October 15, 2024 • 53 mins
Ever wondered how the U.S. presidential election resonates across the globe? Join us as Aja Nakia recounts her enlightening travels through Kenya and Malawi, where she unearthed local communities’ thoughts on American politics and their shared hopes for diverse leadership. With widespread sentiments against Trump, we delve into the international repercussions of U.S. political dynamics and the immense responsibility Americans bear in setting a positive global example. Tune in to understand the urgency of voting and the weight of the U.S.'s role on the world stage.
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SLAP the Power is written and produced by Rick Barrio Dill (@rickbarriodill) and Aja Nikiya (@compassioncurator). Associate Producer Bri Coorey (@bri_beats). Audio and Video engineering and studio facilities provided by SLAP Studios LA (@SLAPStudiosLA) with distribution through our collective home for progress in art and media, SLAP the Network (@SLAPtheNetwork).
If you have ideas for a show you want to hear or see, or you would like to be a featured guest artist on our show, please email us at info@slapthepower.com
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
For those that don't know, there's a heavy slate of
amazing, amazing projects thatare on gratefulfundorg.
When we kind of were thinkingof the conceit of not only of
our show but of just SlapStudios in general, it was that
it felt like some of theproblems that are out there,
like you said, some of them canbe so big that it's paralyzing.
(00:23):
Some of them can be so big thatit's paralyzing, whether it
takes a combination ofgovernment or science and
innovation, or just a bunch ofbadass people who get together
and say we're going to get thisdone.
Yeah, a combination of allthree.
We wanted to be sort of at aplace where we could help in any
way, kind of connect dots.
All right, the world may notneed another podcast, but it can
(00:55):
definitely use a slap.
Speaker 2 (00:57):
I'm Rick Barry O'Dell .
I'm Asia Nakia.
Speaker 1 (00:59):
Yeah, and welcome to Slap the Power On the show today
.
The future of the free world isin full effect and it happens
to be 10 feet away from us Alittle later for the interview,
and in studio we have the oneand only Rob Holman.
He is a fascinating figure inLos Angeles and philanthropic
royalty here in Los Angeles, socan't wait to get into it with
(01:21):
him.
And a little later, asia'sgoing to test my knowledge of
how bad has this batshit crazyworld gotten, with two scams and
a slap.
But first, as we mentioned lastweek on the show all season,
it's something you guys want to.
You want to know about thisbecause it's incredible work,
and so we've named this theAdventures of Asia, or also
(01:43):
Aventuras de Aja.
Porque esta bien?
Adventures of Asia, or alsoAventuras de Aja ¿Por qué?
¿está bien?
There's so many from heradventures and all the stuff
that she's done, from Malawi toKenya, this last trip to Greece,
and then now how.
That's relative to where we arehere.
So we pass the ball to the oneand only Asia Nakia, who's here,
(02:05):
to further in episode two ofAventuras de Aja.
Welcome Asia, so happy to haveyou back.
Speaker 2 (02:11):
Thank you.
Yes, yes, it's so good to beback.
So good to be back.
Yes.
Speaker 1 (02:15):
So we talked a little bit about it last week, and
it's going to be just storiesafter stories, because we could
be talking for hours on end.
But what do you have for usthis week?
Part two of Asia's AdventuresAventuras de Aja.
Speaker 2 (02:29):
It was really hard to pick one thing.
There's just so many stories,but something that has been
hitting me lately, withelections coming up and just
everything we have going on inthe office, and you know there's
one thing that really stuck outto me.
And you know there's one thingthat really stuck out to me, and
it was the global perspectiveof this election and what it
(02:50):
means to people across the globe.
I mean, I was asking people inKenya and Malawi, people in the
most remote rural villages,maasai tribe, women and men,
what they really thought of thiselection and what it means to
them.
So you know, some people, ofcourse, don't even know who the
presidential elects are, whichis fascinating, too, sure.
(03:14):
But I think, you know, one ofthe taxi drivers that I had in
Kenya was talking about this andwhat he said to me was how
important this election is forthe rest of the world, and I
think it's like it's easy for usto sort of like get into our
own you know feels about whatthis is for the United States,
(03:35):
which obviously we should.
It's the president of ourcountry but I think it's really
interesting to think about howthis election has so much to do
with the rest of the world.
I mean, not only does every youknow African president have to
come through the United StatesCongress to be elected, so that
has a big, you know a big dealfor anybody living in Africa or
(03:59):
the Caribbean or anywhere.
But really what they thoughtwas that this election brought
them some hope of having a mixedfemale president.
They really had a lot ofnegative things to say about
Trump.
Not one person that I met hadanything positive to say about
(04:19):
Trump.
Speaker 1 (04:19):
So like when you're in Puerto Rico and he was
flipping paper towels to peoplethat didn't garner any favor
across the good land of.
Speaker 3 (04:27):
Puerto Rico.
Speaker 1 (04:30):
No, don't worry about it, that's our assistant
producer.
It's Charlie he's over there.
Speaker 2 (04:34):
He's over there hard at work with Cammie Telling us
what I need to do.
Speaker 1 (04:36):
With Cammie?
No, but I think this segueswell into it.
Is the focus is on our countryor is this going to be something
where we live up to themulticultural, multiracial idea?
So it's going to be.
It's an interesting time and Iguess from your travels now and
(04:57):
being gone out of the countryfor a while and now you're
coming back is there andobviously you're next door,
we're next door to the Harrisvolunteer office and Harris
campaign and such, Do you findthat from coming back, it's
almost like the duty.
We are now at a place where wehave to kind of get this right.
(05:17):
Or, you know, because it feelslike to hear you say that, it's
like I never kind of thoughtabout it.
The rest of the world is sortof depending on us, not just,
hey, we need you to get off thecouch and go vote, you know.
Or send your mail-in ballot in,you know.
Speaker 2 (05:31):
No, absolutely.
It feels like very weighted.
Speaker 1 (05:35):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (05:36):
It's like wow, everyone is depending on this
Because the US, no matter how wewant to think about it is sets
the stage for the rest of theglobe.
I mean it really does from fromevery different aspect, but I
think this one is just soparticularly important.
And just to to feel their,their confusion and their
(05:57):
distress with how we couldpossibly put a convicted felon
Sure as a presidential candidate.
It's very confusing to them.
They don't understand how thatwould work, because they see
this, this candidate is supposedto be, you know, the most
magnificent intellectual personthat's running the country, and
(06:19):
so it's just it's interesting tosee it at this raw, innocent
level of like how does this evenhappen, like legally?
I don't understand how you canhave someone that is a convicted
felon running for president.
Speaker 1 (06:33):
And I don't have an answer for them.
We said this two years ago themotherfucker can run from jail.
So you know what I'm saying.
Speaker 2 (06:41):
How do?
Speaker 1 (06:41):
you explain that to someone in Kenya, though?
Yeah, no, exactly Exactly.
Yeah.
And how do you explain that tosomeone in Kenya, though?
Yeah, no, exactly Exactly.
And it's an interesting thingbecause I feel like we're at
this point in time where wheredisinformation, misinformation
when you see Elon Musk buyTwitter for 44 billion, now it's
barely worth 10.
And you run a company in theground like that to get on it
(07:01):
and then propagate falsehoodthis is the same guy that said
you know, media needs to bebipartisan and stuff, and he's
speaking at Trump rallies,spouting lies, getting people
scared to death, and it's turnedinto this sort of cult kind of
thing that I'm concerned aboutin a way.
That is, it's all you know, andI understand why the rest of
(07:24):
the world might be looking at usand like how, how, I mean, how
can we do it?
Speaker 2 (07:27):
I mean literally, I was standing in.
Masamara with a tribe in avillage hut.
Speaker 1 (07:35):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (07:36):
And the man said to me Trump is a very, very bad man
.
And I said yes, my friend.
Yes, he is I mean it's likeeveryone else gets it and you
feel like you're going crazy.
You're like this man in themiddle of the Masimara, you know
, in a complete desolate smallvillage, is like he knows.
(08:00):
He can smell it from a mileaway, you know, and when you're
traveling as somebody that'sgoing into these other countries
, they're looking at you as, youknow, a role model.
Speaker 1 (08:09):
Yeah, sure.
And so it's quite embarrassing,yeah, the role you play in the
places you find, the situationsyou find yourself in.
Speaker 2 (08:16):
Yeah, that's kind of amazing, high up on the
conversations, from the remotevillages to the slums to, you
know, even the you knowhigher-ups that I was dealing
with in the government while Iwas traveling, the resounding
board.
Is that what the heck is goingon and how could you let this
(08:37):
happen?
Yeah, and we're all kind ofscared for you.
Yeah, it's like sad to me when.
Speaker 1 (08:42):
Third, world— I'm scared for me.
Speaker 2 (08:44):
It's sad to me when third world countries feel sorry
for us.
Yeah, that's sad.
Speaker 1 (08:49):
It is, and it's also, I think, the stakes are so much
higher and to see Elon Musk,like getting on a podium a
couple weeks ago where it's justlike he's saying the same thing
, you know that the stake of allfree and fair democracy and all
that is he's getting, he'sstriking a chord in a cult of
personality way that that Elonstands to benefit from a
(09:10):
deregulation standpoint whereasTrump stands to benefit from
staying out of jail, and it kindof segues into you know you
were going to be talking to Roba little bit later and looking,
you know, looking forward tosort of integrating on as we
talked about kind of last weektoo, on our first episode back.
This season is dedicatedtowards.
(09:31):
We have so many artists thatwe've now built up, that are,
that are around us, that areusing their power for good in
social progress and socialchange yourself.
You know it's why I'm sohonored to have you here with us
now as well, and I thinkdrawing a light to that is very
important, because it is now, Ifeel like, more important than
(09:54):
ever to cash in our chips.
Use this opportunity to makesure people understand Putting
Trump in addition to him justneeding to stay out of jail,
right?
Just that simple thing.
We have the climate to think of, we have the oceans to think of
, we have the arts.
We have you know what we wantto say about education.
We have so many things that weneed to talk about, and I like
(10:17):
being in a building place, notin a tearing down place, and it
feels like, at the same time,now's the time to kind of make
sure that we don't fall prey tothis sort of ah how bad can it
be?
It's like no, it could changethe way all of us life as we
know it, in a way that is youknow.
Speaker 2 (10:32):
That's why I'm glad we have this, this show, and
have it here and and have peoplelike rob and artists that we're
talking to that are makingsocial progress in yeah you know
, despite all of the chaosthat's going on.
So it's a really great place tobe and just the energy we have,
you know, in the room withthese game changers.
Speaker 1 (10:54):
So, yeah, I'm happy to be here, hey, all right.
Well, when we come up after thebreak, our interview with the
one and only Rob Holman from theGrateful Film Fund and, yeah,
we'll see you after the break,all right, joining us for the
interview today in studio.
He's the executive director andboard chair of the Grateful
Film Fund and they're anonprofit organization dedicated
(11:16):
to engaging public awarenessfor critical environmental and
social issues through the powerof visual media, which means for
slap to power.
This could not be more perfect.
Mr Rob Holman, thank you somuch for coming in and being on
the show.
Thank you very much for havingme.
Yes, it is an honor for usbecause we loosely met through
our partner in 360Pod, johnScheinberg.
(11:39):
And what is fascinating to meis you are a third
generationgeneration, angeleno,so you're a rare breed, very
rare In so many ways.
So please, for those peoplethat do not know about you as a
third-generation Angeleno,please tell everybody a little
bit about yourself.
Speaker 3 (11:59):
Sure, well, I'm a third-generation.
Speaker 2 (12:02):
Angeleno.
What more do you need to know?
Speaker 3 (12:04):
I have a couple fourth-gener generations at home
, which is nice, and it is wildto think about how, being only a
third generation Angeleno issuch a rarity in this town.
But I guess it is.
It's a new city, right, it's anew community.
It really didn't blow up untilpost-World War II, I mean, I'd
say even like the 30s, whereit's still kind of a new
community.
It really didn't blow up untilpost-World War II, I'd say even
(12:26):
the 30s.
It's still kind of a pioneertown, which is when my mom's
parents came to town, had alittle greeting card company, a
Midwest story, and then my dad'sparents came here in the 40s.
They actually lived at Park LaBrea, you know, when it was a
(12:48):
little, you know, housingcommunity, government, housing
community.
Granddad was in the FBI, whichis interesting.
But you know, when this townwas starting, everything was new
.
The arts were new.
The music center wasn't arounduntil the 60s.
Los Angeles County Museum ofArt wasn't around.
(13:08):
It was part of the ScienceMuseum, science and History
Museum.
So they had, you know, youngboosters to support the arts and
my grandparents were a coupleof them and they, you know, gave
a little bit of money back inthe day but they, you know, went
to the performances and went tothe museum and they instilled
(13:29):
that philosophy into me to be asupporter of the arts, and it
stuck with me for a long time.
I went to a liberal artscollege, not here but in Vermont
, so that was interesting.
Brought out of LA for a littlewhile Lived in New York for a
little while and then came backhere, and my wife is actually a
(13:51):
third generation as well, whichis you know.
Speaker 2 (13:54):
Even more.
Speaker 1 (13:56):
Even more right.
Well you're, I mean, for a lotof people that don't know.
I'm so excited about thisinterview on for so many levels,
um, but bringing, and yourlineage being a part of bringing
this sort of I.
I love los angeles because,being a musician getting to
travel all over the world, youhave a kind of a unique sense of
of culture.
La has a sense of culture inthat it is earth culture to me.
(14:19):
It's like it feels like earthto me and you have a, you have a
line on it with just what yourparents, you know I mean your
grandparents with the losangeles music center, which that
in and of itself, is just sucha being part of that.
Bringing that to this city issomething that, as a musician,
uh, so thankful and soappreciative that we have that
here.
Or lakma, which is, you know,it's like don't, don't sleep,
(14:41):
it's you know, three blocks thatway and people, people sleep on
LACMA.
It's a great, great, greatcultural part of Los Angeles
that represents this earth thing, and so we were talking offline
before we started recording,but I can't wait to get into it
about the, there is a.
They're living through a timein Los Angeles when culture was
(15:01):
leading it, a time in LosAngeles when culture was leading
it and it felt like it was very.
There was a lot of fight forvirtuous type of art and things
like that.
Is that what being around that?
Is that what sort of drove youto be?
You know Grateful Film Fund andthe work it does is amazing on
these types of social progressforward type films, but is that
(15:21):
what pulled you in was justbeing around that kind of
inspiration.
Yeah, I that what pulled you inwas just being around that kind
of inspiration.
Speaker 3 (15:26):
Yeah, I'd say, you know my peers, you know my
friends, we're all frustratedartists or artists you know in
our own right, but we've, youknow it's an industry town right
, so you're very close to it.
I mean I drove through LaurelCanyon getting over here and I
mean you could just feel thevibes, you know as it was, and
(15:46):
actually I got a haircutyesterday and apparently—.
Speaker 1 (15:51):
Looks good, by the way.
Oh, thank you.
Thank you very much.
Youtubecom backslash Slap thePower you.
Youtubecom backslash Slap thePower.
Speaker 3 (15:56):
You can see it if you're listening to us right now
.
It's got the drip as a kid.
Speaker 1 (16:00):
Yes, yes, rob's in here, fresh drip.
Speaker 3 (16:16):
The person who gave me the haircut.
We were talking about going toNew York actually tomorrow
morning and Grateful Film Fundand some other artists, some
other projects, art-relatedprojects, which are nice, but
she said, oh yeah, my dad was ina band.
I was like, oh okay, I was likewhat band?
She said, well, it's the BeachBoys.
And I'm like, oh yeah, I thinkI've heard of those guys.
You've never, heard of them andwe just started talking about
it and I had no idea.
And we were talking about LaurelCanyon and everything.
So it's hard not to be effective, you know, affected in a
(16:42):
positive sense by the art worldhere and whatever it is visual
media, performing arts or whathave you and it's nice.
So we grew up around that, andI'd say doubly so, with going to
a liberal arts college and afriend of mine who's been a film
producer for you know, 30 plusyears We've been talking about,
(17:02):
you know, working togetherforever, and it wasn't until a
couple of years ago that theywere working on this film who
Are the Marcuses?
And he asked, interviewed me asa, you know, nonprofit
professional, which I said, sure, and we did it, and apparently
I am in the beginning, at theend of this film, which is a
(17:23):
great film.
And he said, you know, this isthe first time and we're working
on these documentaries and Ifeel really good doing this.
And he's done Killer Inside Meand American Psycho, and so you,
you know, art films, if youwill, but not necessarily feel
good films, or can I call themfeel bad, you know yeah, you say
(17:44):
, yeah, I'm feeling good.
I'm like, yeah, you're doingfeel good films, these
documentaries and a couple otherprojects were coming around the
corner.
He said can we create anon-profit film fund?
And I said yeah, absolutely,which we did at the end of 22.
And you know we've completedthree and you know about 12 in
(18:05):
different stages ofpre-production and what have you
.
But the other interesting thingthat came about was they were
working on a film.
They've been working on thisfilm on the fentanyl crisis and
how it's been affecting kids andthey got a nice grant in for
this.
But the grant maker on a filmThey've been working on this
film on the fentanyl crisis andhow it's been affecting kids and
they got a nice grant in forthis.
But the grant maker as afoundation couldn't just give it
to the producers.
(18:26):
They had to process it througha nonprofit.
And I said could we be a fiscalsponsor?
And they said yes, of course,and what we did was which is
kind of part of our ethos in away, you know grateful.
Yeah, did was, which is kind ofpart of our ethos, in a way,
you know grateful.
When you're a fiscal sponsor,you charge anywhere 5% to 12%,
you know, depending on what youcould provide legal services,
all kinds of stuff which wedon't do.
And I said look, why don't wedo 3%?
(18:47):
You know it's 2% less, butthat's 2% more for the
filmmakers.
Speaker 1 (18:52):
Get it done.
Speaker 3 (18:53):
And what's happened with that is a lot of people
have come to us looking for helpand this is how we got
connected with John and Susieand the autism docs, scott and
(19:14):
Seindorf, and it's been reallynice.
So we're helping out and we'relooking at just like what our
mission is.
You know, it could be the mostcomplicated issue, the most
difficult subject matter, but aslong as we're providing some
sort of, the filmmakers areproviding some sort of solutions
or ideas of solutions.
You know, and I have to say too, that these first two films,
marcus's and Fioretta, which isRandy Schoenberg, he's the one
(19:44):
who rescued the Klimt painting,you know from the Austrian
government.
He's a part-time genealogistand he's gone back to the 1400s,
his family's Jewish history andhe found a tombstone in.
I mean kind of a spoiler alert,but a tombstone in the Jewish
ghetto in Venice, Italy, andthose two films are really.
(20:07):
I mean you know today's October7th, so we got to look at that,
which is just amazing.
But you watch those now andthey have a different feel to
them and I'd say you know thedifferent feel is, you know,
looking at humanity basicallyand you know what does it mean.
And everybody has rights andhistory and you know, and they
(20:28):
should all be, you know,reflected and cared for and
protected.
But when you see something likethis pre-October 7 lens and
then post, you know it hitsdifferently as they say.
But I'd say, importantly, youknow, and much more profoundly
so you know, here we are, andanother project that we're
(20:50):
working on is this Oceansdocumentary.
Speaker 1 (20:52):
Well, yeah, that's what I was going to say.
For those that don't know,there's a heavy slate of amazing
, amazing projects that are onGratefulFundorg which you can go
and check out.
Like GratefulFundorg, we'llhave the link in our show notes
as well, but there's everythingfrom the last Orange Grove right
that you told me about.
That's an amazing story onthere too.
(21:14):
What you just told about thatyou know we don't want to spoil
the spoiler alert again, butthere are a lot.
When we kind of were thinkingof the conceit of not only of
our show but of just SlapStudios in general, it was that
it felt like some of theproblems that are out there,
like you said, some of them canbe so big that it's paralyzing,
(21:37):
or we can just be at a placewhere it just feels like we have
no agency or power in them.
But whether it takes acombination of government or
science and innovation or just abunch of badass people who get
together and say we're going toget this done, or a combination
of all three, we wanted to besort of at a place where we
could help in any way, kind ofconnect dots, because I learned,
(22:00):
nothing works in a band untilyou get a bus that works, right,
right, nothing, nothing, not atall, on tour until you have a
complete bus that works and thatincludes the bus driver.
So it's, you know it takes avillage and I think of things
like this.
What's great if you go to theGrateful Film slate?
And I think of things like this.
What's great if you go to theGrateful Film slate?
One of the reasons that we alsogot together was Slap the Power
(22:22):
last season and the seasonbefore, for those listeners, no,
we've done several episodeswith the great Keith Wolfe and
Keith had.
We had discussed a projectbecause Keith is an
award-winning documentarianfilmmaker, make sure to check it
out Slap the Power.
You can see any of that stuffwhere we're going with Dr Keith
Wolf.
But there was a project calledOceans that we had looked at and
(22:52):
we were like this is amazing.
And this is how I love where weare energetically and even in
this room, because sometimes Ithink, when you put the right
people out and then you're likeI don't know how this is going
to happen if you, just if thepeople show up and in some ways,
like, I feel like you kind ofshowed up into our orbit in a
way that we showed up into yours.
Yeah, you know, amplifyingagency, things like that, that's
(23:18):
stuff that we're good at andand you know, and there's a
whole world of things that adocumentarian filmmaker trying
to attack climate change butthrough a seven part, you know
docuseries on the oceans, who'sgot who's done all this
homework's got all the receiptsof everywhere around the world
you can try and sort of put intoa capsule of this problem that
seems so big, but it you cantake it in bite parts and yeah
yeah I mean the nice thing aboutthis is that it's all happened
(23:38):
and continues to happenorganically.
Speaker 3 (23:40):
Yeah, just from the interview, the work and now
probably I mean that's, you knowgoing back to the grandparents
for a minute.
I mean just instilling thosevalues and then me moving
forward in life and wanting tobe of help.
Speaker 1 (23:52):
Keep running with that.
Yeah, why wouldn't you?
Nonprofits and the kids aretouched by that too, Like this
last orange grove.
Speaker 3 (23:59):
I'm trying to save this last orange grove and you
know, hey Dad, have you savedthe last orange grove?
Speaker 1 (24:04):
Tell people about this real quick.
Yeah, we got to save the lastorange grove without ruining it,
but you can.
Speaker 3 (24:08):
No, no, no.
So there's this guy, LindleyBothwell.
He had this ranch in the youknow the valley.
San Fernando Valley was one ofthe top producers of agriculture
in the nation, which is hard tobelieve.
I mean, you drive again, youknow, over the hill and you look
(24:34):
up, go to Mulholland and youstare out now and it's.
You know, it's the urban sprawl, right, yes, circus liquor.
Yeah, I know, circus liquor.
I mean, just, you know it's theurban sprawl, right, yes,
circus liquor.
Speaker 2 (24:38):
Yeah, I know, circus liquor, I mean just you know,
box after box.
Speaker 3 (24:41):
Yeah, and you know it's interesting because
Chinatown.
You know Robert Towne, when hewrote the original script he
wanted Jake and Evelyn to getaway at the end and apparently
the last scene was supposed tobe Jake and Evelyn skipping town
, you know, and driving throughMulholland and they follow the
(25:02):
car.
Then the camera pans back tothe valley and it's all orange
groves, it's all you know.
And then the he wanted to do atime lapse, you know, until what
it is today.
Speaker 1 (25:10):
It's like the.
Speaker 3 (25:12):
But of course Polanski said you know, this is
a noir film, so somebody has todie, and that that's what
happened, and that's what it is.
And this is really kind of thelast chapter of that saga,
because you know it was based inreality.
You know they saw the valley asa great place to sell homes and
buy out the farmers.
(25:32):
So Bothwell had a 126-acreranch and he sold off pieces
over time.
He had an incredible carcollection too.
It's an apocryphal tale, butapparently Walt Disney showed up
there one day because he heardabout it.
It was a small town and so theyall kind of knew each other and
(25:54):
he had a train like an actualtrain, lindley Bothwell, on his
ranch, on tracks, seam engine,everything Did it.
And Walt said I want a traintoo, you know, and put one in
his house over in Holmey Hills.
Now we know where Michael.
Speaker 1 (26:09):
Jackson got it from.
Yeah, there we go.
Well, and if it wasn't forLindley.
Speaker 3 (26:14):
One, two, three.
Speaker 2 (26:15):
One two, three we see the train of events.
Speaker 1 (26:17):
Oh See what she did there.
That's why she's got the corneroffice.
Speaker 3 (26:22):
Anyway, it got whittled down to 14 acres.
It was a working citrus orchard.
Sunkist would go there onceannually harvest the oranges and
he passed away in the 80s.
But his widow lived there andshe wanted to keep it forever.
But it was one of those shirtsleeves the shirt sleeves where,
(26:42):
when she passed away, thedescendants sold the car
collection for $17 million andhalf of it went to taxes.
And they said the ranch wasnext.
And it was interesting becausewe were looking and maybe moving
around that area Tarzana,woodland Hills and we were given
(27:02):
addresses.
I had no idea and I saw thisrectangular piece of land you
could see it on Google Maps.
I said what is that?
And I found out it was thisranch and I thought, oh okay.
And then all of a sudden itcame up for sale and I thought
of Foundation to save it butthey said no.
But we were very close to wecreated a nonprofit and we had
(27:28):
this plan with Henry Stern,who's Daniel Stern's son, who's
a state senator, and it wasgoing to happen.
But at the last minute theypulled out of the deal.
We were left in the lurch.
So now they sold it to thesedevelopers and they want to turn
it into 21 luxury homes and cutdown 1,400 trees.
And I'm kind of pretty much outof it because you know I was
(27:50):
like threatened and all thiskind of stuff and I didn't need
that aggravation, but the fund.
The filmmakers came to us andsaid, hey, we've heard about
this ranch.
I said, okay, great, go ahead.
And you know, if you want tomake it, you know, and raise
funds for it, you know, be ourguest.
And there is a trailer that'son the website.
(28:11):
We actually have a YouTubechannel now and this is it's an
interesting thing because it'slive right.
So we don't know what the endis going to be, and the end
could be.
All the trees are cut down andthey're you know, and it's the
last orange grove, essentially.
I mean, there are other orangegroves around and it's a little
bit of a misnomer to say it'sthe last.
Speaker 1 (28:30):
But it's the last of that, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 3 (28:32):
Last in our history and we wanted to have Before Bob
.
Speaker 1 (28:34):
Hope bought up all the valley and then yeah, yeah.
Speaker 3 (28:38):
We wanted to have kids go there and see what it
was like and you know they couldjuice the oranges and you know
we were talking about, you know,kids from neighborhoods, you
know disadvantaged neighborhoods, and there's a guy, ron Finley,
who you know he's big on havingcommunity farms and this was
something where they couldexperience that and actually
bring a tree home with them andall that.
(28:59):
But it's just weird, you know,it's one of those things like
what's the solution there?
And of course the solution isgreen space, and we were talking
about COVID before we went livehere and what have you.
But you know we're losing a lotof green space and you know
Governor Newsom wants to save anadditional million acres and we
(29:20):
thought, well, here's 14.
And Woodland Hills is one of thehottest places in the world and
we're losing these trees andthe canopy and the shade and the
cooling.
One tree equals one ton ofcarbon capture a year.
It's another fascinating one.
There's a lot of these on onour slate that are, that are
(29:41):
really cool and that's a goodsegue, though, because, like we
have, we generally we lovehitting on stories with climate.
Speaker 1 (29:46):
That's what led us to dr keith wolf and everything
and um, the what's fascinatingto me is if you also have oceans
.
But then, um, we were talkingabout covid and how, at that
point in time, when everythingshut down and the tankers
weren't there and the ocean gotto clear out, that you could
(30:07):
smell the ocean from Hollywood,you know.
Yeah from the valley which theearth responds so fast, and
that's it's inspiring in a way,because you realize okay that it
we, we can do things to helpsort of mitigate.
You know some of this.
But I I'm curious because Iwant to get to oceans before we
(30:30):
run out of time and kind of kindof dive into that a little bit.
But I, what's your take on whokilled the automotive industry?
If it's, if it's cause, I'mthinking about that, that breath
of ocean coming across, youknow, and you were talking to
your daughter about it and howthey're like what's, what's that
smell?
And I said, oh, that's theocean and the smell in the
(30:51):
Valley.
But there was a time, as a guywho was Floridian by birth but
(31:11):
California now is the LosAngeles my favorite city.
Speaker 3 (31:13):
There was a time when I realized I was born in the
city of California and I wasborn in the world.
It had the largest trolleysystem electric trolley system
in the world.
And it's interesting, a fewyears ago I was surprised.
I was having dinner with my dad, who grew up here as a kid and
he remembers it first-handexperience, and he said, yeah,
(31:35):
it was the car companies and thetire companies.
Oh, because they saw part ofthe urban sprawl experiment,
what Dorothy Parker called, youknow, 32 suburbs in the search
of a city or something like that.
That's a great way to selltires and cars and oil.
And you know there's.
You know, the truth is neversimple or pure, as Oscar Wilde
(31:58):
said, whatever, but I'd say thatit was kind of.
The Charlie system was fading,but still it was.
And now we're spending hundredsof millions of dollars, if not
billions, rebuilding it now insome ways, but the after effect
(32:20):
of shutting it down and thenselling these cars.
They call it ethylene orsomething like that which is
leaded gas basically, and yousaw, I mean for the first time,
these, the smog alerts, likepeople were just getting hit
hard, you know, by by this andand it was just a dirty
experiment which we're stillpaying for, trying to figure out
, paying for and figure outtoday.
So you know what's I mean.
Just going back to the ranchfor for a second, what was
(32:41):
fascinating is I heard storiesabout you know how they used to
pollinate.
The trees was with bees and um,they would, they would, you
know, have the you know thebeehives there and they would
save water by planting mustardseed.
You know, around the base.
So I mean all of this organicfarming, all of this stuff as a
way to cure and bring back youknow what's going on is possible
(33:07):
.
I'm worried about the PFAS.
You know stuff that we'rehearing about.
You know now and all the youknow the DDT that they were
dumping into the ocean.
But we could talk about, wecould bemo, bemoan.
You know all the terriblethings that have happened, but
I'd say, with something like theoceans, uh, docuseries, we're
looking at what the solutionsare right, how we could, how we
(33:29):
could fix you know what, what'salready happened, and yeah and
full disclosure.
Speaker 1 (33:33):
Oceans is a documentary where, uh, in
combination with Keith Wolf andSLAP and SFO and Grateful Film
Fund, trying to bring this very,very important docu-series
together, which is kind of howthe oceans is really and, yeah,
you would even know more, butjust so people that don't know,
it's full disclaimer.
Speaker 3 (33:54):
We're partnering on this in a way that is again
inspiring, because we'relearning by just being part of
it, yeah, and it's sevenepisodes to cover the seven seas
, if you will, and the differentregions, the ocean and sea
regions, going to thesedifferent locations and seeing
(34:17):
what people are doing withinthese regions in particular, and
then globally, to heal theoceans, basically, and to set
them on the right track and Ithink it's great that it's very
solutionary, because a lot ofthe conversations around climate
are very doom and gloom, whichthey are in a lot of ways very
doom and gloom, which they arein a lot of ways, but if we can
(34:38):
break it down into these likeunderstandable, you know, little
snippets where we're like, wow,we can see some hope.
Speaker 2 (34:46):
Like you said with COVID, you know, we did see the
ocean come back, we sawbiodiversity, we saw mangroves
coming back.
Speaker 1 (34:54):
We saw reefs coming back and Venice.
Speaker 3 (34:57):
We were talking about Venice, italy, a little bit
before, but you know the fishcoming back into the canal like
the water getting clear andstuff.
I don't know if it was InVenice.
You know you have this likevisual Fake news but the
dolphins, you know, swimmingaround, it was like this visual
of like dolphins jumping.
Speaker 2 (35:14):
But it was true, it was happening.
Speaker 1 (35:16):
Yeah, the earth and speaking and oceans is, yeah,
and what's great, what I alsolove about you know, when you
look at everything, what welearned and we can do little
things combination we weretalking about this offline too,
but combination between it'sgoing to be all things kitchen
sink, it's innovations, which istowards the end of the
docuseries, which leads intowhat I think is a is a great
(35:41):
sort of bridge or venn diagramwhere the people that we've kind
of moved past, like climatedeniers if we can just more have
a conversation that yes, thisis a difficult problem and there
is there and where science getsweaponized and things like that
, you know that is that isproblematic for ultimately, what
is what is of gain that we'retrying to get as a planet
(36:04):
together?
So it, you know, the innovationsand I think human innovations
are, are going to be.
I've already that was we were.
We talked about it on the lasttime.
We had Keith on the show and wewere actually interviewing his
kids from.
He's got another podcast withthe kids.
It's, it's amazing that they'relearning about, they're
basically spreading the word asthe youngest, gen Alpha, climate
(36:24):
generation and everything theseGen Alpha kids.
Speaker 3 (36:26):
I've got to tell you, watch out, yeah they give me
hope.
Speaker 1 (36:30):
They are pissed and they're mad, they're driven.
Speaker 3 (36:32):
Oh, we were watching something about the seas rising
and all that kind of stuff.
And this is when my son, eugene, who's 17, but I think he was
like eight or nine and we werewatching this before his sister
showed up yeah, with a, you know, furious anger, but we were
watching this thing.
Speaker 2 (36:51):
And he looks at us and says it's because of you two
that this and we're like whoa,whoa, we were not.
You know, we didn't start thissituation, but he was, you know,
and they're ratcheting it up.
We need that fire, hey it'stime.
Speaker 1 (37:04):
It's time and I think that's where the innovations
part, the Venn diagram I wassort of referring to as a
conversation where we can have,sure, there's private market
solutions, you know that arethere.
And I think ingenuity, thesekids in, oh, that are there.
And I think ingenuity, thesekids in, oh, that's what these
kids in?
I think they're out of Denmarkor something, but they've been
basically deplastifying thegiant plastic patch, yeah, and
(37:25):
they've been killing it for likethe last three years and
turning that plastic intoeverything from like roads to
like you know.
Speaker 3 (37:32):
Whatever can be done, whatever can be done with it.
Yeah, I mean this is why newmedia is fantastic.
I mean this is why new media isfantastic, and I'd say
traditional media.
You know they're suffering andwhat have you.
I'm like great Because, as youwere saying, so much doom and
gloom and they just have gottenstuck in this for too long of a
time.
(37:52):
Traditional media about.
You know this sells.
People want to watch the doomand gloom, yeah, and you know
it's even.
You know, now with, with the um, uh, with the, the, the
streamers that you know they're,they're actually getting some,
some blowback on their, theircontent.
You know, the murderer next door.
They can.
You know all this kind of stuffthat sure it's kind of, you
(38:12):
know, hate watching or somethinglike that, but people want to
be fulfilled and again it's likebeing part of the solution and
this new media is coming out andsaying you know, forget about
traditional media also becausethey want to sell, you know, fan
space and what have you the new?
media is coming out and theyhave a microphone and a camera
or what have you and they'regetting out there in the world
(38:33):
and they're speaking truth topower in some ways or another,
just trying to find what thetruth is and also investigate
what the answers may be, andthis is definitely part of that
and I'd say, well, I know thatoceans.
We're going to revisit it againin a year's time and then two
years' time and just keep itsort of evergreen and see what's
happening.
Speaker 1 (38:53):
That's what I feel like, what's nice about the
innovations when the projectends off on innovations, where
that's really just the start ofwhat is a continual conversation
.
And again, this is anotherreason why we have a show.
It's a constant communicationthat we're having with, whether
it be our fan base or peoplethat want to have a conversation
that they don't necessarilyhear in a lot of places, with
(39:15):
people that they may not be ableto to be listening to, like
this conversation and things.
But I, I'm I'm fascinated bynot only new media but I also
feel like just this, the sort oftransparency on where it feels
like we're entering into thistime where you just kind of
can't bullshit your way throughanything and so you can't.
(39:37):
It's impossible.
Speaker 3 (39:38):
It's impossible, so stop trying to do it.
Speaker 1 (39:40):
Now don't get me wrong, it's still getting
weaponized in old media.
Any party is using it, butwe're next door to the Kamala
Harris campaign for presidentand the thing is, when I ask
people to show receipts onanything and stuff like that,
oftentimes people on the rightcan't produce correct, accurate
(40:00):
receipts and whereas on the leftwe're generally people that are
usually too concerned with thetruth.
But what I do find is both, atthe core, actually do want a
level of truth.
I think it's just being we'rebeing sold slightly different.
You know mistruths, if you can,or whatever, and this is where
I think that conversations likethis are are really important,
(40:22):
because it's like you're justdoing the work.
Asia just got back from africabuilding wells for for girls.
You know she's doing the work.
Excuse me, doing the work andthat's what we're trying to do
here too is figure out.
Okay, how can we do much morepower by by?
Who do we need to get involved?
Who can we bring light tocertain subjects and bring the
(40:42):
awareness of things?
And whether it's an orangegrove or an atrocity against a
generation, or whether it's, Ithink, climate change and using
oceans and solutions to solve it, it's like there's all these
conversations that need to behad.
Speaker 3 (40:58):
And just the stories that are being told as well.
I mean, we're working on somenarrative projects too.
We have a young filmmaker,charlie Shapiro, and she heard a
story from her grandmother, youknow, about a small town in
Poland and the Holocaust and allthat, and you know she has a
modest budget and she came to usand we're being of help with
her and telling the story in anarrative way.
(41:20):
But it's funny because one ofmy all-time favorite films is
being there Peter.
Speaker 1 (41:27):
Sellers.
My mother-in-law would kill meif I haven't.
She's a Peter.
Speaker 3 (41:31):
Sellers freak, you're going to watch this tonight.
Speaker 1 (41:34):
All right, what's it called?
Speaker 3 (41:35):
Oh my God, rick, wow I love it.
Speaker 1 (41:39):
Later on, we what's it called?
Oh my God, rick, wow, I love it.
I love it All right, later onLater okay, we'll have to
compare like top threes, because, yeah, let's see, Make sure we
see our top three.
Speaker 3 (41:45):
Peter Seller is in it and I think it was his last
role, you know, tragically, butarguably one of his best.
And it's called what again?
Being there?
Oh, okay, hal Ashby, thedirector, you know, harold and
Maude, 1978, 79.
And it's based on the novelJersey Kaczynski.
He did the screenplay, but it'sbasically I don't want to spoil
(42:09):
it too much for you.
Okay, give me something to lookat.
But Peter Sellers plays Chancethe Gardener and he lives his
whole life in this house whichlooks like a beautiful, you know
, turn of the century, and thereare TVs all over.
Loves to watch TV, loves TV, tv.
(42:29):
Like my dad Seems like asimpleton, okay, and what
happens is the old man dies andPeter Sellers is forced out of
the house.
And it's Washington DC and justby chance he gets sort of
adopted.
He's in his 50s, but just bychance he gets adopted,
basically by this power brokerdude whose house they use the
(42:56):
Vanderbilt estate in Tennessee.
No no in North Carolina,asheville which got hit.
So we're talking about climatechange, but all of these themes
that we're talking about, likethe zombification of the media
and what have you and then alsoprojection onto it.
I just watched it againrecently and I always picked up
(43:16):
something different when youwatch it.
I mean, first of all, when I wasa kid, I was like, well, this
is interesting.
And so when it came out, you'rethinking, oh so, reagan's the
Chauncey, you know.
But now it keeps changing.
But if you keep the dialoguegoing and you revisit the
subject matter and you seewhat's changed, what's not and I
(43:37):
bring it up too, because my26-year-old nephew, we were
having dinner together and Isaid, you know he wasn't feeling
well, I said, well, go home andwatch being there, and he came
back and he just like he cameback with like, oh my God, this
is just like so current, youknow, and so relevant, and you
(43:58):
know it's a 40-year-old movienow.
And I said, great.
Well, first of all I was like,wow, you get it.
Okay, cool yeah.
Speaker 1 (44:03):
Just get smart.
I'm like that with AmericanPresident or anything Aaron
Sorkin's written.
I'm pretty much there for it.
Speaker 3 (44:09):
Yeah, well, and the president comes about, like you
know, in the winter we lose, youknow, but in the spring the
gardens come back and they allthink.
You know people, you know.
He goes on a Johnny Carsonstyle show and, like God, his
metaphors are just brilliant.
(44:29):
This guy's just like talkingabout gardening.
Basically, yeah, it's a goodone.
Speaker 1 (44:34):
Now, before we let you go, are you looking?
Are you also keeping yourradars open?
Speaker 3 (44:41):
Because you guys have a lot on your plate right now.
Speaker 1 (44:42):
Always yeah, yeah, yeah.
So how can people get a hold ofyou?
Granted to the extent that youwant to be gotten a hold of no
right, gratefulfundorg.
Speaker 3 (44:49):
There's a contact us there and again, you know, we're
basically the providers.
It's an interactiverelationship and we just help
raise funds through a nonprofitarena.
And the nice thing too aboutthese filmmakers is that they
could go to their for-profit,you know, investors or what have
(45:11):
you, but the nonprofit is justan add-on.
Yeah, but the really nice thingis that somebody could just
make a donation to the projectand the filmmaker doesn't have
to worry about.
You know, this is an investment.
I have to give them theirprincipal value plus points, you
know, and if they give enoughfunding for the project a donor,
(45:33):
they could be listed as anexecutive producer, co-executive
.
That title is up to thefilmmaker.
But it's a real feel-good forthe donor as well, because they
can help support a project.
They don't have to feel like,oh okay, I'm making an
investment and when am I goingto get my money back?
Sure, sure, the payback, if youwill I mean several One is you
(45:54):
get a letter from us sayingthank you very much for your
tax-deductible donation.
They give it to theiraccountant, you know, and it
goes, you know, with your taxliabilities.
The other is that you are beingpart of a salute, you know
thing, and that's hopefully, youknow, helping the society at
large.
You know the community, theenvironment, yeah, the.
(46:18):
You know the civil, you knowdiscourse that's happening.
You know Bipartisanship, whichyou know it's like.
Can we do this again?
I mean not just locally, butinternationally too?
I mean, that's what is it?
Thomas Friedman wrote that book.
You know the Earth is Flat,yeah, and basically like
(46:38):
everything's leveled out, youknow.
So you know nobody's reallylike.
You know somebody gets, somecountry gets sick and the other,
you know, and many othercountries, you know, feel it as
well.
But we're all in the sameplaying field in a sense.
So why can't we all help eachother?
Speaker 1 (46:55):
I try to use this as a like.
I feel like we saw thisuniquely in the music industry.
That is now, I think, endemicand emblematic of sort of tech
and so many industries were atlarge, like now, where AI is
flattening out everything fromparalegals to accounting.
(47:15):
And what I felt about music waswhen it wasn't just that Nap
napster, it was that it was soeasy to send copyrighted
information, digital copyrightedinformation through an email,
right, because the size of itgot so small, yeah, and that
then it's just because we'vegotten better at moving larger
blocks of data.
It's just slowly coming for thestreaming and movie industry
and stuff like that.
And and that's why I feel like,again, agency people, agency
(47:37):
people, creators, you know,that's what we try to augment
here, that's what we try towater here, because there is an
element of that that I feel likeis part of being the solution,
like you said, part of thesolution and, man, a big thanks.
I speak for all Angelenos, Imean coming from your family and
(47:59):
everything being, you know,helpful and part of being
responsible for the Los Angelesmusic center, lacma, and now all
the work you do with thegrateful film fund and helping
artists, you know, move storieslike we've been talking about
today.
It is a privilege and an honorto be working with you and I
look forward to kind of talkingmore and more and more and judge
us by our receipts, right?
We just keep putting up thework, just judge us by what we
(48:20):
do, right?
Speaker 3 (48:21):
Well, thanks for having me on.
I mean, it's just reallyawesome and I'm humbled and
honored, as always in makingthese connections.
And yeah, let's, what did JohnLewis say?
Make good trouble, you know.
Speaker 2 (48:32):
That's it.
Speaker 3 (48:33):
Let's continue to do that, I'd say it's it's making
good trouble is great foreveryone.
Speaker 1 (48:38):
Yeah, yeah, cool.
Well, thanks for being on theshow.
Appreciate it.
We'll talk to you again soon.
Speaker 2 (48:41):
Thank you, yeah, thanks.
Speaker 1 (48:42):
Yep, all right, welcome back that.
I mean Rob.
What a guy Rob is, right, whathe is.
The guy.
Royalty like that.
It's just an honor to have himin.
Speaker 2 (48:57):
And like Los Angeles, like third generation and just
so like his family, has built upso much of the arts in LA.
Speaker 1 (49:05):
Los Angeles Music Center come on LACMA like, yeah,
love it.
Yeah, it's cool, you know, andone of the things I love the
culture of Los Angeles.
Los Angeles is my favorite cityin the world, it's our favorite
city, and it's nice to havesomebody who's been fighting the
fight with it.
So, yeah, what a greatinterview.
If you missed that, make sureto go check out on our show
(49:26):
notes.
There's all kinds ofinformation on Rob there, as
well as links to the GratefulFilm Fund.
And before we get out of here,we promised you the goods.
We're bringing you the goods.
Two scams and a slap when goodswe're bringing you the goods.
Two scams and a slap when.
We're in such a batshit crazyworld here.
Asia's going to test me todayon which of these batshit crazy
(49:46):
things is actually true, and soI give the floor Asia Nakia.
Speaker 2 (49:51):
Alright, alright, so.
So here we go, here we go.
First of all, a new study findseating chocolate cake for
breakfast improves brainfunction.
Speaker 3 (50:04):
okay, okay, that's one marinating the chocolate
cake brain function got it okay.
Speaker 1 (50:08):
The second one that's not even magic crazy.
That's, uh, that's, that's.
Speaker 2 (50:12):
That sounds like yummy yeah, I was gonna say,
like that just sounds good.
Speaker 1 (50:16):
Like that just sounds good, but I want to know if
it's actually if it's good, ifyeah, if it a, if it's a good
slap, yeah.
Speaker 2 (50:21):
Now I'm distracted by the thoughts of chocolate cake.
Speaker 1 (50:22):
Okay, I know Okay.
Speaker 2 (50:23):
Anyways, all right.
Second Yep man gets aprosthetic limb and decides to
live his life as a goat.
Speaker 1 (50:31):
Ooh.
Speaker 2 (50:45):
Ooh.
Speaker 1 (50:46):
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
And three.
And three is that scientistsdiscover that dolphins are now
using seashells for currency.
Okay, so two of these thingsare a lie, one of these things
are true.
Uh-huh, I say one of thesethings and the truth would be a
slap, because we slap good shitaround here.
Um, yeah, I think the truth isthat the man wants to live as a
(51:07):
goat that's actually really goodis that?
Did I get it?
Speaker 2 (51:11):
it's true, oh shit, okay, yeah, yes, we have a
gentleman, um by the name ofThomas that has decided to live
his life out with goats, whichyou know as a goat.
I honestly understand RespectSure, because I'm probably going
to end up living on an islandwith animals at some point.
Speaker 3 (51:31):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (51:32):
So it's not that far off for me, but I guess for you
know, general public, maybeliving your life with goats
might be weird.
Speaker 1 (51:38):
The prosthetic part right, yeah, the prosthetic part
is a little.
Yeah, yeah, the prosthetic part.
Speaker 2 (51:43):
Yeah, yeah, that definitely throws a wrench in it
.
Speaker 1 (51:46):
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Well, all right, slap to you,you know.
Speaker 2 (51:50):
But good guess.
Speaker 1 (51:50):
Good guess, hey, I got it.
I got it.
That was good, all right, well,that know, have have some
compassion, as as the greatcompassion kind leader here says
, and make sure, if you have anyquestions about the election,
how you can get involved, howyou can help VoteSaveAmericacom,
(52:10):
our good friends over atCrooked Media, as well, as make
sure to check out our pageanywhere you get your podcasts
and your socials, yeah, and anylinks for you know.
Speaker 2 (52:23):
We've got upcoming caravans over to Arizona.
We've got information onpolling.
If you'd like to volunteer,make phone banks.
Speaker 3 (52:32):
So much going on here .
Phone banks, that's right.
Speaker 2 (52:34):
So many ways to volunteer.
So yeah, check our links foryou know some updates and how to
get to all of those places tovolunteer.
Speaker 1 (52:42):
Yeah, yeah, check our show notes and we'll see you
next week.
Bye, slap the Power is a SlapNetwork production.
It's written and produced byRick Barriodil and Asia Nakia.
Our senior producer is BreeCorey, audio and video editing
by Asher Freidberg and BreeCorey, and studio facilities
provided by Slap Freidberg andBree Corey and studio facilities
provided by Slap Studios LA and360 Pod Studios.
If you're into online powerscrolling, like we are, don't
(53:06):
forget to follow Slap the Poweron Instagram, twitter, tiktok,
youtube and probably Pinterestsoon for access to full episodes
, bonus content and more.
And if you're as full of hottakes and crazy ideas as we are,
please think about dropping usa review to help boost this
episode.
And you can help blow up thegroup chat by sharing with
friends, family or random shitposters on the internet you want
in on the conversation.
(53:27):
And if you're interested inbeing a guest on the show,
please email info atslapthepowercom.
For those that don't know, there's a heavy slate of
amazing, amazing projects thatare on gratefulfundorg.
When we kind of were thinkingof the conceit of not only of
our show but of just SlapStudios in general, it was that
it felt like some of theproblems that are out there,
like you said, some of them canbe so big that it's paralyzing.
(00:23):
Some of them can be so big thatit's paralyzing, whether it
takes a combination ofgovernment or science and
innovation, or just a bunch ofbadass people who get together
and say we're going to get thisdone.
Yeah, a combination of allthree.
We wanted to be sort of at aplace where we could help in any
way, kind of connect dots.
All right, the world may notneed another podcast, but it can
(00:55):
definitely use a slap.
Speaker 2 (00:57):
I'm Rick Barry O'Dell .
I'm Asia Nakia.
Speaker 1 (00:59):
Yeah, and welcome to Slap the Power On the show today
.
The future of the free world isin full effect and it happens
to be 10 feet away from us Alittle later for the interview,
and in studio we have the oneand only Rob Holman.
He is a fascinating figure inLos Angeles and philanthropic
royalty here in Los Angeles, socan't wait to get into it with
(01:21):
him.
And a little later, asia'sgoing to test my knowledge of
how bad has this batshit crazyworld gotten, with two scams and
a slap.
But first, as we mentioned lastweek on the show all season,
it's something you guys want to.
You want to know about thisbecause it's incredible work,
and so we've named this theAdventures of Asia, or also
(01:43):
Aventuras de Aja.
Porque esta bien?
Adventures of Asia, or alsoAventuras de Aja ¿Por qué?
¿está bien?
There's so many from heradventures and all the stuff
that she's done, from Malawi toKenya, this last trip to Greece,
and then now how.
That's relative to where we arehere.
So we pass the ball to the oneand only Asia Nakia, who's here,
(02:05):
to further in episode two ofAventuras de Aja.
Welcome Asia, so happy to haveyou back.
Speaker 2 (02:11):
Thank you.
Yes, yes, it's so good to beback.
So good to be back.
Yes.
Speaker 1 (02:15):
So we talked a little bit about it last week, and
it's going to be just storiesafter stories, because we could
be talking for hours on end.
But what do you have for usthis week?
Part two of Asia's AdventuresAventuras de Aja.
Speaker 2 (02:29):
It was really hard to pick one thing.
There's just so many stories,but something that has been
hitting me lately, withelections coming up and just
everything we have going on inthe office, and you know there's
one thing that really stuck outto me.
And you know there's one thingthat really stuck out to me, and
it was the global perspectiveof this election and what it
(02:50):
means to people across the globe.
I mean, I was asking people inKenya and Malawi, people in the
most remote rural villages,maasai tribe, women and men,
what they really thought of thiselection and what it means to
them.
So you know, some people, ofcourse, don't even know who the
presidential elects are, whichis fascinating, too, sure.
(03:14):
But I think, you know, one ofthe taxi drivers that I had in
Kenya was talking about this andwhat he said to me was how
important this election is forthe rest of the world, and I
think it's like it's easy for usto sort of like get into our
own you know feels about whatthis is for the United States,
(03:35):
which obviously we should.
It's the president of ourcountry but I think it's really
interesting to think about howthis election has so much to do
with the rest of the world.
I mean, not only does every youknow African president have to
come through the United StatesCongress to be elected, so that
has a big, you know a big dealfor anybody living in Africa or
(03:59):
the Caribbean or anywhere.
But really what they thoughtwas that this election brought
them some hope of having a mixedfemale president.
They really had a lot ofnegative things to say about
Trump.
Not one person that I met hadanything positive to say about
(04:19):
Trump.
Speaker 1 (04:19):
So like when you're in Puerto Rico and he was
flipping paper towels to peoplethat didn't garner any favor
across the good land of.
Speaker 3 (04:27):
Puerto Rico.
Speaker 1 (04:30):
No, don't worry about it, that's our assistant
producer.
It's Charlie he's over there.
Speaker 2 (04:34):
He's over there hard at work with Cammie Telling us
what I need to do.
Speaker 1 (04:36):
With Cammie?
No, but I think this segueswell into it.
Is the focus is on our countryor is this going to be something
where we live up to themulticultural, multiracial idea?
So it's going to be.
It's an interesting time and Iguess from your travels now and
(04:57):
being gone out of the countryfor a while and now you're
coming back is there andobviously you're next door,
we're next door to the Harrisvolunteer office and Harris
campaign and such, Do you findthat from coming back, it's
almost like the duty.
We are now at a place where wehave to kind of get this right.
(05:17):
Or, you know, because it feelslike to hear you say that, it's
like I never kind of thoughtabout it.
The rest of the world is sortof depending on us, not just,
hey, we need you to get off thecouch and go vote, you know.
Or send your mail-in ballot in,you know.
Speaker 2 (05:31):
No, absolutely.
It feels like very weighted.
Speaker 1 (05:35):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (05:36):
It's like wow, everyone is depending on this
Because the US, no matter how wewant to think about it is sets
the stage for the rest of theglobe.
I mean it really does from fromevery different aspect, but I
think this one is just soparticularly important.
And just to to feel their,their confusion and their
(05:57):
distress with how we couldpossibly put a convicted felon
Sure as a presidential candidate.
It's very confusing to them.
They don't understand how thatwould work, because they see
this, this candidate is supposedto be, you know, the most
magnificent intellectual personthat's running the country, and
(06:19):
so it's just it's interesting tosee it at this raw, innocent
level of like how does this evenhappen, like legally?
I don't understand how you canhave someone that is a convicted
felon running for president.
Speaker 1 (06:33):
And I don't have an answer for them.
We said this two years ago themotherfucker can run from jail.
So you know what I'm saying.
Speaker 2 (06:41):
How do?
Speaker 1 (06:41):
you explain that to someone in Kenya, though?
Yeah, no, exactly Exactly.
Yeah.
And how do you explain that tosomeone in Kenya, though?
Yeah, no, exactly Exactly.
And it's an interesting thingbecause I feel like we're at
this point in time where wheredisinformation, misinformation
when you see Elon Musk buyTwitter for 44 billion, now it's
barely worth 10.
And you run a company in theground like that to get on it
(07:01):
and then propagate falsehoodthis is the same guy that said
you know, media needs to bebipartisan and stuff, and he's
speaking at Trump rallies,spouting lies, getting people
scared to death, and it's turnedinto this sort of cult kind of
thing that I'm concerned aboutin a way.
That is, it's all you know, andI understand why the rest of
(07:24):
the world might be looking at usand like how, how, I mean, how
can we do it?
Speaker 2 (07:27):
I mean literally, I was standing in.
Masamara with a tribe in avillage hut.
Speaker 1 (07:35):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (07:36):
And the man said to me Trump is a very, very bad man
.
And I said yes, my friend.
Yes, he is I mean it's likeeveryone else gets it and you
feel like you're going crazy.
You're like this man in themiddle of the Masimara, you know
, in a complete desolate smallvillage, is like he knows.
(08:00):
He can smell it from a mileaway, you know, and when you're
traveling as somebody that'sgoing into these other countries
, they're looking at you as, youknow, a role model.
Speaker 1 (08:09):
Yeah, sure.
And so it's quite embarrassing,yeah, the role you play in the
places you find, the situationsyou find yourself in.
Speaker 2 (08:16):
Yeah, that's kind of amazing, high up on the
conversations, from the remotevillages to the slums to, you
know, even the you knowhigher-ups that I was dealing
with in the government while Iwas traveling, the resounding
board.
Is that what the heck is goingon and how could you let this
(08:37):
happen?
Yeah, and we're all kind ofscared for you.
Yeah, it's like sad to me when.
Speaker 1 (08:42):
Third, world— I'm scared for me.
Speaker 2 (08:44):
It's sad to me when third world countries feel sorry
for us.
Yeah, that's sad.
Speaker 1 (08:49):
It is, and it's also, I think, the stakes are so much
higher and to see Elon Musk,like getting on a podium a
couple weeks ago where it's justlike he's saying the same thing
, you know that the stake of allfree and fair democracy and all
that is he's getting, he'sstriking a chord in a cult of
personality way that that Elonstands to benefit from a
(09:10):
deregulation standpoint whereasTrump stands to benefit from
staying out of jail, and it kindof segues into you know you
were going to be talking to Roba little bit later and looking,
you know, looking forward tosort of integrating on as we
talked about kind of last weektoo, on our first episode back.
This season is dedicatedtowards.
(09:31):
We have so many artists thatwe've now built up, that are,
that are around us, that areusing their power for good in
social progress and socialchange yourself.
You know it's why I'm sohonored to have you here with us
now as well, and I thinkdrawing a light to that is very
important, because it is now, Ifeel like, more important than
(09:54):
ever to cash in our chips.
Use this opportunity to makesure people understand Putting
Trump in addition to him justneeding to stay out of jail,
right?
Just that simple thing.
We have the climate to think of, we have the oceans to think of
, we have the arts.
We have you know what we wantto say about education.
We have so many things that weneed to talk about, and I like
(10:17):
being in a building place, notin a tearing down place, and it
feels like, at the same time,now's the time to kind of make
sure that we don't fall prey tothis sort of ah how bad can it
be?
It's like no, it could changethe way all of us life as we
know it, in a way that is youknow.
Speaker 2 (10:32):
That's why I'm glad we have this, this show, and
have it here and and have peoplelike rob and artists that we're
talking to that are makingsocial progress in yeah you know
, despite all of the chaosthat's going on.
So it's a really great place tobe and just the energy we have,
you know, in the room withthese game changers.
Speaker 1 (10:54):
So, yeah, I'm happy to be here, hey, all right.
Well, when we come up after thebreak, our interview with the
one and only Rob Holman from theGrateful Film Fund and, yeah,
we'll see you after the break,all right, joining us for the
interview today in studio.
He's the executive director andboard chair of the Grateful
Film Fund and they're anonprofit organization dedicated
(11:16):
to engaging public awarenessfor critical environmental and
social issues through the powerof visual media, which means for
slap to power.
This could not be more perfect.
Mr Rob Holman, thank you somuch for coming in and being on
the show.
Thank you very much for havingme.
Yes, it is an honor for usbecause we loosely met through
our partner in 360Pod, johnScheinberg.
(11:39):
And what is fascinating to meis you are a third
generationgeneration, angeleno,so you're a rare breed, very
rare In so many ways.
So please, for those peoplethat do not know about you as a
third-generation Angeleno,please tell everybody a little
bit about yourself.
Speaker 3 (11:59):
Sure, well, I'm a third-generation.
Speaker 2 (12:02):
Angeleno.
What more do you need to know?
Speaker 3 (12:04):
I have a couple fourth-gener generations at home
, which is nice, and it is wildto think about how, being only a
third generation Angeleno issuch a rarity in this town.
But I guess it is.
It's a new city, right, it's anew community.
It really didn't blow up untilpost-World War II, I mean, I'd
say even like the 30s, whereit's still kind of a new
community.
It really didn't blow up untilpost-World War II, I'd say even
(12:26):
the 30s.
It's still kind of a pioneertown, which is when my mom's
parents came to town, had alittle greeting card company, a
Midwest story, and then my dad'sparents came here in the 40s.
They actually lived at Park LaBrea, you know, when it was a
(12:48):
little, you know, housingcommunity, government, housing
community.
Granddad was in the FBI, whichis interesting.
But you know, when this townwas starting, everything was new
.
The arts were new.
The music center wasn't arounduntil the 60s.
Los Angeles County Museum ofArt wasn't around.
(13:08):
It was part of the ScienceMuseum, science and History
Museum.
So they had, you know, youngboosters to support the arts and
my grandparents were a coupleof them and they, you know, gave
a little bit of money back inthe day but they, you know, went
to the performances and went tothe museum and they instilled
(13:29):
that philosophy into me to be asupporter of the arts, and it
stuck with me for a long time.
I went to a liberal artscollege, not here but in Vermont
, so that was interesting.
Brought out of LA for a littlewhile Lived in New York for a
little while and then came backhere, and my wife is actually a
(13:51):
third generation as well, whichis you know.
Speaker 2 (13:54):
Even more.
Speaker 1 (13:56):
Even more right.
Well you're, I mean, for a lotof people that don't know.
I'm so excited about thisinterview on for so many levels,
um, but bringing, and yourlineage being a part of bringing
this sort of I.
I love los angeles because,being a musician getting to
travel all over the world, youhave a kind of a unique sense of
of culture.
La has a sense of culture inthat it is earth culture to me.
(14:19):
It's like it feels like earthto me and you have a, you have a
line on it with just what yourparents, you know I mean your
grandparents with the losangeles music center, which that
in and of itself, is just sucha being part of that.
Bringing that to this city issomething that, as a musician,
uh, so thankful and soappreciative that we have that
here.
Or lakma, which is, you know,it's like don't, don't sleep,
(14:41):
it's you know, three blocks thatway and people, people sleep on
LACMA.
It's a great, great, greatcultural part of Los Angeles
that represents this earth thing, and so we were talking offline
before we started recording,but I can't wait to get into it
about the, there is a.
They're living through a timein Los Angeles when culture was
(15:01):
leading it, a time in LosAngeles when culture was leading
it and it felt like it was very.
There was a lot of fight forvirtuous type of art and things
like that.
Is that what being around that?
Is that what sort of drove youto be?
You know Grateful Film Fund andthe work it does is amazing on
these types of social progressforward type films, but is that
(15:21):
what pulled you in was justbeing around that kind of
inspiration.
Yeah, I that what pulled you inwas just being around that kind
of inspiration.
Speaker 3 (15:26):
Yeah, I'd say, you know my peers, you know my
friends, we're all frustratedartists or artists you know in
our own right, but we've, youknow it's an industry town right
, so you're very close to it.
I mean I drove through LaurelCanyon getting over here and I
mean you could just feel thevibes, you know as it was, and
(15:46):
actually I got a haircutyesterday and apparently—.
Speaker 1 (15:51):
Looks good, by the way.
Oh, thank you.
Thank you very much.
Youtubecom backslash Slap thePower you.
Youtubecom backslash Slap thePower.
Speaker 3 (15:56):
You can see it if you're listening to us right now
.
It's got the drip as a kid.
Speaker 1 (16:00):
Yes, yes, rob's in here, fresh drip.
Speaker 3 (16:16):
The person who gave me the haircut.
We were talking about going toNew York actually tomorrow
morning and Grateful Film Fundand some other artists, some
other projects, art-relatedprojects, which are nice, but
she said, oh yeah, my dad was ina band.
I was like, oh okay, I was likewhat band?
She said, well, it's the BeachBoys.
And I'm like, oh yeah, I thinkI've heard of those guys.
You've never, heard of them andwe just started talking about
it and I had no idea.
And we were talking about LaurelCanyon and everything.
So it's hard not to be effective, you know, affected in a
(16:42):
positive sense by the art worldhere and whatever it is visual
media, performing arts or whathave you and it's nice.
So we grew up around that, andI'd say doubly so, with going to
a liberal arts college and afriend of mine who's been a film
producer for you know, 30 plusyears We've been talking about,
(17:02):
you know, working togetherforever, and it wasn't until a
couple of years ago that theywere working on this film who
Are the Marcuses?
And he asked, interviewed me asa, you know, nonprofit
professional, which I said, sure, and we did it, and apparently
I am in the beginning, at theend of this film, which is a
(17:23):
great film.
And he said, you know, this isthe first time and we're working
on these documentaries and Ifeel really good doing this.
And he's done Killer Inside Meand American Psycho, and so you,
you know, art films, if youwill, but not necessarily feel
good films, or can I call themfeel bad, you know yeah, you say
(17:44):
, yeah, I'm feeling good.
I'm like, yeah, you're doingfeel good films, these
documentaries and a couple otherprojects were coming around the
corner.
He said can we create anon-profit film fund?
And I said yeah, absolutely,which we did at the end of 22.
And you know we've completedthree and you know about 12 in
(18:05):
different stages ofpre-production and what have you
.
But the other interesting thingthat came about was they were
working on a film.
They've been working on thisfilm on the fentanyl crisis and
how it's been affecting kids andthey got a nice grant in for
this.
But the grant maker on a filmThey've been working on this
film on the fentanyl crisis andhow it's been affecting kids and
they got a nice grant in forthis.
But the grant maker as afoundation couldn't just give it
to the producers.
(18:26):
They had to process it througha nonprofit.
And I said could we be a fiscalsponsor?
And they said yes, of course,and what we did was which is
kind of part of our ethos in away, you know grateful.
Yeah, did was, which is kind ofpart of our ethos, in a way,
you know grateful.
When you're a fiscal sponsor,you charge anywhere 5% to 12%,
you know, depending on what youcould provide legal services,
all kinds of stuff which wedon't do.
And I said look, why don't wedo 3%?
(18:47):
You know it's 2% less, butthat's 2% more for the
filmmakers.
Speaker 1 (18:52):
Get it done.
Speaker 3 (18:53):
And what's happened with that is a lot of people
have come to us looking for helpand this is how we got
connected with John and Susieand the autism docs, scott and
(19:14):
Seindorf, and it's been reallynice.
So we're helping out and we'relooking at just like what our
mission is.
You know, it could be the mostcomplicated issue, the most
difficult subject matter, but aslong as we're providing some
sort of, the filmmakers areproviding some sort of solutions
or ideas of solutions.
You know, and I have to say too, that these first two films,
marcus's and Fioretta, which isRandy Schoenberg, he's the one
(19:44):
who rescued the Klimt painting,you know from the Austrian
government.
He's a part-time genealogistand he's gone back to the 1400s,
his family's Jewish history andhe found a tombstone in.
I mean kind of a spoiler alert,but a tombstone in the Jewish
ghetto in Venice, Italy, andthose two films are really.
(20:07):
I mean you know today's October7th, so we got to look at that,
which is just amazing.
But you watch those now andthey have a different feel to
them and I'd say you know thedifferent feel is, you know,
looking at humanity basicallyand you know what does it mean.
And everybody has rights andhistory and you know, and they
(20:28):
should all be, you know,reflected and cared for and
protected.
But when you see something likethis pre-October 7 lens and
then post, you know it hitsdifferently as they say.
But I'd say, importantly, youknow, and much more profoundly
so you know, here we are, andanother project that we're
(20:50):
working on is this Oceansdocumentary.
Speaker 1 (20:52):
Well, yeah, that's what I was going to say.
For those that don't know,there's a heavy slate of amazing
, amazing projects that are onGratefulFundorg which you can go
and check out.
Like GratefulFundorg, we'llhave the link in our show notes
as well, but there's everythingfrom the last Orange Grove right
that you told me about.
That's an amazing story onthere too.
(21:14):
What you just told about thatyou know we don't want to spoil
the spoiler alert again, butthere are a lot.
When we kind of were thinkingof the conceit of not only of
our show but of just SlapStudios in general, it was that
it felt like some of theproblems that are out there,
like you said, some of them canbe so big that it's paralyzing,
(21:37):
or we can just be at a placewhere it just feels like we have
no agency or power in them.
But whether it takes acombination of government or
science and innovation or just abunch of badass people who get
together and say we're going toget this done, or a combination
of all three, we wanted to besort of at a place where we
could help in any way, kind ofconnect dots, because I learned,
(22:00):
nothing works in a band untilyou get a bus that works, right,
right, nothing, nothing, not atall, on tour until you have a
complete bus that works and thatincludes the bus driver.
So it's, you know it takes avillage and I think of things
like this.
What's great if you go to theGrateful Film slate?
And I think of things like this.
What's great if you go to theGrateful Film slate?
One of the reasons that we alsogot together was Slap the Power
(22:22):
last season and the seasonbefore, for those listeners, no,
we've done several episodeswith the great Keith Wolfe and
Keith had.
We had discussed a projectbecause Keith is an
award-winning documentarianfilmmaker, make sure to check it
out Slap the Power.
You can see any of that stuffwhere we're going with Dr Keith
Wolf.
But there was a project calledOceans that we had looked at and
(22:52):
we were like this is amazing.
And this is how I love where weare energetically and even in
this room, because sometimes Ithink, when you put the right
people out and then you're likeI don't know how this is going
to happen if you, just if thepeople show up and in some ways,
like, I feel like you kind ofshowed up into our orbit in a
way that we showed up into yours.
Yeah, you know, amplifyingagency, things like that, that's
(23:18):
stuff that we're good at andand you know, and there's a
whole world of things that adocumentarian filmmaker trying
to attack climate change butthrough a seven part, you know
docuseries on the oceans, who'sgot who's done all this
homework's got all the receiptsof everywhere around the world
you can try and sort of put intoa capsule of this problem that
seems so big, but it you cantake it in bite parts and yeah
yeah I mean the nice thing aboutthis is that it's all happened
(23:38):
and continues to happenorganically.
Speaker 3 (23:40):
Yeah, just from the interview, the work and now
probably I mean that's, you knowgoing back to the grandparents
for a minute.
I mean just instilling thosevalues and then me moving
forward in life and wanting tobe of help.
Speaker 1 (23:52):
Keep running with that.
Yeah, why wouldn't you?
Nonprofits and the kids aretouched by that too, Like this
last orange grove.
Speaker 3 (23:59):
I'm trying to save this last orange grove and you
know, hey Dad, have you savedthe last orange grove?
Speaker 1 (24:04):
Tell people about this real quick.
Yeah, we got to save the lastorange grove without ruining it,
but you can.
Speaker 3 (24:08):
No, no, no.
So there's this guy, LindleyBothwell.
He had this ranch in the youknow the valley.
San Fernando Valley was one ofthe top producers of agriculture
in the nation, which is hard tobelieve.
I mean, you drive again, youknow, over the hill and you look
(24:34):
up, go to Mulholland and youstare out now and it's.
You know, it's the urban sprawl, right, yes, circus liquor.
Yeah, I know, circus liquor.
I mean, just, you know it's theurban sprawl, right, yes,
circus liquor.
Speaker 2 (24:38):
Yeah, I know, circus liquor, I mean just you know,
box after box.
Speaker 3 (24:41):
Yeah, and you know it's interesting because
Chinatown.
You know Robert Towne, when hewrote the original script he
wanted Jake and Evelyn to getaway at the end and apparently
the last scene was supposed tobe Jake and Evelyn skipping town
, you know, and driving throughMulholland and they follow the
(25:02):
car.
Then the camera pans back tothe valley and it's all orange
groves, it's all you know.
And then the he wanted to do atime lapse, you know, until what
it is today.
Speaker 1 (25:10):
It's like the.
Speaker 3 (25:12):
But of course Polanski said you know, this is
a noir film, so somebody has todie, and that that's what
happened, and that's what it is.
And this is really kind of thelast chapter of that saga,
because you know it was based inreality.
You know they saw the valley asa great place to sell homes and
buy out the farmers.
(25:32):
So Bothwell had a 126-acreranch and he sold off pieces
over time.
He had an incredible carcollection too.
It's an apocryphal tale, butapparently Walt Disney showed up
there one day because he heardabout it.
It was a small town and so theyall kind of knew each other and
(25:54):
he had a train like an actualtrain, lindley Bothwell, on his
ranch, on tracks, seam engine,everything Did it.
And Walt said I want a traintoo, you know, and put one in
his house over in Holmey Hills.
Now we know where Michael.
Speaker 1 (26:09):
Jackson got it from.
Yeah, there we go.
Well, and if it wasn't forLindley.
Speaker 3 (26:14):
One, two, three.
Speaker 2 (26:15):
One two, three we see the train of events.
Speaker 1 (26:17):
Oh See what she did there.
That's why she's got the corneroffice.
Speaker 3 (26:22):
Anyway, it got whittled down to 14 acres.
It was a working citrus orchard.
Sunkist would go there onceannually harvest the oranges and
he passed away in the 80s.
But his widow lived there andshe wanted to keep it forever.
But it was one of those shirtsleeves the shirt sleeves where,
(26:42):
when she passed away, thedescendants sold the car
collection for $17 million andhalf of it went to taxes.
And they said the ranch wasnext.
And it was interesting becausewe were looking and maybe moving
around that area Tarzana,woodland Hills and we were given
(27:02):
addresses.
I had no idea and I saw thisrectangular piece of land you
could see it on Google Maps.
I said what is that?
And I found out it was thisranch and I thought, oh okay.
And then all of a sudden itcame up for sale and I thought
of Foundation to save it butthey said no.
But we were very close to wecreated a nonprofit and we had
(27:28):
this plan with Henry Stern,who's Daniel Stern's son, who's
a state senator, and it wasgoing to happen.
But at the last minute theypulled out of the deal.
We were left in the lurch.
So now they sold it to thesedevelopers and they want to turn
it into 21 luxury homes and cutdown 1,400 trees.
And I'm kind of pretty much outof it because you know I was
(27:50):
like threatened and all thiskind of stuff and I didn't need
that aggravation, but the fund.
The filmmakers came to us andsaid, hey, we've heard about
this ranch.
I said, okay, great, go ahead.
And you know, if you want tomake it, you know, and raise
funds for it, you know, be ourguest.
And there is a trailer that'son the website.
(28:11):
We actually have a YouTubechannel now and this is it's an
interesting thing because it'slive right.
So we don't know what the endis going to be, and the end
could be.
All the trees are cut down andthey're you know, and it's the
last orange grove, essentially.
I mean, there are other orangegroves around and it's a little
bit of a misnomer to say it'sthe last.
Speaker 1 (28:30):
But it's the last of that, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 3 (28:32):
Last in our history and we wanted to have Before Bob
.
Speaker 1 (28:34):
Hope bought up all the valley and then yeah, yeah.
Speaker 3 (28:38):
We wanted to have kids go there and see what it
was like and you know they couldjuice the oranges and you know
we were talking about, you know,kids from neighborhoods, you
know disadvantaged neighborhoods, and there's a guy, ron Finley,
who you know he's big on havingcommunity farms and this was
something where they couldexperience that and actually
bring a tree home with them andall that.
(28:59):
But it's just weird, you know,it's one of those things like
what's the solution there?
And of course the solution isgreen space, and we were talking
about COVID before we went livehere and what have you.
But you know we're losing a lotof green space and you know
Governor Newsom wants to save anadditional million acres and we
(29:20):
thought, well, here's 14.
And Woodland Hills is one of thehottest places in the world and
we're losing these trees andthe canopy and the shade and the
cooling.
One tree equals one ton ofcarbon capture a year.
It's another fascinating one.
There's a lot of these on onour slate that are, that are
(29:41):
really cool and that's a goodsegue, though, because, like we
have, we generally we lovehitting on stories with climate.
Speaker 1 (29:46):
That's what led us to dr keith wolf and everything
and um, the what's fascinatingto me is if you also have oceans
.
But then, um, we were talkingabout covid and how, at that
point in time, when everythingshut down and the tankers
weren't there and the ocean gotto clear out, that you could
(30:07):
smell the ocean from Hollywood,you know.
Yeah from the valley which theearth responds so fast, and
that's it's inspiring in a way,because you realize okay that it
we, we can do things to helpsort of mitigate.
You know some of this.
But I I'm curious because Iwant to get to oceans before we
(30:30):
run out of time and kind of kindof dive into that a little bit.
But I, what's your take on whokilled the automotive industry?
If it's, if it's cause, I'mthinking about that, that breath
of ocean coming across, youknow, and you were talking to
your daughter about it and howthey're like what's, what's that
smell?
And I said, oh, that's theocean and the smell in the
(30:51):
Valley.
But there was a time, as a guywho was Floridian by birth but
(31:11):
California now is the LosAngeles my favorite city.
Speaker 3 (31:13):
There was a time when I realized I was born in the
city of California and I wasborn in the world.
It had the largest trolleysystem electric trolley system
in the world.
And it's interesting, a fewyears ago I was surprised.
I was having dinner with my dad, who grew up here as a kid and
he remembers it first-handexperience, and he said, yeah,
(31:35):
it was the car companies and thetire companies.
Oh, because they saw part ofthe urban sprawl experiment,
what Dorothy Parker called, youknow, 32 suburbs in the search
of a city or something like that.
That's a great way to selltires and cars and oil.
And you know there's.
You know, the truth is neversimple or pure, as Oscar Wilde
(31:58):
said, whatever, but I'd say thatit was kind of.
The Charlie system was fading,but still it was.
And now we're spending hundredsof millions of dollars, if not
billions, rebuilding it now insome ways, but the after effect
(32:20):
of shutting it down and thenselling these cars.
They call it ethylene orsomething like that which is
leaded gas basically, and yousaw, I mean for the first time,
these, the smog alerts, likepeople were just getting hit
hard, you know, by by this andand it was just a dirty
experiment which we're stillpaying for, trying to figure out
, paying for and figure outtoday.
So you know what's I mean.
Just going back to the ranchfor for a second, what was
(32:41):
fascinating is I heard storiesabout you know how they used to
pollinate.
The trees was with bees and um,they would, they would, you
know, have the you know thebeehives there and they would
save water by planting mustardseed.
You know, around the base.
So I mean all of this organicfarming, all of this stuff as a
way to cure and bring back youknow what's going on is possible
(33:07):
.
I'm worried about the PFAS.
You know stuff that we'rehearing about.
You know now and all the youknow the DDT that they were
dumping into the ocean.
But we could talk about, wecould bemo, bemoan.
You know all the terriblethings that have happened, but
I'd say, with something like theoceans, uh, docuseries, we're
looking at what the solutionsare right, how we could, how we
(33:29):
could fix you know what, what'salready happened, and yeah and
full disclosure.
Speaker 1 (33:33):
Oceans is a documentary where, uh, in
combination with Keith Wolf andSLAP and SFO and Grateful Film
Fund, trying to bring this very,very important docu-series
together, which is kind of howthe oceans is really and, yeah,
you would even know more, butjust so people that don't know,
it's full disclaimer.
Speaker 3 (33:54):
We're partnering on this in a way that is again
inspiring, because we'relearning by just being part of
it, yeah, and it's sevenepisodes to cover the seven seas
, if you will, and the differentregions, the ocean and sea
regions, going to thesedifferent locations and seeing
(34:17):
what people are doing withinthese regions in particular, and
then globally, to heal theoceans, basically, and to set
them on the right track and Ithink it's great that it's very
solutionary, because a lot ofthe conversations around climate
are very doom and gloom, whichthey are in a lot of ways very
doom and gloom, which they arein a lot of ways, but if we can
(34:38):
break it down into these likeunderstandable, you know, little
snippets where we're like, wow,we can see some hope.
Speaker 2 (34:46):
Like you said with COVID, you know, we did see the
ocean come back, we sawbiodiversity, we saw mangroves
coming back.
Speaker 1 (34:54):
We saw reefs coming back and Venice.
Speaker 3 (34:57):
We were talking about Venice, italy, a little bit
before, but you know the fishcoming back into the canal like
the water getting clear andstuff.
I don't know if it was InVenice.
You know you have this likevisual Fake news but the
dolphins, you know, swimmingaround, it was like this visual
of like dolphins jumping.
Speaker 2 (35:14):
But it was true, it was happening.
Speaker 1 (35:16):
Yeah, the earth and speaking and oceans is, yeah,
and what's great, what I alsolove about you know, when you
look at everything, what welearned and we can do little
things combination we weretalking about this offline too,
but combination between it'sgoing to be all things kitchen
sink, it's innovations, which istowards the end of the
docuseries, which leads intowhat I think is a is a great
(35:41):
sort of bridge or venn diagramwhere the people that we've kind
of moved past, like climatedeniers if we can just more have
a conversation that yes, thisis a difficult problem and there
is there and where science getsweaponized and things like that
, you know that is that isproblematic for ultimately, what
is what is of gain that we'retrying to get as a planet
(36:04):
together?
So it, you know, the innovationsand I think human innovations
are, are going to be.
I've already that was we were.
We talked about it on the lasttime.
We had Keith on the show and wewere actually interviewing his
kids from.
He's got another podcast withthe kids.
It's, it's amazing that they'relearning about, they're
basically spreading the word asthe youngest, gen Alpha, climate
(36:24):
generation and everything theseGen Alpha kids.
Speaker 3 (36:26):
I've got to tell you, watch out, yeah they give me
hope.
Speaker 1 (36:30):
They are pissed and they're mad, they're driven.
Speaker 3 (36:32):
Oh, we were watching something about the seas rising
and all that kind of stuff.
And this is when my son, eugene, who's 17, but I think he was
like eight or nine and we werewatching this before his sister
showed up yeah, with a, you know, furious anger, but we were
watching this thing.
Speaker 2 (36:51):
And he looks at us and says it's because of you two
that this and we're like whoa,whoa, we were not.
You know, we didn't start thissituation, but he was, you know,
and they're ratcheting it up.
We need that fire, hey it'stime.
Speaker 1 (37:04):
It's time and I think that's where the innovations
part, the Venn diagram I wassort of referring to as a
conversation where we can have,sure, there's private market
solutions, you know that arethere.
And I think ingenuity, thesekids in, oh, that are there.
And I think ingenuity, thesekids in, oh, that's what these
kids in?
I think they're out of Denmarkor something, but they've been
basically deplastifying thegiant plastic patch, yeah, and
(37:25):
they've been killing it for likethe last three years and
turning that plastic intoeverything from like roads to
like you know.
Speaker 3 (37:32):
Whatever can be done, whatever can be done with it.
Yeah, I mean this is why newmedia is fantastic.
I mean this is why new media isfantastic, and I'd say
traditional media.
You know they're suffering andwhat have you.
I'm like great Because, as youwere saying, so much doom and
gloom and they just have gottenstuck in this for too long of a
time.
(37:52):
Traditional media about.
You know this sells.
People want to watch the doomand gloom, yeah, and you know
it's even.
You know, now with, with the um, uh, with the, the, the
streamers that you know they're,they're actually getting some,
some blowback on their, theircontent.
You know, the murderer next door.
They can.
You know all this kind of stuffthat sure it's kind of, you
(38:12):
know, hate watching or somethinglike that, but people want to
be fulfilled and again it's likebeing part of the solution and
this new media is coming out andsaying you know, forget about
traditional media also becausethey want to sell, you know, fan
space and what have you the new?
media is coming out and theyhave a microphone and a camera
or what have you and they'regetting out there in the world
(38:33):
and they're speaking truth topower in some ways or another,
just trying to find what thetruth is and also investigate
what the answers may be, andthis is definitely part of that
and I'd say, well, I know thatoceans.
We're going to revisit it againin a year's time and then two
years' time and just keep itsort of evergreen and see what's
happening.
Speaker 1 (38:53):
That's what I feel like, what's nice about the
innovations when the projectends off on innovations, where
that's really just the start ofwhat is a continual conversation
.
And again, this is anotherreason why we have a show.
It's a constant communicationthat we're having with, whether
it be our fan base or peoplethat want to have a conversation
that they don't necessarilyhear in a lot of places, with
(39:15):
people that they may not be ableto to be listening to, like
this conversation and things.
But I, I'm I'm fascinated bynot only new media but I also
feel like just this, the sort oftransparency on where it feels
like we're entering into thistime where you just kind of
can't bullshit your way throughanything and so you can't.
(39:37):
It's impossible.
Speaker 3 (39:38):
It's impossible, so stop trying to do it.
Speaker 1 (39:40):
Now don't get me wrong, it's still getting
weaponized in old media.
Any party is using it, butwe're next door to the Kamala
Harris campaign for presidentand the thing is, when I ask
people to show receipts onanything and stuff like that,
oftentimes people on the rightcan't produce correct, accurate
(40:00):
receipts and whereas on the leftwe're generally people that are
usually too concerned with thetruth.
But what I do find is both, atthe core, actually do want a
level of truth.
I think it's just being we'rebeing sold slightly different.
You know mistruths, if you can,or whatever, and this is where
I think that conversations likethis are are really important,
(40:22):
because it's like you're justdoing the work.
Asia just got back from africabuilding wells for for girls.
You know she's doing the work.
Excuse me, doing the work andthat's what we're trying to do
here too is figure out.
Okay, how can we do much morepower by by?
Who do we need to get involved?
Who can we bring light tocertain subjects and bring the
(40:42):
awareness of things?
And whether it's an orangegrove or an atrocity against a
generation, or whether it's, Ithink, climate change and using
oceans and solutions to solve it, it's like there's all these
conversations that need to behad.
Speaker 3 (40:58):
And just the stories that are being told as well.
I mean, we're working on somenarrative projects too.
We have a young filmmaker,charlie Shapiro, and she heard a
story from her grandmother, youknow, about a small town in
Poland and the Holocaust and allthat, and you know she has a
modest budget and she came to usand we're being of help with
her and telling the story in anarrative way.
(41:20):
But it's funny because one ofmy all-time favorite films is
being there Peter.
Speaker 1 (41:27):
Sellers.
My mother-in-law would kill meif I haven't.
She's a Peter.
Speaker 3 (41:31):
Sellers freak, you're going to watch this tonight.
Speaker 1 (41:34):
All right, what's it called?
Speaker 3 (41:35):
Oh my God, rick, wow I love it.
Speaker 1 (41:39):
Later on, we what's it called?
Oh my God, rick, wow, I love it.
I love it All right, later onLater okay, we'll have to
compare like top threes, because, yeah, let's see, Make sure we
see our top three.
Speaker 3 (41:45):
Peter Seller is in it and I think it was his last
role, you know, tragically, butarguably one of his best.
And it's called what again?
Being there?
Oh, okay, hal Ashby, thedirector, you know, harold and
Maude, 1978, 79.
And it's based on the novelJersey Kaczynski.
He did the screenplay, but it'sbasically I don't want to spoil
(42:09):
it too much for you.
Okay, give me something to lookat.
But Peter Sellers plays Chancethe Gardener and he lives his
whole life in this house whichlooks like a beautiful, you know
, turn of the century, and thereare TVs all over.
Loves to watch TV, loves TV, tv.
(42:29):
Like my dad Seems like asimpleton, okay, and what
happens is the old man dies andPeter Sellers is forced out of
the house.
And it's Washington DC and justby chance he gets sort of
adopted.
He's in his 50s, but just bychance he gets adopted,
basically by this power brokerdude whose house they use the
(42:56):
Vanderbilt estate in Tennessee.
No no in North Carolina,asheville which got hit.
So we're talking about climatechange, but all of these themes
that we're talking about, likethe zombification of the media
and what have you and then alsoprojection onto it.
I just watched it againrecently and I always picked up
(43:16):
something different when youwatch it.
I mean, first of all, when I wasa kid, I was like, well, this
is interesting.
And so when it came out, you'rethinking, oh so, reagan's the
Chauncey, you know.
But now it keeps changing.
But if you keep the dialoguegoing and you revisit the
subject matter and you seewhat's changed, what's not and I
(43:37):
bring it up too, because my26-year-old nephew, we were
having dinner together and Isaid, you know he wasn't feeling
well, I said, well, go home andwatch being there, and he came
back and he just like he cameback with like, oh my God, this
is just like so current, youknow, and so relevant, and you
(43:58):
know it's a 40-year-old movienow.
And I said, great.
Well, first of all I was like,wow, you get it.
Okay, cool yeah.
Speaker 1 (44:03):
Just get smart.
I'm like that with AmericanPresident or anything Aaron
Sorkin's written.
I'm pretty much there for it.
Speaker 3 (44:09):
Yeah, well, and the president comes about, like you
know, in the winter we lose, youknow, but in the spring the
gardens come back and they allthink.
You know people, you know.
He goes on a Johnny Carsonstyle show and, like God, his
metaphors are just brilliant.
(44:29):
This guy's just like talkingabout gardening.
Basically, yeah, it's a goodone.
Speaker 1 (44:34):
Now, before we let you go, are you looking?
Are you also keeping yourradars open?
Speaker 3 (44:41):
Because you guys have a lot on your plate right now.
Speaker 1 (44:42):
Always yeah, yeah, yeah.
So how can people get a hold ofyou?
Granted to the extent that youwant to be gotten a hold of no
right, gratefulfundorg.
Speaker 3 (44:49):
There's a contact us there and again, you know, we're
basically the providers.
It's an interactiverelationship and we just help
raise funds through a nonprofitarena.
And the nice thing too aboutthese filmmakers is that they
could go to their for-profit,you know, investors or what have
(45:11):
you, but the nonprofit is justan add-on.
Yeah, but the really nice thingis that somebody could just
make a donation to the projectand the filmmaker doesn't have
to worry about.
You know, this is an investment.
I have to give them theirprincipal value plus points, you
know, and if they give enoughfunding for the project a donor,
(45:33):
they could be listed as anexecutive producer, co-executive
.
That title is up to thefilmmaker.
But it's a real feel-good forthe donor as well, because they
can help support a project.
They don't have to feel like,oh okay, I'm making an
investment and when am I goingto get my money back?
Sure, sure, the payback, if youwill I mean several One is you
(45:54):
get a letter from us sayingthank you very much for your
tax-deductible donation.
They give it to theiraccountant, you know, and it
goes, you know, with your taxliabilities.
The other is that you are beingpart of a salute, you know
thing, and that's hopefully, youknow, helping the society at
large.
You know the community, theenvironment, yeah, the.
(46:18):
You know the civil, you knowdiscourse that's happening.
You know Bipartisanship, whichyou know it's like.
Can we do this again?
I mean not just locally, butinternationally too?
I mean, that's what is it?
Thomas Friedman wrote that book.
You know the Earth is Flat,yeah, and basically like
(46:38):
everything's leveled out, youknow.
So you know nobody's reallylike.
You know somebody gets, somecountry gets sick and the other,
you know, and many othercountries, you know, feel it as
well.
But we're all in the sameplaying field in a sense.
So why can't we all help eachother?
Speaker 1 (46:55):
I try to use this as a like.
I feel like we saw thisuniquely in the music industry.
That is now, I think, endemicand emblematic of sort of tech
and so many industries were atlarge, like now, where AI is
flattening out everything fromparalegals to accounting.
(47:15):
And what I felt about music waswhen it wasn't just that Nap
napster, it was that it was soeasy to send copyrighted
information, digital copyrightedinformation through an email,
right, because the size of itgot so small, yeah, and that
then it's just because we'vegotten better at moving larger
blocks of data.
It's just slowly coming for thestreaming and movie industry
and stuff like that.
And and that's why I feel like,again, agency people, agency
(47:37):
people, creators, you know,that's what we try to augment
here, that's what we try towater here, because there is an
element of that that I feel likeis part of being the solution,
like you said, part of thesolution and, man, a big thanks.
I speak for all Angelenos, Imean coming from your family and
(47:59):
everything being, you know,helpful and part of being
responsible for the Los Angelesmusic center, lacma, and now all
the work you do with thegrateful film fund and helping
artists, you know, move storieslike we've been talking about
today.
It is a privilege and an honorto be working with you and I
look forward to kind of talkingmore and more and more and judge
us by our receipts, right?
We just keep putting up thework, just judge us by what we
(48:20):
do, right?
Speaker 3 (48:21):
Well, thanks for having me on.
I mean, it's just reallyawesome and I'm humbled and
honored, as always in makingthese connections.
And yeah, let's, what did JohnLewis say?
Make good trouble, you know.
Speaker 2 (48:32):
That's it.
Speaker 3 (48:33):
Let's continue to do that, I'd say it's it's making
good trouble is great foreveryone.
Speaker 1 (48:38):
Yeah, yeah, cool.
Well, thanks for being on theshow.
Appreciate it.
We'll talk to you again soon.
Speaker 2 (48:41):
Thank you, yeah, thanks.
Speaker 1 (48:42):
Yep, all right, welcome back that.
I mean Rob.
What a guy Rob is, right, whathe is.
The guy.
Royalty like that.
It's just an honor to have himin.
Speaker 2 (48:57):
And like Los Angeles, like third generation and just
so like his family, has built upso much of the arts in LA.
Speaker 1 (49:05):
Los Angeles Music Center come on LACMA like, yeah,
love it.
Yeah, it's cool, you know, andone of the things I love the
culture of Los Angeles.
Los Angeles is my favorite cityin the world, it's our favorite
city, and it's nice to havesomebody who's been fighting the
fight with it.
So, yeah, what a greatinterview.
If you missed that, make sureto go check out on our show
(49:26):
notes.
There's all kinds ofinformation on Rob there, as
well as links to the GratefulFilm Fund.
And before we get out of here,we promised you the goods.
We're bringing you the goods.
Two scams and a slap when goodswe're bringing you the goods.
Two scams and a slap when.
We're in such a batshit crazyworld here.
Asia's going to test me todayon which of these batshit crazy
(49:46):
things is actually true, and soI give the floor Asia Nakia.
Speaker 2 (49:51):
Alright, alright, so.
So here we go, here we go.
First of all, a new study findseating chocolate cake for
breakfast improves brainfunction.
Speaker 3 (50:04):
okay, okay, that's one marinating the chocolate
cake brain function got it okay.
Speaker 1 (50:08):
The second one that's not even magic crazy.
That's, uh, that's, that's.
Speaker 2 (50:12):
That sounds like yummy yeah, I was gonna say,
like that just sounds good.
Speaker 1 (50:16):
Like that just sounds good, but I want to know if
it's actually if it's good, ifyeah, if it a, if it's a good
slap, yeah.
Speaker 2 (50:21):
Now I'm distracted by the thoughts of chocolate cake.
Speaker 1 (50:22):
Okay, I know Okay.
Speaker 2 (50:23):
Anyways, all right.
Second Yep man gets aprosthetic limb and decides to
live his life as a goat.
Speaker 1 (50:31):
Ooh.
Speaker 2 (50:45):
Ooh.
Speaker 1 (50:46):
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
And three.
And three is that scientistsdiscover that dolphins are now
using seashells for currency.
Okay, so two of these thingsare a lie, one of these things
are true.
Uh-huh, I say one of thesethings and the truth would be a
slap, because we slap good shitaround here.
Um, yeah, I think the truth isthat the man wants to live as a
(51:07):
goat that's actually really goodis that?
Did I get it?
Speaker 2 (51:11):
it's true, oh shit, okay, yeah, yes, we have a
gentleman, um by the name ofThomas that has decided to live
his life out with goats, whichyou know as a goat.
I honestly understand RespectSure, because I'm probably going
to end up living on an islandwith animals at some point.
Speaker 3 (51:31):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (51:32):
So it's not that far off for me, but I guess for you
know, general public, maybeliving your life with goats
might be weird.
Speaker 1 (51:38):
The prosthetic part right, yeah, the prosthetic part
is a little.
Yeah, yeah, the prosthetic part.
Speaker 2 (51:43):
Yeah, yeah, that definitely throws a wrench in it
.
Speaker 1 (51:46):
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Well, all right, slap to you,you know.
Speaker 2 (51:50):
But good guess.
Speaker 1 (51:50):
Good guess, hey, I got it.
I got it.
That was good, all right, well,that know, have have some
compassion, as as the greatcompassion kind leader here says
, and make sure, if you have anyquestions about the election,
how you can get involved, howyou can help VoteSaveAmericacom,
(52:10):
our good friends over atCrooked Media, as well, as make
sure to check out our pageanywhere you get your podcasts
and your socials, yeah, and anylinks for you know.
Speaker 2 (52:23):
We've got upcoming caravans over to Arizona.
We've got information onpolling.
If you'd like to volunteer,make phone banks.
Speaker 3 (52:32):
So much going on here .
Phone banks, that's right.
Speaker 2 (52:34):
So many ways to volunteer.
So yeah, check our links foryou know some updates and how to
get to all of those places tovolunteer.
Speaker 1 (52:42):
Yeah, yeah, check our show notes and we'll see you
next week.
Bye, slap the Power is a SlapNetwork production.
It's written and produced byRick Barriodil and Asia Nakia.
Our senior producer is BreeCorey, audio and video editing
by Asher Freidberg and BreeCorey, and studio facilities
provided by Slap Freidberg andBree Corey and studio facilities
provided by Slap Studios LA and360 Pod Studios.
If you're into online powerscrolling, like we are, don't
(53:06):
forget to follow Slap the Poweron Instagram, twitter, tiktok,
youtube and probably Pinterestsoon for access to full episodes
, bonus content and more.
And if you're as full of hottakes and crazy ideas as we are,
please think about dropping usa review to help boost this
episode.
And you can help blow up thegroup chat by sharing with
friends, family or random shitposters on the internet you want
in on the conversation.
(53:27):
And if you're interested inbeing a guest on the show,
please email info atslapthepowercom.
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