October 21, 2025 • 30 mins
No Kings Protest Recap and NBC News Fires Diversity Employees. Learn more about these stories on today's podcast.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Broadcasting from the Civic Cipher Studios. Welcome to the QR code.
Whoever we share perspective, seek understanding, and shape outcomes. The
man you are about to hear from is a man who,
despite carrying the weight of this moment, still supports all
of us, myself included all of us with his brilliant
(00:21):
coverage of the news and the goings on in this country.
Is the Q in the QR code. He goes by
the name of q Ward.
Speaker 2 (00:26):
The voice you just finished listening to as usual puts
twenty on ten when he's.
Speaker 3 (00:30):
Talking about his brother.
Speaker 2 (00:32):
I'm just trying my best to keep my head above
water and to keep showing up as much as I
can for all of us. He is the R in
the QR code. His name is ramses Jah, and we
needed to stick around a little.
Speaker 1 (00:45):
Later on the show, we are going to be having
a bit of a celebration because Angel Reese, someone who
I've come to know via q He knows a lot
about her. She is the Bayou Barbie and she just
had a historic moment in the Victoria's Secret Runway show.
Really excited about that. Prior to that, we're going to
be talking about how black voter protections are in jeopardy.
(01:10):
Something you need to know about. It's very concerning and
not happy about it, but we have to learn about
it and share it with you. To War is going
to be talking to us about an AI message that
Donald Trump shared over the weekend, showing an incredible amount
of disrespect for US citizens. We're going to be talking
(01:30):
about the MLK memorial, the Eternal Flame being vandalized. We're
going to share some opinions on how NBC has fired
all of their diversity employees, and of course big news
over the weekend, We're going to be discussing the no
Kings protests that took place coast to coast. I was
(01:52):
able to get outside and get amongst the people. I
love a good protest, so I'm going to be sharing
my reflections as well. But as always around here, we'd
like to start off with a feel good feature, and
today's feel good feature comes from our listenership, a gentlemen
by the name of Jason. We are going to withhold
(02:12):
his last name because he deserves some anonymity, but we
appreciate Jason listening to the show. He sent us a
letter and it felt good, and so we thought it'd
make a good, feel good feature. He says, Hey, I'm
a huge fan of the QR code on weekday mornings.
You had a particular show I think it was Thursday
that I'd love to either hear again or find a
transcript of. Is there a place that's available? Thank you
(02:34):
for all you and Q do. I listen with my
kids on the way to school every morning. It really
means a lot to me. I know when I was
growing up and listening to the radio in the car
with my parents, who made an impact. I think this
will be the same for my kids, only the impact
will be double because of what we're experiencing right now
in our government. I'm glad my kids will have your
voices to look back on his guiding lights. Not so
much because of our current unwinding, but because you are
(02:56):
so clear with your perspective and it's so important that
it's out there, and it's important to me that my
kids get to hear it. So thank you. Now, Just
so you know, he was complimenting both me and Q,
but he sent this to me personally my personal social
media channel, so that's why it reads this way. But
(03:17):
you know, Q and I we work in studios, and
we don't always get a chance to hear from people
that are enjoying the work that we do. We think
that we're doing good work, and fortunately we do get
out and interact with folks from time to time. But
it's very encouraging, as you can probably imagine, just kind
of dealing with this moment and having families and you know,
(03:40):
people that we love in a country we love in
the future that we believe in being held hostage before
our very eyes is very challenging. Letters like this are
very encouraging, and I do want to say that if
you missed the show you want to go back, you
can check out just look up the QR code on
any platform where you might get a podcast will be
available to you. So thanks Jason, We appreciate you man. Okay,
(04:04):
so the No Kings protest. In case you were under
a rock this weekend, which I don't think you were,
I still have to do my job and kind of
paint a little bit of a picture just in case
(04:25):
you know, there's something you might not be familiar with.
So I'll share from the New York Times. They were teachers,
in lawyers, military veterans, and fired government employees. Children and grandmothers,
students and retirees, arriving in droves across the country and
major major cities and small towns. They appeared in costumes,
blared music, brandish signs, hoisted American flags, and cheered at
the hanks of passing cars. The vibe in most places
(04:47):
was reverent, but peaceful and family friendly. The purpose, however,
was focused. Each crowd everywhere shared the same mantra no Kings.
Speaker 3 (04:54):
Collectively.
Speaker 1 (04:55):
The day long mass demonstrations against the Trump administration on Saturday,
held in thousands locations, condemned a president that the protesters
view as acting like a monarch. So the numbers from
these demonstrations looks like it was in the neighborhood of
seven million. People took to the streets to protest, and
(05:19):
that's a significant amount of people. And for some comparison,
the first No King's protest there were five million people
out there. So this opposition to the Trump administration has
grown significantly. There were twenty seven hundred demonstrations that took
(05:41):
place around the country, and I of course was at
one of them. I like to get outside, I like
to get busy, I like to get active when I can,
and you know, I think of myself as a protester
(06:04):
or like an activist, or maybe not activist, but a protester,
because activist they really deserve. That's like a title that
people deserve after having doing activist work.
Speaker 3 (06:15):
You know.
Speaker 1 (06:15):
I think that we kind of have walked into that role.
But there's people that I still look up to as
activist and I cover what it is that they do
with their activism. So it's kind of tricky how we
use that, how I use that language. But I think
of myself as a protester first, and because I have
the capacity to produce a radio show, because I have
(06:35):
experience being on the radio. That's literally my job. That's
the only job I've ever had was talking on the radio.
Like I said, as an adult, I'm like, oh, guess
what I can add to my protesting. I can add
some radio coverage.
Speaker 3 (06:51):
That's my thing.
Speaker 1 (06:52):
So I think of myself in terms of being a
protester first. And I was able to go to the
protests over the weekend with a friend of mine who
has not been to many protests. She has not been
(07:16):
active politically to any significant significant degree throughout her life.
Some people it's kind of not their thing. Until it is.
And you know, when I first met this person, Joe
Biden was president, and so yeah, there was some fighting
(07:38):
that still need to be done, and she recognized the
implications of how there are certain things affected her reality.
But it wasn't until Donald Trump got back into the
office and really started attacking everything, like with a full
frontal assault that she recognized like, oh my god, this
is like it doesn't matter how hard I work or
(07:59):
what I do, or how much I invest in my
future and my children's future or whatever, this administration will
take it all from me and there's nothing I can
do about it. And she's like, hey, I'd like to
get out and protest. That feels like a good starting point.
I was like, yeah, absolutely, let's go. And I got
(08:21):
a chance to see a protest through the eyes of
a newbie, and I think it's really important to share
that to a person that had never been to a protest,
that was really frustrated with the government and this president,
to see that there were so many people. It was
a massive crowd, massive crowd, bigger than any I've ever seen,
(08:44):
and I've been to a lot. For her to get
out there and see that so many people were protesting
the same thing she was protesting was affirming validated her reality.
It suggested to her that I'm not crazy for feeling
(09:05):
the way that I feel. I'm not misinterpreting what it
is that I'm seeing, because there's so many people here
with messages on their signs, so many different messages, so
many different things, different facets to this administration that are
morally reprehensible, corrupt, vile, disrespectful, devoid of merit, inconsistent with
(09:36):
the nature of an inclusive society.
Speaker 3 (09:42):
And so forth.
Speaker 1 (09:43):
And there's, you know, all these things, and she was
able to see it in march and chant and see
that there were folks out there with plans. Here's what
you can do in your own community, marching orders like
you know, hey, we're down bad, but we're not out,
you know, that sort of thing. And she kind of
needed that, And I thought that that was very special
(10:03):
and for a lot of people, I imagine that that
is something that is a benefit to protests. Now, there
are a lot of people who look at protests like, eh, so,
what right? The people that don't feel the way that
I feel got outside and walked in a circle, what
(10:23):
of it? But for those people that were out walking.
I think that it reminds them that, hey, you're not alone,
and these people are still willing to fight with you.
And even in a scenario where the odds are stacked
against you, it still feels good to fight next to
somebody who will at least affirm your reality.
Speaker 3 (10:47):
And so.
Speaker 1 (10:49):
I thought that it was a good thing. It wasn't
a bad thing. There was nothing bad about it that
I was able to find. There were no significant issues
around the country. It was peaceful and so forth. So
you know, uh, to everyone that came out and protested,
I salute you, and I say, you know, let's let's
(11:10):
keep the faith.
Speaker 3 (11:10):
Man.
Speaker 1 (11:10):
We gotta we gotta road ahead of us. But we
either keep the faith that we give up. And I
don't really have any quit in my heart. I'm hoping
you don't either. Q any thoughts.
Speaker 2 (11:23):
You know, you and I have talked about this at length,
and even though I question the efficacy of our protest,
something that you said that's really important is that seeing
seven million people take to the street for the same cause,
the same fight that we're in. We've echoed this sincement.
(11:45):
Many of times we're in a studio, either separately, alone
or just the two of us, but still alone, and
it can sometimes feel like an echo chamber that only
we live in. A lot of the comments, a lot
of the DM a lot of the messages are negative.
So that's why that letter that you read today is
(12:05):
so important and meaningful, because it's good to hear that
somebody is benefiting from what we do and it's not
all you know, hate rhetoric and just mean spirited nonsense.
Speaker 3 (12:17):
So there's something to seeing.
Speaker 2 (12:21):
This fight that feels so impossible, and so I'll just
flatly say it hopeless. Sometimes it feels a lot less
hopeless when there's that many people that feel the same
way it maybe there's nothing we can do.
Speaker 3 (12:37):
But if there's anything we can do, we have to
do it together.
Speaker 2 (12:39):
And just seeing other people fed up and upset and
you know, this algorithm thing, this social media thing, can
really make you feel like you're kind of the crazy
one that's making a big deal of something that no
one else cares about, especially because so many people that
we know, unfortunately over these this last decade, have just
(13:03):
kind of slowly drifted that direction or to the direction
of apathy. I'm making my money, my family is good,
so so what that bad things are happening to other people.
So for me, I don't know how much change these
protests will cause in the hearts of those that oppress us,
because I actually don't think they care about us, like
(13:26):
literally don't care.
Speaker 3 (13:27):
So there's nothing that we can do that will move
or shake their hearts.
Speaker 2 (13:31):
But I do think there are a lot of people
who might feel like there's no hope and there's no fight,
and there's nothing we can do, and I'm the only
one that feels this way, And all those people going
outside at the same time and saying, hey, we all
feel this way with you, I think is reassuring, reaffirming,
and hopefully is a spark. I hope that the No
(13:52):
Kings turnout was not the end. That wasn't the climax,
That wasn't the end of the story. I hope it's
the spark that starts something incredible.
Speaker 1 (14:05):
Well, now we're going to offer some opinions on NBC
News firing their diversity employees. This is something that I
guess we knew was coming. With a lot of the
corporate mergers and takeovers and FCC approvals and all that
(14:28):
sort of stuff that's been taking place, you kind of
get a sense that.
Speaker 3 (14:38):
I don't know.
Speaker 1 (14:38):
Once upon a time, there was this narrative that was
used by the right, the political right in this country,
that suggested that the media was liberal, had a liberal
bias to it. There was the term liberal media that
was used very very often, and that I don't think
(14:59):
that anyone could successfully argue that that's the case any longer,
because it's all kind of owned by you know, self
proclaimed Zionists or you know, far right you know supporters,
or you know, just right wing individuals, you know, CEOs
and bosses or whatever, or people that are you know,
(15:21):
I was reading a story about the CEO of Comcast,
which is the parent company of NBC. Funnily enough, but
I was reading a story and I remember you and
I were talking about this, but CEO of Comcast. We
were looking to see, okay, so where is this person's
political affiliations, just so we understand who is behind the curtain,
(15:45):
you know, encouraging employees subtly or overtly to you know,
do a certain song and dance if indeed that's the case,
you know what I mean, these things they might become important.
And I looked it up and it turns out that
(16:06):
the CEO of Comcast is well known for supporting both
political parties, and Q told me something, and I thought
it was like, it's just like a light bulb went
off when he said it. I'm like, oh, you're right.
But he was telling me, He's like, you know, that
shows you just how comfortable it must be to be
(16:30):
a rich white man in the United States of America. Now,
now jump in Q if I'm misrepresented or mischaracterizing what
it was you were saying. But effectually, what I thought
you were saying was that regardless of which political party
controls the levers of government and the direction the political
(16:51):
direction of this country, rich white men stand to benefit.
And this example shows that reality. How is it that
a person can donate to both parties like either one
is the same as the other, whereas people like us
and many people, particularly marginalized people, historically marginalized people in
(17:14):
this country have had to cling to the Democratic Party
not because they're the be all and end all, but
because in most instances they're simply not the right wing party.
And I don't want to, you know, I don't want
(17:36):
to do too deep a dive here, but is that
that's effectually what you were trying to say, right.
Speaker 2 (17:41):
Well, we tried to communicate this particular point of view
during the election. We heard, you know, tons of influential
and this is the part that made it hurt so bad,
influential black people with large platforms saying, you know, both
parties are saying neither are going to do anything for us.
And if you stop right there, you're right, neither of
(18:03):
them are going to do anything for us, meaning meaning
black people, meaning marginalized people, meaning people that aren't rich.
Speaker 3 (18:12):
The difference, however, is there's one party that.
Speaker 2 (18:14):
Will do things to us against us, yeah, actively against us,
and that is different. The flip is true for a
rich white man. Neither party is going to do anything
against them. Oh ever, they never even have to consider
(18:35):
it that there's no part of that process where they
have to think about it. That's how you got terms
like fiscal conservative. They don't have to make the decisions
that are going to affect their life, which one of
these parties might help me make more money, pay less taxes.
That's the only thing that That's why you hear things
like single issue voter. All those things come from which
(18:59):
rich white men who have the privilege to just this
is the one thing that's important to me this time,
So it's the only thing I want to vote on,
because no matter who's in office, no matter what policies
they put forward, if you're a rich white man in
this country, nothing about your life changes. You don't have
to consider ice, voting rights, voting rights repeal. It's a
(19:20):
laundry list, all these things that have driven me into
a kind of dark place. Man Like, I don't have
much in the way of happiness or joy or peace
these days because my stual reality has been impacted by this,
not just what I see on TV. It's not just
because I'm an empathetic person, so I'd be feeling this anyway.
But it doesn't I don't even need to trigger that
(19:42):
part because my active, everyday, actual life has been impacted
by this administration.
Speaker 3 (19:50):
So it's a that's the point I was trying to make.
Speaker 2 (19:53):
It's it's not even because some people will hear that
and think that we're accusing, you know, white men of
being anti us, and all we're doing is highlighting the
privilege to be able to not have a position at all. Yeah,
to be able to not have a position and know
that there's not going to be any real impact on
your life, on your livelihood, on your safety, or that
(20:16):
of your loved ones. It's a that's a great place
to be, man. I wish I could live that life.
That would be all history. Like, that's a great place
to be man. All right, Well, let's jump into this
vib article.
Speaker 1 (20:30):
NBC News has reportedly fired multiple journalists responsible for verticals
dedicated to diverse communities. According to The Wrap, one hundred
and fifty staffers were laid off on Wednesday, October fifteenth,
impacting NBC BLK, NBC Asian America, NBC Latino, and NBC
out which covers LGBTQ plus news. The newsroom will still
publish stories that relate to the specific groups, however, it
(20:52):
will no longer employ specific teams. The outlet reported that
five staffers will allegedly remain to contribute coverage on the
verticals to the news room. As noted by The Rap,
the downsizing accounted for about seven percent of NBC News
newsroom of about two thousand staffers, and two percent of
the wider NBCU news group. A source claimed the layoffs
(21:13):
quote did not target specific teams, were driven by the
network's budget and the desire to streamline its editorial efforts unquote.
The alleged layoffs come as NBC News's parent company, NBC Universal,
prepares to spin off MSNBC and CNBC into the new
company versant amid shifts. Oh so I was right. So yeah,
(21:38):
you know, once upon a time I learned Schoolhouse Rock.
In Schoolhouse Rock that there was this I guess philosophy
in this country of the Great American Melting Pot. You're
free to look that up to get the details of it.
I have a vague concept of it because I learned
about it in like the fourth grade. But the Great
American Melting Pot, it was basically all these different people
(22:01):
coming into the country and becoming Americans. Right, And that's
great in theory, but it doesn't really work that way
because this country is a racist country. We have to
start saying that because it's the truth. I try not
to say because I know it turns people off to
conversations and they say, oh, there you are race baiting
and all that sort of stuff. We just have to
(22:22):
be honest with ourselves. But anyway, this Great American Melting
Pot ended up being more like a Great American salad bowl.
Speaker 3 (22:30):
Right.
Speaker 1 (22:30):
We all live together in the same bowl. But the
tomatoes are still tomatoes, and you know, the lettuce is
still the lettuce, and the olives are still the olives.
Speaker 3 (22:38):
Right.
Speaker 1 (22:38):
And this was around the time when Irish people came
over and Italians came over, and you know, New York
had its different communities, the little Italy's and the China towns,
and the obviously black people have been here for a
long time. And so this great American salad bowl philosophy
started to espouse the idea that people could retain their
cultural customs, their heritage and still be decidedly American and
(23:03):
fellowship with fellow Americans. Right. And I think at least
in part that this idea of diversity, equity and inclusion
efforts took that idea and looked at it in terms of, Okay,
so how do we offset some of the deficiencies in
some of these communities? Right? Are there historical injustices that
(23:27):
have created the reality the materiality in which some of
these groups live. And the answer, of course is yes,
particularly slavery, Jim Crow, etc. When it comes to black people.
But diversity, equity and inclusion efforts included everybody who would
be considered marginalized and that included white women, right, and
(23:47):
so the rollback of diversity, equity and inclusion efforts has
always felt very un American. And to know that NBC
has also a bowed to kiss the ring of the
Trump administration feels particularly disheartening and anti immer. So now
it is time to discuss who better do better? You know,
(24:10):
as I mentioned in our teas, the MLK memorial, the
Eternal Flame had been vandalized. This is a like ten
percent gross story, so you know, just heads up, fair warning.
This is from Fox five Atlanta. According to an AFFI
affidavit for arrest filed by Atlanta Police officers, excuse me,
Brent Jones got into a fight with another man and
(24:31):
became irate when he was asked to leave the property.
Officers said Jones responded by urinating in the reflection pool
near the cryps of doctor Martin Luther King Junior and
Coreta Scott King. After urinating in the pool, police said,
Jones then urinated on the eternal flame at the site.
When he was told to leave again, officers said he
(24:51):
instead stood in the middle of the flame and began
scattering documents from a nearby podium. The King Center estimated
the damage at around three thousand dollars a quarter to
the document. When Atlanta police arrived, they detained Jones and
took him into custody. He is charged with criminal trespassed,
criminal damaged property, public indecency, and willful obstruction of law enforcement.
The King Center said it is still open to visitors
(25:12):
and called the incident minor. The full statement reads quote,
the King Center is aware of a minor incident that
occurred near the Eternal Flame. While there was minimal damage
to the Eternal Flame and surrounding area, the King Center
remains fully open to visitors. The Eternal Flame still burns
with love, and we continue to welcome anyone with open
arms and gratitude for the incredible support of our beloved community.
The dream lives on.
Speaker 3 (25:32):
Unquote. You know why.
Speaker 1 (25:41):
We thought that this belongs in this segment of the
show Better Do Better. We're in a strange moment in
this country where people are trying to equate Charlie Kirk's
(26:02):
legacy to the legacy of doctor Martin Luther King Junior.
My belief, I'm sure Q would join me in this belief,
is that time will tell that these two men stood
for decidedly different things, espoused decidedly different outcomes for this country,
(26:24):
and the people of this country, particularly broken down by race,
and when about achieving their goals, communicating their messaging in
different ways. Doctor King and Charlie Kirk were purported men
(26:47):
of God. Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King, I believe, probably
stood a lot closer to you know, what Jesus would
have actually embodied, had Jesus actually walked around on this planet.
But neither man was perfect. I'll see that. But I
(27:12):
think the fact that people who are trying to equate
Charlie Kirk to doctor King is not only offensive and
insulting and hurtful, it's intellectually dishonest, and it's morally bankrupt.
(27:34):
I can't even seed to people that they may not
know the full extent of what it is Charlie Kirk
stood for, because I suspect that people do know that.
They just simply use Charlie Kirk's words and the fact
that he is now a martyr to shield their beliefs
and to insulate themselves from a reality that they don't
(27:57):
want to confront, which is that their beliefs are also
morally bankrupt and devoid of the principles that they claim
to espouse. Right, And so when I look at someone
like this vandalizing Mlk's memorial, my mind automatically goes to, Okay,
(28:23):
who is this person, what was their political motivation, etc. Etc. Right,
And even if this wasn't a politically motivated thing, maybe
this was just a drunk person in the wrong place,
wrong time, didn't know what he was doing. Whatever the
case is, it conjures the thought of how disrespectful can
people be and how far will they go to make
(28:47):
a point? If I said that this person was and
I don't know what this person's politics were, but if
I said that this person was a far right person
who opposed the idea of doctor King, no one would
bat an eye. It would check out. But I think
that if someone were to say, if I were to
(29:09):
say that to someone on the right, they would have
a critique of doctor King that they could not hold
up against Charlie Kirk. In other words, while they're trying
to equate the two, you find that they actually put
Charlie Kirk on a higher pedestal. And indeed, Charlie Kirk
had a lot of negative things to say about doctor King,
and so I know that people say, well, I don't
(29:31):
agree with everything that a person says, but you know,
I think who you choose as your hero says a
lot about you. I think that obviously this behavior is reprehensible,
and I think that they're both gone and we should
let their legacies be what their legacies are going to be.
(29:54):
That's really the only future that I want to live in,
and I think that's what will end up living with
Broadcasting from the Civic Cipher Studios. Welcome to the QR code.
Whoever we share perspective, seek understanding, and shape outcomes. The
man you are about to hear from is a man who,
despite carrying the weight of this moment, still supports all
of us, myself included all of us with his brilliant
(00:21):
coverage of the news and the goings on in this country.
Is the Q in the QR code. He goes by
the name of q Ward.
Speaker 2 (00:26):
The voice you just finished listening to as usual puts
twenty on ten when he's.
Speaker 3 (00:30):
Talking about his brother.
Speaker 2 (00:32):
I'm just trying my best to keep my head above
water and to keep showing up as much as I
can for all of us. He is the R in
the QR code. His name is ramses Jah, and we
needed to stick around a little.
Speaker 1 (00:45):
Later on the show, we are going to be having
a bit of a celebration because Angel Reese, someone who
I've come to know via q He knows a lot
about her. She is the Bayou Barbie and she just
had a historic moment in the Victoria's Secret Runway show.
Really excited about that. Prior to that, we're going to
be talking about how black voter protections are in jeopardy.
(01:10):
Something you need to know about. It's very concerning and
not happy about it, but we have to learn about
it and share it with you. To War is going
to be talking to us about an AI message that
Donald Trump shared over the weekend, showing an incredible amount
of disrespect for US citizens. We're going to be talking
(01:30):
about the MLK memorial, the Eternal Flame being vandalized. We're
going to share some opinions on how NBC has fired
all of their diversity employees, and of course big news
over the weekend, We're going to be discussing the no
Kings protests that took place coast to coast. I was
(01:52):
able to get outside and get amongst the people. I
love a good protest, so I'm going to be sharing
my reflections as well. But as always around here, we'd
like to start off with a feel good feature, and
today's feel good feature comes from our listenership, a gentlemen
by the name of Jason. We are going to withhold
(02:12):
his last name because he deserves some anonymity, but we
appreciate Jason listening to the show. He sent us a
letter and it felt good, and so we thought it'd
make a good, feel good feature. He says, Hey, I'm
a huge fan of the QR code on weekday mornings.
You had a particular show I think it was Thursday
that I'd love to either hear again or find a
transcript of. Is there a place that's available? Thank you
(02:34):
for all you and Q do. I listen with my
kids on the way to school every morning. It really
means a lot to me. I know when I was
growing up and listening to the radio in the car
with my parents, who made an impact. I think this
will be the same for my kids, only the impact
will be double because of what we're experiencing right now
in our government. I'm glad my kids will have your
voices to look back on his guiding lights. Not so
much because of our current unwinding, but because you are
(02:56):
so clear with your perspective and it's so important that
it's out there, and it's important to me that my
kids get to hear it. So thank you. Now, Just
so you know, he was complimenting both me and Q,
but he sent this to me personally my personal social
media channel, so that's why it reads this way. But
(03:17):
you know, Q and I we work in studios, and
we don't always get a chance to hear from people
that are enjoying the work that we do. We think
that we're doing good work, and fortunately we do get
out and interact with folks from time to time. But
it's very encouraging, as you can probably imagine, just kind
of dealing with this moment and having families and you know,
(03:40):
people that we love in a country we love in
the future that we believe in being held hostage before
our very eyes is very challenging. Letters like this are
very encouraging, and I do want to say that if
you missed the show you want to go back, you
can check out just look up the QR code on
any platform where you might get a podcast will be
available to you. So thanks Jason, We appreciate you man. Okay,
(04:04):
so the No Kings protest. In case you were under
a rock this weekend, which I don't think you were,
I still have to do my job and kind of
paint a little bit of a picture just in case
(04:25):
you know, there's something you might not be familiar with.
So I'll share from the New York Times. They were teachers,
in lawyers, military veterans, and fired government employees. Children and grandmothers,
students and retirees, arriving in droves across the country and
major major cities and small towns. They appeared in costumes,
blared music, brandish signs, hoisted American flags, and cheered at
the hanks of passing cars. The vibe in most places
(04:47):
was reverent, but peaceful and family friendly. The purpose, however,
was focused. Each crowd everywhere shared the same mantra no Kings.
Speaker 3 (04:54):
Collectively.
Speaker 1 (04:55):
The day long mass demonstrations against the Trump administration on Saturday,
held in thousands locations, condemned a president that the protesters
view as acting like a monarch. So the numbers from
these demonstrations looks like it was in the neighborhood of
seven million. People took to the streets to protest, and
(05:19):
that's a significant amount of people. And for some comparison,
the first No King's protest there were five million people
out there. So this opposition to the Trump administration has
grown significantly. There were twenty seven hundred demonstrations that took
(05:41):
place around the country, and I of course was at
one of them. I like to get outside, I like
to get busy, I like to get active when I can,
and you know, I think of myself as a protester
(06:04):
or like an activist, or maybe not activist, but a protester,
because activist they really deserve. That's like a title that
people deserve after having doing activist work.
Speaker 3 (06:15):
You know.
Speaker 1 (06:15):
I think that we kind of have walked into that role.
But there's people that I still look up to as
activist and I cover what it is that they do
with their activism. So it's kind of tricky how we
use that, how I use that language. But I think
of myself as a protester first, and because I have
the capacity to produce a radio show, because I have
(06:35):
experience being on the radio. That's literally my job. That's
the only job I've ever had was talking on the radio.
Like I said, as an adult, I'm like, oh, guess
what I can add to my protesting. I can add
some radio coverage.
Speaker 3 (06:51):
That's my thing.
Speaker 1 (06:52):
So I think of myself in terms of being a
protester first. And I was able to go to the
protests over the weekend with a friend of mine who
has not been to many protests. She has not been
(07:16):
active politically to any significant significant degree throughout her life.
Some people it's kind of not their thing. Until it is.
And you know, when I first met this person, Joe
Biden was president, and so yeah, there was some fighting
(07:38):
that still need to be done, and she recognized the
implications of how there are certain things affected her reality.
But it wasn't until Donald Trump got back into the
office and really started attacking everything, like with a full
frontal assault that she recognized like, oh my god, this
is like it doesn't matter how hard I work or
(07:59):
what I do, or how much I invest in my
future and my children's future or whatever, this administration will
take it all from me and there's nothing I can
do about it. And she's like, hey, I'd like to
get out and protest. That feels like a good starting point.
I was like, yeah, absolutely, let's go. And I got
(08:21):
a chance to see a protest through the eyes of
a newbie, and I think it's really important to share
that to a person that had never been to a protest,
that was really frustrated with the government and this president,
to see that there were so many people. It was
a massive crowd, massive crowd, bigger than any I've ever seen,
(08:44):
and I've been to a lot. For her to get
out there and see that so many people were protesting
the same thing she was protesting was affirming validated her reality.
It suggested to her that I'm not crazy for feeling
(09:05):
the way that I feel. I'm not misinterpreting what it
is that I'm seeing, because there's so many people here
with messages on their signs, so many different messages, so
many different things, different facets to this administration that are
morally reprehensible, corrupt, vile, disrespectful, devoid of merit, inconsistent with
(09:36):
the nature of an inclusive society.
Speaker 3 (09:42):
And so forth.
Speaker 1 (09:43):
And there's, you know, all these things, and she was
able to see it in march and chant and see
that there were folks out there with plans. Here's what
you can do in your own community, marching orders like
you know, hey, we're down bad, but we're not out,
you know, that sort of thing. And she kind of
needed that, And I thought that that was very special
(10:03):
and for a lot of people, I imagine that that
is something that is a benefit to protests. Now, there
are a lot of people who look at protests like, eh, so,
what right? The people that don't feel the way that
I feel got outside and walked in a circle, what
(10:23):
of it? But for those people that were out walking.
I think that it reminds them that, hey, you're not alone,
and these people are still willing to fight with you.
And even in a scenario where the odds are stacked
against you, it still feels good to fight next to
somebody who will at least affirm your reality.
Speaker 3 (10:47):
And so.
Speaker 1 (10:49):
I thought that it was a good thing. It wasn't
a bad thing. There was nothing bad about it that
I was able to find. There were no significant issues
around the country. It was peaceful and so forth. So
you know, uh, to everyone that came out and protested,
I salute you, and I say, you know, let's let's
(11:10):
keep the faith.
Speaker 3 (11:10):
Man.
Speaker 1 (11:10):
We gotta we gotta road ahead of us. But we
either keep the faith that we give up. And I
don't really have any quit in my heart. I'm hoping
you don't either. Q any thoughts.
Speaker 2 (11:23):
You know, you and I have talked about this at length,
and even though I question the efficacy of our protest,
something that you said that's really important is that seeing
seven million people take to the street for the same cause,
the same fight that we're in. We've echoed this sincement.
(11:45):
Many of times we're in a studio, either separately, alone
or just the two of us, but still alone, and
it can sometimes feel like an echo chamber that only
we live in. A lot of the comments, a lot
of the DM a lot of the messages are negative.
So that's why that letter that you read today is
(12:05):
so important and meaningful, because it's good to hear that
somebody is benefiting from what we do and it's not
all you know, hate rhetoric and just mean spirited nonsense.
Speaker 3 (12:17):
So there's something to seeing.
Speaker 2 (12:21):
This fight that feels so impossible, and so I'll just
flatly say it hopeless. Sometimes it feels a lot less
hopeless when there's that many people that feel the same
way it maybe there's nothing we can do.
Speaker 3 (12:37):
But if there's anything we can do, we have to
do it together.
Speaker 2 (12:39):
And just seeing other people fed up and upset and
you know, this algorithm thing, this social media thing, can
really make you feel like you're kind of the crazy
one that's making a big deal of something that no
one else cares about, especially because so many people that
we know, unfortunately over these this last decade, have just
(13:03):
kind of slowly drifted that direction or to the direction
of apathy. I'm making my money, my family is good,
so so what that bad things are happening to other people.
So for me, I don't know how much change these
protests will cause in the hearts of those that oppress us,
because I actually don't think they care about us, like
(13:26):
literally don't care.
Speaker 3 (13:27):
So there's nothing that we can do that will move
or shake their hearts.
Speaker 2 (13:31):
But I do think there are a lot of people
who might feel like there's no hope and there's no fight,
and there's nothing we can do, and I'm the only
one that feels this way, And all those people going
outside at the same time and saying, hey, we all
feel this way with you, I think is reassuring, reaffirming,
and hopefully is a spark. I hope that the No
(13:52):
Kings turnout was not the end. That wasn't the climax,
That wasn't the end of the story. I hope it's
the spark that starts something incredible.
Speaker 1 (14:05):
Well, now we're going to offer some opinions on NBC
News firing their diversity employees. This is something that I
guess we knew was coming. With a lot of the
corporate mergers and takeovers and FCC approvals and all that
(14:28):
sort of stuff that's been taking place, you kind of
get a sense that.
Speaker 3 (14:38):
I don't know.
Speaker 1 (14:38):
Once upon a time, there was this narrative that was
used by the right, the political right in this country,
that suggested that the media was liberal, had a liberal
bias to it. There was the term liberal media that
was used very very often, and that I don't think
(14:59):
that anyone could successfully argue that that's the case any longer,
because it's all kind of owned by you know, self
proclaimed Zionists or you know, far right you know supporters,
or you know, just right wing individuals, you know, CEOs
and bosses or whatever, or people that are you know,
(15:21):
I was reading a story about the CEO of Comcast,
which is the parent company of NBC. Funnily enough, but
I was reading a story and I remember you and
I were talking about this, but CEO of Comcast. We
were looking to see, okay, so where is this person's
political affiliations, just so we understand who is behind the curtain,
(15:45):
you know, encouraging employees subtly or overtly to you know,
do a certain song and dance if indeed that's the case,
you know what I mean, these things they might become important.
And I looked it up and it turns out that
(16:06):
the CEO of Comcast is well known for supporting both
political parties, and Q told me something, and I thought
it was like, it's just like a light bulb went
off when he said it. I'm like, oh, you're right.
But he was telling me, He's like, you know, that
shows you just how comfortable it must be to be
(16:30):
a rich white man in the United States of America. Now,
now jump in Q if I'm misrepresented or mischaracterizing what
it was you were saying. But effectually, what I thought
you were saying was that regardless of which political party
controls the levers of government and the direction the political
(16:51):
direction of this country, rich white men stand to benefit.
And this example shows that reality. How is it that
a person can donate to both parties like either one
is the same as the other, whereas people like us
and many people, particularly marginalized people, historically marginalized people in
(17:14):
this country have had to cling to the Democratic Party
not because they're the be all and end all, but
because in most instances they're simply not the right wing party.
And I don't want to, you know, I don't want
(17:36):
to do too deep a dive here, but is that
that's effectually what you were trying to say, right.
Speaker 2 (17:41):
Well, we tried to communicate this particular point of view
during the election. We heard, you know, tons of influential
and this is the part that made it hurt so bad,
influential black people with large platforms saying, you know, both
parties are saying neither are going to do anything for us.
And if you stop right there, you're right, neither of
(18:03):
them are going to do anything for us, meaning meaning
black people, meaning marginalized people, meaning people that aren't rich.
Speaker 3 (18:12):
The difference, however, is there's one party that.
Speaker 2 (18:14):
Will do things to us against us, yeah, actively against us,
and that is different. The flip is true for a
rich white man. Neither party is going to do anything
against them. Oh ever, they never even have to consider
(18:35):
it that there's no part of that process where they
have to think about it. That's how you got terms
like fiscal conservative. They don't have to make the decisions
that are going to affect their life, which one of
these parties might help me make more money, pay less taxes.
That's the only thing that That's why you hear things
like single issue voter. All those things come from which
(18:59):
rich white men who have the privilege to just this
is the one thing that's important to me this time,
So it's the only thing I want to vote on,
because no matter who's in office, no matter what policies
they put forward, if you're a rich white man in
this country, nothing about your life changes. You don't have
to consider ice, voting rights, voting rights repeal. It's a
(19:20):
laundry list, all these things that have driven me into
a kind of dark place. Man Like, I don't have
much in the way of happiness or joy or peace
these days because my stual reality has been impacted by this,
not just what I see on TV. It's not just
because I'm an empathetic person, so I'd be feeling this anyway.
But it doesn't I don't even need to trigger that
(19:42):
part because my active, everyday, actual life has been impacted
by this administration.
Speaker 3 (19:50):
So it's a that's the point I was trying to make.
Speaker 2 (19:53):
It's it's not even because some people will hear that
and think that we're accusing, you know, white men of
being anti us, and all we're doing is highlighting the
privilege to be able to not have a position at all. Yeah,
to be able to not have a position and know
that there's not going to be any real impact on
your life, on your livelihood, on your safety, or that
(20:16):
of your loved ones. It's a that's a great place
to be, man. I wish I could live that life.
That would be all history. Like, that's a great place
to be man. All right, Well, let's jump into this
vib article.
Speaker 1 (20:30):
NBC News has reportedly fired multiple journalists responsible for verticals
dedicated to diverse communities. According to The Wrap, one hundred
and fifty staffers were laid off on Wednesday, October fifteenth,
impacting NBC BLK, NBC Asian America, NBC Latino, and NBC
out which covers LGBTQ plus news. The newsroom will still
publish stories that relate to the specific groups, however, it
(20:52):
will no longer employ specific teams. The outlet reported that
five staffers will allegedly remain to contribute coverage on the
verticals to the news room. As noted by The Rap,
the downsizing accounted for about seven percent of NBC News
newsroom of about two thousand staffers, and two percent of
the wider NBCU news group. A source claimed the layoffs
(21:13):
quote did not target specific teams, were driven by the
network's budget and the desire to streamline its editorial efforts unquote.
The alleged layoffs come as NBC News's parent company, NBC Universal,
prepares to spin off MSNBC and CNBC into the new
company versant amid shifts. Oh so I was right. So yeah,
(21:38):
you know, once upon a time I learned Schoolhouse Rock.
In Schoolhouse Rock that there was this I guess philosophy
in this country of the Great American Melting Pot. You're
free to look that up to get the details of it.
I have a vague concept of it because I learned
about it in like the fourth grade. But the Great
American Melting Pot, it was basically all these different people
(22:01):
coming into the country and becoming Americans. Right, And that's
great in theory, but it doesn't really work that way
because this country is a racist country. We have to
start saying that because it's the truth. I try not
to say because I know it turns people off to
conversations and they say, oh, there you are race baiting
and all that sort of stuff. We just have to
(22:22):
be honest with ourselves. But anyway, this Great American Melting
Pot ended up being more like a Great American salad bowl.
Speaker 3 (22:30):
Right.
Speaker 1 (22:30):
We all live together in the same bowl. But the
tomatoes are still tomatoes, and you know, the lettuce is
still the lettuce, and the olives are still the olives.
Speaker 3 (22:38):
Right.
Speaker 1 (22:38):
And this was around the time when Irish people came
over and Italians came over, and you know, New York
had its different communities, the little Italy's and the China towns,
and the obviously black people have been here for a
long time. And so this great American salad bowl philosophy
started to espouse the idea that people could retain their
cultural customs, their heritage and still be decidedly American and
(23:03):
fellowship with fellow Americans. Right. And I think at least
in part that this idea of diversity, equity and inclusion
efforts took that idea and looked at it in terms of, Okay,
so how do we offset some of the deficiencies in
some of these communities? Right? Are there historical injustices that
(23:27):
have created the reality the materiality in which some of
these groups live. And the answer, of course is yes,
particularly slavery, Jim Crow, etc. When it comes to black people.
But diversity, equity and inclusion efforts included everybody who would
be considered marginalized and that included white women, right, and
(23:47):
so the rollback of diversity, equity and inclusion efforts has
always felt very un American. And to know that NBC
has also a bowed to kiss the ring of the
Trump administration feels particularly disheartening and anti immer. So now
it is time to discuss who better do better? You know,
(24:10):
as I mentioned in our teas, the MLK memorial, the
Eternal Flame had been vandalized. This is a like ten
percent gross story, so you know, just heads up, fair warning.
This is from Fox five Atlanta. According to an AFFI
affidavit for arrest filed by Atlanta Police officers, excuse me,
Brent Jones got into a fight with another man and
(24:31):
became irate when he was asked to leave the property.
Officers said Jones responded by urinating in the reflection pool
near the cryps of doctor Martin Luther King Junior and
Coreta Scott King. After urinating in the pool, police said,
Jones then urinated on the eternal flame at the site.
When he was told to leave again, officers said he
(24:51):
instead stood in the middle of the flame and began
scattering documents from a nearby podium. The King Center estimated
the damage at around three thousand dollars a quarter to
the document. When Atlanta police arrived, they detained Jones and
took him into custody. He is charged with criminal trespassed,
criminal damaged property, public indecency, and willful obstruction of law enforcement.
The King Center said it is still open to visitors
(25:12):
and called the incident minor. The full statement reads quote,
the King Center is aware of a minor incident that
occurred near the Eternal Flame. While there was minimal damage
to the Eternal Flame and surrounding area, the King Center
remains fully open to visitors. The Eternal Flame still burns
with love, and we continue to welcome anyone with open
arms and gratitude for the incredible support of our beloved community.
The dream lives on.
Speaker 3 (25:32):
Unquote. You know why.
Speaker 1 (25:41):
We thought that this belongs in this segment of the
show Better Do Better. We're in a strange moment in
this country where people are trying to equate Charlie Kirk's
(26:02):
legacy to the legacy of doctor Martin Luther King Junior.
My belief, I'm sure Q would join me in this belief,
is that time will tell that these two men stood
for decidedly different things, espoused decidedly different outcomes for this country,
(26:24):
and the people of this country, particularly broken down by race,
and when about achieving their goals, communicating their messaging in
different ways. Doctor King and Charlie Kirk were purported men
(26:47):
of God. Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King, I believe, probably
stood a lot closer to you know, what Jesus would
have actually embodied, had Jesus actually walked around on this planet.
But neither man was perfect. I'll see that. But I
(27:12):
think the fact that people who are trying to equate
Charlie Kirk to doctor King is not only offensive and
insulting and hurtful, it's intellectually dishonest, and it's morally bankrupt.
(27:34):
I can't even seed to people that they may not
know the full extent of what it is Charlie Kirk
stood for, because I suspect that people do know that.
They just simply use Charlie Kirk's words and the fact
that he is now a martyr to shield their beliefs
and to insulate themselves from a reality that they don't
(27:57):
want to confront, which is that their beliefs are also
morally bankrupt and devoid of the principles that they claim
to espouse. Right, And so when I look at someone
like this vandalizing Mlk's memorial, my mind automatically goes to, Okay,
(28:23):
who is this person, what was their political motivation, etc. Etc. Right,
And even if this wasn't a politically motivated thing, maybe
this was just a drunk person in the wrong place,
wrong time, didn't know what he was doing. Whatever the
case is, it conjures the thought of how disrespectful can
people be and how far will they go to make
(28:47):
a point? If I said that this person was and
I don't know what this person's politics were, but if
I said that this person was a far right person
who opposed the idea of doctor King, no one would
bat an eye. It would check out. But I think
that if someone were to say, if I were to
(29:09):
say that to someone on the right, they would have
a critique of doctor King that they could not hold
up against Charlie Kirk. In other words, while they're trying
to equate the two, you find that they actually put
Charlie Kirk on a higher pedestal. And indeed, Charlie Kirk
had a lot of negative things to say about doctor King,
and so I know that people say, well, I don't
(29:31):
agree with everything that a person says, but you know,
I think who you choose as your hero says a
lot about you. I think that obviously this behavior is reprehensible,
and I think that they're both gone and we should
let their legacies be what their legacies are going to be.
(29:54):
That's really the only future that I want to live in,
and I think that's what will end up living with
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