Billionaires Being Billionaires, The Worst Surprise Ever 10.17.19

Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hello the Internet, and welcome to season one or four,
episode four up the production of I Heart Radio. This
is the podcast where we take a deep dive into
Americans share consciousness and say, officially off the top, fuck
Coke industries, as in the Koch Brothers, fuck Fox News.
It's Thursday, October seventeen, two thousand nine. Team. My name

(00:21):
is Jack O'Brien a K sweaty arms, which is my
woutang a K and uh, and I'm thrilled to be
joined as always by my co host, Mr Miles Gray.
Why Miles great till he gotta be Gray. Thank you
to Adamus Word for that Lizzo inspired a K man.
I don't know if you saw that clip of her

(00:42):
at Austin City Limits. I did not hire crowds lost
her as they do as they do those shows. Well,
we're thrilled to be joined in our third seat by
the baddest bitch in the room, Sophia Chang. Whoa yeah,
Sophia change. Okay. First of all, I have to say,
this is a very great guest for us to have

(01:03):
brought to us by the Zeit Gang. Surprisingly, this is
this is so much sinners uh. Sofia Chang. You are
a legend. You delivered my childhood to me. You made
my childhood possible for people who don't know, to people
who do not know. This Korean Canadian made her way
to New York and I just has a hip hop

(01:26):
history of running through her veins. I cannot say that
a number of people who you have cross paths with,
from everyone in Wu Tang to Raphael Sad to D'Angelo
one of my favorite artists, Uh, fucking Reggie Noble red
Man himself. My first fake i D name was Reggie Noble.
When I went to fucking MacArthur Park to get my ship,

(01:49):
I was fucking Reggie Noble. My other friend was Wreng
harden Man because he wanted wanted to be Warren G.
The Rapper, but we didn't know what the We didn't
could We couldn't make that a real and name, So
he couldn't just have his fake i D name be
Warren G. So he was Warren G. Harding. Isn't that
a president's name? Yes, that's terrible. Yeah, and you guys
got into places. Yeah, well it was just my cigarettes

(02:10):
and ship right anyway, is on the street did not
sell Lucy's no Uh, that's the name of a dozz
Effects song, but referring to the ships. Uh yeah, So again,
thank you for coming. So people don't know you have
a book out the baddest bitch of the room. Put

(02:32):
my chest out the uh the TV I t R
Y Y not HB I c Uh, Sophia. We're going
to get to know you a little bit better in
a moment. First, we're gonna tell our listeners a couple
of the things we're talking about today. We're just gonna
marvel at the bad run for billionaire activists that were

(02:54):
on with Jay Z and Bill Gates and Lebron not
necessarily a billionaire and his his sins are probably fifty
percent as bad as the other billionaires. But well, we'll
talk about that. We're gonna talk about the Democratic debates.
We're gonna talk Uh we're not going to talk much
about the whistleblower scandal today. Um, not not much. It

(03:16):
would be would be sad, Yeah, it would be dominating
the news and any other administration, but uh, in the
Trump administration, it's a it's a slow news day. Uh yeah.
When it comes to the whistleblower anations, are we not
We're not going to do the short dog uh and uh.

(03:36):
We're gonna talk about what the president was up to yesterday.
We're gonna talk about Hot ninety seven's no Takashi policy,
all of that and plenty more. But first, so if
you we like to ask our guess, what is something
from your search history that is revealing about who you
are as a person. So my latest search was for

(03:57):
custom hoodies, okay, and I just made custom hoodies that
say the Baddest Bitch in the Room on them because
Lena Wait Warrior Goddess posted a picture of herself on
Instagram in one of my hoodies. Yeah, which is exceptional.
And what I would say that that says about me

(04:18):
is well, it's the title of my memoir. And Lena said,
thank you for making this. It was important. I think
she understands that for any of us women or men, frankly,
who live on the margins to stand up and announced
that we're the baddest pitch in the room. Yeah, it's
a political act inximately, right, it's radical for sure. Yes,

(04:41):
So bonfire dot com slash Baddest Pitch in the Room.
It's a dope memoir name. Indeed. Yeah, I'm just jealous
that members of Wu Tang will walk you to the
subway station. So you've read it, I'm sucking, bro, every
I'm sorry. Look, I'm just off top right. If you
have any if nineties hip hop it resonates with you

(05:04):
in any way it is. Your memoir is such a
front row seat not only for people who love hip hop,
for Asian Americans, Asian Canadians, Asian people, minorities operating in
spaces that they don't feel that they are included in.
I think there's so many levels that your book hits,
especially for me. I'm like, you know, being biracial, you

(05:26):
don't have the time. Yeah, you don't know where you
have the time. I have to laugh at when my
own cousins call me Jackie chan uh, and then also
laugh at like racist black jokes that Asian people might say, right,
you know what I mean? And I think growing up
and realizing sort of dismantling a lot of the internalized
racism and sort of like mental colonialism that you battle with,
I think there's yeah, it's such a great such a

(05:48):
great book. Um, and I can't I really can't thank
you enough, thank you so much. It's really really something
else yeah, and like you're not. It's not like you
have at a front row seat, like from managing some
of these great artists who working very closely with them too,
like introducing Rizzard to Shaolin, like like there's so much,

(06:11):
so many officially officially what I mean, I mean this.
This is the kind of stuff that I feel like,
these are stories that you just don't realize. And that's
why I'm think it's so important for this book, because
you realize who like the forces at work for things
that we take very much for granted. So I'll stop fanning.
I appreciate that. I appreciate that. No, I think that's

(06:32):
a really good point. You know. Um Hurry Kondabolu, the
Indian um director and comedian, he interviewed me and he said,
you know, Sophia, much like what you're saying, I was
a teenager growing up in Queens and I loved hip
hop and I wish I had known that in the
midst of all of that music that spoke so deeply

(06:54):
to me, that there was an Asian and you know,
and that's that's my decision to put myself out there more,
you know, And that was a very interesting part of
the process of even arriving at the place where I
would choose to step into the spotlight because I shunned
for so long. So I'm glad that it resonated with you.
Thank you. Yeah, No, absolutely, What is something you think

(07:16):
is overrated? Mediocre? White men? Mm hmmm great, mm hmm,
you're superior? What are you? Superior? Mediocre? Obvious? Mediocre at
certain things? You guys know what I'm telling? Well, yeah,
I think people who are not yeah, not don't acknowledge

(07:37):
their privilege or try and use their place in society
to open doors on second thing, and they hit a
double born on third exactly right, or that you know,
they think they hit a home run and they were
born on you know, they were born on their base.
I mean, and whereas most of us aren't even allowed
into the house, right, And I think that it's not
or the dugout exactly. It's not necessarily even them. It's

(08:00):
also that society, because we live in white supremacy, because
we live in white patriarchy, it's that society allows them
to continue to ascend, right, I mean, look at the
White House. Yeah. Tanahassi Coats wrote beautifully about this. He's
got this that amazing. I say, we were eight years
in power and that really. First of all, he's for me,

(08:22):
he's like the greatest writer of our time. The second
of all, just the way that he laid that out
was really enlightening for me. Yeah. What was it like
navigating the music industry at that time where you had
I'm sure many white music executives trying to wrestle with
rap in the early nineties. I that's that's a fun question.
Mountain climbers who play an electric guitar. As a matter

(08:44):
of fact, I'm going to speak to that exactly. There
was you know, my boss was Barry Wise at Drive Records,
white guy. His father, High Wise, was also a music executive.
And what I loved about Barry, Barry's a Cornell grad,
one of the smartest people I've ever met, one of
the best record company people I've ever met. Barry never
tried to be anything but what he was. He wore

(09:06):
Orgle socks, well vests, do you know what I'm saying?
Like just and was who he was. He never changed
up his style, how he spoke, how he dressed or anything.
And and I think people respected him for that. I
certainly did. Whereas there were other executives who just wanted
to be Diggie down right. They're wearing their baseball hats backwards,

(09:26):
they start wearing backpacks. It's like only you're fifty, you know,
like like my cross colors overalls and you know, and
they're wearing baggy jeans and everything, and look, I too,
you know, absolutely adopted some of the styles, but there
was something that felt inorganic about it for certain people.
And I just had this conversation with a friend recently,

(09:48):
and um, I think that it was so refreshing when
I met people like my mentor, Michael Austin, who ran
A and R at Warner Brothers Records with his father
Ledge and Derry Moast, and same thing with Michael. He
never you know, the French have the same biendo, which
means good in your skin, and him and Barry were

(10:09):
so good in their skin. They never felt like they
had to feign anything else to be accepted because you know,
what happens is the opposite happens when you try, so
you know, when you thirst for that acceptance, it's like,
just be yourself and you know you'll you'll you'll be good.
So it was interesting to watch and you know, just

(10:29):
like you're talking about being half black and half Asian, right,
we exist in this space in between almost and so
certainly being the first Asian woman in hip hop, I'm
a woman and I'm Asian, and I'm in between the
black white binary, right, okay, And so that space for me,
at first it was daunting. I did not I definitely

(10:50):
had imposter syndrome. I wasn't sure that, you know, how
could I be the person that could be the gatekeeper
or say what was suitable. But once Barry gave me
the job, and once I found that was so warmly
embraced by the community, which was a privilege, like you're
talking to speaking to acknowledging privilege, um it, those fears

(11:11):
melted away really really quickly. But absolutely at first I
was like, am I the right person? I'm sure and
people probably trying to pull your card and stuff and
be sure totally what is What's something you think is
underrated black women? And I want to frame that correctly.
When I say I mean underrated, I mean undervalued, underappreciated,

(11:33):
you know, underappreciated, underseen, underpaid, undertaken care of. You know.
I always talk about the motherfucking village that raised Sophia
Chang and pillars of that village are black women. They're
black feminists, they're black journalists, they're black academics, they are
black thinkers. And they have taught me so much about

(11:55):
this country and just about how race works within the country.
And it's been illuminating for me to be able to
and and you know, it's such an honor to just
be able to have them as these guides and these teachers.
And you know, we we've seen all the stats I
think of black women voted for Hillary, right, you know,

(12:19):
the numbers are staggering, and then you look at how
still regarded they are getting killed in their own homes, right,
and you know, the maternal mortality rate and all that.
So that's that's the fire that's like that's burning in
me today. Hell yeah, what is a myth? What's something

(12:42):
that people think is true? You know, to be false
that Asian men aren't sexy? Okay, okay, I don't have
a problem if you have a preference. I totally get that.
We all we all have preferences. But when people make
the blanket statement, that's right, come on, everybody, you know,
nobody finds a sexy um I want to slap the

(13:05):
ship out because you are effectively erasing a whole gender,
of a whole race. And I've been thinking about this
a lot, you guys, in terms of my memoir, visibility
and eraser and black women too erased, me, too erased, right,

(13:28):
and how we actively have to ourselves und erase ourselves
and give ourselves the visibility, which isn't fair. We shouldn't
have to do that, we should just have it right,
but we don't, so we have to fight for that.
So you know the notion, I mean, the father of
my two children is a thirty four generation Shallon monk

(13:49):
who could kill you with his bare hands in thirty seconds.
But there are a myriad other incredibly sexy man Bruce Lee,
God reciscal Chian Fat, Tony Long, I mean, Jake Choi.
It's just to the way that the West has systematically
emasculated and castrated my brothers while simultaneously exoticizing, eroticizing and

(14:14):
fetishizing me. Isn't fury? Yeah, um you fell in love
with I am fat because who um? So? I grew
up yellow in a white world and yellow wanting to
be white in a white world. And then I heard
hip hop that I moved to New York and then
I then I meet Wu Tang and you know they're

(14:36):
talking about you know, you know there's that great skin
on thirty six Chambers where Ray is saying, you know, meth,
where's my killer tape? Where's my killer tape? And and
I was like, Okay, you know what, I'm gonna pay
attention to this because they were so deeply respectful of
Asian culture in general, but they loved John Woo. So
I watched The Killer, and I watched Hard Boiled, and
I went down the Jong rabbit hole and I watched

(14:57):
all of his movies. I still have the laser discs.
I watched all of his movies. Still. I actually still
have a way to google it. Um I've I don't
know how many times I've seen The Killer. Um I don't.
It's my favorite movie all of all time. Chian Fad
is his muse in the same way that DeNiro um
Scorsese's muse. And to me, John Wou was the greatest

(15:19):
director of all time, and Chian Fad is the greatest
actor of all time. And I think that what Asian
action movies managed to do that I don't know that
Western ones are able to do is infuse philosophy. And
maybe that comes from the martial arts tradition, right, because
in the martial arts movies, you have action, but you

(15:40):
always have philosophy, whether it's Buddhism or Taoism or you know,
a form of Confucianism. And so a perfect example, I'll
tell you this was a movie called It Departed, right,
and it was huge, one of the Academy Award that year. Um.
That movie was a remake of a Hong Kong movie
called Infernal Fairs, and it was directed by Andy Law.

(16:03):
I believe now if you watch The Departed, it was
my favorite movie of that year. If you watch The
Departed and then you watch Infernal Affairs, you can see
that The Departed had to have a Hollywood ending in
a way that Infernal Affairs did not feel beholden to
make you know, it's gonna be right, the bad guy's
going to get it, and the conflict and there were

(16:26):
great actors in the Department and it's going He's an
amazing director, but the conflict that was demonstrated in Infernal
Affairs was made that movie so much more touching and compelling,
emotionally compelling, for me, does it end with a rat

(16:46):
coming in and winking at the camera. That should be
the alternate ending. It might flip your laser disc over. Yeah,
all right, let's talk about some billionaire activists guys, because
we we've had a had a run with Jay Z

(17:06):
partnering with the NFL and saying that we're beyond kneeling.
We had recently found out that Bill Gates had a
shadow relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, but started after Epstein got
away with sex trafficking. M oh and then Bill Gates like,
you know what, I want to try and chill with that. Yeah,
let's kick it. Uh. Beginning in two thousand eleven, according

(17:30):
to The New York Times, Bill Gates met with Mr
Epstein on numerous occasions, including at least three times at
Mr Epstein's palatial Manhattan town house and at least once
staying late into the night. According to interviews with more
than a dozen people familiar with the relationship, MM, I
don't know. I saw somebody tweeted that it's a conscience wandering,

(17:54):
like for for some of these very wealthy people giving
money and helping people as conscious and slaundering. And I
hope that's not what's happening, just offset you fucked karmic balance.
Um now, Lebron is only worth only foy million dollars. Uh,

(18:14):
And I don't think he deserves to be grouped with
those other cases, but especially I don't think either of
them deserves to be grouped with Jeffrey Epstein and Bill
Gates's weird friendship. I don't know, there's something about looking
to extremely wealthy people for our leadership that just feels

(18:34):
like especially wrong in a profoundly American way right now,
Like that that seems to be where we have been
expecting who we've been expecting to solve our problems for
a while, or at least two kind of be our
thought leaders. It's just, you know, like I said yesterday,

(18:55):
I'm disappointed myself for being disappointed in Lebron james state
eatment because I shouldn't be looking to Lebron James just
because I like him as a basketball player. Um. Well,
it's a tough situation where you have people who might
not be completely equipped to engage in things like this,
who are speaking and also and probably their words betray

(19:16):
their intent, which I think has probably happened with Lebron
because I think he does want to do right, but
I think at the end of the day, just like
jay Z, I think his money is the most important thing. Uh,
and they're moving like that. But I guess even with
you know, when you sort of look at the context around,
I think it is terrible that the league sort of
put a lot of the responsibility on players to try
and clean up the mess that is really just it's

(19:37):
foundational to the actual organization itself, uh, not that it's
really shouldn't be on the players. Yeah. I think when
we spoke yesterday, I know I hadn't realized that Lebron
was talking about the tweet like Maury tweeting that statement
while he and the entire Lakers team. And I think

(20:00):
where the Rockets in China at that time too. I
think like there were two NBA teams in China at
that time, and I know that that's probably I think
that puts some of the things he said about feeling,
you know, bodily at risk in context said financially First,
though you did say financially, people could have been harmed financially,

(20:22):
I think I I kind of assume he's saying yes, financially,
because that's what you're all thinking. But also, I don't know,
there's a couple of ways you could take it. But
I also don't think it was just a poorly worded statement.
I do think that it represents a fundamental kind of
I don't know. It reminds me a little bit of
how Facebook keeps making mistakes that just happened to help

(20:43):
their bottom line, Like you know, it's like, oops, we
funked up again, and it happens to make us richer.
And I think, yeah, I think the thing that's disappointing
is that a lot of people, based on a lot
of the things Lebron James has said publicly and does
through charitable organizations, that if there was a binary between
choosing profits or the well being of people and democracy,

(21:06):
that he would choose democracy. And I think this is
what I think, if anything, people just realizing a lot
of people really their fundamental their bottom line is making
money at the end of the day, and at certain
point when you get to this stature, what is he
I don't I don't know if he's really willing to
use his position to like try and affect that kind

(21:26):
of change, But then whatever, that's his prerogative. I think
it's tough. You can't. It's hard to sort of thread
that needle on one side, be like, yeah, I'm gonna
talk about injustice here when it doesn't actually cause me
any financial risk, but when it does abroad, I'll just
kind of sort of shuffle. Yeah, So, wait, is more
the guy is more? The guy that he's the general

(21:47):
manager of the Houston Rockets who tweeted of image that
said like stand with and support and in some sort
of right and so Lebron said that that was misinformed.
He was saying, yeah, that he was missing. He was like,
I think Darryl Morey, like, I don't want to start
a spat. I believe he's not educated right on what
is happening here. And it was very vague that people said, like,
what do you mean he's not on what? I imagine

(22:08):
it probably came up because all sports journalists have been
asking other players, and I think unfortunately, I think unfortunately
found himself in a position where he was asked a
question he probably needed a little more, you know, pr
refining on what his takes should be to not fully
rock the boat. But again, you know, I think many
people just expected him to say, you know what, like

(22:30):
I fucked that, like democracy forever with them, it doesn't matter. Yeah,
And I also think people probably were asking him about it,
and I think part of his frustration was that the
NBA was expecting players to be the spokespeople for it,
so that was also some contexts that I had kind
of missed at first. But yeah, I mean he said,

(22:53):
I don't think every issue should be everybody's problem, which
is at first it's like, okay, I and I think
it's like anything right, Like there's so much to be
outraged in the world. At a certain point. I think
what he's trying to say is I'm not on top
of everything, so I don't know everything is as soon
as it's happened. And I think that's probably what he means.
But then when you say things, it's almost but if

(23:14):
you sort of read it narrowly, it sounds like, look, man,
I got that's not my problem, right. All right, we're
gonna take a quick break and we'll be right back
with our impressions of the Democratic debate. And we're back

(23:36):
and the Democrats we're back in the spotlight. The Democratic
presidential candidates, uh, during the biggest presidential debate of all time. Yeah,
like a cage match. What a match really? Nowhere, I
don't know what it seemed like. Clearly the theme of

(23:58):
the night was Elizabeth warrens the front runner. Let's fucking
hit her from the right, That's all it was. Uh,
the amount of words she spoke were she spoke by
far more than any candidate, because I think everyone was
directing their fire at her um and you know it
was it was really kind of odd to see people
use the same tired line when she's talking about getting

(24:20):
everyone in this country medically ensured that the wonder the
great line that everyone says, how are you canna pay
for that? Are you can pay for I know you
literally just said how you're going to pay for that?
But really it was a match to try and get
Elizabeth Warrent to to say out loud that yes, your
taxes will go up, yeah, because that's true, but however

(24:41):
that it's all about cost, right, and that's the thing
that then this is where I think Bernie Sanders excelled, actually,
because there are many moments where I think Elizabeth Warren's
getting hit so much she was finding herself kind of
like scrambling to sort of passionately defend what she's talking about.
And there were moments where Bernie could you know, he didn't.
He said, yeah, your tax are gonn go up. But
here's the deal. He's like, why are we talking about

(25:02):
this because really the situation is like this because of
them insurance companies, because of the pharmaceutical companies, because of all.
That's what this is about. It don't like, why are
we getting my optically focused on this tax thing? It's
a game theory thing where the other candidates know that
she has basically created this rule for herself where she's
not going to say I'm going to raise your text
because she doesn't want to. She just knows it's going

(25:23):
to be an attack ad from Trump if she is
the candidate. So she's just not going to say that.
So they know that, and so they're going to use
that against her to like bend her into all sorts
of awkward wordings. And you know, I don't I don't
think it's substitutively very important, but I get like, I

(25:44):
get their overall, the overall perspective that like, well, it's
got to be a realistic plan. I just but they
don't think that's actually what they care about. And also
it's not a standard. But real Republicans ever hold themselves too.
But I think that word real I stick though, is
used in the context of what will the powers that
be allow us to do? It's not It's not revolutionary,

(26:07):
you know what I mean. The revolutions aren't being like, well,
what are they gonna allow us to do? You're gonna
be like, no, we're about to turn this thing up,
and we'll do it on our terms. But everyone else
is to shook. So they're doing like, well, are you
gonna pay for that? I mean, then you're gonna kick
people off their insurance, you know, when no one's getting
kicked off of insurance. First of all, I have too
people who do pay for the insurance. Tell me how
many of you all fucking like your insurance. Look at

(26:28):
Caitlin Durante who's been on the show, who had to
get her gallbladder removed, going through all kinds of hoops
and took months for things like that to happen. And
that's somebody who pays for insurance and had to appeal
to like a public funding thing, right, Because that's how
that's where we're at. That's where we're and we're saying
how about a world where that is not a reality,

(26:48):
rather than well what about the insurance people are happy
paying for it? That's just a talking point from the
insurance industry to be like, well, how how do we
keep our checks coming in? Right? I think I think
it's a thing where people who are insured through their
employer or like, I don't want to lose my insurance.
But that's because they're used to a world where you
can lose your insurance and be completely financially fucked if

(27:10):
you have to go to the hospital. So of course
they don't want to lose their insurance. That's been like
their life preserver in this like killer be killed like
world where you don't necessarily get insured. And there these
uh people are basically saying we want to end the
possibility that you won't be insured. Yeah, it just reminded

(27:32):
me even when she had to come at John Delaney
a few debates ago and she's like, why are we
even bothering talking about ship if we're not talking about
changing ship for real? Like that doesn't make sense. And
I think that seemed to be the theme. But again, uh,
that's where Bernie really was very able to, like, very
eloquently and passionately able to defend some of these ideas

(27:52):
in a way that he was just like fucking y'all
think I had a heart attack and I'm weak, Like
watch watch this. Yeah, he went all the way in
and and you know, I think that was great because
you need someone to you know, because they are similar
in certain ways Warren and Sanders on certain policies that
you almost it's good to hear that counterpoint, at least
coming from Bernie to understand, like if for someone who

(28:14):
has maybe put off by what they think medicare for
all means to hear like what the stakes are for people,
what that actually means. So uh yeah, I think there
was also very little mention of climate change this time
very interesting time. Well that's because I mean that's not
the real danger. The real danger is you know, if
you're friends with George W. Bush and like the whole

(28:36):
Ellen scandal, I think what what was really on people's mind,
because that was one of the questions, right, who's a
surprising friend? You? Yeah, who was surprising? I'm sorry? What
we have like people dying in this And I think
this is probably the issue with these debates is like
they're just one of the questions. Yeah, that was the
last question. I think that's what they closed out with,
who's a surprising friend you have? I think that's just

(29:00):
the moment for like white people to be like this
person of color or some other things again, and they
asked it in the context of the Ellen thing. Didn't
that that's sophomoric? Isn't that wild? Yeah? And I think
that's where we're really These debates do us a disservice
because they're not They're we're not confronting real systemic issues. Right.

(29:21):
It's a lot of Okay, everyone, do your book, report
what you're talking about. Okay, I have a question about
this book for them, Okay, the next person. I think
they're really they could get better, but we've seen them
sort of like modulate between like, Okay, this felt a
little more focused. This one felt like pageantry. Are the
town halls better? The town halls are interesting. I saw
the lgbt Q one last week, and that felt there

(29:44):
were moments and at least there were activists who got up,
spoke out, put some of the candidates on their heels
by taking over the mic and addressing things head on.
I think that was actually a great thing to see
because usually a lot of these candidates are in controlled environments.
They're not expect doing someone to ask them directly a question,
what are you going to do to protect trans woman

(30:04):
of color who are being killed at an alarming rate?
And I think some people were able to move with it.
Kamala Harris did not. She said when someone from the
rafters like, what are you going to do as president?
Like we are out here getting killed, and she said,
you're right. Her answer was your right, and then she
couldn't quite articulate. It was a little But that shows

(30:24):
you too, how many people who as a candidate, no
matter what you're being asked, you can respond like you can.
You know, it's like energy, like you can take that
and redirected and bring it back. Some people just absorb
it and get hit and they're like, well, I don't know,
it might not be happening in my brain. So according
to the mainstream media and the monoculture, Mayor Pete was

(30:45):
the real standout from the debate last night because he
was the one that kind of landed the punches that
resonated the most on Warren Uh And I don't know,
just by default, I feel like someone who's not Biden,
who's the centrists. They need someone, the mainstream media needs
someone who's going to be the man who's not a

(31:06):
socialist of the field. It feels like like that's they're
just like grasping for that, and they're right, but even
the framing of that is frustrating. Oh hell yeah, right,
meaning the fact that the person who is the standout
is the one that lands the most punches. And I

(31:26):
understand that it's a debate, but a debate isn't about gotcha, right,
Like I sat there for hours with my team when
I prepped, and I wondered, what's the fucking zinger that
I can ask? It's going to knock her off my feet? Right, yeah,
like it's a rat battle or something. Yeah, but I
mean what it's like really that kind of like that's

(31:52):
really what they're going for, because I think at the
end of the day, we live in such a like
tweet based culture too. It's like, well, what's that fifteen
second clip? Right, we're just clap back at Elizabeth Warrenston, right,
but I mean got him. It's it's interesting because the
mainstream media would uh kind of and I know people
who are like, well, you guys are just like these

(32:13):
Hollywood leftists who you know, think everybody supports Warren and
like people are actually more center than you think. And
that's why Biden's like out there has like is still
consistently in in the lead in a lot of national polls.
But I think it's just it just seems like unbalanced.

(32:36):
The way the media covers like Bernie is not considered
a serious candidate, even though he very much is. It
really reminds me of two thousand four the way they
covered Howard Dean, where he was just like this upstart.
I mean, it actually reminds me of how they covered
Trump at first. It's just like they don't really believe

(32:56):
that there's any chance that the person can win because
they're not a trade to I think you gotta zoom
out a little bit more. Because it's corporate owned media.
They could never start engaging with the ideas of Bernie
Sanders in a very authentic or genuine way because that
is a threat, that's an existential threat to the business
model that they're operating on. Like it's like a like

(33:19):
a fucking fire podcast where a bunch of forest fires
talk about fire extinguishers or some ship. It's like yeah,
I love this. I love getting the flame ex like
it just doesn't. I think it's counterintuitive. And I think
that's where they really show their bias too, because I
think that's why Elizabeth Warren is a little bit safer
for the mainstream media because she still identifies as a capitalist. Um.

(33:40):
But I mean when you look also to the amount
that Bernie actually spoke too, if you're like going off
a word county, he was down there, like closer to
the bottom. But that's just sort of how things go
right now in this country. If you look at the
five thirty eight polls, the people who won the debate,
they did like pull with ipsos where they interviewed three

(34:02):
thousand people before the debates, like in the week leading up,
and then interviewed a thousand of those same people. Uh so,
like you know, saw how it changed. Um, And Elizabeth
Warren had the highest like increase in her approval or
like favorability rating. Bernie Sanders was second, and Pete Bota

(34:23):
was third. So can I ask you something though? Yeah,
I mean I pay attention to the polls as well,
but after I kind of feel like, yeah, you know,
I I don't think I don't I used the polls
as like a fucking hit, like awful blunt or something
like Okay, I can relax. He pulled these stay steady Hillary,

(34:46):
I really hate this dude good on election day, the
New York Times because you know, the New York Times
had New York Times really fucked up, and she was
in the nineties throughout the day. Remember she was in
the high nine and the high nineties. Like, so that's
the thing, So I don't pay attention to any of

(35:07):
that ship. Five thirty eight had it as like one
in three that Trump would win, and they said exactly
how it would happen if he did with it, and
poll that you that you give the most CREATI so
they completely nailed two thousand and twelve, like down to
the county of like who would wow, how Obama would win?

(35:27):
And then people because they were sort of like you
know how like people just become the brand of something
like Einstein is the brand of smart, like eight became
the brand of pulling. It was just like, okay, they
represent all polling, and like the polls got it completely
the funk wrong. And because everybody had five thirty eight

(35:48):
as the brand of polling, everyone's like, well, Nate Silver
fuck him, like, and I think he was wrong on
a bunch of things, but he was still like not
out are over a skis saying. He was like, this
can happen. Yeah, I mean I think so. That's why
I still pay attention. And they generally have a pretty

(36:11):
good level of skepticism and you know, caution when it
comes to their own numbers. I think the difference now
is I look at poles and I go, Okay, that's
how some people are feeling right right, versus Okay, this
is reality. Okay, that's what I was like, this is
reality fucking quantified for my brain. Great, we're good. And
now I'm like, okay, that's how some people feel. But

(36:31):
I still don't know. Every motherfucker still has to get
on vote and and and in the end, you know,
I mean, I'm this is not my area of expertise
at all, But I have many friends that are smarter
than me that I've spoken to a lot. In the end,
somebody on Bill Maher said this a woman. I wish
I could remember her name so I could I could
give her credit. It was racial animous, wasn't it. Mm hmmm?

(36:53):
You know. It was a response to eight years of
a black president that gave us what we have now,
you know, And I think that all of us, well,
first of all, the people that started talking about post
racial whoever created that term needs to be slapped. Um.
And so then, um, so many of us settled into
this comfort of thinking that Okay, you know, things are

(37:16):
kind of stabilizing, and I think that it just you know,
we became more islamophobic as a country, you know, and
then all of these things started bubbling up, and I
think that you know, people were like, I've had eight
years of a black president. Now you want me to
elect a woman. Yeah, there's a there's a limit, right much.
What was the thing Malcolm Gladwell was talking about in

(37:38):
his podcast about how there was a female like, there's
a woman painter that showed at one of these galleries
like in the nineteenth century, and uh like based on
the placement of her painting, that like gave it a
little bit of cash, and then the next year they
didn't do it because they felt that like, well, we
had a woman of this last year, so we're good

(37:59):
quota satisfied. Yeah, we sort of like aligning that same
thinking with a lot of white voters who are like, well,
we had a black president for a I think we're good. Okay,
now let me sco with Trump now because I did that.
I did that. I was hoping that means that now
that we've had an openly racist president for four years,
that people will be like, okay, enough of that ship. Right.
Let's you've heard Chris Rock's joke, right, Chris Rock has

(38:19):
this joke about the presidents and I will never do
it justice. But he essentially says, well, you know, so
and so gave us so and so, so and so
gave us so and so so. Now after Trump, we
should get Jesus Christ, right, yeah, yeah, like literally yeah yeah,
like in the form of Armageddon because Christ will return
because it's the end of the world. Like in that sense,

(38:39):
that might be it. Yeah, that could be it. That
does seem to be as general according to Southern Baptists,
when all the evangelicals they're like, yeah, they really are.
They're like ships the end times. They're like, bring them home. Uh, well,
let's talk about the apocalyptic nature of what's happening in
in the White House because this story. Okay, so in

(39:01):
late August, the wife of a American diplomat that was
in the UK. Her name is and S Coolist. She
was dry. So she's in the UK, the wife of
an investor. She's driving on the wrong side of the
road because it's the UK, and she struck and killed
a nineteen year old who was riding on his motorcycle
because she was on the wrong side of the road.

(39:23):
She spoke to the police the day of the accident,
I think, then the next day, and then fucked off
a couple of weeks later under diplomatic community. I mean,
consider I doubt she disputed the fact that she was
driving on the wrong side of the road and killed
this person. Did I mean, I don't How do how

(39:44):
do you dispute that? I don't think she did. No, no, no,
I think I think that's pretty much accepted. And I
think local police actually tried to like object to her
using diplomatic community to return to the US. But you know,
this is where we are. She's in the US, and
the family of this guy, Harry Dunn, they are looking
for justice for their son because their son was killed

(40:05):
by someone who was just grossly negligent at best um
and so they've gone from everything from asking for you know,
the help of like politicians the UK getting on TV.
They've been in New York doing a press conference. They
were invited to the White House a couple of days ago. Um,
so last week they had something with like an American
diplomat where they were like, oh, that was just a

(40:27):
photo of it was like a camera in in the
car with them. I remember seeing that last week. They
were like weeping and they were like, that was just
a fucking photo op for for that asshole. So cut
two cut too. They have an invitation to the White House.
They've been wanting to speak to the president. The father
of this young man who died said, I just want
to be able to speak to him a parent to parent,

(40:49):
to say what would you do if you lost your child?
And this person who was responsible for their death was
able to just skate because on some diplomatic community ship.
So they get a chance. Uh. The President comes in.
According to the family, he was very uh kind and
consoled them. I doubt that because I feel like they
still need something from Trump. So I'm not gonna be

(41:09):
like this fool ask. I don't know. I believe, I
just can't. I've never seen Trump actually console someone in
a convincing way. Um. Then things got fucking weird. So
this is from the report says. The family says that
Trump surprised them with the bombshell news that and Skulis,
the wife of the U. S. Diplomat, was in an
adjoining room. Photographers were waiting in the wings, said a

(41:31):
family spokesperson, who described the encounter as an ambush. So
they were like, oh, I hear you so much. Actually, uh,
the woman who killed your son is in the next
room with camera exactly, and they were just apparently for
people who saw it, they were positioned to get like
this angle of like the moment where the family saw

(41:52):
the woman responsible for killing their son and they were like,
they said, no, we're good. We're not we don't want
to do that. This feels off and we're good, Yeah,
they said, yeah. They said, we were only interested in
meeting her on our terms and on UK soil, our
on our soil exactly. And there there's talks of that.
But I mean, again, it's just another moment where I think,

(42:13):
I don't know what. It's one of those things where
you know, this was Trump's idea from the beginning. I'm
sure there are people who are like, I don't know,
but at this point in the White House, like if
he if he says he wants to sucking all the
people who say, I don't know are gone. I want
to do a double X L Cipher Kanye West. It'll
be sick like doing some ship like that. I think
they just like fucking okay whatever. And it's the most tasteless,

(42:38):
just fucked up thing you could do to exploit this
family's grief. And I don't know how he thought that
was gonna make him look exactly like what even in
your mind is the home run version of this surprise
meeting that they hug and they say, I forgive you,
don't worry, you know, I get it. Man, people drive,
we drive wacky on the other side of the road

(42:59):
in the UK. How are you supposed to know? Like,
I don't know, I don't I don't know what the
even the most ideal version of that scenario is bred healing,
bright healing a lot of understanding, but I just don't. Yeah,
it's just a very surreal, just evil moment. Yeah, reminds
your succession. I actually haven't seence. Oh man, you're gonna

(43:22):
love it. Yeah, but surreal evil. Haven't we been living
with surreal evil for a long time where you kind
of go, this can't be real. This is real, yeah,
and it's so right. And I think that's where I'm
trying to just be like I have to measure my
shock with my accept not that I accept that this
is what the situation is, but I understand that this

(43:43):
is the situation we're in with this president. Right, We're
all living in that dwell Yeah, exactly, that this conflicted
place where you're like, but and then but we can't
be surprised, But how can we not be surprised? I'm desensitized.
I don't want to be desensitized. You know. It's the fatigue.
It's the fatigue of living in this in this duel. Yeah, absolutely,
And it's and trying to sort of thread that needle
of being like, why I can't numb myself to this,

(44:05):
because then I will I won't be uh worthy advocate
or someone who can speak up to anything if I'm
completely just like check out for my own well being.
But there is I have to kind of must decree. Yeah,
to a certain level. It's like you can't take your
off the ball because the second you start being like, yeah,
that's all, then that's when you fully, the slow boil

(44:26):
has began on you. But it's impossible not to be
desensitized exactly. But but don't you think that that's part
of our that's our emotional uh necessity that we can't
allow because otherwise you would feel like you were getting
fucking punched in the solar plexus every fucking right, So
define another presidency, but this will just be forgotten by

(44:49):
tomorrow probably. Well, yeah, And I think it's all in
self preservation that we have these mechanisms to what precisely,
what are you gonna do just you know, implode on yourself?
And people have you know, I know plenty of people
who have had to completely disengage from the news. And
I think if you're able to, uh to stay engaged
somewhat and maintain your well being, great, hopefully this show

(45:12):
does that for you because we try not you know,
try and keep a light, but you know, also try
and put the light on the darkness a little bit.
But I think, yeah, it is it's a very very
trying time. And when you just see things like this,
it seems like some ship in like a fucking like
a fucked up movie. Um, but it's not. And that's
what people need to remind themselves because at least the

(45:34):
first step is going to the polls. But that's not
going to change much if we're gonna be real. But
to get the president out though, for sure. I have
a friend who totally disengaged with the news, but he's
working for Stacy Abrams, working with Stacy Abrams on like
the get the like make preserve the right to vote thing.

(45:54):
Like that's a good in what capacity? He's just I
mean he's I don't want to like get into no,
but is in a policy thing or yeah, yeah, but
you can still be disengaged from the news and still
I think, yeah, he's just that's that's a very specific task.
It's a target, and so I can see that that's
pretty dope to like have a outlet. Yeah, Like it's

(46:17):
one thing to disengage with the news and just ignore.
It's another to like engage with the problem while not
having to immerse yourself being used constructively. I was just
bragging that I know somebody who knows Stacy's my mom
took a photo with everybody from succession. I know, Man,
what the fuck? That blew my mind? All Right, we're

(46:37):
gonna take another quick break, we'll be right back, and
we're back and Hot nine, the legendary rap radio station,

(46:59):
has announced there Takashi policy. Yeah no Takashi Yeah no,
Takashi Takashi six nine unless he has hit. Well, here's
the deal, Okay, he was cooperating with the police, uh
to get the nine trade bloods on the hook for
some stuff. Uh. And anyone who has seen a movie

(47:20):
or has been anywhere near rap music would know that's
probably not advisable, okay, or rather, there are consequences. Uh.
And usually what you would do if you wanted to
stand up for something like that, you would go into
something called witness protection, so that way no one can
find you, uh and there will be no retaliation against you.
This man has decided to forego witness protection. He is

(47:42):
going to just go resuming his rap career. Um. And
many people from all corners of hip hop are like,
I don't know if that's the best thing. Oh, he's
not going into witness No, he's not going into witness protection.
He also there's a rumor to TMZ reported that he
has signed a deal with the the first label he
was with, worth like ten million, to put out two albums.

(48:03):
So there are people like investing in this too now.
Um and Hot ninety seven has come out that basically
says when he is released from prison and drops new music,
the radio station will not jump to debut any of
the records, and they don't anticipate playing any of his
music at all unless there's an outcry because the hit
is so big that they don't want to funk up
their their numbers because at the end of the day, look,

(48:24):
you gotta do what the people want. But I think
I think it's easy to say that he'll probably never
be at a summer jam for sure, because I think
with the amount of just security he would need or
what would happen. What about the insurance imagine what the
policy looks like your c I like your insurance policy
to have somebody like that there. It's yeah, I've see.
This is a little abstract to me. What what do
you can imagine would cost to ensure a show like

(48:47):
We're someone who I had? I literally have no idea,
but I just know that if I was the venue
of I was the promoter, that I would absolutely take
that into consideration. That there's a there's a potential liability
there right, massive, massive, liability. It's I don't understand. That's
why it's funny. This has been kind of one of
these moments where I feel like there's old hip hop
heads and younger hip hop heads who don't see eye

(49:08):
to eye on this where a lot of I think,
and it's probably because of the evolution of rap music,
where a lot of people who were in the streets
were the first people rapping, and now there are a
lot of people who, from the comfort of their living rooms,
have taken on these personas and are now dabbling in
this world to where some people are like, it's he's fine,
it's all good, he's no, he's going to touch him,
blah blah blah, and that that could that I could

(49:28):
believe a world where that's true because there's so much
attention on him. But I also believe there's another world
that operates in a completely different way too, that he's
sort of immersed himself in that. I'm not sure where
that ends. Yeah, I mean I think so. I don't.
I don't really know much about this boy. I don't.
I don't really pay attention to hip hop like that
these days. But it's my right of my understanding that

(49:50):
he took on a persona that was not necessarily genuine. No,
that's not yet. So to me, that's the interrogation that
I think should be made. Right. Hypothesizing about whether or
not he's something he's going to come into harm and
I don't wish anybody harm is less interesting to me
than the conversation around what is it to feign something

(50:16):
for commercial reasons? Right? And then two it's it's like
a It's like a tattoo that you can put on
temporarily and take off, right. And I think it's so social.
I think it's political because from what I understand about
people that are in gangs there, it's not like there
are a lot of other options. Right, So if you're

(50:39):
not paying attention to and not being sympathetic and empathetic to,
what does it actually mean for the what are they
called the nine one? Yeah, for the nine trade bloods,
like having any sympathy for that or trying to do
anything to make that situation better if they wanted that.
But you also want to kind of have the grill

(51:01):
and the do you know what I'm saying. I just
think that that's that's a conversation that I would like
people who know more about me, which is probably everybody
at this point, but from where I sit, um having
known artists who did live on, you know, on the
crime side, the New York Times side, um to to

(51:22):
to wear that as an accessory, I think is what
should also be part of the conversation, right right, that
we're sort of still glorifying like that that's a that
that's a roadmap somehow, well, you know, it's it's not
necessarily yes, part of it is a glorification. But I
think what I find offensive is that this is for gangs.

(51:46):
And again I don't know very much, but gang life,
I think we can safely say is dangerous and it
is something that is problematic. And for someone to simply
say that, I think it's cool and therefore I want

(52:07):
to have the veneer of being in the game, but
I actually have the privilege that I don't actually have
to be within that ecosystem, right which could be life
for death. Is the thing that I take issue with
that you're that you're feigning a lifestyle that for some

(52:28):
people is very very real and potentially very very dangerous.
Is I think that and boils down to growing and
also just a lack of opportunity where that is your
only recourse, right, whereas that's not your reality, right For
the person that Danny Hernandez or whatever his real name is,
like people showing him in his rom photos and he's like, Okay,

(52:50):
you know what, I'm going to have these dudes in
the videos with me to try and again, because I
think there is this thing of like a lot of
people take that gangster culture and lends it this air
of credibility or authenticity. And I think, and again to
what you're speaking about, it's true, it's like how are
we is this what how are we determining what's authentic?
And is that what we see as authentic? Still because

(53:13):
I think these are these are all like layers that
have kind of happened as the onion of hip hop
is peeled, Like you see sort of what's you know
what what used to be? What is the future and
things like that, But yeah, it is it is odd
when the it comes with a lot of uh consequences.

(53:33):
And yeah, like to your point too, that it really
is it's a gangs exist because it's a system. There's
a systemic failure, like we failed people where their only
recourse is to get into the streets like that, and
that is another uh dimension of it that I think
is probably left out because yeah, even for me too,
I'm more like I'm I'm in like the tabloid e
version of hip hop too, things like okay, tokashi, good

(53:55):
luck and then also it's good to have you here too, Sophia,
because it's a little sobering sort of look at it
a little bit clear to and be like this is
actually this is a much larger thing, and we're looking
at a very narrow So now he gets he's getting
ten million dollars, Like what do you are you going
to take a million of those ten million dollars and
maybe put it towards the community that you exploited for

(54:17):
your success, Like what what is your level of activism
if you're going to put on the mantle, right, you know?
And yeah, I just yeah, And I mean you look
at people like Nipsey Hustle too, who was active, came
from the streets and actively saw why he why he

(54:40):
was there, why he had to why his evolution was
the way it was, and tried to change that and
his life ended tragically. And but yeah, these are the
kind of you know, you can see that there are
levels to the way a lot of rappers look at
where they come from, what their places, and if they're
doing like, am I just doing this because I like
to shine and I want to wear bathing a putties?
Or am I doing something because like I actually realized,

(55:01):
like I don't want anybody to do have to do
what I did. Did that, so hopefully you want to
go do that? Right. I was wondering if authenticity is
becoming less of a thing in in like modern hip
hop and just modern culture in general, because we have
like YouTube stars who are like the Paul Brothers who

(55:23):
are just like bad, They're just caricatures w a caricatures
of like something but like not actually believably authentic in
any way. Right. Well, but then I think, but but really,
the artists that do really well are the actual artists
you know, who are really like, this is me, this
is what I'm doing, this is how I'm choosing to

(55:44):
express myself, no matter what the genres, because I think
there's a sincerity about someone really expressing themselves truly that
no matter what the beats are, the lyrics or the package,
it just it just connects with people on a deeper level.
You know, I think that authenticity is a term that's
thrown around a lot these days, and and and I

(56:04):
and look, I think that I am very authentic. I
think I have a very authentic voice. I think that
my memoir is very authentic, and anything that I do
is authentic. Um So, if people are going to be
storytellers and the claim is that they are telling their
own story right as opposed to writing fiction, then I

(56:25):
want authenticity. And I think that m c s would
probably consider themselves storytellers. I think the best of them are.
And here in I also want authenticity. I That's why
I think I'm having an issue with saying, Okay, you know,
I'm down with this, or I do that, or you know,
going back to the guys I was telling you about

(56:46):
in the industry who you know suddenly acted like they were,
you know, so so down, I mean to me, one
of the most beautiful manifestations of authenticity and hip hop
was Redman's episode of crib Yes you know this is
you know for that show MTV Cribs. They used to
rent houses for the rappers. They used to rent cars

(57:11):
for the rappers. So that's the furthest thing from authenticity right,
that's the opposite. And he's so disrupted that he completely
subverted that model, right because right exactly here, here's the
here's the box on top of them, here's a cereal
box on top of my fridges has the dollar bills, right,
And I think that's also speaks very much to his

(57:32):
talent and his confidence and knowing there's nothing that I
could do or show you that's going to ever shake
who I am as red Man. And so the notion
that there is a show based on luxury, on aspirational
living and it's all about consumerism, that too, is kind
of offensive to me. I never fucking watched that show.

(57:53):
I never watched I never watched Lifestyles of the Rich
and famous. I never watched any of those things that
shoved in my phase. Wouldn't your life be amazing if
it was this, because those are not the things that
define happiness. External, that's right, They're completely external. And look,
I would love a nice, big fat crib. I'd love
to fucking fly private and all that. I would love that,

(58:15):
but that's not I'm not on the paper chase. So
the fact that there there there was so much programming.
I don't know if there's anymore. I don't really watch
television like that. But the fact that there was so
much programming around um wanting to be wealthy and live
in luxury, I think is kind of gross to the
point that you fake it again. It's faking right. Rent

(58:38):
this house with which house do you want? I want
the one with the fucking big gass, you know, I
want the one with the big gass aquarium and it's
got to have the I don't know, obn aquarium. Okay, Well, yeah,
just all of those markers of success which are firmly
based in capitalism, absolutely right, which kind of goes back

(58:58):
to the conversation about billionaires like capital and capitalism. My
girlfriend Trevial lindsay, it's a capitalism makes us ship hard.
So it makes it hard, you know, it's it's it
just it just necessarily, if you think about it, it
necessarily compromises everything we do. I own home. Yeah. Well,

(59:20):
and I think it's funny too, as you say, like
they need to sell a mirage of aspirational wealth and
things like that, because to to really inoculate people or
get people to buy into that thinking is the precisely
kinds of ship you see in the form of like centrism,
where really evaluating what the issues are and if there
is a class of wealth in this country that is

(59:41):
actually working against everything and a lot of systemic issues
are coming from this mentality of like consume consolidates as
much as possible to the detriment of others. You Like,
that's sort of how these programs function because it's sort
of like this thing in the back of your mind.
It's like, why don't should I mean, should I be
mad at millionaires because like when I'm a millionaire, you know,
like that would be sick. So maybe I should go

(01:00:03):
easy on them because that could be me, you know
what I mean, Like, there's that sub It works on
your subconscious because for me, as a fucking what fourteen
year old probably watching Cribs at the time fifteen, I
was full, I fully, I'm sure you found a complete
would I went to the back of the Source magazine
and ordered fake canary yellow diamond areas and ship. I
wanted to fucking show out because in my mind that

(01:00:28):
really was I had a very one dimensional idea of
what success or happiness was a most absolutely but that's
but again, that's where we live. We live in America, right, right,
I love fancy things. I wear a Gucci hat, I
buy prod of shoes. You know, I I absolutely am
part of this system. There's no doubt in my mind.

(01:00:49):
You know. The other thing I think about you guys
in terms of authenticity is that, you know, I came
up in an arrow where there was no social media, right,
and so I think about I think, is it safe
to say that Instagram is probably the most real bus
platform for artists more definitely more so than Twitter and Facebook. Yeah. Yeah,
it depends on where you Instagram for sure. Right. So

(01:01:11):
let's say I have one, two, three, ten million followers,
and it's all about pictures. So it's all about what
I wear, where I live, what I drive, whom I'm fucking,
what I'm eating, what I'm drinking. I mean, I cannot imagine,
you guys, the how onerous it is to sustain this

(01:01:36):
big willie. Back in the day, we used to say,
big willy, this big willy lifestyle, you know. I mean,
you know, so what if you walk down the street
and you just want to like, you're not wearing whatever
the fuck or whatever the brands are, whatever the sneakers are,
and stuff like that. You know, I never I never
want to be in a position where I'm going to

(01:01:57):
be I take uberpools. I I'm a fucking immigrant. When
I look at the four dollar price difference, I'm like,
I could afford the four dollars, but I can't prostitutionally
as an immigrant, I can't tear a voice in your Yeah,
my mother, Yeah, it's my mother going, why don't you
take the subway? Right? And I'm like, I'm treating myself
to a pool. But just the notion of, you know,

(01:02:18):
going back to authenticity, A lot of that too, I
think is not necessarily authentic because I think a lot
of the artists out there are spending their money on
these things that present a lifestyle. But then, do you
own a home, do you have a trust for your children? Right?
Where is your money parked? Right? So you might not

(01:02:42):
you might not go into the stock market or whatever,
but is it somewhere Because some of these guys, millions
of dollars will go through their hands and leave their hands,
and that's okay. Look, if I was a nineteen year
old kid, I'd spend the ship out of my money.
I would be I would be I would be off
the chain. That would be all the rails, I would
be foolish, right, But the notion that I now, oh,

(01:03:05):
fuck you, guys, I gotta post. Hang on, I gotta
go buy these shoes. Hang on, I gotta go do
I gotta go do that. That's a lot. I gotta
posed by this, like villa. Yeah, I've got to be
in a G five. Well, yeah, I performing my friends
from TV are also my friends in reality j Yeah.
Well yeah, And I think that's sort of That's why
I think the Instagram is that it's the perfect sales

(01:03:29):
tool because it sells people on seemingly authentic versions of life.
Because people it's like, well a person posted that, not
person with a stylist, fucking whole marketing plant, and lighting
was yeah, lighting who has someone probably editing the photo itself,
so probably has deals going with brands to figure out
like Okay, well here's the deal. We'll get you to
this location and then do subtle things and that kind

(01:03:50):
of helps, you know, create this thing of longing through
your your phone screen. Yeah, and it's even worse for women,
right right, So okay, take that picture by get rid
of all my age spots, guys, get rid of the
bags under my eyes and get rid of the wrinkles
and everything. And I'm going to get surgery and I'm
going to do all this and I'm gonna, you know,
my tids are gonna be bigger, and my waist is
going to be smaller, my ass is going to be bigger.

(01:04:11):
And and no shade to anybody that does this, I'm
That's not what I'm saying. But we are living in
a time where there where we can actually buy a
certain kind of beauty. Right, So if we if if
we have the means, and we're all going towards, frankly,
what I think is a very a narrow right, the

(01:04:34):
definition of beauty. Well, first of all, we're gonna become
more homogeneous, which I never like. Right, And then what
does it mean for me raising a daughter who was
a yellow girl again in a white world, right, who
does not fit into this paradigm of beauty? How do
I tell her if she says to me, and she
never would, but if she said to me, mommy, I

(01:04:55):
want to get this job or that job or whatever,
you know, the things that we have to addle and
so to be a famous woman too, like nobody gives
a funk, what a man eats. Okay, nobody gives a fuck.
But if somebody sees an actress, let's say she's a
thin actress and she's eating a cheeseburger, Like what that's
a fucking story? Now, who gives all? She's brave? Yeah, right, exactly,

(01:05:17):
she's brave for eating what she wants. Exactly. We're human beings, yeah, yeah,
oh man, it's uh yeah, And I think also, like
growing up in l a, man, I've I see how
quickly people's ship gets poisoned by this like performative. I've
heard that too, like wealth ship and it's yeah, it's
and the beauty right, like if I'm gonna go out
and I'm going to be on the red car, but

(01:05:38):
you know what, Sophia is not quite pretty. You know what,
I think I have to upgrade from Sophia, right right, right,
I've got to get somebody who's younger and thinner. Yes,
And yeah, they're like, oh well, like I can't pull
up to a party with you because you're a college
to that's right. And I can't pull up in this
car either, yeah exactly, Like okay, what you canna park
your prelude around the corner, right, Yeah, we'll act like
our limo broke down. Okay, that goes mom. I rid

(01:06:04):
the city bike in New York. Yeah, and I take
Gouber pools there we go. I mean, but that's the thing, like, right,
I think it's about people being able to realign what
makes them happy or redefine what makes them happy. I
think because we have because consumer culture makes us think
when I attain X, then I will be happy. That's
not I will be happy, right then I can attain whatever,
and and those things have to be the gravy, not

(01:06:26):
the meat, right Like my X and I talked about
this in my memoir is a thirty four generation Shallon Monk.
And when we started seeing each other, I you know completely.
I was a stylist and he started wearing product sport
and stuff like that, and he looked really great. And
I remember people looking at skance at him and they're like, oh,
I didn't know that Buddhist monks could wear a product
like you know what suck a deck call me because

(01:06:47):
it's not about it's not about him wearing the product.
It's about him being attached to it. And he would
never be attached right right, right right, he fucking slept
on a concrete floor for I don't think he's gonna
care if you can't wear a fucking product jacket tomorrow.
It's like not having running water will kind of do
that to you, exactly, exactly the notion. It's not about

(01:07:10):
having it for me, it's about I have to actively
exercise not being attached to it. And I think that
what's really really important for us spiritually and just for
our soul and our internal happiness is to not let
the external world define it. Am I happy if I
buy a new pair of shoes, Sure I am, But

(01:07:30):
does that define my happiness or define me? Of course
it does, because if if the shoes are taken away
and it sucks you up, then right, that's exactly what happen.
It's the same thing with praise, right of getting too
attached to people's praise. It's like, yes, that can feel good,
but if that becomes your be all, end all, what
do you do when that you no longer hear that?
Right we have from It's like it's a good reminder,

(01:07:52):
but I don't need that. I don't feed off. That's
not my fucking oxygen. Exactly. You have to have your
your internal barometer and your internal compass have to be
so fucking solid and then all of it is like
you take it and it comes and it goes and
it's water. Baby, Yeah, exactly, It's like Bruce Lee, you

(01:08:14):
like water, My friend, well, Sophia, it has been a
pleasure having you on the daily Guys. Where can people
find you and follow you? So I am for me
because I'm a rapper Instagram. Instagram is definitely where I
um am the most vocal and visible. That's soaf Chang

(01:08:35):
n y C s O p h C h A
n G n y C. That is also where you
can find me on Facebook. And my Twitter handle is
soaf Chang and my website is soaf Chang dot com.
And again those hoodies are at bonfire dot com. Slash

(01:08:56):
Baddest Bitch in the Room in the book too, and
the book and the audiobook is available only on audible
dot com. Shout out to my Audible team. Uh and
is there a tweet or some other work of social
media you've been enjoying? So there is a tweet that

(01:09:20):
somebody posted. I think her name is bo Ran b
O r e n and her Twitter handle is bo
Safina b as in boy O s E F I
n A. And she said, my parents were tasked with
the job of survival and I with self actualization. The
immigrant generational gap is real. What a luxury it is

(01:09:42):
to search for purpose, meaning and fulfillment. I found that
so profound for first gen immigrants. You know, you realize
that your parents it was all about survival. That's right,
it was. It was about survival for them and providing
the best life for their children. You know, I've been
having this conversation a lot with my first generation immigrant friends.

(01:10:03):
You know, did you ever ask your mother if she
was happy? No? Yeah, none of us did. Did you
guys ever talk about her internal life or what her
dreams were? I mean, you know, it's funny. My mom
had a kind of she was luckily empowered. My grandfather

(01:10:25):
was like a German philosophy professor. He was really into philosophy,
and he very much instilled in her like go go
do what the funk you want so But at the
same but then she has that guilt to that sort
of in built of like, well do I go do what?
I'm like, I'm saying it, but do what? And I
can feel that even because I think my Mom would

(01:10:45):
like to be a novelist, but she writes she's a
film critic. So it's kind of like that thing that
scratches the itch but might not be the thing deep down,
you know what I mean? I mean, how many how
many First Asian immigrants do I know that went into
the artistic field? I know a lot because this is
the field that I'm in, but most of us lawyer, doctor, scholar,

(01:11:06):
engine right, it's just and so how do you deviate
from that path when your parents have made these profound sacrifice?
You know, Mom, I want to be a sculptor. Yeah,
I better sculpt that report card in a four point
Oh yeah, exactly. I got a sculpture for you, fucking

(01:11:29):
lawnmower outside, get to work, sculpt that lawn. Miles. Where
can people find? You? Find me on Twitter and Instagram
at Miles of Gray A few tweets I like, uh,
this is from at Drive four or five music. It
says my girlfriend just added uncooked pasta to cold water
and then turned on the stove. And when I said
she should boil the water before adding pasta, she said, literally,

(01:11:51):
all men are the same. That's hilarious for everything to
also reductress reduct Reductor's quiz, are you even good enough
to have imposture syndrome? That's so good, I think, are

(01:12:15):
you sure? Another reductors how to keep things casual so
he doesn't make you watch the sopranos um. And lastly,
Wheel of Fortune answers at w O f answers, they
basically show like Wheel of Fortune grids after the first
letters shouted out. So in this one it looks like
a long ass word and the first letter called out

(01:12:36):
was tee. There's only four t s in it, and
the tweet says the answer is titty sucking potato mouth.
That's what would have fit in those words I'd like
to solve. Uh. Eli at eli un tweeted, WHOA just
got my results back from twenty three and me turns

(01:12:56):
out one not supposed to send in urine. Uh I'm
not supposed to send That's hilarious. You can find a
Jack Underscore O'Brien. You can find us on Twitter at
daily Zeitgeist, where at the Daily Zeygeist on Instagram. We
have a Facebook fan page on a website Daily zygeis
dot com where we post our episodes and our footnote

(01:13:18):
where we link off to the information that we talked
about today's episode, as well as the song we ride
out on Miles, what's that gonna be? Let's do a
track from E. S G. From the South Bronx wonderful band.
We've played a lot of like maybe one or two
of their songs before, but this song you Make No Sense.
I think it's just fitting for right now. Why shouldn't
make sense? So this is E. S G. You Make

(01:13:40):
No Sense? Such a I mean man, the samples that
they've given hip hop. Alright, we're gonna write out on
that daily Zeitgeist is a production by Heart Radio. For
more podcasts from my Heart Radio, visit the I Heart
Radio app, Apple podcast, or wherever you listen to your
favorite shows. That's going to do it. For today, we'll
be back to Marrow because its day the podcast. Coon'll

(01:14:01):
talk you that. Bye bye. M You make no you

(01:14:25):
make no sense. You make no, you make no sense?
Take you do you you mad? You make no Sensit
all me you may do you do you you make
you make

All Episodes

Episode Transcript

The Daily Zeitgeist News

Follow Us On

Hosts And Creators

Jack O'Brien

Miles Gray

Show Links

Popular Podcasts

United States of Kennedy

Stuff You Should Know

Dateline NBC

.css-15opob5{left:0;position:absolute;top:0.8rem;} All Episodes

.css-14f5ked{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:2;overflow:hidden;}Billionaires Being Billionaires, The Worst Surprise Ever 10.17.19