October 21, 2024 • 22 mins
In this conversation, Link Lauren shares his journey from a British royal family commentator to a political influencer and advisor to RFK Jr. He discusses the importance of understanding the youth vote, the challenges facing Gen Z, and the need for authentic dialogue across political divides. Link emphasizes the significance of being true to oneself and the necessity of addressing the concerns of younger generations to foster a sense of national pride and unity. The Karol Markowicz Show is part of the Clay Travis & Buck Sexton Podcast Network - new episodes debut every Monday & Thursday.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:04):
Hi, and welcome back to the Carol Marcowitz Show on iHeartRadio.
We're going to take a break from the dating episodes
and talk about friendships. I talk to guests often about
making friends in adulthood because so many people have moved
in the last few years. I just think it's been
a few years of major transitions for a lot of people.
(00:25):
Think COVID really shook things up, and that of course
includes me. I grew up in Brooklyn, and other than
leaving for college and some other short stints some elsewhere,
I spent my life in New York City. New York
was my small town. I'd run into people all the time.
I had my favorite dry cleaner, my favorite shoe repair guy,
(00:47):
my favorite nail salon, all of it. The hardest part
has been being apart from family, obviously, but changing my
entire life in my forties has been challenging in some
other ways too. The making friends' part is difficult. We're
lucky we knew a lot of people moving to Florida.
(01:09):
Florida became kind of the state for a while there,
and people were moving around the same time we did.
Acquaintances became friends. You might see some of that on
my social media. We're busy a lot. It's not that
we don't have real friends here.
Speaker 2 (01:24):
We do.
Speaker 1 (01:25):
We're missing something else or I am. I don't think
my husband cares about this at all. The difficult spot
for me has been more situational friends. I wrote about
something similar to this years ago in twenty sixteen, when
we actually moved from Manhattan to Brooklyn. I wrote what
(01:46):
I was missing more than anything was acquaintances. I knew
few people in our new hood and didn't have many
opportunities to meet anyone. I work from home, and since
we moved midyear, our children weren't going to school in
the neighborhood yet. I didn't recognize faces on the street
like I had on the Upper West Side. I didn't
have other moms to chit chat with as our kids
(02:07):
played on the swings. People are strange when you're a stranger.
The lack of acquaintances translated into lacking a sense of
being a part of a community, which made me feel isolated.
So that is very similar to what I'm feeling right now.
I'm not feeling isolated because again, I feel very busy,
very active. I have a lot of socializing going on,
(02:31):
but I don't have this other thing. So also from
that same piece from twenty sixteen, I wrote, it's worthwhile,
of course, to cultivate deep, lasting friendships, but it's also
important to appreciate the more casual friendships that are part
of our daily routines. And of course those deep friendships
of ours began somewhere. The person who currently only garners
(02:55):
ahead nod as you pass in the street may someday
be the one you call at three am. Yeah, that's it.
I'm missing that. And the truth is I'm not even
in the head nodding place with anybody. I'm going to
have to add some head nods in my life.
Speaker 3 (03:10):
We've lived in.
Speaker 1 (03:10):
Our neighborhood for a little over two years. I know
some people on our street. I really like them. We're
great friends with our neighbors. We hang out with them,
and our kids hang out. I have it. But I
don't know that many people here. I don't know that
many people in my community. And this is one of
the things that I actively want to change going into
twenty twenty five. And the thing is, shortly after I
(03:34):
wrote that twenty sixteen piece, which by the way, was
in the New York Post, if you're interested. I actually
found a closer community more than ever. I made acquaintances,
they became friends, and they were the ones that were
so hard for me to leave when we moved to Florida.
Those first steps, they're just so difficult. And you know,
as I get older, I've had moments where I've introduced
(03:57):
myself to someone and they're like, yeah, we've met, kind
of embarrassing. I keep memorizing what people are wearing when
I meet them, and friends, that is not a good
strategy for remembering people. Apparently they have more than just
the one outfit. So I'm going to try to do
better at this because I think it matters. Having friends
(04:18):
is good and necessary, but acquaintances are so important too,
and I need to go make some. If you've got thoughts,
drop me an email. Carol Markowitz Show at gmail dot com.
It's Ka R O L M A. R. Kowiicz Show
at gmail dot com. We'll hear from link Lauren after
(04:39):
the break. But first October seventh was the one year
mark of the worst massacre of the Jewish people since
the Holocaust. Twelve hundred Israelis were murdered and more than
two hundred and fifty taken hostage. The war in Israel
rages on today. Israel and the Jewish people are facing
attacks from enemies on all sides seeking Israel's destruction. The
(05:02):
International Fellowship of Christians and Jews is on the ground
providing food, shelter, and safety to those in need during
this crisis. Since the war started, there are reservists every
day Israeli citizens who have left families behind to serve
their country, soldiers who have been injured, and their families
need support. Your gift of one hundred and fifty dollars
(05:26):
today helps the Fellowship provide food and other necessities to
these families to help them survive, and thanks to a
generous Fellowship supporter, your gift will be matched to double
an impact. Join us in letting those families know that
listeners like you stand with Israel. Call to make your
one hundred fifty dollars gift right now at eight eight
(05:48):
eight four eight eight IFCJ that's eight eight eight four
eight eight four three two five, or go online to
support IFCJ dot org. Go to give that's one word
support IFCJ dot org coming up next and interview with
link Lauren. Join us after the break. Welcome back to
(06:12):
the Carol Markowitz Show on iHeartRadio. My guest today is Link.
Lauren Link is an influencer and former senior advisor to
RFK Junior.
Speaker 3 (06:22):
Hi, Link, So nice to have you on.
Speaker 2 (06:24):
Hey, great to meet you. Carol, wish we were hanging
out in person.
Speaker 3 (06:27):
I know, I feel like you know, I've seen a
lot of your stuff. I think that you're really cool.
You're in your.
Speaker 1 (06:32):
Twenties and you were or you are, a British Royal
Family commentator.
Speaker 3 (06:38):
So how did you get into politics? Tell me the
whole story. Start at the beginning.
Speaker 2 (06:43):
You know, I went to NYU. My graduation was in
May of twenty twenty two, when everybody was getting into TikTok.
But at the time people were doing these dances, it
was very crange. I thought, what am I going to
do on TikTok? So I started covering pop culture and news,
and at the time there was a lot going on
with the royal family. You had Megan Markele and King
Charles and Prince Harry and so much going on, the
(07:05):
queen passing away, May she rest in peace, and my
breakout moment pretty much came last May of twenty twenty three.
So May six, you had King Charles coronation and I
was doing a full week of videos and live streams
and those ended up getting just millions of views. I
didn't expect there to be such a hunger for that.
And then that same month, in May of twenty three,
(07:26):
Donald Trump did a town hall on CNN with Caitln
Collins and it was a very heated, tested town hall.
The CCEN and viewers were melting down. They were apoplectic,
what are you doing having Donald Trump on? And I
set my phone up and I did a video Carol explaining, Look,
we can't live in our own little worlds, we can't
live in our silos. We have to have conversation across
(07:46):
the aisle. And that's where my political commentary started.
Speaker 3 (07:50):
Did that make you very popular with your NYU friends?
Speaker 2 (07:53):
So not really. Most of my friends at NYU were
super far left liberal, but that's totally fine. That's their
and something I try to cultivate on my page is
holding space for everyone. Of course, by today's standards, my
views are so much more red coated and write at center.
But I grew up in Dallas Tech Dallas, Texas, in
a conservative environment. Went to an all boys school. Then
(08:14):
I moved to New York lived in the village, and
so I've always been able to kind of find common
ground between two different sides. But yeah, no, definitely some
of my NYU friends. I'm probably not that.
Speaker 3 (08:25):
Have you lost any friends over this?
Speaker 2 (08:27):
Yes, I have. Actually, I remember after my TikTok took
off last spring, you know, RFK reached out at the
end of June and then the vag Ramaswami was great.
He had me come on the trail to Iowa and
filmed some content with him, and I didn't really know
who he was at the time. This was before the
first debate, and so I posted some videos just asking
the bait questions about his policies and where he stands
(08:49):
on all the issues of today. And by the time
I got to the airport the next morning in Des Moines, Iowa,
I'd received a letter from old friends of mine saying
I'm a disgusting foot liquor the embarrassed to know me.
I'm even being friends with the Republican, I said, being friends.
I'm sitting here asking questions like any journalist would.
Speaker 3 (09:07):
Right, right, right, how dare you? Yeah?
Speaker 1 (09:10):
Yeah, so it is all yeah, so how did you
get into RFK?
Speaker 2 (09:15):
So they had seen the videos I was doing on
the campaign last spring. I said, look, there's this guy RFKA.
At the time, he was running as a Democrat. I said,
here's what I think he's doing. Well, here's what I
think he could be doing better. He's from the Kennedy
family dynasty. Somehow I don't know much about him. American Royalty, yes,
Mariam Royalty. And a man named Rob Luceiro on the
(09:36):
telefundraising team for the Kennedy campaign had followed me and
he kept seeing these videos and he said, do you
want to interview Bobby? Would you want to film a
video with him? And I said absolutely, And he said
you can come June seventeenth or June twenty third over
to the house in California and interview him. I said, great,
I will be there on the twenty third, and so
(09:56):
I went. I filmed content with Bobby. I met some
of his family, some of his campaign staff, and the
rest is history. He made the cardinal mistake that night
of giving me his cell phone number.
Speaker 3 (10:07):
You're like and now we are best friends.
Speaker 2 (10:10):
Over the course of the next few weeks, I would
see things in the news about the campaign r is
doing this RF case, I would text him and say, buddy,
why are you doing this? You should talk about this.
This is huge news. Your campaign has its great treatment
on it. No, and behold they reached out to me.
The campaign manager at the time was leaving. There was
a new one taking the reins. And she'll tell you
(10:31):
I was her first hire and best hire. But maybe
she tells everybody that I love it. So I'm grateful
that they took me on board, and I'm grateful for
the experience and the opportunity.
Speaker 3 (10:42):
What do you think politicians misunderstand about the useful think?
Speaker 2 (10:46):
They overthink how to reach us? If that makes sense, right.
They think it's rocket science. How are we going to
reach gen Z? How are we going to reach Gen alpha?
These young voters? It's so simple identify our top concerns
and then lay out policies to address those concerns. So
the number one issue for young people right now is
affordable housing. How can I have a roof over my head?
How can I pay for my rent? You know, owning
(11:08):
a home is such a distant fantasy provitation, having equity
and an asset like that is so foreign, right. We
just want to pay our rent. And so if a
politician can identify that need and lay out maybe a
five point plan, the six point plan of how they're
going to help them, Hey, you might bring these young
people into your coalition, but they really overthink it. They
spend millions on consultants from inside the Beltway and it's
(11:31):
not rocket science at all. On the Kennedy campaign, a
quick anecdote. Our most successful video was this young voter
video that I scripted, and at the time, a lot
of the older staff members were like, why are we
going to film this video? This is pointless, this is
val We don't have the budget. Said look, just put
Bobby in front of the camera and have him read
the prompter and let's put it out there. You don't
have to spend money on editing. And so it was
(11:53):
just him reading issues that matter to young voters and
how he would address them if he were president. That
video got fifteen views, yeah, hundreds of thousands of shares.
There was no fanfare, no crazy editing. And one thing
I made sure that we included in the video was
how he was a Kennedy because if it was confusing
to me, I never heard of him. Right right later,
(12:15):
I'm working for him. In the video, he lays out,
I'm Robert F. Kennedy Junior. My uncle's JFK, my dad's RFK.
I'm running for president. If you're a young person, here's
what I can do for you. And that's why. Yeah,
so simple, And it was the biggest video since the
inception of the campaign, and we spent no money on it.
Speaker 1 (12:31):
Carol Right, it's so smart, the whole explaining who he is.
I mean, I think, why would young people know who
he is? Like it is so removed from the Kennedy's story.
I mean, you know, it's just a long time ago
at this point. But so that's really like a unique
thing because I don't think I would have thought to
do that. I think I would just assume, like God,
everybody knows you know RFK.
Speaker 2 (12:50):
At the time. That's why you know. Most of the
other senior staff. I remember one person on staff at
this script is bullshit and empty and why are we
filming there? So you know, we need to be doing
real elevated heal the divide stuff. I'm like, you guys
to video that explains who he is because we would
get comments. I would manage our socials and I would
see the comments going, I love JFK Junior, and I'm like, well, sweetie,
(13:12):
for you nathee rest in pesh uh, this is RFK Junior.
This is not JFK Junior. And so I said, let's
just explain in the most basic English exactly who he is.
And one thing I realized, and this is advice I
give to a lot of people if they're trying to
build a platform, if they're running for office and trying
(13:33):
to use me, even if it's a brand, never expect
your audience to do a lot of legwork, right people.
Yes see, people are working, you know, Carol. People are
working lives, people are raising kids, they're struggling their car,
They've got a lot going on in their lives. You
just need to lay out in the most basic cliff
notes way exactly who you are. You can't leave wiggle room.
(13:54):
And people in the campaign were like, they'll figure it
out or they know about this now. About a month ago,
I'm sure they all all this. No, do not have
anyone knows anything and go in simple remedial.
Speaker 1 (14:05):
We're going to take a quick break and be right
back on the Carol Marcowitch Show. When I get asked like,
how do you get a journalist or you know, an
opinion journalist to write about your issue. I always say,
lay out what you want from them, what you want them,
because I get so many emails or like, hey, I
(14:25):
think you should look into this, like to what into? What?
Speaker 3 (14:28):
What are you telling me about?
Speaker 1 (14:30):
And it's like a name of like a town, Like I.
Speaker 3 (14:32):
Don't know what am I looking into in your town?
Speaker 2 (14:35):
Exactly?
Speaker 3 (14:35):
Give me some specifics.
Speaker 2 (14:36):
You've got to give the people the most specific but simple, clear,
concise way, because people might come across your video watch
earset twenty seconds up it if you don't grab them,
if they don't know what's going on. Next petition on
social you.
Speaker 3 (14:50):
Know, what do you worry about?
Speaker 2 (14:52):
I think I worry about from my generation is just
the future and the division in this country. You know,
when I was growing up, you could get together with
your neighbors. One be a Democrat, one might be a Republican,
and that was totally fine. Now it seems like we're
in these silos and there's just so much vitriol. I
also worry about the social media algorithms, and things seem
so much worse on social media. Right if you turn
(15:13):
on some of the mainstream media like MSNBC and Rachel Maddow.
If you go on some of these social media platforms,
they're really stoking division because that's what gets viewers. That's
what it's greetings when you travel. I've been all over
the last few days. I was in Chicago, Milwaukee, d C.
I'm in New York today. You talk to real people
on the street. We have so much more in common,
(15:33):
we have so many more shared values than we have differences.
But these extreme voices online it amplified and get picked up.
So that's what I worry about, is just the division
that's being sewn online and with my generation and younger generations.
But I think we're astute, we're smart, we're very intelligent,
we're savvy, and we're going to figure it out.
Speaker 3 (15:53):
So how do we overcome that or what's the first step.
Speaker 1 (15:56):
I don't expect you to solve some kind of big
problem that we're having.
Speaker 3 (16:00):
Give us the solution, Peryl.
Speaker 2 (16:01):
I know how much time do we have? No, I'm
not a life gever here. I only mind heard in
psychology where I can say is we need more conversation,
not less. Right the second you other someone and you
paint them as you shut down a lot of that dialogue, right,
And I see this a lot with liberals online when
they talk about Republicans. You know, Republicans, they're extreme, they're this,
they're that. If you guys sat down, you would agree
(16:23):
on so many points, you might have a day of
getting there right. And if you actually hear what they're
going through and hear their policies and what they believe
and what's going on at your kitchen table, you are
so much more alike. So I think having that conversation.
But I see a lot of people shut down dialogue
because of superficial traits or they just shut that door.
And the second you do that, you're going to make
(16:44):
no progress.
Speaker 1 (16:46):
So a question that I I'm asking all of my
guests and is what advice would you give your sixteen
year old self?
Speaker 3 (16:53):
Of course, for you, sixteen's.
Speaker 1 (16:54):
Not that long ago, so I don't know if you
want to go further back, But what advice would do
you give yourself? You know, yeah, I guess sixteen your
own self.
Speaker 2 (17:03):
The advice I would give is just to trust your
gut and your instincts, right if it doesn't feel right,
if you feel like you should go home, go home.
You know, I just would really say to trust your gun.
And then also a lot of the things you worry
about at the time seem life or death. And I
tell young people this all the time. Even in psychology,
there's sort of this phenomenon. The way you're feeling today,
(17:24):
your brain thinks that's how you're always going to feel.
If oh, yeah, depressed, you're down, you're going through a breakup,
you got laid off, something horrible is happening. You think,
oh my god, it's over. This is how it's going
to be. You might in a week's time be hunky dory, happy,
go lucky again. But you can't see the forest for
the trees. So I always just tell myself, the way
you're feeling right now, the world's going to change a
(17:45):
week from now, a month from now, things are going
to turn around, So don't stress too much.
Speaker 3 (17:49):
Is that the psychology thing?
Speaker 1 (17:51):
Is that from Stumbling upon Happiness, the book by Daniel Gilbert.
Speaker 2 (17:54):
Not sure exactly. I just felt worry about.
Speaker 1 (17:55):
This because that's something that he gets into in that book.
Speaker 3 (17:58):
I thought, you, yeah, you know, he.
Speaker 1 (18:00):
Says that the human brain conditions you to believe that
whatever you think right now good or bad.
Speaker 3 (18:05):
It doesn't have to necessarily be bad. Is how you're
always going to feel?
Speaker 1 (18:09):
So like if you're like obsessed with somebody right now,
you think I can never possibly love anybody else, or
you know.
Speaker 2 (18:15):
It just total.
Speaker 1 (18:16):
You don't see a future without you know, without imagining your.
Speaker 2 (18:21):
Your price exactly. It's like you're going through a breakup
and you're experiencing rejection. You think, I'm always just going
to be depressed in down or how can I get
out of bed? And then you look back a month
or two and you're like, oh my god, it was
crying over that guy. Right, So I think that's what
I always say, is like the way you're feeling today
is not how you're always going to feel. So if
(18:41):
you're writing a mean, angry text or an email, sleep
on it for a couple of nights, please, you know
the way you're it will dissipate, it'll fad.
Speaker 3 (18:50):
Is your generation happy?
Speaker 2 (18:51):
That's a bad question.
Speaker 3 (18:53):
I'm jen x right.
Speaker 1 (18:55):
If you had asked me if my generation happy in
my twenties, I would have said no.
Speaker 3 (18:58):
But I think we enjoy our unhappiness.
Speaker 1 (19:00):
We were like the flannel rock grunge, you know, generation slackers,
and I think we liked being kind of misanthropes, but
I don't think that.
Speaker 3 (19:11):
Is in anymore.
Speaker 1 (19:11):
And I'm just wondering, how do you see gen Z.
Speaker 2 (19:15):
It's interesting. I don't think we're that happy yet. I
think there are some gen zs who are happy, But
I think we're figuring it out right. We have the
rise of social media, the Internet age. We have an
economy that's not great. We have crises around the globe.
We've got warn Ukraine, we're in the Middle East. You know,
situations here at home, chronic disease, epidemic right now. You know,
more young people are sicker than ever before in this country,
(19:38):
and we need to figure out why. So I wouldn't
say gen Z is the happiest generation right now. We're
going through growing pains as a country for everyone. I
get messages from baby boomers, seniors and higher right, they're
going through it, right. They thought they were going to
retire and they had their life planned down and they
got hit with the wrecking ball because of inflation and
so many of the issues going on. So I wouldn't
(19:58):
say gen Z is the happy And if you actually
look at some of these polls and data. It's like
ten years ago, young people said they had a lot
of pride in being an American and that number has
really gone down over the last ten years. So we
have a big issue on our hands. We need a
national revival of American pride, right, but it's going to
take a while to get there.
Speaker 3 (20:20):
Yeah, I think that that's definitely true.
Speaker 1 (20:22):
What do you attribute that lack of pride to. Do
you think it's anything particular or just general malaise as
they used to say in the seventies.
Speaker 2 (20:29):
You know, I think it might just be a little
bit of general malaise, But I really do think it
just goes back to their growing pains we're having as
a country right now. You know, today someone mentioned to
me the stock market is doing well, or the stock
market is up. I can tell you most gen zs
they're not basing their economic success off the stock market,
right They only have a lot of stocks to go mine.
And so I think we're figuring it out right now,
(20:50):
figuring out where we stand. A lot of the jobs
we thought were going to be there, some of them
are being taken by AI. You know, they're being taken
by technology. You know, the time, so many of our
we're graduating, starting our young adult careers. COVID hit us,
you know, and that was a few years of a setback,
So everybody's going through it. Don't boo hoo for chin
Z at all. I don't, But you know, a great country.
(21:13):
I would rather live in America than any other country
in the world. But we are going through some growing
pains right now.
Speaker 3 (21:19):
I love that perspective. I'm glad you say that about America.
I love hearing that from young people. And I'm an immigrant.
Speaker 1 (21:24):
I just I think appreciating what we have here is
just so important.
Speaker 3 (21:28):
Well, that's what I get confused on.
Speaker 2 (21:30):
People say, oh, I hate America and I hate this
not prideful. I'm like, move, I will get you a
place if I want to go anywhere, because I can
tell you, even on America's worst day, I would rather
live here than anywhere else. And I've been all around.
You mentioned your an immigrant as well. It's like, look,
I would rather weather the storm here in the United
States absolutely.
Speaker 3 (21:50):
Any day of the week. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (21:52):
Well, I've loved this conversation link. You're so interesting, And
here with your best tip for my listeners on how they.
Speaker 3 (21:59):
Can of their lives.
Speaker 2 (22:02):
My best tip of your listeners on how they can
improve their lives is just to be authentic. I really
think truth and authenticity are the hottest commodities right now.
You do nobody any favors by trying to be a
chameleon or trying to fit in or alter what you
have to say. Have a unique perspective, be authentic, Speak
your truth. That is going to open doors for you
(22:22):
more than anything else in your life.
Speaker 3 (22:25):
Absolutely, that's I feel the exact same way he is.
Speaker 1 (22:28):
Link Lauren check him out on every app right, TikTok, Instagram, Twitter, Yeah,
all of.
Speaker 2 (22:34):
That TikTok, Instagram. He does it all on my space.
That was before my time, but that was that was
a good one.
Speaker 3 (22:41):
You got to play music on your page.
Speaker 1 (22:43):
Was fun so much. Thank you Link, thanks so much,
Thanks so much for joining us on the Carol Mark
which show subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.
Hi, and welcome back to the Carol Marcowitz Show on iHeartRadio.
We're going to take a break from the dating episodes
and talk about friendships. I talk to guests often about
making friends in adulthood because so many people have moved
in the last few years. I just think it's been
a few years of major transitions for a lot of people.
(00:25):
Think COVID really shook things up, and that of course
includes me. I grew up in Brooklyn, and other than
leaving for college and some other short stints some elsewhere,
I spent my life in New York City. New York
was my small town. I'd run into people all the time.
I had my favorite dry cleaner, my favorite shoe repair guy,
(00:47):
my favorite nail salon, all of it. The hardest part
has been being apart from family, obviously, but changing my
entire life in my forties has been challenging in some
other ways too. The making friends' part is difficult. We're
lucky we knew a lot of people moving to Florida.
(01:09):
Florida became kind of the state for a while there,
and people were moving around the same time we did.
Acquaintances became friends. You might see some of that on
my social media. We're busy a lot. It's not that
we don't have real friends here.
Speaker 2 (01:24):
We do.
Speaker 1 (01:25):
We're missing something else or I am. I don't think
my husband cares about this at all. The difficult spot
for me has been more situational friends. I wrote about
something similar to this years ago in twenty sixteen, when
we actually moved from Manhattan to Brooklyn. I wrote what
(01:46):
I was missing more than anything was acquaintances. I knew
few people in our new hood and didn't have many
opportunities to meet anyone. I work from home, and since
we moved midyear, our children weren't going to school in
the neighborhood yet. I didn't recognize faces on the street
like I had on the Upper West Side. I didn't
have other moms to chit chat with as our kids
(02:07):
played on the swings. People are strange when you're a stranger.
The lack of acquaintances translated into lacking a sense of
being a part of a community, which made me feel isolated.
So that is very similar to what I'm feeling right now.
I'm not feeling isolated because again, I feel very busy,
very active. I have a lot of socializing going on,
(02:31):
but I don't have this other thing. So also from
that same piece from twenty sixteen, I wrote, it's worthwhile,
of course, to cultivate deep, lasting friendships, but it's also
important to appreciate the more casual friendships that are part
of our daily routines. And of course those deep friendships
of ours began somewhere. The person who currently only garners
(02:55):
ahead nod as you pass in the street may someday
be the one you call at three am. Yeah, that's it.
I'm missing that. And the truth is I'm not even
in the head nodding place with anybody. I'm going to
have to add some head nods in my life.
Speaker 3 (03:10):
We've lived in.
Speaker 1 (03:10):
Our neighborhood for a little over two years. I know
some people on our street. I really like them. We're
great friends with our neighbors. We hang out with them,
and our kids hang out. I have it. But I
don't know that many people here. I don't know that
many people in my community. And this is one of
the things that I actively want to change going into
twenty twenty five. And the thing is, shortly after I
(03:34):
wrote that twenty sixteen piece, which by the way, was
in the New York Post, if you're interested. I actually
found a closer community more than ever. I made acquaintances,
they became friends, and they were the ones that were
so hard for me to leave when we moved to Florida.
Those first steps, they're just so difficult. And you know,
as I get older, I've had moments where I've introduced
(03:57):
myself to someone and they're like, yeah, we've met, kind
of embarrassing. I keep memorizing what people are wearing when
I meet them, and friends, that is not a good
strategy for remembering people. Apparently they have more than just
the one outfit. So I'm going to try to do
better at this because I think it matters. Having friends
(04:18):
is good and necessary, but acquaintances are so important too,
and I need to go make some. If you've got thoughts,
drop me an email. Carol Markowitz Show at gmail dot com.
It's Ka R O L M A. R. Kowiicz Show
at gmail dot com. We'll hear from link Lauren after
(04:39):
the break. But first October seventh was the one year
mark of the worst massacre of the Jewish people since
the Holocaust. Twelve hundred Israelis were murdered and more than
two hundred and fifty taken hostage. The war in Israel
rages on today. Israel and the Jewish people are facing
attacks from enemies on all sides seeking Israel's destruction. The
(05:02):
International Fellowship of Christians and Jews is on the ground
providing food, shelter, and safety to those in need during
this crisis. Since the war started, there are reservists every
day Israeli citizens who have left families behind to serve
their country, soldiers who have been injured, and their families
need support. Your gift of one hundred and fifty dollars
(05:26):
today helps the Fellowship provide food and other necessities to
these families to help them survive, and thanks to a
generous Fellowship supporter, your gift will be matched to double
an impact. Join us in letting those families know that
listeners like you stand with Israel. Call to make your
one hundred fifty dollars gift right now at eight eight
(05:48):
eight four eight eight IFCJ that's eight eight eight four
eight eight four three two five, or go online to
support IFCJ dot org. Go to give that's one word
support IFCJ dot org coming up next and interview with
link Lauren. Join us after the break. Welcome back to
(06:12):
the Carol Markowitz Show on iHeartRadio. My guest today is Link.
Lauren Link is an influencer and former senior advisor to
RFK Junior.
Speaker 3 (06:22):
Hi, Link, So nice to have you on.
Speaker 2 (06:24):
Hey, great to meet you. Carol, wish we were hanging
out in person.
Speaker 3 (06:27):
I know, I feel like you know, I've seen a
lot of your stuff. I think that you're really cool.
You're in your.
Speaker 1 (06:32):
Twenties and you were or you are, a British Royal
Family commentator.
Speaker 3 (06:38):
So how did you get into politics? Tell me the
whole story. Start at the beginning.
Speaker 2 (06:43):
You know, I went to NYU. My graduation was in
May of twenty twenty two, when everybody was getting into TikTok.
But at the time people were doing these dances, it
was very crange. I thought, what am I going to
do on TikTok? So I started covering pop culture and news,
and at the time there was a lot going on
with the royal family. You had Megan Markele and King
Charles and Prince Harry and so much going on, the
(07:05):
queen passing away, May she rest in peace, and my
breakout moment pretty much came last May of twenty twenty three.
So May six, you had King Charles coronation and I
was doing a full week of videos and live streams
and those ended up getting just millions of views. I
didn't expect there to be such a hunger for that.
And then that same month, in May of twenty three,
(07:26):
Donald Trump did a town hall on CNN with Caitln
Collins and it was a very heated, tested town hall.
The CCEN and viewers were melting down. They were apoplectic,
what are you doing having Donald Trump on? And I
set my phone up and I did a video Carol explaining, Look,
we can't live in our own little worlds, we can't
live in our silos. We have to have conversation across
(07:46):
the aisle. And that's where my political commentary started.
Speaker 3 (07:50):
Did that make you very popular with your NYU friends?
Speaker 2 (07:53):
So not really. Most of my friends at NYU were
super far left liberal, but that's totally fine. That's their
and something I try to cultivate on my page is
holding space for everyone. Of course, by today's standards, my
views are so much more red coated and write at center.
But I grew up in Dallas Tech Dallas, Texas, in
a conservative environment. Went to an all boys school. Then
(08:14):
I moved to New York lived in the village, and
so I've always been able to kind of find common
ground between two different sides. But yeah, no, definitely some
of my NYU friends. I'm probably not that.
Speaker 3 (08:25):
Have you lost any friends over this?
Speaker 2 (08:27):
Yes, I have. Actually, I remember after my TikTok took
off last spring, you know, RFK reached out at the
end of June and then the vag Ramaswami was great.
He had me come on the trail to Iowa and
filmed some content with him, and I didn't really know
who he was at the time. This was before the
first debate, and so I posted some videos just asking
the bait questions about his policies and where he stands
(08:49):
on all the issues of today. And by the time
I got to the airport the next morning in Des Moines, Iowa,
I'd received a letter from old friends of mine saying
I'm a disgusting foot liquor the embarrassed to know me.
I'm even being friends with the Republican, I said, being friends.
I'm sitting here asking questions like any journalist would.
Speaker 3 (09:07):
Right, right, right, how dare you? Yeah?
Speaker 1 (09:10):
Yeah, so it is all yeah, so how did you
get into RFK?
Speaker 2 (09:15):
So they had seen the videos I was doing on
the campaign last spring. I said, look, there's this guy RFKA.
At the time, he was running as a Democrat. I said,
here's what I think he's doing. Well, here's what I
think he could be doing better. He's from the Kennedy
family dynasty. Somehow I don't know much about him. American Royalty, yes,
Mariam Royalty. And a man named Rob Luceiro on the
(09:36):
telefundraising team for the Kennedy campaign had followed me and
he kept seeing these videos and he said, do you
want to interview Bobby? Would you want to film a
video with him? And I said absolutely, And he said
you can come June seventeenth or June twenty third over
to the house in California and interview him. I said, great,
I will be there on the twenty third, and so
(09:56):
I went. I filmed content with Bobby. I met some
of his family, some of his campaign staff, and the
rest is history. He made the cardinal mistake that night
of giving me his cell phone number.
Speaker 3 (10:07):
You're like and now we are best friends.
Speaker 2 (10:10):
Over the course of the next few weeks, I would
see things in the news about the campaign r is
doing this RF case, I would text him and say, buddy,
why are you doing this? You should talk about this.
This is huge news. Your campaign has its great treatment
on it. No, and behold they reached out to me.
The campaign manager at the time was leaving. There was
a new one taking the reins. And she'll tell you
(10:31):
I was her first hire and best hire. But maybe
she tells everybody that I love it. So I'm grateful
that they took me on board, and I'm grateful for
the experience and the opportunity.
Speaker 3 (10:42):
What do you think politicians misunderstand about the useful think?
Speaker 2 (10:46):
They overthink how to reach us? If that makes sense, right.
They think it's rocket science. How are we going to
reach gen Z? How are we going to reach Gen alpha?
These young voters? It's so simple identify our top concerns
and then lay out policies to address those concerns. So
the number one issue for young people right now is
affordable housing. How can I have a roof over my head?
How can I pay for my rent? You know, owning
(11:08):
a home is such a distant fantasy provitation, having equity
and an asset like that is so foreign, right. We
just want to pay our rent. And so if a
politician can identify that need and lay out maybe a
five point plan, the six point plan of how they're
going to help them, Hey, you might bring these young
people into your coalition, but they really overthink it. They
spend millions on consultants from inside the Beltway and it's
(11:31):
not rocket science at all. On the Kennedy campaign, a
quick anecdote. Our most successful video was this young voter
video that I scripted, and at the time, a lot
of the older staff members were like, why are we
going to film this video? This is pointless, this is
val We don't have the budget. Said look, just put
Bobby in front of the camera and have him read
the prompter and let's put it out there. You don't
have to spend money on editing. And so it was
(11:53):
just him reading issues that matter to young voters and
how he would address them if he were president. That
video got fifteen views, yeah, hundreds of thousands of shares.
There was no fanfare, no crazy editing. And one thing
I made sure that we included in the video was
how he was a Kennedy because if it was confusing
to me, I never heard of him. Right right later,
(12:15):
I'm working for him. In the video, he lays out,
I'm Robert F. Kennedy Junior. My uncle's JFK, my dad's RFK.
I'm running for president. If you're a young person, here's
what I can do for you. And that's why. Yeah,
so simple, And it was the biggest video since the
inception of the campaign, and we spent no money on it.
Speaker 1 (12:31):
Carol Right, it's so smart, the whole explaining who he is.
I mean, I think, why would young people know who
he is? Like it is so removed from the Kennedy's story.
I mean, you know, it's just a long time ago
at this point. But so that's really like a unique
thing because I don't think I would have thought to
do that. I think I would just assume, like God,
everybody knows you know RFK.
Speaker 2 (12:50):
At the time. That's why you know. Most of the
other senior staff. I remember one person on staff at
this script is bullshit and empty and why are we
filming there? So you know, we need to be doing
real elevated heal the divide stuff. I'm like, you guys
to video that explains who he is because we would
get comments. I would manage our socials and I would
see the comments going, I love JFK Junior, and I'm like, well, sweetie,
(13:12):
for you nathee rest in pesh uh, this is RFK Junior.
This is not JFK Junior. And so I said, let's
just explain in the most basic English exactly who he is.
And one thing I realized, and this is advice I
give to a lot of people if they're trying to
build a platform, if they're running for office and trying
(13:33):
to use me, even if it's a brand, never expect
your audience to do a lot of legwork, right people.
Yes see, people are working, you know, Carol. People are
working lives, people are raising kids, they're struggling their car,
They've got a lot going on in their lives. You
just need to lay out in the most basic cliff
notes way exactly who you are. You can't leave wiggle room.
(13:54):
And people in the campaign were like, they'll figure it
out or they know about this now. About a month ago,
I'm sure they all all this. No, do not have
anyone knows anything and go in simple remedial.
Speaker 1 (14:05):
We're going to take a quick break and be right
back on the Carol Marcowitch Show. When I get asked like,
how do you get a journalist or you know, an
opinion journalist to write about your issue. I always say,
lay out what you want from them, what you want them,
because I get so many emails or like, hey, I
(14:25):
think you should look into this, like to what into? What?
Speaker 3 (14:28):
What are you telling me about?
Speaker 1 (14:30):
And it's like a name of like a town, Like I.
Speaker 3 (14:32):
Don't know what am I looking into in your town?
Speaker 2 (14:35):
Exactly?
Speaker 3 (14:35):
Give me some specifics.
Speaker 2 (14:36):
You've got to give the people the most specific but simple, clear,
concise way, because people might come across your video watch
earset twenty seconds up it if you don't grab them,
if they don't know what's going on. Next petition on
social you.
Speaker 3 (14:50):
Know, what do you worry about?
Speaker 2 (14:52):
I think I worry about from my generation is just
the future and the division in this country. You know,
when I was growing up, you could get together with
your neighbors. One be a Democrat, one might be a Republican,
and that was totally fine. Now it seems like we're
in these silos and there's just so much vitriol. I
also worry about the social media algorithms, and things seem
so much worse on social media. Right if you turn
(15:13):
on some of the mainstream media like MSNBC and Rachel Maddow.
If you go on some of these social media platforms,
they're really stoking division because that's what gets viewers. That's
what it's greetings when you travel. I've been all over
the last few days. I was in Chicago, Milwaukee, d C.
I'm in New York today. You talk to real people
on the street. We have so much more in common,
(15:33):
we have so many more shared values than we have differences.
But these extreme voices online it amplified and get picked up.
So that's what I worry about, is just the division
that's being sewn online and with my generation and younger generations.
But I think we're astute, we're smart, we're very intelligent,
we're savvy, and we're going to figure it out.
Speaker 3 (15:53):
So how do we overcome that or what's the first step.
Speaker 1 (15:56):
I don't expect you to solve some kind of big
problem that we're having.
Speaker 3 (16:00):
Give us the solution, Peryl.
Speaker 2 (16:01):
I know how much time do we have? No, I'm
not a life gever here. I only mind heard in
psychology where I can say is we need more conversation,
not less. Right the second you other someone and you
paint them as you shut down a lot of that dialogue, right,
And I see this a lot with liberals online when
they talk about Republicans. You know, Republicans, they're extreme, they're this,
they're that. If you guys sat down, you would agree
(16:23):
on so many points, you might have a day of
getting there right. And if you actually hear what they're
going through and hear their policies and what they believe
and what's going on at your kitchen table, you are
so much more alike. So I think having that conversation.
But I see a lot of people shut down dialogue
because of superficial traits or they just shut that door.
And the second you do that, you're going to make
(16:44):
no progress.
Speaker 1 (16:46):
So a question that I I'm asking all of my
guests and is what advice would you give your sixteen
year old self?
Speaker 3 (16:53):
Of course, for you, sixteen's.
Speaker 1 (16:54):
Not that long ago, so I don't know if you
want to go further back, But what advice would do
you give yourself? You know, yeah, I guess sixteen your
own self.
Speaker 2 (17:03):
The advice I would give is just to trust your
gut and your instincts, right if it doesn't feel right,
if you feel like you should go home, go home.
You know, I just would really say to trust your gun.
And then also a lot of the things you worry
about at the time seem life or death. And I
tell young people this all the time. Even in psychology,
there's sort of this phenomenon. The way you're feeling today,
(17:24):
your brain thinks that's how you're always going to feel.
If oh, yeah, depressed, you're down, you're going through a breakup,
you got laid off, something horrible is happening. You think,
oh my god, it's over. This is how it's going
to be. You might in a week's time be hunky dory, happy,
go lucky again. But you can't see the forest for
the trees. So I always just tell myself, the way
you're feeling right now, the world's going to change a
(17:45):
week from now, a month from now, things are going
to turn around, So don't stress too much.
Speaker 3 (17:49):
Is that the psychology thing?
Speaker 1 (17:51):
Is that from Stumbling upon Happiness, the book by Daniel Gilbert.
Speaker 2 (17:54):
Not sure exactly. I just felt worry about.
Speaker 1 (17:55):
This because that's something that he gets into in that book.
Speaker 3 (17:58):
I thought, you, yeah, you know, he.
Speaker 1 (18:00):
Says that the human brain conditions you to believe that
whatever you think right now good or bad.
Speaker 3 (18:05):
It doesn't have to necessarily be bad. Is how you're
always going to feel?
Speaker 1 (18:09):
So like if you're like obsessed with somebody right now,
you think I can never possibly love anybody else, or
you know.
Speaker 2 (18:15):
It just total.
Speaker 1 (18:16):
You don't see a future without you know, without imagining your.
Speaker 2 (18:21):
Your price exactly. It's like you're going through a breakup
and you're experiencing rejection. You think, I'm always just going
to be depressed in down or how can I get
out of bed? And then you look back a month
or two and you're like, oh my god, it was
crying over that guy. Right, So I think that's what
I always say, is like the way you're feeling today
is not how you're always going to feel. So if
(18:41):
you're writing a mean, angry text or an email, sleep
on it for a couple of nights, please, you know
the way you're it will dissipate, it'll fad.
Speaker 3 (18:50):
Is your generation happy?
Speaker 2 (18:51):
That's a bad question.
Speaker 3 (18:53):
I'm jen x right.
Speaker 1 (18:55):
If you had asked me if my generation happy in
my twenties, I would have said no.
Speaker 3 (18:58):
But I think we enjoy our unhappiness.
Speaker 1 (19:00):
We were like the flannel rock grunge, you know, generation slackers,
and I think we liked being kind of misanthropes, but
I don't think that.
Speaker 3 (19:11):
Is in anymore.
Speaker 1 (19:11):
And I'm just wondering, how do you see gen Z.
Speaker 2 (19:15):
It's interesting. I don't think we're that happy yet. I
think there are some gen zs who are happy, But
I think we're figuring it out right. We have the
rise of social media, the Internet age. We have an
economy that's not great. We have crises around the globe.
We've got warn Ukraine, we're in the Middle East. You know,
situations here at home, chronic disease, epidemic right now. You know,
more young people are sicker than ever before in this country,
(19:38):
and we need to figure out why. So I wouldn't
say gen Z is the happiest generation right now. We're
going through growing pains as a country for everyone. I
get messages from baby boomers, seniors and higher right, they're
going through it, right. They thought they were going to
retire and they had their life planned down and they
got hit with the wrecking ball because of inflation and
so many of the issues going on. So I wouldn't
(19:58):
say gen Z is the happy And if you actually
look at some of these polls and data. It's like
ten years ago, young people said they had a lot
of pride in being an American and that number has
really gone down over the last ten years. So we
have a big issue on our hands. We need a
national revival of American pride, right, but it's going to
take a while to get there.
Speaker 3 (20:20):
Yeah, I think that that's definitely true.
Speaker 1 (20:22):
What do you attribute that lack of pride to. Do
you think it's anything particular or just general malaise as
they used to say in the seventies.
Speaker 2 (20:29):
You know, I think it might just be a little
bit of general malaise, But I really do think it
just goes back to their growing pains we're having as
a country right now. You know, today someone mentioned to
me the stock market is doing well, or the stock
market is up. I can tell you most gen zs
they're not basing their economic success off the stock market,
right They only have a lot of stocks to go mine.
And so I think we're figuring it out right now,
(20:50):
figuring out where we stand. A lot of the jobs
we thought were going to be there, some of them
are being taken by AI. You know, they're being taken
by technology. You know, the time, so many of our
we're graduating, starting our young adult careers. COVID hit us,
you know, and that was a few years of a setback,
So everybody's going through it. Don't boo hoo for chin
Z at all. I don't, But you know, a great country.
(21:13):
I would rather live in America than any other country
in the world. But we are going through some growing
pains right now.
Speaker 3 (21:19):
I love that perspective. I'm glad you say that about America.
I love hearing that from young people. And I'm an immigrant.
Speaker 1 (21:24):
I just I think appreciating what we have here is
just so important.
Speaker 3 (21:28):
Well, that's what I get confused on.
Speaker 2 (21:30):
People say, oh, I hate America and I hate this
not prideful. I'm like, move, I will get you a
place if I want to go anywhere, because I can
tell you, even on America's worst day, I would rather
live here than anywhere else. And I've been all around.
You mentioned your an immigrant as well. It's like, look,
I would rather weather the storm here in the United
States absolutely.
Speaker 3 (21:50):
Any day of the week. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (21:52):
Well, I've loved this conversation link. You're so interesting, And
here with your best tip for my listeners on how they.
Speaker 3 (21:59):
Can of their lives.
Speaker 2 (22:02):
My best tip of your listeners on how they can
improve their lives is just to be authentic. I really
think truth and authenticity are the hottest commodities right now.
You do nobody any favors by trying to be a
chameleon or trying to fit in or alter what you
have to say. Have a unique perspective, be authentic, Speak
your truth. That is going to open doors for you
(22:22):
more than anything else in your life.
Speaker 3 (22:25):
Absolutely, that's I feel the exact same way he is.
Speaker 1 (22:28):
Link Lauren check him out on every app right, TikTok, Instagram, Twitter, Yeah,
all of.
Speaker 2 (22:34):
That TikTok, Instagram. He does it all on my space.
That was before my time, but that was that was
a good one.
Speaker 3 (22:41):
You got to play music on your page.
Speaker 1 (22:43):
Was fun so much. Thank you Link, thanks so much,
Thanks so much for joining us on the Carol Mark
which show subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.
Host
Karol Markowicz
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