Ep. #725: Ezekiel Emanuel, Douglas Murray, Paul Rieckhoff
58m 10s
The HBO podcast "Real Time with Bill Maugh" blends excitement over the Artemis 2 moon mission with sharp criticism of current U.S. foreign policy and domestic leadership. While the lunar mission symbolizes hope and technological progress, the hosts argue that this optimism is undermined by the chaos of Trump’s rhetoric, erratic foreign interventions, and the erosion of international trust. The discussion centers on the failure of military actions in Iran, which did not eliminate nuclear ambitions and instead alienated allies and damaged America’s global credibility. Experts highlight the moral complexity of political actions—such as supporting authoritarian leaders like Viktor Orbán or allowing complicity in human rights abuses—while emphasizing that real progress often comes at a cost. The podcast also underscores the importance of human connection, arguing that socialization is the top predictor of health, and warns against over-reliance on pseudoscientific wellness trends. Critically, the show questions the legitimacy of idealized narratives around public figures, using cases like César Chávez and Mohammed bin Salman to illustrate how good actions and bad ones coexist. Ultimately, the episode calls for a more grounded, morally responsible, and socially conscious approach to governance—prioritizing human well-being over spectacle, war, or empty promises.
Welcome to an HBO podcast from the HBO late-night series Real Time with Bill Maugh. Thank you very much. How are you doing, people? Thank you. I know it's very exciting because it's four o'clock here, Pacific Time, or about an hour from the Splashdown of Artemis 2. Thank you. Thank you very much. I know why you're. I know. All right, we've got a big show. And I think everyone on Earth, we have the same question for the astronauts. Do you have any gas? No, I mean, at a time when there's a lot of tension going on here on Earth, this is kind of the feel-good story that has everybody excited, everybody wherever I go. Bill, did you see the photos? Yeah, I saw them Earth as I've always seen it. I'm sorry. I don't mean to be the wet blanket on the moon. I just don't get it. I mean, everybody's like, you know, if we're on the moon, we can get to Mars. I don't want to go there either. Okay. There's nothing out there except other rocks. Let's fix the shit show here on Earth. But I will tell you this, when the astronauts get back, the world will look so differently than when they left a week ago when we had won the war in Iran. Well, actually, we have a ceasefire. We have a ceasefire. Whatever that means, yes. We came to an agreement with a rent. We agreed to stop bombing them and they agreed to stop being bombs. You know, it's kind of mutual. Well, this happened after Trump. Trump, he runs this war by his posts, you know, and he posted that he was going to wipe out their whole civilization. And he said, you know what? I am not bluffing. Did you see what I did to Atlantic City? Oh, I did the president. Oh, no, this guy, this Trump character, he ain't playing here. I mean, he also posted on Easter. He posted, "Open the fucking straight." That's not my fucking, that's his. Open the fucking straight, you crazy bastard to be living in hell. And then he finished it by writing, "I swear to God, praise be Allah." That was just to appeal to Gen Z. But, you know, it's still all about this straight-of-hormose, when we get all the oil, we need the oil. And, you know, apparently this agreement we have, we have to save face and not, you know, kill everybody in Iran by pretending that it's open, although it's kind of not. Iran is charging a toll. It's two million dollars to get in. Same as Disneyland. So, but I have no fear, JD Vance, vice president, wait, he's on his way, or maybe I guess he's there in Pakistan, to work out a deal. That's where they're having the peace deal over there in Pakistan, and with Vance out of the country, Speaker Mike Johnson, becomes second in line to kiss Trump's ass. So, that's an important part of the effort. But, yeah, that's who's at the table over there in Islamabad, Pakistan. Vance and the Iranians, and I guess it's hard to sit across from the table with, you know, people who have called Trump reprehensible and an idiot and could be America's Hitler. And that's just JD Vance. So, who said those? I'm not making that up. Oh, boy, I tell you. Trump is really getting it from both sides now. Of course, the Democrats, you know, they don't talk about impeachment again, but even on the right, Trump, some of his historically biggest supporters are abandoning him and criticizing him. Tucker Carlson, Megan Kelly, Candace Owens, Alex Jones, and Trump, he fired back at all of them this week. He said, they're people with low IQs. Stupid people. They know it. The family knows it. Everybody knows it. You know, he's right. They are. They're stupid people. They fell for his bullshit. How bright can they do? So, you know, things are so bad now in the administration that they're trying to talk about Epstein. I'm not making this up. Melania came out this week. Now, Trump says he didn't know she was going to do it. I don't know. But Melania came out and had a press conference and said, the lies about her Epstein must end. No one knew what this statement meant or why she was saying it now. But Amazon bought the rights to it for 78 million dollars. Oh, and then we were off this week. We missed this story. The case of Brian Nome, you know, Christy. Christy Nome's husband. Nice guy just trying to make a business in the insurance industry. I don't know exactly what, but he's a guy who likes to wear big fake tits. That's what we know as the Bible tells us. Today, the story proceeded. We found out the Adele email. Of course, Adele email. They released audio of Brian Nome's dominatrix. Apparently, he was very much the confidant of this. This is who we really talk to a lot of this dominatrix. And he had been telling her that he very much wanted to take the do the surgery and get the hormones and become a woman. He is now leading in the polls for the democratic nomination. And I feel for this case a nice guy at weird life, you know, because he wanted the big fake tits. But he also wanted to be humiliated for having him. That's what a dominatrix does. That you pay them to humiliate you. One time she told Brian Nome to drink from the dog bowl. And he said, "That's a little dangerous around here." All right. We got a great show. We have Paul Reikoff and Douglas Murray, but first up he is a bioethicist, oncologist, and the best-selling author of the new book. Each her ice cream, six simple rules for a long and healthy life. Dr. Ezekiel Emmanuel. Dr. Ezekiel. How are you? How are you? I'm good to see you again. All right. How are you, Dr.? How's the doctor? The doctor is great. Really? Yeah. And my brother will tell you he's my doctor, so that's the proof. Okay. Well, we'll talk about your brother later. So, you were involved before I get into the book in Obamacare. I mean, that's how mostly we know you. You're one of the leading people we see on TV talking about health matters. And you worked very much on the Obamacare system. Yeah. And that's certainly been in the news a lot lately. People lost coverage. A lot of people also say the coverage kind of stinks. I'm sure there's a lot of blame going to either side about that. Where is Obamacare? What do we need to do? We're starting off politically, then. I just, well, Obamacare. I mean, come on. That's people's lives. Okay. So, look, we got 25 million people in short. We saved the federal government through Medicare, more than almost $4 trillion. So, those were the positives. All that time, Republicans were trying to repeal it without a plan about what to do for people who didn't have insurance or for the cost in the country. And then Trump comes in and he gives a big tax pay. Some of that $4 trillion to the thousand billionaires in the country. And he throws a bunch of people off, Medicaid, and out of the exchanges. Do we need reform? 100%. I'm the first person to say the system sucks. It's broken. People say I never understood the concept of the deductible. And they say that I have Obamacare, but I can't use it. But I don't get the concept that, okay, I have insurance. They pay for things except when they don't. Yes. Except when I actually still pay for it. I need it. I don't get that. Right. It's meant to persuade you not to overuse healthcare where it's discretionary. The problem is, at $5,000, $7,000, it's not discretionary. It's stopped you from using necessary care. For people who have an illness, there should be no deductible. They look, I'm an oncologist. My patients don't decide whether they're going to get chemo or not. Whether they're going to get chemo.
I'm gonna get an MRI or not, I decide that. Why should they pay a deductible? It's crazy. (audience applauding) All right, so let's get to your book. That's all the politics that we're talking about. Well, I mean, it crosses over. The healthcare is politics. Yes, I agree. Why are you giving me anxiety about that? (audience laughing) So I can treat it and talk to you. Okay, but I mean. (audience laughing) Now, there's some truth. (audience laughing) I mean, a lot of what you say is common sense. And there's a lot of stuff that isn't so common sense going. I mean, I feel like the big thing for your book is anti-exotic. So many exotic tricks. I mean, I have this ring. The oral ring, do you, what? Yeah. Is it bullshit? It just increases your anxiety. Did I get a good night's sleep? Did I not get a good night's sleep? I mean, that's the thing. This is how I tell Bill, I get up in the morning. Do I feel well? Well, well, well, well. That's the amazing thing. I mean, sometimes it says I got a good night's sleep, but I don't feel so good. And sometimes I feel like I got a good night's sleep, but it says I don't. And then I got this thing, you know, this mattress, I figured what they call it, I just got it and you're humorous at it to me. It's like it fills with a little bit of water and adjust your temperature while you sleep. You know about these things? No. Okay. I use a regular mattress. I know, but sometimes. I mean, I think it kind of did help, but, you know, sometimes it doesn't agree with the ring. (audience laughing) So now the bed is arguing with the ring and I'm arguing with both of them. That's why I don't recommend using the ring, right? Some people find it helpful. You know, some people are quantitative, they went to MIT and they actually think all those numbers mean something. I mostly don't think that. Right, I mean, if you feel good, when I don't get enough sleep, I feel like shit. Exactly. You're thinking it's clouded, right? You don't have any energy? You just feel like shit. Okay, you don't feel like shit. That's a very technical term, I know. And I feel like, especially when you live out here in California with, you know, the people. I mean, if I did everything that everybody suggested I do, I would do nothing all day. That's right. No, seriously, I'd get in the cold plunge and I'd do the sauna, then I'd, of course, walk barefoot on grass. And what about the red light? And the red light? The red light, dude, some red light therapy, of course. And the pet time? Oh, absolutely. Meanwhile, Keith Richards is fine. (audience laughing) It's serious, you know, I mean. Well, that was the main reason I wrote the book. First of all, lots of people ask me, what should I do? Should I drink alcohol, not drink alcohol, what diet, et cetera? So I wanted to give people advice. And the second thing is to say, all these people who are giving you this tons of information and making you obsessed about it, forget about it. It is common sense. It's six rules, right? Don't be a schmuck. Don't do stupid stuff, right? Have friends and talk to friends and talk to people you happen to meet. You're barista, you're a Uber driver. Keep your mind mentally sharp. Do things that are gonna challenge you to keep your sharp because you don't wanna be demented. Eat well, right? Exercise? Well, three kinds of exercise? Eat well. The name of your book is Eat Ice Cream. Yeah. (audience cheering) Ice cream is very good for you. It's not. It is. It's sad. Oh, look. It's a study. They did a study in 2014 and the thing that prevented type 2 diabetes the most, ice cream. Plus, it makes you happy. (audience cheering) I've been at ice cream in 30 years. I can be happy without ice cream. You can? Yes. Most of us love ice cream. Okay, good. And we should indulge. Okay, well, but that's, it's a, (audience laughing) No, that's a bullshit argument. You know, yes, I mean, everything is a trade off between present happiness and future happiness. I agree. When you have the ice cream, you're happy and the present. And you are going to pay a price in the future. Let's talk tonight. Of course, there's no penalty for eating shit and fat and sugar. Oh, no, no, no, no. It's sugar. It's full of sugar. Sugar's the worst thing for you, Doc. I totally agree with you. Except it's sugar with dairy and dairy. That is bad too. I'm a dad-of-driven guy. Everything in that book is supported by data and by studies. Okay. That's why I put it in the book. Because it is counterintuitive. It is got sugar in it. And it's got dairy, including saturated fats. And it turns out it's actually good for you. Well, look at us a lot of sugar, too. Is that good for me? No, well. (audience laughing) The answer to that. That actually turns out to be complicated, which is why I said yes and no. So, the fact is, it can be good for you if it lubricates your social interactions, which are very, very important. (audience cheering) Uh, it's not good for you. Wait a second. It's not good for you. You overcame my social interactions. I might say, "I tried rubbing it on the kind of it doesn't work." (audience laughing) Okay, I agree with that. Too much of it is not good for you. I've caused us cancer, liver disease, dementia, not a good thing. I've seen studies in the past. Like, two drinks a day is good for you. It's misleading. That's too much. Whatever it is, the point of it is, zero percent of it is actually good for you. It's poison. There used to be a fucking skull on the bottle. Okay, but what the guy trained off. The guy who comes home from work and he's like this. And he's so tense. If he has a couple of drinks. It might be helpful to talk to someone about that, too. Well, but I'm saying, he's not going to die of that kind of anxiety. The drinking can be helpful, but it itself is not. Okay, we agree on that. Let's go to the other thing that you said is like the number one predictor, which is very surprised. Maybe I shouldn't be, because in this day and age, with cell phones and everything else and people losing contact with humans, you say the number one predictor of good health is socialization. Yeah. You know, like, dining solo now is like something you see more than ever. Half the meals are eaten alone in the country. And especially among young zers, they have like 80% of them eat a majority of their meals alone. It's a disaster. We have, when from 7% of the population having zero to one friends, close friends, to almost 20%, tripling in three decades. That's a disaster. People don't know how to relate to other people. They don't know how to make friends. They don't know how to talk to friends about things that matter to them. And it is the most important thing for a long, healthy, and happy life. And it's just getting worse, 'cause I mean, I don't see that a lot of the kids want to change. I mean, there is a movement. Some of them to get rid of social media. And that's great, and get rid of the phone. One guy. [LAUGHTER] And we know that's correlated with better mental functioning and feeling better. But for everyone I've heard about that, I've heard people say, "Chatchy P is really my best friend now." I mean, I've heard that was exactly what-- That is not good. No, it isn't good. And it actually portends really bad in the future. Because it's going to be bad. First of all, bad cognitive functioning and bad mental health. And we actually have things we can do here, Bill. We have to protect our kids. They're the most important thing in our society. And one of the things we can do is get rid of phones from all schools all across the country. We're doing it. We'll find the honor way to do it. We'll find the way to do it. Yes. And we have to throw a little bit social media. Last thing, I mean, you look like you're very healthy. How old are you now? Do I have to reveal that? OK, look. We're about the same age. I'm 68. OK, so you said when you were 56, you didn't want to live past 7, 7, 5. So you got seven years and then-- No. What? What I said is I didn't want any medical treatments that the purpose of them was to keep me alive. But if I broke my hip, I'd want that fixed. If I got glaucoma or a cataract, and I couldn't see, I want that fixed. So yes. OK. And you don't believe in retiring, right, because-- Right. Bad idea. Your cognitive function, it's a bad idea. But what about people who can help it? I mean, what about people who they work on eventually retire? And my point, actually, I make this point in the book in some detail. You have to plan your retirement, not just for the money, but for what you're going to do that's going to keep you mentally engaged. Where are you going to volunteer? What hobbies are you going to take up? What are you going to do with other people? How are you going to keep your social network? So what we don't do in this country, we always think about the money, the money, the money. Well, you have to think about it as the brain, the brain, the brain, because that's what really deteriorates when you retire. And you have to actually think it through and plan it. That's one of the recommendations in the book. All right. I have done it. And I'm going to be doing a lot more social networking. That's a great experience. Dr. Ezekiel, a man you're well, ladies and gentlemen. All right, let's end our panel. Hey, hey, guys. OK, here's a national security and political analyst founder of independent veterans of American host of the podcast, independent Americans with Paul Reikov. Paul Reikov is over here. [APPLAUSE] And he's a New York host contributor and best-ordering author of on democracies and death cults, Israel and the future of civilization, Douglas Murray. Thank you, CEO, man. Perfect panel. Let's just have three guys talking about war. I'm going to grow fast here. Guys talking more, because that's what everybody's thinking about now. You and I, I think, were on the same page when this started six weeks ago. I mean, we thought it was the right thing to do to take this shot now, to do with the ran once and for all, not just because of the nukes, but it's
that they did say in their own negotiations that they were weeks away from having 11 bombs. To me, that was pretty clear. Not to mention what they do to their own people, and we just don't think jihadists and people who believe in martyrdom can have nooks. Okay, so I thought it was worth taking the shot. Six weeks later, I think we're at a different place 'cause I read your column today. You think we gotta finish this no matter what it takes. I was never on that page. I was on the page, this is a great opportunity. Hey, we see them all in one place. We can wipe out the whole leadership at once. It looks like they're ready for an uprising. Take the shot, ma'am. Take the shot. Mm-hmm. We did it, and it didn't work. Now what? Do we cut and run, or do we stay the course? I hope Donald Trump is the abandoner. He's always been. (audience laughing) I hope he is the guy who has never not abandoned anything his life except his love for tariffs. And I hope he does what America always done. These people say, "We'll get a reputation for cutting." We always cut and run. We did it in Vietnam. We did it in Iraq. We did it to the courage. We didn't have Afghanistan. We didn't pay room. That's us. No lifeguard on duty. If you get in with us, we are going to fuck you. Okay, and that's Donald Trump. He's an asshole, but he's our asshole. Douglas? (audience laughing) (audience applauding) I disagree. I disagree because I think one started, you have to finish this. I don't agree that it's failed. It's been an incredibly successful operation in lots of ways. Supreme leader, dead, Iranian Air Force destroyed, nuclear sites attacked again. The Navy of the Iranian Revolutionary Government at the bottom of the ocean. These are not small things. No. It's not the case that the Iranian Revolutionary Government has come out of this well. I know some people are wanting to say that after four, six weeks of war, this is some kind of loss for America. It isn't. It's been an amazing strategic success, but everyone wants to know what the out is. Now, there are several problems about that. The first is that at the beginning of this, there was a belief, a hope that the Iranian people might seize the opportunity to rise up and overthrow the government. The fact is that that hope was always marginal because, as we always know, when a dictatorship like the Revolutionary Islamic Government has the guns and the population doesn't, you're asking the population to do a hell of a thing. That didn't happen. The regime is still in place. It doesn't mean it's going to be in place for perpeturities. It's perfectly possible it could still be toppled in the coming months by the people. But the crucial thing is, is the main objective of the war achieved or not? And the main objective is not just can the government and Iran get nuclear weapons in the foreseeable future, but can they, in some future presidential term in the US? As I see it, that has to be addressed. Simply whether or not the Iranian administration, the government there, ever has, in our lifetimes, the potential to have breakout to nuclear weapons. My belief is that this is the one shot to make sure they don't, that the opportunity to make sure that the Iranian Revolution government doesn't get weapons is seized now. But then we would have to put boots on. No, it doesn't. There can be any people making sure of it. No, no, it's said, let's tell you. Holy shit, where to start. Oh, my God. [APPLAUSE] Here we are again, Bill. Right, talking about another unpopular war in the Middle East that most of the country doesn't support. And people that I served with, and folks that I know, are going to continue to go and fight and die while a lot of the country lives life uninterrupted. There is a re-emergence of a new generation of chicken hawks, people who have never served, people who don't have kids in the military, and they're happy to send our men and women to die in a war in the Middle East, but hold on, hold on. You found, I guess, the one guy outside of Pete Hegg says, who thinks that the last two weeks has been a victory. This has not been a victory. I'll give it an incomplete at best. They had a series of shifting rationales, but none of the rationales, and even they put forward, have been achieved. The straight of our moves is not open. There is no securing of the enriched uranium. And the military still has some pretty sizable capacity. But I think the bigger issue here, right, is Donald Trump can do anything he wants with the most powerful military the world has ever seen. And nothing is stopping him. And it's not just about Iran. So you have to ask yourself, are you against the war in Iran? Are you against forever war? Because he's not stopping with Iran. He's all gas, no brakes. He's already talking about hitting Cuba. He's already floated the idea of Colombia. He's hit over eight countries and counting. And he wants to put federal troops in places like Chicago and New York. And there will be no days off. He is not going to stop until he stops. Let's stick to it. And most of the country wants to stop. But they aren't Chicago, but it's a whole different issue. No, it's not a different issue. No, no, it's really important. It's really important. It's not a different issue because this is the plan. 2025 was about dominating America. 2026 is about dominating the Western hemisphere. And that includes, in his vision board, places like Greenland, which he's now talking about again. So we have to, at some point, ask, will Congress step up? Will anybody give him any guardrails? Or they're just going to let him go? They've been like mall cops. They're not slowing him down at all. And he keeps going forward. And nothing is stopping. Oh, we have to ask ourselves, what will stop? We'll see. Just to focus on the nuclear issue again for a moment. It has been the consistent policy of democratic and republican administrations in this country that the Iranians shouldn't be allowed a nuclear weapon. Firstly, because they're about the only regime on Earth that would like to use one and seize mutual issue or destruction as a rather attractive proposition. And secondly, because we know that the whole Middle East would go nuclear after they go nuclear. So if we just remain inevitably-- No, it's OK. Let's say it's a bad-- We can fear them. Everybody's going to get it in the notes of the problem. But the news are still there. You've got the news in the world. If you missed dangerous reach and getting the world's most dangerous weapons, would be very undesirable. I agree with that. I agree with that. But here's the one-- Here's the one who can do something about that. America. He took his shot, and he missed. And so how many more shots are we going to take? That's what I'm saying. How many more shots are we going to take for a listen? And I think-- and I would have heard you. If he was going to take-- you can make it already. I don't want them to have a nuke. I do not-- you know, the regime is awful. I would be happy to see them removed and the threat removed. The question is, can you achieve that objective? And he has failed in achieving that objective. And there's a right way to go about it, to get the country behind it, to get congressional approval, to get an alliance of allies who can stand with us, to have a country that has the stomach for what might be a very long fight. And the biggest mistake a president can make is to send troops before they commit a country. And the country is not committed, but our troops are. And every time that happens, it leads to disaster. From Afghanistan to Iraq to Vietnam. This is also an individual admirable mission. But if you can't get-- you have the most powerful military of the world's ever seen. But if you can't get the country behind it, he's right, that they will quit. The first thing is-- look, everyone wants success. Everyone wants it to be a short-sharp war. And it hasn't been that yet. It doesn't mean that after six weeks, we can say this has been a disaster. The one thing I would add to-- I didn't say there's ever one thing. OK, the one thing I would add to that is international alliances. Don't bet on it. Every European country. Don't bet on it? Look, every European country. We bet on it every time, and every time it's a short-sharp war. Every single European country has the same policy this one does that the Iranians shouldn't be allowed a nuke. What have they done about it? Nothing. The German Chancellor said last year, when the Americans in Israelis last went into bomb, the reactors. He said, our policy in Germany is that the Iranians shouldn't get a nuclear weapon. But the Americans are doing our dirty work for us. Now, that's an ally that you want to get on side. No, they're on side in principle. It's just they're not going to commit anything. It's only America that is-- It's the fact that you shit on our allies and pull out a NATO. I don't think you should-- That's what the president wants to do. That's what the president wants to do. If you go into a bar fight, there should be any shipping. If you go into a bar fight, you need every friend you can have. And he's throwing away a most valuable friend, including the Ukrainians. He's pushing away Ukraine. He's denying support for Ukraine. And Zelensky today said that the Ukrainians have shut down threats that would have killed Americans. So let's focus on-- I have one on Ukraine. One on Ukraine. Let's focus on getting friends if you're going to go into a bar fight. And that's another reason. He failed, because he's been a strategic failure, and he hasn't assembled the resources to do the thing that he wanted to do. He has assembled resources. You've got the UAE. You've got even Qatar. You've got the Jordanians. You've got almost every other country in the region. Because the Iranians have been throwing-- You think Americans soldiers feel great about that? They don't have the British. They don't have the French. They don't have all of them in the United States. All of them in the United States. And you've got the Italians denying us airspace, the Spanish are denying us airspace. The whole world is pissed off at us. And so you help-- And so you help pissed off at you. And most of the world is pissed off at us, and it's going down by the day. He is destroying the trust that has been built over generations, and he's taking the reputation of the American military down with him. When he says he wants conquests-- when he says today, when he says we want conquests. Right, we said we're going to take the oil. We are not more rotters. We are not mercenaries. When Americans send men and women to die, the only thing we ask for is a place to bury our death. I call them nothing else. Nothing else. Nothing else. And that's how it should be. But that's how it should be. That's how it should be. And the world does not trust him. So therefore they don't trust us. And no matter how admirable his goal is, the outcome matters. And right now, the outcome is not a victory at best it's incomplete. We're six weeks into it. So how many weeks is it okay? How many weeks is it okay? Can you answer that? Why? Because I'm on somewhat of the same page with you. I just think that this is the second time we have tried to do this in the Middle East. We tried it in Iraq. That was the wrong country to do it. Bush used to talk about we need to have a democracy in the heart of the Middle East. Pretending we don't have one called Israel. But OK.
(audience laughing) an Arab, a Muslim democracy. This is the second time we basically tried to do that, 'cause that's really the end game here. Let's have a democracy, an Arab democracy, that's not a theocracy in the middle of the Middle East. It just didn't work. Now we have what they called sunken-cost fallacy. In the, in the, a rack where they had that saying, don't go all the way to Baghdad, 'cause that's what George Bush's father did. I use it like in my regular life. People know what I'm talking about, but I just love the metaphor. I just don't, don't go all the way to Baghdad, you know? You don't have to marry him. (audience laughing) Just have fun, don't go all the way to Baghdad. I went to Baghdad, and Baghdad was the easy part. But securing the pieces, and here's the question. Well, this is what I think is the choice. Do we go all the way to Baghdad, like Bush, the second did, which was a mistake, or do we do what his father did with limited goals, and then, okay, sorry, we'll try it again in another 20 years. It's just not the right time now. As I said, it's not happening. These people are not giving up, and we're gonna be fighting the Japanese in World War II. That's the kind of tenacity they have, and it just is not gonna look good. Well, I want-- And the question remains, right? Who's gonna secure that country? Let's say you eliminate the nuclear. Let's say you remove the regime. Who are going to be the boots on the ground that are gonna provide security for the Iranian people? 'Cause I was in Baghdad, and I got stuck providing security for the Iraqi people. And right now, hold on. This is where you have to answer the question. They said it was gonna be the Kurds. That's not on the table. Is it gonna be the Israelis? No. Is it gonna be Americans? We don't know. NATO's not gonna help. So is there gonna be some free Iranian army that all of a sudden feels security is gonna rise up? Who is gonna provide security in the years that follow as they try to rebuild a-- I mean, that's-- That's a sweet, the law, but-- (audience applauds) It's all a question. I know who's he gonna be. I'm, because he's not gonna be-- I'm arguing from very, very specific thing, which is to try to make sure that they do not get nuclear capacity. Which is how nobody could be easy for. And, okay, so that could be easy for us. So why, having started it, why don't we finish that part? What is finished and look like? Make sure that in our lifetimes and in the foreseeable future, they do not have the ability to break out and make-- Because to reach that goal is just too high a price. That's why. To reach, I agree with the goal. And we tried it, and if-- To pay the price of only a six-week war, with just aerial bombing, and then the people rise up, I was all for it. The price for this is going to be incalcable, but I have to move on, because I have to quote Trump's Easter. (audience laughs) (audience applauds) Post on Easter, this is so interesting. This is on Easter now. And I'm not a religious person, but still. Open the fucking straight, you crazy bastard, or you'll be living in hell. And I realize like, this happens like almost every holiday. And look back, upper center of this post, these are real. Memorial day. Happy memorial to all, including the scum. (audience laughs) That's meant to last four years trying to destroy our country. Christmas. Merry Christmas to all, including the radical scum. (audience laughs) That's doing everything possible to destroy our country. Thanksgiving. Happy Thanksgiving to all, including the radical level-- (audience laughs) So I guess it's not surprised that Hallmark is now putting out a series on Donald Trump holiday cards. Would you like to hear them? (audience cheers) For example, there's happy mothers day. We love our mothers, you are amazing. Even though giving birth is something a dog can do. (audience laughs) Happy Independence Day, or Sleepy Joe Biden calls it Independence Day. (audience cheers) Happy Veterans Day to all our amazing great American troops and also the suckers and losers who got captured or died. Succeed. (audience laughs) Happy Father's Day. Motherfucker. (audience laughs) (audience cheers) Happy Cinco de Mayo, otherwise known as May 5th, 1. (audience laughs) And happy Thanksgiving to all right-thinking Americans and even the lightweight losers who aren't thankful for me. Turkeys remind me of horrors like you on their backs with their legs in the air. (audience laughs) So there's just some of the Trump cards you can find in your aisle at the hallmarks. All right. All right, let's talk about another foreign policies because we could go on this all night and we don't want to board the people. Okay, so Victor Orabon, if people don't know who he is, he is the leader of Hungary, has been since 2010. There he is, great looking guy. (audience laughs) He looked, by the way, he does look and act exactly like the colorless commies that led that country all the decades before it was not, quote unquote. I mean, it's not a communist country anymore, but it's definitely a quasi-dictatorship. Victor Orabon is somebody who the Trump administration has always liked. And what's so interesting is Vance went over there to campaign for him. His quote was, Vance was, he said, we will stand up against the bureaucrats in Brussels. I love it, bringing the old Washington Insider campaign to Hungary, yes, those Belgian insiders. We gotta, fuck, we will stand up, bureaucrats in Brussels. Anyway, he fell in the polls, Vance went over there because he looks like he's gonna lose the election and Vance went over there to prop him up and promptly propped him down. (audience laughs) But here's my question for you, foreign policy experts. Okay, Russia always has loved Orabon. He's in their orbit, okay? I mean, as hungry was in the Soviet Union. And Russia is basically running his campaign. Russia is campaigning for him to win. And where campaigning for him to? We're working with Russia. I'm the same guy to win an election. I just don't quite get that. Anybody? (audience laughs) We are not working with Russia. And I think it's another example of how JD Vance does not speak for most of the American people. And I think it's very important, I think it's very important every day that Donald Trump says crazy shit that we talk to the world and say Donald Trump doesn't speak for most of America on most issues. But especially on issues like Ukraine and Putin and now Victor Orban. Victor Orban is a bad guy. He is the bad guy to the world. And we are losing support from a lot of people around the world. The Canadians no longer trust us. Half of Denmark thinks we're an adversary. And it's because our leaders, our elected leaders, JD Vance and others are standing with Orban, seem to favor Putin instead of Zelensky. And it's driving the entire world against us. We are picking the wrong side. - Okay, well he's sort of popular, and it's what you do with your book. And something I think we both believe in, which is another thing JD Vance said is, we will stand with you for Western civilization. Now he goes too far, Victor Orban, I think in some of his standing for Western civilization. But I think you and I both believe. There is such a thing as Western civilization. I remember after 9/11, if you said clash of civilizations, it was the beginning of the photo, that wokeness, where oh, you don't say that, that's Islamophobia. No, it was a clash of civilizations. The civilizations are very different, and ours is better. (audience applauds) And if you're not clapping, spend a week in a Muslim capital, you wouldn't last. Especially as a woman. - Just a guy, thank you. - Just a guy. - I agree with that guy. Just quickly, I mean, some people are pretending that this is unusual going and campaigning for another government. It isn't, American politicians have done this a lot. To people tend to criticize behavior like this, when it's supporting somebody they don't like. But I'm old enough to remember when Barack Obama came to the UK to support the then conservative government and its campaign will remain in the EU. Once again, that was an American politician going and lecturing a public about how they should vote. And again, it didn't work. The public actually voted more for Brexit, partly because Obama had shown that he didn't want America to be an ally if it didn't want to be such an ally to oppose Brexit Britain. So everyone always complains about this, when it's somebody they don't like that's being supported. But as you say, Bill, in the case of Orban, Orban is complicated. He did something in 2015, which I wrote about in the book, which was remarkable, which was at the same time that the mainly left-wing politicians in Europe were saying that all the borders of southern Europe were open to the world. A million of people walked legally into Europe. Victor Orban was basically the only European leader who said, no, we're a country of 10 million people. We cannot afford to take in the world's destitute. We can't afford to take in everyone from Sub-Saharan Africa, Africa, the Middle East, the Far East, who wants to come here. And he made a stand. And to this day, the EU penalizes his country a million euros a day because of that stand, because they will not take the migrants who've come in in the post-2015 wave. So as a result of that, some people, including me, said that he had a sensible policy when it came to migration. One of the problems with Orban is that, undoubtedly, since the war in Ukraine began, he's had a policy which I personally don't agree with. I suspect you don't agree with either. Which is-- well, it's based on two things in particular, which is, I wouldn't say that he's. pro-Putin, but he's certainly more friendly to putin than I'd be comfortable with. There are two reasons for that. One is that he has a very popular mandate with his people to keep Hungary away from the war in Ukraine. Remember, there are 200,000 of you Hungarian speakers inside Ukraine. It is literally right on their border. And they are a country who, twice in the 20th century, were rolled over by communists, fascists, and so on. So they want to keep out. He wants to keep them out and whether you agree with that or not, and I don't agree with it. It is popular with Hungarian people. The second thing is, his country is a hostage to, partly by his own design, a hostage to Russian oil and gas. And as a result, he does-- he's in a situation which, again, sensible countries shouldn't get themselves into being reliant on a dictator for your fuel supplies. But lots of countries have been in that position. They're in a particularly bad position. But those are the explanations from his point of view. Because I say, I disagree with all ban on the Russia policy. But on the migration policy, it has to be said that he did make the best decisions for his country. There's a reason why it's actually safer to walk through Budapest these days in many ways. And it is through central Berlin. Well, the Hungarian people-- don't seem to agree-- Don't seem to agree with-- Yeah, don't seem to agree. And he's likely to lose. And JD Vance is probably going to be part of that. And frankly, Hungary can keep JD Vance, because we don't want him. It's true, because JD Vance and Donald Trump have consistently stood with authoritarian and against democracy. That is-- you talked for a while. You talked for a while, right? There's a line here, OK? Either you stand with freedom, or you stand with war criminals. Either you stand with democracy, or you stand with authoritarianism. And they consistently stand with Putin and Orban and against democracy. That is the issue here. And everything else is secondary. And no, it's-- I just don't know how to handle that. Victor Orban has been elected four times in elections that are free and fair. you made free elections, but they're going to have a real free fair election, and you might lose, and then democracy will win and we need to be on the side of democracy, and not on the side of up there too. And Hungary is a democracy. And is Russia a democracy, do you know, all of Russia isn't a democracy. Russia isn't a democracy, Hungary isn't a democracy, if Victor Orban loses, as is likely, once again, it's going to be an expression of the democratic vote. It is a democracy, it's in the EU, it's a democracy. Don't pretend it's the same thing. It's talking about the principles of democracy. The principles of democracy. Yes, but if he loses, he loses. How about that moon? We can agree on the moon. Well, I don't know if you can agree on the moon. I like who doesn't like the moon. To look at it from here, a fan of the moon. Okay, I'm not a fan of going to the moon. The same question I've been asking since I was a kid. Why? Why is it worth the money? What are we doing there? It's just another big fucking rock. We could spend a lot, the money more wisely, I think. If we were closer to actually having some goal that we could reach out there in outer space, and by the way, it's not outer space. It's right next door. It's nothing. I looked this up from. Here's the universe, and we're on the moon. 250 miles away. I have more miles on Delta, by the way. We live in the Milky Way galaxy. It has 100 billion stars. Kids who didn't go to school. That's like our son. That's our son. That's our son. There's 100 billion of those just in our galaxy. There are 30,000 million, million, million stars. No, galaxies. 350 billion large galaxies. Each one with the 100 to 200 billion stars in it. What the fuck? You really think we're going to figure this out at any time period that matters? We can't even get to the next planet, and we wouldn't want to, in our own solar system. It's just something for rich people to do that's fun. It's fun. It's fun to look at. We're not really getting anything from it. I disagree, Bill. Tell me what we're getting. What we're getting right now is some of the only hope that we have in this country. Hope. Yeah, the Artemis team and NASA is giving people hope in America. Oh, I could say that. Maybe. But let's talk about the money. Our Artemis is going to, that's so fake. I ask you for a concrete thing we're getting out of it. You said hope. I do think that that support, but we're also getting the side, hold on, we're getting the side of the greater. It's not a great argument. We're getting the side of the big research. And as soon as they, as soon as they, as soon as they, as soon as they, as soon as they, what? How people live in space in their, say, we know that. We know that. We know they don't know that they never, they put farther than any human beings are ever gone. By 10 more miles. They've been to the earth. We've been to the, we've been to the, we've been to the moon many times. Let me just talk to you. We know. We know. It costs about four billion dollars. This is the first program. That's, of course, 93 billion. Right. Which is a hundred days in Iran. Okay. And, and less than 200 billion dollars, additional money they just have for Iran. Forget it. And then about. 500 billion dollars more. They want the defense budget. It's small in comparison. And I think we finally got American leaders that people respect around the world. Right. And look up to. And I do think the inspiration and hope that it's bringing to this country, especially to the young people, is absolutely critical. And I don't think it can put a price on it. All right. Thank you. Time for new rules. Okay. No, no, no. NASA must explain how Artemis II astronauts more than 250,000 miles of Earth are able to post selfies from their iPhones. And I lose my signal when I drive into a parking garage. Their phones work from the dark side of the moon. And my Apple iPhone won't even text to a Samsung. And it's literally called a Galaxy. There's your hope. And we all love Artemis too, but stop trying to tell me that going around the moon is a bigger deal than landing on the moon. I'm not saying everything was better in 1969, but yeah, some people went to Woodstock and some people drove past it on the way to Albany. There's my moon. All right. New rule, don't get on a plane when you're nine months pregnant. A woman this week gave birth on a flight from Jamaica to New York. And all the news shows treated it like it was a feel-good story. It's not. It's an act stupid story. What about the other passengers who just wanted to enjoy time with their emotional support animals? And the last straw was when she asked the guy in the next row if he could change seats so her family could sit together. You know, the baby. Okay. New rule, let's go back to using smoking as a way to tell that a character in a movie is anxious or upset because apparently the only other way to do that is to watch them throw up. That's a lot of puking Hollywood. And I want everyone out there, people around the internet. The next time an actor does it in a movie, you show this clip. You show this new rule. Actors in Hollywood, you have been put on notice enough with vomit. If you really want to show that shit just really got real, do what real actors do and punch your mirror. New rule Germans have to figure out a different way to say we're hiring. Yeah, I don't exactly speak German, but sorry, but we're sook and dick. Doesn't sound like you're ready to hire anyone. In fact, it sounds like you need the money more than we do. And finally, new rule, stop asking me how it is that bad people can do good things. Here in California, we've been busy lately scraping a name off every building in the state because famed labor leader Cesar Chavez turned out to be not the folk saint we had been told, but more like the Latino Jeffrey Epstein. Saint, he was more like a priest if you know what I mean.
(audience applauds) Officials here have been in such a rush to get his name off schools. Half the kids in LA now go to TBD Elementary. (audience laughs) Now, such a man, as Cesar Chavez, presents us with the age-old quandary of purists versus utilitarians, who are people who believe above all else, numbers matter. Chavez undeniably made the lives of millions better. So the question is, if you could go back in time and kill him to spare the young girls he assaulted, would you? A purist says yes. I say no, which is also what Dolores Huerta said. She was Chavez's right-hand aid in the movement, and also one of his rape victims. And she said she never reported his crimes because, quote, "The formation of a union "was the only vehicle to accomplish "and secure farm workers' rights, "and I wasn't going to let Cesar or anyone else get in the way. "The farm worker movement has always been bigger "and far more important than any one individual." That to me is pretty heroic. (audience applauds) But that's life. Being an adult often means choosing between two horrible options, like the food on United. (audience laughs) (audience applauds) But here's where someone always says, "Why can't we just have great deeds done by good people?" I don't know, because we live on Earth. Things are really imperfect here. I'll see you with the Michael Jackson movie. (audience laughs) Yeah, it's funny how when it comes to the arts, we seem to have no trouble separating bad people from the good stuff they do. Kanye, just sold out so far. He could perform on a floating swastika and his fans would say, "I don't support everything. "I'm just here for the songs about women obsessed with money." (audience laughs) Now, would it be great if all pop stars were pure and societal advancements were all led by an exemplary human being with a benevolent art and an incredible head of hair? Of course, but I only have so much time in the day. (audience applauds) Kids, do you know about MBS? No, that's not when older people can't shit, right? (audience laughs) No, MBS has Mohammed bin Salman. He's the crown prince of Saudi Arabia. And thanks to him, Saudi Arabia lets women drive now. (audience applauds) (audience applauds) And the fact that that isn't a plausible break tells you how heavy a lift modernizing Saudi Arabia is. Thank you, one person. (audience laughs) But he's doing it. On the flip side, he absolutely did order the decapitating of a journalist with a bone saw. Now, the purist says, "Get rid of him. "No compromise with wrongdoing." Yeah, Biden tried that. He wouldn't shake his hand. And he said, "He'd make the Saudis pay the price "and make them pariahs." He had then we remembered we need their oil and the price of pariah dropped through the floor. (audience applauds) Trump, of course, completely could give a shit about any of it and said to MBS, "Put her there "and as long as you're killing journalists, "have you met Don Lemon?" (audience applauds) So, kill MBS if you like. But just know, you'd also be killing the dreams of millions of Saudi women to not live like chattel. Because MBS is also the reformer who defanged the religious police there and let women leave the house without a male guardian. He allowed female students to carry phones on campus, although he might wanna rethink that one. (audience applauds) Now, do MBS's good deeds excuse the head-trapping? Of course not. They live alongside it. Or take MBS's big buddy, Jared Kushner, who, while he's America's negotiator and the war's going on in the Middle East, he also has billion dollar business deals going with the Saudis and Qatar and the UAE. Wow, this guy looks me, but he's got some balls. (audience applauds) Now, do I love it that the president's son-in-law wets his beak while doing the nation's business? No, but he's a millennial. Of course he's got a side hustle. (audience laughs) And also, maybe that's how business gets done in that part of the world. Yes, it reeks of corruption. But do I hate it that the top dog in Islam is bros with a Jew? I don't. I think it's great. (audience applauds) I think it's great progress that the Arabs would rather bribe Jews than kill them. (audience laughs) Questioner got the Abraham Accords done. That's a good thing, even if you think the wrong team did it. The Iranian regime has killed because they wanted to be free, thousands and thousands of women on purpose. We killed 175 by accident, horrible. But do the moral math, do the math math. People get killed in almost all big undertakings. Death is almost always the price for emancipation. But would you argue that our civil war wasn't worth the lives lost? Don't answer that Stephen Miller. (audience laughs) Thomas Jefferson had sex with a slave. And being a slave, it meant she could not say no. That's a rapist. A rapist wrote the declaration of independence. And somehow was also the product of the Enlightenment who invented a great country. Life makes no sense. Labor unions and democracies are founded by rapists. Women can be liberated by pussy grabbers. (audience laughs) Modernity can be ushered in by beheaders. I know, it's like finding out Tiger Woods teaches drivers ad. (audience laughs) (audience applauds) So, when I see people spouting slogans like peace, not war, unity, not division, I roll my eyes. Of course, this is what we all want. The adult question is at what price? Violence is never okay. Yes, it is. World War II got millions killed. But without it, people would still be hiring Hitler. Okay, bad example. (audience laughs) All right, that's our show I wanna. I guess we're right off Douglas Murray and Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel. Robert Endham drops every month and makes sure to catch our special 420 show. I'm 420 with Woody Harrelson and get it wherever you get your progress. Now go watch over Try My YouTube. Thank you very much. (audience cheers) - Catch all new episodes of Real Time with Bill Marr every Friday night at 10. Or watch him anytime on HBO on demand. For more information, log on to HBO.com.
Podcast Summary
Key Points:
The podcast highlights the excitement surrounding the Artemis 2 moon mission as a source of national pride and hope, contrasting it with deep political and moral tensions on Earth.
Trump’s erratic foreign policy and social media rhetoric, including inflammatory posts about Iran and Easter, are criticized as destabilizing and increasingly alienating both domestically and internationally.
Experts argue that the U.S. military action against Iran failed to achieve its strategic goals, such as eliminating nuclear capability, and instead damaged international trust and alliances.
A central theme is the moral complexity of leadership
The discussion questions the legitimacy of hero worship in public figures, using César Chávez and MBS as examples of how good deeds coexist with wrongdoing, challenging purist views on morality.
Social isolation and declining human connection are identified as a major threat to public health, with the book by Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel emphasizing the importance of social interaction over exotic wellness trends.
The panel warns against unchecked foreign interventions, especially when driven by unapproved leaders, citing historical failures like Vietnam and Iraq as consequences of lacking public and international consensus.
The show critiques the idea that space exploration is a noble pursuit without tangible benefits, arguing that resources would be better spent on solving domestic crises and human well-being.
Summary:
S. foreign policy and domestic leadership. While the lunar mission symbolizes hope and technological progress, the hosts argue that this optimism is undermined by the chaos of Trump’s rhetoric, erratic foreign interventions, and the erosion of international trust.
The discussion centers on the failure of military actions in Iran, which did not eliminate nuclear ambitions and instead alienated allies and damaged America’s global credibility. Experts highlight the moral complexity of political actions—such as supporting authoritarian leaders like Viktor Orbán or allowing complicity in human rights abuses—while emphasizing that real progress often comes at a cost. The podcast also underscores the importance of human connection, arguing that socialization is the top predictor of health, and warns against over-reliance on pseudoscientific wellness trends.
Critically, the show questions the legitimacy of idealized narratives around public figures, using cases like César Chávez and Mohammed bin Salman to illustrate how good actions and bad ones coexist. Ultimately, the episode calls for a more grounded, morally responsible, and socially conscious approach to governance—prioritizing human well-being over spectacle, war, or empty promises.
FAQs
The Artemis program aims to return humans to the Moon and establish a sustainable presence there. It's significant because it inspires hope, drives technological innovation, and demonstrates national pride, especially among young people.
Yes, the podcast argues that space exploration brings hope, advances scientific research, and fosters global inspiration, even if the immediate practical benefits are not clearly defined.
The podcast acknowledges that Obamacare has saved billions in government spending and expanded coverage, but criticizes its design—especially high deductibles—saying it often prevents people from accessing necessary care.
The book emphasizes common-sense health habits, including strong social connections, regular exercise, and mindful eating. Key recommendations include maintaining friendships, avoiding social isolation, and enjoying occasional treats like ice cream without guilt.
The podcast warns that social media and screen time are negatively affecting mental health, especially among youth, and argues that reducing phone use—especially in schools—could improve social skills and emotional well-being.
The podcast criticizes Trump’s foreign policy for being reckless, inconsistent, and divisive, including his inflammatory holiday posts and threats toward global allies, which damage international trust and undermine diplomatic efforts.
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