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Historically Accurate Cyclops

1h 13m 36s

Historically Accurate Cyclops

The transcription critiques the controversy surrounding Christopher Nolan’s adaptation of *The Odyssey*, which features diverse casting including Lupita Nyong'o and Elliot Page. Right-wing figures like Matt Walsh and Elon Musk launch aggressive attacks, claiming the film distorts historical authenticity and promotes "woke" ideologies, particularly around gender and race. They argue that casting non-Greeks in key roles undermines the mythological integrity of the story, while also using satire to mock the political figures who have faced similar criticism. However, the film is widely praised for its artistic success and thematic depth, with critics like Ben Shapiro noting its alignment with conservative values such as humility and moral consequence. The segment uses the film as a lens to examine broader societal issues, including political hypocrisy, systemic violence, and the dangers of hubris—particularly in figures like Trump, whose actions are compared to the fates of characters in the myth. Ultimately, the discussion highlights a central tension: whether artistic representation should serve historical fidelity or evolve to reflect modern inclusivity. The conversation concludes by asserting that myths endure not because they are factually accurate, but because they resonate with universal human experiences of justice, consequence, and moral choice. The episode balances political satire with deeper commentary on storytelling, freedom, and societal values.

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[MUSIC] [MUSIC] >> What's up everybody? Welcome to Love and Leave It Live from Hollywood. I'm John Loveett. >> And it must have smelled insane inside that horse. [LAUGHTER] We got a great show for you tonight. But first, let's get into it. What a week. [APPLAUSE] Four months, right wingers have been losing their minds over director Christopher Nolan's casting of Lupita and Yongo as Helen of Troy, an Elliott page as a Greek warrior in his adaptation of The Odyssey. It's so important to accurately represent the historic figure, Helen of Troy, who hatched from an egg after being fathered by Zeus in the form of a fucking swan. Here's right wing YouTuber, Matt Walsh. Nolan set out to subvert a classic, to bludgeon a monumental story with flat writing and incoherent creative decisions, along with the modern mandates of feminism, transgenderism, and anti-whiteism. >> If transgenderism gets its way, Helen of Troy will come back to Sparta and say, "I'm just Troy now. I no longer identify as Helen." [LAUGHTER] And Agamemnon is like, "Does that mean I'm gay?" And Troy is like, "This is Sparta. We're all fucking gay, bitch." [LAUGHTER] Here's one American news network. And it wouldn't be as preposterous, Dan, if they didn't subversively cast Lapita Nguongo, who is a, you know, she's a black woman, playing Helen of Troy or Helen of Detroit, whatever you want to call her. >> Yikes. I wouldn't win for herself. I was like, "I hadn't heard that racist fags voice." [LAUGHTER] Can I say that? I don't know. [LAUGHTER] How about this? If we let the most famous rapper from Detroit be white, we can call it even. [LAUGHTER] Walsh wrote on Acts Back in May, Christopher Nolan knows that he would be called racist if he gave the most beautiful woman role to a white woman. Nolan is technically talented, but a coward. Yes, Nolan will never understand true bravery, casting a beautiful white woman in a movie. [LAUGHTER] That famously brave act. Elon Musk responded to Walsh's post with, quote, "true," then went on to have a full meltdown over the film. But Elon Musk would hate Helen of Troy no matter what, since her face launched a thousand ships that didn't explode. [LAUGHTER] The richest person in the world who could spend his one precious life doing anything he wants to do. He could create a traveling carnival that sets up in the parking lots of children's hospitals that gives families in the midst of terrible trials, a wonderful afternoon. He could create a fund with $100 billion that throws off 10 billion a year in pure interest that could cover experimental treatments for people with cancer. He could choose an endangered species and save it. He could go to the dozens of liberal cities he hates and offer to close their budget gaps in exchange for policy concessions. He could build a university or a library or a museum or a network of public parks, but no. He's posting on the social media platform he bought, and I quote, "Chris Nolan has shown total contempt for the Greek people." [LAUGHTER] And Chris Nolan is an anti-white racist, and Chris Nolan is pissing on Homer's grave, disgraceful. And if that's a disgrace to Homer, just wait till Euripides finds out who Tyler Perry cast as Medea. [LAUGHTER] And you know what, Elon? You love Homer. You're such a big fan. And you want to make sure that no one pisses on his grave. But here's the good news. There is no grave on which to piss, because Homer is basically a mythical figure in his own right. It is like accusing someone of pissing on Santa's grave by not casting racially accurate elves. [LAUGHTER] Besides, there must have been a lot about the Odyssey that rang true to Elon Musk. Like a father not seeing his son for 20 years or accidentally being on drugs for a decade. [LAUGHTER] And you must identify with the Whirlpool Monsters, Carriptus, because it's a big hollow void that fucking sucks. [LAUGHTER] And then the movie came out. Not only is it a critical success, it is a massive hit earning $264 million during its opening weekend. More like my big fat Greek box office. [LAUGHTER] Even Ben Shapiro loved it calling it a masterpiece. To paraphrase Nicole Kidman, even woke feels good in a place like this. [LAUGHTER] Take me out of the film that there's a multiracial cast. If you want to make the case everybody needs to be Greek, to be authentic, I think you can make that case. If you want to make the case everybody has to be white, I think that that is a lesser case, because white people in Greek are not quite the same thing. It's such a good point, Ben. I'd also add, there's a fucking psychops. [LAUGHTER] Who I think is meant to be Portuguese. [LAUGHTER] Shapiro did complain about Nolan casting Elliot Page, but also told conservatives to get over themselves. If conservatives want to be effective in the culture, you can't just label the entire piece of art mad because a decision in the art is bad. I think the broader theme of the movie is actually very much in line with many things the conservatives think. And if you let Elliot Page kill that for you, I think you're missing out on it and an incredible movie-going experience. It's like how liberals don't let Kelsey Grammar ruin the progressive messages in Frazier. Messages like therapy and Seattle. [LAUGHTER] In a lengthy post on Tuesday, Shapiro defended the movie's Christian ethics, suggesting critics are, quote, "missing the biblical forest for the woke trees." For those unfamiliar, woke trees are what they cut down to print Tony Morrison's "The Blueest Eye." [LAUGHTER] All in all, a big win for woke, and boy we needed one, they really throw around the R-word in Toy Story 5. [LAUGHTER] At the same time, the right is furious about diversity. They still want to enjoy the fun, cool, exciting parts of it. The World Cup came to a close in the final between Spain and Argentina on Sunday, whereas Trump described the game Mexico versus Mexico. [LAUGHTER] And Trump, of course, tried to make himself the center of attention. The president joined Spain on stage after their victory despite attempts by both the players and FIFA president, Johnny Infantino, giant baby, to shoe him away. [CHEERING] Get the fuck out of there, fucking of. I don't want to see Trump anywhere near a stage. Maybe stage four. [LAUGHTER] [APPLAUSE] I don't know. I don't know. [LAUGHTER] So Trump wants to celebrate with Spain, but here he was at NATO just two weeks ago. I don't want anything to do with Spain. Cut off all trade with Spain, please. Including visits. Don't even talk to them. They're hopeless. Bad people. Here's a question. Why does this make me want to fuck Spain? [LAUGHTER] So Trump mocked Spain's Spain wins. He pressures FIFA to reverse a red card for the US and then Belgium crushes us. He wins the NBA finals and the next lose that game. There is a Trump curse. Everything Trump's hand touches ends up like his hand. [LAUGHTER] And it makes sense. All Trump has ever wanted is respect and admiration, but it only comes from those who are themselves unworthy of it. So his presence at any apolitical event hangs in the air like a fart. So you can see how Trump's support might drag a team down without believing he's angered the ancient gods. The Odyssey, on the other hand, is a story about the divine misfortune that follows you when you give into hubris and betray your moral code. It's also a story about getting all worked over sirens and strangers. Like who wrote this, a dog? [LAUGHTER] And every day we see the pain and horror that follows from Trump's violations of basic decency and judgment. And no, I'm not talking about this insane font he put on the side of the White House. Just last week, in Bitterford, Maine, ice shot and killed a 25-year-old father, Sebastian Doron Guerrero, a delivery driver from Columbia. This follows another killing by an ice officer in Houston of a Mexican homebuilder who had lived in the US for decades. The officer responsible in the main killing, David Brulette, has been accused of abusive behavior and violent tendencies by two ex-wives, which was documented in court records when he told one of his exes that he was hired by ICE. She thought he was having some kind of a mental health episode. Trump gave this guy a gun. The Republicans in Congress, including Maine Republicans, Susan Collins, funded hiring and arming him and letting him loose on our streets. And we don't really have any jokes about this. So here's an unrelated one. How many Greeks does it take to kill a Cyclops? Just one, but they're trans. [LAUGHTER] Meanwhile, Iran and the US are back at war. At least three US service members were killed over the weekend and Trump, with his trademark-tacted empathy, posted this to minimize the deaths, even as these families are grieving this terrible loss. He posted the death tolls of previous wars to make light of the deaths in this conflict. Imagine if your husband or wife or son or daughter was killed. And you turn on the television. You see the president at the World Cup. And then he posts how the death count is quite low actually and pretty good by comparison. Again, no jokes about this. A centaur and a minotaur walk into a bar. Ouch says the centaur. Who is trans? [LAUGHTER] Yes, right wingers are furious that Nolan didn't respect the historical accuracy and casting for a movie that also includes a witch who turns men into pigs. Not much of a witch if he asked me. Now let's see your turn men into human beings. Am I right, ladies? [LAUGHTER] Even if Homer was real, which he probably wasn't. And even if the Odyssey wasn't just a collection of songs cobbled together over centuries, which it probably was, you're talking about an epic poem written hundreds of years after the events it described. But it is endured, not just because we wish for a world where there is cosmic justice, where the morality of our acts is measured and the consequences carefully meted out by gods above. These stories endure. or because on some level, we believe we already live in that world. That despite all of life's unfairnesses, or righteous life, is on balance rewarded. And those who give into cynicism because everyone cheats and steals will find themselves conned and romped in the end. That when someone cuts us off in traffic, they will, one day, be eaten by wild dogs. Ordered liberty and democracy are at root and effort to build a society in which we don't need Poseidon or Zeus or Kings or Queens to keep score because we have each other. That's why Trump's violation of that order, carefully built and easily wrecked, is so galling. And it is why he is, and I mean this, cursed. But what about the rest of us? It makes sense that conservatives are furious about the Odyssey. It's a story that celebrates cleverness of restraint and humility and perseverance. A story at the heart of the Western canon, they supposedly revere, but it comes at a time when in order to be part of the conservative project, you have to abandon conservative virtues or any virtue at all. So Christopher Nolan, forget the haters. I love this movie, and I'm going to be the first in line for your retelling of the passion of the Christ, starring the great Sandra O. And O, have we got a great show for you tonight? W. Camel Bell, a Patrick Renner here, and we'll be right back. 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Plus, more Pots of America, including only friends and the only tabs newsletter, Dan Fightver's Polar Coaster, which does deep dives into polls, a discounted ticket to CricketCon and on-site perks, your subscription, help support pro-democracy media, you can trust. So please take a second and head over right now to www.cricket.com/friends, to unlock all the perks and if you're in LA, come to see us record this show live at www.cricket.com/events. We'll check out our new studio. We have a bunch of amazing upcoming guests. Please welcome to the stage. Finally, a voice of reason on this show. How do you come out, bell? Hi, nice to see you. A TV show in your house. That's right. That's right. She's interested. She learned. All right. Not a dog person. No, my family has a dog. I don't have a dog. There's a dog that lives in your home. That's the best way to put it. There's a dog that lives in my home. That is the same excuse that Alito used about the flag that flew in front of his house. That it was his wife's flag. So just thinking about it. And you didn't, did you take, did you agree with him then? Oh, wait a minute. So we're going there already. I just think, I just think if Alito does-- The dog was a window into is come out like Samuel Alito's. I just think if Alito has a flag, you have a dog. That's all I'm saying. If Alito has a flag, I have a dog. It's a good name for our speaking tour. I don't know. I'm with Alito. My wife. My wife has a dog. Just clip that. Just clip the part where he says, no, I'm with-- Samuel Alito on this one specific point. So see, I'm reaching across the aisle. Beautiful. It's beautiful to see. You performed your stand-up show at the Kennedy Center in February of 2025. I was right at that jump. That was the first show after he had now seen you taking it over. What was the first of all? What was the first one called a hero in a cell out in rapid succession? Wow. Well, you know, it could be both. Some hero's cell out, you know? Would you perform there again now? What was the vibe like there? What was the thinking? How do you feel about it now? No, I mean, so I found out-- First of all, no, I would not perform there now under any circumstances. But I found out he was taking it over on the flight to the Kennedy Center. So I wasn't like, I didn't have a lot of time to think it through. On the plane, people started dropping out off the Kennedy Center. But I think it's a stand-up committee in a very specific position, especially if you're like, I do in the tradition of stand-up comedy. I do where I can actually say things about the situation. I'm not a musician or an orchestra where you have to sort of just play your thing. So I was able to speak directly to power in the Kennedy Center. I called him everything but a child of God that night, so-- [APPLAUSE] It's the best for you I ever got from the New York Times, was that the Kennedy Center. It's cool. Normally, they hate me. Really? The comedy guy does. Why? He's not very smart. Oh. [LAUGHTER] Now, he doesn't have good taste in comedy. It's fine. He loves Lucy K. [LAUGHTER] Thank you. Over here. You get it. So speaking of tasting comedy, you wrote an essay on Substank about the Kevin Hart roast, which I thought was a very thoughtful look at what has become of the roast. And you talk a lot about how the evolution of this-- and I remember watching this because I remember when Comedy Central started airing the fire as clubs rose, and I love them. Because I felt like I-- someone who wanted to be in comedy. I felt like I was being let into this private world, so exciting. And I was in-- I don't think I was like-- I understood what was happening when all of a sudden the Friars Club brand fell off of it. And then it just became the Comedy Central roast, and then they became bigger and bigger. And it was less about friends roasting each other and more of just about a spectacle. And that culminated in this roast of Kevin Hart, just like, what was your feeling when you saw-- what did you think about it? I mean, well, you just-- the way you just said it is that the roast-- when you go to like the roasts-- so first of all, the roast started out as a fundraiser for the Friars Club in New York. So a small group of people, instead of just having a dinner to honor somebody, they would make fun of the person, and they all knew each other. And comedians were very good at it because we're mean to ourselves and mean to other people. So then once it started-- once it was televised, you have these roasts from the Dean Martin roast. It's still comedians who know each other and talking about each other. There's also celebrities, but you also start to notice that, like, if there's a black person on stage, automatically the white community is going to say this person is stealing things. This person is-- if it's Walt Chamberlain, he's having sex with my wife. There's all whatever, whatever. You start to see that it relies on very sort of old-school tropes of humor, stereotyped of humor. Then by the time you get to the Comedy Central roast, no longer are these people friends. The most famous one is the one, the roast of Chevy Chase, where he literally sat there with his sunglasses on for most of the evening and just looked like he was smelling bad things. Yeah. Yeah. By the time you get to the Netflix roast, it's just about, Netflix wants our eyeballs more than they want our respect. So it's just about the biggest spectacle possible. Think about the Kevin Hart roast. Think about the communities who weren't there. Chappelle's not there. Eddie Murphy's not there. It's not his friends. It's just the hired guns. Yeah. And it's obviously-- it's not like these older roasts. I remember there was a-- it might have been in one of the Dean Martin on a similar event. I think it's Rickles going after Muhammad Ali. Yeah. And it's brutal. Yeah, brutal. Yeah. And it works in the room for the most part, but only because there's no black people in the room. I think maybe other than Muhammad Ali and maybe I don't know who else. But you see Muhammad Ali kind of like question it. Is this White Man allowed to talk to me like this? Yeah. Doesn't you know I beat people up for a living? Yeah. Yeah. No, I think there's always that amount with the roast. And the more it gets outside of the room, like I have friends that I will roast. When we're hanging out with each other, but I wouldn't put it on stage in front of people. So I think that-- Right. And I think the idea that the roast comedians would say that this is some sort of essential part of comedy. And it's not an essential part of comedy. It is just a thing that happens. Yeah. I mean, there was a bunch of racist jokes, obviously, that drew a lot of attention. But there were also jokes about like really kind of, you know, jokes meant a shock about like Charlie Kirk. Yeah. It is the like-- the experience of saying the unsayable thing, the kind of like danger of that. And this is really the question I wanted to get you about this, which is-- There is obviously a difference between like there are people that were mad at Shane Gillis for certain jokes he told and then there are people mad at Tony Hingecliff for jokes he told Shane Gillis is very talented Tony Hingecliff is not does that difference matter even in jokes about that are have that are racist you know I'm saying does it matter if the person is talented is a matter that the joke is a better constructed joke even if it is a racist joke I'm asking if there's a dispute draw distinction even in the jokes they told that night between Shane Gillis and Tony Hingecliff. Well first of all let's think we had to agree that all of this is subjective yeah yeah you may think something is funny and I may think something is not funny and we're both right I think that's where the problem is is that we think our sense of humor is the sense of humor so would I want to be in there would they say come out tonight you're going to be roasted you get to choose between Shane Gillis and Tony Hingecliff I choose the bullets. I don't want to go to the roast at all do I have to go when did I be wrong I think the whole thing is sort of broken I can't wait to see who Netflix gets next year to do it because everybody who's done it so far Tom Brady and Kevin Hart has had to then afterwards explain how it hurt their feelings or how it caused them controversy I did a roast at my wedding my Friday night dinner was a roast and that sort of Netflix right it did not air on Netflix because those fuckers said no but the cannot get on television to say my fucking life but uh but uh but that's sort of I I enjoyed that it's all to sort of my king it's your friends but if they said we're here to roast you it's your it's your wedding also special guest Tony Hingecliff yeah and I and by the way I was disappointed with how anti-Semitic Shane Gillis was at my wedding uh beggars can't be choosing now I know you don't like roast jokes but I I like I wrote two roast jokes about you can I tell you them yes now I may not be as polite as Muhammad Ali but let's keep it let's go W Kamal Bell did you hear about this he won celebrity jeopardy here's the answer woke nonsense here's the question what is W Kamal Bell's sub-stack you got one person who enjoyed it uh according to his Wikipedia Kamal had a set to me so now he's shooting blanks at home and on stage how would you think of those those aren't good I mean I mean you know I don't want to put any writers down I mean I wrote them you wrote them I wrote those jokes in a room full of people who said I mean I guess yeah and I say now they're gonna work you guys bring them to punch these up he could because he knows because he knows me so he's so busy yeah now did we I believe you were you have roast jokes that were given to you that you did not write about me from the writers of this show yes which you can see see there's one person who wants a roast to happen everybody else is like can we move on to that yeah I'll read the roast jokes that are they here we have I just didn't want to take credit for them uh love it so white Elon Musk wanted him to play Helen of Troy in the Odyssey it's a good joke I might as well take this opportunity to roast Elon Musk too I would do that if Elon was any more racist sexist and anti-semitic love it would have endorsed him in the main senate primary you fucking assholes I didn't endorse this endorse no endorse look how much funnier these are because they know him see mine literally said your Wikipedia page says well because I did it kept I did them that looks down yeah yeah let's see love it this one's good I feel I know I'm doing this love it is so good it's so many things have only one of them were hosting a live podcast wow wow see again love it is really into Pilates which is developed by Joseph Pilates while he was interned in a prison camp can't wait to find out what exercise I'll invent by the time this show is finally over it's funny because I hadn't read it I was like where's this going that was a finger that's a cop that's a journey that one I liked it not so Pilates invented by a black woman who worked for him oh really yeah oh wow I didn't know I was falling for a Joseph Pilates propaganda you knew you know well you got it you got me I'm devastated you hosted a podcast called Denzel Washington is the greatest actor of all time and I was called Denzel Washington is the greatest actor of all time period and I love Denzel Washington and I just want to talk about how he's the greatest actor of all time in part because he does something that's very hard which is I feel like it was Brando who who said that like it's you can trick people by doing nothing and people think you're being deep but it's much harder to be big and like and Denzel is big and he's great like he's out Pacino Merrill Street they're like that they're these big performances and like Hollywood does favor a little bit more of the small I kind of kind of still face kind of but he's so big he's so good yeah also the they prefer the white faces yes for sure for sure they favor the white but I was okay so here's the thing if you want to say you want to the way you do the podcast is give me your top five favorite Denzel Washington movies in order from five to one I did I'm organically prepared for this and you will be judged great judge me judge me all you want I'm going to say fifth is Philadelphia I'm gonna say fourth is Crimson Tide I'm going to say three is training day I am gonna say did I say Malcolm X yeah you never said Malcolm I'm gonna say Malcolm X and so Malcolm X is two I kind of want to put that's a bold choice I you it's your list well I'm realizing I kind of wished I put did I say training day you did say training I kind of want to put training day above Malcolm X I kind of think it's a real bold choice I that's the kind of guy who endorses platinum I just did it adores didn't endorse just real platinum real platinum endorsing decision there yeah I like the angry criminal black guy over the black guy who's up lifting the black race you can't say anything these days and then it's funny because I feel like man it's hard to write so we so you have training day and so what's number one we haven't even gotten it it might be Crimson Tide is that crazy yes I just think he's so good in it I just read even the star of that movie yeah oh yes he is is I mean I guess he's a two hand yeah it's a two-hander it's a two-hander but so is training day now okay not in the way the training is a two-hander like the Harlem Globetrotters playing the Washington generals is a competitive game I guess what I'd say is that like if if that's a reference sorry I love like they say because here's the thing like Malcolm X made a huge impression on me but if like if the movie's on training day oh yeah even like man on fire Crimson Tide like I'm watching yeah I'm not watching it filled out he is on I'm not like oh let's sink in you know let's sink into Philadelphia Crimson Tide is a TBS classic yes yeah how'd I do you think that's I mean what's your list uh my list uh it's been a long time since I did my list so since I'm a true fishingado I'd name list I name movies that people don't really think about so we're gonna go uh I've never seen glory that's another platinum field I know I know I just want to confess it to you because I was it's like I just I was because I was when I was going through the idea I was like I never came back to glory what came out in 1989 I was seven years old and I never saw you never seen any movies before 1989 you've ever seen any movie before 1980 no I'm starting well I'm starting at the beginning so I've seen a lot from like about 1888 to like 19 oh you've moved up so you haven't seen the honest catch up yet you're catching up well that came out this yeah you're working from both in yeah yeah from both and hoping to feed that uh what's what's at in 1989 what's your fucking list uh number one is Malcolm X number two is uh man on fire as I know is a book of Eli oh yeah you know what I'm not gonna be yeah you are yeah you're right yeah uh number two is book of Eli number three is man on fire man on fire three is training day and number five is uh is a little known Denzel Washington we call out out of time oh out of time uh uh uh man on fire is great man on fire I think it's one there's there's he has errors of Denzel and when you become a I for me when you become a dad man on fire gets real good what I like with Dan Denzel Washington has something that is rare which is he can like man on fire with someone else I don't is it even a movie it could be a Jean-Claude van Dan movie yes someone else yes but you could put it in his hands and he like that that's actually almost like a different list list where like his presence courage under fire oh yeah that movie without Denzel Washington what are we doing here shut it down close the set we're done pelican brief is another one like those how well yeah enjoy rovers pelican brief is good I mean I'm not I'm not it's not on my list I'm just saying it like you know it makes him that's that would make him you know he elevates that uh we're right back hey don't go anywhere there's more of love it or leave it coming up love to leave it is brought to you by blinds.com imagine a home where the light behaves exactly how you want and you wake up on your own terms not the suns blinds.com is spent 30 years perfecting the window shopping experience back by 50,000 five star reviews and over 25 million windows covered we make it ever less to transform your space you are in good hands whether you go full DIY or use their license prose you're always in the driver's seat need a hand choosing your style book a free consultation with a blinds.com design expert today the leave and ship samples to your door fasted free choose from a huge variety of style options at prices that fit any budget everything is backed by blinds.com's 100% satisfaction guarantee because at blinds.com they only 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Your subscription helps us keep making the shows you love and building a media company that doesn't just talk about politics, but helps people change them. And if the mission sounds great, but you feel like you need some sweet subscriber benefits to get you over the finish line, we've got you covered. Subscribers get ad-free shows, plus excellent exclusive podcasts, newsletters, and much, much more. So thank you for listening and supporting what we do. Head to Crooked.com/FriendsToday to learn more and become a subscriber. [MUSIC PLAYING] And we're back. Now you have a podcast and sub-stack and live tour called The Who's With Me podcast sub-stack and live tour. And so in honor of that, we're going to do a segment we're calling Who's With Me. OK. And here's how it works. You stole my logo and everything. Honor Driloga. OK. All right. Here's how. Centrified my logo. So there's a little kid right there. Do you know the little kid? When did you get here? Have you been there the whole time? He's been here the whole time. I saw him because he was trying to look around the person in front of him, he was doing like this. I felt bad. It's my dad, my dad radar. I'm happy you're here. I just want to also honor your presence. Now here's how it works. We each have prepared. Takes that maybe they're a little controversial. Maybe they're just things we feel strongly. And we're just going to see if we're with each other on them. OK. So I'll kick it off with one. Astrology is just a religion without any of the work, which is why it's currently so popular. Astrology is a religion without any of the work. You get all the fun of the mysticism of their being in order to the universe given by mythical and cosmic forces, but you don't have to go anywhere on Sunday. There's no real moral code to follow. You can eat as much pork as you want. There's no boring parts of it. There's no boring-- there's no work. There's no responsibility to it. And that's lovely for people. But couldn't you say that that's because people are putting the work in that Astrology asks the way there's a lot of Jews out there who are eating pork and not going anywhere on Saturdays? Yes. All right. Being for the Bay Area, I feel like I can't put down astrology. I won't be able to get-- I won't be able to go to the farmer's market in Berkeley. Because I know astrologers who are deep and be like, no, what second were you born? You know what I mean? No, for sure. They've definitely put on-- I think people play the cycle. Yeah, they like to, like, into astrology. But there's actually-- you can go all the way in the same way you can with any religion. Well, you can definitely learn more and become more technically proficient in astrology. But it's not like-- it's not like as part of astrology. There's no buildings people go to once a week and gather and do food kitchens with their fellow astrology people. There's no-- Is it good that people go to buildings once a week? There's some of those buildings, ooh. I think it depends on the building. Yeah, exactly. Maybe it's better that you don't have a building. A lot of bad things happen. I'm not saying Christianity didn't live a big opening. I'm not saying they weren't-- Hey, listen, mistakes were made. Those are centers around LA that are buildings. I don't know if we-- That's true. That's true. That's true. OK, OK. Well, why don't you go? There should be more tipping in society. We should allow tipping in every profession. We should make tipping easier. You should be allowed to easily tip anybody the way you tip somebody to coffee shop. We should all carry around those screens that at the end of a conversation you just go. Like, if I had one at the end of this conversation, I'd be like, how'd I do? Well, while you're standing there, I feel like I'd hit the middle one. Exactly, fine. Good enough for me, yeah. So I think, here's where it came from. I was at a-- I flew into an airport. I got off the plane. I started to leave the airport realize I'd left my laptop on the plane. Yeah, and I've done that before and lost laptops forever. And I was like, ah, and so I went back and had to talk-- they go, you got to talk to this person, talk to this person. I found out this lady. She's like, wait here. Over the course of an hour, she kept coming back and checking in. Finally, she goes, your laptop's upstairs. I went in and got my laptop. I wanted to tip that lady. I wanted to give her-- I actually took $20. I was like, here, buy yourself some lunch. She's like, we're not allowed to take that. You're not allowed to take $20? Isn't this America? And so I feel like I just wish I'd been able to be like, boop. Right. But isn't it better a world in which the fact that you can't-- that she knew she couldn't be tipped but cared enough anyway in a world in which we're all caring towards each other is kind of tipping each other with kindness. That'd be great if we didn't live under American capitalism. But you're trying to add more-- you're putting more capitalism in there. I know, but we do live in American capitalism. And I'm sure she could have used that $20. Or she could have passed it under the next person. But here's the thing. So yeah, this is not like a person who has health insurance. For sure. For sure. There's no tipping involved, which I'm glad about. But so here's the thing. The problem right is not-- so obviously, giving someone money who could use the money is better than not giving someone money who could use the money. I'm also giving somebody money who you said, I really appreciate the thing you did. And so here's a couple bucks just the way to go. Hey, thank you for that. But if you're creating a circumstance in which tipping is an expected part of the income that people make in a job, you tipping generously is a kindness. However, what really matters is the average tip over time per hour. And as a result, what you're really doing, it's a tipping in our society is a wealth transfer from the people that pay salaries, from the people that tip to the people that pay salaries. But more importantly, from the generous to the less generous, the generous people subsidize the less generous people. That's all tipping ultimately results in, which is why to me, it's like the goal should be to reduce the amount of tipping in our society, generally. I would say until we live in a society where we all have access to health care, schools, safe neighborhoods, all the things we need in this society, I'll take a couple extra bucks if you enjoyed my conversation. You'll tip you. That's what I'm saying. I just think that we don't live in it. We're sort of saying, and because we don't live, because it would make things complicated, we shouldn't do it. Well, what I would say is, I agree. And I'm not saying she should make less money, because I'm not saying tips are mandatory. I'm saying that this lady makes whatever hurt, because she's clearly, if she's what unites, she's probably in a union, whatever, blah blah blah. And she makes what she makes. But also, you did a really nice thing, and I want to give you this $20. And she couldn't take it. I thought we lived in capitalism. I don't want to get rid of tipping and keep a world where people could desperately use the tips. But we should be having policies in which a culture that revolves around tipping is frowned upon in part-- Like, if you go to Australia, and they say, please don't bring your horrible tipping culture here, we take pride in paying a living wage, and we don't want to create the kind of perverse incentives that tipping creates, tipping creates terrible perverse incentives in an economy. And so I don't want to get rid of tipping, then figure out the details on the living wage. I want to figure out the living wage, and then live in a society where we move away from tipping. And until we figure out the living wage, I think we just give everybody one of those little screens. All right, fine. Because we haven't figured out the living wage. Because why should we live in shit? If we could, like, here's a little way to dig us out of that a little bit while we work on a basic income. OK, fine, I'm in. OK, great. Next up, we all heard food delivery based on a delusion, which is that it mostly arrives in good shape. When a reality almost always is disappointing, but we hang on to the idea that it won't be sushi as an exception. So you like sushi delivery? I do. You just argue against yourself in that little-- I'm being-- I'm showing nuance. OK, I'm showing nuance. I'm saying that we have an idea in our mind when it is toward delivery. And we know it's more than it would be if we picked it up or made food ourselves. But it's such a luxury, oh, how nice it is to get delivery. That's a lie. We tell ourselves that lives in the time between when we order and when it arrives. The disappointment we feel when we open the container to the mush that is contained within, where the cold is meat warm, and the hot is cold. You're almost saying frozen, the colder part of it. We blame the reasons that arrived in this way. But the occasions where it arrives as we hope are vanishingly rare. And so there is a delusion that's propping up all this delivery food. And I think it's time we face it. Are you with me? I have three children. So thank God, they can bring them here. me a half cold pizza sometimes and I don't have to cook for sure I feel I feel very like happy about the fact that like like my wife won't order ramen delivery because it's just there's no way to get it to you in a way that it's going to replicate what is this doing now you're doing like chemistry when it arrives yeah yeah yeah and and my wife won't eat sushi surprised me because the we will order sushi for the kids but we my wife is not a big sushi delivery people because it doesn't come as cold and all the things so so but I believe that like I will I will take I will take the quality fall for the convenience because I have three children and I don't have to cook that night okay accept that yeah but and also I tip them I don't I don't believe in that I tip them I tip them she's just like Alito get absolutely destroyed yeah this could be edited together be like no tipping no tipping no tipping no tipping uh do you have another one uh sure this one is more fun uh if white democrats don't get over their blind spots to white supremacy then the democratic party is doomed to always come in second when it matters I think it's specifically a jasmine crocket treatment after her lost Palestine and the grand plan story in addition to so many other things so uh and that's why I'm not saying racism civically I'm saying this bucket of white supremacy that includes misogyny misogyny war and racism and abelism and transphobia all these things if they don't if that white democrats specifically don't get over that then we're doomed uh okay great are you ready to unendorse grand planter is what I'm really saying just we just I did we did he was interviewed on the pie there's endorse grant but I'm not I'm not a candidate I'm going to endorsing main candidates um uh but I take your point yeah I mean there's the the interest anything in the platinum or situation though it's like there is a little bit now you know I there was a uh uh like trump serves a very a role in the republican party which is as long as you're for trump you have some flexibility right and there is increasingly a little bit especially on the left like if you have the like uh if you are against military aid for israel if you're seen as sort of with with you know in the right on israel you have more flexibility and there is more forgiveness there are a lot of people that I think were a little bit more forgiven a grand planter because he was coming at the party from the left right and but and so there's a little and so there's a little bit of like uh um there's a there's a little bit of tension even inside of the categories you have together that are kind of at little bit in a fight with each other yeah I just think that like when yes we want the we want candidates who think the right thing who think the things we want and support issues we want to but when people start to go when there's a the problem when people start to say I see some red flags and because you love to candidate so much or his issues you actually then ignore these other people who are trying to go I think there's some red flags here and that's the blind spot I'm talking about because those blind spots are like or things he did or things he is known to have done the people are like do you want and people like I just want the issues in there I don't care about the human and I think those and the when you don't want to care about the human you're sort of allowing a lot of of awful behavior that seems no different than what the Republican party does generally yeah yeah that's true uh I'm like I do my serious one I'll say it for another day I just did white supremacists all right I'll do my serious one which is uh legalized assisted suicide is a dangerous path toward a future where people feel pressure to not be a burden in their declining years but being a burden assumes that the active caregiving is purely a sacrifice it should remain illegal while everyone kind of looks the other way when a doctor lets people rip with the opiates I'm that's my I'm I'm not I have no I think everyone has to be cool with kind of being chill about it but we can't I mean that as a society we cannot have a policy in which it is legal the government cannot sanction uh people taking their own lives because it creates a perverse incentive in which people will the the slow steady creep of more and more people viewing as an option that is my great concern and I think it I think who you were who are you worried about viewing as an option like which the people who are the sick the people who are who want to be assisted suicide into other people who are the people who are like Mark did you die already well I think it's I think specifically I think I think it is about very old people who are declining not in good health feel like a burden to their kids worry about depleting the the money they want to leave to their their kids and it becomes kind of culturally acceptable to kind of hit the hit the old dusty trail a little early to kind of Irish goodbye earth so my mom is 80 89 years old so she is she's in the demographic you're talking about um thanks for bringing this up uh and I think probably like twice a week I have to talk her out of wanting to die just because she's 89 not that she she's not like she's just like uh it's just she's things have slowed down she knows her memories going and I have and then my job is to be like it's to sort of go there's a lot of things going on and every not again so I understand the idea that you get to a certain age and I've seen it with my mom of being like I'm just sort of tired of this you know and now if my mom got to the point where she's like I really think I'm done I don't I don't trust like you said just be chill be cool about people just doing it without the state being involved just like we should allow people to do I think it I think that a here's that I am very persuadable on this topic but but no but like and if and I and I can I just think when you say let the state be chill about it that doesn't usually work out for fucking well you'll you'll be dead so does matter but the uh but but uh but what I mean is that like when someone is greatly suffering in an acute and terrible way uh like uh it is I think morally unacceptable to require them to live in agony in their final days I of course agree with that but if that to me that is the kind of like um archetypal case that is in use to set a broader policy and inevitably you end up in situations where uh the policy then becomes applied in ways that I think run I think that go further than you would have ever hoped and I find it I think on the left there is just not nearly enough concern or care about that um especially when you see how it's happened in other countries and I I will I feel I feel very very worried about a society that doesn't value life even kind of the hard parts of life at the end that that's that's how I would I would I would say that uh I mean I so are you with decriminalizing assisted suicide again I'm very persuadable on the time I don't think this is where it's like I don't I again it's like because who gets to pick what the line is I guess is the problem well that's what to my democracy that's what a democracy but I'm saying does every we go to the polls and vote on if grandma can that well that's what it means to have a law that allows each individual grandmother well yes on killing Gladys well whether we have a yeah no that's so funny that's everybody who's like I'm ready to go we all go to the polls like in California yeah I don't I wasn't thinking of like a plus I was thinking of a plebiscite on and Gladys but but because I don't because when you go that's not suffering enough that's the thing I'm worried about but regardless but see of course this is like that's aesthetically uncomfortable right but all of this is ultimately us as a democracy deciding where the line is the line will be arbitrary and but it will be drawn right now we don't draw it at all and I have a problem with that of course I see the problems with that but I think we let each individual person draw their line as we like where they go this is too far I think if I think it's I think the line is going to be arbitrary no matter what because when can you say because eventually there's going to be some doctor standing over a person I don't yeah sadly we looked at your chart you're not in enough pain well I know and this is where it's also like I believe in bodily autonomy yeah and so I do I just I think we are not talking enough about this tension that's all and it's happening without much of a debate and I'm worried about that I mean I feel again I feel the same with that said earlier if society took care of everyone's needs and housing education health care food uh safety maybe people don't want to maybe then you have less people wanting to get out of the game but I think that I can so we're talking about a bigger issue of society but I feel like the idea of maybe it's a reality show does this old person get to die we have eights terminally ill old people and by the season in I'm trying to help you get on TV by the season in love it is going to tell you which one of these grandmothers is going to die yeah I'm trying to think of let Gladys die yeah game shows make a lot of money it's so funny it's so funny I'm holding here the final vote yeah exactly as to whether or not Gladys will die yeah and I will reveal it right after this break exactly yes I mean to be fair I've seen this being a Nick Cannon show to be fair yeah he seems like sort of like he seems like through the he's a good host yeah America's got suicide we're right back hey don't go anywhere there's more of love it or leave it coming up love it or leave it is brought to you by simply safe in the US a break in happens every 26 seconds but most alarms only alert you after someone is inside simply save is different their AI 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You can just customize it to your home, it comes, you set it up, and then you have the peace of mind. Knowing you have a great system, and the app is really great and simple and intuitive, and the customer's sport was always reliable. And best of all, SimplySafe is actually affordable. Monitoring plans start affordably at around $1 per day. I want you to experience the peace of mind of Real Home Security, which is why we've partnered with SimplySafe to offer an exclusive discount to Lover to Leave It listeners. Right now, you can get 50% off your new system by visiting simplysafe.com/loveit. If it's half off at SimplySafe.com/loveit, there's no safe, like SimplySafe. Hey everyone, my name is Elijah Cohn, and I've been a producer here at Cricket Media for a decade. I love making our shows with the smart creative people who work here and hearing from all of you who listen every week. But the thing that I'm proudest of, is that video we made of Yvette Kramaswamy grunting while hitting baseballs. No wait, sorry. Just this year, our listeners have raised millions of dollars and filled thousands of volunteer shifts to help candidates and causes in the 2026 midterms, and we have no plans to slow down as we head into 2028. We make entertaining, thoughtful content that brings people into politics, and then we give them a direct way to get involved. Your subscription helps us keep making the shows you love in building a media company that doesn't just talk about politics, but helps people change them. Subscribers get ad-free shows, plus excellent exclusive podcasts, newsletters, and much more. Thanks for being here. Hi Patrick, nice to meet you. Now you started the iconic 1993 kids movie, This Sandlot, but you remember the years other highlights. Let's see what else you remember in a game we're calling on Cloud 90s. First up, Whitney Houston's iconic, I will always love you, was number one on the charts at the beginning of 1993. What Disney Song? Bumped Whitney down to number two, come March. Disney Song? A Disney song. This is stressful. I didn't realize I will always love you, was that long ago. Yes, it must have been 1992, it must have been the Bounty Guard. Have you ever tried to hit that note right at the right time? You know? It's impossible. Well, we like the time. It's impossible. It's impossible. It's impossible. It's impossible. It's a Disney song that came out at that time. I don't know. You hint, a genie might tell you the answer, it's a whole new world. It's amazing to think of a time where like the two number one songs, vying it out, where I will always love you in a whole new world. What a simpler time, what a kind culture that was in that moment. I suppose the Bounty Guard is spoiler alert for 1993's Bodyguard, about a sister trying to murder her sister, but, you know, it was just, all good fun. All in good fun for sure, yeah, no, it was, it was a simple time. All right, based entirely on the visual cue before you. What is the name of this Coca-Cola product? Which fell off in the US by 2003, but remains available in Canada and Australia. Wow, that's a Coca-Cola product? It is a Coca-Cola product, giving me a headache and I think that's why I didn't do so well. Orange slice, it is frutopia. Frutopia. Remember frutopia? I don't, so I don't even know what that's what would even calling it frutopia. It's a perfect world of fruit, yeah, an impossibly perfect world of fruit. I feel like I'm getting like, with you saying that and looking at that, I'm like going in. Yeah. I'm like, "This is a design work, very much of that moment." Yeah, well, a lot to think about. The next question, to which bill are they referring in this clip? Bill, Bill, Bill. Tina, minus seven. Bill, Bill, Bill. Bill, nice science. You bet it is. From now on, it's September of 1993. Bill. Yes. It was among the 33 years ago. In November, Beanie Babies released their first nine stuffed animals. Which one of these was not among them? Squeal the pig, pinchers the lobster, shelly the turtle, legs the frog. Squeal the pig, pinches the lobster, shelly the turtle, legs the frog. It feels like legs the frog. Unfortunately, it is shelly the turtle because the turtle, when it did emerge, was named speedy. Okay. Well, all right. One for three. We've been great. Who is this? Hello. Oh, this is downfire. This is downfire. This is downfire. Oh. You'd probably have to have supervised visits today. I think if you've heard the story absent of the movie, you'd have to do supervised visits. Oh, I'm sorry. I don't think the disguise of that nature is something we can simply look past here at family, a court. What was the name of the other beloved kid's baseball movie that came out summer of 1993? It was directed by Daniel Stern of Home Alone Fam. Oh. It was Angels in the Outfield. Yes. Rookie of the Year. Rookie of the Year. It was Rookie of the Year. Well, I was wondering with it. One of the other. I loved Rookie of the Year. Did I get like a good and a bad on that one? Yeah. Yeah. You got it. You got it. I mean, it's not. You got it. It was your second guess. Yeah. You've won the game. Wow. So, here's a question I have for you. You're a parent now. There's a dog here. Yep. So, you're a parent now. But you weren't when you made the sandlot. No. Not the child. That was the child, yes. Then you were child. Now, parent. This is, yeah. I see where this is going. Who? Which kids do you think have it better than 90s kids or the 2020s kids? Well, OK. 90s. For sure. But I feel I have a theory on this that every generation that's asked that question has the same answer. So I think when our parents or my parents, you're a little younger than I am or a lot younger than I am. So. I think we're contemporaries. No. OK. Well, fine. Then our parents, I feel like when they, the boomer generation, I feel like when they were asked that question, they said boomers had it way better and this new generation is ridiculous. So I think that that view is constant. So I don't know that I would answer that my generation had a better, but I don't know that that's true. Right. Well, I guess, I mean, we all, I guess like the, I wouldn't be able to tell you like what pre-phone childhood, how different it was, like in the 90s, in the late 80s, early 90s. I feel like that is the era of the news is about people being grabbed in vans and kind of there is like increasing fear of letting your kids roam free. But I know that when I was a kid, I didn't have many friends, but boy, when I did, I was out there, you know, biking around, we'd like to the pizza place, that kind of thing. And you know, I'd go, they would go drive for a few, few months and we'd find a new friend and try again. But the Sam, those kids are unparented. They're loose. Oh, yeah. Were you loose as a kid? Yeah, I was. I lived, I grew up in Boston and I would come home and the lights came, when the lights came on, I had that vibe going and we'd bike all over Dorchester and we were just allowed to do what we were allowed to do. I think the main difference between then and now is digital and that is the one thing that defines my generation as an analog childhood digital adulthood. That transition I think has been rough and it's tough to see because I see the difference of especially like iPhones and tablets and you know, I shouldn't say iPhones because it's not just that, it's Android's too. Yeah, it is Android's too. Yeah, I think they're both doing the same thing roughly, when you think about it. But do your kids have, I feel like there's this tension, first of all, I know my friends who are parents and they're going through it, it's like there's just a certain age where a critical mass of other kids have the phone and there's a kind of contact, safety, find my phone thing that happens. So where are you letting your kids roam free versus knowing their location? My kids are a little young, I think, for cell phones still because my oldest is nine. So I definitely won't get into that in social media until they're at least in the teens. I'm sort of in the middle on that, I'm not the guy that will look at a parent who's got their kid on a tablet at dinner and judge because I do it sometimes. I try to not do it as much as possible. We really try and honor what the school asks, which is nothing during the week and then movies and stuff in the weekend and we try sometimes we fail. miserably, but generally that's where we go and I do that because I see the difference. I see how different my kids are when they come off of tablets. I mean go see Toy Story 5. It's all about that. It's crazy. Did I just plug Toy Story 5? Like they do. They actually need my help. Let's believe that. Yeah. Or believe that. So 90s movies. Yeah. Something I wanted to ask you about. I'm going to say this probably tacklessly because that's sort of my nature. You played you were in an archetypal role, which was the role of the kind of funny chubby kid. I was I was a funny Chuck. Can we show the picture of me in my there we go. Oh my gosh. I was a little bruiser. You were. And that's inside profile. That was my best angle. Here's the thing. Here's the thing like in that photo. That's like a flattering angle. Yeah for sure. Also I just think that like it's hard to tell it's sort of like how in the film The Odyssey by Christopher Nolan. Christopher Nolan. It's based on a poem about a trans person I think but so they had smaller actors. They had like little actors play against big actors to play the giants. What I'm saying is what's not coming across if you saw the rest of the kids I look like a bruiser but I'm miniature. So I'm just a small little husky backbencher here who kind of like like even look at my actually if you look at my eyes in that picture don't I I look terrified. Yeah like I look horrified. Hey are you okay. No I'm fine. I just hadn't seen the picture blown up like that many many years. My mother did send that to me this afternoon. But like like there must have been like a part of you that was like oh like I'm the chubby com like did that was that like frustrating to you upsetting to you to bother you was it fun like how did you think about that well as a kid especially. It's funny truthfully. I'm 5758 on a good day. When I was 13 I was like 5 6 like I did all my growing pretty early. So I was bigger than everyone. It's generally speaking. So I don't like I was kind of a bigger 13 year old. So I think I didn't get picked on that much because of that. And if there were times that I did it hurt you know like anyone who gets bullied or picked on it it's it hurts. So of course if that ever did happen but I think it didn't really dawn on me until I got older and you know I wanted to date girls and that was harder chubby. So I've got I lost a lot of weight. I've you know it's been a struggle. Okay I got happy and married and gave it all back what can I say. You know when you have kids you get pregnant with your wife. It's it's no for sure. You're getting the hot dog out there as well. But so I lost like a ton of weight and got really skinny in my late teens early 20s because I just you know I got in really good shape and you know it was just a young young adult. So it wasn't it wasn't like this miserable existence but it definitely had its challenges for sure. Yeah it's like because I I feel like it was there's there was a lot in the 90s that was just like everyone was patting themselves on the back about how much progress society is right. And then but there was like still like but boy we are gonna fucking rip the shit out of these chubby characters. They are gonna be a fucking joke. Let's get some cupcakes out there. That's really fuck them up. Yeah. You're producing a new show called Doug out that's about parents with kids in Little League. How did the idea come about and do the dads get together and talk about which ones are gay? That's season two. Yeah we didn't tackle that one in season one. No but the so I coach Little League for my kids up until it started to be like I was actually heart like harming the kids with my lack of baseball knowledge you know like when they were younger you're just wrangling cattle and it's good but then I was like wow these guys actually need real coaches so I stopped at about eight years old but during that time I remember my son's team made it to the championship game and they lost and I look at all the parents we start like kicking coolers and hugging and crying I'm gonna miss you and I look out on the field and the kids are playing tag five seconds after they lost and they couldn't care less and I was like this needs to be a show like the parents care more than the kids so then I never sort of made it I have a production company called Hambino Media and I have a partner there and we we never really made it it just wasn't there in one day I think I had seen all the Sandlock guys at an appearance that we sometimes do together and I came into the office and I went talk about dads Sandlock guys are all the dads and we're like that's a show that would be so fun so I got to reunite with them and just you know have a fun concept that and we do take it a little too seriously and you know we have fun with it and we have a bunch of great cameos in it Mike Penn you did one Creed Broughton from the office man and Matthews who does a bunch of social media stuff she's hysterical is in it and then we brought Will Hornaf who played Phillips back for that so we have a fun a fun cast and it's it was pretty fun I was exciting I always think I said fun a lot there but it was fun yeah I always find it interesting watching kids learn about how much to care about winning versus losing and watching parents who take very seriously how to be good parents thinking about because you don't want kids to not care about winning at all you want to be extra want to strive try and and care about winning winning is better than losing and being good at it's trying to be good at something is better than not trying but you don't have to care too much and I sometimes think like a lot of what's happening in our politics is like that that if losing is not just something that half the teams and half the candidates always do but something grievously ego wounding and embarrassing like that's a terrible thing for society yeah you have to be able to lose and and by the way that goes for kind of being sore winners to watch what's happening in our politics oh just it's a little bit noisy because I don't know yeah I haven't okay father of throw up yeah more big baseball guy but I do think it's a good point and you know to me would always highlights at the best because you say it shouldn't be that we're all that half is losing it should be that we're all one team and you know like so that you're right that losing thing there is a certain element that where is that where's that line where it matters and I always find that the primaries are the ones that are so weird to watch because it's like they kill each other and then they root for each other because you know what I mean so it's a really interesting thing to watch that on both sides that that kind of what you're saying that losing thing I don't know I think that's the problem your kids ever gets upset when they lose and you just like how does that work honestly they have not they haven't gotten upset when they lose but the the struggle that I have always tried to figure out is when they want to quit and how to get past that because you've agreed to be with your team and that no matter what even if you don't like the team that is your team and sometimes you just don't like playing the viola and you pretend for a really long time then finally just tell you I'm like I fucking hate this why am I why am I playing the viola I know why did I pick this they don't even get me solos thank you Patrick yes keep an eye out for a special your there's an announcement at Comic-Con about dugout that's coming yeah we're releasing the trailer and the release date and the key art poster and all that fun and don't you think they made the sandlight today like one of the kids which is be gay and would be that be nice for sure yeah Patrick Ren everybody so the podcast the stand-up tour the substack you can who's with me at w commau bell dot com also you have a children's book out in October called rock paper scissors cheese that's right hmm w commau bell dot com all right and now it's time for second thoughts my producers have let me know where when and how I goofed up during tonight's show some of it ended out like how I had to reintroduce second thoughts because I fucked it up and if you come out of any second thoughts about tonight please this is a space where we we share we learn from our mistakes even in the past hour that's part of the fun first up I assume Patrick would remember a lot about the 90s but it was equally long ago for both of us yeah it was because he's famous for a movie in the 90s doesn't mean he knows more about it I'll say it was a child in that movie yeah that's true probably wasn't doing grownup things like I want to go see the bodyguard I hear that song all over the radio mock and I go see the bodyguard no you got auditions to go to you got a call back for the sand lot yeah now shut up I got to put this powder on you we got to get it to the studio he's 11 but he plays eight my I reflected on a childhood photo of myself in a way that prompted my guest ask are you okay let's see I had a conversation with you about how much you hate roast and then made you do roast yeah that was that was that was sort of obviously a mistake yeah that was that was we all we all got we all got to figure things out a second thought for the audience you felt too bad for me during the roast I heard my feelings more than the You were too pitiful. You were too pitiful. towards me, you showing pity to me made me think there might be more truth in these jokes than I otherwise realized, and that hurt my feelings, I'm very successful, I don't need your pity. Do you have any second thoughts? This show requires a lot of homework as a guest, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, I got the thing today, I was like, oh my god, I gotta clear out my skin. That's actually just a criticism of us. Oh, what was I supposed to do? Like something you regret, not something you wished we regret. Oh, I mean, I'm sort of saying I regret, but anyway, this regret is trying to be polite, like I was gonna get my home, but I'll leave, I'll try to be like, oh, sorry, you did something with subtlety intact and I missed it. Yeah, no problem, no problem, no problem, um, thanks everybody for coming out tonight. By the way, just before you go, I do wanna say, I really like the podcast, I think you had a great conversation with Ted Danson, which I thought was really interesting, and I really appreciated that you got into, like him in the 90s and the woopy thing, and it was really interesting hearing him talk about that, and he said something interesting in the episode, we said, I didn't, I wouldn't talk about this, but I would only talk about it with you. Yeah, that must have felt nice. That was nice. I mean, yeah, Ted Danson, I, you know, I didn't, I just, for years he's just a guy from television, and then I met him on his podcast and he was, he's been very nice and said he only wanted to have, he really wanted to have the conversation about the, the roast will be Oberg, and said, he showed up like ready to have it with me, which I was not aware of, so I'm, I'm, you know, I'm a fan of Ted Danson Morgan now. God, it was a roast. I didn't even think about it that way. Yeah, no, it's all connected, it's all connected. It's all connected, it's all connected. Uh, W Camel Bell, thank you so much for being here, this is great, I really appreciate it. And that's our show, thank you so much W Camel Bell, I'm Patrick Brennan. There are 104 days until the midferms will be back Friday with Greg Oropsi and Brandon Hunt. Thank you all to me here. Love it or leave it as a crooked media production. Our show is produced by Kendra James, film a graph, Kelsey Gante, and me John Love it. Our production team includes Halle Keeper, Sarah Lazarus, Roman Borsalino, Peter Miller, David Tolls, Claudia Shang, Jay Banks, Gavin Purcell, and Matt DeGrope. And our staff is proudly unionized with the writer's Guild of America East. My name is Elijah Cohn, and I've been a producer here at Crooked Media for a decade. But the thing that I'm proudest of is that video we made of you Becrama Swamy grunting while hitting baseballs. No wait, sorry. The thing I'm proudest of is the work we do through votes of America. Once this year, our listeners have raised millions of dollars and filled thousands of volunteerships to help candidates and causes into 2026 midterms, and we have no plans to slow down as we head into 2028. As far as I know, there's no other media company that does what Crooked does. Subscribers get ad-free shows, plus excellent exclusive podcasts, newsletters, and much much more. Head to Crooked.com/FriendsToday to learn more and become a subscriber.

Podcast Summary

Key Points:

  1. Right-wing critics attack Christopher Nolan’s casting of Lupita Nyong'o and Elliot Page in *The Odyssey*, claiming it distorts historical and cultural authenticity.
  2. The backlash frames the film as a progressive or "woke" overreach, with critics accusing it of misrepresenting Greek mythology through diversity and trans representation.
  3. Elon Musk responds defensively to the criticism, drawing absurd comparisons to Homer’s legacy, highlighting the satire of claiming cultural disrespect where none exists.
  4. The film is commercially and critically successful, earning $264 million in opening weekend and praised by figures like Ben Shapiro, who defends its thematic resonance with conservative values.
  5. The discussion centers on the tension between artistic freedom and political correctness, with conservatives arguing that diversity undermines authenticity, while others see it as a necessary evolution of storytelling.
  6. The conversation also critiques broader political figures like Trump, using the film as a metaphor for hubris, moral failure, and the consequences of ignoring societal norms.
  7. A recurring theme is the irony of conservative outrage over cultural representation while ignoring real-world violence and systemic failures, such as ICE-related killings.
  8. The segment underscores that mythological stories endure not for their literal truth, but because they reflect universal human values like humility, consequence, and moral responsibility.

Summary:

The transcription critiques the controversy surrounding Christopher Nolan’s adaptation of *The Odyssey*, which features diverse casting including Lupita Nyong'o and Elliot Page. Right-wing figures like Matt Walsh and Elon Musk launch aggressive attacks, claiming the film distorts historical authenticity and promotes "woke" ideologies, particularly around gender and race. They argue that casting non-Greeks in key roles undermines the mythological integrity of the story, while also using satire to mock the political figures who have faced similar criticism.

However, the film is widely praised for its artistic success and thematic depth, with critics like Ben Shapiro noting its alignment with conservative values such as humility and moral consequence. The segment uses the film as a lens to examine broader societal issues, including political hypocrisy, systemic violence, and the dangers of hubris—particularly in figures like Trump, whose actions are compared to the fates of characters in the myth. Ultimately, the discussion highlights a central tension: whether artistic representation should serve historical fidelity or evolve to reflect modern inclusivity.

The conversation concludes by asserting that myths endure not because they are factually accurate, but because they resonate with universal human experiences of justice, consequence, and moral choice. The episode balances political satire with deeper commentary on storytelling, freedom, and societal values.

FAQs

Conservatives argue that the casting challenges traditional narratives and historical authenticity, claiming it reflects 'woke' ideologies and undermines cultural or historical accuracy.

Critics argue Musk's outrage is unfounded and inconsistent, especially since he has not supported similar cultural or historical narratives, and his criticism is seen as hypocritical and politically motivated.

The film was a critical and commercial success, earning $264 million in its opening weekend and receiving praise from figures like Ben Shapiro, who called it a 'masterpiece'.

The film is seen as a symbol of 'woke' values and cultural shifts, with some viewing it as a victory for progressive storytelling, while others see it as a rejection of traditional conservative values.

The show suggests that political figures like Trump and Elon Musk react emotionally and selectively to cultural content, often using it to reinforce their own biases or attack perceived threats.

The show questions the assumption that diversity in casting equals authenticity, noting that the film's narrative is based on a mythological text that predates modern identities and represents a timeless story.

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