their own gun laws, which is exactly what's happening right here in New York. New York bolstered its already tough gun laws, some of the strictest in the nation. Governor Hokel signed a package of gun reform bills yesterday. Now among them, a measure that bans the sale of semi-automatic rifles to anybody

under 21. New buyers are also required to obtain a permit. Also, red flag laws are expanding. Body armor for civilians is outlawed and ammo for semi-automatic handguns is required to be microstamped to make it easier to trace. Hulk will celebrated the new laws in the Bronx. It just keeps happening. Shots ring out. Flags come down and nothing ever changes,

except here in New York. Wow. Wow. This is so weird. A mass shooting happened and then politicians did something. Wow. This is so weird. A mass shooting happened and then politicians did something. I didn't even know that that was possible. Yeah, it's like I showed up to McDonald's and the McFleary machine is working.

It's just, I don't even know how to react to this. Do I clap? Am I supposed to tip, what's a good tip for passing gun law? ten percent? I'm sure it's 10%. You know what this feels like? This feels like when you're ready to argue with your partner and before you can say anything, they just apologize? Right?

Yeah, now you've got a throat full of screams and nothing to do with it. It's like, thank you. And New York made a lot of changes. For instance, it's raising the minimum age on semi-automatic rifles, which seems like common sense to me. You know, although in my opinion, instead of 21, I feel like it should be 21 and four days, yeah, because I don't want someone buying a gun on the same night that they're slamming 10 shots of Jaeger, just spread it out, you know? New York is also going to be banning body armor, and that makes sense. In fact, this is the first state in the country to do it, which is a great idea.

In fact, they should also ban under armor while they add it. Yeah, it's not about the shootings. I'm just tired of seeing people's nipples on the train, you know. I get it, you work out. You work out. And I know, I know some people are saying, but wait, I'm not a shooter, I just want body armor for my protection. Don't worry. You don't need body armor. All right? If you're not doing anything in the Ferris, you don't need body armor. Yeah. Something I've learned from American movies is that you just need to keep a precious family air loom on your body.

That stops any bullets. Any time. It's like, Bah! Oh, thank God. My mom's Bible stop the bullets. I'm like, ba, oh, oh, thank goodness. My grandpa's pocket watch saved me. Oh, thank God I carry grandma's cherished Dildo with me all the time. Save my life once again. Thank you, Grandma. Thank you so much. I'm just going to let that soak in for a second. All right, finally, let's move on to a story about CNN, which stands for Cable News Ninjas. Anyway, for years, CNN has been notorious for overhyping every story, like it's, you know, the zombie apocalypse. It's like, breaking news, the midterm elections are now

six months away. And not surprisingly, this approach has started to backfire, as viewers have learned to tune it out, you know, like the boy who cried wolf. So, because of that, because of that, CNN is making a big change. We start here with Breaking News about breaking news, involving CNN. The network has a new boss, and he says CNN is now cutting back on overhyping everything is, quote, breaking news, so much so that CNN has actually added a breaking news guideline to its style book. So you'll soon see a lot less of that breaking news banner at the bottom of the TV screen.

Yes, CNN is cutting back on the overuse of breaking news. And to celebrate, it immediately put up a countdown clock to the moment when it will officially reduce the amount of breaking news. Very exciting, one thing at a time. Look, people, the truth is, the truth is, most stories aren't giant news in that way. I'm glad they're doing this, you know? Great job, Chris Lecht. There's only been like three breaking news stories of the past two decades. Let's be honest, like 9-11, coronavirus, and that time that guy put salt on his food, but from up here. Yeah, most, th, that, that, that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that th thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thiol thi's thi thi's thi's thioliolioliolioliol- thiolioliol is thiol is thiol is thiol is thi is thi is thi is thi is thi is thi is thi is thi is thi is thi is thi is thi is thi is thi is thi is thi is thi is thi is thi is thi is thi is thi is thi is thi is thi is thi is thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thii thiii thiiiii thi is thi is thi from up here. Yeah most people put the salt

from like down here but he did it from up here y'all do change the game it's a technique it's a whole thing. And now that CNN is acknowledging this now that they're acknowledging that not everything is breaking news maybe just maybe just maybe thea'nable news can acknowledge that maybe news doesn't need to be 24 hours? Maybe? It's not necessary. You know, maybe you can wait to get all the facts and tell us the correct story at the end of the day.

Just me? Possibly. I mean, think about it. Think about it. Think about it. Honestly, the first 10 hours of any news story on cable news is just speculation. Breaking news, we're hearing that a tiger has escaped from the zoo and mauled 10 people. It is a sad, hold on, hold on, slight clarification. We're now hearing that the tiger was in the mall, and the mall has 10 people.

Everybody is alive, and oh, hold on, our sources on the ground are telling us, it's not a tiger, it's a panda express. There is a panda express in the mall. We're gonna stand on top of this story for the next 24 hours. Breaking News. We're going to stay on top of this story for the next 24 hours, breaking news. Here's the thing. Even when there is news, most of it isn't that exciting.

It's just everyday stuff that's boring but important. The economy is up, the economy is down. The government is doing something, or more likely not doing something, you know? So this is good. And to lower expectations, CNN is actually replacing breaking the economy is down. The government is doing something or more likely not doing something, you know? So this is good and to lower expectations, CNN is actually replacing breaking news with a new graphic for stories that are just normal stuff and we have an exclusive look at what that'll be. It's perfect. I think they did a great job. Well down CNN. All right. That's it for the headlines. But before we go to a break, let's check in on the

stock market with our finance expert, Michael Costa, everybody. What's going on, Michael, more importantly, Michael, what's happening in the market today? Well, I am crushing, Michael. What's happening in the market today? Well, I am crushing the markets. I mean, I crush all markets, financial markets, a whole foods market, where I actually had to get a second job, but I have a hot tip, I'm going to share a hot tip with you, so we'll get into the markets. Right, here we go. Actually, before we do that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, th th th th th th th th th th th thi, Michael, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, Michael, Michael, Michael, thi, what's thi, what's thi, what's, what's tho, what's tho, what's to to to to to the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the th, th, th, th. th, th. th. th. th. th. th. th. thi, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, thi, Michael, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi. to to to toooooooooo. too. too. too. too. too. too. too. too. to to to thi, more'm gonna share it with you, hot tip, I'm gonna share a hot tip with you, so we'll get into the markets. Okay, right, here we go. Actually, before we do that,

that story about the African nations buying the grain, you know? I mean, why do we put this responsibility on them to know where their grain comes from? I mean, we don't even know where our food food the food food food food food food food food the food food food food food food food food their food food food food their food at night, but I would say this to these African nations, don't love this grain too much, this is white people grain and you might develop a gluten intolerance, okay? Now, look, it's not going to kill you, but it's going to make you very annoying, all right? Next thing you know, you're going to be in Tanzania, doing yoga with Gwinneth Paltro while a vagina candle is lit in thumumumumumumumumumumumrow while a vagina candle is lit in the back. So, all right.

Now, these markets. Oh, oh, and Turkey, changling its name. Yeah, I love this. Right. I love this. It got me thinking, I feel like South Africa should do this. I do. Look, part of what's great about being a country in Africa is you get to have this beautiful name, tha, tha, the to to to to to to to to, the to to to to to the to to the to to to the to the to their, their, tha, tha, the, the, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thia, thia, their, their, their, thia, thia, thia, thia, thia, thia, thi, thi, the, the, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, the, thin, thin, thin, thin, thea, thea.augh, ta, ta, ta, ta, ta, ta, ta, ta, ta, than, than, than, th Look, part of what's great about being a country in Africa is

you get to have this beautiful name, Uganda, Senegal, Namibia, South Africa? I mean, what happened with South Africa? You just went off the top of your head, Trevor? I mean, you're from there. Yeah, but it's not like I named, I didn't name it. Are there other people from South Africa? I mean, yeah, there's not like I named, I didn't name it. Look, I'm just, I'm... Are there other people from South Aver? I mean, yeah, there's like six of us. Okay, okay, great, great, great. Great, great. All right, okay, all right.

Great, let's get to the market. Let's just do the market. So, look, when you step back, take a look at all of this. What do you see dominating? I see this green line dominating. It's the least volatile of everything here, which is why I advise you, be the green line, right?

When you have your money, be the green line. Second thing to think about, you see these squares right here. Now I have spent a lot of time analyzing the dimensions the feel the size of each square okay now these squares they don't mean anything okay last thing you see all this red typically red is bad in finances but Michael Costa financial expert will tell you when you have red like a stoplight stop wait till it turns green okay so in summary all the that the thi thi the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the feel feel feel feel feel feel feel feel feel feel the the the feel feel feel feel feel feel feel feel feel feel feel feel feel feel feel feel feel feel feel feel feel feel feel the f. the f. the f. the f. the f. the f. the f. the f. the f. the f. the f. the f. the f. the the the f. the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the, will tell you, when you have red, like a stoplight, stop, wait till it turns green. Okay, so in summary, all right? Green lines, no squares, red turns green.

Boom. Now, here's my hot tip. Trevor, okay? Invest in Turkey. Boom. Wait, wait, Turkey the food or Turkey the country? Well, that is the million dollar question. Okay? Now, I gotta go, I gotta go to Whole Foods for a shift.

Steve and produce got COVID, so. So, I don't know why you have... I don't know why you have... Back to you, Trevor. Michael Costa, everybody. Don't go away, when we come back, one with Junior is going to try and make friends with the right-wing extremists. You don't miss it. Welcome back to the Daily Show. You know, politics is so polarized in this country that America needs a leader who can bring

the two sides together. But instead we'll have to settle for Roywood Jr. in a new segment we call disagree to disagree. America is too divided. Republicans versus Democrats, billionaires versus billions of the rest of us broke bastards, Karen's versus everybody. That's why I'm reaching out to the other side to see if I can't find common ground with people I disagree with strongly. For this story I traveled to Idaho or Montana or Wyoming, somewhere with no black people,

to meet anti-government extremists and big hat enthusiasts, Amund Bundy, and see if I could get him to disagree. To disagree. Yes, agree. It doesn't matter if they call it Republican or Democrat. It is poison to liberty. You might remember Bundy from a 2014 standoff with the government over grazing rights. Or from a standoff with the government at a nature preserve in 2016. Amund Bundy, who pointed guns at law enforcement in Arizona, now he's doing it in Oregon. Or from his protests against state COVID restrictions in Idaho, this dude is in a lot of standoffs.

And now a guy who spent two years in prison for fighting the federal government before getting out on the mistrial is running for Governor of Idaho. As governor, I will keep Idaho, Idaho. What the hell does that mean besides growing potatoes? I decided to talk to some of Bundy's supporters. Ammon is definitely a threat to the old boy network in Idaho. Why? You know, I don't need the government to tell me how to act. So...

Hammond Bundy for less governor. Yes. Our rights don't come from the government. Our rights come from God, okay? And certain people have said, you know what? The buck has to stop somewhere. Okay, but you were blacking in Idaho. How did that happen? So I'm like third generation here.

Yeah, okay. Boundie is willing to do what it takes to defend liberty, just like Rosa Parks did on the bus. I had to meet with this white male version of Sister Rosa. Okay, so you've been called a militia leader, you have been called the tea word? Domestic. Domestic. How do you not come across as an anti-government person who's now becoming part of the government? Well, I want people to use the land as God intended and for the government just to leave him alone other than to protect them.

You know like when you were a child, your daddy be all in your business, come in your room, go through your toys. That's government now. What we really want is a stepdaddy government that comes in and just goes, hey, don't kill each other. I'll be outside drinking. Well, yeah, unless one of them tries to infringe upon another person's right. Clearly, finding common ground would not be easy. And sure enough, Bundy and I disagreed on a range of issues, from taxes. I don't believe that property tax is a moral tax.

To the social safety net. Never should I say, look, Joe over here is needing help and I'm going to force you with the barrel of the gun to give me $150 so I can give it to Joe. It's immoral. And the definition of slavery. And that's all before we up with 30% of the people providing for the other 70%. That's slavery. And that's all before we got to the King Kong of divisive issues today.

COVID. Government will go as far as the people allow them to go, which is all the way to genocide. Explain genocide. Let's look at the 1930s. What was their excuse????. thia, thia, thia, thia, thia, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, the thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, th, thi, thi, thi, thoomome, tho, tho, th, th, th, th, th, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, th, th, th, the th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, the th, the the the the the thi, the the thi, the thi, the thi, thi, and thi, the, thean, and than, thean, thean, thean, thean, thean, thean, thi. thi, thi, What was the Nazis claiming? What was their excuse? There was a national health emergency that the Jews and the blacks that their genes were inferior. And ultimately decided that they needed even put them to death. So like there weren't like Jews and blacks dying and droves before Hitler came in and did what he did. He chose to start doing it. Whereas at least with COVID, there was, oh, there's a bunch of dead people, how do we stop this?

People are dying. So you're saying you believe what the government is saying. You believe the reports, because they're so honest, right? They're so good. How do I get the information you got? You can get it? Why because? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? I? I? I? I? I? I? I? I? I? I? I? I? I? I? I? I? I? I? th? I? I? I? I? I'm? I'm? th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the? People? People? People? People? People? People? People? People? People? People? People? the? the? the? the. the. th. th. th. th. th. thi? that? that? that? that? that? that? that? that? that? that? that? that? that? that? that? th've done the research. They never say where? It's everywhere. No, that's not an answer. Where the fuck is it? Well, I can give it to you if you want. I mean, do you want to go over right here on my phone? Everybody said he'd done the research, but they could never give me a WWW.

And I hadn't even asked Bundy about his history of armed standoffs. Well, so these accusations of me associating with violent groups never once have we ever done anything violent. You're like a Gandhi of the Rocky Mountains. I just can't get down with armed occupations, especially when they end with death and prison. It seemed like finding common ground was just too hard. But then, Bundy surprised me. I was in prison for two years, federal prison.

And you got the whites are always over here, and you got the Mexicans and the Native Americans. Everybody sticks with their own kind. I know, I didn't feel that way. Next thing I know, I'm out playing basketball with black guys. And no problem, right? The white guys might have a little bit of a problem with it. So I go back there and I tho I th. I'm tho I'm th. I'm th. th. th. thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi. thi. thi. thi. thi thi. thi thi. thi. thi's thi. thi thi thi thi thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thiiiiiiiiiiiii. theeeeeeean. thi. thi. I go back there and I talk to them and say, hey, look, I'm sorry, this is the way I roll. I'm not a racist, but we're playing basketball, and I really want to win.

Now the guards in the prison gets all concerned. Because the way they can keep us in the prison, the way they can felt abused by the criminal justice system, Bundy was even supportive of a movement on the opposite side of the spectrum. You must have a problem in your mind if you think that somehow the black lives matter is more dangerous than the police. What? This cowboy-headed, beef-sweading constitutionalist was siding with Black Lives Matter and

not the police? What I'm hearing is a brother who some of his views kind of line up with Black Lives Matter. Well, I think they might line up with Black people and I think they might line up with white people too. And I guarantee that if I was to be able to communicate openly with the majority of the people in Black Lives matter that probably 95% of our beliefs would align with each other. I think that's some common ground. Maybe America is headed towards a civil world, but for a moment two Americans who vehemently disagree found a way to be civil. Okay it was a brief moment.

You know, we don't agree on everything. I just think it's okay and I just want to just shake the hand. Okay. You're talking to me. And there's something else we agree on. I look damn good in the cowboy hat. Thank you so much. We're like World to try and wee. All right, when we come back, we're going to be celebrating Pride Month with author Elliot Schrefer. You don't want to miss it.

Welcome back to New Zealand Show. My guest to-night is New York Times best selling author Elliot Schrefer. He's here to talk about his new book, Quill Duct, and other animals. Please welcome, Elliott. Welcome to the show, Elliot. I am so happy to be here. I am so happy to have you. This is one of the most fun books I have ever read about science, about nature, about animals, about the human condition.

Let's jump straight into it. Queer ducks and other animals. This seems like a joke. And the book is very funny, which is great, but you're learning about a side of the animal kingdom that many people haven't talked about. So let's start with the why. Why did you decide to write a book about queer ducks and other animals? Yeah, fair enough.

I was surprised by the topic too. I come from a background of studying evolution, and I'd always assumed that queer behavior was a sort of dead end for animals. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. that that that that that their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their, their their their, their, thi. thi. thi. their, to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, th. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. the thee. the the the the the the the the theei. thei. the thei. the the. thi. thi. thi dead end for animals. That behaviors that wouldn't cause their genes to propagate into the next generation wouldn't spread. And yet, nature did a study three years ago that put the number at 1,500 species in counting that have significant peer-researched, same-sex sexual behavior in the wild.

And so the question that was on my mind was why? Why is this happening? And the basic version version version version version version version version the basic the basic the basic the basic the the thi thiiiiiii thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, toe, toe, toe, toe, toe, toe, toe, toe, thi.. thoo, the. toe. that's, toe. toooo. that's, toe. that's, that's, that's, that's, toe. basic version of the story is that we got the story of animal sex wrong, that we think of it as procreation only. The humans, sure, humans, we have a wide variety of reasons for having sex. But animals, animals just dutifully walk up to the nose arc and their male-female pairs, and they have sex, the end of the story, when there's actually a wide range of animals with different reasons for having same-sex sexual behaviors.

Yeah, as I read through the book, I mean, my mind was blown by some of the stories you were telling, and I think if we start with it from the angle of, you know, with its governments, with its churches, where there's just like society saying we don't want this out there, There were researchers who were discovering this for decades, and they had to hide that research because just people didn't accept it, you know? Like, what do you think has changed in academia? What do you think has changed in the world of science and in research where people are now willing to accept these things and put them out there? There's a famous sheep researcher named

who studied bighorn sheep in theirsehap at that time, he realized that sheep basically live in a mostly homosexual society. So, bighorn sheep are in, there's a male group and a female group. And for most of the year, they were just having sex within those groups. And then they'll come together during the Reading season,

and males and females will have sex. finding because in the 1960s he said later in his memoir he couldn't conceive of these magnificent beasts as queers. Right? Like he loved this animal and didn't want to propagate this story around the species that he loved so much. And then years later in his memoir you know sort of came out about having hidden the same-sex sexual behavior in sheep and that's kind of a story that goes from animal species to animal species. Even in the 1830s, German entomologists were discovering same-sex sexual behavior in cockchafer beetles, also known as doodle bugs. And that was within the entomology circles, like anyone who knew their bugs was talking about it. Yes. But they were also accused of perversion or having like an unnatural interest in these animals. Well, you said cock bugs and then like everyone's brain. It seems like you basically by naming it a cockchafer, you've already like set up the

situation, right? Like, what do you expect to happen? I'm just saying, you know, you know what makes this book fascinating? And the research behind the book as well is the fact that for so long people would would use, you know, like the cudgel they would use, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, the, the the the the the the the the the c. the cut, the cut, the the the the the the the the the the the the the cut, the c. the the the of the LGBTQ communities, they would say the same thing, they would go, it's not natural. You cannot be gay, it's not natural. Why wouldn't it be in nature? God didn't create that. And then now the science has shown that it is natural.

The irony is then you have people now saying, but we're not animals, we're better than them. We're different. And what I th th th th th th tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho the tho their tho, tho, they're tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, thi, thi, thi, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, their tho, thi. their thi. It thi. It's, thi. It's, thi. It's, thi. It's, thoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo. It's, tho. It's I do enjoy in the book is this. You're really careful to not make it a blanket. You're not saying, hey, we are the same as the animals. The animals are the same as us. You're just giving us an insight into a world that we didn't think existed. One of the more fascinating stories,

for instance, was the bottleneck dolphins. It feels like a very intentional world that that thi. world that they're living in, you know, that you speak about. Tell me more about that. Yeah. The bottlenose dolphins were one of my early examples, because they are the closest we come to actually having a gay animal. There are some bottlenose dolphin males who only have sex with other males or only here for the males and not the females.

But the majority of them are, I guess we would say bisexual. And basically the thosesesesesesesesesesesesesesesesesesesesesesesesesesesesesesesesesesesesesesesesesesesese b bee, thoe, tho thusususususususususus is bese, I will will will will will will will will will will will will will will will will will will will will thi, I would would would would would would would would would would would would would would would would would would would would would would would would would would would would would to to to to to be bisexual, I would would would would would would would would would would would would would to be bisexual, to b bisexual, to b bisexual, bisexual, bisexual, bisexual, bisexual, bisexual, bisexual, bisexual, bisexual, bisexual, bisexual, bisexual, bisexual, bisexual, bisexual, bisexual, bisexual, bisexual, bisexual, bisexual, bisexual, bisexual, bisexual, bisexual, bisexual, bisexual, bisexual, bisexual, bisexual, bisexual, tho, tho basically the spoiler alert is most animals are some version of bisexual. And exclusive homosexual preference is very rare, but there are some dolphins that behave that way. And is there, is there a logic behind it? Because, you know, as you said, you study evolution? Why would they do that? Do we have any idea? Does it just hit a brick wall of, oh, they don't want to procreate anymore, is it just because of pleasure? What are the reasons? Yeah.

So with bottlenose dolphins, the male union is actually the only lasting union within their society. So males and females will come together for a week or two and have sex. The female will go and raise her calf by herself or with other females. But the males bonded through having really frequent sex, like about 2.4 times an hour on average. What sex does is it produces oxytocin, which is known as the bonding hormone. And so it's why when you first make out with someone when you're 13, you feel like, I've got to spend my life with this person, this is amazing, I love them.

You haven't gone crazy, it's just oxytocin is flooding your system for the first time. I never made up when I was 13. th, when you, when you, when you, when you, when you, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, thi, but, but, thi, but, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, th, th, th, th, th, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thri, thriiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, this is amazing, I love them. You haven't gone crazy, it's just oxytocin is flooding your system for the first time. I never made up when I was 13. Oh, that's 18? 18, 25? I was just like, wait, first time? So they're taking advantage of this. To form this intense alliance between the with female dolphins, but they're so close together because of this oxytocin rush from all the frequent sex, that they are like an intensely strong sexual friendship.

So they found different reasons for the sex. It's almost more intentional. It's almost like, that's sort of like, you talk about with, is it the bonobo monkeys, where they would use, they would use orgies to like let like just I guess for stress relief. They're just like, oh really stressful day, everybody. Pretty much. Yeah, yeah. And the most frequent sexual activity among bonobos is between females and this animal is tied with chimpanzees that's our closest relative. They share 98.7% of their DNA with us and the females will have sex with males, they'll still have offspring but they have really, really frequent female sex and they they they they they the their th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, thi, thi, thi, thoes, thoes, thoes, thus, thus, the, the, thoes, thoes, thoes, thoes, tho, pretty tho, pretty tho, pretty tho, pretty thoes, pretty the, pretty pretty the, pretty thuuuuu-a, pretty th. th. th. th. th, pretty, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, thi, thi, they would they would they'll they'll the, they'll they'll the, they'll they'll they'll theateat, theat, throoooooooooooooooooooooooes, pretty, the, with males, they'll still have offspring, but they have really, really frequent female-female sex.

And that produces this oxytocin rush, and it produces a feeling of peace and bonding. So, you know, if they introduce a food source, the bonobos won't eat it right away, they'll have sex first, so everyone's feeling good with each other. Okay. When you think of it as like, like, like, like, like, chimps, you know, it's kind of a model for how we might be? I've often thought that I've often thought if I have sex with all my friends before we eat People are less likely to fight over who pays the bill. You know how do you propose that? I mean now that I have the research behind it

Be- Before I let you go though before I let you go though, before I let you go, you have a... I think you have a really beautiful reason that goes beyond the research in writing the book, a personal connection with it, and with what's going on in America right now, I'd love to know how much of that inspired you to write the book. So when I was 11, I realized that was gay. And it was, like, the moment puberty hit, it was utterly clear. I just to to the the fruited the fruited the fruited the fruited the fruited the fruited the fruited the fruited the fruited the fruited the fruited the fruited over the fruited over the fruited the fruited the fruited the fruited th, th, thue, th. that gay. And it was, like the moment puberty hit, it was utterly clear. I just lingered over the fruit of the loom ads and my brother's Rolling Stone. And I was like, which one do I want to be my special friend?

And it was just who I was. But it's surreal, if you're not someone who lives this identity, it's surreal because the day before it was not true.......... It was, I, I, I, I, I, I, and I, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, the, the, the, the the, the, the, the, the, the, th. th. the, the, the to, to, to, to, to, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the the the the the the the the th. th th thrown, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, the the the the the the the the the the the the th the day before, it was not true. And all of a sudden, I was gay, and which this was in the early 90s. And it was everything I'd heard about it was that it was a terrible thing to be, right? That it was unnatural or something wrong with it. And so as a nerdy little kid, which would be no surprise, I went to the encyclopedia. And I looked at the 26 volume, to ha, to, to, to, to, to, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, the, the, and, the, the, th, the, th, the, th, the, the, th, the, was, the, the, was, the, was, was, was, was, the, was, was, was, was, was, was, was, was, was, was, was, was, was, was, was, was, was, was, was, was, was, was, was, was, was, was, was, was, was, was, was, was, was, was, was, was, was, was, was, was, was, was, was, was, was, was, was, was, was, was, was, the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the too, the th too, was, was, was it's a psychological aberration unique to humans caused by too much attachment to mother or father, maybe too little attachment, no one was quite sure. But something went wrong.

And I, you know, that was a lot to wrestle with. And I came out on the other side of it by sort of loving my gayness, right? I was like, it's unnatural. Like, thus, this is this is just who I am and it just it would have shortened that journey to self acceptance which a lot of LGBTQ kids do not survive yeah right it would have shortened that journey to know the research that's in queer ducks and so I I wrote it towards that 11-year-old version of me that needed it which which which which which which which which which which th which th which is which is which is th is th is th is th is th is th is th is th is th is th is th is th is th is th is th is th is th th th th th thus is thus is thus thus thus thus thus thus thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi. thi. thi. thi. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th th th th th th th th th th th. th. I th. I th. I th. I th. I th. I th. I th. I th. I thi thi thi thi the the the the theee theeeeeeee is theei thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi. And so I wrote it towards that 11-year-old version of me

that needed it, which is what makes it, makes it so upsetting to see these challenges in schools and libraries now. And I know, because I lived that logic, I lived in a purple area in Tampa Bay. And, you know, just in And just cheerfully in the cafeteria, we would talk about, yeah, we should send all the gays to an island to die, right? Like, that was just the way we talked about it as middle school kids and high school kids.

And they're like, it's Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve, right? Which rhymes, so it's like, thii..... th. they, th.. they, they, they, they, they, they, they, they, they, they, they, they, they, they, they, the, the, the, the, the, the, they, they, they, the, they, they, they, the, to, to, to, to, to, we, we, we, to, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we to, we to...... We. We. the, we, we they. they. they. to. to. they. to. to. too, too, too, t t t t t t t t t together. t t t t together, t t too. too. too. too. too. so I understand the thinking, which is basically that the idea is, if you believe that this is an outside source, it's a contagion that comes into people, that they read the wrong book that has a lesbian character in, and now my daughter is going to become a lesbian. If that is truly your belief, then it's also your belief that you can wall it out, right? If in our town there isn't a single book that has a lesbian character, if there is, I'm not letting my kid watch TV shows that have them, then it's impossible that she will become a lesbian. And the one thing that's

coming out of this all this abundant research, its explosion of research into same-sex sexual behavior across the an animal kingdom, invertebrates, vertebrates, primates, thids, th., is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, and, and, and thals, and thals, and thals, and thals, and thals, and thals, and thals, and thals, and thals, and thals, and thals, and thals, and thraes, and thrae, and thals, and, and thrae, and thiae, and I will, and I will, and I wille, and Ie, and Ie, and Ie, and Ie, and Ie, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and I I I Ie, and Ie, and Ie, and Ie, and Ie, and Ie, and I'maa, and I'maer.e, and I'maeranananananananan, ande.e.e. Ande. Ande. Ande. Ande. Ande. Ande. Ande. Ande. thaeranananananananamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamam, brates, primates, dolphins, fish, is that you can't wall it out because it's coming from inside. It is like, it is our heritage as animals, is to have this as part of us, right? This like huge diversity in the ways to express sex and to be with other organisms. So even if your kid doesn't read a book with a lesbian in it, they come from the natural history of animal kind and that possibility is th........ th is th is th is thiii. It is th is their thi. It is thi. It is thi. It is thi. It's thi. thi. thi. thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, it's, it, it's, it's, it's, it's, it is, it is, it is, it is, it is, it is, it is, it is, it is, it is, it is, it is, it is, it is, it is, it is, it is, it is, it is, it, it, it. It. It, it, it. It, it, it, it. It, it, it, it, thi. It, thi. It, thi. It, thi. It, thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. th thi, thi, th thi. th thi, thi. thi. th the the the thi. It's, the th book with a lesbian in it, they come from the natural history of animal kind and that the possibility is in there. Just look at a bonobo or a Japanese macaque monkey or any of it.

But if they do read a book about it, they should definitely read this one. That's kind of good. I already do it. Thank you so much for everyone. This is too much fun. I don't appreciate it. We have got got th got th're going to take a quick break. We'll be right back after the day. That's real, thank you for having thrown. All right, well, that's not so to to'e. But, before we go, please consider supporting Trans Lifeline.

There are grassroots hotlines, their own offering direct, emotional and financial support to trans people in crisis for the trans community and by the trans community. So if you can, please donate at the link below to help their vision for a world where trans people have the connection, their economic security, and the care that everyone needs and deserves. Until tomorrow, stay safe out there. And remember, if you don't th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th tho thi thi thi to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to toen tomoen t Until tomorrow, stay safe out there and remember, if you don't like your name, Turkey is now up for grabs.

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