The Daily Zeitgeist - Billionaires Being Billionaires, The Worst Surprise Ever 10.17.19

Episode Date: October 17, 2019

In episode 497, Jack and Miles are joined by The Baddest Bitch In The Room Sophia Chang to discuss billionaires being shady, the Democratic debates, Trump meeting with Harry Dunn's parents, Facebook ruining internet content with their lies, radio stations not playing Tekashi 6ix9ine, and more!FOOTNOTES: Bill Gates Met With Jeffrey Epstein Many Times, Despite His Past LEBRON JAMES NEW COMMENTS ON CHINA CONTROVERSY: Can We Focus On American Problems? Who Won The Fourth Democratic Debate? Trump meeting was 'a stunt,' says bereaved parents' spokesman Inside Mark Zuckerberg's private meetings with conservative pundits Facebook punishes liberal news site after fact check by right-wing site My former employer CollegeHumor did this. In order to beat YouTube, Facebook faked incredible viewership numbers, so CH pivoted to FB. So did Funny or Die, many others. The result: A once-thriving online comedy industry was decimated. A $40m fine is laughable; shut Facebook down. TEKASHI 6IX9INE HOT 97 Shunning Music, UNLESS ... WATCH: ESG "You Make No Sense" BUY THE BADDEST BITCH IN THE ROOM HERE! Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There's so much beauty in Mexican culture, like mariachis, delicious cuisine, and even Lucha Libre. Join us for the new podcast, Lucha Libre Behind the Mask, a 12-episode podcast in both English and Spanish about the history and cultural richness of Lucha Libre. And I'm your host, Santos Escobar, emperor of Lucha Libre and a WWE superstar. Listen to Lucha Libre Behind the Mask on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you stream podcasts. In 1982, Atari players had one game on their minds, Sword Quest. Because the company had promised $150,000 in prizes to four finalists.

But the prizes disappeared, leading to one of the biggest controversies in 80s pop culture. I'm Jamie Loftus. Join me this spring for The Legend of Swordquest. We'll follow the quest for lost treasure across four decades. Listen to The Legend of Swordquest on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Daphne Caruana Galizia was a Maltese investigative journalist who on October 16th, 2017, was assassinated. Crooks Everywhere unnerves the plot to murder a one-woman WikiLeaks.

She exposed the culture of crime and corruption that were turning her beloved country into a mafia state. Listen to Crooks Everywhere starting September 25th on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey y'all, Nimany here. I'm the host of a brand new history podcast for kids and families

called Historical Records. Executive produced by Questlove, The Story Pirates, and john glickman historical records brings history to life through hip-hop get the kids in your life excited about history by tuning in to historical records listen to historical records starting on september 27th on the iheart radio app apple podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Hello, the internet, and welcome to Season 104, Episode 4 of The Daily Zeitgeist, a production of iHeartRadio. This is a podcast where we take a deep dive into America's shared consciousness and say officially off the top, fuck Koch Industries, as in the Koch brothers, and fuck Fox News.

It's Thursday, October 17th, 2019. My name is Jack O'Brien, a.k.a. Sweaty Arms, which is my Wu-Tang a.k.a. Golden Arms. And I'm thrilled to be joined, as always, by my co-host, Mr. Miles Gray, a.k.a. Why Miles Gray till he gotta be gray?

Thank you to At MS Word for that Lizzo-inspired a.k.a. Man, I don't know if you saw that clip of her at Austin City Limits. Thank you to At MS Word For that Lizzo Inspired aka Man I don't know if you saw that Clip of her at Austin City Limits I did not The entire crowd

Lost their mind As they do As they do At Lizzo shows Well we are thrilled To be joined In our third seat By the baddest bitch

In the room Sophia Chang Whoa Yeah Sophia Chang Okay first of all I have to say This is a very great Gu guest for us to have.

I know. Brought to us by the Zeitgang. Yes. Surprisingly, this is so much synergy going on here. Freaking out a little bit. Yeah. Sophia Chang, you are a legend. You delivered my childhood to me.

You made my childhood possible. To people who do not know, this Korean-Canadian made her way to New York and just has a hip-hop history running through her veins. Yes. I cannot say the number of people who you have crossed paths with, from everyone in Wu-Tang to Raphael Sadiq to D'Angelo, one of my favorite artists. Ever.

Fucking Reggie Noble, Redman himself. My first fake ID name was Reggie Noble. When I went to fucking MacArthur Park to get my shit, I was fucking Reggie Noble. I like that. My other friend was Warren G. Harding. That's probably better than Redman. No, it wasn't.

Because he wanted to be Warren G., the rapper, but we couldn't make that a real name, so he couldn't just have his fake ID name be Warren G, so he was Warren G. Harding. Isn't that a president's name? Yes. That's terrible. Yeah. And you guys got into places?

Yeah. Well, it was just to buy cigarettes and shit. Right. You know what I mean? Thank God. Anyway, so Sophia's an honor. And then did you sell Lucy's on the street? Did not sell Lucy's.

Okay. No. That's the name of a Dazzlefax song, but they're referring to the shits. Yeah. So again, thank you for coming, Sophia. Thank you for having me. I'm so happy to be here. If people don't know, you have a book out.

Yes. The Baddest Bitch in the Room. An audio book. That's right. I wasn't just Jack. I wasn't just putting my chest out, calling the- The T-B-I- I do not possess the self-confidence to just refer to-

T-B-B-I-T-R. Yep. Yes. Not H-B-I-C. Yes. Sophia, we're going to get to just refer to- TBITR, yep. Yes. Not HBIC. Yes. Sophia, we're going to get to know you a little bit better in a moment. First, we're going to tell our listeners a couple of the things we're talking about today. We're just going to marvel at the bad run for billionaire activists that we're on with Jay-Z and Bill Gates and LeBron, not necessarily a billionaire.

And his sins are probably 50% as bad as the other billionaires. But we'll talk about that. We're going to talk about the Democratic debates. We're going to talk. We're not going to talk much about the whistleblower scandal today. Not much whistle to be blown. Not much. It would be a-

Short dog would be sad. Yeah. It would be dominating the news in any other administration. But in the Trump administration, it's a slow news day. Yeah, kind of. Yeah, when it comes to the whistleblower allegations. Are we not... We're not going to do the short dog?

Oh, there it is. Thank you, sir. And we're going to talk about what the president was up to yesterday. We're going to talk about Hot the president was up to yesterday. We're going to talk about Hot 97s, no Tekashi policy, all of that and plenty more. But first, Sophia, we'd like to ask our guest, what is something from your search history that is revealing about who you are as a person? So my latest search was for custom hoodies. Oh, OK. was for custom hoodies.

Oh, okay. And I just made custom hoodies that say the baddest bitch in the room on them because Lena Waithe, warrior goddess, posted a picture of herself on Instagram in one of my hoodies. Oh, shit. Yeah, which is exceptional. And what I would say that that says about me is,

well, it's the title of my memoir. Yeah. And Lena said, thank you for making this. It was important. I think she understands that for any of us women or men, frankly, who live on the margins, to stand up and announce that we're the baddest bitch in the room. Yeah. It's a political act. Yeah.

Ultimately, right? It is. It's radical. And claiming space like that, for sure. Yes. So bonfire.com claiming space like that, for sure. Yes. So bonfire.com slash baddest bitch in the room. It's a dope memoir name. Yes, thank you.

Indeed. Yeah. I'm just jealous that members of Wu-Tang will walk you to the subway station. Yeah. Miles, so you've read it. I'm fucking... Bro, every... I'm sorry.

Look, I'm just off top, right? If you have any, if 90s hip hop resonates with you in any way. It is. Your memoir is such a front row seat, not only for people who love hip hop, for Asian Americans, Asian Canadians, Asian people, minorities operating in spaces that they don't feel that they are included in. I think there are so many levels that your book hits, especially for me. I'm like, you know, being biracial, you don't have the time to know where you fit. And biracial, black, and Asian. Yeah, you don't know where you fit.

Half the time I have to laugh at when my own cousins call me Jackie Chan. Right. And then also laugh at like racist black jokes that Asian people might say. Right. You know what I mean? And I think growing up and realizing sort of dismantling a lot of the internalized racism and sort of like mental colonialism that you battle with. Sure.

I think there's, yeah, it's such a great, such a great book. Thank you. And I can't, I really can't thank you enough. Thank you. Thank you. And Lauren. I'm so happy that it's, thank you so much. It's really, really something else.

So happy that it resonated with you. Yeah. And like, you're not, it's not like you had a front row seat like from managing some of these great artists to working very closely with them to like introducing RZA to Shaolin like like there's so much there's so many levels introducing RZA to Shaolin like officially officially you know what I mean I mean this this is the kind of stuff that I feel like these are stories that you just don't realize. And that's why I think it's so important for this book because you realize who, like, the forces at work for things that we take very much for granted. So I'll stop fanning out. I appreciate that.

I appreciate that. No, I think that's a really good point. You know, Hari Kondabolu, the Indian director and comedian, he interviewed me and he said, you know, Sophia, much like what you're saying, I was a teenager growing up in Queens and I loved hip hop. And I wish I had known that in the midst of all of that music that spoke so deeply to me that there was an Asian. And, you know, and that's my decision to put myself out there more, you know, and that's my decision not to put myself out there more. And that was a very interesting part of the process of even arriving at the place

where I would choose to step into the spotlight because I shunned it for so long. So I'm glad that it resonated with you. Thank you. Yeah, no, absolutely. What is something you think is overrated? Mediocre white men. Mm-hmm.

I agree. Mm-hmm. You're superior men i agree you're superior what are you superior mediocre mediocre at certain things we're all mediocre at certain things yeah you guys know what i'm talking well yeah i think people who are not uh yeah not don't acknowledge their privilege or try and use uh their place in society to open doors. One on second thinking they hit a double, one on third thinking they hit a triple. Exactly, right. Or that, you know, they think they hit a home run and they were born on, you know, they were born on their base. I mean, whereas most of us aren't even allowed into the house. Right.

And I think that it's not. Or in the dugout. Or the dugout, exactly. It's not necessarily even them. Or in the dugout. Or the dugout, exactly. It's not necessarily even them. It's also that society, because we live in white supremacy, because we live in white patriarchy, it's that society allows them to continue to ascend.

Yeah, yeah. Right? I mean, look at the White House. Yeah. Ta-Nehisi Coates wrote beautifully about this. Yes. He's got that amazing essay, We Were Eight Years in Power. And that really, first of all, for me, he's like the greatest essay We Were Eight Years in Power and that really first of all for me he's like

the greatest writer of our time and second of all just the way that he laid that out was really enlightening for me what was it like navigating the music industry at that time where you had

I'm sure many white music executives trying to like wrestle with rap in the early 90s that's a fun question. Any mountain climbers who play an electric guitar? As a matter of fact, I'm going to speak to that exactly. There was, you know, my boss was Barry Weiss at Jive Records. White guy, his father, High Weiss, was also a music executive.

And what I loved about Barry, Barry's a Cornell grad, one of the smartest people I ever met, one of the best record company people I ever met. Barry never tried to be anything but what he was. He wore Orgile socks, wool vests, do you know what I'm saying? Like just, and was who he was. He never changed up his style, how he spoke,

how he dressed or anything. And I think people respected him for that, I certainly did. Whereas there were other executives who just wanted to be diggy down, right? So they're wearing their baseball hats backwards. They start wearing backpacks. It's like, homie, you're 50. They're like, you like my cross-colored overalls? You're like, what the fuck?

And they're wearing baggy jeans and everything. And look, I too absolutely adopted some of the styles, but there was something that felt inorganic about it for certain people. And I just had this conversation with a friend recently. And I think that it was so refreshing when I met people like my mentor, Michael Austin, who ran A&R at Warner Brothers Records with his father, legendary Mo Austin, same thing with Michael. He never, you know, the French have&R at Warner Brothers Records with his father, the legendary Mo Austin. Same thing with Michael. He never, you know, the French have the same bien dans la peau, which means good in your

skin. And him and Barry were so good in their skin, they never felt like they had to feign anything else to be accepted. Because you know what happens is the opposite happens when you try so hard. Oh, God. You know, when you thirst for that acceptance. It's like, just be yourself and, you know, you'll be good. So it was interesting to watch.

And, you know, just like you're talking about being half black and half Asian, right? We exist in this space in between almost. And so certainly being the first Asian woman in hip hop, I'm a woman and I'm Asian and I'm in between the black-white binary. Right. Okay. And so that space for me, at first it was daunting. I did not – I definitely had imposter syndrome.

I wasn't sure that, you know, how could I be the person that could be the gatekeeper or say what was suitable. But once Barry gave me the job and once I found that I was so warmly embraced by the community, which was a privilege, like you're talking to, speaking to, acknowledging privilege, those fears melted away really, really quickly. But absolutely at first I was like, am I the right person? I'm sure, right?

Yeah. And people probably trying to pull your card and stuff. Sure. Well, what do you know? Right. Sure. Totally uh what's something you think is underrated black women and i want to frame that correctly when i say mean underrated i mean undervalued yeah underappreciated you know underappreciated underseen underpaid under taken care of you know i always talk about the motherfucking village that raised Sophia Chang.

And pillars of that village are black women. They're black feminists. They're black journalists. They're black academics. They're black thinkers. And they have taught me so much about this country and just about how race works within the country. And it's been illuminating for me to be able to,

and it's such an honor to just be able to have them as these guides and these teachers. And we've seen all the stats, I think 94, 96% of black women voted for Hillary, right? And the numbers are staggering. And then you look at how ill regarded they are, getting killed in their own homes, right? Right. And, you know, the maternal mortality rate and all that.

So that's the fire that's, like, that's burning in me today. Yeah. Hell yeah. What is a myth? what's something people think is true you know to be false that asian men aren't sexy okay okay i don't have a problem if you have a preference i totally get that we all we all have preferences but when people make the blanket statement right speaking absolutes that's right yeah come on everybody you know nobody finds asian sexy um i want to slap the shit out of them because you are effectively erasing

a whole gender of a whole race and i've been thinking about this a lot, you guys, in terms of my memoir, visibility and erasure. And black women too, erased. Me too, erased. And how we actively have to ourselves, unerase ourselves and give ourselves the visibility, which isn't fair. We shouldn't have to do that. We should just have it, right? But we don't. So we have to fight for that. So, you know, the notion, I mean, the father of my two children is a 34th generation Shaolin monk who could kill you with his bare hands in 30 seconds. But there are a myriad other incredibly sexy men, Bruce Lee, God rest his soul, Chayenne Phat, Tony Leung, I mean, Jake Choi, it's just to the way that the West has systematically emasculated and castrated my brothers while simultaneously exoticizing, eroticizing, and fetishizing me is infuriating. Yeah. Oh, yeah. You fell in love with Chyna and Phat because of who?

So I grew up yellow in a white world. Right. And yellow wanting to be white in a white world. And then I heard hip hop, then I moved to New York, and then I meet Wu-Tang. And, you know, they're talking about, you know, there's that great skin on 36 Chambers where Ray is saying, you know, meth, where's my killer tape? Where's my killer tape? And I was like, OK, you know what? I'm going to pay attention to this because they were so deeply respectful of Asian culture in general, but they love John Woo.

So I watched The Killer and I watched Hard Boiled and I went down the John Woo rabbit hole and I watched all of his movies. I still have the Laser Discs. I watched all of his movies. Laser Discs the laser discs. I watched all of his movies. Laser discs. Laser discs. I actually still have laser discs. Google it. I don't know how many times I've seen The Killer.

It's my favorite movie of all time. Chyenne Fad is his muse in the same way that De Niro, Scorsese's muse. And to me, John Woo was the greatest director of all time and Chyenne Fad is the greatest director of all time. And Chayenne Fad is the greatest actor of all time. And I think that what Asian action movies managed to do that I don't know that Western ones are able to do is infuse philosophy. And maybe that comes from the martial arts tradition, right? Because in the martial arts movies, you have action, but you always

have philosophy, whether it's Buddhism or Taoism or a form of Confucianism. And so a perfect example, I'll tell you, there's a movie called The Departed, right? And it was huge. It won the Academy Award that year. That movie was a remake of a Hong Kong movie called Infernal Affairs. And it was directed by Andy Lau, I believe. Now, if you watch The Departed, it was my favorite movie of that year. If you watch The Departed and then you watch Infernal Affairs, you can see that The Departed

had to have a Hollywood ending. In a way that Infernal Affairs did not feel beholden to make. You know, it's going to be okay. The bad it's going to be okay. Yeah, right, right. The bad guy's going to get it. And the conflict, and there were great actors in The Departed,

and he's an amazing director. But the conflict that was demonstrated in Infernal Affairs made that movie so much more touching and compelling, emotionally compelling for me. Does it end with a rat coming in and winking at the camera? Or it doesn't? Fuck. That should be the alternate ending.

It might be on the Laserdisc version. Flip your Laserdisc over. A, B. All right. Let's talk about some billionaire activists, guys, because we've had a run with Jay-Z partnering with the NFL and saying that we're beyond kneeling. We had recently found out that Bill Gates had a shadow relationship with Jeffrey Epstein that started after Epstein got away with sex trafficking oh and then Bill Gates is like you know what I want to try and chill with yeah let's kick it beginning in 2011 according to the New York Times

Bill Gates met with mr. Epstein on numerous occasions including at least three times at mr. Epstein's palatial Manhattan townhouse and at least once staying late into the night, according to interviews with more than a dozen people familiar with the relationship. I don't know. I saw somebody tweeted that it's a conscience laundering, like for some of these very wealthy people, giving money and helping people is conscience laundering.

And I hope that's not what's happening. Oh, oh right just to offset your fucked karmic balance right okay um now lebron is only worth only 450 million dollars uh and i don't think he deserves to be grouped with those other cases uh but especially i don't think either of them deserve to be grouped with uh jeffrey epstein and bill gates's weird friendship i don't know there's something about looking to extremely wealthy people for our leadership that just feels like especially wrong in a profoundly american way right now like that that seems to be where we have been expecting who we've been expecting to solve our problems uh for a while or at least to kind of be our thought leaders yeah it's just you know like i said yesterday i'm disappointed

myself for being disappointed in lebron j James's statement because I shouldn't be looking to LeBron James just because I like him as a basketball player. Well, it's a tough situation where you have people who might not be completely equipped to engage in things like this, who are speaking and also, and probably their words betray their intent, which I think has probably happened with LeBron.

Cause I think he does want to do right. But I think at the end of the day, just like Jay-Z, I think his money is the most important thing. And they're moving like that. But I guess even with, you know, when you sort of look at the context around, I think it is terrible that the league sort of put a lot of the responsibility on players to try and clean up the mess. That is really just, it's foundational to the actual organization itself. It really shouldn't be on the players. Yeah, I think when we spoke yesterday, I know, I hadn't realized that LeBron was talking about the tweet, like Maury tweeting that statement while he and the entire Lakers team,

and I think were the Rockets in China at that time too? I think so. Like there were two NBA teams in China at that time. And I know that that's probably, I think that puts some of the things he said about feeling bodily at risk in context. Well, he said financially first though, to be fair. He did say financially. Financially, he said people could have been harmed financially.

I kind of assume he's saying yes, financially, because that's what you're all thinking. But also, I don't know, there's a couple ways you could take it. But I also don't think it was just a poorly worded statement. I do think that it represents a fundamental kind of, I don't know, it reminds me a little bit of how Facebook keeps making mistakes that just happen to help their bottom line. Like, you know, it's like, oops, we fucked up again. And it happens to make us richer. And I think, yeah, I think the thing that's disappointing is that a lot of people based on a lot of the things LeBron James has said publicly and does through charitable organizations that if there was a binary between choosing

profits or the well-being of people and democracy that he would choose democracy right and i think this is what i think if anything people just realizing a lot of people really their fundamental but their bottom line is making money right at the end of the day and a certain point when you get to this stature what is he i i don't i don't know if he's really uh willing to use his position to like try and affect that kind of change right but then whatever that's his prerogative i think it's tough you can't it's hard to sort of thread that needle on one side be like yeah i'm going to talk about injustice here when it doesn't actually cause me any financial risk. Right. But when it does abroad, I'll just kind of sort of shuffle. Yeah.

So, wait, is Maury the guy that – He's the general manager of the Houston Rockets who tweeted an image that said, like, stand with Hong Kong. And support – and supportive, right? Yeah, in support of Hong Kong. And so LeBron said that that was misinformed. Well, he was saying, yeah, that he was – he was like, I think Daryl Maury – like, I don't want to start a spat. I believe he's not educated right on what is happening here.

And it was very vague that people felt like, what do you mean he's not on what? I imagine it probably came up because all sports journalists have been asking other players about it. And I think, unfortunately, I think, unfortunately, he found himself in a position where he was asked a question. I think unfortunately he found himself in a position where he was asked a question. He probably needed a little more, you know, PR refining on what his take should be to not fully rock the boat. But again,

you know, I think many people just expected him to say, you know what? Like I fucked that like democracy forever. I'm with them. It doesn't matter. Yeah. And I also think people probably were asking him about it.

And I think part of his frustration was that the NBA was expecting players to be the spokespeople for it. So that was also some context that I had kind of missed at first. But yeah, I mean, he said, I don't think every issue should be everybody's problem, which is at first it's like, okay. And think it's like anything right like there's so much to be outraged in the world at a certain point right i think what he's trying to say is i'm not on top of everything so i don't know everything as soon as it's happening right and i think that's probably what he means but then when you say it's almost but to if you sort of read it narrowly it sounds like look man i got that's not my problem right. We're going to take a quick break and we'll be right back with our impressions of the

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Well, you were right. And you should tune in today for new fun segments like Sister Court and listening to Lacey's steamy DMs. We've got new and exciting guests like Michael Beach. That's my husband. Daphne Spring. Daniel Thrasher, Peppermint, Morgan Jay, and more. You got to watch us. No, you mean you have to listen to us. I mean, you can still watch us, but you got to listen. Like if you're watching us, you have to tell us,

like if you're out the window, you have to say, hey, I'm watching you outside of the window. Just, just, you know what? Listen to the Amber and Lacey, Lacey and Amber show on Will Ferrell's Big Money Players Network on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. It was December 2019 when the story blew up. In Green Bay, Wisconsin, former Packers star Kabir Bajabiamila caught up in a bizarre situation. KGB explaining what he believes led to the arrest of his friends at a children's Christmas play. A family man, former NFL player, devout Christian, now cut off from his family and connected to a strange arrest. I am going to share my journey of how I went from Christianity to now a Hebrew Israelite.

I got swept up in Kabir's journey, but this was only the beginning. In a story about faith and football, the search for meaning away from the gridiron and the consequences for everyone involved. You mix homesteading with guns and church and a little bit of the spice of conspiracy theories that we liked. Voila! You got straight away. I felt like I was living in North Korea, but worse, if that's possible. Listen to Spiraled on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And we're back.

And the Democrats were back in the spotlight, the Democratic presidential candidates, during the biggest presidential debate of all time. Yeah. What a. Like a cage match. What a match. Yeah. Woo. That went really nowhere.

I don't know what the. It seemed like clearly the theme of the night was Elizabeth Warren's a front runner. Right. Let's fucking hit her from the right night was Elizabeth Warren's a front runner. Right. Let's fucking hit her from the right. Yes. That's all it was. The amount of words she spoke were, she spoke by far more than any candidate because I think everyone was directing their fire at her.

Right. And, you know, it was really kind of odd to see people use the same tired line when she's talking about getting everyone in this country medically insured. That the wonder of the great line that everyone says, how are you going to pay for that? Right. How are you going to pay for it? I know you literally just said how you're going to pay for that. But really, it was a match to try and get Elizabeth Warren to say out loud that, yes, your taxes will go up.

Yeah. Because that's true. But however, it's all about cost, right? And that's the thing that, and this is where I think Bernie Sanders excelled actually, because there were many moments where I think Elizabeth Warren's getting hit so much. She was finding herself kind of like scrambling to sort of passionately defend what she's talking about. And there were moments where Bernie could, you know, he didn't, he said, yeah, your tax is going to go up, but here's the deal.

He's like, why are we talking about this? Because really the situation is like this because of the insurance companies, because of the pharmaceutical companies, because of Wall Street. That's what this is about. Don't like, why are we getting myopically focused on this tax thing?

It's a game theory thing where the other candidates know that she has basically created this rule for herself where she's not going to say, I'm going to raise your taxes. Yeah, because she doesn't want an attack. She just knows it's going to be an attack ad from Trump if she is the candidate. So she's just not going to say that. So they know that.

And so they're going to use that against her to like bend her into all sorts of awkward wordings. And, you know, I don't think it's substantively very important, but I get like I get their overall the overall perspective that like, well, it's got to be a realistic plan. I just I don't think that's actually what they care about. And also, it's not a standard. But real Republicans ever hold themselves to. But I think that word realistic, though, is used in the context of what will the powers that be allow us to do? Yes. It's not revolutionary. You know what I mean?

Revolutions aren't being like, well, what are they going to allow us to do? You're going to be like, no, we're about to fucking turn this thing up. Right. And we'll do it on our terms. Right. But everyone else is too shook. So they're doing like, well, how are you going to pay for that? I mean, then you're going to kick people off their insurance.

No one's getting kicked off of insurance. First of all, half the people who do pay for the insurance. Tell me how many of y'all fucking like your insurance. Right. Look at Caitlin Durante, who's been on the show, who had to get her gallbladder removed, going through all kinds of hoops and took months for things like that to happen. And that's somebody who pays for insurance. Yeah.

And had to appeal to to a public funding thing. Right, because that's where we're at. That's where we're at. And we're saying, how about a world where that is not a reality? Right. Rather than, well, what about the insurance people are happy paying for? That's just a talking point from the insurance industry to be like, well, how do we keep our checks coming in?

Right. I think it's a thing where people who are insured through their employer are like, I don't want to lose my insurance, but that's because they're used to a world where you can lose your insurance and be completely financially fucked if you have to go to the hospital. So of course they don't want to lose their insurance. That's been like their life preserver in this like killer be killed,

like world where you don't necessarily get insured and they're these uh people are basically saying we want to end the possibility that you won't be insured yeah it it just reminded me even when like she had to come at john delaney a few debates ago and she's like why are we even bothering talking about shit if we're not talking about changing shit for real? Like that doesn't make sense. And I think that seemed to be the theme. But again, that's where Bernie really was very able, like very eloquently and passionately able to defend some of these ideas in a way that he was just like, fuck it.

Y'all think I had a heart attack and I'm weak. Like, watch, watch this. Go the fuck in. Yeah. He went all the way in. And then, you know, I think that was great because you need someone to,

you know, because they are similar in certain ways, Warren and Sanders on certain policies that you almost, it's good to hear that counterpoint, at least coming from Bernie to understand, like if for someone who had maybe put off by what they think Medicare for all means to hear like what the stakes are for people, what that actually means. So, yeah, I think there was also very little mention of climate change this time.

Yeah. Very interesting time. Well, that's because, I mean, that's not the real danger. The real danger is, you know, if you're friends with George W. Bush and like the whole Ellen scandal, I think, what was really on people's mind, because that was one of the questions, right? Who's a surprising friend you have? Yeah, who's a surprising friend, I think, was what was really on people's mind because that was one of the questions. Who's a surprising friend you have? Yeah, who's a surprising friend? I'm sorry, what?

We have like people dying in this. Right. And I think this is probably the issue with these debates is like, they're just- That was one of the questions? Yeah. That was the last question, I think.

That's what they closed out with. Who's a surprising friend you have? I think that's just a moment for white people to be like, this person of color. Right. Or some other thing. Again, I don't know. And they asked it in the context of the Ellen thing, didn't they? Yeah. That's sophomoric. Isn't that wild?

Yeah, and I think that's where we're really these debates do us a disservice because we're not confronting real systemic issues. It's a lot of, okay, everyone do your book report, right? What you're talking about? Okay. I have a question about this book for them. Okay. The next person, I think they're really, they could get better, but we've seen them sort of like modulate between like, oh, okay. This felt a little more focused.

This one felt like pageantry. Are the town halls better? The town halls are interesting. I saw the LGBTQ one last week and that felt there were moments and at least there were activists who got up, spoke out, put some of the candidates on their heels by taking over the mic and addressing things head on. I think that was actually a great thing to see because usually a lot of these candidates are in controlled environments. They're not expecting someone to ask them directly a question. What are you going to do to protect a trans woman of color? Right. Uh, who are being killed at an alarming rate. Exactly. And I think some people were able to move with it. Kamala Harris did not. She said when someone from the rafters was like, what are you going to do as president? Right. Like we are out here getting killed. And she said, you're right there. Her answer said you're right her answer was you're right and then she couldn't quite articulate so it was a little yes but that shows you too how

many people who as a candidate no matter what you're being asked you can respond like you can you know it's like energy like you can take that and redirect it and bring it back some people just like absorb it and get hit and they're like well i don't. It might not be happening in my brain. So according to the mainstream media and the monoculture, Mayor Pete was the real standout from the debate last night because he was the one who kind of landed the punches that resonated the most on Warren. Right. And I don't know.

Just by default, I feel like someone who's not Biden, who's a centrist, they need someone. The mainstream media needs someone who's going to be the man who's not a socialist of the field, it feels like. They're just grasping for that and they're seeing Biden fade. Anti-billionaire. Right. But even the framing of that is frustrating. Oh, hell yeah.

Right? Meaning the fact that the person who is the standout is the one that lands the most punches. Right. And I understand that it's a debate,

but a debate isn't about fucking gotcha. Yeah. Right? Like I sat there for hours with my team and I prepped and I wondered,

what's the fucking zinger that I can ask that's going to knock her off her feet, right? Yeah. Like it's a rap battle or something. Yeah. But I mean, they're like oh what it's like oh no oh everyone's running around it's like really that kind of like that's really what they're going for because i think at the end

of the day at the end of the day we live in such a like tweet based culture too it's like well what's that 15 second clip right where you Where you just clap back at Elizabeth Warren. And they're like, boom. Right. But I mean, got him. It's,

it's interesting because the mainstream media would kind of, and I know people who are like, well, you guys are just like these Hollywood leftists who, you know, think everybody supports Warren and like people are actually more center than you think. And that's why Biden's out there is still consistently in the lead in a lot of national polls. But I think it just seems unbalanced the way the media covers.

Bernie is not considered a serious candidate. No, even though he very much is. It really reminds me of 2004, the way they covered Howard Dean, where he was just like this upstart. I mean, it actually reminds me of how they covered Trump at first. It's just like, they don't really believe that there's any chance that the person can win because they're not a traditional candidate. I think we got to zoom out a little bit more because it's corporate owned media right they could never start engaging with the ideas of bernie sanders in a very authentic or genuine way right because that is a threat that's an existential threat to the business model that they're operating on

right like it's like a like a fucking fire podcast where a bunch of forest fires talk about fire extinguishers or some shit. Right. It's like, yeah, I love this. I love getting the flame extinguished. Like,

it just doesn't, I think it's counterintuitive. And I think that's where they really show their bias too, because I think that's why Elizabeth Warren is a little bit safer for the mainstream media because she still identifies as a capitalist. Yeah. But that, I mean, when you look also, too, the amount that Bernie actually spoke to,

if you're, like, going off a word count, he was down there, like, closer to the bottom. Right. But that's just sort of how things go right now in this country. If you look at the 538 polls, the people who won the debate, they did, like, a poll with ipsos where they interviewed 3 000 people before the debates like in the week leading up and then interviewed a thousand of those same people uh so like you know saw how it changed um and elizabeth warren had the highest

like increase in her approval or like favorability rating bernie sanders was second and pete budaj was third right so can i ask you something though yeah i mean i pay attention to the polls as well but after 2016 right i i kind of feel like yeah you know i i i don't think i don't i used the polls as like a fucking hit, like off a blunt or something. Like, okay, fool, I can relax. These polls, stay steady, Hillary. I really did.

Beat this dude. Good. The number's shifting. On election day, the New York – because you know the New York Times had that. The New York Times really fucked up. And the Washington Post, too. She was in the 90s throughout the day, remember? She was in the high 90s.

In the high 90s. Yeah. So that's the thing. So I don't pay attention to any of that shit. FiveThirtyEight had it as like one in three that Trump would win. And they said exactly how it would happen if he did win. If it was. And is that how it played out?

And that's how it played out. So was FiveThirtyEight the poll that you give the most credence to? So they completely nailed 2012 like down to the county of like who would, how Obama would win. And then people, because they were sort of like, you know how like people just become the brand of something? Like Einstein is the brand of smart. Like 538 became the brand of polling. It was just like, like okay they represent all polling and like 99 of the polls got it completely the fuck wrong and because everybody had 538 as the

brand of polling everyone's like well nate silver fuck him like and i i think he was wrong on a bunch of things but he was still like not out there over his skis saying is 99 right was not as well he was like this can happen yeah I mean I think that's why I still pay attention to 538 and they generally have a pretty good level of skepticism and you know caution when it comes to their own numbers I think the difference now is I look at polls and I go okay that's how some people are feeling right right versus okayus, okay, this is reality. That 2016, I was like, this is reality. Yes.

Fucking quantified for my brain. Great. We're good. And now I'm like, okay, that's how some people feel. But I still don't know. Every motherfucker still has to get out and vote. And in the end, you know, I mean, this is not my area of expertise at all. But I have many friends that are smarter than me that I've spoken to a lot.

In the end, somebody on Bill Maher said this, a woman, I wish I could remember her name so I could give her credit. It was racial animus, wasn't it? You know, it was a response to eight years of a black president that gave us what we have now. that gave us what we have now. Yeah. Right. You know, and I think that all of us, well, first of all,

the people that started talking about post-racial, whoever created that term needs to be slapped. Yeah. And so then so many of us settled into this comfort of thinking that, oh, okay, you know, things are kind of stabilizing. And I think that it just, you know, we became more Islamophobic as a country, you know, things are kind of stabilizing. And I think that it just, you know, we became more Islamophobic as a country, you know? And then all of these things started bubbling up.

And I think that, you know, people were like, I've had eight years of a black president. Now you want me to elect a woman? Right. Yeah. There's a limit to how much I want to do. What was the thing Malcolm Gladwell was talking about in his podcast about how there was a female like there's a woman painter that showed at one of these galleries like in the 19th century.

And that like based on the placement of her painting that like gave it a little bit of cachet. And then the next year they didn't do it because they felt they're like, well, we had a woman this last year, so we're good. Right. It was sort of quota. Yeah. Quota satisfying. Yeah. It was sort of like aligning that same thinking with a lot of white voters who are like, well, we had a woman with this last year, so we're good. Right. Quota. Yeah. Quota satisfied. Yeah, was sort of like aligning that same thinking with a lot of white voters who are like, well, we had a black president for eight. I think we're good. Okay, now let me just go with Trump now.

Because I did that. I did that. I'm just hoping that means that now that we've had an openly racist president for four years, that people will be like, okay, enough of that shit. Right. Well, you heard Chris Rock's joke, right? Chris Rock has this joke about the presidents presidents and I will never do it justice, but he essentially says, well, you know, so-and-so gave us so-and-so, so-and-so gave us so-and-so, so now after

Trump, we should get Jesus Christ. Right. Yeah. Yeah. Like literally. Yeah. Yeah. Like in the form of Armageddon, because Christ will return because it's the end of the world.

Yeah. Like in that sense. That might be it. Yeah. That could be it. Yeah. That could be it. That does seem to be his jam according to Southern Baptists. When all the evangelicals, they're like, yeah, they really are. They're like, shit.

Okay. Jesus loves the end times. They're like, bring them home. Well, let's talk about the apocalyptic nature of what's happening in the White House because this story fucked me up. Okay. apocalyptic nature of what's happening in in the white house because this story fucked me okay so in late august the wife of a american diplomat that was in the uk her name is ann sakoulas she was dry so she's in the uk the wife of an ambassador she's driving on the wrong side of

the road right because it's the uk and she struck and killed a 19-year-old who was riding on his motorcycle because she was on the wrong side of the road. She spoke to the police the day of the accident, I think then the next day, and then fucked off a couple weeks later under diplomatic immunity. Were things looking bad for her maybe? I mean, I doubt she disputed the fact that she was driving on the wrong side of the road and killed this person. Oh, she did? I mean, how do you dispute that? Right. I don't think you can.

Oh, I thought you said she did. No, no, no. I think that's pretty much accepted. And I think local police actually tried to object to her using diplomatic immunity to return to the U.S. But this is where we are. She's in the U.S. to return to the U.S. But, you know, this is where we are. She's in the U.S. and the family of this guy, Harry Dunn, they are looking for justice for their son because their son was killed by someone who was just grossly negligent at best. And so they've gone from everything from asking

for the help of politicians in the U.K., getting on TV. They've been in New York doing a press conference. They were invited to the White House a couple of days ago. Right. So last week they had something with like an American diplomat where they were like, oh, that was just a photo op. Yes. There was like a camera in the car with them. I remember seeing that last week. They were like weeping and they were like, that was just a fucking photo op for for. Yeah. That asshole. So cut to. Cut to. They have an invitation to the White House. They've been wanting to speak to the president. The father of this young man who died said, I just want to be able to speak to him parent

to parent to say, what would you do if you lost your child? And this person who was responsible for their death was able to just skate because on some diplomatic immunity shit. So they get their chance. The president comes in according to the family he was very uh kind and consoled them i doubt that because i feel like they still need something from trump so they're not gonna be like yo this fool fucking ass i don't know i believe i just can't i've never seen trump actually console someone in a convincing way um then things got fucking weird so this is from from the report. It says, the family says that Trump surprised them

with the bombshell news that Ann Sekulis, the wife of the US diplomat, was in an adjoining room. Photographers were waiting in the wings, said a family spokesperson, who described the encounter as an ambush. So they were like, oh, I hear you so much.

Actually, the woman who killed your son is in the next room with cameras. That's reality TV show shit, right? Yeah, exactly. It's exactly it. And they were like, oh, I hear you so much. Actually, the woman who killed your son is in the next room with cameras. That's reality TV show shit, right? Yeah, exactly. It's exactly. And they were just, apparently for people who saw it, they were positioned to get like this angle of like the moment where the family saw the woman responsible for killing their son.

Jesus. And they were like, they said, no, we're good. We're not, we don't want to do that. This feels awful. Oh, good. So. We're not. We don't want to do that. This feels awful. And we're only good. So, yeah, they said, shut it down. Yeah. They said we are only interested in meeting her on our terms and on UK soil and on our soil.

Yeah, exactly. And there's talks of that. But I mean, again, it's just another moment where I think I don't know what it's one of those things where, you know, this was Trump's idea from the beginning. Right. I'm sure there are people who are like, I don't know. But at this point in the White House, like if he says he wants to fucking. All the people who say, I don't know, are gone. I want to do a double XL cipher with Kanye West.

It'll be fucking sick. Like doing some shit like that. I think they just like, fuck it. Okay, whatever. And it's the most tasteless, just fucked up thing you could do to exploit this family's grief. And I don't know how he thought that was going to make him look exactly like what even in your mind is the home run version of this surprise meeting that they hug and they say, I forgive you. Don't worry. You know, I get it, man.

People drive. We drive wacky on the other side of the road in the UK. How are you supposed to know? Right. Like, I don't know what the, even the most ideal version of that scenario is. Brut healing. Brut healing, a lot of understanding. But I just don't, yeah.

It's just a very surreal, just evil moment. Yeah. Reminds me of Succession. Right. I actually haven't seen this oh man you're gonna love it yeah but surreal evil yeah haven't we been living with surreal evil for a long time where you kind of go this can't be real this is real yeah yeah and it's so fucking evil right and i think that's where i'm trying to just be like i have to measure my shock with my accept not that

i accept that this is what the situation is, but I understand that this is the situation we're in with this president. Right. Right. Well, we're all living in that duality. Yeah, exactly. This conflicted place where you're like, but, and then, but you can't be surprised, but how can we not be surprised?

I'm desensitized. I don't want to be desensitized. You know, it's the fatigue. Yeah. It's the fatigue of living in this, in this duality. Yeah, absolutely. And it's, and trying to sort of thread that needle of being like why i can't numb myself to this because then i will i won't be a worthy advocate or someone who can speak up to anything if i'm completely just like check out for my own well-being right but there is i have to kind of

like must yeah to some degree yeah to a certain level it's like you can't take your eye off the ball because the second you start being like yeah it's all good then that's when you fully the slow boil has began on you yeah but it's impossible not to be desensitized exactly

but don't you think that that's part of our that's our emotional necessity that we can't allow because otherwise you would feel like you were getting fucking punched in the solar plexus every fucking day this would define another presidency but this will just be forgotten by right tomorrow probably well yeah and i think it's all in self-preservation that we have these mechanisms to whether precisely yeah precisely what are you going to do just you know implode

on yourself yeah and some people have you know i i know plenty of people who've had to completely disengage from the news and i think if you're able to uh to stay engaged somewhat and maintain your well-being great uh hopefully this show does that for you because we try not to you know try and keep a light but you know also try and put the light on the darkness a little bit but But I think, yeah, it's a very, very trying time. And when you just see things like this, it seems like some shit in a fucked up movie. But it's not. And that's what people need to remind themselves.

Because at least the first step is going to the polls, but that's not going to change much if we're going to be real. But we've got to get the president out, though, for sure. I we're gonna be real but we gotta get the president out though for sure i have a friend who totally disengaged with the news but he's working for stacy abrams working with stacy abrams on like the get the like make preserve the right to vote thing like that's a good in what capacity he's just i mean he's i i don't want to like get into no but is it a policy thing or? Yeah, yeah.

Oh, but you can still be disengaged from the news and still. I think, yeah, he's just like. Or he keeps it to the facts. That's a very specific task that he's undertaking, right? It's a target. And so I can see that. Yeah, that's possible. But I mean, that's pretty dope to like have a outlet to like, it's one thing to disengage

with the news and then just ignore it. It's another to like engage with the news and just ignore it it's another to like engage with the problem while not having to immerse yourself well your energy is being used constructively right i was just bragging that i know somebody who knows stacy that's fine my mom took a photo with everybody from succession i know man what the fuck that blew my mind hold that uh all right we're gonna take another quick break. We'll be right back. I've been thinking about you. I want you back in my life.

It's too late for that. I have a proposal for you. Come up here and document my project. All you need to do is record everything like you always do. One session. 24 hours. BPM 110. 120. She's terrified.

Should we wake her up? Absolutely not. What was that? You didn't figure it out? I think I need to hear you say it. That was live audio of a woman's nightmare. This machine is approved and everything? You're allowed to be doing this?

We passed the review board a year ago. We're not hurting people. There's nothing dangerous about what you're doing. They're just dreams. Dream Sequence is a new horror thriller from Blumhouse Television, iHeartRadio, and Realm. Listen to Dream Sequence on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

When you think of Mexican culture, you think of avocado, mariachi, delicious cuisine, and of course, lucha libre. It doesn't get more Mexican than this. Lucha libre is known globally because it is much more than just a sport and much more than just entertainment. Lucha Libre is a type

of storytelling. It's a dance. It's tradition. It's culture. This is Lucha Libre Behind the Mask, a 12-episode podcast in both English and Spanish

about the history and cultural richness of Lucha Libre. And I'm your host, Santos Escobar, the emperor of Lucha Libre and a WWE superstar. Santos! Santos!

Join me as we learn more about the history behind this spectacular sport from its inception in the United States to how it became a global symbol of Mexican culture. We'll learn more about some of the most iconic heroes in the ring. This is Lucha Libre Behind the Mask. Listen to Lucha Libre Behind the Mask as part of My Cultura Podcast Network on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you stream podcasts. Hello, everyone. I am Lacey Lamar.

And I'm Amber Ruffin, a better Lacey Lamar. Boo. Okay, everybody, we have exciting news to share. We're back with Season 2 of the Amber and Lacey, Lacey and Amber Show on Will Ferrell's Big Money Players Network. You thought you had fun last season. Well, you were right. And you should tune in today for new fun segments like Sister Court and listening to Lacey's steamy DMs. We've got new and exciting guests like Michael Beach.

That's my husband. Daphne Spring. Daniel Thrasher. Peppermint. Morgan J. And more. You got to watch us. No, you mean you have to listen to us.

I mean, you can still watch us, but you got to listen. Like if you're watching us, you have to tell us. Like if you're out the window, you have to say, hey, I'm watching you outside of the window. Just just you know what? Listen to the Amber and Lacey Lacey and Amber show on Will Ferrell's Big Money Players Network on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcast or wherever you get your podcasts. I was a lady rebel. Like, what does that even mean? I mean, the Boone County rebels will stay the Boone County rebels.

It's right here in black and white in the prints. They lying. An individual that came to the school saying that God sent him to talk to me about the mascot switch. As a leader, you choose hills that you want to die on. Why would we want to be the losing team? I just take all the other stuff out of it. Segregation academies. When civil rights said that we need to integrate public schools, these charter schools were exempt from that. Bigger than a flag or mascot. You have to be ready for serious backlash.

Listen to Rebel Spirit on the iheart radio app apple podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts and we're back and uh hot 97 the uh legendary rap radio station, has announced their Takashi policy. Yeah, no Takashi. Yeah, no Takashi. Takashi 6ix9ine. Unless he has a hit. Well, here's the deal, okay?

He was cooperating with the police to get the 9 Tray Bloods on the hook for some stuff. And anyone who has seen a movie or has been anywhere near rap music would know that's probably not advisable. Okay. Or rather there are consequences. And usually what you would do if you wanted to stand up for something like that, you would go into something called witness protection. So that way no one can find you and there will be no retaliation against you. This man has decided to forego witness protection.

He is going to just go resuming his rap career. And many people from all corners of hip hop are like, I don't know if that's the best thing. Oh, he's not going into witness protection? He's not going into witness protection. He also, there's a rumor too, TMZ reported that he has signed a deal with the first label he was with worth like $10 million to put out two albums. So there are people like investing in this too now.

And Hot 97 has come out that basically says when he is released from prison and drops new music, the radio station will not jump to debut any of the records. And they don't anticipate playing any of his music at all. Unless there is an outcry because the hit is so big that they don't want to fuck up their numbers. Because at the end of the day, look, you got to do what the people want. But I think it's easy to say that he'll probably never be at a summer jam for sure.

Because I think with the amount of just security he would need or what would happen. What about the insurance? Yeah, exactly. Imagine what the policy looks like. Your COI, like your insurance policy to have somebody like that there. Yeah.

See, this is a little abstract to me. What do you imagine would cost to insure a show like where someone who. I literally have no idea, but I just know that if I was the venue, if I was the promoter, that I would absolutely take that into consideration. Yeah. That there's a potential liability there. Right. Massive, massive liability. I don't understand.

That's why it's funny. This has been kind of one of these moments where I feel like there's old hip hop heads and younger hip hop heads who don't see eye to eye on this. Right. Where a lot of, I think,

and it's probably because of the evolution of rap music where a lot of people who were in the streets were the first people rapping. And now there are a lot of people who from the comfort of their living rooms have taken on these personas and are now dabbling in this world too where some people are

like it's he's fine it's all good he's nobody's going to touch him blah blah blah i mean that that could that i could believe a world where that's true because there's so much attention on him but i also believe there's another world that operates in a completely different way too that he's sort of immersed himself in that I'm not sure where that ends. Yeah, I mean, I think, so I don't really know much about this boy. I don't really pay attention to hip hop like that these days, but am I right in my understanding

that he took on a persona that was not necessarily genuine? No, that's not, yeah. So to me, that's the interrogation that I think should be made. Right. Right. Hypothesizing about whether or not he's something he's going to come into harm. And I don't wish anybody harm is less interesting to me than the conversation around what is it to feign something for commercial reasons. Right. And then to it then to, it's like a tattoo that you can put on temporarily and take off, right? And I think it's so social. I think it's political because

from what I understand about people that are in gangs, it's not like there are a lot of other options, right? So if you're not paying attention to and not being sympathetic and empathetic to what does it actually mean for the what are they called the nine what nine tray bloods yeah for the nine tray bloods like having any sympathy for that or trying to do anything to make that situation better if they wanted that but you also want to kind of have the grill run the tap do you know what i'm saying like i just think that that's that's a conversation that i would like people who know more about me which is probably everybody at this point but from where i sit um having known

artists who did live on you know on the crime side, the New York Times side, to wear that as an accessory, I think is what should also be part of the conversation. Right, right, right, right. That we're sort of still glorifying, like that's a roadmap somehow. Well, you know, it's not necessarily, yes, part of it is a glorification, but I think what I find offensive is that this is for gangs. And again, I don't know very much, but gang life I think we can safely say is dangerous. Right. And it is something that is problematic. And for someone to simply say that I think it's cool and therefore I want to have the veneer of being in the game, but I actually have the privilege that I don't actually have to be within that ecosystem. Right. that ecosystem, right? Which could be life or death is the thing that I take issue with,

that you're feigning a lifestyle that for some people is very, very real and potentially very, very dangerous is, I think that's fucked up. And boils down to growing and also just a lack of opportunity where that is your only recourse. Right. Whereas that's not your reality for the person that takes it on. Danny Hernandez or whatever his real name is. Right. And like people showing him in his little prom photos. And he's just like, okay, you know what?

I'm going to have these dudes in the videos with me. Right. To try and again. Right. Because I think there is this thing of like a lot of people take that gangster culture and that lends it this air of credibility or authenticity. Right. And I think and again, to what you're speaking about, it's true. It's like, how are we is this what how are we determining what's authentic?

And is that what we see as authentic still? Because I think these are these are all like layers that have kind of happened as the onion of hip hop is peeled. Like you see sort of what's you see sort of what used to be, what is the future and things like that. But yeah, it is odd when it comes with a lot of consequences. And yeah, like to your point too, gangs exist because there's a systemic failure. Like we failed people

right where their only recourse is to get into the streets like that right and that is another uh dimension of it that i think is probably left out because yeah even for me too i'm more like i'm i'm in like the tabloidy version of hip-hop too thinking like okay tokashi right good luck right and then also it's good to have you here too, Sophia, because it's a little bit sobering to sort of look at it a little bit clearer too. And be like, this is actually, this is a lot much larger thing.

And we're looking at a very narrow. So now he gets fucking, he's getting $10 million. Like, what are you, are you going to take a million of those $10 million and maybe put it towards the community that you exploited for your success? Like what,

what is your level of activism if you're going to put on the mantle? Right. You know? And yeah, I just. Yeah. And I mean, you look at people like Nipsey Hussle too, who was active, came from the streets

and actively saw why he was there, there why he had to why his evolution was the way it was and tried to change that right and his life ended tragically yeah and but yeah these are the kind of you can see that there are levels to the way a lot of rappers look at where they come from what their place is and if they're doing like am i just doing this because i like the shine and i want to wear bathing ape hoodies or am I doing something because I actually realize I don't want anybody to have to do what I did. Hov did that. So hopefully you won't have to go through that.

I was wondering if authenticity is becoming less of a thing in modern hip hop and just modern culture in general because we have YouTube stars who are like the Paul brothers who are just like bad. They're just caricatures of themselves. WWE caricatures of like something, but like not actually believably authentic in any way. Well,

but then I think, but, but really the artists that do really well are the actual artists who are really like, this is me. This is what I'm doing. really the artists that do really well are the actual artists who are really like, this is me. This is what I'm doing. This is how I'm choosing to express myself no matter what the genre is.

Right. Because I think there's a sincerity about someone really expressing themselves truly that no matter what the beats are, the lyrics are the package. It just, it just connects with people on a deeper level. Right. You know,

I think that authenticity is a term that's thrown around a lot these days. Right. And look, I think that I am very authentic. I think I have a very authentic voice. I think that my memoir is very authentic and anything that I do is authentic. So if people are going to be storytellers and the claim is that they are telling their own story as opposed to writing fiction, then I want authenticity. And I think that MCs would probably consider themselves storytellers. I think the best of them are. And herein I also want authenticity. Herein, I also want authenticity.

That's why I think I'm having an issue with saying, okay, you know, I'm down with this or I do that or, you know, going back to the guys I was telling you about in the industry who, you know, suddenly acted like they were, you know, so down. I mean, to me, one of the most beautiful manifestations of authenticity in hip hop was Redman's episode of Cribs. Yes. You know, this is, you know, red man's episode of cribs. Yes. You know, this is, you know, for that show MTV cribs, they used to rent houses for the rappers.

Right. They used to rent cars for the rappers. So that's the furthest thing from authenticity, right? That's the opposite. And he's so disrupted that He completely subverted that model. He's like, let's hop over to my sleeping cup. Right, exactly.

Here's the box on top of, here's a cereal box on top of my fridge that has the dollar bills in it, right? And I think that's also speaks very much to his talent and his confidence and knowing there's nothing that I could do or show you that's gonna ever shake who I am as Redman.

And so the notion that there is a show based on luxury, on aspirational living, and it's all about consumerism, that too is kind of offensive to me. I never fucking watched that show. I never watched Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous. I never watched any of those things that shoved in my face, wouldn't your life be amazing if it was this? Because those are not the things that define happiness. Yeah, they're all external. That's right. They're completely external. And look, I would love a nice big fat crib. I'd love to fucking fly private and all that. I would love

that. But I'm not on the paper chase. Right, right, right. So the fact that there was so much programming – I don't know if there is anymore. I don't really watch television like that. But the fact that there was so much programming around wanting to be wealthy and live in luxury I think is kind of gross to the point that you fake it. Again, it's faking it. Right, right. Right? Rent this house. Which house do you want?

I want the one with the fucking big ass – you want? I want the one with the fucking big ass, you know, I want the one with the big ass aquarium and it's got to have the, you know, the staircase. Like Natalie, that house. I remember that one. Oh, I don't know. He had an obscene aquarium. Oh, okay. Well, yeah, just all of those markers of success, which

are firmly based in capitalism. Oh, absolutely. Right? Which kind of goes back to the conversation about billionaires. Like capitalism, my girlfriend, Treva Lindsay, said capitalism makes this shit hard, Soph. Yeah. It makes it hard. Yeah. You know, it just necessarily, if you think about it, it necessarily compromises everything we do.

I own a home. Exactly right. Right. Yeah. compromises everything we do i own a home exactly right right yeah well yeah and i think it's funny too as you say like they need to sell a mirage of aspirational wealth and things like that because to to really inoculate people or get people to buy into that thinking is the precisely the kinds of shit you see in the form of like centrism where really evaluating what the issues are and if there is a class of wealth in this country

that is actually working against everything, and a lot of systemic issues are coming from this mentality of like consume, consolidate, gather as much as possible to the detriment of others, that's sort of how these programs function. Because it's sort of like this thing in the back of your mind where it's like, well, should I be mad at millionaires? Because like, what if I'm a millionaire? You know what'm a millionaire you know like that would be sick right so maybe i

should go easy on them because that could be me you know what i mean like there's that suddenly works on your subconscious because for me as a fucking what 14 year old probably watching cribs at the time 15 i was full i fully i'm sure you found it completely seductive of course how could you not and most people would i went to the back of the source magazine and ordered fake canary yellow diamond earrings and shit i wanted to fucking show out because in my mind that really was i i had a very one-dimensional idea of what success or happiness was and it was purely as do most of us get shit absolutely yeah but that's but again that's where we live we live in america in America. I love fancy things. I wear a Gucci hat. I buy Prada shoes. I absolutely am part of this system. There's no doubt in my mind.

The other thing I think about you guys in terms of authenticity is that I came up in an era where there was no social media. And so I think about, I think, is it safe to say that Instagram is probably the most robust platform for artists? Yeah, it depends. Definitely more so than Twitter and Facebook. Yeah, it depends on where you're at. But yeah, Instagram for sure is. Right? So let's say I have 1, 2, 3, 5, 10 million followers and it's all about pictures.

So it's all about what I wear, i live what i drive whom i'm fucking what i'm eating what i'm drinking i mean i cannot imagine you guys the how onerous it is to sustain this big willy back in the day we used to say big willy this big willy lifestyle yeah right you know i mean you know so what if you walk down the street and you just want to like you're not wearing whatever the fuck or whatever the brands are whatever the sneakers are and stuff like that you know i i never i never want to be in a position where i'm going to be embarrassed i take uber pools i can't i'm a fucking immigrant. When I look at the $4 price difference, I'm like, I could afford the $4, but I can't.

Constitutionally, as an immigrant, I can't. You hear a voice in your head being like, really? Yeah, it's my mother going, why don't you take the subway, right? And I'm like, I'm treating myself to a pool. But just the notion of going back to authenticity, a lot of that too, I think, is not necessarily authentic because I think a lot of the artists out there are spending their money on these things that present a lifestyle, but then do you own a home? Do you have a trust for your children? Where is your money parked right so you might not you might not go into the stock market or whatever but is it somewhere because some of these guys millions

of dollars will go through their hands and leave their hands and that's okay look if i was a 19 year old kid i'd spend the shit out of my money. I would be off the chains. I would be off the rails. I would be foolish, right? But the notion that I now, oh, fuck you guys. I got to pose. Hang on. I got to go buy these shoes. Hang on.

I got to go do that. I got to go do that. That's a lot. I got to pose by this like villa. Yeah, I've got to be in a G5. Well, yeah. I got to pretend my friends from TV are also my friends in reality. Oh, yeah.

Jennifer Aniston. Yeah. reality. Oh, yeah. Jennifer Aniston. Yeah. Yeah. Well, yeah. And I think that's sort of, that's why I think the Instagram is the, it's the perfect sales tool. Because it sells people on seemingly authentic versions of life. Because people, it's like, well, a person posted that. Not a person with a stylist.

Yeah. A fucking whole marketing plan. And lighting. Yeah, lighting. Who has someone probably editing the photo itself. Absolutely. Who probably has deals going with brands to figure out like, okay, well, here's a deal. We'll get you to this location and then do subtle things.

And that kind of helps, you know, create this thing of longing through your phone screen. Yeah. And it's even worse for women. Right. Right. So, okay, take that picture, but get rid of all my age spots. Right all my age spots. Get rid of the bags under my eyes and get rid of the wrinkles and everything. And I'm going to get surgery and I'm going to do all this. And I'm going to, you know, my tits are going to be bigger. My waist is going to be smaller. My ass is going to be

bigger and no shade to anybody that does this. I, I'm, that's not what I'm saying, but we are living in a time where there, where we can actually buy a certain kind of beauty, right? So if we have the means and we're all going towards, frankly, what I think is a very – a narrow, right, definition of beauty. Well, first of all, we're going to become more homogenous, which I never like, right? And then what does it mean for me raising a daughter who was a yellow girl again in a white world, right? Who does not fit into this paradigm of beauty? How do I tell her if she says to me, and she never would, but if she said to me, mommy,

I want to get a this job or that job or whatever, you know, the things that we have and so to be a famous woman too like nobody gives a fuck what a man eats okay nobody gives a fuck right but if somebody sees an actress let's say she's a thin actress and she's eating a cheeseburger like what that's a fucking story now like who gives a fuck whoa she's brave yeah right exactly she's brave for eating what she wants exactly we're fucking human beings yeah yeah oh man it's uh yeah and i think also like growing up in la man you i've i see how quickly people's shit gets poisoned by this like performative yeah i've heard that too like wealth shit and it's yeah yeah it's and the beauty shit too right like if i'm gonna go out and i'm gonna be on the red carpet you know what sofia's not quite pretty you know what i i think i have to upgrade from sofia right right right i've got to get somebody who's younger and thinner yeah yeah they're like oh well like i can't pull up

to a party with you because you're a college student that's right and i can't pull up in this car either yeah exactly like uh okay what you're gonna park your prelude around the corner right yeah we'll act like our limo broke down? Okay. Let me tell you something. That Prelude fucking goes, ma. I ride a city bike in New York, and I take Uber pools. There you go. I mean, but that's the thing, right?

I think it's about people being able to realign what makes them happy or redefine what makes them happy. I think because we have the... Because consumer culture makes us think, when I attain X, then I will be happy. That's right. Not, I will be happy that's not i will be happy right right then i can attain whatever and and those things have to be the gravy not the meat right like my ex and i talk about this in my memoir is a 34th generation shaolin monk

and when we started seeing each other i you know completely i was a stylist and he started wearing prada sport and stuff like that and And he looked really great. And I remember people looking askance at him and they're like, oh, I didn't know that Buddhist monks could wear Prada. Like, you know what? Suck a dick, homie. Because it's not about, it's not about him wearing the Prada. It's about him being attached to it. And he would never be attached to it. Right. Right. Right. Right. He fucking slept on a concrete floor for like 25. I don't think he's going to care if he can't wear a fucking Prada jacket tomorrow. He's like, I'm not having running water.

We'll kind of do that too. Exactly, exactly. So the notion, it's not about having it. For me, it's about I have to actively exercise not being attached to it. And I think that what's really, really important for us spiritually and just for our soul and our internal happiness is to not let the external world define it.

Am I happy if I buy a new pair of shoes? Sure I am. But does that define my happiness or define me? Of course it doesn't. Right. Right. Because if the shoes are taken away and it fucks you up, then that ain't it.

Right. That's exactly it. What happens when I say it? It's the same thing with praise, right? Of getting too attached to people's praise. It's like, yes, that can feel good. But if that becomes your be all end all, what do you do when you no longer hear that? Right. Where you crump. It's a good reminder.

I don't need that. I don't feed off. That's not my fucking oxygen. Exactly. You have to have your internal barometer and your internal compass have to be so fucking solid. And then all of it is like

you take it and it comes and it goes and it's fine. Smooth like water, baby. Yeah, exactly. It's like Bruce Lee. Be like water, my friend. Sophia, it has been a pleasure having you on the Daily Zeitgeist. Thank you. Where can people find you and follow you? So I am, for me, because I'm a rapper,

Instagram is definitely where I am the most vocal and visible. That's Soph Chang, N-Y-C-S-O-P-H-C-H-A-N-G-N-Y-C. That is also where you can find me on Facebook. And my Twitter handle is Sofchang. And my website is sofchang.com. And again, those hoodies are at bonfire.com slash baddest bitch in the room. Boom. And the book too.

And the book and the audio book. The book is called Baddest Bitch. Yes, the Baddest Bitch in the Room. Boom. And the book too. And the book and the audio book. The book is called Baddest Bitch. Yes, the Baddest Bitch in the Room. Dropping science on this fucking thing. Is available only on audible.com. Shout out to my Audible team. And is there a tweet or some other work of social media you've been enjoying?

So there is a tweet that somebody posted. I think her name is Bo Ren, B-O-R-E-N, and her Twitter handle is BoSafina, B as in boy, O-S-E-F-I-N-A. And she said, my parents were tasked with the job of survival and I with self-actualization. The immigrant generational gap is real. What a luxury it is to search for purpose, meaning, and fulfillment. I found that so profound for first-gen immigrants. You realize that your parents, it was all about survival. That's right. It was about survival for them and providing the best life for their children. I've been having this conversation a lot with my first-gen Asian immigrant friends. Did you ever ask your mother if she was happy?

No. Yeah. None of us did. Did you guys ever talk about her eternal life or what her dreams were? No. We didn't. No. I mean, you know, it's funny. My mom had a kind of she was luckily empowered my grandfather was like a german philosophy professor he was really into philosophy and he very much instilled

in her like yo go do what the fuck you want so but at the same it but then she has that guilt too that sort of inbuilt of like well do i go do go do what I want? Like, I'm saying it, but do I? What the fuck? And I can feel that even in like, because I think my mom would like to be a novelist. But she writes, she's a film critic. So it's kind of like that thing that scratches the itch, but might not be the thing deep down. You know what I mean? I mean, how many first-gen Asian immigrants do I know that went into the artistic field?

I know a lot because this is the field that I'm in. Right. But most of us, lawyer, doctor, scholar, engineer. Right? Yeah. And so how do you deviate from that path when your parents have made these profound sacrifices? You know, mom, I want to be a sculptor. Yeah.

Better sculpt that report card into a 4.0 1600 yeah yeah exactly i got a sculpture for you it's a fucking lawnmower outside get to work sculpt that lawn uh miles where can people find you find me on twitter and instagram at miles of gray a few tweets i like uh this is from at drive four or five music it says my girlfriend just added uncooked pasta to cold water and then turned on the stove and when i said she should boil the water before adding pasta she said literally all men are the same that's hilarious that's gonna be my answer for everything too. Also, Reductress.

At Reductress Quiz, are you even good enough to have imposter syndrome? Oh shit, that's so good. Isn't it amazing? God damn. I think you're kind of an imposter imposter. Are you sure? What? That's hilarious.

Another Reductress one. How to keep things casual so he doesn't make you watch The Sopranos. And lastly, Wheel of Fortune answers at W-O-F answers. They basically show like Wheel of Fortune grids after the first letter is shouted out. So in this one, it looks like a long ass word. And the first letter called out was T. There's only four T's in it. And the tweet says, the answer is titty sucking potato mouth.

Because that's what would have fit in those words. I'd like to solve. Eli at Eli Uden tweeted, whoa, just got my results back from 23andMe. Turns out I'm 100% not supposed to send in urine.

Not supposed to send in urine. Not supposed to send in urine. That's hilarious. You can find me on Twitter, Jack underscore O'Brien. You can find us on Twitter at Daily Zeitgeist. We're at The Daily Zeitgeist on Instagram. We have a Facebook fan page and a website, DailyZeitgeist.com, where we post our episodes and our footnotes,

where we link off to the information that we talked about in today's episode as well as the song we ride out on miles what's that gonna be today let's do a track from esg from the south bronx uh wonderful band we've played a lot like maybe one or two of their songs before uh but this song you make no sense i think is just fitting for right now a lot of shit not making sense so this is is ESG. You make no sense. Such a, I mean, man, the samples that they've given to hip hop.

All right, we're going to ride out on that. The Daily Zeitgeist is a production of iHeartRadio. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows. That's going to do it for today. We will be back tomorrow because it is a daily podcast, and we'll talk to you then.

Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. You make no, you make no sense You make no, you make no sense I said you, you, you make no sense at all You make no, you make no sense

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