The Daily Zeitgeist - Curse of Mamdani, Time Travel Conspiracy Theories 04.28.26

Episode Date: April 28, 2026

In episode 2048, Jack and guest co-host Jacquis Neal are joined by comedian and author of Gay Science, Rob Anderson, to discuss… White House Correspondents Dinner Conspiracy Theories Now Include Time Travel, Trump Believes Iranian Oil Pipelines Will Simply “Explode From Within” If The Oil Stops Flowing? New Yorkers Blame Mamdani And/Or The Ghost Of Brian Wilson For Mets Curse, Michael Was Even Bigger Than Oppenheimer At The Box Office and more! Shots rang out, pandemonium erupted: how the White House press dinner shooting unfolded ‘STAGED’: Conspiracy Theories Are Everywhere Following White House Correspondents’ Dinner Shooting Trump says he 'wasn't worried' during Washington press dinner shooting RFK jr's brain worm forgot he had a wife and initially left her behind Right before Trump is rushed off stage… a man holds up a card Oz Pearlman reveals what was on that notepad at White House press event Fact-checking falsehoods after shooting at White House correspondents' dinner Karoline Leavitt to Fox before the WHCD event: There will be some shots fired tonight Fox News mysteriously cuts off anchor as she shares Leavitt's husband's eerie warning HOLY SH*T: Fox News just cut one of their reporters off as they seemed to indicate the shooting was a pre-planned false flag. Fox News reporter responds to dropped call during WHCD shooting interview President Trump: This is why we need the ballroom Justice Department urges group to drop Trump ballroom lawsuit after WHCA dinner shooting Does image show White House correspondents' dinner shooting suspect wearing IDF sweatshirt? What we know Who Is Henry Martinez? A Resurfaced 2023 'Cole Allen' Post On X Sparks Online Uproar After the WHCD Shooting Cole Allen: 'Time machine' claims about correspondents' dinner shooter rise after Henry Martinez's post resurfaces Trump Says Iran Has Around Three Days Before Oil Pipelines Could Explode Trump: "What happens is that line explodes from within." President Trump has issued a new ultimatum on Iran, telling Fox News Iran has just 3 days before its oil pipelines naturally “explode from within.” Mets' misery continues as historic losing streak extends to 12 with loss to Twins Mets hit rock bottom after getting swept by hapless Rockies as offense, Kodai Senga flop FRONT page of the New York Post poking fun at the alleged Mets / Mamdani curse… Mets fans beg Mamdani to stay away from team after snapping 12-game losing streak Is a ‘Curse of the Mambino’ Plaguing the Mets? Mamdani, Say It Ain’t So. Michael Jackson Estate Faces Sexual Abuse Allegations From Four Siblings Who Claim They Were ‘Groomed and Brainwashed’ by Pop Superstar They Were Michael Jackson’s ‘Second Family.’ Now They Say He Abused Them. Michael Jackson biopic smashes box office record ‘Michael’ Biopic Ignites Theater Frenzy as Fans Turn Screenings Into Live Celebrations Rumor: Antoine Fuqua Quit ‘Michael' Ahead of $50M Reshoots — Crew Dubbed Him “Vantoine” for Working From a Van LISTEN: So Good by C.JusticeSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Uh, Jakeez and I on yesterday's episode, we were recording, we're talking about Mrs. Doubtfire. Is that one of the pieces of 90s culture that you're roasting on your tour? It isn't. Only because I feel like there's been a lot of coverage on the things that don't work, you know, in that movie. Um, so I, I feel like it's been covered pretty well, but it is crazy. It's a wild movie. Yeah. We just think it should have, they should have never, it should just been Mrs. Doubtfire. Like the way that Medea is just Medea, like Robin Williams should have just played a character

named Mrs. Doubtfire. He's a lot of fun. No father story. No father stories. Yeah. No sadness. No divorce. It's just like, what if Mrs. Doubtfire rocked?

And she was the best nanny of all time. Because it's like, oh, there's a terrible father under all this. We don't want that. Yeah. Yeah, exactly. This guy can't even get his shit together enough to, like, order Chinese food. Oh no.

So the older I get and the more I'm like, yeah, man, I can see why she was pissed when she came home. Yes, yes. That is a movie that was made for men by men and doesn't fully worry because it's just like they're expecting men to be like, yeah, man, what's her problem? And then you like see it.

And it's like, oh, I think the rest of the people who were in charge of making this like snuck in some details that's like, oh, yeah, you're the bad guy. Oh, totally. And I mean, you think it's like a movie of the time. But now we have this movie coming out with Nate Bargazzi. That's like this dad who can't dad, you know, he doesn't know his kids names. If a dad was in charge,

could you fucking imagine how crazy? What a crazy premise. And yet, I think it's going to work really. Yeah. This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed human. A win is a win. A win is a win.

I don't care what I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, my basketball and college football journey, or my career in sports media. Well, now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, the Clifford Show.

This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. So let's get to it. Listen to The Clifford Show on the IHeard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok podcast network on TikTok. On the senior show podcast, each episode invites you into a raw, unfiltered conversations about recovery, resilience, and redemption.

On a recent episode, I sit down with actor, cultural icon, Danny Trail, talk about addiction, transformation, and the power of second chances. The entire season two is now available to bench, featuring powerful conversations with the guests like Tiffany Addish, Johnny Knoxville, and more. I'm an alcoholic. And without this probe, I'm going to die. Listen to Sino's show on the IHare Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. On paper, the three hosts of the Nick Dick and Poll show are geniuses. We can explain how AI works, data centers, but there are certain things that we don't necessarily understand. Better version of Play Stupid Games win Stupid Prizes.

Yes. Which, by the way, wasn't Taylor Swift, who said that for the first time. I actually thought it was. I got that wrong. But hey, no one's perfect. We're pretty close, though. Listen to the Nick, Dick, and Paul show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,

or wherever you get your podcasts. It's Financial Literacy Month, and the podcast, Eating While Broke, is bringing real conversations about money, growth, and building your future. This month, hear from top streamer, Zoe Spencer, and venture capitalist Lakeisha Landrum Pierre,

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Effect Podcast Network on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Hello, the internet, and welcome to season 436, episode two of Durdily Nightgeist. The long-awaited season

436. They say this is when the show gets good. It's a production of iHeart radio. It's a podcast where we take a deep dive into America's shared consciousness through the day's news. We also have a new non-news history version of the daily zeitgeist dropping each Monday morning where you do a deep dive into the zeitgeist through the lens of a different icon. This week we got Carrie Fisher.

Oh my. So much talent. So much. So many good quotes. So many drugs. A shocking amount of drugs. I knew they did cocaine on the ice planet in Amazon. Empire Strikes Back. I did not know that that cocaine on the ice planet was the tip of the

proverbial cocaine iceberg. So check that one out. It's super fun and it's with Jamie Loftus and Caitlin Durante. Oh my goodness. Huge guess. All stars. All stars. It is currently as we record this, and I would not lie to you about this. It is Tuesday, April 28th, 2026. And yes, that means my name is Jack O'Brien, A.K. Body like a flip. Body like a flip phone. Body like a flip. Body like a flip. Body like a flip phone. That is, by courtesy of Paul Garvento on the Discord in reference to last Friday's episode, I believe, when we had Jamie Loftus on guest co-hosting, Molly Lambert was the guest and we were talking about when they tell you in yoga to like roll up one vertebrae at a time. and I don't like that's a fictional thing to me I'm my body is my body has one place that it bends

and it's in the middle and I can like bend over like that and bend back and I said my body I'm built like a flip phone anyways I'm thrilled to be joined in our second seat by today's guest co-host the host of the truly great live show comedian clash the host of crowd control on Dropout, which has, I believe, a new season coming up. It's Jekis NEO! Oh, oh, oh, I know y'all expected me to sing, but let me tell you something. I'm not going to do it. The man's got to rest his instrument.

I got to rest my voice. I got jobs coming up. So instead, I'll just say, what up, niggas, how are you doing? Oh, so good. I always got to speak to my black people first, and then I bring it to everybody else. Hello, everyone. How are you? I hope you are all the world.

Very good, Jakee's. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. I'm so glad you're here. Thank you so much. What up, niggas. How are y'all doing out there? How you all? There's two conversations happening. There's two conversations happening. What up, Jack? Jack O.B. Did I tell you, did I tell you, I know we got to bring our very special guests in, but I just need to tell you, I just did something with Cracked. I had an interview during a South by. Oh, really? And they did a little promo with me. And I was just like, man, I know. the man who started this. Launched a thousand interviews with Jakees Niels. Yes. Yes.

So I spoke highly of you to people who didn't know who you were. They were like, who's that? Many generations of editors and talent have come and gone since I started cracked, but glad to see them still out there. And apparently their taste has gotten pretty good if they're interviewing you. I'll say that. All right, Jakees, we're thrilled to be joined in our third seat by a hilarious comedian, the author of the New York Times bestselling book, Gay Science.

You probably know him from his live coverage of the 2025 papal conclave, The Pope Games, if you're anything like, if you're a Popehead like myself, he's currently on tour roasting your favorite media from the 90s with his show. Are You Afraid of the 90s? Please welcome. Rob Anderson! Hey! Hey, I feel like I should sing too.

Hey, Queens. I'll stay out of the gays for a section. There you go. I'll have multiple conversations here. Many levels. What's up, guys? Thanks for having me. I love the pod, so I'm happy to be here.

Very happy to have you. Thrilled to have you. What is your, can you give us a taste of just like, what's your favorite piece of 90s culture to kind of deconstruct? You don't have to give us any of your points, but I'm just curious. Like, what are some of your most influential pieces of 90s media that you were raised on? Yeah, I think TGIF was a real big thing for me, which was, if you're not familiar, it's all these shows occurred on Fridays, like Boy Meets World and Sabrina the Teenage Witch. And there were crossovers, Family Matters, and they all kind of showed up in each other's episodes.

Yeah. And it was an incredible time, really. It was the original Marvel Cinematic Universe, you know? TDIF Cinematic Universe. And that's when we had good theme songs, boy, it was, Oh, yeah. Whatever happened to predictability or family matters. Man, I love, love the theme songs back then.

And then they kind of, like, step by step had, like, taken, had taken, like, the theme song from Full House and, like, made a version of it. So then some of them kind of started to sound the same. But they were all good. They were all saying about the same person, too. Yeah. Is that true? Yeah.

They were all, even the family matters. It was saying about the same dude who did Perfect Strangers, Full House, Family Matters, and step by step. They certainly have a formula. Yeah. He knew what he was doing. He knew what he was doing. So for our, for this icon version of this show, Rob, that we do every Monday morning where you do a different, you know, hugely impactful icon. The first episode was Einstein because I feel like.

Like he's just so iconic, fashion icon total. But our second episode was Urkel. So that's the, and we wanted to just communicate right off the bat, the span of icons that we were talking about. And I feel like, and Jekis was the guest host on that. So, oh my gosh. We know from TGIF. We know the TGIF. That's a good one.

That was a good time. We had TGIF and I'll throw another one at you. For those of us of a certain age, we also had SNCC. We had Friday and we had Saturday night at Colodeon. The weekend was covered for us on television. It was a beautiful time. Beautiful time. What a time to be alive.

Same with right now. Also, what a time to be alive. Rob, we're going to get to know you a little bit better in a moment. First, we're going to tell the listeners a couple of the things we're talking about. We talked about the attempted assassination at the correspondence dinner yesterday. We're going to now dig into the conspiracy theories that have come flooding out because they, it's like they're speed running the JFK conspiracy process. Like just everything immediately was like staged, set up, and then like they're just like working their way through. And there's some really like entertaining ones in there, I will say.

There's one involving time travel that I'm kind of into. So we'll talk about those conspiracy theories. we will talk about the fact that Donald Trump believes the Iranian oil pipeline will simply explode from within if the oil stops flowing. The fact that the New York Mets are blaming Zora Mamdani for losing 12 in a row. And then we have to get into the biggest biopic of all time dropped this weekend. That is the Michael Jackson biography, which I have not seen. Jakees has seen. I've seen it.

Did you see it? I haven't seen it yet. Did you seen it, Rob? Um, okay. So it's, I was ahead of the time. I was very curious and had a feeling it wasn't going to do that well because I'm a genius. Uh, but I do just, I think it's a very, very interesting cultural, pop cultural phenomenon. So I, I'm excited to talk about how massively popular that was, uh, all of that

plenty more, but first, we do like to ask our guest, Rob Anderson, what is something from your search history that is revealing about who you are? My, I don't know how interesting it is, but the most recent thing was a search for a Power Shot 3 confetti blaster because I am on tour right now and I do everything myself because I am like Virgo, like I'm very in the weeds. And so I have confetti that comes out at the end of the show, and I need a hard blast. Like, I need to soak people in confetti. I don't want this little, like, poof.

And so I was trying to educate some of the different venues on, like, the real good confetti machines that we need. I need the good shit. So it's a machine. It's not, like, because there is a fun thing that I discovered one New Year's Eve when I had kids that were too young is, like, there's a thing. that you like, I think you twist it and it like explodes confetti out of it. But like it's also, it uses gunpowder to do so. So it's very loud and terrifying. It's basically a firework.

Love it. Yeah. Wow. I love it. The one you're using is a machine. Like it's actually, you turn it on? Well, I could do a whole show on confetti machines. Okay. But there's blasters that do one big boom and then there's blowers, which continuously feed the audience. with confetti. I love to do both. I love the impact and then the continual hit. I'm telling you, confetti changes everyone's mood.

It does. I mean, not that they need their mood change during a comedy show as if I bombed, but you end with confetti. They forgot all your errors. They are like,

holy crap, that was amazing. So I really love to fill the whole room with it. That sounds amazing. No gunpowder. I want to know a person who has to, if I knew a person who had a confetti blaster or a machine,

every comedy show I did would somehow incorporate that. Because you know how comedians, we just be like, oh, I know somebody who got this. Like, oh, I can use it. I'm not even thought of a confetti in the show because I don't know anybody who has a confetti blaster. But now, but now confetti is coming to L.A. Y'all is coming to the L.A. shows.

We're about to blast y'all with some confetti, whether you like it or not. Front row gets hit, and it's going to find. hit. Yeah, yeah. Does it come from you? Are you, like, do you have a device that you're, like, pointing out into the crowd? Is it coming down? I always find it a little, like, after a sporting event, when the confetti comes down from the ceiling. Like, it's cool for a moment, but then I feel like it's better if, like, you're blasting confetti out at people, like a big confetti cum shot. You know, it's funny you say that. I was like,

inspired to do this at the end of my show because I saw Adele in Vegas. And she, she's dropping shit left and right. She's got postcards or like little mementos that come down in paper. Oh, wow. The whole time, I'm just blown away by things. It's a very simple concept of paper coming at you from the ceiling. And so I wanted to do that. And I think you have to be in a really massive venue or one that's properly built to drop from the sky. So I just shoot them out at people from the stage. and I do travel with one that is only $200, and it hits people pretty good. But if I'm doing a big theater, like 1,500 people or more, I rent them out and they hit them hard. I love it.

Do theater, do the people who work at the theater, love you? They're just like pulling confetti out of three months out of like MSC pressure. You actually have to pay a cleanup fee, so I pay usually a grand or more for them to clean it up. Wow. That's a showman right there. Yeah, well, I don't have a choice. I'll pay it every time because it's worth it. Yeah. Yes. No choice. Yeah. I like that. Absolutely perfection. Speaking of Carrie Fisher towards the end of her life, and I didn't get to this during the icon episode, but she did have a habit of bringing glitter wherever she went and just like glitter bombing people.

Now, see, that's jail. That's jail time. There is no clean up fee for that. Yeah. You will be finding that for years. I went to a Kesha concert once, and the amount of glitter everyone was throwing, I swear, I was finding it for weeks. That's a rough place to be. Yeah. Great use of your iconography, though. It's like the Bill Murray being like, no one will ever believe you when he runs up and like hug someone or like helps people.

It takes a bite of their food. That's what you're doing. Yeah. What is something, Rob, you think, is underrated? You know, I, we hate on boomers a lot. Karen's complaining boomers because they are a wet blanket. But if you've ever been in a situation where you want to complain but you don't feel like you can or you feel like it's going to be awkward, they're great to have a round. Like, I was on a flight and the Wi-Fi wasn't working, and I think the screens weren't working.

And I don't bother flight attendants. Like, I don't bother them in any way. They're very powerful. When you're up there, you're in their domain. Oh, my God. Yeah. When people get in fights with them, I see clips of people getting in fights. I'm like, why are you doing that?

What you're like thinking? Yeah. They control your destiny. So I don't say anything, but it was really annoying that the Wi-Fi wasn't working, but I had a, you know, a complaining boomer right in front of me. I'm like, oh, she's going to do it. She's like, excuse me, where's the Wi-Fi? And I'm like, that's right.

Thank you. You did it for me. So a little underrated. in that aspect. Using the powers of the boomer for good. Yeah. Sometimes I wish I, it's like that, uh, this happened to me after a date once. And now me and this person will text each other every time we see this meme where it's like the dude who doesn't like speak up about his order being wrong, but he knows his girl will. Be it like, excuse me, we ask for mashed potatoes. And like, I don't want to do it, but I know

she got me. And like sometimes you just need that person who you know they got me because they saying everything you want to say, which you don't want to be the bad guy. You don't want to be the bad guy in that situation. Or in that instance, I forgot to order the mashed potato. So it was my fault. But, but I had somebody in my corner and that softened the blow for you. Yeah. Yeah. Or she's eating it too and she's like, we want to feed potato fries because I wanted. Right. Right. As I said, I wasn't hungry, but I actually am, and I'm going to eat the shit out of the sweet potato fries. Yeah, it's nice to have. Sometimes you got to gas them up a little bit.

Be like, yeah, believe this. You know what? You know what? Here's the thing about, here's the thing as I get older. And boomers, you know, get on my nerves too. But as, you know, I got nieces that are gen alpha now. So like two generations undermined. And I'm starting to be like, man, I get what I'm a bloominable.

I'm a boomer. I'm a boomer now. Is this how I look? This is how I look. And I get it. I get it. I'll be listening to them talking. And I'm like, what the fuck are y'all talking about? And then I called my, I did, I never thought I would say this. I'd never thought I would say this. She was on the phone with her, when my oldest niece was 13, was on the phone with her friend. And they were just talking. And I was just like, be nicer to your friends. Like, be nicer. Stop. What if the Wi-Fi goes out and you don't want to complain? You're going to meet their friend someday. Yeah. There's a new season of beef that's totally different than the first one. I was a little disappointed at first that is totally different. But they have some great observations about Gen Z stuff in there.

They make them a little bit dumb, like a little too dumb where you're like, guys, come up. This is. But there are some great moments where they're like complaining about their boss being aggressive. at work and she's texting her boyfriend. Her boyfriend's like, should I call the police? What is, Rob, something you think is overrated? Okay, this is a little niche, but I have been kind of digging into designer bags. I find them to be kind of interesting the Hermes game and whatnot.

And there is a bag that I do don't understand why people buy called the Goyar bag. Have you seen this bag before? No, not a bag guy. Let me look it out. It is about a $3,000 bag that has a history to it or whatever, but it is the ugliest bag. Oh, yeah. I've ever seen. It looks cheap. It's like a, it's got a pattern on it that looks like a, like a background of like a Windows 95 computer. And it used to be, I guess, hand-painted, but it's still ugly. And now it's just screen printed on Kansas.

It's the ugliest bag I've ever seen. I can't understand why people buy it, why they pay $3,000 for it. I really don't understand it. And for me, it's massively overrated as far as a designer bag. Yeah. It's like a secret symbol to other rich people who care about bags that you're also a rich person that cares about bags because nobody else is going to look at that. I look at that and I'm like, oh, they got that at TJ Max. Like that is, that looks like, that looks like a bag you would get.

for free. Wow. Like, they'd be like, oh, you need a shopping bag. Like, we'll throw this in

at the end. You didn't bring bags to this expensive grocery store. We'll toss this in. No, literally. $3,000 is wild. But there's also so many other ways

to project that you're, you have money. There's quiet luxury. There's tons of designers and, and icons. This is so ugly. It's plastic. When I wear my,

when I wear my $5,000 fur, coat outside. That's how people know I got money. Even if it's 90 degrees, I'm still wearing my fur. But I look good in it. That's all that matters. That's all that matters. If you don't spend the money, you got to look good in the money that you're spending. That's why. I just make sure I always make sure that my blood boy looks healthy and taking care of so they know I'm getting good blood from my blood boy when I'm walking around with him on my back. And what's the most It's expensive thing you own, Rob. I own, I did buy a Louis Vuitton.

So the movie Darjeeling Limited, they made a bag for that movie only. Louis Vuitton made it. And it's a cool looking bag. It's like tan, it's got animal print on it. They decided to actually make the actual bags this year. Farrell is the creative director there, and he came out with them. And I've never bought one before. And I went, oh, God, I've got to do it.

I've got to get this bag. So the thing is, when you pay a lot of money for a bag, I baby it too much. I'm afraid to bring it out, you know. The Darjeeling Limited, Limited. Dergieling Limited, Limited. Yeah, that was it. Wow. It's a cool bag.

It's got a little elephant on there? It's got an elephant. I think it's got a zebra. Yeah, it's a giraffe, I think. It's at least they're having fun with the fact that it's wildly expensive. So I just saw on one of our shows on the big money. Players Network that I work for. Las Coltristas had Lena Dunham

on and her overrated was, or not overrated, her, I don't think so, honey was quiet luxury, which is a phrase. So is quiet luxury just like having things that are nice, but that don't appear to be that nice? Is that

what that essentially means? Yeah, I think it's the removal of logos. So if you have that LV monogram on their removing that, but there's certain distinctions of a bag where you'd go, ah, that is that kind of bag. And I know that because I have the money to buy one, so do they. And I think that's what, so it's like trying not to be so tacky with things and more so if you know, you know, like

a sweater from the row. The row is quiet luxury, the Olson, Mary Kate and Ashley Olson, their fashion brand, all of that. There isn't a logo on anything, and it looks like something you'd get anywhere, but like if you know, you know that that's the right. You know that that's the right. I've been noticing that with like sometimes to this point where you like, that makes it look tacky. I've been noticing homie instead of getting sunglasses that just have like the name of the sunglasses just like a big bow letter's plastered on like the side. And I'm just like, that makes it look worse.

Like the design looks cool and then you just got Burberry like on the side of your face. I'm like, man, like, those would look so much better if we didn't know they were. I don't need the glasses to know. I don't need the glasses to be Burberry to think they look tight and to think they look expensive. But are Burberry glasses even that? I feel like Burberry nailed the scarf and then that's it. They make bags and famously it was in an episode of, oh God, on HBO. Right, Lotus.

Succession. Succession. Close. It was in an episode of. session where he says it's an outrageously capricious bag or just like it's a capricious bag in some way because it's such a ridiculous pattern on a bag and I think they're kind of making fun of the the luxury logos and whatnot. But I do find Burberry to be one that's a little capricious I guess. Maybe because of the episode. You're right. Yeah. Even the scars. I'm like, man, no scars don't even look good. I'm all in me.

They sell you, they say it's timeless. So they're like, oh, it's timeless. There's a story. Some old actress who killed herself wore this once, you know. And then everyone goes, oh, my God, I need the story behind the bag or the scarf. And I find that fascinating. I think it's all for camp. I just think it's so campy, all of it. So I've been digging in with the way people get obsessed over these things. That's dope.

I love it. The row, I'm looking at the bags from the row, because when you type in the row, it auto completes a bag. By the way, shout out to Mary Kate and Ashley for being fans of Death Row. and death row records and naming their company after it. But they're very quiet. These bags are very quiet. They don't have anything that would distinguish them.

I would look at that and be like, oh, you have a bowling bag, you know? Oh, snap. Exactly. I didn't know the Olsen Twins was in, I knew they were in fashion, but I didn't know that they were considered high-in or luxury fashion.

Oh, yeah. They're secretly pulling the strings behind every major world event. As they should. Yeah, yeah. I love them both. That's the conspiracy theory we need to come away from the thought podcast with that they were behind the correspondence dinner attack. They wouldn't be so sloppy, though.

Exactly. They are so correct. Oh, yeah. Yeah. All right. Let's take a quick break and we're going to come back. We're going to talk about the conspiracy theories and why the Olsen twins were behind it, but they wanted it to not actually happen because it's like,

Sending them out. They really need that ballroom. They really need that ballroom. We'll be right back. 2%. That is the number of people who take the stairs when there is also an escalator available. I'm Michael Easter. And on my podcast, 2%. I break down the science of mental toughness, fitness, and building resilience in our strange modern world. I'll be speaking with writers, researchers, and other health and fitness experts, and more to look past the in-practice. and way too complex pseudoscience that dominates the wellness industry. We really believe that seed oils were inherently inflammatory. We got it wrong. Many of the problems that we are freaked out about in the world are the result of stress.

Put yourself through some hardships, and you will come out on the other side a happier, more fulfilled, healthier person. Listen to 2%. That's T-W-O-Persent on the I-Hart Radio app, Apple Podcast. or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what you're saying. Yep, that's me, Clifford Taylor the 4th.

You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show.

This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment, and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast, it's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So, if you've ever supported me or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where

you need to be. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. I went and sat on the little ottoman in front of him. I said, hi, dad. And just when I said that, my mom comes out of the kitchen. She says, I have some cookies and milk. This is a badass convict meal.

Right. Just finished five years. I'm going to have cookies and milk. In the milk, my mom. On the senior show podcast, each episode invites you into a raw, unfiltered conversations about recovery, resilience, and redemption. On a recent episode, I sit down with actor, cultural icon Danny Trail, talk about addiction, transformation, and the power of second chances.

The entire season two is now available to binge, featuring powerful conversations with the guests like Tiffany Addish, Johnny Knoxville, and more. I'm an alcoholic. And without this trouble, I'm going to die. Open your free I-Heart radio app. Search the Cito Show. And listen now. I feel like it was a little bit unbelievable until I really start making money.

It's Financial Literacy Month, and the podcast, Eating While Broke is bringing real conversations about money, growth, and building your future. This month, hear from top streamer, Zoe Spencer, and venture capitalist Lakeisha Landrum-Pierre, as they share their journeys from starting out to leveling up. If I'm outside with my parents and they're seeing all these people come up to me for pictures, it's like, what? Today now, obviously, it's like 100%. They believe everything.

But at first it was just like, you got to go get a real job. There's an economic component to community striving. If there's not enough money and entrepreneurship happening in communities, they fail. And what I mean by fail is they don't have money to pay for food. They cannot feed their kids. They do not have homes. Communities don't work unless there's money. flowing through them.

Listen to Eating While Broke from the Black Effect Podcast Network on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And we're back. And yes, so the White House correspondent's dinner dominated the news over the weekend. We talked to him yesterday's episode about it was fake. About how it was fake. No, we talked to yesterday's episode, like Trump is trying to turn it into an anti-Christian thing somehow, even though, like, the only real thing we know about this person who tried to, you know,

speed, like, get run through the, his, his plan was just if I run really fast, it kind of reminds me of, like, I will sometimes have this thought where, like, if I'm on the top of a tall building and I'll be like, I bet I could jump from this building and, like, land on that other one over there, you know, just like a little bit because I would fall some, but I'd be like pushing my, you know, like that it feels like something that the second you tried to do it, you're like, oh, this was a very bad idea. He was like, I'm just going to like run so fast past them that they're not going to catch me. And they just were not ready for him and also immediately caught him.

There's a trend right now, actually, with, I don't know if you guys have seen this where people try to see how far they can get into a Scientology building by doing a speed run. Yeah, I was like, oh, it's that, but killing the president. Right. Yeah. It seems like that's... He's doing the TikTok challenge of trying to get past Secret Service and somehow managed to not get shot.

So I've dabbled in JFK conspiracies and ended up coming up with a... landing on the conspiracy theory that the cover-up was caused by incompetence. I've talked about this a lot on the show. I'm not going to dig into why, but basically it feels like that's what... Like, the internet is speed running all of the JFK assassination conspiracy theories. And I think if I was doing every step of it along with them, I would then come back to land on incompetence again. Like, incompetence on both sides, by the way. Like, I will say, usually when you read the history of assassinations, that actually happen.

There's a moment where the assassin gets incredibly lucky. like JFK rolled right past the building where Oswald was working with like his top down and it was like right he was right there was like the perfect spot. Franz Ferdinand is maybe the best example, took a detour and his car broke down right in front of where Gavril Princep was buying a sandwich. He had been like trying to assassinate him had failed was like, I'm going to just go eat a sandwich then. and then they like got a flat tire, like their car broke down right in front of him as he was walking out of a sandwich shop. So, you know,

I think it's a lot of incompetence and luck and lack of luck and things like that. But the, I mean, one of the things we got was people hiding, like, RFK Jr., just standing up, not really knowing that he was supposed to duck. We got Stephen. People were leaving a wives behind.

Teenagemen Ninja Gerebel seemed to be like ducking behind his pregnant wife as they were exiting. There's a lot of fun pictures. But in terms of the conspiracy theories that began, they began immediately. As the news was coming out, staged was the first thing that was trending on Twitter and Blue Sky. So one of the things that people were pointing to that was like, quote unquote, mysterious is that a mystery man held up a car, held up a card, and then like moments later guns started ringing out like everybody he was right next to trump held up a card people looked at him looked very troubled and then shots rang out that person was mentalist oz-parlman and the card that he was holding up contained the name that caroline levitt is planning to name her unborn and so the reason everybody was looking at him that way was because he was doing a magic trick that no apparently that's that's what they have it And the name of that child, the name of that child was shooting now. Yeah, right.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Shooting about to happen. Everybody be cool. Yeah. I'm going to believe every conspiracy that comes up today. He, he, first of all, who hires a mentalist for a White House correspondent? He was, he was a plant. Boomers, that's it.

Yeah. He was a plant. And I had a mentalist at my birthday party last year. Mentalists are cool. They're cool. They're tough. They're tight. It was a fun.

It was a fun party. It was a fun-ass party. But at a White House correspondent dinner, bullshit. He was like, shooting now, like you said. Yeah. It's like, well, it's like hiring a mentalist for a roast. Like, it's supposed to be a roast. And he is, like, cannot have that. So he's like, he'll do some cool tricks. And then I'll get up

and talk about how shit the media is. It was like basically his plan for the evening, I guess. Yeah. Yeah. Leavitt herself had told reporters early in the evening. There will be some shots fired tonight, but obviously she was referring to Trump's roast jokes. Or was she? Yes, she definitely was. But, you know, poor choice of words, I guess, in this context. I think she was reminded the people who forgot, like, hey, just so you all know, it's going to be a fake assassination attempt today. Because there's a lot of old people

in that room. They may have forgot. They was eating their pasta and they shrimp and they steak. And she had to say that. And so he was like, oh, yeah, that's right. At 902, I'm supposed to duck. That's what that was. And after that interview, she was like, oh, this is going to be clipped. I can't wait for the clips. This is going to make its rounds. Yeah, that's right. Nice. Yeah. Her social media manager told her to say that just in case something crazy happens. Fox News correspondent, Asa Hosni, called into the station, but was conspicuously cut off after she revealed that Carolyn Levitt's husband told her you need to be very safe. Yeah.

That was wild. It's just like all these details, but she later clarified she wasn't cut off. The service was just bad and also claimed that Levitt's husband was merely telling her to be safe because the world is crazy. Man, let me tell you something. So many people are on the phones and she the only one that her phone got cut off? Nah. Right. And I know how phone calls sound at least a few seconds before they get cut off.

and they don't sound as clear and concise as she was sounding before she just got cut off mid-sentence. There was a little. A little secret service agent coming up and being like, shh-sh-h-h-fuck-up. I love that you're fueling every one of these conspiracies. You were kidding. We're literally counterpointing it. And then at the end, Rob, you will, of course, explain how all of them were planned by the Olson twins. they sure were yeah quiet luxury no these are these are goy our bag people these are not the

road these aren't quiet luxury people yeah yeah very loud the most prominent conspiracy theory seems to be that this was a false flag operation to justify trump's stupid ballroom uh hence why a staggering number of right wingers responded to the news by calling for the ballroom to be completed but i think i would just say the reason that that's happening is because the ballroom is a great idea and it does need to have. No, I just think they're all on. They knew exactly that this is what, they know their dear leader well enough at this point.

You know, they know the head of their cult. They know exactly what this is going to be turned into and that everything for him is about closing a real estate deal. So that's where their brain goes because they've been well trained, would be my guess. I do think, though, that is interesting. Like, sure, maybe it's the ballroom because he got up there and set that stuff and everything like that.

But, like, that's not why I think it was staged. And I think that's not why a lot of people think the initial staging happened. Sure, it didn't want the ballroom. But it also has been kind of what everything felt like has been over the past year or so where press is getting bad, these crazy things that go into war and, like, the Epstein files. and it seems like a distraction. Sure. I think that's where a lot of the stage in and the fakeness comes from is like

this just seems like another distraction and another attempt at the sympathy and the way it turned like, you know, possibly turned like some people like, oh, they try, like the first assassination attempt. They're trying to kill them now. See, man, oh my gosh, yeah, the liberals are crazy and blah, blah, blah, blah.

But also, I just think it's, I think if there was a conspiracy, that this stage is more to garner some more of that what they feel is goodwill from people's keep trying to kill this president and all he's trying to do is keep us safe and blah blah blah blah and trying to garner some like support on his side because they're about to get uh molly walked in the midterms yeah i do yeah i think that they have two things i i personally don't think that it's intentional but i do think that it's intentional but i do think that they have two things that are helpful that are working with one another. One is that they

just turn everything around, like just any fascist government is going to take any piece of conflict and like turn it into an excuse to grab more power. And then the other thing they have, which is also generally a part of fascist governments, is called designed incompetence where they bring people into their organization based on how loyal they are as opposed to how good they are at their jobs. And so they are not competent. So they have people like Cash Patel and Pete Hanks.

They have the head of these organizations that have traditionally been selected, at least partially based on meritocracy and now are just purely based on like whether they please this one guy and how much he thinks they're going to back them. And so you just have this increasingly chaotic universe of like more and more incompetent people running things that have massive, that are like massive and powerful. And then they are going to use that or at least try to use every result of that increasingly chaotic, you know, the entropy that is happening.

They're going to use the outcomes to try and like gain more power and make it more violent. and those two things just like, it's like in a feedback loop that's going to keep feeding itself more and more. They aren't. I think that if they did plan all of this, we'd know already or we'll know soon because they're not quite, they're not good at planning things like going off what you just said. There'd be an unsecured signal chat with Pete Head Seth somewhere about this and we'd find it pretty soon with a reporter on it. You know, so yeah, it's definitely a. chaotic situation all the time because no one knows what the hell they're doing and this is what kind of comes of it. Though I will say that I brushed off the fact that everyone was saying this

was staged because the internet does say that about everything. Madonna at Coachella was a hologram, you know. So I think that when I got to the end of this and I saw that people were saying about the ballroom, I'm like, oh, maybe. Oh, actually, maybe. Because that maybe, I was feeling a little bit of my own conspiracy thing. But yeah, that it's, yeah, that does seem like they're small-minded enough to be like, let some, like, at the very least, because one, like, my brain goes to, like, wait. So they, like, found this guy and, like, trained him to do something terrible. And it's just like, no, it would be that they're kind of aware that this is coming and then let it, let it happen in order to, like, create a justification for the building of the ballroom, I guess. But I, I, I, I, I still. still think that that's like a little bit too advanced for the for who we're looking at. Like if you look at the video of him running past the security checkpoint, those guys look like they're like actually playing grab ass. They're just like, hey man, like laughing and like joking

as the guy runs by. So there are sometimes the internet is just so big that the conspiracy theories do get really good. And there is one. So people on Twitter found an account belonging to a guy named Henry Martinez. Oh, yeah, saw this. That back in 2023 posted only one single tweet. And the tweet is Cole Allen, the name of the assassin. And the profile picture is Pepe the Frog wearing a tuxedo, which everybody was all wearing last night at the thing.

Martinez's background picture is a piece of abstract art seemingly sourced from the website for Time Machine, which I don't know what that is, but apparently it's... Oh, the Time Machine website? Is it... Are they talking about, like, the Internet time, like the Wayback Machine? I think that's what that, I think that's what that is, isn't it? No. No?

I don't think so. It doesn't look like it. Because that is like a thing where you can, like, go find, like, oh, delete it, like stuff, right? I don't know. Time Machine is a unique alliance for the future. Time Machine organization is the leading, International Organization for Cooperation and Technology Science and Cultural Heritage and the institutional governing framework that ensures the sustainability and economic independence of the

Time Machine Project. Okay. That's not that. Like, a Time Machine will make sure the Time Machine project continues off. Me trying to get my word count in when I'm writing paper. Right, exactly. To triple space. So people think that this abstract art also contains a callback to,

the image of Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, but the art already existed in 2022. So that's where the time travel comes in. So this is from a list of explanations or for what's going on that has already come out. Number 11, we're going to start with number 11. The more troubling one, that the present is being modified from the future with messages in the past, which are not very complex clues right there in plain sight, that can be identified once the events happen. That's like a fun sci-fi premise.

You know, that's pretty good. Yeah, that shows they're having fun with it. I like that because it's not rooted in anything real. Exactly. Or is it? Or is it? Exactly. I love that people think that this sloppy thing that just happened

is like Luigi Mangioni writing things on bullet casings. Like, Luigi was the sharpest of any of them, And you think anyone doing something this sloppy is putting a cover photo on Twitter that looks like another assassination for 2023. Like, come on. Yes. People are bored. It does go deeper. It does go deeper.

Alan interned at NASA and a Henry Martinez from Lockheed Martin supposedly co-authored a NASA paper that year. And so I think it's open and shut. That's it. It goes all the way at the top. all the way to the moon. If there's anything that I learned when I saw adventures in game is that time travel is possible, you know. It's just we thought we've been thinking about it weirdly. Yes.

Time travel is possible and you use it for stupid reasons. All right. Let's take another quick break and we'll come back and talk about even stupider bullshit. We'll be right back. 2%. That is the number of people who take the stairs when there is also an escalator available. I'm Michael Easter, and on my podcast, 2%, I break down the science of mental toughness, fitness, and building resilience in our strange modern world.

I'll be speaking with writers, researchers, and other health and fitness experts, and more to look past the impractical and way too complex pseudoscience that dominates the wellness industry. We really believe that seed oils were inherently inflammatory. We got it wrong. Many of the problems that we are freaked out about in the world, are the result of stress. Put yourself through some hardships, and you will come out on the other side

a happier, more fulfilled, healthier person. Listen to 2%. That's T-W-O-Persent on the I-Hart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Cliver Taylor the 4th.

You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw,

unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment, and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast. It's a space for honest conversations,

stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So, if you've ever supported me or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be. Listen to The Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes,

follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. I went and sat on the little ottoman in front of him. Hi, Dad. And just when I said that, my mom comes out of the kitchen and she says, I have some cookies and milk. This is a badass convict. Right. Just finished five years. I'm going to have cookies and milk at my mom.

On the senior show podcast, each episode invites you into a raw, unfiltered conversations about recovery, resilience, and redemption. On a recent episode, I sit down with actor, cultural icon Danny Trail to talk about addiction. transformation and the power of second chances. The entire season two is now available to binge featuring powerful conversations with the guests like Tiffany Addish, Johnny Knoxville, and more. I'm an alcoholic. And without this trouble, I'm going to die.

Open your free I-Heart radio app. Search the Cito Show. And listen now. Hey there, folks. Amy Robach and T.J. Holmes here. And we know there is a lot of news coming at you these days from the war with Iran to the ongoing Epstein fallout, government shutdowns, high-profile trials, and what the hell is that Blake lively thing about anyway?

We are on it every day, all day. Follow us, Amy and TJ for news updates throughout the day. Listen to Amy and TJ on the IHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to podcasts. And we're back. Speaking of silly conspiracy theories, so the Mets have lost 12 games in a row. I do not pay attention to baseball this early in the season,

but this has even crossed out of the world of baseball into the realm of things that I'm aware of. They are having a very bad season. Every year they enter the season, Mets fans being like, I think we got it this year. Like I know I've said this in the past, but I think this is an year. New York fans. And then, so they snapped the losing streak last week

and started another one this weekend. when they were swept by the also terrible Colorado Rockies who are currently in last place in the National League West. So people are suggesting that the Mets haven't played well since Zora Mamdani met with Mr. and Mrs. Met on April 9th. And right-wing media outlets like The New York Post and Fox News have been working hard to try and paint the mayor as some kind of reverse grimace, I guess,

because there was a thing where Grimmis gave them a bunch of, like they met, Grimmis came and visited the Mets. Like the McDonald's Grimmis? Yeah, McDonald's Grimis. Yeah, exactly. I had no idea that Grimis gave them good luck.

That's hilarious. It was a reverse grimace. Oh, my God. Obviously, Mombonis brings bad luck. Hey, listen, if Moundani can clean up, like, the things that he says he wants to clean up and, like, do the things he says he wants to do, while simultaneously making cocky, egotistical,

New York sports fans miserable, he is the greatest man alive. He is the greatest man walking planet Earth. Absolutely. If he did do this, I mean, honestly, just doing great things for the world. He did. He did do this.

I think that it's clearly a curse, for sure, but that's on them. Like, don't they know how Romani curses work? Like, he passed that curse. to them. They have to, like, have you seen the ring or it follows or drag me to hell? You've got to pass that on to somebody else. And they're not doing that.

They're just sitting there not passing the curse on. That's on them. They got to get somebody else that VHS tape. They got to sleep with somebody else. They got to do the things that you do to pass these things on. Yeah. They need to have Mr. Met have sexual relations with a different mayor in a different city. And that's how.

Karen Bass on. Yeah, exactly. There's a competing theory that the Mets have actually been cursed since last summer, when the team mistakenly paid tribute to the late Brian Wilson by playing Kokomo at a Mets game. They were like, in honor of the passing of Brian Wilson, here is Kokomo. Why is that? Why would that mess them up? Yeah.

Because he- So Brian Wilson was like the genius of behind the Bucamo. Beach Boys who made pet sounds and like good vibrations. And then he kind of, he like lost it a little bit, you know, had mental health issues and like stopped being involved in the making of Beach Boys music. And the guy who was like the other head of the beach boys, a guy named Mike Love, like his whole thing, he was like, pet sound sucks Brian Wilson. You need to make more songs about like babes and surfing. And like that's the only reason that people like us. And so that was always his theory and his big hit that he made without Brian Wilson.

The one big hit is Kokomo. Oh, I never knew that. Yeah. And so them playing Kokomo when it wasn't a Brian Wilson song. Then playing Kokomo to honor the guy who was actually like the musical genius behind some of their best music, in theory is what has brought the curse on the Mets. I guess. So they're really looking at anything. Like if something ain't going right with the Mets, they are looking at anything.

That's right. They're not above it. Wow. Yeah. Creative. Those are New York. Again, the best work, the best work being done right now is by conspiracy theorists. Some of our greatest writers and creators of fiction.

All right. And finally, so we had talked about the upcoming Michael Jackson biopic, Michael, specifically. I was very curious how this was going. going to do. Yeah. Because there is, I've always been up front that, like, Michael Jackson is the most massive icon that we have. Like, he is a phase that kids go through, like dinosaurs and sharks. Like, kids also go through like a Michael Jackson phase where they're just like, this guy fucking rules. Like, are you kidding me? And he's also just like massive around the globe. Like, I play tennis with a German guy the morning before I record the iconograph, and I talk to him about, like, each icon that I'm doing.

And he's always, I'm like, do you have one that you, he's like Michael Jackson. Michael Jackson's the number one. He's the best. He's the most famous. He's the greatest, like, musician. Like, so everyone, like, everyone from all these other countries, fucking obsessed with Michael Jackson. My thoughts were that that force was going up something against. some things that traditionally, like, don't, aren't great for a biopic.

I feel like when usually the best path is to find the highest caliber actor that you can make look like the star in question. And this movie went the root of just like finding someone who looks like Michael Jackson, kind of, and like, just make the movie. So I was like, is that really going to work? Like the, the, the Tupac biography was an example of this, but whereas, like, you know, the ones that did really well, the biopics that did really well, they just, like, found an actor who was like, found the best actor for to row. Found the best actor for it. Turns out it does not matter. As it, like, the fact that the movie kind of ignores the accusations of sexual abuse didn't matter to people or maybe, like my sense was that people don't want to know about those, like the fans of Michael Jackson don't want to know about those. And so they want to.

to have those written out of the story so they can enjoy his music again. And like that is what this music, what this movie does. It's like an accusation, a racing machine. So like it's from that perspective, I don't know that it necessarily like the accusations either helped or hurt because it feels like this. If you are worried about them, this can just like kind of takes them out of the out of play a little bit.

Here's what I think. Here's what I knew the movie was going to be big because I have melanin, and I knew black people was about to show up. I knew we was about to show up. I knew it without a shadow of a doubt. And, you know, with the Jafar thing, yeah, normally they probably go with the best actor, but I think the things that were working for him in that case is one, that he's Michael Jackson's nephew and seeing the movie.

that I think if you're going to get just somebody who kind of looks like him and it's also related to him, I think that will Trump get in the best actor in the role because people are just going to be like, oh, we get to see his nephew be him, but like, let's go. And then I saw it. I saw the movie. First of all, did you get up and dancing in the eyes. I was singing. I was singing. I was singing. I was singing. My knees was hurting it like a concert, You go to a concert, which, you know, is, you know, for the culture. I love it. And, but I did see the movie.

I love it. I'll say that. I loved it. Jafar Jackson was great. He was fantastic. Like, he was so good. They're not good. And if it's just like, you know, if it, because like, having somebody looks kind of like

them but can't act is, it makes it feel like a daytime or like a, you know, made for TV movie. But if the person's like a great actor, Yeah. And we've seen, and here's the thing, we've seen the Michael movie with an actor, and I love Flex. Love Flex. But like, you know, the old Michael Jackson movie with Flex Alexander was one of the blights on cinema that we could possibly get. I haven't seen it. Oh, my gosh. Go just even look at pictures of it. And you'll see, like, go look at Flex as Michael Jackson and you'll, you don't even need to see the movie. You'll all. already no. Oh, no. Oh, no. No.

Oh, my God. He's a ghost. Oh, no. It's pretty terrible. It's pretty terrible. And it was a bad movie in every single way. See, I want to watch this. I'm watching this today.

Watch that camp. Man in the mirror, the Michael Jackson's story. It was so bad. It was so bad. It ruined Flikes his career. He was like, you are out of Hollywood after that. Whoa. You are not forgiven.

But yeah, but people, people was ready for people was ready for this. Jafar Jackson was great. Everybody. It was a very well-acted movie. And then I'll say this to the controversies. And this isn't me speaking on what I think of the controversies or anything like that. But I will say in the movie, it's been kind of well known that this is very possibly going to be a multi-part movie. Right?

and the movie ends in 1989. It ends at the beginning of the bad, like, album, which means that, like, we have, the thing that I'm not understanding is we didn't, we didn't get there yet. Like, the controversies and the shit happened, like, where it was, like, the trial and all of that stuff was, like, the 90s.

And if the movie ends in 88, of course we didn't get the controversies yet, because that's likely coming in a second part of a movie. Like, that's how time, works, right? And so, like, I didn't under, I can see if the movie ended in 1998 and then we didn't, and they glossed over everything. I'd be like, yeah, that's fucking wild. But if the movie ends in 1988 before that shit started, I don't understand why the, I don't understand why the, uh, why the conversation is, they didn't even touch on that stuff. Yeah, bro, like, he was barely white at

the end of the movie. Wait, now I had read that they actually did have some of that in the movie, but they had to take it out because the Jackson of the legal reasons. There are a few things like that as well. But I think what the thing was as well, first of all, apparently the movie was clocking in at four hours or something. And so they were saying, so that's where to like we're going to split this movie up. And I think the controversy from what I've also heard from people within the industry and stuff like that was that. that the decision was made to end it at the bad tour because everything after that was such a

different part of his life with the pill addiction, with the controversies, with like everything that like once Michael Jackson became. And if that happens, then I think the jump in the gun of like this stuff wasn't at it was too early. Now, if we get a second part and none of that stuff is in there, by all means. Like, obviously they glossed over it. But if it happens, if they get a second part and they cover all of that stuff, then I think it's just a matter of like they didn't want to sit in a three-hour movie when they were going to split up the two parts of his life possibly. That's what I think, at least. So I do think like the third act was, so there's, I think the report is that they had a third

act that did address it. And then because the movie was like so, it is the most like authorized biography, like a biopic of all time. And they came. came through and we're like, yeah, no, we like legally can't have this. And I don't know exactly what. Like, I don't know if it said, if it addressed them and dismissed them. And that's why they, like, legally couldn't do that. But they had to, like, rewrite and reshoot the third act in its entirety. But, yeah, like, I 100% want to see the movie about the making of this movie because rumor has it that, like, the Jackson family was so involved that Antoine, Fuqua had to direct the movie from inside of a van.

Yeah. Whoa. I did hear that. His reps are like, that's actually how he likes to direct movies. So I don't know what you're talking about. Yeah, he likes to be in a van. Heading.

You guys both brought up a great point that is so true that like Michael Jackson is so ingrained in people. It's, it's, I think people who criticize the depiction of him in this way or, oh, it's not the full story. I mean,

you don't understand, like, it's like religion to some people. Like, I think of it, like, he's so ingrained in people's happiness that they will do anything to believe that something isn't true. And there isn't enough evidence in some ways that they're able to just kind of, you know, not think of that. And this movie's for them. And people who are critical of him are going to come watch this. Oh, it's enormous.

I mean, I think of, like, how with my mom, my mom's very religious. and trying to explain to her when like one of her cats dies that the Bible and the things in it are written by men and not God and that her animals may not be in the cloud is going to dev it she'll never believe that she'll never believe that all her cats are in the cloud and then one day she's going to go up there and I'm not going to try to convince her otherwise and I think Michael Jackson is so deeply ingrained in people that life is tough and the thing that they love is Michael Jackson and that can't also be a thing that's terrible so I get it you know I don't know where I stand. I'm not in that camp, I think, necessarily. All you have to see is that, like, R. Kelly's music went the fuck away. Michael Jackson's music never went away. So you can go away.

And there was just certain people who are like, yeah, but not this one. I think that is something to, a lot of, especially because, like, Michael Jackson is very defended in a black community and culture. and like, you know, like the thing, like, people not taking this away from us, it's like the overall, like, mindset. And sometimes it gets on my nerves when people come at, like, black people for that. Like, we as a culture, as a community, don't know how to erase people from our history. Like, we erase Bill Cosby.

And Bill Cosby was the non-music version of Michael Jackson. So like we as a culture know right from wrong. We don't agree with like things like that. So like that annoys me sometimes with like the, you know, or the dialogue surrounding it. But like Rob said, it's just like people know when Dan, it's the controversy. We can get into the whole controversies.

But I think people just wanted to see a movie, celebrating music and Michael Jackson story that we all know. Like there are no spoilers in this movie and there's been every like we're not going to the movie to see you know, I do know about that

but I want to see that one scene where we hear Michael talk about it. Like that's not going to be in the movie. And no one wants really like yeah, that's not going to be in the movie y'all like and especially because And you're not going to really learn anything new.

So it's, and I'm not saying that's why we shouldn't put things in, because if it's a part of history, it's a part of history. It's just an interesting dialogue that the critics hate it. And some people hate, but I think you're seeing it with a lot of people who are actually going to see the movie and enjoying themselves and liking the movie. There was some type of disconnect between the original, like, reviews and then the actual on the ground reviews. of people like seeing it. This might be the biggest disconnect ever. Yeah, it was a huge disconnect. The reviews were like a disaster, total, total L.

And the movie made $217 million. Like it beat every single biopic ever, including Oppenheimer. I mean, this is kind of like very similar to Bohemian Rhapsody in a lot of ways. Like, we have, they didn't talk about AIDS or anything with Freddie Mercury and that. They covered up a lot of that stuff. Right. Because people, I guess, didn't want to have to see that if they wanted to enjoy them. people were very connected to it.

Like, so a lot of control over it. It went through multiple directors. It was a mess on that end. Yeah. And it did really well. So it's not specific to Mike, just specific to Michael Jackson that all these things are happening. It's kind of just like a biopicture situation.

Yeah. Oh, yeah. You know, when they make the 14th biopic of Martin Luther King, I still don't want to have a scene where he fucking other women. I don't need that. I don't need it. Unless what if Flex plays him. You know what?

I'm in. And we're back. Just give me, if Flex plays them, I just want the movie where the movie is just about him sleeping with him. In white face. In white face. I don't want to hear nothing about a dream. I don't want to hear nothing about it.

I just want, I want affairs. Well, Rob Anderson, such a pleasure having you on the podcast. Where can people find you, follow you all that good stuff? Yeah, I'm on Instagram. I'm Hartthrob Anderson, TikTok. I'm Hartthroberts. And yeah, right now I'm on tour, the tail end of a tour.

I'm in Boston and Raleigh and Australia. And then my comedy special comes out June 3rd, so about in a month. There you go. Is there a work of media that you've been enjoying? You know, right now I've been into Christian remakes of popular movies. So they had a, they had a, on the same day that 50 Shades of Gros, Ray came out, they came out with a Christian version, and I watched it. It was so terrible, and I just love the trying to adapt something popular with the Christian message. So right now

I'm also watching Finding Jesus instead of Finding Nemo. Oh, wow. Yep, they have a one called Finding Jesus and Finding Jesus, too. So I'm into those. They have, instead of High School musical, they have a Sunday school musical. I'm about to watch that one. So I've been really into this. It's a big thing for me. Oh, that sounds amazing. Yeah. That's great. Finding Jesus is very funny. It's a rough watch.

Finding Jesus is rough. They basically, the animation as the fish have a conversation with each other, just loops. Their faces don't even match what they're saying in their lips. They just loop them animation. And I have to get through it for the people, though.

I have to get through it. Amazing. hilarious. Jakeet, where can people find you as their work in media? You've been enjoying. Well, you know, you can always find me in these streets. And you can find me on at Jakees-Neil. Jackie'sneal.com

wherever you want to find me, I'll be there. There is a piece of media that I'm enjoying. This was on threads. Meta's threads. And from Mr. Metis threads, from Mr. Williams Prick,

or Williams Spreck, I don't know. But it was after the staged assassination. But there was After the Olson staged. And, you know, there's that video of Erica Kirk, like, walking through and she's sobbing and blah, blah, blah. And then he writes, stop laughing at Erica Kirk crying. It's a normal human response to be scared the first time you are negatively impacted by gun violence.

Which it took me a second to get it. And then once I got it, I was like, oh, because she wasn't. I was like that. So fucking funny. It's so brilliant. It was great. It was great. Amazing.

I love it. I love all the Erica Kirk content. Same. Same. A queen. Am I right, guys? A diva. A diva.

A little performer. Work of media. I've been enjoying Andrew at Intelligent back on November 17th, 2017. This is an oldie, but a goodie. The shit Bart Simpson gets away with makes me fucking sick. Love the idea. Yeah. watching the Simpsons from that point of view.

I mean, that's got to be a rough watch. Did it again? Yeah. You can find me on Twitter, Jack underscore O'Brien, Blue Sky, Jack Obey, the number one on Instagram, Jack underscore O underscore Brian. You can find us on Twitter and Blue Sky at Daily Zekegeist. We're at The Daily Zykeyes on Instagram. You can go to the description of this episode, wherever you're listening to it.

And there at the bottom, you will find the footnotes, which is where we link off to the information that we talked about in today's episode, we also link off to a song that we think you might enjoy, and when Miles is away, we do like to ask super producer Justin Connor. Justin, is there a song that you think the people might enjoy? Yeah, so anyone who is a fan of music from like the Capcom fighting game era and stuff like that, they should enjoy this song because it has a punchy, nostalgic, like chip tune rhythm to it before it drops to a half-speed, big, bassy bounce that you can nod your head to. So this is so good by Sea Justice,

and you can find that in the footnotes. The Daily Zykeyes is a production of IHeartRadio from our podcast from IHeartRadio, visit the IHeartRadio Apple podcast to wherever you listen to your favorite shows. That's going to do it for us this morning. Back this afternoon to tell you what is trending, and we will talk to you all then.

Hi. The Daily Zykeyes is executive produced by Catherine Law. Co-produced by Bay Wang. Co-produced by Victor Wright. co-written by J.M. McNabb. Edited and engineered by Justin Connor. A win is a win. A win is a win.

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