The Philip DeFranco Show - PDS 8.18 New UK Scandal a RIDICULOUS FAIL, Jenna Marbles, Fall Guys, Key Missed DNC Moments & More

Episode Date: August 18, 2020

Shoutout to Keeps! Go to https://www.keeps.com/defranco to get 50% off your first order of hair loss treatment.  WATCH MatPat Podcast: https://youtu.be/gyHiBdEuTRo  Follow me off of Youtube: https://linktr.ee/PhilipDeFranco -- 00:00 - Entertainment Quickies 03:27 - UK Testing Controversy 08:06 - TIA 09:19 - DNC Highlights -- WATCH Full “A Convo With” Podcasts: https://www.youtube.com/ACW  LISTEN On The Podcast Platform Of Your Choice: http://LinksHole.com WATCH the ACW Clips channel!: https://youtube.com/ACWClips ✩ SUPPORT THE SHOW ✩ ✭ BUY our GEAR, Support the Show!: http://ShopDeFranco.com ✭ Lemme Touch Your Hair: http://BeautifulBastard.com ✭ Paid Subscription: http://DeFrancoElite.com  ✩ TODAY IN AWESOME ✩ ✭ Swimming Pool Stereotypes: https://youtu.be/MqePxS6iyvA ✭ Joseph Gordon-Levitt Breaks Down His Career: https://youtu.be/YvBy6cUAcHQ ✭ Kerry Washington’s Guest Host Monologue: https://youtu.be/PhtAJvd_4Hc ✭ The Binge • Trailer (Official): https://youtu.be/qg3ZjDFZaIw ✭ Honest Trailers | The Old Guard: https://youtu.be/tHGC4qVCW30 ✭ Four Horsemeals of the Eggporkalypse from Parks & Rec: https://youtu.be/NWGVFi-213w ✭ Secret Link: https://youtu.be/1IYWy51cJKU ✩ TODAY’S STORIES ✩  Fall Guys Greater Starting Charity Bidding Contest: https://kotaku.com/fall-guys-creators-incite-twitter-brand-bidding-war-for-1844760943 Jenna Marbles Ends Podcast: https://mashable.com/article/jenna-marbles-julien-solomita-podcast-ends/ Internet Mocks Lebron James Space Jam Sequel Jersey: https://brobible.com/sports/article/the-internet-mocks-lebron-james-new-space-jam-tune-squad-jerseys/ UK Drops Algorithm That Determined College Entrance Exam Scores https://roguerocket.com/2020/08/18/uk-a-levels/ Highlights from DNC Night One: https://roguerocket.com/2020/08/18/highlights-from-dnc-night-1/ ✩ STORIES NOT IN TODAY’S SHOW ✩ UNC Chapel Hill Moves to Remote Learning: https://roguerocket.com/2020/08/18/unc-chapel-hill-remote/ Dixie D’Amelio Responds to Rumors:  https://roguerocket.com/2020/08/18/dixie-damelio-responds-to-rumors/ ——————————     Edited by: James Girardier, Julie Goldberg Produced by: Amanda Morones Art Director: Brian Borst  Writing/Research: Philip DeFranco, Lili Stenn, Maddie Crichton, Cory Ray, Neena Pesqueda, Brian Espinoza Production Team: Zack Taylor, Luke Manning  ———————————— #DeFranco #JennaMarbles #MichelleObama Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sup you beautiful bastards, hope you have a fantastic Tuesday. Welcome back to the Philip DeFranco show. Buckle up, hit that like button and let's just jump into it. The first things we're gonna talk about today are some bits of entertainment news. Starting with a new smash hit battle royale game, Fall Guys. If you haven't played it yet, I highly recommend it. It is a stupid amount of fun. Also, it's very accessible, like even if you don't play games a lot, my six-year-old can get to the final round. But, Fall Guys is actually in the news because of their social media team. In addition to them just kind of killing it in general

and trolling a very popular streamer who is not that great at the game, they also yesterday launched a massive contest and charity effort, tweeting, "'Battle of the Brands' The thirst from brands has been unreal, so we're turning it into something positive. Prize, your brand inside Fall Guys as a costume.

To enter, reply to this tweet with the highest amount of money you would be willing to donate to Special Effect, which is a UK-based charity that helps gamers with physical disabilities. And immediately we saw a number of brands jumping on board, even including YouTube's own Sidemen, who were then one-upped by a penny by a Tushy, which is a bidet company. I almost want to give them more money so that actually becomes a costume. But ultimately, you know, we saw bigger bids, including once again, another YouTube icon, MrBeast throwing out a $100,000 bid, though the current high bid is from G2 Esports at $130,003. And you know, it'll be really interesting

to see where this lands. One, because it is genuinely interesting to see how much a company is willing to throw to get their costume in this game, which of course is huge right now. But also too, I have to imagine there are a lot of brands out there going like, what if we just risked it? What if we bid $135,000 for the free press

in hopes that someone like a MrBeast who actually also threatened to outbid everyone jumps back in. But there's a lot of weird, interesting conversations happening right now. So we'll keep our eyes on that. Then yesterday we saw an update on the Jenna Marbles situation.

Jenna, of course, a long time, huge, prominent YouTuber. Back in June, she announced that she was leaving her channel, potentially forever. Leaving the internet, which resulted in a huge response from people saying, please don't. After that video, in general, Jenna received a huge wave of support. Many people wondering, is she really gone? Is she going to come back? And the update we got yesterday is not great for fans that were hoping that she will return soon. With Jenna and her partner, Julian, who she shares this podcast with,

announcing that the Jenna and Julian podcast was over. In that audio only clip, thanking fans for all the support over the years, but saying all good things come to an end. Also seemingly propping up a door that could be walked through later, saying maybe she and Julian would do something in the future.

And as far as how she's doing, she said that she's getting help and just being a person. You know, while I think a lot of fans are sad that they're losing this thing that they love, especially because I think a number of fans had some hope that maybe she wouldn't return to her old channel, but she would hop on the podcast. Based off the reaction I've seen,

it appears that fans are more importantly happy that she seems to be doing better. I also think this announcement shows, not that I had doubts about it before, but I think it cements that Jenna was being genuine when she was talking about needing to leave the internet for her. Because I mean, based off the initial reaction

and the surging of support, she could have easily just turned that around and turned it into this big marketing play. But then finally to end this, I guess, entertainment news sandwich, you finally got the reveal for the Toon Squad jersey in the Space Jam sequel. And in general, most people think LeBron looks ridiculous.

With some wondering if the internet could pull off another Sonic, and I guess bullying the people involved in the movie and changing the way it looks after the fact. And while I am in no way supporting and promoting bullying, I'm just gonna say this round, I may have to root for the Monstars. There's just something about that design that makes me angry and anxious.

And also, hey, that's just me. And of course I'll pass the question up to you. What are your thoughts there or on any of the stories I just talked about? And then, you hey, that's just me. And of course I'll pass the question up to you. What are your thoughts there or on any of the stories I just talked about? And then, you know, let's talk about schools. We've talked about COVID, how it's affected schooling, but mainly just in the States. So actually today I want to shift focus and look to the UK

because there was a weird story there. So the situation actually begins much earlier in the pandemic when the United Kingdom went into lockdown mode. And like schools in the States, we saw most schools in the UK closing. And notably, that made it impossible for schools to hold two critically important exams, the A-level and the GCSE exams,

though we're mostly gonna be focusing on A-level exams, which are the university entrance exams. But like I said, these exams, not taken this year. And instead, teachers are told to submit the grades they thought each student would have received alongside students' class ranks. Those estimates were then sent to and reviewed by the education regulator, Ofqual. And this is where things really start to get weird because Ofqual later determined that teachers had generally been too

optimistic about their students scores. So regulators worried that taking those predictions at face value would lead to what they called grade inflation. So instead they did something that of course has never been the plot of a dystopian novel, created an algorithm to solve the problem. So all of that then brings us to last Thursday when the new results were announced. And what we ended up seeing there was about 40% of students, 280,000 students having their scores downgrade. Though some students did benefit,

2% of students did see an increase. But shocker here, that algorithm was found to be massively flawed. For example, critics argued that the main victims here were bright students from less wealthy backgrounds whose schools had previously not performed well. You also had others going a step further and saying these estimated results directly hurt students

from more disadvantaged and diverse schools. What's more, this algorithm also appeared to benefit students at exclusive fee paying private school, with official stats showing that the proportion of private school students who were awarded A's was more than double that of state schools. Right, and understand, this isn't just a story about people upset over a lower score than they wanted.

In many instances, students need a set grade to get into their chosen university. So with this change that was completely out of their control, you had tens of thousands of students now potentially set to lose spots they had already been offered at universities this fall. Even though they never actually took this test, right? They failed before they even got a chance to fail.

And you had examples of students popping up like Maimouna Hassan. She was accepted to both Cambridge University and Imperial College London, two of the best schools in the United Kingdom. However, both of those offers were conditional on her A level exams. And while she had all As from her teacher's prediction,

that wasn't the case for the new estimates, which gave her a B in physics, which isn't enough to get into either school. So you had Hassan accusing the algorithm of punishing her because she had gone to a school that had previously struggled. And understand that is far from the only example. You have tons of stories like this.

And all of that then sparked mass protests. Right, we saw students outside of parliament in London, some holding signs like judge potential, not postcode. Others burning their estimated exam results, crowds cheering that on. And as far as the initial reaction from the government, it didn't seem very hopeful at the beginning. On Thursday, when the results were updated,

you had Prime Minister Boris Johnson calling them robust and dependable, adding, pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds more than ever before are now able to go to university, are going to university this year as a result of the grades they've got today. You also had Britain's Education Secretary, Gavin Williamson, saying on Saturday

that there would be no U-turn, no change. Then, in the past 24 hours, we saw the government changing its tone and announcing that it was backtracking on its use of the algorithm. With the chair of Ofqual saying in a statement, "'We understand this has been a distressing time "'for students who were awarded exam results last week

"'for exams they never took. "'The pandemic has created circumstances "'no one could have ever imagined or wished for. "'We want to now take steps to remove as much stress "'and uncertainty for young people as possible. "'After reflection, we have decided that the best way "'to do this is to award grades on the basis of what teachers submitted.

And as far as the minority of students that actually benefited from the algorithm, the chair of UvQOL went on to say that the student can use whichever estimate is higher. And so ultimately you have this weird situation that was apparently done because they didn't trust the initial results from teachers, right? Saying that they were worried about grade inflation,

but now people can use whichever estimate was higher, so there is grade inflation. And on top of that, you had the legal director of the nonprofit Good Law Project saying, "'It seems likely that some university places "'will have to be deferred until next year "'due to issues of space. "'And I don't think the young people affected by this

"'will easily forgive or forget the government's willingness "'to sacrifice their hopes and dreams "'in pursuit of the much less important goal "'of minimizing grade inflation. And this whole situation also brings back up that debate of should standardized testing even be a thing? I mean, this year, as far as pandemic in the United States, we're seeing colleges waiving ACT

and SAT requirements altogether. But even further than that, we're seeing places like the University of California going a step further and announcing it will phase out the test. You know, maybe from the results we see from this year of students that don't have to go through the standardized testing, maybe it becomes less of a thing.

Maybe we see a world where the ACT and or the SAT aren't seen as a helpful gauge, rather just organized gatekeeping to higher education. But ultimately, that is the story in general. And I do want to pose two questions here. What are your thoughts regarding the story that we talked about out of the UK? And then also, what are your thoughts

regarding standardized testing? In your opinion, should it stay or should it go? Why or why not? And then as tonight we enter night two of the Democratic National Convention, which for the first time is all virtual, let's talk about some of the big key moments from night one. So to start off here,

one of the things that was actually interesting is that some of the highlights involve just everyday people. For example, there was a moment and a clip that has now gone viral. It featured a woman by the name of Kristin Urquiza whose father died this summer in Arizona from coronavirus. And Kristin paints this picture about how her father was a moment and a clip that has now gone viral. It featured a woman by the name of Kristin Urquiza, whose father died this summer in Arizona from coronavirus. And Kristin paints this picture about how her father was a Trump supporter who believed Trump's messaging

about the virus being under control, that it would just disappear, that it only impacted those with underlying conditions, and adding, So in late May, after the stay-at-home order was lifted in Arizona, my dad went to a karaoke bar with his friends. A few weeks later, he was put on a ventilator.

And after five agonizing days, he died alone in the ICU with a nurse holding his hand. My dad was a healthy 65-year-old. His only pre-existing condition was trusting Donald Trump. And for that, he paid with his life. In addition to that moment, we also had things like George Floyd's family leading a moment of silence. We also saw Joe Biden making an early appearance as far as a national convention goes,

though it was more about him sitting down and talking with people, including Eric Garner's mother. And then of course, in addition to everyday people, you had politicians speaking like governor of New York, Andrew Cuomo, who of course talked about COVID in New York, in this country, but also using COVID as a metaphor for what's happening in this country. A virus attacks when the body is weak and when it cannot defend itself. Over these past few years, America's body politic has been weakened.

The divisions have been growing deeper. The anti-Semitism, the anti-Latino, the anti-immigrant fervor, the racism in Charlottesville, where the KKK didn't even bother to wear their hoods, and in Minnesota, where the life was squeezed from Mr. Floyd. Only a strong body can fight off the virus, and America's divisions weakened it. Donald Trump didn't create the initial division. The division created Trump.

He only made it worse. Our collective strength is exercised through government. It is, in effect, our immune system. And our current federal government is dysfunctional and incompetent. It couldn't fight off the virus. In fact, it didn't even see it coming. The European virus infected the Northeast while the White House was still fixated on China. The virus had been attacking us for

months before they even knew it was here. We saw the failure of a government that tried to deny the virus, then tried to ignore it, and then tried to politicize it. So you've always been picky about your produce, but now you find yourself checking every label to make sure it's Canadian. So be it. At Sobeys, we always pick guaranteed fresh Canadian produce first. Restrictions apply.

See in-store or online for details. We also saw politicians who differ from Biden and each other speaking. And of those who differed, one of the most notable was Republican and former Ohio governor, John Kasich and Bernie Sanders. Because while both Bernie and Kasich spoke

about putting aside their political differences with Biden to defeat Trump, both also seemed to describe two very different Bidens. Sanders, for his part, appealed to his supporters by trying to paint Biden as someone who has adopted some of the progressive policies that he supports. Our campaign ended several months ago, but our movement continues

and is getting stronger every day. Many of the ideas we fought for that just a few years ago were considered radical are now mainstream. But let us be clear, if Donald Trump is reelected, all the progress we have made will be in jeopardy. With Bernie then going on to list a number of Biden's policies that he says are examples of how Biden will move us forward. This including raising the minimum wage, making it easier for workers to join unions, fighting climate change, reforming the criminal justice system, and more.

But then you had Kasich painting a very different picture. I've known Joe Biden for 30 years. I know his story of profound grief that has so deeply affected his character. I know Joe is a good man, a man of faith, a unifier, someone who understands the hopes and dreams of the common man and the common woman. I'm sure there are Republicans and independents who couldn't imagine crossing over to support a Democrat.

They fear Joe may turn sharp left and leave them behind. I don't believe that because I know the measure of the man. It's reasonable, faithful, respectful. And you know, no one pushes Joe around. Also a note here, I feel like it's important to point out. A lot of the key points from night one involve criticisms and call-outs of Donald Trump. We also saw a lot of propping up and praising of Joe Biden

like we saw from Kasich, which actually on that note brings us to the final key point from night one. In addition to Michelle Obama praising Biden, we also saw her go after Donald Trump. Because whenever we look to this White House for some leadership or consolation or any semblance of steadiness, what we get instead is chaos, division, and a total and utter lack

of empathy. But right now, kids in this country are seeing what happens when we stop requiring empathy of one another. They see people shouting in grocery stores, unwilling to wear a mask to keep us all safe. They see people calling the police on folks minding their own business just because of the color of their skin. They see an entitlement that says only certain people belong here, that greed is good and winning is everything, because as long as you come out on top, it doesn't matter what happens to everyone else.

And they see what happens when that lack of empathy is ginned up into outright disdain. They see our leaders labeling fellow citizens enemies of the state while emboldening torch-bearing white supremacists. With Michelle Obama eventually landing on one key point of why people need to vote for Biden in November. If you think things cannot possibly get worse, trust me, they can and they will if we don't make a change in this election. If we have any hope of ending this chaos, we have got to vote for Joe Biden like our lives depend on it. And then the last notable moment from her speech that we'll hit on are the remarks she made about voter suppression and the need for people to turn out and vote for Biden. Folks who know they cannot win fair and square at the ballot box are doing everything they can to stop us from voting.

They're closing down polling places in minority neighborhoods. They're purging voter rolls. They're closing down polling places in minority neighborhoods. They're purging voter rolls. They're sending people out to intimidate voters. And they're lying about the security of our ballots. These tactics are not new. But this is not the time to withhold our votes in protest or play games with candidates who have no chance of winning. We have got to vote like we did in 2008 and 2012. We've got to show up with the same level of passion and hope for Joe Biden. We've got to vote early, in person if we can. We've got to request our mail-in ballots right now, tonight, and send them back immediately. And follow up to make sure they're received. And then make sure our friends and families do the same.

We have got to grab our comfortable shoes, put on our masks, pack a brown bag dinner and maybe breakfast too. Because we've got to be willing to stand in line all night if we have to. And ultimately with Michelle Obama, we saw her speech being praised by many Democrats. And on the other side of this, as far as Donald Trump's reaction to Michelle Obama's speech, he seemingly implemented the I'm rubber, you're glue defense,

saying it was actually Michelle Obama that was in over her head and saying, I thought it was a very divisive speech, extremely divisive. Hey, ultimately that is where this story ends today. Hopefully it made night one more consumable and understandable for people that do not want to watch for hours.

It's going to be interesting to see what happens over the next three nights, as well as six days from now, what the Republican National Convention looks like night to night. Yeah, that's it. We're 77 days away from election day. Somehow it feels like forever away, yet I know that it's gonna pop up like that.

But yeah, with that said, whether it be this story or anything I talked about today, of course I'd love to hear from you in those comments down below. And that is where I'm going to end today's show. Thanks for watching, hope to hear from you in the comments. But with that said, of course, as always, my name's Philip DeFranco, you've just been filled in.

I love yo faces and I'll see you tomorrow.