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This is Your Captain Freaking

70m 53s

This is Your Captain Freaking

The podcast "Love It or Leave It" blends entertainment with deep political and social commentary. It introduces Built, a service that rewards rent and mortgage payments with redeemable points for travel, dining, and other expenses, supported by an AI-powered neighborhood concierge. The show then delves into pressing political issues: Trump’s ban on mainstream media coverage and the launch of his "Trump TV" YouTube channel, framed as a bid for control over narrative and attention. This is contrasted with revelations of corruption involving Senator Susan Collins and a defense contractor, exposing a pay-for-play scheme and raising questions about election integrity. The FBI’s cybersecurity lapses and internal failures further erode public trust. A compelling parallel is drawn from a local Oklahoma story, where a small newspaper exposed a sheriff’s corruption, including threats to journalists and a culture of cover-ups. This case illustrates how authoritarianism thrives on fear and denial, while true democracy requires accountability, courage, and the willingness to accept defeat. The episode concludes by emphasizing that democracy is not just about winning—it’s about resilience, transparency, and the moral courage to report injustices, even when it is personally dangerous. These themes underscore a broader call for vigilance in public institutions and civic life.

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13446 Words, 72758 Characters

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Love it or leave it is brought to you by built. Here's a question. Are you getting rewarded for paying your rent or mortgage right now? Did you even know that was an option? If the answer is no, you need to check out built. Becoming a built member means earning points on every housing payment, no matter where you live, redeem bill points for flights, hotels, Lyft rides, amazon.com purchases, and future housing payments. You can even use them for fitness classes, restaurants, or metropolis parking savings. Members also get access to the AI neighborhood concierge right in the built app. It doesn't just give local recommendations to take to action for paying rent and reserving dinner tables to booking fitness classes and ordering lifts. It handles tasks seamlessly while applying your member benefits across 50,000 partner merchants. First, you download the built app. Second, you link any credit card or debit card to the app. So purchases at your local spots become even more rewarding. And third, you ask the neighborhood concierge in the app, pretty much anything. And for homeowners out there built works for mortgages to your housing payment is one of your biggest monthly expenses. So why wouldn't you want to earn points on it? Download the built app and join the membership for where you live at join built.com slash love it. That's J O I N B I L T.com slash love it. Use our link. So they know we sent you. What's up, Los Angeles. Welcome to love it or leave it live from Hollywood. A special shout out to our viewers on MS. Now, as always, I'm John love it. And this is America's number one late night political gay live comedy podcast and technically television show. We've got a great show for you tonight. Rachel Maddow, Nimesh Patel and Michelle Collins are here. So let's get into it. What a week on Wednesday, first lady, Melania Trump stopped by Fox and friends to discuss her husband's second administration. How is the president doing in Trump two as compared to Trump one? How do you, how do you see him handling the job differently? He's very focused. He has a lot on his plate. It's very different, uh, what's going on around the world now. And, uh, but I think he's doing the best that he can. A ringing endorsement though. When Trump was asked how Melania two compared to Melania one, he said they look pretty similar. Also this week, the Washington post reported that the original architect of the new white house ballroom, James McCrary fought with Trump over the designs failure to meet basic safety requirements, including emergency exit routes. But Trump loves situations with no way out, whether it's a ballroom or a war in the middle East. Before McCrary resigned, Trump told him that no building codes apply to the project reportedly saying, quote, I am the code before sliding a piece of paper with the words infinity toilet across the resolute desk. According to the post reporting, there was little in the design to prevent a kitchen fire from rapidly spreading into the event. So the idea is that if you want to be safe, you have to have a safe space on the floor above. And that's pretty dangerous. If you die in Trump's ballroom, you die in real life. Speaking of places to die. According to MS. Now the white house has started looking into putting Trump's name on Ford's theater, the site of Abraham Lincoln's 1865 assassination. Boy, that guy's brain is shot, said us and a horrified theater goer in 1865. In fairness to Trump, he'll need a backup venue for events after the ballroom, but he's going to need a backup venue for events after the ballroom. In fairness to Trump, he'll need a backup venue for events after the ballroom. He's taken out by the first gust of autumn wind. Meanwhile, Iran's president addressed the UN General Assembly this week, the first time that the leader of a country at war with the United States has ever done so. Saying Iran will not surrender. Trump then said in the interest of world peace, he would invite the entire Iranian delegation for dinner. In the new ballroom, no Masood, it's a trap. Speaking of historic speeches, Alabama Senator Tommy Tuberville took to the Senate floor on Tuesday to say this. Many airline pilots, flight attendants, and air traffic controllers are part of the furry community. Lord help us. It's terrifying when you think about this. When you walk onto a commercial flight, it's possible that the pilot flying your plane could have a deranged fetish of dressing up like an animal. You can't make this up. That sound means the captain has turned off the fasten seatbelt sign and you are now free to use the litter box. I know this is very stupid, but I would like to make a sincere point about this. So I've agreed to keep this to one minute. So let's have a one minute timer. Senator Tuberville, a commercial airline pilot is a specific special kind of person who brings pride, professionalism, love of craft, and dedication to the job. Qualities that have been slowly diminished. And because you're an angry, old, and curious fool, you've allowed your impression of pilots as ciphers because of the intentional invisibility of their personalities and their use of the Chuck Yeager voice during announcements to create an image in your mind of a person who would only have straight laced by the book Missionary Sex. As if the incredible contribution of commercial pilots, the gift of our collective trust, and all the worry and fear were spared because of that confidence is because pilots don't have quirks. While in fact, pilots are all the more amazing. And the system that trains and prepares pilots all the more worthy of respect because of course they're also broken people with flaws like the rest of us who may score in a lower percentile on anxiety and a higher percentile on conscientiousness and competence, but fucking suck in all the freaky ways people do. So shut the fuck up. Thank your Christian God that these pilots get to live out their dream of flying for all our benefit. Don't introduce the idea that these steadfast men and women should be worried about anything other than the flaps y'all lift and drag. And when it comes to their sex lives, mind your own fucking business, you dumb, lucky, worthless asshole. Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie is also apparently weighing a 2028 run, telling a reporter, I need to see what happens in six weeks. What's going to happen in six weeks? You going to find a genie in a lamp, you fat fuck? All right, sorry. That was not fair. I wasn't right. I wasn't right. Speaking of fat cats, in a bombshell report by ProPublica, we learned that Maine Senator and concerned American Susan Collins was the target of an FBI investigation into an alleged pay-for-play scheme with a top donor. We don't tolerate that. I saw a thing up here, said a lighthouse keeper to his wife, a moose. According to the disgraced CEO of a Hawaiian defense contractor who later pleaded guilty to campaign finance violations, his firm donated to Susan Collins in exchange for defense contracts worth millions of dollars. What an evil clown, said Maine resident Pennywise the Dancing Clown to his wife, a moose. And sure enough, according to ProPublica, the Senate allocated at least $10 million to the company, Navitek, while a shell company set up by the CEO, Martin Cow, donated $150,000 to Collins' PAC. The shell company, and this is real, was called Young Women Scientists and Engineers, not plural. There was a literal typo in the organization's name, Young Women Scientists and Engineers. That typo caught the eye of a campaign watchdog group, which began to question the source of the funds. Then Cow tried to cover his tracks and make the fake company seem like a real nonprofit by quickly standing up a scholarship program for women in STEM at state universities, where his company was also trying to win contracts, while he was at the same time also defrauding the Paycheck Protection Program set up during COVID, for which he was also convicted. Now, given this crime spree, I'm not surprised this guy was caught. I'm surprised this guy isn't in Trump's cabinet. Now, Senator Collins, of course, denied the allegations. It's clearly a partisan hit job, and I've got to say, I do not understand how anyone would take the word of a felon who's been convicted twice. Twice. Two separate cases. And you can't trust a person like that unless you're confirming their Supreme Court justices. But the evidence isn't just this one guy's word. Here's a photo of Collins christening a Navitek corruption boat. And ProPublica has a copy of the check from the defense contractor's fake LLC to Collins' super PAC. You don't have to be a woman in STEM to solve this equation, am I right? And ProPublica pointed to an email from the CEO that said, quote, We often use LLCs that can be set up to facilitate transactions. They are super vague and very difficult to get any background info on, totally legal, and typically used in real estate transactions to conceal the identity of buyer-seller. To which Scott Reed, the head of Collins' PAC, replied, Very smart and glad your counsel understands. Thanks for doing this. Added Scott, I'm glad we put this in writing. I will print this out for safekeeping in a file labeled felony campaign finance violations. Now, you may be wondering if there was all this evidence, why hasn't anyone connected to Susan Collins faced consequences? Well, the FBI opened an investigation, but the FBI shut the investigation down after Trump returned to office in 2025 and eviscerated the department's capacity to investigate public corruption. Yeah, Kash Patel really screwed the pooch on this one. He also fucked up the case. In other DOJ failure news, this week, a criminal hacking group called Shiny Hunters revealed that it has stolen thousands of sensitive personnel records from the FBI. Said FBI Director Kash Patel, I want to assure everyone I checked, and this information does not include our penis sizes and how they are in the normal range. This is only the latest in a series of embarrassing cybersecurity failures by the FBI, including a breach by Chinese hackers of surveillance. The FBI has also leaked the surveillance orders and the leak of Kash Patel's personal emails by a pro-Iranian group. As a general rule, it should not be easier to get into the FBI's computer system than it is to get out of the White House ballroom. New York Mayor Zohra Mamdani announced that DoorDash agreed to a 131 million dollar bill. million-dollar settlement with the city after the company admitted to underpaying or delaying payments to 264,000 workers. You know what they say, DoorDash, revenge is a dish best served cold, like these fucking fries, tweeted the mayor. This is New York, where hard work pays and greed will cost you. And the manholes occasionally demand a human sacrifice, but baby, that's part of the thrill. I actually think you could make a Lady and the Tramp romantic comedy about a naive DoorDash driver from LA and a street-smart DoorDash driver from New York falling in love. The LA Dasher asked innocently, so where do you park your car? And the New York Dasher is like, put your hands in these plastic bags. You're lucky it's warm today, seven degrees. Now get on this bicycle with a dirt bike engine and go as fast as you can the wrong way down 10th Avenue. Think of these pizza boxes as your whiskers. That's how wide you are. Oh, you hit someone, keep going. It's you or them. If you leave the food, it will be stolen. If you leave the bike, it will be stolen. Never press the buzzer. The buzzers don't work. Now deliver this one burrito downtown in these five cinder blocks uptown by six. I know it's 615. That's why you got to move. And by the way, I think I'm falling in love with you. And finally, Taylor Swift posted a cryptic countdown this week, eventually revealing that she has a new single, Patient Zero, dropping September 25th. It's unclear what the song is about, but the music video was shot entirely in a Wuhan wet market. As far as her fans are concerned, the song should be called Zero Patience since they simply cannot wait. Now I'll level with you. The producers said that was the only joke about Taylor Swift that wouldn't get my car bombed. God damn it. My car's been blown up. How am I going to tell my wife? A moose. All right. And we've got a great show for you tonight. We'll be right back with Rachel Maddow. 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 Hungry Root. When you work long hours or have an otherwise packed schedule, it can be really tough to stick to your health-related goals. Hungry Root is a simpler way of doing it. to handle meals during the week. There's no mental energy expended on meal planning because Hungry Root does it for you, delivering everything you need right to your door to eat healthy every day. Hungry Root takes into account your health goals, dietary preferences, and budget to curate a custom delivery for you each week. From there, they tailor your deliveries accordingly. Once you note the ingredient to avoid, like gluten or dairy, it stays on your block list. They source only high-quality ingredients like meat and seafood with no hormones or antibiotics, plus organic produce and non-GMO options. 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It's healthier than the kibble, but it's not a mess like the kind that's frozen. You have to think about it. You just have to think about it. You have to have it. Pundit loves it. It's great. She used to have so many more problems with allergies and stomach issues. Honestly, ever since she switched to air-dried dog food, you can set your wash to these poops, and they're great. Just fantastic poops. Easy to pick up. Listen, not to put too fine a point on it, but everyone knows what I'm talking about. All right. Anyway, make the switch to Sundays. Go right now to sundaysfordogs.com slash love it and get 50% off your first order, or you can use code love it at checkout. I'm saying she's got great poops. And we're back. We'll get to my interview with Rachel Maddow in just a moment, but first, thank you to everyone who is a friend of the pod. As a subscriber, you unlock so much more, including an extra bi-weekly episode of Pod Save America Only, friends. Add free episodes of your favorite Crooked podcast, discounted tickets to CrookedCon, plus on-site perks while you're there. And if you're thinking about coming to CrookedCon, now is the time to get that ticket because discounted friend of the pod. Tickets are almost gone. So go to crooked.com slash friends to become a friend of the pod and come hang out with us when we're in DC for CrookedCon. And if you're in LA, you can still get tickets to this show. Head to crooked.com slash events and get those tickets. All right. This week, I sat down with Rachel Maddow, host of MS Now's The Rachel Maddow Show. We talked about Trump's ban of MS Now and the launch of his Trump TV YouTube channel. MS Now, CNN, and Politico may be back inside the White House, but the battle over press, freedom is far from over. Rachel had a lot to say about what this moment means. Let's take a look. Joining us in studio, she's the host of The Rachel Maddow Show and producer of a new documentary out on Sunday called Kill Barry Print. Rachel Maddow, welcome to the show. Hi, Jon Lovett. Thanks to see you, old friend. Yes. First of all, I just want to say I love the documentary. I loved it. I thought it was excellent. I highly recommend people watch it when it comes out on Peacock. But it also, as I was watching it, obviously, there are parallels to what's happening nationally. So I did want to start with that because MS Now, CNN, Politico, they're out at the White House. I know you've talked about this a little bit, but what was your reaction? My reaction was, first, is this one of these things that he's just going to threaten or say is true, and then there's no follow-up? Like when he announced that there was a truce between Russia and Ukraine, we were like, there is, and then there's no truce. He announced that the Strait of Hormuz is open. Like, is this a real thing? But then we found out over the weekend that it was a real thing, that they really are instituting what he calls a ban on the free press. So, yes, is it real? And my second thought was, oh, he's playing the hits. Like, this is him doing the YMCA two-fisted dance. Like, this is him doing a thing that he knows he can get the kind of reaction that he wants from the press. And I think that's a really good thing. The people who love him the most are the people who share his authoritarian, you know, dreams with him. And he's just hoping to return to safer ground. He wants the kind of attention that he wants. And he's getting attention for all sorts of stuff that he doesn't want, for having this record low approval rating and for the economy being in the toilet and the Iran war and the impending midterms and all of his, like, falling asleep in public. And like, it's all bad news about him right now. So he wants to go back to playing the hits, getting the kind of attention that he wants on the terms that he wants it. And I think that's why he did it. So the response from the networks by the Correspondents Association, including by Fox News, led to a suspension of their coverage and this predictable consequence. I want to show you this clip. OK, so there is no microphone because there's no microphone. There's no microphone because the pool cameras aren't there. So maybe, Tim, this is one example of it backfiring just a little bit. That was satisfying. That was satisfying. So you have a pretty good statement from the head of the White House Correspondents Association happens to be from Fox News. Fox News joined with the other networks as part of this protest slash boycott. Do you think this is the right level of response? Obviously, it's good to see these networks responding in this way, but is there more you think they should be doing? You know, the thing that I think is most important is the unified front nature of this. I mean, our friends at Newsmax, notwithstanding, which is where that clip was from, is they're still desperately trying to cover the White House somehow without microphones or cameras set up by a professional crew. I think the unified front, the sort of solidarity among news organizations is important. And I think there's a few different things going on. First of all, The Wall Street Journal reported that the catalyst for Trump doing this was that his aide, Natalie Harp, reportedly showed him footage, I guess, of people saying things about him on MSNOW that he didn't like. And so then he responded with a ban on MSNOW and CNN and Politico. Now, where does that come from? I have always had this theory that Trump doesn't come after MSNOW more than he does other news organizations, even though I think of all the mainstream media organizations were probably the most critical of him. I've always thought that he maybe doesn't come after us in a more concerted way because he's talked himself into the idea that that will help us, right, that that will elevate us. And so he shouldn't pay us attention because we're always going to be, you know, who we are and that it'll only, it'll only help us and therefore hurt him to give us too much attention. So he decides to sort of diffuse. the attention on us by bringing in these other news organizations. But in so doing, he ends up taking the swipe that just seems sort of weird and inchoate and also very clarifying to the news business that this is the kind of thing that we ought to all stand up against together. So I think it blunted the impact, the positive impact that he wanted politically on his side, and I think it stirred the news organizations of this country to realize that this is something that we actually ought to stand together to fight. So the nature of the way that other news organizations are responding, I think, will evolve over time. But the fact that MSNOW, CNN, and Politico are suing together, I think is really notable. And the fact that Fox News and the other pool networks, and broadly, you know, everybody from Getty to AFP to Reuters to, you know, NPR to Washington Post, New York Times, everybody is pulling together against this in a really, I think, sort of steel-spined way is good. That's the way-- We ought to have learned that that's the way to respond to his provocations. Can I just share two unpure thoughts I've had? Oh, yeah. Unpure thought number one, how can we make this like the Strait of Hormuz? In the sense that he picks a fight, and he thinks that media organizations will cave, they'll cover it, they'll divide, they'll kind of ultimately come around, not realizing he's-- in some way, change the fundamental strategic imperative. Like, how do we make-- How do journalists show the same resolve as the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, unfortunately, is the thought. Yeah, it's impure, definitely. So maybe we'll-- that's my first impure thought. Any reaction? Well, I mean, I think that he's actually doing some stuff, and the White House is doing some stuff that is maybe helping us. It's helping us in that direction. I mean, they chose, you know, right after the ban on MSNOW and CNN and Politico, they chose right after that to try to roll out their new White House news app. Yes, Trump TV, they were calling it. Trump TV. I mean, half of me fully expected them to come up with something that was, like, real Trump, or something like that, so they could just use RT, right? Right, right, right. Very into JFK-era appropriation, so they could use Sputnik, perhaps. I think that one might be available now. -Great name. -I mean, them trying to do literal state TV, um, I think is so, uh. It is read by the American body politic as such a, like, infectious organism that it activates our antibodies against it. Like, of all the things that maybe we instinctually can do as Americans, we can recognize state TV, Pravda, you know, RT-style stuff, and that's not us. So Trump immediately going to that, and the White House immediately going to that, I think might sort of help us toward the kind of moment that you're talking about. Yeah, the. It's not clear, right, 'cause on the one hand, you're right. Like, this is the kind of debate he enjoys having. He'd rather be talking about press freedom than he would gas prices, -the war in Iran, of course. - Yeah. Uh, but then also, it feels in the way Trump decisions feel ad hoc. He was shown these clips, he got mad, he does a post. Were they already planning to roll out this YouTube for. that would replace the pool? Is it something they've, uh, stood up really quickly in response? We just don't know. The other thought is, I remember when there was this debate about removing Trump from Twitter. And it's like, oh, you know, they should ban him and they shouldn't ban him. It ends up being a debate in a presidential primary, right, between, I think, Elizabeth Warren and Kamala Harris had an exchange. The K-Hive got mad at me at the time, not rehashing old grudges or anything. But, uh, one of the consequences, whatever you're feeling about whether he should or should not have been banned from Twitter, is he kind of went quiet for a while. And Trump does better when he's quiet. Nothing would behoove Republicans running for office more than Trump's microphone being off for the next, uh, seven weeks. Uh, so how do we balance that, right? Like, Trump wants attention. He wants, uh, you know, dominion over how he is covered. He can't have that. A world where he's covered negatively, right, is worse for Trump, which would mean, on some level, some news outlet caving and covering Trump might be better for the Democratic candidates currently running. You know, like, end of an unpure thought. I mean, there's-- there's no way that a president of the United States doesn't get covered in the news. It just-- it's not possible. It's not responsible, right? There's-- the question is how he gets covered in the news. And does he get the-- the royal treatment that is the very expensive, very difficult, um, sort of onerous, very professionally produced duty of White House pool coverage? I think right now he does not. And so it'll have to be pieced together in ways that are, um, I think, less what he's used to. But I don't think there's any chance, aside from the sad moment on the ribbon-cutting at the helipad, I just don't think there's any chance that he does things and doesn't get covered. The nature of the job means that he does. Yeah. And, you know, I've seen some people saying that the White House Correspondents Dinner-- Association should go further. And there shouldn't even be press cover-- there shouldn't be a press pool. There should-- I mean, you know, the written press pool, they should just be pulling out altogether. But, um, you know, that's a fair-weather, uh, I think, suggestion, because the reason there is a pool is because emergencies happen and we need reporters there. Right? So there is a tension. Um, so, uh, I-- I do want to turn to the documentary because, uh, it is striking to see the parallels between sort of a thuggish, corrupt leader in the White House and these local officials, uh, in-- in this-- in this documentary. Uh, what drew you to this story? And why do you think it was important to tell, uh, you know, the-- the-- you covered this on-- this-- this original tape emerged in 2023, and you covered it at the time. And I'm curious why you felt it was important to come back to it. Yeah, thank-- first of all, thank you for watching it. Um, it's called "Kilbury Print." It's out as of this weekend on-- on Peacock. And, like you said, in 2023, um, we covered it on my show on MSNBC at the time, now MSNOW, and, um, it was just this crazy thing, 'cause it's this-- it's this corner of Oklahoma, it's called McCurtain County, um, and it's just like the way to Bell, Oklahoma's there, broken bow, like, it's a-- it's a relatively sparsely populated, but beautiful part of Oklahoma. It's got a real drug problem, um, got a real crime problem, and the-- interestingly, it has-- specifically has a missing persons problem, which is intriguing. And there's this little family-owned newspaper there, published just three days a week, called the McCurtain Gazette, and what the McCurtain Gazette discovered was that the sort of thing tying together all those local people, was that there was a corruption problem. And it-- you-- you know from seeing the film, it-- it emerges into this war, basically, between this very principled, like, shoe-lever reporting, local family newspaper, totally fearless, and the sheriff, who they report lots of corruption and misdeeds about. And so, in 2023, when we covered it, what was incredible that I remember at the time was, we heard about this story, it was getting local pick-up in Oakland, Oklahoma, we sort of followed the story as best we could in terms of looking at local media, but the paper itself, the McCurtain Gazette, was so small and so old school, they didn't have a website. And they had this thing that was lightning in a bottle, they had an audio recording of the sheriff talking secretly about killing and burying the family that ran the local newspaper. They had an audio recording of him talking about it, but they didn't have a website to put it up on, and so they had to, like-- they printed a QR code on the front page of the print paper, and they basically set up kind of a Dropbox site, where you could go and download the entire audio. And we did that at the time, and we played these pieces, and it was just this crazy story. And then I just kept an eye on it afterwards, and one of the amazing things is that, even after this recording was publicized and this story was-- was outed, um, the sheriff stayed in pos-- in his position. It's-- the-- if you thought it was brave for this family to report on the alleged corruption and, like, drug use and stuff by local law enforcement, for them then to have turned into a national news story, his threats to kill and bury them in response to their reporting, and then to keep reporting thereafter while he's still in office in this county where he's the leading law enforcement authority, in a place where lots of people go missing and never turn up again, it's just dark, dark, dark, and it is, um, also-- an incredible story of heroism and journalism at its most, um-- at its most heroic and most brave and most consequential. And it's-- it all takes place in McCurtain County, doesn't have a national element to it at all, but I just-- I just feel like if you're looking to understand what it means to, like, really be an excellent American citizen in the worst consequen-- in the-- in the worst, um, environment, the-- the Willingham family and the McCurtain Gazette shows us how to do it. Yeah, one-- one parallel that jumped in, out at me is the way the sort of corruption It builds on itself and the importance of exposing issues as they arise, which is the role of this very small local shockingly, almost comedically too on the nose, small, like, you know, owner is the owner and operator, husband and wife. She does the books. He does the journalism. Sons on the cop beat. Just an extraordinary, like, small operation. But can you talk about how a messy evidence room, right? Like, really, like, this story, this embarrassing story kind of begins this process of leading to just this incredibly dark and shocking series. Of events and their failure. Like, that to me is a bit of a Trump parallel, because, like, how do we get to the point where Trump's going to put drones on the top of an arch he's illegally building, right? It's like it starts with what he gets away with at the beginning. And so I think it's worth talking about what they were exposing, these little things and what it showed. Yeah. And it's very Nixonian, too, right? So there's this one of the stories that this little paper breaks is that the evidence room is in disarray. And that has big legal consequences in terms of drug cases, murder cases. Murder cases, even. Like, all these cases. If the evidence isn't kept in a way that is sound in terms of the legal chain of custody and making sure that stuff is uncorrupted for the purpose of bringing a prosecution, you end up not really being able to enforce the law. And so they run these sort of blockbuster pictures of the messy evidence room. And you kind of think that's a standalone story. But then in response to that, what happens at the sheriff's office is an effort to, a really aggressive effort, to find out how it is that those people are being held accountable. How those pictures got out, how this story got out, who's talking to the press. And then that sort of cracks open a lot of the dynamics that are happening within the sheriff's department, where we learn from members of the sheriff's department about somebody who's mysteriously getting promoted from ground zero all the way up to the very top and has having new positions created for her and then having her relatives brought in to run other things. And they say the cover-up is worse than the crime, but usually what that means in practice. in practical terms, is that the cover-up leads you to worse criminality. And that is true. I mean, it's almost true in every corruption and malfeasance story I've ever covered, that once some piece of it breaks open, the act of reporting on it usually inspires much more bad action from the bad actors. And it's a character test, it turns out, to have your misdeeds exposed, how you respond to that. And that usually shows you to either be a corrupt person who ought not be in office and should maybe be in jail instead, or a human person who made an error and can learn from it and make up for it and make it right. I mean, that's often the dividing line is exposure. And so when Bruce Willingham says to us in the film, corrupt people will always run for office, and we've got to take them on, he's speaking about McCurtain County in that moment, but he's also speaking about. Yeah. my whole life in this business and all of our lives right now in this era. Journalism isn't a corrective. Journalism tells you what's true, what's really happening. And it can therefore be a catalyst for democratic change, in part because it tests the character of the people it exposes. That was part one of my interview with Rachel Maddow. Stay tuned for the second part of my conversation later in this episode. Up next, I'm joined by the hilarious Michelle Collins and Nimesh Patel. Love It or Leave It is brought to you by Helix. When life gets busy and we can't stop seeming to add more to our plates, every night's sleep counts. Upgrade your sleep quality and give yourself the best setup for a great day every day with a Helix mattress. You don't have to take our word for it. Helix is the most awarded mattress brand tested and reviewed by experts at major outlets like Forbes and Wired. Helix delivers your mattress right to your door with free shipping in the US. 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Don't put it off any longer. See for yourself how easy life insurance can be with SelectQuote. Get the right life insurance for you for less at SelectQuote.com slash loveit. Go to SelectQuote.com slash loveit today to get started. Two incredibly funny comedians. It's Michelle Collins and Nimesh Patel. Hi, John. Thank you both for being here. Michelle, you just announced your Michelle Collins and Big Letters tour this week. That's right. I'm excited to see all the residence inns of the country. That's where I tend to find myself, Nimesh. Nice. And, you know, you gotta make a buck, John. Are you gonna come to one of the shows? Yeah, of course. Okay. I'm in. Liar. I've never seen you lie on your show the way. Yes, it's free. Right? Like, if someone asks you how they. You know, there's a lot of places where, like, when someone asks you a hypothetical, like, hey, would you rescue me from a fire? Of course. That's a free hypothetical. Right. Say yes. It's like killing baby Hitler. Remember that? Yeah. Yeah. For sure. I wouldn't. No, I'm kidding with you, obviously. I'm a Jewish person. Cut that. Anyway, I'm sorry, Nimesh. What's happening here? Go on. And, Nimesh, it's great to have you as well. Yeah, it's good to be here. You have a new Netflix special that's out right now. It's out right now. It's called By the Dip. Thank you. And it's about, like you said, about, like, half anti-trans and then half other stuff. I mean, of course. You got to hit the streets. That's what the streets want. Okay. A couch full of terrible people today. I'm excited. Wait, you had a stint living in Amsterdam? Yeah. Do you miss that? The bikes? You know, I never got a bike there. I'm too big for the bike. That's what I told myself. What do you mean? They're all huge there, but I go, it's just, it's very dangerous. You think you're too big for a bike? I always said that. I don't like when I hear you say it, but when I say it's different. I'm like, that is so rude. I'm your guest. Okay. No, yeah, it's tough. The biking there is no joke. It's like I-95 in Miami. They're nuts over there. Yeah. Have you, you've been? Yeah. You biked? Yeah. It's terrifying. And you're like high the whole time. So people just fucking zoom in by like, Jesus Christ, what's going on over here? Did you bike? I'm sure you've been. No. See? I was afraid. That's. Well, I, it was more that I wasn't there long enough really to get to like, to become sort of, you know, a commuter. But the, the, I was, I love biking, but you know what I mean? Like it's sort of, it's not a, you know, it's like dealing with a bike. I don't have a place to put this bike. I don't know this place. I'm here to get high and go see a thing. That's the thing. There's a painting by someone. Van Gogh. Right. I learned that there. Get high, see a Van Gogh. I'm not going to bike around. Yeah. Well, I worked from home, so that should answer your question. I wasn't going anywhere anyway. Worked from home in Amsterdam? I worked from home. I took the tram. I'm just, I'm not, I'm a very fear-based person. Like I don't want to get hurt. It's why I'm, you know, I look so great. Thank you again. They said that in the break. Nimesh, you recently said that there's never been a better time to be a bad person. This is your subway take. Yes, that's true. And I was thinking about this and have you ever seen the movie The Third Man? No. Oh, well. Sorry. There goes that whole bit. Well, it's. It's funny. You should check it out. But I think post-World War II Europe, pre-reconstruction was also a very good time to be a bad person. Post-World War II. Like, you know, Berlin's a mess. There's rubble everywhere. You can get away with a lot, I think, in post-World War II. Berlin, there's the Russians. You know, it's like we're, they're starting to, there's a lot of, there's a lot of arbitrage that could happen when you got the Soviets on one side of town and the Americans on the other, you know? I'll take your word for it. Yeah. And then I was also. I'm also thinking that 1998, during the whole Clinton impeachment, was also a very good time to cheat on your wife. Uh-huh. Why do you think right now is such a good time to be a bad person? Because no one, everyone's gone. Everyone that's supposed to, like, enforce the laws is just out. They're either been fired or they're part of the corruption. And if, like, if I had a scheme, I would be scheming right now. I just can't bring myself to think of one that's not already been done. Like, if I could, if I could crypto rug pull, believe me, I'll be shilling some coins right now, for sure. You've got a bit of that. You've got, like, a little, in a good way, like. doesn't he have like a little bit of a crypto that I could see you like talking me into something. If I knew what it was, I could do it. Yeah. I don't know what it is either. I'm an idiot. If you just add in a good way, do you think that makes something less insulting? Like, Hey, I think you're a sleazy piece of shit in a good way. Yeah. Every man I go out with basically. I don't mind it. Yeah. Thank you. That's sweet. I appreciate it. Nimesh. Yes. Your special is called by the dip by the dip. So inspired by this, we want to quiz the both of you on some other tanking stocks in a segment we're calling by the dip. Oh, nice. Look at that. It's beautiful. Yeah. It's really good. Yeah. So good work. It's really good. Yeah. It's really good guys. I'll read you a person, place or thing that has, I think been in a period of decline. And you'll let us know if you think we should buy the dip in the hopes that they might rise again, or if we're, we're, we're leaving it be, if we think it's not, it's not a good buy. Okay. Are you ready? It was about dips. I got excited when they said, right. I was like, I love dips. I was like, that's why we named the special that because people who know the term will be like, Oh, this is going to be interesting about like optimism or hope or whatever. And then other people who just like nachos be like, Oh, you know what? I'm going to check this. First up, should you buy the dip on getting drunk? We're hearing the Gen Z drinks lesson. They're millennial predecessors. Is drinking coming back or is it over for good? Oh, it's coming back. Things are, like you, you look at the bottom of a glass when things are really bad. And I don't think we're at the floor of this country just yet. So hold your hope alcohol. Well, I'll be there soon. Yeah. Alcohol is like, Oh yeah, yeah, yeah. You always come back. Oh yeah. We remember prohibition. You came back. Yeah. Buying the dip on Elizabeth Holmes. I'm in, I'm in totally. I'm that this movie I think is going to, to change when is it coming out in a month? I think October. Yeah. I think it's going to be what we talk about. Kind of like the odyssey for like two weeks. Like everyone's going to go see it. You're not going to be able to escape the talk about it. And I'm like that face has haunted me since seeing that clip. I don't know. I close my eyes. I see it. It's just no mesh. I don't know. I'm, I'm out entirely on this. I don't think the floor is in on Elizabeth Holmes just yet. I think if you've got put options to purchase on her, you should, you should purchase some puts on her. Cause it's like, that's the look of a sociopath from what. And what about America in 2026 tells you that that's going to mean she doesn't rise again. You're right. I am. I am. I, to me, I'm the opposite. I am buying the dip hard on Elizabeth Holmes. She's coming back. Dancing with the stars, shark tank traders. She's got so many places to go. Also. I will just tell you, I met her at a party once and I've told this story before. Did you give her your blood? So it was, it was right around the time that these stories were coming out. And when I say that this woman looked me in the eyes and was like, Oh, it's look, once the truth comes out, you'll see like, these are ridiculous. Like she basically was like so sincerely conveying that like, this was bullshit. And she would rise again with like, like with just total conviction. And I remember saying after, I was like either, like either she's telling the truth or she is a total sociopath. Wow. But I was charmed. I could see this. That scared me. This little clip that kind of went viral a couple of weeks ago, stayed with me in a bad way, but I agree with you her on traders, the whole axis of the earth would shift. I mean, I, it would, that would be horrible. And not an alliance between like Elizabeth Holmes and like Luann, Trixie Mattel and Elizabeth. Forget it. It's over about what's happening. Think about the, they're friends. They're bonding. They're laughing. They're having a great time. We're having a great time. We're changing our minds about Elizabeth Holmes. We're excited to see what she's going to bring to shark tank. And then like, Mark Cuban's like, I'm in, you know what I'm saying? I think that's possible. It's, you know, I will reconsider given it is still America and she is a white woman, you know, thank you. Thanks. Turn around for them. Would you buy the dip on America? A hundred percent. I love this country and America will survive all this nonsense. That's nice. I agree. Only sincere thing I'm going to say tonight. By the way, I felt something when you said that it was really nice. It was a, really nice moment for all of us. I agree. I agree. I'm buying the dip on America. Yup. Yeah. It's a big dip right now. Yeah. You may have to listen and I'm not saying I might, I'll have to hold it for awhile. You know what I mean? I'm not saying there couldn't be, but you could, it might not be the dip. There might be another dip to come for sure. I don't know if this is the bottom, but I still think it's, I think it's still worth buying now. Yeah. If this is like a bean dip, we're at the sour cream, you know, at the top layer beans and cheese and more avocado. This shit, we're not even at the glass. It's trade just yet. This is what the top next up by the dip on human beings. Ooh, I'll D I'll go. Um, no, thanks right now. If you've been to an outlet mall anytime recently or an airport and you've seen how people behave, uh, it's not getting any better. John, I do. I do think, uh, there's merit to having AI do everything now because it looks like we've pretty much fucked up a lot. That shouldn't be fucked up. So anyway, I'm still buying the dip on people. Thank you, Michelle. And to mesh, check out the Michelle Collins show on Patrion and wherever you get your podcasts and see Michelle on tour, go to at Mish call on Instagram for more info and watch the message special by the debt by the dip. It's on Netflix right now. And we'll be right back. Love it or leave. It is brought to you by Bombas fire up those cold weather movie classes and grab yourself a hot beverage because cozy season is upon us. Bombas makes your company as false staples so you can make the most out of the season. Bombas, new suede moccasins are perfect for fall with cushy souls, a shearling lining and water resistant suede and their slippers are everything you'd want for a cozy night and made with the softest, squishiest materials. Then there's Bombas compression sock collection featuring specialized designs for travel every day, workout and recovery. There's a fatigue fighting pair for every moment. Fall weather can be fickle. Bombas makes socks that can handle it all. Marina will blend pairs for keeping toes warm, sweat wicking sports socks for fall race training and dressing styles for any fall weddings. I love Bombas. I'm wearing them right now or my own time. I have the at vintage athletic socks. I warm to the gym every single day. I just went on a trip to New York and I just, when I get ready for when I'm packing for a trip, I just know like, Oh, I'm going to work out this many days. I grabbed that many Bombas socks from the, from the, from the drawer that has the Bombas socks that are all this, the vintage style. I know exactly what I'm doing because I only wear them into the best and the best part about Bombas for every item you purchase. They'll donate an essential clothing item to someone facing housing insecurity. One purchase equals one donated with over 200 million donations and counting head on over to, over bombas.com slash love it and use code love it for 20% off your first purchase. That's B-O-M-B-A-S.com slash love it. Code love it at checkout. I'm Nate Silver. I'm Galen Druk. And I'm Claire Malone. We're back this time with our friends at Crooked Media for a new show called Still Counting. Yeah. Numbers are hard. It takes her easy. And frankly, numbers have only gotten harder. What does the data actually say? How do we reconcile that with the other things that we're seeing in American politics? And around the world? And how do we use that data to understand or maybe even dare to predict the future of American politics? New episodes every Wednesday, starting September 9th. Subscribe to Still Counting on YouTube.com slash at Still Counting podcast or wherever you get your podcasts. And we're back. Here is the second half of my conversation with Rachel, where we get into this incredible story of this local paper taken on a corrupt sheriff in Oklahoma and the parallels to Trump and broader lessons for democracy. The other parallel is just this small paper has uncovered this series of scandals. They're also this this audio tape not only includes one official talking about the two holes that are always ready to be dug that are waiting for these two journalists, but also about how the good old days in which they used to be. They're also this small paper has uncovered this series of scandals. and other, like, terrible sexual misconduct against one of the reporters at the paper. And, I mean, to the point where the sheriff, um, invited members of the community to please request a copy of a police report that was full of unproven allegations against the reporter. Like, went publicly and asked people to request this police report 'cause he'd be happy to distribute it in the community. And it's just-- Like I said, this is as dark as it gets. But we chased all of that-- all of the factual elements of that as far as we could. Um, we talked to multiple prosecutors and former prosecutors and lawyers involved in this case and investigators and, um, chased as many of the principals as we could, put all the factual allegations to everybody that we could, and ultimately kind of picked our way through that story in the way that we thought was most responsible. But it's-- For me, it's just a reminder that, I think, at times like this, we talk in almost sort of myth-making terms about what bravery means and what heroism means and what it means to do the right thing that's the difficult thing instead of the easy thing that's the wrong thing, or that's the craven thing. And it's one thing to think about that in mythic terms. It's another thing to live it, especially when you're living it up close, right? When you have to decide whether to get in your car and drive home alone in the dark, having just reported what you reported about the sheriff, which operates all the cars with red and blue lights on top of them in your town, and they've declared war on you and your family and have said they want to see you buried. And talked about hitmen who could do it and the excavators that'll dig the holes. I mean, it's a real-- It's a real thing. It's a life-or-death thing, and it is not, um. It's, you know, it's not a ballad. It's a-- It's everyday logistics of living. And that kind of sacrifice to do what's right, I think, is really centering in terms of us thinking about what's being called on us as citizens right now. Yeah, the other half of that, right, so that is the bravery on the part of this local paper. But there's also the-- I come back to this all the time as a sort of-- We talk a lot about shamelessness in the Trump era. But to your point about what happens when some failure is exposed, and how do you react to that? And, uh, the lack of forbearance, which is a democratic virtue, right? This idea that sometimes you lose, right? Sometimes-- sometimes your ego takes a hit because you deserve it, and you just kind of take the L and you try to clean it up or apologize and move on. And this sheriff never resigns, right? He sticks it out to the very-- and because that, to me, is part of what's missing here, right? This idea that, like, there should be any kind of accountability, that they should have to kind of concede anything seems inconceivable to them in that-- in that room. And, like, it seems like so much of our problem in our politics right now, it flows up to Trump, it flows down from Trump. This idea that an apology, a defeat, a loss, a concession is always embarrassing, right? Even though every resolution requires give and take. It seems, like, central to what we're going through. Um, and I'm just-- whether from the documentary or just more broadly what you're seeing, um, how do you think about that? I think that's a deep point, and I think it's really good-- it's really good to bring that up and talk about that in practical-- again, in practical terms. Because, again, democracy isn't, um, isn't just a theory and isn't just like a myth and isn't just like a gauzy concept of the way we talk about free countries. Um, democracy in practical terms means that you lose sometimes, and whoever loses gets to live and stay in the fight and make their case again and try to win in the next round. Right? That is part of what it means to compete for power in a democratic context. And it's just fundamentally incompatible with an authority and an authoritarian mindset or with a sort of Roy Cohn-style mindset that, um, winning is everything, that losing is intolerable, and that you should never concede defeat in any circumstances because that's a humiliation, and a humiliation is worse than death. And, I mean, that's just not the American system. The American system is that sometimes you win and sometimes you lose, but we compete in fair terms, and you get to try again. And-- and that, I mean, I just feel like it's-- it's one thing to kind of, I think, recoil at so many of the visible character traits of an authoritarian-minded leader like Trump. But just that simple fact about him makes him incompatible with American governance. And it's a thing that, uh, we don't-- we don't really teach, but we ought to. Like, losing is part-- losing is part of the game. And not just losing gratefully. You can lose and be a jerk about it, but you don't, uh-- but you-- you-- winning is never good. It's never permanent in a democracy. Uh, one last question. Man, you've been at this a long time, and there is nobody-- like, we're on the road. I'm talking to, uh, uh, relatives. I'm at-- I'm at Yom Kippur services yesterday. Boy, people look to you. They're always-- it's really amazing. It-- it ha-- like, the-- the-- all kinds of people. Yeah, they're just always like, you know, uh, oh, you know, uh, you know, but-- but it's-- you know, it's-- it's-- after Rachel, we love Ponce of America. It's-- the number of people-- do you know Rachel Maddow? Have you talked to Rachel? Do you know that, like, you have a kind of mythic place in the heart of the resistance libs? You really do. Like, it's a special thing. You have a unique little, uh, position and-- and this-- in this sphere. Do you, like, think about that? Does that accru-- you-- do you know what I'm saying? What-- what do you think about that? What-- I mean, I don't know. I don't-- I-- I-- I-- I don't think that's a healthy thing. I know this makes you uncomfortable. -Yes, it does. -I know it does. But you never talk about-- but-- but you-- but, like-- -Getting hives. -Man, you-- I know, but-- but, like, you-- like, there is an army of middle-aged people whose phones have been kind of scrolling for ten years, their hands wizened by holding the screen so tightly. They are keyed in. And I swear to God, they would follow you into battle. I know that makes you uncomfortable, but-- but-- -Very much so. -Okay. Listen-- I mean, listen. I would not follow me into battle if I was-- if I was running for office, I would not vote for me. If I was running for-- to be president of my apartment, I would not win. -Mm-hmm. -And I-- we don't have-- and we don't even have kids. -Mm-hmm. -Right? So, like, it's just-- it's, um. I-- that is very kind, and I do not take that for granted, but I also have no idea what to do with that. -No, that's good. -Um, I'm trying to be worthy of people's attention and respect and trying to be conscious of the fact that anytime anybody's. tuning in to see a documentary that I made or read a book that I wrote or watch a TV show that I've done or any of these other things, that I want it to be worthy. I want to-- I want to deserve your time and make you want to come back the next time I do a next thing. But I don't think-- I don't think you can think about it further than that without getting weird, you know? Maybe it's time to get weird, Rachel Maddow. Well, what-- I mean, but you-- you and-- you and the guys at P.O.D., you guys get a lot of that same dynamic, I know, fed back to you, particularly when you do these live audiences and you guys could, like, crowd out and crowd surf across Peoria at the end of those things. How does it affect your thinking about these things? Oh, I feel like an imposter every single day. Yeah. Uh, now, before we-- I do want to say-- Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, that's it? You just feel like-- what do you mean you feel like an imposter? Uh, I want to be worthy of people's time and attention. I want to know that we're not just riding a wave of noise and worry and that it's of value. I-- I feel I am far more aware of the ways in which I could be doing a better job than I am proud of the ways in which I am good at this job. And, uh, I'm sure therapy could help with that, but there's no time, so I do this instead. Um, but I-- I take your point. I take your point. And speaking of being worth, uh, uh, you wanting to make sure that you're worthy of the time you're asking, I truly-- I-- I-- Yes, there's important lessons in this documentary, there's dark stuff in this documentary. It's riveting, it's great, it is worth watching. People, I'm telling you, give it a shot. Uh, you will be drawn in from the beginning. I-- I appreciate how honest it is, too, even about the ways in which-- forget the-- the-- the specifics of this story. Like, part of what they're paying for is a failure of all of us to value journalism. And so I think it's important to lift up stories like this. Um, now, before we let you go, I have just been handed some second thoughts. This is where the producers watch interviews live and tell me ways I could have done better. -And so I just want to run you through a way-- -Oh, wow. A few of the places where, uh, the producers believe I could have done a better job. Um. You don't need therapy. If-- if this is the way you run your business day to day, John Lovett, you don't need therapy, this is therapy. Uh, let's see, uh, I don't, uh. Uh, opening up my cabinet of impure thoughts might have been a mistake. Uh, should have used the term "straight bait." Uh, let's see, giving Republicans advice on winning by leaving Trump's mic off till November might have been a mistake. Uh, let's see. I should be more supportive of Trump as a fellow YouTuber. Ah, okay. Also, I regret not asking Rachel if she has an in at Peacock who can get me on Traders. She's not responding to that. I don't know what she does. I don't think she's got the in. If I could get anybody to meet Alan Cumming, my girlfriend Susan would beat you to the door for it. She is so obsessed with Alan Cumming. I bet we can get that done. Well, Rachel Maddow, thank you so much for coming on the show. It was great to talk to you. The documentary, Killberry Print. I highly recommend it. And you're doing cocktails. I forgot to mention, you're making cocktails on E. Cocktail Wars. Cocktail Wars on E. Yeah. I only did one episode, but I was the guest judge. It was fantastic. You made a drink for me once at an MSNBC party after one of those correspondence dinners. In Washington, yes. Yes, and I don't remember the drink. I'm sure it was good. I'm sure it was perfect. I once made, one of those nights, it was actually the first time I met Michael Steele. I think it was when he was still RNC chairman and he asked me to make him a drink and I was all nervous and I made him a drink and I put zero alcohol in it. It was just like juice, like tonic, some sort of, like maybe some bitters or whatever, but he asked for like a strong something or other and I gave him a zero alcohol mistake. But now we're friends. Now you're friends and you've learned from that to bring your new, you've sort of, that's no way to win a cocktail war, as you know. Exactly. I would fail. Rachel, thanks so much. Thanks, John. Thank you, Rachel Maddow. Killberry Print is streaming on Peacock this Sunday and we'll be right back with more Michelle and Nimesh for The Rant Wheel and Second Thoughts. And we're back! It's that time again, time for a spin of The Rant Wheel. All right, here's how it works. We got a wheel. It'll land on you. You rant for 60 seconds. That's it. Let's spin the wheel. Oh, 60 seconds? 60 seconds. What do you got? What am I mad at? I think Indian people need to stop telling me I can't make fun of other Indian people. You know, whenever a minority talks about another minority, a bunch of other minorities from that same minority tell that person that, hey, you're talking shit about us. You're going to bring us all down. No, I'm the one entitled to talk shit about my people because I shared that experience. If I make fun of cats, cash, or Vivek Ramaswamy, it's not out of jealousy. It's because they're pieces of shit and I know exactly who they are and where they come from and I know all their lives and I feel like I should be the one talking about it. So fuck you, Indian people, if you want to. All right? It's just, you know, in my special, I talk a lot about. I spend a good six, seven minutes on Vivek Ramaswamy, I mean, on Cash Patel. I did Vivek in the previous special and people are like, oh, you're just jealous. You're bringing us down. He's the head of the FBI. How much further could we get? Thank you. Let's spin it again. Michelle, what do you got? Mine is also about Indian people. Can you imagine? Let me say what I want. I mean, my God. It's yours. Can you imagine? I love your people. My brand, it's really true. My rant is actually about television and I was so excited to be here, John, because, you know, I love Survivor, big Survivor fan, but really my rant is that they need to start putting good TV back on in the summer. It is September now. I have shit to do, by the way, and you can bleep this, but there's so much good television on right now that I can't leave the house. There's 19 different housewife seasons on. We have Survivor, Big Brother's ending this week. We have Traitors. There's now another Traitors coming out. This summer I sit, I watch the Big Brother live feeds. I want to shoot myself, okay? I'm like, there is nothing good on TV. Bravo puts all their worst stuff on. They're like, get it out of the way. Let's kill it in the summer. Give us something to love in the summer other than Big Brother. I'm begging you. I have no life and that's it. And now I'm too busy. Now look, I'm here. When am I going to have time to watch these shows? This is really how I feel. Thank you, guys. Let's spin it again. Okay, I just, this is, here's my rant. It's not really a rant. I just want to tell you about something that happened before the show, which is, so, so Gilbert Gottfried, there was like a documentary about him. And one thing that I remember from the documentary was that he would keep the little soaps and the little toothpaste and all the things in a little box under his bed and he'd have just huge piles of all these free things, like sometimes a first class flight or a business class flight will give you a little kit with all those things. He'd keep all those kits, keep them forever under his bed and then he'd take them when he travels. I, I do that. I keep them all. I have lots of these little kits and sometimes before the show I'll brush my teeth and I took out one of those little kits and I brushed my teeth and I was like, huh, orange toothpaste, that's weird. And then came and did the show yesterday and then tonight before the show I went to the bathroom and brushed my teeth and I was like, wait a second. Oh no, John, you did brush your teeth with hand cream. And, because I was like flying back and forth last week and like, I'm doing, I'm doing a red eye overnight. I got to do this show now. You better believe I'm lying flat, baby. And so I, so I got that thing and then I was like, oh no, I brushed my teeth with hand cream. Am I going to die now? I think I'm fine. That was great. You got the smoothest teeth. I know. They're supple. They're supple. They're supple, moisturized. I have a Gilbert Gottfried story. I can't, just quick two seconds. Take your time. I beat Gilbert Gottfried on flea market flip. I was on the celebrity, air quoting for me, version of flea market flip with Laura Spencer. You know that show? Of course. And it was me and Gilbert, me and my friend Fiona, Gilbert and his wife. And we beat him by $5 on that show. And his wife, not thrilled. I'll tell you who hates me. It's Gilbert Gottfried's wife. Can't stand me. But yeah. Wow. And he took all the snacks from Crafty after. Hell yeah. Yeah. And I'll say that I was a little bit, he's one of us, I was a little embarrassed, I'll say. But we can leave it there. You mean Jewish? Mm-hmm. I, see here's the thing. I can say that. It's like him. Yeah. Yeah. No. Like I can't, like he can say it, I can say that, you can say that. Here's the thing. He said that about Jewish people too. Yeah. We know. Here's the thing. Here's the thing. There's, there is something about that that I, I actually respect that in part because I think it is true to Jewish culture, which is this idea that like, oh, things are nice now. These are the fat years now. Take the snacks. It's all going away. That's true. And I like, I think that's a little bit in the back of your mind to have this idea that like. Okay. But also he owned like many homes and has Disney money. I was off the view. I was off the view in a season, as we know, and I needed that cash and they were still mad that I won and I didn't take a single snack. Thank you. Round of applause for me not stealing snacks. Thank you. Anyway, but he was, I will say this. He was lovely and I really am not saying that to be funny. Like he was genuinely kind and very, very sweet. We'll be right back. And we're back. And now we end the evening as we always do with a warm, comforting mug of second thoughts. Here's how it works. I have a list of ways the producers feel I could have done a better job tonight, though I think it's going to be hard tonight. I think tonight was a night where it was hard to come up with ways I could improve. Ten on ten, dude. Yeah. I knocked this guy out of the fucking park. Yeah. I'm sorry for fat shaming Chris Christie. I am. That was a cheap joke. We didn't really have a good. Well, I know. That's fine. No, no. I think it's a funny bit to just feel like, to just kind of as a throwaway call someone a fat fuck like that. I think it was funny because it's a little bit about a joke about calling someone a fat fuck. I think that's understood. But we could have we could have workshopped it a little bit and beaten it. Chris Christie closed a bridge that caused incalculable damage to the thousands of people's lives. If you make fun of his high BMI, go for it. The man deserves. All right. OK. Thank you. You shouldn't regret that. I don't regret it. Let's see. I lied to Michelle about coming to her show in a way that was immediately obvious. Yeah. By the way, you're lost, my friend. But I thank you. See you guys tomorrow. Yeah. So how you asked me if I would come to your show. I said, yes, that seemed like a lie. And now it's not only that I haven't said yes, it's that I'm definitely not coming. Well, that's obvious. I think that's what we're discussing out in the open right now. But I won't see you tomorrow. I think you should see all these beautiful people tomorrow. You should have like a third thoughts about the second, second thoughts because you should regret that you even brought up that you did that because neither one of us gave a fuck. I was past it. But I'm glad. Actually, I'm glad I came back up. OK. You know what? I do think I am insulting you now and I can tell that you're growing closer to me. Babe, it feels like a real connection, but only when it's mean. Well, got to go back to therapy. Got to find time on the sketch. All right. Oh, I also didn't call out the fact that when we were representing all of humanity, we chose Joan of Arc and Mr. Bean as the whole sum. I mean, Mr. Bean is probably the greatest representative of humanity to ever exist. I mean, Jesus Christ, the man like said more with his face than any most people do ever in their whole lives. Beautifully said. Rowan Atkinson is a humanity treasure. OK, guys, if you don't know, it's the greatest, the best, the best. Any second thoughts, Mesh? Give me a second. i really don't live with many regrets really i think i could have uh removed the fuck you indian people from the indian people rant but that was really just so i didn't have a end to it so that's usually like a and it was it was a beautiful button oh yeah it made it feel it was a period on the end of this it's more so just like you know i'm trying to eliminate cursing are you yeah trying to curse less i have a little child you know i was trying to curtail my are you cursing at home all the fucking time do you have any regrets i really mean it regrets you know john i have to say i was very excited to come here i'm a long time fan of yours genuinely and um i don't really know i feel like we really clicked yeah we had a good time this is a gentleman adore him and uh we have a lot of road to cover still i think you and i and i look forward to just the beginning this is just the beginning it's a bicycle built for two it's the nicest thing you've said to me all night thank you my only regret is that it has to end and that's our show thank you so much to michelle collins and to rachel matta there are 39 days until the midterms we'll be back next week with heather dubrow dr terry dubrow and lauren benanti have a great weekend love it or leave it is a crooked media production our show is produced by kendra james bill mcgrath kelsey gante and me john love it our production team includes sara lazarus raman borsellino peter miller david tolls claudia shang j banks raul calderon gavin purcell and matt degrote and our production staff is proudly unionized with the writers guild of america east i'm nate silver i'm galen druke and i'm claire malone we're back this time with our friends at crooked media for a new show called still counting yeah numbers are hard it takes her easy and frankly numbers have only gotten harder what does the data actually say how do we reconcile that with the other things that we're seeing in american politics and around the world and how do we use that data to understand or maybe even dare to predict the future of american politics new episodes every wednesday starting september 9th subscribe to still counting on youtube.com slash at still counting podcast or wherever you get your podcasts

Podcast Summary

Key Points:

  1. Built offers a membership that rewards housing payments with points redeemable for travel, dining, and fitness, powered by an AI neighborhood concierge.
  2. The built app links to credit cards and provides real-time rewards across 50,000 partner merchants, making everyday expenses more valuable.
  3. The podcast discusses political developments, including Trump’s media crackdown, the controversial White House ballroom design, and allegations of pay-for-play involving Senator Susan Collins.
  4. A ProPublica investigation reveals a potential corruption scheme involving a defense contractor and Senator Collins, including a fake nonprofit and campaign finance violations.
  5. The FBI’s cybersecurity failures and internal misconduct under Kash Patel undermine public trust in federal institutions.
  6. A local Oklahoma story highlights a courageous family newspaper exposing sheriff corruption, illustrating the dangers of authoritarianism and the importance of fearless journalism.
  7. Rachel Maddow draws parallels between the sheriff’s corruption and Trump’s behavior, emphasizing how power abuse grows when accountability is absent.
  8. The episode underscores that democracy relies on accepting loss, accountability, and the courage to report wrongdoing—even at personal risk.

Summary:

The podcast "Love It or Leave It" blends entertainment with deep political and social commentary. It introduces Built, a service that rewards rent and mortgage payments with redeemable points for travel, dining, and other expenses, supported by an AI-powered neighborhood concierge. The show then delves into pressing political issues: Trump’s ban on mainstream media coverage and the launch of his "Trump TV" YouTube channel, framed as a bid for control over narrative and attention.

This is contrasted with revelations of corruption involving Senator Susan Collins and a defense contractor, exposing a pay-for-play scheme and raising questions about election integrity. The FBI’s cybersecurity lapses and internal failures further erode public trust. A compelling parallel is drawn from a local Oklahoma story, where a small newspaper exposed a sheriff’s corruption, including threats to journalists and a culture of cover-ups.

This case illustrates how authoritarianism thrives on fear and denial, while true democracy requires accountability, courage, and the willingness to accept defeat. The episode concludes by emphasizing that democracy is not just about winning—it’s about resilience, transparency, and the moral courage to report injustices, even when it is personally dangerous. These themes underscore a broader call for vigilance in public institutions and civic life.

FAQs

Built is a membership service that rewards users for every housing payment they make, whether rent or mortgage. Members earn points that can be redeemed for flights, hotels, Lyft rides, Amazon purchases, and more. The app also features an AI neighborhood concierge that helps with tasks like reserving dinner tables or booking fitness classes.

To join Built, download the app, link a credit card or debit card, and start making housing payments. Each payment earns points, which can be redeemed for rewards across 50,000 partner merchants. The process is simple and works regardless of where you live.

Yes, Built points can be redeemed for a variety of services including fitness classes, restaurants, and Metropolis parking savings. This makes it a versatile rewards program for everyday life expenses.

The AI neighborhood concierge in the Built app helps users with local tasks like booking dining reservations, scheduling fitness classes, or arranging rides. It applies member benefits across 50,000 partner merchants to make daily life easier.

New members receive a range of benefits including points on every housing payment and access to rewards like flights, hotels, and transportation. For a limited time, there are also promotions and exclusive offers available through the built.com/loveit link.

Yes, Built works for both homeowners and renters. Whether you're paying rent or mortgage, every housing payment earns points that can be redeemed for rewards across various services.

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