The Questlove Show - QLS Classic: Stephanie Ruhle

Episode Date: July 8, 2024

No stone goes unturned in this classic episode; Stephanie Ruhle, MSNBC News Anchor, talks about her transition from Wall Street to News Anchor, and shares her views on complicated issues from the 2011 financial crisis, to free speech and the Me Too movement. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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My mind was blown. I'm Stephanie Young. This is Love Trapped. Laura, Scottsdale Police. As the season continues, Laura Owens finally faces consequences. Listen to Love Trapped podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. West Love Supreme is a production of IHeart Radio. This classic episode was produced by the team at Pandora.

What up, y'all? It's Laia. And this QLS classic episode is all about our MSNBC girl, Stephanie Ruhl. Yep, no stone gets unturned in this classic episode. Stephanie Ruehl, MSNBC News Anchor, talks about her transition from Wall Street to News Anchor and shares her views on complicated issues. Okay, we had some real hard talk. from the 2011 financial crisis to free speech and the Me Too movement.

And remember that time we all talked about the N-word with Stephanie Rule? Oh yeah, you want to listen to this episode. This episode originally aired April 3rd, 2019. Enjoy it. Suprema, Sub-Sup, Sub-Sprima Roll Call. Suprema, Sub-Sup, Suprema-Sup, Supremma role call. Suprema Subra

Roca Call Supra Subra Ro Call Yeah Y'all Yeah Supra

Supreme a roll call Supremma Subrima Role Call My name is Fonte Yeah Ha ha ha With Stephanie Rule

Yeah No relation to jobs Roca Con Suprima Supraima Role Call, Suprema, Suprema, Role call.

Let's go to school, yeah. With Stephanie Rule. Yeah. Just talk slowly. Yeah. This ain't a jewel. Oh, yeah. Supremma, roll call.

Supremma, sub, Supremma, Rollca. Before we get to, yeah. An ep, that's cool. Yeah. To work in TV news. Yeah. Boss Bill went to school. Roll call.

Suprima. Sub, Supra, Suprema roll call Supremma, sub, sub, sub, sub, sub, sub, Supremma, roll. It's Laia, yeah. With Stephanie Ruhl. Yeah. She's smart as hell.

Yeah. And she'll shade ya too. Roll call. Suprema, sub, sub, suprema roll call. Suprema, sub, suprema roll call. My name's Sepruil. Yeah. I came to hang.

Yeah. I'm gonna do this there. Yeah. Supreme a Suprema roll call Suprema Subrauma Role call

Suprema Suprema Subra Role call Suprema Superma So Superima Roleco

Oh I can't thank myself right No Yeah You hit it with a nice assist You just It was a tip in

But Steve got that Steve got it He's the winner Yeah Steve might be the one It's not a Jew All right well Me or Fante

Okay All right, me I lost Nobody cares about my life experience I do I care about your life experience Bill Has anybody ever run

You were RTF major in Indiana But I've got For a long time People did call me See what I mean? Let's have a conversation But like not many things Rhyme with Amir

Thank God The chair Amir Camir Cajmere Ficked up first pitch At a baseball game Is that rhyme with him?

No, it wasn't a fucked up pitch, Steve. Anyway. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to another installment of Kostlove Supreme. I'm your host, Kostlove Jenkins. And we got Team Supreme in the house. Fonte,

how's that home life? Now, home life is cool. I've been getting back into my dancing. You know what? Back on my dancing. Like, baby powder all on the floor? Nah, nah, nah. I don't quite use the Baby Potter. I just do my Chicago Stepping. Oh yeah.

Oh my God, it's like a ride dancing with Fonte. So eventually you don't get to the baby powder on the floor. It might kill you. The Baby Potter is en route. Is there a society in North Carolina of growing and sexy dancing? Yeah, Steph is like we do we do like for the older, for the black set we do Chicago Step.

But then for like the older white set it's East Coast Swing like Lindy Hop like all of that. West Coast Swing all of that. Where is that? This is like running out the street from my crib. Somebody's school step on the baby powder. Oh, the baby pot on the... So at house parties, like, with, like, music, the parties

play house music, sometimes, like, at the end of the night when the drugs have really kicked in, people will put baby pot on the floor. They do? It helps you dance. It helps you just move. Oh, slide around. Oh, yeah. That's funny, because I was going to just say that's how Janelle Monet did her dancing

in the first couple years. That's how she performed. Oh, really? She moved across the floor. Yeah. I didn't know that. Yeah. So that doesn't ruin the wing tips at the bottom of the

I don't, I've never done the baby powder. I don't think it would clean the floor. I've only seen it in action once in my life. Really? Where was it? I went to like one of the body and soul parties here in New York. Yeah, it was baby powder all up on that floor. Is that like a nails grown and sexy?

No, that's like house music party. Oh, okay. I think, who does that party? I should be ashamed of myself. I should know that. Steph, you was a dancer? Boy, it's a dance. Wait, time out.

Let's introduce our guest. Oh, stop. My bad. Ladies and gentlemen, today our guest is, I guess, my part-time workwife. Hey. And your real friend. Okay. Well, I'm going to get to that.

I'm going to get to that. You don't know that yet. I have a few part-time workwives at 30-R-R-R-R-R-B. But, yeah, and my real friend. But basically, I'll say that you got to put your trust in someone to inform you of what's going on. And I'm the kind of guy that still wakes up at 8, 8 a.m. 9 a.m. to make sure that the world's still running. Yeah, it hasn't imploded. Yeah. And our next guest today, I kind of trust her to give me, give me the straight how a T I, T I Z. Wait, it was always T I Z. It is. I'm sorry. I'm sorry.

Your black card just got a little restrictions. There's a couple restrictions. You got it, but we do. Yeah, you saved it from going off in the wind. Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, one of my... We must wear glasses while... Ladies and gentlemen,

one of my favorites at my building at 30 Rockavilla Plaza, MSNBC's own Stephanie Rule. Yes, thank you. So we were talking about baby powder. Yeah. Yeah, so you put the baby powder on the floor to help you slide. But, no, me and my wife, that's what I'm in Milton.

We get back into dancing. We do Chicago step. I do like it all, but she kind of just sticks to the stuff. Just from a DJ standpoint, so this is kind of a grown in sec? Is it like an over 30? Just mostly at over 30. So like for a DJ set, the stepper, like, the funny thing is like when people think of stepping, they think a stepping name of love, Arkelly, whatever, that tempo is like really

kind of too fast. So like, the slow, the sexy ballroom is going to fall anywhere from like, Like between the sheets? You can't, that's, you can, yep. Footsteps in the dark, not that, footsteps might be too slow. But you can do it. Is it really good for your marriage? It is.

It is. I bet it would be. It keeps you, it keeps you. We gotta have something to do. Yeah, you got to have something. Like, movies get boring, dinner, whatever. Just the movies, just the Netflix and chill. You know, we don't do that.

But also, when you're married, like, the beautiful thing about being together and dancing, you don't need to talk. Because talking when you're married involves, like, life. Talking. No, but just like. Like, so much men, like, how do you go from, I'm dealing with bills, I'm dealing with life, I'm dealing with who you're putting to bed to, hey, what's up? Yeah.

But dancing takes that out. No, dancing is the, it is the vertical expression of a horizontal desire. Wow. Right. If Bill were here right now. He would have been lost his mind. I mean, but you also realize it called sex the horizontal mombo, so, you know, hey, there it is. So, yeah, but we, that's what we do.

Wow. Words of wisdom from Fonthe Okay, oh damn, Steve came alive I'm sorry, I mean, you know, I have to represent for unpaid bills What's your, what's Fonte's song? I don't have a song.

He made all the song. No, I'm going to make up one for Fonte because he kills it with more, okay. Yeah, I don't have something like all scholarly. Yeah, I mean, super wisdom or something like that. Anyway, we should also note

that trustees, Sarah is here and she's already shaking her head no, that she doesn't want to say anything. I don't want to talk. Okay. Thank you, Zer. People should know that this is only

Zara's second appearance here at QLS which means that whoever the guess is must be really. Did she get any word in edgewise on the Ronan Farrow? Yeah, she got a couple words. Yeah, she was active in doing Roan. He was banging.

We had Ronan Farrow on the show, Steph. He's a serious man. Yeah. Well, not on our show. Yeah. Yeah, he was saying. He was crooning. He was crooning.

Yeah. Little blue eyes. He was cruning. That was a loaded statement. He did it on, no, Ronan did it on purpose. He knew we was going to think about that when he did it. Come on now. Well, wait, let me ask you, because, you know,

I don't want to be all serious in front of games because everyone knows you for your seriousness and taking a little. I could tell them how I know you. Okay. How do we know each other? Well, see, I have my story of how we met. And you have your story. You start first.

He and I met. We were doing this wacky conference. and it was Quest, it was Steve Aoki and I, and we just, like, really got on. Unlakely trio, right? Yeah, unlikely trio. And we really got on and blah, blah, blah. And then he invited me to one of his food salons. And I got to tell you, I felt pretty good about myself.

Wait, that's your take of it? Hold. That's your take of it? Just wait. I love you for saying that. So just wait. Because I'm a totally different... She's teaching your whole partner TV.

Do you hear this? I walk into the food salon and, like, my husband's with me. And I'm like, yep, what's up? You know, here I am. I'm a Quest Food. salon and I run into the fashion designer Layla Rose who I hadn't seen in years and blah blah blah and again I'm feeling pretty good that I'm there and I'm like hey Layla great to see you what are you doing here you know like what brings you here and she's like oh I'm a good friend of Amir's and I'm like

um I don't know Amir I came with Quest flits and she's like um yeah that's his name oh that's good and I'm like oh my god right Right? And I'm dying. Like, at this point, I'm just like power eating everything there. I want to run away. And so I don't even know who to talk to. And at the party, he had this Instagram installation that every picture you take, you press something and the photograph can get printed and then you get to take the picture home. Okay.

So I meet a guy named Kevin. Okay. So I'm so embarrassed by already what's happened. I don't want to talk to any significant person there. So I'm like, you know what? I'm going to talk to Kevin who's printing the pictures. I think, yeah. So I'm like, hey, Kevin, blah, blah.

Oh, hey, what's your name? This is cool. I love Instagram. He's like, oh, that's cool. And I'm like, how long have you been with the company? And he's like, oh, kind of since the beginning. And I'm like, oh, wow, like, you must have nailed it. Like, you must have cashed in.

Right? And I'm literally thinking he's the guy who prints the pictures. And I'm looking at it. I'm like, God, I feel like I know you. I'm like, did you ever go out with any of my girlfriend? So I'm like, we're like, we're like. I'm like, where do you live? Right?

Like, Nickin, maybe he dated one of my friends, and he's at California. And I'm like, I don't really know anybody. Right? And all of a sudden, my husband is like, I'm going to need you to shut the, that's the founder of Instagram. And then I'm like, what?

Like, why do you have the founder of Instagram printing the picture? So at that point, I just ate and went home. Dang, boss? No, he, I see, first of all, Stephanie, here's the thing about the 14 job, Amir. Luckily, you didn't break up with me for that.

14 now? Yeah, you lost five jobs today? Damn. I've always had it down to 14. I'm trying to take it down to 8. I'm trying to take it down to 8. Word up. I'm looking for some extra plug.

It's not so that's on my way. I'm just saying that neither the Twain shall meet. And what you did was kind of revealed to these guys, you know. What a Renaissance man you are? The Bruce Wayne part of my life. Shining, shining. That I never ever bring up to the... I knew any moment.

It was like, wait. You left me for Jayze and Beyonce's house. I know who you is now. I'm saying. I've been a game night before. I still got it big a to a game night. I got invited to Fuslana and was mad I had to miss it. I don't know where you live.

Oh, damn. Wait, you never been in my crib before? But you do know that his name is Amir. I do. So you're already winning. I know the middle one too. Yeah, but that's about it. Look, man.

I just bring me. people together, just indifferent. I do food versions of Quest Love Supreme. I do Quest Love Supreme. I do Jam sessions. And you got popcorn salt now. Yeah. They need to bring that shit a shelf up. Do you been to William Sonoma and saw Amir's stuff?

Yes, but I didn't know you had popcorn, saw. See, because that's because no one, people, I'm all things to all people, and literally what people know me for, that one thing, that's all they know me for. I have a salt that I am a huge fan of. Which one? Like Jay-Z. Jane's Crazy Salt. Have you ever had it?

Nah. What kind? I'm going to send it to you. What's the secret? It's called James Crazy Salt? James Crazy Salt. Oh, Jane's Crazy Salt. Okay. And it's like a, it's like a salt with a bunch of other stuff in there. I'm going to mail it to you because they don't have it in New York City. I think the thing is, because if I tell one person what, everything I do, then it just becomes unnecessary. Yeah, I'm with him with time with the person. They got a just see and, you know, observe.

At said, at said, Jay and B's event. So he did the most mind-blowing thing ever and had Daniel Hume cater it, which having Daniel Hume of 11 Madison catering your party is kind of like... Such rich people talk. I don't even know. No, it's not. See, food is not rich people's shit.

Yes, it is. It depends on how much it costs, boo. That's a rich people thing to say. Listen to me. Okay, I'm listening. My whole point is that if this guy is catering your party, you can afford it. Listen to him. I understand.

My whole point. He's just not finishing his sentence is fast enough for me. Yeah, okay, I'm giving too much space for the clapback. I'm just saying that that's the equivalent of, oh, these are the guys that paint my crib, John Michelle and Andy. Andy. Right. It's like that.

So I was rather impressed. But I think he was rather impressed that I knew who Daniel Home was because I've had history of conflicts with him. A lot of people ask like, well, why don't the roots participate in the Philly Made in America? And well, part of it is that because of the picnic in the Fourth of July stuff and the stuff we already do, it's like overkill by the time we get to September. However, I've been begging and gunning to curate the food. No, well, to curate the food trucks and all that stuff. But because he doesn't know that I'm kind of a thing in the food world. He hasn't.

Who doesn't know? Jay Z. Jay didn't know. Jay Z. He don't know Amir's job. He just thought that was crazy talk. And I'm like, well, dog, I've written James Beard nominated books and New York Times bestseller. Did you say that, though?

Did you say that? You didn't. You didn't. You didn't. You didn't do it. You didn't do it. That's the thing. Someone don't know the job, then I can't.

I get it. Yeah. You can't. It's just down crazy, dog. He's like, well, come on, dog. I would have just sent. Your music. I just would have sent Carlene the books and said, explain these to your boss when you're done.

Yeah, send them the books. That's you. Well, Carleen knows what time it is. Okay. But she knows. Like, I feel like in order, I think the number one rule to life is people always try to go for their figurehead. And that never works.

Yeah. Just get to the six people that have their ear. And then that's the thing, you know. So anyway, to bring it all back home out of this rabbit hole. Yeah. I have a lot of jobs and I make popcorn salt. Yeah. But the popcorn salt, I say the popcorn salt is really more seasoning than it is.

Well, yeah, it's season. You had it. It's really salt. So she went and got some. You get a test taste at the house. Oh, yeah. We bought, so my wife, she went to Williamsonoma and she bought, because we go to the movies a lot.

And normally we'll, like, buy the popcorn salt like from our grocery store or whatever and then just bring it in. But we was like, all right. I had you on mind. Yeah. Yeah. I was like, no, I was like, yo, I'm a support. Black Bendings. My man got a salt. We fucking

with his salt. So we went and got it and the salt. Don't think Williamson-N-O-Mas-A. It wasn't really salty. But it does have a female CEO. Yes. It's a seasoning. It's a seasoning. And I didn't know that. I know now. So what I do, so the trick, what we do is we'll take your because you got the avocado. We didn't

do the avocado. We got like the sweet kind you got. The Saturday morning. The Saturday morning cereal. And then the other one is the lemon pepper. We got the lemon pepper. We got the lemon pepper. He called you a neat rope. Oh, yeah. Come on. He knows. He knows the demographic. Yeah, no, I love lemon pepper too.

I just didn't want to say it out loud. Yeah, no. Well, tell him William and Sonoma that was hard because they wanted me to go with barbecue. Nah. No. And I was like, that's back of the day. Yeah, we had a black meeting and the black delegation. Lemon pepper is now.

It's the new black flavor. Right. So what you do is you take, if you take the lemon pepper and your other one that's really good, it's the parmesan. Damn it's a lot. If you take that and you kind of mix them and then you hit it with like some salt salt. So if you hit them with your salt, Stephanie, the crazy. James Crazy. The James Crazy.

The James crazy. You mix them with that. And then. you add some butter. Oh, shit. Actually, you put the butter on first, and then you put the salt in the season, so it stick to the popcorn. Sounds like a souffle at this point.

What level were you at? What movie were you in? No, you went to the movies. Oh, what did we go see? It was when she took, I was actually working in LA. She took my son to see Aquaman. So they took it into that. Fronticle-up?

So, yeah, you got to mix up. I might have to break my health protocol to try that and see if it's shit works. Hey, bro. Hey, listen, it's real, man. Wind it back for the full recipe, though, because that's your own. Yeah, you just take, you just take his seasoning and the salt with butter, put the butter first, get a little seasoning salt so it stick to the popcorn, and you good money. I had an option to include salt or not include salt, but I figured that, no, it would have been too much.

Oh, because it's like 50 half and then? Yeah, you know. So, Steph, now you know that I sell popcorn salt. Many flavors. Many? Well, well, there's only three, but. How do you like working with William Sonoma? It's cool.

I enjoy it. I love so much. Who's cooler, William or Sonoma? 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 Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes,

follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. There's two golden rules that any man should live by. Rule one, never mess with a country girl. You play stupid games, you get stupid prizes. And rule two, never mess with her friends either. We always say that trust your girlfriends. I'm Anna Sinfield, and in this new season of the girlfriends, Oh my God, this is the same man.

A group of women discover they've all dated the same prolific con artist. I felt like I got hit by a truck. I thought, how could this happen to me? The cops didn't seem to care, so they take matters into their own hands. I said, oh, hell no. I vowed. I will be his last target. He's going to get what he deserves. Listen to the girlfriends.

Trust me, babe. On the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. What's up, everyone? I'm Ego Wodom. My next guest, you know from Step Brothers Anchorman, Saturday Night Live, and the Big Money Players Network. It's Will Ferrell. Woo, woo, woo, woo, woo. My dad gave me the best advice ever.

I went and had lunch with them one day, and I was like, and Dad, I think I want to really give this a shot. I don't know what that means, but I just know the groundlings. I'm working my way up through, and I know it's a place that come look for up and coming talent. He said, if it was based solely on talent, I wouldn't worry about you, which is really sweet. He goes, but there's so much luck involved. And he's like, just give it a shot. He goes, but if you ever reach a point where you're banging your head against the wall and it doesn't feel fun anymore, it's okay to quit. If you saw it written down, it would not be an inspiration. It would not be on a calendar of, you know, the cat.

Just hang in there. Yeah, it would not be. Right, it wouldn't be that. There's a lot of luck. Listen to Thanks, Dad, on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Wait, you said something earlier about domestic life. And it just hit me that, yes, you're also a wife and a mother.

but I also knew you as sort of guardian of the galaxy as far as getting news straight and the way that, you know, for people that aren't familiar with your, I guess your interrogation style. First of all, have you ever been to law school? No. She's a business fucking genius. Yeah, but the thing is you don't let the small stuff slats. which I've seen some people give up usually when when pundits come on the show and they'll say something not factual. First of all, like I feel like you have to do as you have to do so much fact checking, so much research in the type of news that you deliver today because someone can instantly deliver an untruth and, you know, some news.

journalists will just take that as law as in so I don't have any sort of journalism background so I was in investment banking for 14 years I was going to say you brought to MSNBC to talk money and you just happen to get hired during the most corrupt political I did I was in investment banking for 14 years and I was wanted to work in media my whole life and one day I was giving a speech for a nonprofit

called the White House project because I used to do a lot of women's things and after the founder had the board all having lunch. And she said, you know, women and black men always get compared to one another. And she said, if you take the 50 most powerful women and the 50 most powerful black men, they always lump us together. They say, women and minorities, women and minorities. And she said, but go to the top of their field. And if you take the 50 most successful black men in America, they actually think about one another. They think, how do I get someone else in my group a board seat, a book deal, an opportunity with a company.

You know, if you look at someone like Jesse Jackson, and I'm making this up, but, you know, before the Super Bowl, Jesse Will Jackson will say, I'm going to call Pepsi Cola and find out who are they, what advertising agency are they going to be working with for their Super Bowl ad? Because there's African American men on that field. Or if they're going to do, or GM is going to do a banking deal,

they'll say, who are you going to give your underwriting fees to? and they're thinking about it. And she said, women don't think about each other in that way yet. One woman makes her way to the top, and she's on a board, and she's like, great, I'm here, we're here. And she said,

you each need to think collectively, how am I going to help one another? And it was my turn. Everyone had to say what they wanted to do in their next chapter, and someone else had to raise their hand and say, I'm going to get you there. And it was my turn.

And I said, you know, I think I've always wanted the work in the media, especially after the financial crisis, when people were just so anti-power and money, didn't necessarily understand it. And I said, you know, I think I've always wanted the work in the media. And there was a woman there who worked directly from Mike Bloomberg. And she said, I'm going to introduce you to Mike. And I met Bloomberg and I met the guy who ran Bloomberg media. And he said, and this really speaks to what you all are doing right here. And he said, in the new world of media

and news, we're not going to have any more people reading teleprompters. People trust relationships. They don't trust information because you can get information from anywhere. And he said, You have to know the content, love the content, and have a desire to be on TV. And I said, well, I think I have all three. But in order for me to walk away from my career, you can pay me $0. But you need to give me a show to anchor, and you need to hire somebody to teach me how to do it. And he said, deal. So you're telling me that you, unlike Boss Bill here, you had zero radio, television film experience.

Zero. I had done TV a couple of times as a guest. Jersey. Or part of Jersey. Yeah, like south central or northern. Burden County, New Jersey, North Jersey. Oh, okay. South Jersey is like Philly.

Yes. Yes. No, we were about to claim. Yes. South Jersey is Philly. You serious? Yeah. I'd never done it before.

Okay, so my version of meeting you, you mentioned with the speech that you, me and Steve Aowicki did. First of all, of all the things I do, I hate public speaking the most. which is what I think I tweet and write better more because I can edit better and it seems fluid. But I don't know. My mind also has to edit in real time so there's always gaps in spaces. And I'm in a room with a bunch of Fortune 500 people. You know, of course, like my management, they want me to do more speaking and more, you know, conferences or whatever.

And it's like I have all sorts about like anxiety, all those things. So I nervously spoke about it. I forgot what I did. It was like a poor man's TED talk or maybe it was the rich man's TED talk. What was, do you remember what the conference was? Yeah, so it was all, it was basically people who run marketing for Fortune 500 companies and consumer companies. And then the speakers were sort of influencers. So those heads of marketing would understand what you have to say in the way you think.

So your management team would want you there because you're a highly marketable guy. So, okay, so basically I get on the mic and totally mirror it up like, Hello, man. Hello. Like, just say a sentence, Sarah. This is me. Exactly. Wow.

Wow. Sarah sound like NPR. Yeah. So there's room for creativity. And about to cry. The advertising world. And I feel like... Sounds like me giving a speech in seventh grade.

Yeah, and I feel like Steve also was sort of like, well, you know, I... Meanwhile, Stephanie, like, and so today we're going to do this. Literally is. So here's the thing. I'd never heard of Stephanie. But she walked on that stage and, like, it was instant we all came in attention like, boiaca. And we're like, who is this woman?

Like, at first I thought she was a comedian. So I'm like trying to Google her at the same time. Well, the thing. was she just had the presence of like someone who does it all the time. I was at the mic stand. I didn't take the mic off the mic stand. She like took the mic off the mic stand. Okay, show of hands. No, no, no. Like she totally took over the room.

And I was like, who is this woman? I have to know who this woman is. So then why did you go to the business route first instead of doing the media route? I'm curious if you had the personality for it. My point was that you were a born star. Yeah, that's my point. That was my question based on, I knew that's where you were doing.

I ended up in banking right out of undergrad because I went to college in the U.S. only for two years and I studied abroad for two years. I read that right in Kenya, Guatemala and Italy. And I stayed in Europe because I had no money left, but I wanted to stay in Europe. And in order to do so, you need to get a job. So I'm like, hmm, I'll get a job with a bank. They have banks all over the world. And I got a job with Merrill Lynch. They ended up sending me back to New York. And a newsroom and a trading floor are very, very similar. They are high energy, loads of testosterone, passionate. It's all about teamwork.

Everyone kind of leaves it on the field. I didn't even know what anybody did there, but I'm like, whatever they do here for a living, I'm going to do this. And the other thing is, you can make a lot of money. And no one wants to say that that's an ugly truth, but especially for women, if you can do something to make yourself financially independent, it's a game changer. When you think about all the things that happen to women in the workplace

and put us back us into a corner, it's about not having financial freedom. And when you need a job so badly that you don't know if you can make rent at the end of the month, you'll take shit. Shit. Don't I know. So to work.

So to know that you can... And I remember I almost left banking two years in because I really wanted to go to journalism school. And somebody who ended up being a mentor of mine said, don't. You'll end up a weather girl in Tuscaloosa. And by the way, you'll be horrible in local news, which I would be terrible at it.

But financial freedom does give you the ability to just make better choice. I mean, when you have a lot of financial freedom, I think people make terrible choices. That's when they're throwing money out the window. But when you know that you've got your situation covered, you can take a step back and start to really pursue things that you want to do. It's crazy when you think about how many people. I'm thinking about my, of course I'm thinking about myself,

but then I think about how many people just don't know what that feels like. Financial freedom? Like not checks. Because they don't think it's rich. Yeah. It's not like chasing, like not having to have a job. Like being able to chase your career goals. Like that is like.

But that's because we don't teach anyone to save money. When you think about what we go to school for, and I'm not talking about college, I'm talking about high school. Are you using algebra? Are you using calculus? No. But it really would have been great if they taught you how to get a mortgage, if they taught you how a savings account worked.

If you didn't have a parent at home that ever said, let me show you. you, and I don't mean how to be an investor, but how the stock market works. No one teaches you those things. And especially, I mean, not for nothing, but yeah, black homes. But that's, if you think about financial mobility,

you're never going to get that if someone doesn't teach it to you. Why don't they teach you that stuff? But that's why they try to not teach it to us because they don't, especially for black people, we've been having hundreds of years where they don't want you to have that kind of for you. So it's not part of the core curriculum in public schools.

I think that's a huge problem. I've been trying. trying very hard to talk to anyone I can. They just do one class called real life. Shit. Well, here's the day. That'd be too much like right. So you forget, when you had home economics in school,

Home Act, which public schools don't have anymore because budgets are gone. But Home Act was not just cooking and sewing. It was also personal budgeting, right? And so we live in a world where people are going, I got to run to a sample sale because, oh my goodness, everything's on sale. It's not on sale if you're buying it on your credit card and you can't pay your bill at the end of the month. And if we don't start helping people learn the basics of just saving money, and I realize

life is expensive, but if you can save money and you know you have a little bit of cushion, you just don't have to take so much shit. Amen. So. So in the banking game, what is the thin line between, like what should the real ceiling goal be? Because I know that when I think of banking, I automatically think of Wall Street, Koch brothers, not AIG, but... Lehman Brothers.

Enron. Yeah, just in Iran. Ponzi scheme, like... Madoff. Yeah, I think of corrupt people. Is there a good example of lucrative banking done right where you can serve a community and be... Okay, so first of all, if you think... I actually think every job on some level is the same.

Every job is about relationship building and trust. I don't think that my job when I was in banking, truthfully, is much different than my job now. If you can sit down and help whether it's your client or your viewer get smarter and better and understand what they need and what they want to do, that's your goal. When I worked in banking, there wasn't a hedge fund that said, well, it is our mission statement

to use Stephanie Rule to give us the best investment ideas. But they just had to figure out, is Stephanie rule someone I could trust? Are there examples of good banking? Yes. Like when we dump on corporate America all the time, corporate America is what keeps many

cities thriving, right? When you go, you were just talking about Atlanta, what's in Atlanta? Bank America. Bank America. That's the biggest company there and I'm sure they're the biggest corporate donor in Atlanta. I'm sure they're one of the biggest employers. So they're providing health care. They're helping schools there. And yes, there are bad, evil, egregious practices, but in every business, right?

In news, in media and entertainment, once people reach that star status and rules get bent for them, then the world starts to go out of whack. And that's every industry. But it seems like in the bank industry, everybody's had their fair share of controversy, except when I think, I'm like, maybe, I feel like T. Right now, it's like the standalone. But Bank of America, TD Bank, Toronto. Well, Toronto Dominion, because it's a really vanilla bank that doesn't do too many sort of funky, edgy things. They say thank you after every transaction. They say thank you.

But one of the reasons to be so mad at the industry and it's not their fault, there's not enough rules. Right. So after the financial crisis, when people didn't go to jail and everyone's like, what the hell? How come no one went to jail? Well, the problem is they didn't go to jail because technically they didn't bring the law. Now, does that mean we need more regulation? It does, but you can take that to the pharmaceutical business, right? You could say, like, pharmaceutical is the most hated industry out there, but those companies are making billions and billions of dollars, because what do they do? The pharmaceutical

industry has the biggest lobbying effort out there. And so there are very few politicians on either side of the aisle that are looking to regulate big pharma. And so lots of regulation is bad, but we need some rules to protect people. The stakes are higher, though, in banking than they are in other industries. You know, when somebody's corrupt in banking, it could cause a recession. Yes, yes. If somebody steals a Twinkie at the deli. I mean, in banking, it was sort of the perfect storm of a lot of bad things. And listen, the unfortunate thing about the financial crisis is the people who are hurt the most, who lost their homes still haven't recovered, but the industry has. And that sucks. Where do you think we are now? Do you think we're on the verge of a recession? Like,

what do you think we are financial now? It's got to come again because we've now had 10 good years. Now, one of the issues, though, and it really led to sort of the birth of the Trump voter, it was President Obama's last State of the Union address, and I remember it like it was yesterday, and he said, anyone who says that the economy has not recovered is peddling lies. And here's where he was wrong,

because the economy had recovered for people who lived on the coasts, for people who worked in technology, for people who worked in entertainment. But for people in Middle America, it didn't. And sort of out of that speech and that sentiment was quasi the birth of the Trump voter who said, hold on a second,

I still, I didn't get my house back. I haven't gotten any more money at my job. And just think about this. I could say to you, it's $200,000 a lot of money for a family to make. And you'd be like, yeah, that's a respectable amount of money. And that's a family who maybe, that could be a family with two parents

where somebody's a teacher or, an accountant or an engineer, but a family who makes $200,000 in the United States cannot afford to support themselves and send a kid to college to a private college and definitely can't send two kids. But here's the, this is the silver lining that I want to come to. Okay, good.

The silver lining is this. That family is angry and they feel left out and they feel forgotten. It's not that that family is filled with hatred. It's not that they hate immigrants. It's not that they hate other cultures. That family is saying the system doesn't work for me. And so they're frustrated.

So what gives me hope is when we say this country is so angry and so hate-filled and so divided, they're not. There are just people who feel forgotten and angry. And one of the first things you do when you're angry and forgotten is you blame someone else and you point the finger. And it's a natural emotion. Or you call the cops when a little girl is. I'm selling water or you do. I mean, listen, those are very bad examples.

And those are real examples of young kids who are entrepreneurial, who are doing great things. But that person who did that, that's one bad egg. And I'm not saying that bad, that egg isn't rotten. But can I tell you a story about a woman that I met? Sure. And it's a terrible story, but she actually gives me hope. So I was in upstate New York at a dude ranch with my family.

and a woman comes up. And the owner says, a waitress would like to talk to you and tell you why she loves President Trump. So she knew who? She knew who I was. And I was like, we're going to send my kids off the table

and she can come on over. So she sits down. You allow it? I allow it. That was a nice way for them to do it, though, instead of her just being like, so let me tell you one. I allowed it because I want to get smarter and better

and because I do have an open mind and an open heart. Okay. No, I just meant like, I figured family time is, if I'm at the table, no, I can't take a selfie with you right now. When you're at a dude ranch for four days with your three children, you're going to take a break. Okay. Go ahead. So she sits down and she said to me, I want to tell you why I love Donald Trump. And I said, sure.

She said, I love him and he loves me. And she said, and you, she said, you think you. think that I am white to trash? And I said, oh my goodness. I said, I absolutely don't. And I said, why on earth would you think this? And she said, well, I want to tell you my story. I want to tell you who I am. He thinks she's white trash. That's the crazy. And I said, please tell me. And she said, well, Donald Trump came to see me, meaning he did a rally up there where she lives. And she said, and he cares. And I said, tell me what his policies are that are going to help you in your community. And she said, I don't know.

But I know he came here. And then she said, I'm 55 years old. And she said, I'm a single mother. And she goes, and I have two adult daughters who are single mothers. And she said, where you live, do you have charter schools? And I played, and she played me. And I said, oh, my goodness, yes. My husband right here, he's the board chair of a charter school.

Right here in New York, it's an achievement first school. And she was like, great. Where I live here, we don't have any charter schools. We have the worst schools in New York State. I was like, oh. She goes, where you live, you have after-school programs. Where the, where the, where the, she said a, I can't think of the world, but it was like a thinly veiled word that wasn't racially sensitive.

And she goes, were the girls in your neighborhood? You have an after-school program for those girls' kids, and I bet you raise money. And I said, yes, yes, you know, we have big brother, big sister, blah, blah. She goes, yeah, you have charity events for those things. You don't ever come up here and raise any money. blah, blah, blah, so on and so forth. And she said, we're dependent on social services, and they don't ever answer the phone.

And she said, I don't have grandchildren who are washing up on shore wearing tattered clothes in an inflatable boat. And she said, my story isn't ugly enough to be on the cover of your newspaper, but I am not pretty enough to go to your house for dinner. But they were on the cover Esquire last month, though, with the whole white problem.

But to her point. But to her point. It just makes me sad that she thinks he cares because he had a rally there. The thing is, I think he knows. The thing is, is that what makes me more frustrated with him than anything is because I believe he knows better.

Because he's a wrestling promoter, he knows. He's playing the hell out of him. Yeah. And it's like. He played her. But here's the thing. She's not wrong in that Hillary Clinton did spend two or three weeks in August of 2016 doing the one thing she didn't need to do. She went to the Hamptons. And oftentimes, when people are their most desperate, they need someone to just look at them and just hold their hand. And this goes to the feeling of isolation people have with the birth of social media. People aren't talking to. their neighbors or their friends, right? I've lived in New York City for 22 years. I never know

the names of all my neighbors and the doorman in the building next to me. And you know who does? My mother, because my mother is not of a social media generation. She doesn't use a cell phone. She doesn't use social. She doesn't use a computer, but she knows my community. And so whether Donald Trump is sincere or not, and you're 100% right, he's not, in fact, when he goes and does those rallies, they often say that once people become the president and they see the country, they become empathetic because they travel. When President Trump does a rally, he literally lands, unrolls the carpet, pitches the tent, does the show, throws the hats, and gets back on and leaves. So what you're saying is completely true. It's sad because he doesn't care. But even if it's

about giving people short-term hope. The idea of caring. The idea of caring. The idea of caring. The idea of It's more important. It's actual care. But also, think about when people grew to know him and believe his story. They were watching The Apprentice. And here's the thing. In the 1980s, Johnny Carson was considered the most trusted man in America. And it's because when people were watching him, they're watching him the same time they're watching Quest Love at 1130 at night in their beds, in their underwear, in their pajamas.

They're most vulnerable. And they feel like they have a relationship with you. Right? Think about a beloved person in America. It's Al Roker. Al Roker doesn't just do the weather. He goes out into Rockefeller Plaza and he physically touches people who are out there in the cold and he's talking to them about their weather. And it connects. He's one of the first people. People saw Donald Trump at 10 o'clock at night on NBC News, eating their ice cream, sitting on their couch and they're watching him play a role that wasn't true. But this, you're fired straight, talk. talking, I'm the richest guy in New York. So if you watched Mike Bloomberg when he spoke at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, I remember it, because I worked at Bloomberg, I said for five years, if you actually watched his speech, it wasn't bitter, but there was this twinge in it,

because you could actually hear that Mike Bloomberg is going, this guy's a fraud. And he wasn't saying, I'm the richest guy in New York, or I'm the most philanthropic. but as the guy who is one of the greatest philanthropists in the country, who is a great businessman, who is extraordinary here, you actually watched him at that podium kind of shaking his head going, this is a con man, America. And whether President Trump is a con man or not, his salesmanship worked.

And he didn't, it's funny, I feel like he almost, he cheated and used his privilege in a way for him to be able to just go touch somebody, them feel affected and not have to tell them what he's going to do for them or anything. Meanwhile, I'm like, Obama had to go touch people, lay down a plan, convince you, put on a motherfucking pin. Show a burst it right.

And all he had to do was come to your neighborhood and say, how you doing? I'm out. I'm gone. And that's just an interesting breakdown in that way. It's great to think about Obama now. The one thing that Obama gave people, because remember, Obama was elected

as the financial crisis was crumbling. Obama was a message of hope. And President Trump had a different message of hope, right? Obama had a universal message of inclusion and hope. And then eight years went by, and a lot of people said, well, I didn't get included. And President Trump, whether it's true or not, said, but I love you and I see you, let's do this. Why didn't he, they make them prove it, though? If you let me show me.

because the benefit that he had is he wasn't a politician, so there was no track record to point to. He was going up against somebody who had a lifetime track record in the public eye who people had been critiquing for 30 years. And she had been critiqued so much that she lost a sense of her real self and humanity because she had been politicized for all those years. Okay, I was also going to add in that.

I mean, I personally believe that with Russia interfering with, and I, do I have to say allegedly interfering? No, no more. Yeah. But I still don't believe that he would have won. Had the election been unscathed, I truly don't think that. I don't necessarily disagree with you, but I don't give any, I don't give any time or heart to that. because the toothpaste ain't going back in the tube. Right.

And so like even for me, Robert Mueller is going to figure out what Robert Mueller does. And in my opinion, is there going to be a result? Like, what do you think the end game's going to be? He's still going to do his four years? Honestly, I don't. Don't say eight years.

Shit. Listen, I think there's a very good chance he gets reelected. You serious? I do. Dude. Yo, I'm on the same shit. I want to hear why. So what do you think?

Why? Is it based on what you were just saying kind of about the interaction? No, I think that the president has, and again, I'm not saying it's good, but I think he has a two-prong plan that works. So if you actually look at his policies, he is hooking up the rich. And the rich didn't actually vote for him the first time around. And he is helping them out all over the place. Corporate America and the super wealthy who do not have Trump signs in their front yard.

They're not wearing Make America Great Again hats, but they want to protect the status quo. they're quietly voting for him. So he hooks them up on policies over here. And at the same time that he's doing that quietly while you're sleeping, he's doing a Trump rally. And at that Trump rally, he jins up, he stirs up all of those culture wars. So he's going, I know I haven't helped you in business yet,

and you're not making any more money. Give me time. Give me time. Because when we go, oh, my God, these tariffs, like, he's killing the farmers. And I'm saying he's killing the farmers. and I'm saying it from a newsroom in New York. And then when you actually send a reporter to Kansas or Nebraska and you interview those farmers, those farmers say,

you know what, I'm going to give him more time. At least he's taking this on because he talks the talk. But then he stirs up these race-baiting culture arguments that take a need, the build the wall, you know, these three-word slogans and he goes to those rallies and those people are going, yes. So his base stands with him Rich people stand with him And then the third lane

Which is his truly winning lane Women What? Wait, wait No, it's judges Wait what? The president, it's judges Yeah he's oh he's killing us with the judges Talk about his step in the-man

You got two Supreme Court justices He's right of gut on the bench The local in the state And even more than that Is federal judges Yes Okay? Federal judges He has got a record number

of federal judges on the bench, and those are jobs for a lifetime. And the majority of them are white men under the age of 40. So if you are a Christian conservative and you say, and I'm going to you, I don't understand how the evangelical community could be standing by the president. I mean, what do you think about the things that he says and does? Well, guess what? If you're somebody in that community, you're saying, I'm not even going to know what Trump's name is in four years. But he is putting judges on the bench who support my beliefs and they're going to be there forever and the justice system impacts every aspect of our lives. Who are you telling? Who you think? Right? I mean yesterday or today, excuse me, Paul Manafort's lawyers are arguing for a more lenient

sentence saying well he didn't kill anyone. He didn't run a drug cartel. He's not Bernie Madoff. And I'm laughing to myself saying, well, really? After after you're representing Paul Manafort, are you then going to be representing young African-American males who get put in prison for small drug infractions and work on lesser sentences for them?

The answer is no. Well, okay, you mentioned about the beliefs in the lifestyles of the coasts versus that of Middle America. But remember, middle America is also right here. We keep thinking that like that Trump voter is like way out there

in the hinterland. They're not. They're here. Philadelphia is middle American. So with what Alexandria, what Alexandria Ocasio Cortez says about this new green deal. All right. I know she's wet behind the ears. I know she's a newbie. But does she have a point?

Because the thing is, is that you can look at it both ways. Because the thing is that, okay, I respect the ideal of the middle of the middle America worker or whatever, you know, the coal miner. I understand people have to feed their kids, but at what point do we realize that it's 2020 and technology and your day is just over? A new... Well, a lot of them aren't working, so aren't they kind of understanding that?

Because having things shrunken in the... No, because they're giving their jobs back. You keep thinking it's the coal worker out there. It's here. It's people right here. Why didn't the lady from upstate that you were talking about earlier? Why didn't she just move down to New York City? No, no, no, no, no.

Listen, stop, step, step, step, step. Listen, no, no, but time out. Time out. He's joking. But I'm kind of thinking that. And I, but the thing is that I know that people, no, I know that. You know what I'm saying. So, Jersey.

I can barely afford to live here. But that's real. That's real. Like, like, the struggle is real for everyone. Right. Right. And the rich have gotten so, people who are like, I'm talking rich, rich, have gotten so rich that things don't even, like, there is no price on anything.

How do you redistribute, sorry, to interrupt your thought, but how, I'm trying to just get to the, some of the end game. How do you redistribute wealth without redistributing wealth? Listen, it's really tricky. You know, it's somebody who you should actually meet, if you haven't met him yet, is a guy named Michael Tubbs. He's a current mayor of Stockton, California. Oh, yeah. Oh, I mean, you had him. I love this boy.

He's 28 years old. He grew up, had a single mom. I'm pretty sure his father was incarcerated for most of his life. He interned at Google. I want to say he endured at Facebook. And then the last year before he graduated from college, he interned at the White House. And he comes home and he says to his mother,

I want to go into politics. And she's like, uh-uh. She's like, you're the one who's going to get us out of here. And he said, no, I think this is my calling. He joined the city council in Stockton. I want to say 22. He became mayor when he was 26. And he's this unbelievable force.

And through philanthropy, he just in the last month has implemented universal basic income there. So there's not a clear answer yet. Philanthropy maybe is. But the problem is it can't just be philanthropy. Because that's like the system has been so gamed that we're then supposed to say, oh, thank you so much, Microsoft, for giving us these crumbs and these pennies on the side. The answer isn't corporate America bad. Individuals are good.

Government and corporate America have to find a way to work together, or we are going to turn into the third world. Do you think that corporate America should pay their taxes? I mean... Corporate America should pay their taxes, but that's not the issue. Corporate America isn't evil for paying zero taxes. They're legally gaming the system. Right.

So does the system be changed? So change the system. Okay, as long as every company has a need for a tax department, as long as someone is a tax lawyer, as long as the tax system is so complicated that sophisticated wealthy people can use loophole after loophole to pay nothing and regular people can't, then the system doesn't work. So when they cut the corporate tax rate from 39% to 21%, do you know what really rich people did? turned themselves into corporations. So now they pay 21%.

Corporations before the tax cut were paying too much. So it should get civil-bite. You're going, uh-huh. Just love LLC. Yeah, exactly. Shut up, y'all. Whatever. No good.

The answer is, we've got to find a way. When President Trump said, Make America great again, for everyone at this table, or for women, you could say, like, that phrase is rooted in racism. because for women and minorities No, that shit was never, it wasn't great for us

We don't want to go back in time Like black people don't want to time travel But I'll tell you what things used to be For many people The disparity between the boss and the worker pay Has never been as great as it was now It used to be like this We're on the radio so I shouldn't just use my hands

Or only speaking, there's no visual It has grown massively We have to figure out a way to shrink that So when they gave that big tax cut, instead of just giving it and hoping, hey, you're going to give people a raise, if you gave that tax cut, there should have been stipulations around worker pay. But I'll tell you one more thing, and then I promise we could change the subject. Here's the issue.

Keep cooking. It is not a CEO's job. It's not his job to do right by the community and to do right by his employees. He should, or she should, but as his fiduciate, as a, fiduciary. His job is to make money. It is to make money for his shareholder. It's to sell products.

If you want to change the rules of the game, giddy up. Let's change them. But given what the rules are, you can't. Let's say we were all shareholders in Questlove LLC. And Questlove decided tomorrow,

Hey guys. Do Amir LLC. Everybody here actually is. Right? Let's say we're all investors in Amir LLC. see. And tomorrow, Amir says, guess what? I've decided I'm going to take 30% of our profits, and before I pay it back to you, I'm going to start a foundation. And I'm going to give it to kids that I want to in Philadelphia. And then I'm going to turn this studio into, I'm going to only use green energy. And the six of us sitting here could say, damn right, you won't. That's my money. I'm your investor. You don't get to pick to do the right thing.

You don't get to pick to go green. That's my money. You're going to give it back to me. And then I'm going to decide what I do with it. So we're sitting here with our arms folded, demanding that corporate America, quote, unquote, do the right thing. Then the answer is change the rules of the game of what the right thing is. Now, with people like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez getting elected, that shows that there are more voters saying, maybe I want something different. With millennials saying, I only want to do.

do business or buy products from companies whose values I support, maybe you're going to start to see a difference. My concern is those things are only happening at the margin. Once you start really audited? I just got too boring. Once you start, no, that's not boring at all. It's just more depressing because I'm like, no one, people only do the right thing after they try everything else.

Plus, once you really start auditing the companies that you support in the smallest ways, whether it's the cereal that you eat or the- Yeah, because you'll start seeing, it's funny, because we're starting to learn the politics of these corporations or presidents and things of that nature, and it's kind of ill because you have to make these decisions like, do I stop doing what I've been doing for 10 years? Because now I know something that people didn't used to know 10 years ago.

But do you reward the companies that do the right thing? And here's why I ask. So just today, I sat down with Ed Stack. Ed Stack is the CEO of Dick Sporting Goods. Dick Sporting Goods is based in Pittsburgh. If you remember, it'll be a year, ago Thursday, after the Parkland shooting, they said, we're not going to sell assault rifles anymore. Okay? That's a big deal. That's a company based in Pittsburgh with a huge hunting business.

They went to, their sales dropped, I want to say, just under just like 4%. And here's what I want to know. All those activist groups who stand up and say, let's boycott this company. Let's boycott that company. And they all stand, not they all. Many people get righteous and indignant and they say, this company doesn't stand for my values, I'm boycotting them. I want to know on the other side when a company stands up and makes a move that's around culture or social justice. Definitely. Where are those groups lining up to go buy products there?

They're looking for something to boycott within that company. But the people who were around, they still, I think the people who were boycotting with them still see that and go back. I mean, I remember, I hate to use Target as an example, but targeted during Hurricane came Katrina, right? They did all this stuff. They gave whatever. I remember that and that stayed in my mind until, you know, they fucked up everybody's debit card situation. But still

like... But just for general stuff. What I'm saying is we need to remember gratitude and forgiveness because this is an angry, divided time and we're quick to get mad and quick to say, I'm done with you, I'm finished with you. When someone does something we support

give them our business. Procott. You're also one of the few journalists that I know that actually takes a portion of your show to say here's some good things. Oh, money power, respect. That's the thing.

And the thing is that no one's ever going to report the good news. Like, I didn't know about, I think that's admirable that Dick's sporting goods did that, but I don't think we're a society that necessarily will

throw a tick or tape parade because someone helped my grandmother across the street. today. Well, let's find a way to do that. And the truth is, right, so people always, I'm going to get it wrong in newspaper, something like if it bleeds, it leads, right? And we do love train wrecks. We do love reality shows. We love the World Wrestling Federation. But we have to find a way, not in some Pollyanna way, but at the margins to celebrate good things. But is it also, okay, you remember the Chris Rock joke where he's like fathers always want credit for something

they should have to do this. Yeah, I was actually going to bring that up, but go ahead. Wait, tell me, tell me. Okay, no, no, no. You mean like when dad's saying babysitting my kids? Right. Stop saying that. Yeah, they want credit. That's exactly. We know you're watching your offspring, your job. You're supposed to take care of your kids. So it's, it's, but could that also be the case? Like, you should give back company?

Yeah, yeah, it's not a big deal. You should. That's what you're saying, right? I mean, but in what ways would you feel that it's more prudent or beneficial for said protesters to let us know that it's great to shop

at Dix again? Listen, you watch those protest groups. Shut the fuck up, Steve. Go ahead. You watch those protest groups go off on social media and say, I'm done with this company. Instead, great, fine. Then when, I don't know,

Father's Day comes around, I want to see that same handle. Say great, Dick's did that. You want that same energy. I'm by dad, all their dorky golf shoes. I'm going to go to Dick. But, see, but Sefsy, I think what you're saying,

that's a whole other round because we all know, and you know this even better than we do, there are organizations that are just for protesting. Like, even with black people, Black Lives Matter. Black Lives Matter. Black Lives Matter. It's particularly a protest organization, right?

So they might not be the ones that are going to come back afterwards and be like, so, you know, now we can support, da-da-da-da-da. It seems like it needs to be in some more entities. that do that cleanup on the back end. Yes, I'm just saying there has to be a way to find goodness and push the goodness forward because otherwise we're just anger on top of anger.

And I know that every day people are doing good things. But there's a lot of unresolved issues. Yeah, we have a lot here. I feel like, I think in the case of the parkland shooting, you can walk and chew them at the same time. Yes. Whenever there is a shooting in an occurrence

the one question that no one ever seems to bring up in you know, whenever these problems arise that I never seem to hear is the reasoning

behind wanting to be armed of which no one is really going to talk about you know the reason why arms are used in the first place was for slave to keep slaves in line to keep them from running away like we never get to that part of the conversation but that's like our part they don't get to our part to the conversation which is kind of like the best thing that but i feel like the history of the gun in america starts with what were they used for and it's almost like the the white elephant that

then do we talk about dogs what dogs was used for i mean shit I mean, No dog slander. Sorry, sorry, Zerra just woke up from Renner. Yeah, I don't fuck with dogs. They used to chase black people and, you know, that's what it was all about.

But that's fine. You know, I get that, I know why people are. Yeah, I don't get, yeah, I don't, they do. I don't, I don't fuck with dolls, though. Zara's not still happy with these answers.

But my point is that, my point is that I don't know if I would say, hey, okay, well, Dick's sporting goods did it right by us, so go buy a rifle. Like, I personally, I mean, I don't want to put my personal beliefs on people, but, you know,

know. 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 fourth. 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 celebrate. 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 a TikTok podcast network on TikTok.

There's two golden rules that any man should live by. Rule one, never mess with a country girl. You play stupid games, you get stupid prizes. And rule two, never mess with her friends either. We always say that trust your girlfriends. I'm Anna Sinfield, and in this new season of the girlfriends, Oh my God, this is the same man. A group of women discover they've all dated the same,

prolific con artist. I felt like I got hit by a truck. I thought, how could this happen to me? The cops didn't seem to care. So they take matters into their own hands. I said, oh, hell no. I vowed. I will be his last target.

He's going to get what he deserves. Listen to the girlfriends. Trust me, babe. On the IHart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. I'm Ego Wode. My next guest, you know from Stepbrothers, Anchorman, Saturday Night Live and the Big Money Players Network.

It's Will Ferrell. Woo. Woo. My dad gave me the best advice ever. I went and had lunch with them one day. And I was like, and Dad, I think I want to really give this a shot. I don't know what that means, but I just know the groundlings. I'm working my way up through, and I know it's a place that come look for up and coming talent.

He said, if it was based solely on talent, I wouldn't worry about you. Which is really sweet. Yeah. He goes, but there's so much luck involved. and he's like, just give it a shot. He goes, but if you ever reach a point where you're banging your head against the wall and it doesn't feel fun anymore, it's okay to quit. If you saw it written down, it would not be an inspiration.

It would not be on a calendar of, you know, the cat. Just hang in there. Yeah, it would not be. Right, it wouldn't be that. There's a lot of luck. Listen to Thanks, Dad, on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. Wait, wait, let me backtrack.

You're from down south, Fonte. Now, I was very shocked at Big Mike's... Killer Mike. Oh, Killer Mike, the Trigger One and thing? Yeah, Killer Mike's position about wanting to be armed. And he felt, you know... He's an NRA member. He's doctors, Second Amendment,

and teaches his daughter how to do it. But I understand the lifestyle of which he grew up in, under the Mason-Dixon line down south that that's necessary that's a necessity for him in your experiences in North Carolina do you feel that

you need to be armed or not really I mean because you just don't necessarily dwell where you feel yeah I mean I mean listen I mean a dwelling thing or well I don't know if it's a dwelling thing I mean for us

like so for my my earliest experience with guns my granddad he had a shotgun He kept like right behind the bed. You know what I'm saying? He had like a rifle back there. And I mean... All grandparents had the gun.

I think, yeah, all the granddad has had the guns. And grandmamas had the little pistols. So my granddad, he had the gun. And I mean, like, all my homies, they pops had like shotguns or whatever. But it wasn't a thing of where like if you felt like you needed to, like if you were in danger or whatever, that you felt like you had to carry a gun when I was coming up. It just wasn't, it just wasn't that. If it was really somebody, if you was just a regular dude

And by regular dude, if you was just a dude He just went to school, just, you know, just, it was just a regular cat. If you had problems with somebody, you just damn, y'all just scrap. But in 2019, if you had guns, like, the niggas I knew they had guns, they was like all the dudes in the street. But in 2019, fast forward, do you feel like, I feel like you, I know more people regular, as we like to say, that have armed, at least something in the house.

Not did you carry, but at least something in the house. Yeah, I mean, I know some. I got like one home you just got like a ton of fucking guns. I've always wanted to ask those people, how often have you had to use the gun that you've, that you have in your house? They go to the gun range, just make sure the muscle still work.

Yeah, because the thing is, even with that, like when people say it's for a home defense, like, I don't think people understand like how quick that shit jump off, dude. Like, so unless you just walk around your house in your goddamn drawers with your good, you're not even thinking. You got time to run in the closet, reach up under the,

on the top shelf, up under all them books. Yeah. Yeah. Like they rent like, Nickas ran like dude. Man the other night Like we was in, I was up one night.

This was, this was like, there's a couple weeks ago. So I'm in the crib and I'm just up late. You know, I'm just in my regular hours. It's like maybe like three, four in the morning. And so

our motion to tap the light comes on. Outside. So, but we live around like woods and shit. So I'm thinking, it could have been an animal. It could have been a raccoon. It could have been any kind of shit.

And so I go and I open like just looking the window and it's like a kid it looks literally like my son outside right so like my oldest sons i got two boys 18 and 13 so i'm seeing what looks exactly like my son so my first thinking i'm just like why is my son outside at four and i'm like what hold the fuck up and then it clicks on so i like look at the window i tap and homie look i run outside what the fuck y'all doing these niggas take I'm running. It was these kids, because we live like right by high school. So what it is, it's these fucking idiots.

Smoking? No, they wouldn't even smoke it. They do this shit where they just go to cars and they don't even break in the car. They don't steal the car. Oh, just tap. Just try to damn, try to, if it's something unlocked, if the car's unlocked, they see if it's unlocked and then try to go and get something out of the car. So I run outside and like run them off.

And then I'm thinking, but I ain't got no gun with me. I'm not even thinking to go get a gun on knife. I'm just like, what the fuck y'all niggas do? So I run out, they run off. So then it becomes a whole other thing because now I'm like, okay, do I want to call the police because then these niggas might get shot?

So it's like, you know what I mean? Which we did. But it's like these are the levels whenever people talk that gun shit. I'm like, dog, that just lets me know that y'all ain't really been in no smoke before. And they could have been shot either way though

because you can go to the wrong house. Well, yeah. You didn't have. They was lucky. They went to your house. You was like, yeah, because like the white dude was the next to me. I think that nigga got an arsenal.

Exactly. He could have, you know what I mean? He could have lit that ass up. But it was a thing where it was just like, dude, like, I'm looking at this shit. And it's just like, yo, first of all, I'm like, okay, y'all are fucking idiots. Because who the fuck tried to break in cars in the cul-de-sac, nigga? It ain't but one way in, one way out. So y'all ain't that fucking smirbrian boy.

Suburb boys. I'm like, y'all ain't really about that action. You know what I mean? So I came out and, like, we called police or whatever. I'm just like, what they look like, I just, they had on hoods. I don't know. But, yeah, so even in moments like that, like me, My wife talked, yo, so do you think it's time to get a gun?

I was like, well, that was a one. Not for that, though. Yeah, it's like, I don't know. It just ain't that. Again, unless you're just going to be a commando nigger to just walk around in your boxes with a gun, just while you eat your fucking corn flanks and shit. Yeah. Are you describing Omar right now from the wire?

Yeah, you're gang banging on bacon? Yeah, unless you're going to be the gang banging on bacon, dude, I just don't, yeah. And I just don't live my life in a way that, like, that requires that. It's never been the thing. Yeah. So when you were just speaking, I was thinking, so this morning, my son, who's 12,

was pressing my husband and I that the music we let him listen to, we have it on a filter that he can only listen to the clean version of songs. Cool. And he's complaining, he's 12. And he's like, I don't want to listen to the clean version. That means there's lots of songs I can't listen to,

blah, blah, blah. What's the reason why I can't? And I can't, I didn't really, I didn't really have a good answer. It requires a history lesson? So right here, right? So I didn't really have a good answer. And so while you're sitting here speaking and I'm going,

thinking about my son listening to this, because obviously he's going to want to listen to it, he's going to have a conversation with me after, again, about the N-word. I knew that's where you were going. So I want you to help me, right? Because there's been all these conversations that lack education or that lack nuance, and now people are giving the wrong answer.

I want you to honestly help. me with like, what's my right answer? No. White people can't say it. No, no, no, obviously they can't. But what's obviously? And what, and when you're speaking to children who can only, who are like,

who it's like this. It's funny. You got to say it's real quick. I'm not going to take it. I'm coming from my heart and mine couldn't be more open. I understand. And it's funny because I would have thought that you wouldn't have been serious

until a week ago when I was sitting, randomly sitting with a white mom who had like a one-year-old son. And I thought it was funny, the cover of the Esquire magazine about the white boy. And she said, but no, seriously, though, what do I tell my son? How do I raise my son in this world and tell him how to react?

And I thought it was such an interesting conversation because, you know, black people have been doing this all our lives. Yes. You know, we've had to extra nurture, extra educate. Yes. And so now it's time for white people to extra educate, extra nurture and teach about culture. And a lot of times I know it sucks for you guys because you weren't taught. Well, I know a lot of people like her, she wasn't taught a lot of things. So she doesn't like, she doesn't have the answer to that question.

the history of the N-word and everything else. So that's all I was going to say. I said, I just wanted to say in that moment that I'm taking this conversation very seriously now when I used to kind of laugh. Now you have to help. I don't know about helping. That's an interesting word.

To explain. All right, so here's the thing with white people and niggas. All right, look, man. Talk about it, phone. Look, dude, this shit's real uneasy. Look, like, you can't, in the terms of music, so just on the base level, like, we're talking to your son about explicitly.

lyrics. What I went through with my son, like when they were younger, my whole thing was, I mean, because I make music. So my whole thing was now, again, when I was, you know, when I was a kid, you could buy the clean version from Kmart or whatever. And the only way you could hear the explicit version was if your homie had the tape or if a cousin had the tape or whatever. So there was some kind of separation. Now we all log on to the same. same internet. There is no separation. And don't pay for any of it. Yeah, and don't pay for none of the shit. So

the thing now is trying to limit them to the clean versions of something. It really is just kind of a moot point because, I mean, they can, if you Google that one song, I promise you the clean version ain't going to be the one to come up. So, you know what I mean? So my thing was always, well, listen,

I know y'all going to listen to this fuck shit. So, yeah, I was like, I know y'all going to listen to it with me and we can have a conversation about what this really means. Because also, too, there's another level where y'all thinking about, like, the, you know, from the racial aspect. And a lot of that hip-pop shit, it's a lot of gang references and gang culture. And I'm like, homie, when my son was a kid.

No, this is new shit. No, this is, well, that too. But then even, like, the shit before, like, Wayne, when he was, like, was blood. Like, so it's a lot of, like, coded language in that shit. That they don't know. That they don't know. And I'm like, homie, you say that shit in the wrong place. You're going to get fucked up.

So my thing was, I just need to have a conversation with you so y'all know exactly what this is. You know what these references are. Stephanie starts saying this sheet, they from Bompton. Yeah, like, I'm like, don't know. And then it's over. It's a rap. Like, yo, don't know. But how does Stephanie, but that's ill because you knew these things, right?

But Stephanie's trying to say, too, that she doesn't know all of these references. Right, right. So just in general. And I'm somebody who super cares. So then you have to put your weight, you have to take yourself down the track of people who care less than less than. Well, listen, forget the moral stance of should we say it, should we not say it or should we listen to it or should we listen to it? You could even say that. Right now we're in cancel cars.

We're in cancel culture. We're in cancel culture. Cancel culture. Cancel car. Cancel R. Kelly. We canceled him. But this is our social media works. We're in cancel culture.

And we're also in beat you down now. ask questions later. Right there. And I don't want to be, I want to find a way to be in a forgiveness culture and at least hear and get smarter and think more. Well, I would just say with the kids, I mean, I wouldn't personally limit them to the clean version just because that's just going to make them want the dirty shit even more. Yeah. So my thing is just like, I, we don't listen to the dirty shit, but let's listen to it. But explain. And explain like what it's about. And when it just comes to saying, niggas, like, homie, you just can't say that shit. Like, I understand this show, you might listen to the jams and you can,

Even if you say it in your room, you might say it in your room. And I know it's unfair if it's a call and response, if he go to a show and the rapper is on stage. Yo, my favorite part of a Jay-Z concert is when I've seen 18 Jay-Z shows. And literally, when that shit starts, I run to the widest part. Why? How can you do that? And just look at them. Like, I did you say that shit.

But they do. I still do it to this day. When that shit comes on, you're right. I do that. I leave the soundboard. You're going to say it. You're going to say it? You're going to say it?

Jig on my what? Jigga my homie. Yeah. So not. They're going yet? Yeah, you got, you just have to explain to it like, yo, dog, like, I know the rappers are saying it. I know you might want to say. You might even say it in your head.

But if you say this outside, like, in the world, like, you could get fucked up. So just be. There are consequences. It's consequences. That shit. Okay. Well, you're done. I think, did I answer the question, Stephanie Ruh?

Was that, that makes sense? I appreciate it. Actually, Steph, well, that's what I want to, my, I ask you one question. But the reason I love that you answered it. Okay. And I want you to, is because it speaks to exactly this cancel culture, this beat up and give an answer later. And for me, the goal in 2019 should get out of cancel culture. And figure out a way to say, I might disagree with you, but I hear you and I see you.

Because right now we're not getting one another. You're going to do that to R. Kelly's stuff? You're going to do that to R. Kelly? You're going to listen, hear him seeing what he got to say? What you're doing? I guess you haven't been peed on. I mean, some people like that. I'm not.

Nobody fucking rude. The thing with cancel culture, too, I mean, I agree with what you're saying. And I don't think, I don't think Arkelly going to get another shot. Wait, can we talk to the fact that the woman from the daycare bailed him out? Yeah, yeah. Oh, that's where she was from? What? Yeah, the white lady that owns a daycare.

What? Is Alabama? I thought she was a black woman. No, she's white. Well, you know what? I saw footage of her in the McDonald's. She looked white. Maybe she's like, I don't know.

Okay. How about more importantly? She owns nine businesses. Oh, God. What is, what is R. Kelly's new work? Like, everyone's like, should R. Kelly be around? I'm like, I don't know. Since ignition, I'm not sure I've heard of anything.

But they want it to be total canceled. Like today and yesterday's work. It's not just about today. It's about just erasure. Erasure. I don't think that's what happened. Well, the check's must stop coming. Yeah, the check stopped coming.

His last few albums have sold nothing. Yeah. They ain't do shit. But he made so much money that it shouldn't even matter. But, boy, I think I didn't listen to all 19 minutes of that song. I did. Did he admit that he sold his publishing? He admitted he sold his publishing.

Oh, wow. He admitted that he, he admitted he can't read. He admitted he's illiterate. But he sold his publishing? That's what he said in the song. That's probably the most valuable asset he has. But he probably had to, like, man, y'all don't understand, bro. Like, for you to have a criminal trial, for that shit was five years.

I understand that. Five years of goddamn billable hours. Yeah, I was going to say, he can't afford his legal bills. There's no Trump super PAC paying him. Like, who's paying R. Kelly's bills? I mean, they were probably good. But they were probably good. Even if they were slow, you don't piss on cheering, niggas.

So you was good. They'd have been good for you. But I'm just saying. if you got to keep paying off parents and shit every damn quarter? I know that publishing checks are really a three-time-a-year thing. Right.

You get married a quarter. I can't imagine that he's got any money. No, well, definitely not. Because I initially thought, like, okay, when he gets arrested, a million dollars is $100,000, yeah, I believe I can fly. Yeah, he can cover that.

Oh, my. And I couldn't believe that she, you know. Yeah, I think it was, the picture I saw when she was with him when he went to McDonald's. That's the first thing he did. She owns the McDonald's in Chicago. She owns it.

She just went to him. He went to the rock and roll McDonald's. He still goes there? He got out. He still goes there. It is. He went to, he went to, he went. You know the owner, Stephanie.

It is. He went, he went to the rock and roll McDonald's, like, presumably to get a macrib. And what's the rock and roll McDonald's? That's the one. It's the biggest McDonald's in Chicago. It's like, it's like Wally World. It's like a Chicago. It's like a club in there at night.

Yeah, it's like a city block. It's the biggest McDonald's you ever see. And the south side? No, in like downtown, like off of Michigan Avenue. Clark in Ontario. I've been there a few times. I just don't understand how these women continue to be in his web. Well, I think it's well much like, much like your Trump, much like your Trump waitress,

R. Kelly came and talked to them. Yeah. He like, he was, he came, I saw you. And now, you know, it was, that's what it was. But he offered them famous. But doesn't that take us right back to this cancel culture? Look at these people who are rising. Whether it's a Trump having his following or an R. Kelly, see someone, hear them.

Well, I don't know if I need to hear Trump or R. Kelly. But I think she said, oh, you mean the supporters, the people who support them. Those two, but all those people out there. That want to be seen in her, dead are the ones that are fallen victim to. Oh, that's falling. Okay, got you. The ones getting finessed. I hear you.

No, I mean, they're getting finesse like that. No, you're right. No, that's R. Kelly A. Yeah, so I don't know. I think he's, I think he might actually see some time on this one. I don't know. Did you watch Fire Festival? Oh, my God.

I did. That shit was great. Which of the two? I watched the Netflix. I watched the Netflix. It's way better than. Yes. Yeah, the Netflix was, like Netflix.

How did that happen? Yo, it was the, to me, that is one of the most. Yo, it's social media, and it's a story of just how in America you can sell any kind of bullshit as long as you package it right. Except for the main guy, all those people. Like, how did they not say, like, this thing isn't going to work? I'm out. I think it was what, so my thought was, yo, and the people who were early on, I very think

it was kind of almost like to make a financial parallel, like the banking crisis. I think there are a lot of people, or the housing crisis, I think it was a lot of people that knew that shit wasn't going to work. Like, they saw what was coming, but they was like, yo, this shit is going to fall down, but if I can get what I can get out of it before, then fuck it. But they knew that shit wasn't going to work. I think they saw Hell Mary pass and just pray to God, Lynn Swan was at the end. The two older than reference, Odell was there to catch with one hand.

They had no. Because the thing is, when the homey, the key part of me was when your man was in the joint. Not the dick-sucking water dude. That was the best. Spoiler. Spoiler. Andy. For those haven't.

You didn't see it? I saw it. The planner dude, when he was like most festivals take like a year. Yeah, yeah, yeah. He was like, most, like, if you know, they take a year, he said, when they told me I had six weeks to feed and do all this shit, hey, dude, you know this shit. It was a goddamn gee. Think about all those vendors there still never got paid.

Yeah. The lady did get a. They raised, for the main woman that lost like 50,000 bucks, they, what do you call it? Go fund me? Yeah, they go fund me. did her. But why did we have to pay for that? Why didn't? What's his name? Fuck Jerry. Fuck Jerry.

Who's still making in money? Yeah, because then, so Where's coming from? It became fuck, fuck Jerry. That was like the new hashtag. It became fuck, fuck Jerry. And I think they took a little here. Jaroos said he might bring that John back, though. He said that double day. And that was another. It's 50 cents

going to buy up all the tickets? So is empty when he come out to perform? That's not fraud. That's not fraud. I was like, that was... But like, how does Jarlal come out of it on Skate? That I don't know.

Because we missed the 90s. I think what it might... Oh, I'm sorry, he's not a 90s rapper. He's an arts rapper. I don't know. I think the documentary kind of painted him to be kind of a victim of the whole situation, too, where they just kind of used his image

to pull off this festival. I mean, it's not that he's not... I agree. He's not like, you know, completely blame-free because he should have done his due diligence. But that's it. Like, I agree. agree. We overuse this word victim.

A victim is somebody who's walking down a street who gets attacked in a gang initiation. A victim is not somebody who closes his eyes and closes his ears and lifts his champagne glasses and says, let's see how it goes. And to that point,

like Jar Rule looks at himself like I was a victim here. No, come on now. I believe, again, I love doing the Ray Kroc versus Ronald McDonald thing. I think he was just Brown of McDonald, really not knowing what Ray Kroc was up to behind him. And you don't agree with me he's here?

No. I think he could have given some of his money to that woman that owned that bar. I don't think he has money. Uh-uh. What's you saying? He got to... He did two years in jail for tax evasion. Oh, that's right.

And I'm sure any money that he quit off the court earned, I'm sure Irf Gotti probably has more. Yeah, you're right. Oh, public... Yeah. Yeah. Should we have him on the show one day? Yes. No.

Irver. I love. Which one? What we're talking about J. Either one of them. Shit. Good stories. Good story.

I like good stories. Hey, them niggas. Look, I was not a murder ink fan. Listen, like, I mean, I respect the way.

So, Er, talk to us about the time you guys signed Vanessa Carlton. Yeah. What happened with that Vita album? Like, yeah, I just wasn't, I don't know. I wasn't a fan like that. I respect the movement. They had hits. I can't knock it.

But I never thought none of that shit was hot. I didn't need. That's a good story. Anyway. 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 IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. There's two golden rules that any man should live by. Rule one, never mess with a country girl.

You play stupid games, you get stupid prizes. And rule two, never mess with her friends either. We always say that trust your girlfriends. I'm Anna Sinfield. And in this new season of the girlfriends,

oh my God, this is the same man. A group of women discover they've all dated the same prolific con artist. I felt like I got hit by a truck. I thought, how could this happen to me? The cops didn't seem to care. So they take matters into their own hands. I said, oh, hell no. I vowed.

I will be his last target. He's going to get what he deserves. Listen to the girlfriends. Trust me, babe. On the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Igor. My next guest, you know from Step Brothers Anchorman, Saturday Night Live, and the Big Money Players Network. It's Will Ferrell.

Woo. Woo. My dad gave me the best advice ever. I went and had lunch with them one day. And I was like, and Dad, I think I want to really give this a shot. I don't know what that means, but I just know the groundlings. I'm working my way up through, and I know it's a place they come look for up and coming talent. He said, if it was based solely on talent, I wouldn't worry about you.

which is really sweet. Yeah. He goes, but there's so much luck involved. And he's like, just give it a shot. He goes, but if you ever reach a point where you're banging your head against the wall and it doesn't feel fun anymore, it's okay to quit. If you saw it written down, it would not be an inspiration. It would not be on a calendar of, you know, the cat.

Just hang in there. Yeah, it would not be. Right, it wouldn't be that. There's a lot of luck. Listen to Thanks Dad on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. Can we ask fun MSNBC questions? I've been waiting. Totally.

Yeah. Okay. Because, yeah, we were talking about this early. And she's your one and two. Uh-huh. No, no, good. First of all, the aspect of having two shows on MSNBC, can we talk about that on on the daily?

And how the fuck you do that with being somebody's wife and three people's mom? We never got to. That was literally my first question. And we, this is, this has been a 90 minute wrapping hole. You're right. All I wanted to say was, in addition to having to deal with pundits all day, you still have to be a mom and a wife. How do you balance it? Like, I could get the 14 jobs.

Okay, here's the thing. But anyone like, and all of us, none of us were ever balanced, right? People who are grinders and overachievers have never like achieved something and be like, whoo, you know, I'm all set. and I think that these are blessings, right? I'm so lucky to have this moment, to have this time, to be in news, to have this opportunity,

to be married to somebody who hasn't kicked me out and to have three kids who are all standing and tying their shoes and I'll work it out. Can I ask you a question? Yes.

Okay, so, so if a certain unnamed network, Sugar Network? It starts with the F and rhymes with box. if a certain unspeakable network comes to you with the bag no but you can still be yourself

how could you do this she can't wait time out okay sorry I'm not her time out but listen listen okay now correct me if I'm wrong Zara is Murdoch's son's going to take over because of their political because of their... Lockland Murdoch runs Fox News.

Okay. I was hearing through the cheese line that Murdoch's sons weren't as extreme as you know, the Roger Ales period. They were trying to buy sky. Yeah, they were trying to dilute it a little bit. So when they were trying to buy Sky,

what they were trying to do is not have the huge sexual harassment issues. Right. They didn't want to have, they weren't changing it. inside the company, but they didn't want to have massive sexual harassment headlines that was going to block that deal. But Sky also said, like, we would never associate ourselves with you because everyone thinks

you're a joke. And it almost seemed like they said, well, we're, what, what do we have to do to have a real conversation? There's no reason for them to change what they make. And we're talking obviously about Fox News. Right. Fox News has no reason to change what they make. What they make is extraordinarily.

successful for the people who watch it. Right? There are many people who watch it, you know, wear it like a badge of honor. Now, they talk about other going to have to change to start to attract a younger demographic because, you know, they're the go-to for that, you know, over the age of 50 white male demographic, many of whom watch it. I just want to see a pair of calves in hills. Like, I hate that.

And more than that, though, listen. I mean, they haven't skipped a beat in their success. lots of people are watching. MTV's Kennedy? Yeah, she's on every morning. She is in the afternoon, yes. MTV's Kennedy is on Fox News? She's quite conservative.

I always asked me. A little bit more of a libertarian than a conservative conservative. You know, she's a small government. I'd never watch Fox News unless I'm trapped in an airport. They're great at what they make. And now if you're asking me,

if they walked in and said, I'd like to give you a pile of money and you could still make your thing, I don't think it would be a, I don't see that happening because what I have to say wouldn't sell to their audience. And now, I don't necessarily have

what you would call traditional, only progressive or only liberal views. To me, like... But you ask the right question. But that's it. Like, I'm just myself. I lean into, I want to live the best life for my family and I want my neighbors and my community

to live their best life. But that might mean I don't always align myself. You know, like, let me make it easier. to me the most brutal place isn't cable news it's social media because social media you don't ever get to actually speak your mind and be yourself it's like performance art and the moment you're categorized as something you have to fit into this or suddenly i didn't know you were this i i leave you now and you know there's a really beautiful i wish i knew it off the top of my head dave chapelle quote that he gave a couple months ago where he said when did the world get this messed up where everyone in your head

house you had to agree with. You only talk to people who were on the same side of everything. It's an echo chamber. And he said, disagreement, even with the people closest to you is what makes us great. This is when we lose heart and humor and we stop getting smarter.

And so there are people who are super liberal who don't like what I have to say. Unfortunately for them, they got no other network to go to. You were saddest that they don't have more Nicole Wallace's on Fox because I just got to say, I love the way she has evolved as a Republican in her way of thought.

Not that she's a Democrat now, I don't think so, but just in her sense. And I feel like that kind of voice needs to be more present. But most people don't label themselves, I'm a Republican, I'm a Democrat. We're all the same. We're all just trying to get by. But she did because she was a Republican. She was. I mean, that was her career.

But for most people out there, we're all just trying to live our best lives, get to our highest self. And the more we can focus on that and less on politics, Listen, if you were a single mother in the south side of Chicago, would you say, I identify myself as X or why? No. I didn't know I saw myself as trying to make my goddamn rent. I, I, but that's exactly it. The thing is, though, is that I'm fine with disagreements if the person disagreeing with me.

I respect them. Not even I respect them. If they come with actual facts. Boom. You nailed it. Now, okay, from a musical standpoint, Okay, a music fan could give me the pros of why, Slide in the Family Stones, there's a ride going on.

It's such a monumental, important moment in funk. But a person like me is kind of sad at that record because I feel guilty is celebrating the joy of someone who's... Descent into drug addiction. On heroin. Yeah. I feel like it's watching a car accident. And I acknowledge it.

You know, but I'm just saying that I feel that both arguments are based in fact. They are. However, a lot of the political arguments are just more about my side's winning, my side's winning. And I don't know. I just feel as though I believe I'm on the side of the truth. Like when I watch Rachel Maddow, I don't feel as though she's trying to, you know, put me on her agenda. I don't believe she has an agenda. I believe that she's revealing the truth.

you feel like you're at a college course. Yeah. And I didn't watch Rachel. Before I got into political news, I have to be perfectly honest, I don't have a great voting record in that it wasn't a priority in my life. And now that I see so many of our basic rights in question,

I'm filled with guilt over that. And even what I thought Rachel was, and then I started watching, it's like watching a master class. I don't feel like there's a political agenda and where you're exactly right. But if Fox News will, look at her and say,

elitist, homosexual, she's trying to... Progressive socialists. Right, but I feel that the basic the basic gripe in not listening or even taking her words and filtering it. Because she's not this or she's not that.

Well, yeah, but, you know, because then I just feel that most conservatives might feel that, well, you know, she can't be telling the truth because she's, He's a gay. And that's against God. And then that goes into a whole other.

Then we need to find a way to see those people and hear those people. People say gay. I know. Because stop laughing. Cable news ratings are up, but we have to break through the stereotype so people can actually hear you. And we have to stop attacking the president about his weight or his hair. Or is it like we don't have to go with all that. He gives us...

We don't do that on MSNBC. Correct. Correct. But I'm saying... CNN do it? We don't need to jump to conclusions about what we believe he's guilty of before we know it. Because guess what?

Right now, at this moment, I'm sure he's given us something. Right. He's going to be... Somebody who's told, I want to say the Washington Post has now added it to 8,000 lies, we can stick to covering those 8,000 lies. And we have to resist the temptation... Of overkill? Of overkill?

Because guess what? We're all guilty of it. Whenever I get, whenever Fox News, you know, at prime time, will do a segment at night mocking me. They do that? Sure. I don't watch Fox News. You made it here's the thing.

When they do it, you hate it's probably. There's usually a little bit of fact in there. I got a little lazy that day. I got over my skis. It was usually on a Thursday or a Friday because I didn't do my homework and I'm tired. So we are challenged right now. We must stick to the facts because the facts are on our side, but you make an amazing point

around freedom of speech, in that we support freedom of speech. But where we're conflicted is, if people are just spewing propaganda and lies, that's where we don't want them to, but then it's... But that's my next kind of thing, because you say, like, we should hear these people. I really think it's some people we just don't need to hear. Yeah, it's true. If they're talking that bullshit. Like, we don't need to give you a

platform, you know what? Who? Tommy Lauren? Tommy Lauren. Oh, Tommy. Oh, yeah, like that. Like, when I saw, like... And don't give her any air. Yeah, don't give her. But don't talk about her now.

That's what you're saying. Don't talk about her now. She exists because we're talking about her. So you know what? Let's just put that down. Said it now, yeah. We don't need to hear her. What do you think?

I want to know your opinion on Howard Schultz. I think he's an extraordinary businessman. I think, um, listen, he's an unbelievable success story. I think the company. coming off the last election and looking at politics historically, we have a two-party system. And the two-party system might stink. It might be unfair, but that's what we got. Mike Bloomberg has spent millions of dollars researching what it would look like to run as an independent. He's done the math. And he goes, it doesn't work. He didn't run last time

because he knew that running was only going to help President Trump win again. The concern for Howard Saltz, if he goes to run as an independent, is only going to advance President Trump. And I think it takes a whole lot of chutzpah or brazenness to think that you can win outside the system. The system stinks. But unfortunately, you've got to figure out how to win in the system. Wait, has he been forgiven outside of Starbucks game? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. He did, Common did some commercials and they had some workshops.

He chose him. Starbucks. You wouldn't take the call Shut the fuck up right now With AIA We can build That's Microsoft That's Microsoft

It's the same thing It's common He's the same guy in every part Y'all missed that Zara joke though That was funny though What'd you say? Nothing I heard it

I heard it What'd you say? You missed it You don't have to wait before The episode of the air Okay It's too true Who makes you laugh at MSNBC?

That's my question I want to ask you some really like... I'm going to tell you who makes me laugh that's a comedian right now. Do you guys know who Sebastian Menascalco is? Oh, he's not on it, but yes. I love... You don't think he's funny? No, I don't...

I'm not up on him. I can... Yeah. So, I mean, I like dirty comedians, too. But to be a comedian and not go after people and not be dirty, that takes the talent. And I saw this guy for the first time, like, nine months ago. Jerry Seinfeld had a night with sort of all his favorite comedians.

I urge you, look them up on YouTube. I think he is something else. But on MS, I got to tell you, I really love working there, and I really love the people I work with. They work so hard. They are so smart. They're just great to be around. Seems that way.

Is there, oh, good. No, I was just wondering if you guys ever really, because in our minds, we want to think of y'all play. Exactly, y'all play with you. I mean, like, there are moments where I'm, she sent everybody drinks for Christmas. But there are moments where I'm going, I can't believe Andrew Mitchell knows me. Right? Like, I can't believe that.

And just within all of them. I was losing the hallway when she walks by. Andrea Mitchell? Whenever she's inside to me, I was like, I can't believe it. Right? I mean, across the board, right? And on the embassy, Savannah Guthrie, I mean, like, I was in England for the royal wedding, and I'm walking down the street with Savannah and Hoda, and people are losing their minds

when they see Hoda. And the beautiful thing about that is she brings them joy. She's always smiling. She brings them joy. And that is something like, yes, you're bringing people the news and really important. important stories, but you have a relationship with people at home. I mean, my partner, Ali Velschia, I love them, Katie, Ter. I love them all, Joe, and me.

Can you tell us, Ollie? But how did you come to have two shows? Or is it just two hours? Do I say two hours? No, I have two shows there. I came to NBC, and I was anchoring my show on MSNBC, and I used to anchor the Today Show on Saturdays, but when you're a mom and you have three kids, you know, a six-day work week is something's got to give.

I was going to say that I still feel as though there's rooms for, like, there's more room at the top for you, not to jinx anything. But what is higher? Is the Today Show a better lateral move or? For me, I can just say whether it's at NBC or anywhere. But is it the dream? I don't have long-term, I don't have dreams or long-term girls. Wow, talk about that's interesting.

Be in the moment. So I used to. Really? And all it did was give me stress and anxiety. And more than that, it put me in terrible positions that I would have bosses that I would either have terrible bosses that treated me badly or a bad job with a great boss. And I'd say, like, well, this is awful. But I just have to hang tight. And then in a year, it's all going to be better.

And if you're living your life, like. Waiting for things. But that's it. If you're living your life, if you're in a relationship or a family and a job like this blows so badly right now but in a year it will be great my life just that's just then the goalpost just keep moving and like there's only three things you have no control of the weather your health and time and giving your time to something that you like no job do you love all the time working as a grind waking up early as a grind but you've got to be doing something that the people you like

or you're getting better or parts of it are exciting. And if it's not, that doesn't work. But as far as like, what's my ultimate? I didn't even, eight years ago, I didn't know I was going to be in television. Two years ago, I had no idea I'd be covering politics. And here I am, you know, going to bed and waking up with Trump tweets. So if we can say, I'm going to try to go to bed happier than I was when I woke up, like, that's it for me.

Amen. Amen. That's a benediction right there. Is it like being a doctor? Like right now, if something catastrophic happens, this episode's coming on way later. So, you know, if something catastrophic happens in the world of politics or, you know, development,

is it you have to rush to stop what you're doing and? Meep, me. Yes. Okay. But. Oh. Absolutely, right? And people are trying to game their vacations and this and that.

But I'm 43 years old, and I have three kids. And in any job that you ever have in that moment, either that massive deal at work or that massive show or the massive news thing, it feels like everything. And then six months later, you can't even remember that day. True. That is so true. Like you can't. So has living in this time that we're in right now sort of ruined?

No, because Donald Trump doesn't get to take my joy. He doesn't get to take my personal life or my family. and when I'm there, I'm going to give it 100%. And if I can be there at breaking news, I will be. But if I can't, then I've got to go. And you're like, wait in Jersey somewhere. They're like, uh, let's get Hallie. Sure.

Yes, these things happen. But I can't live my life like, oh, my God, I wasn't there. And they picks, you know, there's this idea in TV. Like, she was on maternity leave. And when she was out, the girl who filled in was the best. And then her career was over. Well, no, no, no. I don't mean from a moral standpoint.

I just remember from a logistics. Yes. When breaking new happens, do they send out like a massive text to see which one of the 10 of you. They already know where you are. Every Friday, you have to tell them, here's where I am this weekend. Wait, so can I ask is, well, I was going to ask. So if you're planning and having a rendezvous with me, you better keep it on the deal. You don't find me.

No, no, no. I just mean like, well, in the case of Brian, who always seems to be there in suit and time, like when something happens or breaks, is he like in a holding area just waiting for or something? So when there is like a big event or like a, I mean that's Brian's jam like that's what Brian does.

I mean listen if he's away he doesn't do it but if like a massive But he always seems to be there when it's breaking news time It's the time it's like don't you ever go home But his thing is 11 o'clock But he's our breaking news person So you know if there's an awful thing God forbid a shooting

You know someone's going to be there taking us through it. And then probably at the top of the hour, once Brian gets there, Brian's the guy who's going to take you through for the next few hours. See, I thought he had to come in like 12 in the afternoon, just wait. And plus, don't he,

probably has a fat contract to be that breaking news guy. Like, that was a big deal for them to have him in the first place. Oh, yeah, I'm going to call you because I'm paying you all this guy down. Well, no, no, I wanted to know if he literally just chills there

12 hours a day waiting for something to break and it doesn't. Okay, well, I'm going to go home now. I was surprised to see you doing the last day of the union. I was like, she got to get up in the morning Is she going to wait for stuff? Do you sleep at the office sometimes?

No, but I have to tell you, like, there's some days where I'm like, because sometimes I do Brian Williams show at night, which is at 11. And if I did have a shower in my office, it would be better on those nights. Because it's true that you know this from working late. The thing is, you know this. If you work late, you get home, then you open your door, then you open the refrigerator, then you check the mail, then you turn the TV on, and it's two in the morning. As opposed to, if you did TV at 11 o'clock at night,

walked in your office, went to sleep. You might be asleep at 1205, and I might be up early for work. But on nights like State of the Union, come on now, this is our Super Bowl. This is what we do it for. If you can't stay up late one night and wake up early one day, then Laverne and Shirley called. You should be working at the bottle factory. I have a question. Yes.

So he was asking, I think, 10 minutes ago, essentially, is what could be bigger or whatever, or what would you want next or more than what you have now, career-wise, I guess, or show-wise or whatever. And wouldn't, it seems like you, well, I guess my question is, wouldn't the next step be to get into politics rather than, you know, to, definitely not? I would never want to run for office. I think it's hard enough on my family that I chose to have a public life in the way that I do. My kids didn't choose this.

I chose it. and what people go through who are running for office is so brutal that I just wouldn't, and I... Well, hypothetically, all that aside, like, where do you have a louder voice or more chance to affect change? Yeah. I think it's pretty good where I am right now. What I wish we could do, and I don't see it done enough, is actually cover thorny cultural issues. because what I'm afraid of right now is we're not talking about a lot of hard topics.

Well, yeah, it's on repeat, especially the cable news. It's like a 15-minute brief. But it's also, it's narrow what we cover. But there's lots of topics that because we're accusing one another of being ignorant or being closed-minded or being stupid, instead of continuing the conversation, we're getting silent. Me Too is a really good example. So for me, covering Me Too is very complicated. I don't think it's black and white.

And when you try, yes. But when you try to dig into that, you get shut down. You get shut down. And what it does is people who aren't necessarily stakeholders in that, like me, I find myself retreating and saying, you know what, I'm just not going to talk about it. Y'all got that shit then. And so like a year ago, I was doing it.

Actually, Patow, but in L.A., the conference where Amir and I met. And I was doing a town hall about Me Too. And I tried to bring up the idea of, you know, there's a spectrum and can we talk about forgiveness at all? And it was a no. And one woman stood up and she said, absolutely not. I never want, for all of the women in the world who have ever suffered for this, I never want to talk about it. I never want to hear from those guys. And so I said, okay.

And another woman stood up and said, corporate America was built by the, by a white supremacist patriarchy. And until that's blown up, this conversation is moot. And I'm not saying that that woman is wrong. But what I am saying is that point is also, what she's saying is somewhat pointless. Because right now, corporate America is run by white guys. More guys named John and David than women total.

And don't get me started on African Americans. So unless you can find a way to have a constructive conversation, they're going to go uh-huh uh-huh and they're going to walk out the room but i think before we bring up forgiveness which is a point that i see we never talk about justice absolutely and you know and that's sort of like but i don't okay i went months ago when i went to the askers um wasn't that you know there was there i don't mean forgiveness for the for people who have committed the most offensive of assaults. I mean forgiveness in terms of just cultural forgiveness.

Yeah. We're getting more mature. We're seeing people in a different way. You're suddenly saying. You're not allowed to grow. Like, you're not allowed to, like, when we talk about the whole council culture and everything, I mean, the thing about it is just that if you're, if you see people, if you commit any kind of transgression or whatever, and you see that you're never going to be forgiven,

then you have no impetus to change. Like, you know what? I'm saying. If you see, it's like, well, you know what? Y'all ain't going to fuck me no way. So fuck it. I'm going to keep doing whatever the fuck I'm doing. Like, there's no, there's, you don't ever give that point to that person.

For a person like Russell Simmons, right, whom I've definitely seen the evolution of. Right. Def Jam, 80s Russell Simmons versus yoga Russell. Yoga Russell. Then why he hadn't. But go ahead. I'm sorry. What other choice he got?

Well, because he can't make a living here. But the world has changed. But the world has changed from the 80s. in the 90s and the early 2000s. And it's a weird thing that we have to learn, right? We were talking about this on our group text because we were, I mean, I hate to bring it up, but we were talking about a controversial story where a guy is being accused of being inappropriate with women as in like going on a date and just pulling his penis out, right?

And so talking about the levels of, okay, so. Yeah, yeah. The levels of, how should this guy be, how should he be taking care of even though this may have happened 20 years ago, even though you could have walked away, even though you could have laughed and been like, I'm out. Like, now women are like, I'm calling for justice. This is a brass. But what does that look like?

What does justice look like 20 years? Yeah, because I'm like, you could have just walked away, bitch. I mean, I remember when Aziz Ansari, when his story came out, and the woman, I'm like, babe, that sounds like a bad hookup. And I'm not saying she didn't have a bad experience. But last I checked, the premise of sex in the city, which was, I don't know, the most successful show of its time was kind of based on four girls. hooking up with rich guys in New York City.

Ooh, and some broke, yeah. That was a bad day for the sisters to as you started. It's just a complicated thing, and you want to show sympathy and empathy for anyone who feels wronged, but you also have to realize, especially sexual experiences, something could happen between the two of us, and when we walk away, what you thought happened and what I thought happened are two different things. And so no one has clearly articulated with the new rules of engagement and the rules of the road are. And when I say intimacy, I don't mean sex, but intimacy, especially among colleagues,

is at least for me, what has helped me, like, be successful in my career. Amir and I are friends, right? We're both colleagues at MSNBC, but we've never worked together. But when I met him, I connected with him, and I cared about him as a person. You didn't even know his name. And if we get to ourselves But you know what I was bragging about it And you hugged him And now it's like I get worried about hugging people now But if we get to a place where

We can't even show compassion or show any kind of And compassion is I mean if you worked in the music industry If you worked in an advert in a creative industry You have to care about people Yeah Because you're working with these motherfuckers all the time Like sometimes you might see these people

Morning you see your damn family You know what I mean Yeah it's yeah it's wow We're establishing. I think that's the whole thing about right now in this time with all these race conversations and all of these Me Too conversations. Like we're reestablishing ourselves and the rules. And we're also acknowledging of what we didn't know.

Yeah. And I think you have to give people the space for that. Like because it's like even with the whole with the whole blackface thing, like when they going through these white college yearbooks and finding all these white folk doing the shit, it's like, dude, I mean, again, for me it's different as a southerner because I went to these schools. I knew all them good old boys like they was listening to Woutain but they had goddamn Confederate flags on their trucks

but they should be punished in some form of fashion because not for nothing that's the 80s not for nothing open a book like I'm tired of white people having excuses for not knowing black for culture that's American culture I'm not making excuses like this is a part of black face was a part of American culture

it was a part of American culture but it wasn't I mean but you gotta think though it's a thing like a society to me society is nothing more than just a contract right it's just a contract and like it's an ever evolving ever renegoti your ageable contract. So one day it's like, okay, this was cool.

But then all of a sudden you wake up and it's like, no, this ain't cool no more. I just know that people don't be a few offending Jewish people as much. Like, they know the rules. People know the rules about certain cultures. They will not. What did you do? What? Like, this happens much faster for other cultures than us.

With us, we got to be understanding. You got to understand that they don't know. Well, I'm not saying we understand they don't know. They should want to know. Yeah, that was some crack. Most people don't want to know. But there are tons of things that I'm not sure. why you shouldn't do it.

And this is an opportunity to explain it. To find out why. Right. And find out why. I've had to explain to many people about menstruacy and and that sort of and people that just didn't know about the history of... They knew that it was wrong

but they didn't know why. And sometimes I feel like with some white those they can know why but they're like, well, that's no big deal. That's no big deal. It's no big deal. So I don't know. I'm just fucking do it. I don't know. But that's because I think a lot of white people when you say white privilege, they're like, what do you mean white privilege? I don't have it so easy because we take for granted what we don't realize.

Right. Because they're saying, how could you say? Because the idea of white privilege, like, I don't have a privileged life. I'm struggling. But when you actually put it into context. Oh, call the cab. Just stand outside real quick. Right.

It's true. I was recently, I was upstate skiing. And there was a woman there talking. And she goes, you know, people talk about white privilege. all the time. I mean, I don't think it exists. And I said, have you looked at this mountain? Do you see any black people skin on it? Any black people that ain't serving you. Y'all, you're so privileged. You don't even know when we're missing.

Yeah. Right. Right. No, but because the idea, because for some people, they think that they, they conflate, they conflate white privilege with white supremacy. And they're not the same thing. Right. They're not. But those two things get conflated. That's interesting. Yeah, no, because it's like to say white privilege is like the same. It's not saying that it's easy to be white. I'm not saying that just because you're white,

you're going to have an easy life. Easy, uh. Yeah, right. Life is going to fuck everybody. But you're going to... A little easier, but you ain't going to know it, so it's still going to feel hard to you. It's going to feel hard to you.

But if you had to walk a day in my shit, you would jump off a fucking bridge. You ever see the Michael Landon? I was about to bring this. Oh, yeah, the mean that was going around all that way. That's the great... I watched that shit. A hundred times.

You have definitely the Michael Landon. From Little House of Harry. Todd Bridges. Nine-year-old, Tom Bridges. Yeah, he's talking to Michael Landon. He asked him a question. From Little House on the board. No.

Time Bridges. Different strokes. Yeah. He was like nine years old. Yeah. He asked Michael Landon, would you rather be, what was it? Would you rather be black and live for a hundred or live to 100 or be white and die at 50? And then all of a sudden, Michael Landon, the Panning and the John Williams, John Williams,

jaws like music and Michael Landon's defensive look of pain on his face and the look of defeat on his face when he realizes yeah I'd still be I'd rather die at 50 and white like just walk away

and for the record Michael Landon died at the age of 54 Wow and what was the rest of the joke and who lived to be well no no he just walked away basically Michael Landon was basically saying

yes I'd rather I'd still be white yeah just like when Chris Rock said none of you would trade places with me and I'm rich. I mean, the show

I don't want to defend anything unpopular right now. I'm doing it, son. But the show is Little House on the prairie, which is based in the Oklahoma. Yeah, but right of land seemed to be the lone liberal.

On the prairie. He always did the right thing, though. I have a question. question. Yes. So I hinted at the fact that I went to school for working in the news, working in television news earlier. What made me switch directions happened in my senior year, a little event that you might have heard of called 9-11. That morning, you know, I actually had to work first, go to work first, and then I had to go to class. Where were you? Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana. And, um, and, um, and,

basically like the whole department like we just all came together and it was it was it was it was the class was the coverage of the news and i'm just watching all this stuff and i'm realizing like if i go into this for the you know as a career you know i've seen the budd wire suicide video in class you know they damn yeah they showed it in class what philly yeah but dwyer he was he was like some it was caught up in some scandal he was a corrupt uh uh councilman who uh uh uh uh strategically called a press conference in a Philadelphia judicial room. But he did it from the judge's position where there's like a protective barrier. And then he pulls out a gun warrant and then he killed himself live on television.

We all saw it. So it was, you know, your ethics, your journalism ethics classes and all that. And, you know, just. Yeah. I mean, because if I'm working in news, I'm going to come across it. I'm probably going to come across this shit. So, you know, with watching 9-11 happen, and, you know, I'm realizing that I don't have time to process this as a human being.

I have to get ready to get something on air. You know, this is, you know, have you ever had a situation where you were... Your emotions and... Where your emotions were kind of running really high and you weren't sure. Yeah, I mean, first of all, it would be odd to find a day when I don't cry a little bit on TV because I definitely do. I did actually last summer and it wasn't a great night for me

when we were in McAllen, Texas at the border was sort of when there was first news coverage of what was going on with child separation. And it's very rare for Rachel Maddow to cry and I was going on right after Rachel. And it was in the last moments of her shows when she found out that there were what's called tender age detention centers

for children who are separated who are under the age. age of three. And Rachel was on talking about it, and she started crying on air. And then when Rachel handed off to me, I was really crying on air. And I sort of looked at the camera because Ivanka, first daughter Ivanka Trump and First Lady Melania Trump always say, you know, Melania's whole thing is, you know, she's a devoted mother. And Ivanka always says, I stand for the advancement of women and girls. And the thing is, when you have the privilege of saying, I stand for something, That means you stood in the face of adversity.

You stood up for something. And so I was so devastated by this idea of babies being taken from their mothers. I was really, I almost couldn't even understand what I was saying. I was crying so hard on air. And some people after were like, oh, that was real emotion and that was raw and that was great. But it really wasn't. And after the president of NBC, who's name is Andy Lack, who I worked for at Bloomberg, too, gave me great advice. and he said, you can be real and you can be emotional on television,

but it is your job to deliver this information. And the example he gave, he said, if someone died and two of us performed eulogies, the same script, and I did it, hyperventilating and crying with no control of my emotions, you'd walk away and be like, oh, my God, Stephanie was devastated, and if she was crushed, couldn't make it through. It's not even about the person that you eulogizing. If you gave the same eulogy, the same words, but you were controlled.

You could be emotional but controlled and knew that it was your job to deliver that message. People would forever remember that message. So I think, to me as a viewer or somebody who's in it, actually, the best you can be is your real self. But you're not your real self sitting on a couch, crying and screaming and wailing. You've got to be sort of the boss of the table and saying, I'm here to deliver this to you in the best way I can. But something I think, and cable news has given us the opportunity to do it, unlike what sort of traditional network news is, A, we have more time,

but B, it's edgier and we can be ourselves. And I don't mean like our opinionated selves, but our real selves. And I can see a difference of people who sort of grew up, you know, in a very traditional journalistic kind of network news place where like never give yourself, never give emotion. I would not have gone. Anderson says that sometimes I feel like, but even though he doesn't have gone into this business if I couldn't be my. First of all, I went into it too late.

I was 36 years old. Like it was too late for me to be anything but me. And I think people want that. They don't want you to just give here is the information. You could get the information from the internet. You can try to give it in the best way you can. We had to do radio on that day. It was hard.

The 9-11. I had to go on radio at 6 p.m. that night. Not easy, but it was... But you also feel like you're doing the service to your folks because you're giving them the information that they need. And so the more you get in your head about that and getting your folks to information unless you get into the feelings part.

Covering shootings is horrible. Covering Parkland was horrible. Covering the... Do you remember that shooting in Texas last year that was in a church in Sutherland Springs, Texas? A tiny little Baptist church and a guy walked in and he shot everybody, you know, and they were facing... the altar, so he shot him from behind.

Those are horrible to cover. I couldn't do it, so I had to. Like, literally. You really? It was my senior year. Like, I had to finish out the major, but, like, 9-11's like, I don't think I can do this. Like, because I just needed to process

what had just happened. You know, like, there was no way that, like, I wasn't trying to be an on-air person, you know, I was either going to be behind the camera or in an editing room somewhere. editing room definitely would have been a problem because you're getting all the unedited footage you're seeing everything that's not going to hit you know not going to make it to air

so I just you know I had to do some serious soul search and like I can't do this yeah here you are doing it but I'm not doing like you know what I'm not I get but I also even think the shows that I love to watch or listen to

I don't think have traditional roles I don't think it's like you're the anchor you're the I mean they're more everybody involved is putting all the best ingredients they can think of in the pot, and hopefully everyone will rise with it. Like, I think people were more famous. Like, I think people on television 10 years ago were more famous. Now I think great content makes people famous.

Because there used to only be a few platforms, right? Like, when we were growing up, you could watch the Today Show, you could watch Good Morning America. You know what I mean? That was it. Now, there are so many outlets. I think great things find their way. Yeah, overwhelming. Who was your professor?

Steve Bell. Wow. Yeah. Just passed away last month. Yeah. Fun fact. Or January. Fun fact, when that Bud Dwyer thing happened, that was the day that Prince premiered Kiss on Parano.

Oh, my God. No. No. I'm like, really? So I literally, whenever I hear that intro. Wow. You think you think of. I always think of Bud Dwyer.

I'm sorry. You do? Yeah. That image was kind of spending on. Well, no, no, no. It was, it happened coincidentally at the same time. Like, my parents and family were screaming. Do not Google Bud Dwyer.

Oh, okay. Oh, don't do that to yourself. I don't know. Maybe now we're just a minute to it. You shouldn't look up. Y'all shouldn't talk to. Y'all you have to tell nobody I was doing that. I wonder if it is on YouTube.

It is. It is. Okay, so look, Stephanie, we're about to wrap up right now because I know you have to get up at zero o'clock. of the morning. So technically only got one question out. So I'll ask you. No, I didn't even get to

where did you, where were you born and all your child or whatever? North Jersey. Well, yeah, I mean, I asked, but anyway, thanks. Lehigh University and. Yeah. So, my second question. What was the first record you ever purchased? A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what you're saying. Yep, that's me. Cliver Taylor the fourth.

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. There's two golden rules that any man should live by. Rule one, never mess with a country girl. You play stupid games, you get stupid prizes. And rule two, never mess with her friends either. We always say that, trust your girlfriends. I'm Anna Sinfield, and in this new season of The Girlfriends...

Oh my God, this is the same man. A group of women discover they've all dated the same prolific con artist. I felt like I got hit by a truck. I thought, how could this happen to me? The cops didn't seem to care. So they take matters into their own hands. I said, oh, hell no. I vowed.

I will be his last target. He's going to get what he deserves. Listen to the girlfriends. Trust me, babe. On the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Ego Wadam. My next guest, you know from Step Brothers Anchorman,

Saturday Night Live and the Big Money Players Network. It's Will Ferrell. Woo. Woo! Woo! Dad gave me the best advice ever. I went and had lunch with him one day. And I was like, and Dad, I think I want to really give this a shot.

I don't know what that means, but I just know the groundlings. I'm working my way up through and I know it's a place that come look for up and coming talent. He said, if it was based solely on talent, I wouldn't worry about you, which is really sweet. Yeah. He goes, but there's so much luck involved. And he's like, just give it a shot. He goes, but if you ever reach a point where you're banging your head against the wall and it doesn't feel fun anymore, it's okay to quit. If you saw it written down, it would not be an

inspiration. It would not be on a calendar of, you know, the cat, just hang in there. Yeah, it would not be. Right. It wouldn't be that. There's a lot of luck. Listen to Thanks, Dad, on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. The first record I can remember so vividly as a child. No, no, I'm going to tell you. Okay. So the first record I can, like when I close my eyes, is the double soundtrack from Greece the movie. Wow.

Being a little girl staring at the green record with all of the photographs. What? Part one, right? I was just making sure Greece one. Yeah, okay. Don't get me wrong. Like, Greece two.

Nobody wants to admit that they've seen it. How can people ride for Greece two? But, you know, we're going to score tonight, the bowling song. You know what? Okay, I'll go to score tonight. Yeah, yeah, yeah. We're going to score tonight. I've never seen a rock, we're gonna roll, we're gonna pop, we're gonna ball, we're gonna school,

scos, scos, go, school tonight. So don't, like right there, you were gonna dump on Greece too, and you knew all the words. It's true, it's just, you know the one of it. So it was the Greece double album. I can so vividly remember. So why did you be white, white, white? Yeah, did that just happen?

You see, Stephanie's known for being extra black and they don't. I know good shit. Grease is universal. No, my sister. Here's the thing, though, about Greece for that too. It's far dirtier than you remember. Because I have little kids. I say fun gungu.

I'm Sandra D. You get all the jokes now. And then I'm like, I'm sorry, what? The chicks are like, yes. I got to go watch it again. A hickie from Kinniki? Yes. Because my daughter's five.

I love music. And I'm like, oh, come on. Let's watch the dance scene. And I'm like, wow, Chacha DiGregorio. Yes, cha-cha. You ever try watching Back to the Future post Me Too? Oh, yeah. Oh, dog.

All the 8. That movie is not age well. I often compare the president to Biff from back to the future. All right, what was your first concert? That's funny. Material Girl, Madonna. Oh, not a bad one. Were the Beastie Boys the opener?

I don't think so. Oh, okay, okay. And I went to a meatloaf show at a community college. Wow. Really? Yeah, somebody's parents took us. You know, when I was seven years old, I played meatloaf in a pinball game. Wow.

in Albany, New York. This is back of the day when rock stars would normally stay at airport. What are you laughing at Zara? You played him in a pinball game. Okay, you know what my parents did for a living, right? Yeah, because it's hard to play a wits. Oh, okay. I thought it was some sort of play thing.

Okay, Jared. Let me explain to you. Hotels. Wait, what? She thought you, like, were in a play, and your role was Meatloaf. Oh, you played now. I thought you were playing a meat-ro themed pinball game. No, we're all confused.

So you were playing, he was versus. He was your opponent. Right. Thank you. Okay. Okay. So, look, back in most shared in the holiday ends, they used to have something called game rooms.

And every arcade games. Yeah, hotels used to have fully stocked arcades. side of to keep kids occupied. Now it's just like pay-per-view on your team, but kids used to have something, you either go swimming or you go to the game room. So your parents give you five bucks, and then that buys you,

depending on if you memorize all the patterns on Pac-Man, you know, that could buy you a good three hours in the game room and, you know, your parents could do whatever. My dad did like two weeks in Albany, New York, and that's back, when now rock stars stay in the best five-star hotels and the glamour and all that stuff.

But back of the day, you could always find a rock act at whatever the nearest airport hotel was. So usually the Holiday Inn Airport or the Sheridan Airport. So we happened to be appearing there. My parents happened to be appearing there back in like 79 in Albany, New York. And I didn't know who Meatloaf was.

I just knew that guy always playing. I forget the name of the... I think... No, it wasn't flashcore. That was like 81. Anyway, we became pals playing pinball games in the game room. And I later found out...

Yeah, it was him. I didn't even hear that story. I just heard meatball music in my head. I would do anything for love. Anyway. But I won't do that. Oh, God, I loved him. Zera, what was your first concert?

Wango Tango. by Kiss FM. What the hell is Wingo Tingo? It's like, you know, Jingle Ball? Yeah. Kiss FM in L.A. does a like a summertime one at the Rose Bowl. Who performed there?

Oh, no, don't tell us. She's going to make us feel old. Don't ask her to that. Never mind. Zero's not bad. Go ahead, Zara. Oh, what? Nothing.

Go ahead. Zera's of age. She just sounds 14. I can't remember, but I think it was like the backstreet boys. Oh, I remember. I don't remember Kelly Osborne sang. Oh, she had won this song. This would have been 2009, too.

Oh, oh. It was during the Osbournes when the Osbournes were on. And, uh, Jarlal and Ashanti. Yeah, definitely 2000s. It was wango dango. You gotta have a little bit of everything, like jingle ball. What was the first record you brought? She had a song.

Yes, it was really good. She did a cover of Papa Don't Preach. It was her first single. I loved it. Yeah. Yeah. What was your first record? It was that.

Kelly Osborne? No. No, probably Rafi. Baby Belugas? Yeah, like age 12. Mother, how do you know Rafi's? I was a kid at one point two? You had Rafi records?

He's a cultural. My parents didn't buy the Rafi records. Didn't he? Did the Evans from Dynasty? You know what? No, I think Yanni did. They were married. Yeah, they were married.

Yeah, yeah. Okay. Rafi, Yanni. I thought they were both. Laurel. That's fine. You got them good. Anyway, Stephanie.

Lower, of course. I appreciate this. This was a very generous interview. We enjoy talking to you. Oh, can I think of real quick? We got to do a drunken episode with Stephanie. Stephanie. Can I just tell you it was one episode?

I already told Zaradis, but it knocked me off my feet. This guy was talking, he was on the conservative, and he came at Belchie. For no reason, he said, and where are you from? It was totally racial. And your ass jumped to his defense so quick that I thought you was going to jump through that screen. And I just wanted to tell you that ever since that day, I have felt your spirit. Thank you.

She was like, why are you asking him where he is from? He was trying to say that it was okay that Roy Moore down in Alabama went after underage girls because he looked at Ali and he said, well, you're from a far off land trying to make some sort of thinly veiled Muslim region. And I'm like, yes, well, he's from a far off land of Canada. So that guy could take a hike. Yo, you got pissed. It was great.

Belle she was like, okay, I'm just let her speak. Yeah, she got this. But think about that. Think about in Alabama. That guy almost got elected. And listen, there was some, Charles Barkley, the night before, went down to Atlanta and said, I mean, not Atlanta, Alabama, and said, we have to be better than this. And he got out the vote and made a difference. I didn't know that was Charles Barkley.

Yeah. I don't know. Okay. And remember, 20 years ago, Charles Barkley was a guy saying, I don't want to be an idol. I don't want to be a role model. I don't want to be a role model for your kids. Wow. Evolution.

Which, guess what? Everybody can. Everybody can. I don't know what I'm going to say everybody. A lot of people came. I let you go. Everybody has a potential, too. Potential, yeah. Before I let you go. No, no, this is just going to open.

No, what? What? No, because she can come back and, you know. We got it in a vet. I thought we should have her back for our year-end episode. Would you do a drunk episode? Well, the year-in episode, we just have alcohol. Oh, God. Actually, wait a minute. I've been with Steph when the drink's been poured. No.

We could. I think we need to do a drunken episode with Rachel. Oh, Rachel and Stephanie. That would be something. All right. Rachel's starting to speak to me in the elevators now. Oh, no, Rachel, is she saying? I've been hearing about how good she is at pouring drinks. I just, you know, want to find out for myself.

Find out for myself. No, she is very good at that. Is Rachel single or she's still married? She is not single. Okay, she's still married. Nice. They've been together for a long time. That's great.

All right. All right. Thank you. Thank you. And your show airs when? 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. Eastern Dan and time. She's about to walk out right now.

Yeah, this one being to be. Could you say that one more time? because you got interrupted. 9 a.m. Monday to Friday, 1 p.m. Monday to Friday. On what network? MSNBC. Thank you very much. Hey, by the way, I know our audience can't see this,

but these Tate's cookies, have they been here since? Yes, they've been here the entire time. Those are courtesy of the Sugar Network. What's the Sugar Network? Oh, no, no. No, no. We are fading out. Ladies are going to have a boss bill.

I'm Babe Bill. Zara. Sugar's theme of the Sugar Network. Hey. It's Laia and Fonigolo and Stephanie Rule. It's Questlove signing off. Only on Pandora. We will see you on the next group around.

Thank you. Questlove Supreme is a production of I-Heart Radio. This classic episode was produced by the team at Pandora. For more podcasts from IHeart Radio, visit the I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows. 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, 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, unfilled 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 Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok podcast. Podcast Network on TikTok. This week on the Sports Slice podcast, it's all about the NFL draft, and we've got a special guest. The director of the NFL's East West Shrine Bowl, Eric Galko, joins the Sports Slice podcast to

break down what really matters when evaluating draft prospects. From hidden traits teams look for to the biggest mistakes franchises make to the players flying under the radar, this is the insight you won't hear anywhere else. If you want to understand the draft like an insider, you don't want to miss this episode. Listen to the Sports Slice podcast on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slica Life 12 and TikTok podcast network on TikTok. In 2023, Bachelor star Clayton Eckerd was accused of fathering twins. But the pregnancy appeared to be a hoax.

You doctored this particular test twice, Ms. Ellen's, correct? I doctored the test ones. It took an army of internet detectives to uncover a disturbing pattern. Two more men who'd been. through the same thing. Greg Gillespie and Michael Mancini. My mind was blown. I'm Stephanie Young.

This is Love Trapped. Laura, Scottsdale Police. As the season continues, Laura Owens finally faces consequences. Listen to Love Trapped podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.