November 18, 2025 • 33 mins
A pageant director’s demeaning remarks trigger a contestant walkout and a broader talk on power, accountability, and the strength of public proof. We move from a fatal cargo crash and AI in cars to a “phantom” NFL marriage rumor and practical steps to stop Bitcoin ATM scams.
• Livestreamed disrespect and the Miss Universe walkout
• Why apologies fail when behavior is on tape
• UPS MD-11 crash facts and safety anxiety
• What AI in cars should and should not do
• Celebrity privacy versus spectacle economics
• How Bitcoin ATM scams target seniors
• Simple red flags and family safe-word tactics
Yay, I have a show if you're in the Los Angeles area, Tuesday, November 18th at a place called The Dime, which is like a bar. And uh yeah, it's at 8 p.m. The dime in Los Angeles. It's right across from the street from the very famous Cantors Deli, which is a great deli. So if anyone comes before, you it you should stop and have a matzo ball soup at Cantor's.
Please continue to share and let people know who we are and bring people over to watch and listen to us.
Tired of surface-level inspiration? This raw, transformative documentary digs deep into turning pain into purpose. Mainstream platforms wouldn't touch these powerful stories of resilience, but you can access them now on elrodvnetwork.com.
Tired of surface-level inspiration? This raw, transformative documentary digs deep into turning pain into purpose. Mainstream platforms wouldn't touch these powerful stories of resilience, but you can access them now on elrodvnetwork.com.
Tired of surface-level inspiration? This raw, transformative documentary digs deep into turning pain into purpose. Mainstream platforms wouldn't touch these powerful stories of resilience, but you can access them now on elrodvnetwork.com.
Hello, and thank you for listening to Thirsty Topics podcast! I'm Lawrence Elrod, and every week Meryl Klemow and I dive deep into the stories that matter, the conversations that shape our world."
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPE (01:13):
SPEAKER_01
Welcome to this week's episodeof Thirsty Topics.
I'm Lawrence Elrod.
SPEAKER_00 (01:18):
And I'm Meryl Climo.
SPEAKER_ (01:20):
SPEAKER_01
S (01:22):
SPEAKER_00
SPEAKER_ (01:24):
SPEAKER_01
How about you?
SPEA (01:26):
SPEAKER_00
I'm pulling up some good topics.
I'm clearing my phone historyright now of me looking at brown
leather jackets.
I've been obsessed with shoppingfor did you ever like look
online and shop for stuff andthen all of a sudden be like,
no, no, no, I want none of it.
S (01:42):
SPEAKER_01
you look and it's like, yeah,yeah, this would be nice.
And then right before you pullthe trigger to buy, like, nah, I
don't really need this.
SPEAKER_00 (01:50):
SPEAKER_00
And I feel like that's a goodhack that I do too.
Even if I know I want it, I feellike companies will then give
you like coupons, like they'llthey'll then email you and be
like, We saw that something's inyour cart.
Here's 15% off.
And I I wait to see like howdesperate they get, and then
I'll click purchase.
S (02:06):
SPEAKER_01
look up something or you have aconversation, and all of a
sudden you get all theseadvertisements on what you just
looked up or what you justtalked about.
SPEA (02:16):
SPEAKER_00
S (02:19):
SPEAKER_01
listening, huh?
SPEAKE (02:22):
SPEAKER_00
And I'll I'll be thinking like Ithink I I genuinely like saw um
someone in a brown leatherjacket that I thought was cool,
and then of course I didn't likesay it to anyone, I didn't even
Google it, and then of course Icame back to my phone and it was
like showing me brown leatherjackets, so yeah, that's kind of
cool and also creepy at the sametime.
Yeah, yep.
SPEAKER_01 (02:45):
Well, Meryl, uh, why don't you start off today and
tell us what we're talkingabout?
SPEAKER (02:48):
SPEAKER_00
Now, have you seen any of thislike Miss Universe drama at all?
What have you seen so far?
S (02:59):
SPEAKER_01
I mean the leader of the youththe Miss Universe pageant made a
very, very disrespectfulcomment.
Basically, she's mad at Ibelieve it was Miss Mexico,
because I guess she didn't dosomething to promote the
(03:22):
pageant.
So he got mad at her, called hera derogatory name, and made her
leave.
And as a result, a bunch ofother pageant members got angry
and in protest, they left aswell.
SPEAKER_00 (03:34):
Okay, so you already know that's perfect.
Okay, good.
Because I think everyone hasseen the clip of like the
walkout, you know, but they'remaking it seem at first, they
made it seem like Miss Mexicowas almost being dramatic and
like being a diva walking out,but what they don't know is like
exactly the stuff that was saidto her.
Um, they said in the video, theexecutive was heard saying, um,
(03:58):
you must promote the hostcountry, be careful, you're in
Thailand, you are in a game.
Um, and basically a lot of theother women stood for her, which
is really nice.
I think we saw a lot of like uhcamaraderie by the other
contestants and basically sayingyou can't be if you're mean to
one of us, you're gonna likehave to go through all of us
type of thing.
Um the pageant director hadalready been kicked out of the
(04:22):
country, and they're saying, uh,for the queen, if you follow the
order of your national director,you're a dummy.
And I just thought um the MissMexico was saying you're not
respecting me as a woman.
She appeared to walk out of theroom on her own, and a handful
of contestants jumped to herjump to their feet to follow her
out.
And then with that feed stillgoing, we heard him threaten
(04:43):
that anyone that left the roomwould be would be banned from
the competing in the pageant.
So this is just crazy.
And then, like afterwards, ofcourse, people were saying,
like, he he apologized on lateTuesday saying, I was not
feeling good.
Um, and I do apologize foreveryone, but I'm like, the
times that I don't feel well,you're gonna threaten a bunch of
(05:04):
women and like make them feelunwelcome in your country.
Like, I've never heard of that.
And so it his apology didn'treally go well.
The press conference kind ofbackfired.
Um, and I mean this was live,everyone heard it live, so it
was right there.
It wasn't like a he said, shesaid type of thing, you know, it
was right there on video.
SPEAKER_01 (05:23):
Yeah, I believe he was sorry too.
He was sorry that he got caught.
S (05:27):
SPEAKER_00
Sorry he got caught and exactly,exactly.
And sorry his behavior was likelive streamed to everyone.
SPEAKER_01
comfortable he was tell me thatthis kind of nonsense probably
went on for a long time.
I don't I doubt very seriously,this is the first time I'm ever
saying something like this.
SPEAKER_00 (05:46):
SPEAKER_00
I think too, like a lot of Ithink in the past, maybe when I
was growing up, there was thislike wrong fallacy that these
the beauty pageant women werejust kind of very like vapid and
they didn't really haveanything, but it's like these
are women that are so powerfuland smart in like every
category, and they're notthey're not just beautiful, and
they tend to have really goodhearts and like support each
(06:06):
other, they're not a bunch oflike catty women.
I feel like by the time you getto this stage in the beauty
pageant, like you have so muchelse going for you just besides
your beauty, and and a lot ofthese women support each other,
and in this day and age, they'rejust not gonna take that from a
man.
SPEAKER_01 (06:22):
SPEAKER_01
Uh, I think it's silly.
Um, no one should be talked tolike that, period.
So no one should be disrespectedlike that.
And I've heard horror storiesbehind the scenes about what
happens at these pageants, andyou know, I'm really glad that
the other women stood up andsaid, you know what, enough's
enough.
SPEAKER_00 (06:40):
SPEAKER_00
That was mixed Miss Mexico.
I feel like all the the women ofMexico are really getting uh
like last this other the otherrecording we talked about, uh
Miss Mexico president.
So good.
I'm glad, and and this isamazing that I feel like now
we're with like live stream,we're able to call these things
out in real time rather thanjust women feeling like uh you
(07:04):
know, kind of just put down allthe time.
S (07:07):
SPEAKER_01
hope that um people watchingwhat happened understands that
this kind of nonsense won't betolerated anymore.
SPEAKER_00 (07:17):
SPEAKER_00
I I love that uh he asked her,Why are you still talking?
And then she said, Because Ihave a voice, you're not
respecting me as a woman.
Like, I think that's amazing.
SP (07:27):
SPEAKER_01
didn't.
And like I said, you know, thishalf-assed apology again.
Yeah, he was sorry, he was sorrythat he got caught.
S (07:38):
SPEAKER_00
are you a baby?
You know, like that's so weird,and you're with a bunch of just
like strong, powerful women,like then go take a nap and like
let someone else handle it.
SPEAKER_01 (07:48):
So I guess if I have a bad day, I should just go to
the grocery store and just curseout the cashier for no reason.
Yeah, today, you know.
SPEAKER_00 (07:56):
SPEAKER_00
They they should let him go andbe like, sorry, we're having a
bad day.
SPE (08:02):
SPEAKER_01
not gonna be around any pageantsanytime soon.
SPEAKER_00 (08:08):
SPEAKER_00
And uh, don't you think a lot ofthose, I mean, I don't know how
it is there, but I feel likehere in the US, there's like
sponsors and board of directors,and like that was just even from
a financial decision, peoplewould pull out because they
don't even want likeadvertisers, don't want their
higher-ups treating contestantslike that.
SPE (08:24):
SPEAKER_01
backlash because if people gobacklash against Ms.
Universe pageant, they're gonnaalso go after those sponsors,
too.
SPEA (08:35):
SPEAKER_00
SP (08:37):
SPEAKER_01
Um, unfortunately, um we'regonna talk about another sad
incident.
Um UPS Airline flight number2976 was a scheduled domestic
cargo flight from Louisville, uhMohammed Ali International
(09:00):
Airport in Louisville, Kentucky,to Honolulu, Hawaii on November
4th, 2025.
The aircraft operating theflight, a McDonnell Douglas
MD-11, suffered an engineseparation during the takeoff
roll and crashed into anindustrial area shortly after
(09:23):
takeoff at about 5 13 p.m.
local time.
The crash killed 14 people,including all three aboard the
aircraft.
The accident is beinginvestigated by the NTSB, which
is the National TransportationSafety Board.
SPEAKER_00 (09:39):
Oh, I've seen that.
It's terrible.
SP (09:42):
SPEAKER_01
I mean, it looks like somethingout of a out of a high-action
movie, because you wouldn'texpect to see a plane going down
in flames like that in realtime.
SPEAKER_00 (09:54):
SPEAKER_00
I and like I saw a video fromsomeone that was supposed to be
on the next plane, too.
Like they were like on the nextplane out, and it's it's so
weird and scary.
And we've talked about this awhole bunch of times just with
everything with the air trafficcontrollers and more of the
commercial flights, like what wedon't need in our vision is just
more and more like you know,plane disasters, and it's so
(10:17):
terrible.
S (10:18):
SPEAKER_01
this shutdown, and I know in theprevious episode we talked about
how they're going to becanceling 10% of the flights
because of the shutdown.
This incident doesn't makepeople feel any better, I
wouldn't think.
SPEAKER_00 (10:34):
SPEAKER_00
Yeah, no, me neither.
Yeah, I think this is so scary.
And once again, too, it's likebecause uh like also I I
subscribe to a lot of pilots onYouTube that anytime this
happens, then they go on YouTubeand make a detailed thing like
when the aircrash happened inIndia, they'll go by
specifically like what happenedand kind of talk about more of
the malfunctions from like atechnical point of view and
(10:56):
everything.
And it's like these poor pilotsare having to just do this daily
and like explain to everyone.
And I mean, not only that, butthe people that lost their
lives, it's like just terrible.
SP (11:06):
SPEAKER_01
fell off the plane, though.
I mean, that's crazy.
SPE (11:11):
SPEAKER_00
Yeah, that sounds like and youhave to wonder if it's um if
that was something that someonecould have caught before, or if
it was just one of those, like amalfunction that was just one in
a million.
SPEAKER_01 (11:24):
Yeah, I mean, that's true.
Um, it it's also said that outof the 14 people, only three of
them were actually on the plane,which means that there were 11
people on the ground that werekilled because of this.
SPEAKER (11:36):
SPEAKER_00
Yeah, very scary.
SPEAKER_01 (11:42):
SPEAKER_01
SPEAKER_00 (11:45):
Well, I'll make it uh a lighter thing.
But now you don't have anysecret TikToks account.
I guess you wouldn't tell us ifyou didn't because they're not
secret, but I feel like you knowyou're very active on social
media, and and are you too busyto have any secret TikTok
accounts?
SPEAK (12:03):
SPEAKER_01
accounts.
I don't have time to be honestwith you.
SPEAKER_00 (12:14):
SPEAKER_00
Same thing.
Well, well, Jennifer Lawrence isa little bit different.
She says that she has a secretlife on TikTok where she has
these troll accounts that shegoes in and she gets in like
online fights with people andshe'll comment on people's
videos.
Um now this is understandablefor her because obviously, if
like Jennifer Lawrence is theone making getting into fights
(12:35):
with people, it's going to makeheadlines.
And I feel like as a celebrity,that would be funny to like do
that and just start arguing andbe like, actually, I think she
was great in this movie.
And and, you know, into justgetting fights with people.
Maybe not in fights, but I feellike I would more support people
or like I would be up in my owncomments or things about me.
Um, but she was talking withco-star Robert Pattinson, and
(12:57):
she admitted that she gets intofights in the comments section.
Um, she went on to reveal thatit all started with fights back
and forth about topics like thereal housewife and the
Kardashians.
So I think that's cute.
And I feel like, you know, sheshould have a right to go on
TikTok like a normal person andnot have to like constantly be a
celebrity.
So I think that'sunderstandable.
SPEAKE (13:20):
SPEAKER_01
I mean, I guess the other way Ilook at it too is you're a
celebrity and you have time todo this, a lot of time on your
(14:23):
hands.
SPEAKER_00 (14:24):
I I almost feel like they have more time than we
think because if you think aboutit, like they have someone doing
something for them at everygiven point, you know, like a
chef is making them a meal,they're probably getting a
massage, like it and I feel likesomeone like her probably sits
in the makeup chair for so manyhours a day, and you're just
like sitting there bored thatyou could just, you know, have a
real sneaky account.
(14:48):
I I've never had an account.
I've no I've known friends likewhen we were teenagers that they
would have um accounts to liketext their boyfriend and see if
he would cheat on them orsomething.
Like, you know, they would getlike burner accounts or to to
look at someone online and topeek at them.
But same thing, I'm like youhave never really had time for
that.
SPEAKER_01 (15:06):
SPEAKER_01
And um to have an A-lesson to itis kind of crazy when you think
about it.
SPEAKER_00 (15:13):
SPEAKER_00
So if you get into a fight withsomeone online, just know that
it may be Jennifer Lawrence.
SPEAKER_01 (15:19):
Yeah, it could be, and you're right, it definitely
could be.
Well, that actually is a greatlead into the next conversation
here.
I don't know if people everheard of this.
Have you ever heard of the termgrok?
S (15:35):
SPEAKER_00
I I did, and then I saw this,but yeah, like very recently in
the past like week or two.
SP (15:45):
SPEAKER_01
conversations in the Teslas now.
Now, just so people are aware,because I know some people like
me before I ran across thisstory is like, what the hell is
Grok?
Well, basically, to put itsimply, uh, Grok has the
(16:07):
potential to engage ininappropriate conversation in
Tesla vehicles due to pastincidents where the AI exhibited
hateful and offensive behavior,such as anti-Semitic remarks and
mentioning white genocide inresponse to unrelated queries.
(16:27):
While Grok's behavior has beencriticized, some sources say
that these issues have beenaddressed through updates, while
others note that these issuesraise significant concerns about
safety and the integration ofadvanced AI into vehicles,
especially Tesla's, has notprovided an official uh comp uh
(16:49):
comment on the matter.
Now, I guess my question is asyou can probably know by what I
just described here, it'sbasically AI in the vehicle.
Um it's an AI program that youcan have a conversation with,
which is probably a wholedifferent conversation all into
itself.
But why would you need this inyour vehicle, first of all?
(17:13):
And then secondly, for this tohave the hateful stuff coming
across, I saw a video of a womandriving, and basically her
children was talking to Brock.
Uh, and I guess Grok kind ofwent off the rails on the
conversation a little bitbecause she had turned off.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00
(17:34):
basically.
SPEAKER_01 (17:35):
SPEAKER_01
And I was sitting there thinkingto myself, why the hell would
you create technology like thisto put in a vehicle?
Or am I missing something?
SPEAKER_00 (17:44):
No, I think I think you're completely right.
It's so weird because yeah, I'msure someone could find what
they were talking about, butlike it was definitely
inappropriate.
And and I feel like we don'tneed our car to search the way
that I'd say at home.
I'd say, you know, Alexa orwhatever, like, you know, how
how old is Jennifer Lawrence?
Or like I'd say something likethat.
I'm like, I feel like we can gofive seconds without knowing
(18:06):
information in our car, otherthan just navigating to where
we're going or like what theweather is like or something,
you know.
But I I agree that it's reallyweird that it goes so off
script, and it's like you haveto wonder how it's programmed
and who is reading that type ofstuff, or like you know,
engineering it.
SPEAKER_01 (18:25):
Yeah, and then the other thing too is you know, if
we don't get this under control,you're gonna have a situation
where you know you're doing yourGPS and this AI-generated GPS,
you're driving, everything'sgoing good, and it tells you to
turn this way, but I'm gonna gothe long way.
And then your vehicle goes, Hey,dummy, why'd you go that way?
You're not supposed to turn thatway.
SPEAKER_00 (18:46):
SPEAKER_00
SPEAKER_01 (18:47):
You're arguing with your car, which okay, people
driving by may not know what'sgoing on, but oh, this person's
gonna go crazy here, you know.
I mean, at what point do we slowthis down?
Because it is kind of getting alittle out of control.
S (18:59):
SPEAKER_00
I remember a few years ago whenlike Tesla first started making
its way in the market.
I was just so impressed that itcould like honk out jingle
bells, and and and I think itlike made a fart sound or
something too.
And I remember being like, thisis so crazy, you know, that it's
able to do this.
And I feel like we should havestopped at that level of
engineering where it's likethat's enough, like just be
(19:19):
happy with that.
And now we we have it likedirecting us and like doing
inappropriate things.
SPEAKER_01 (19:25):
Yes, that is true.
That is definitely true.
Um, I would just say that if youhave this technology in your
vehicle, be very careful whatyou say around it and be very
mindful of who's in the vehicleat you with you at all times.
Personally, I wouldn't want thiskind of technology in my car.
No, would you want thistechnology?
SPE (19:45):
SPEAKER_00
I be I barely even know how to.
I use the backup camera in mycar.
That's that's all I know how todo.
And especially if you're, Imean, I could only imagine if
you're like 18 or 19 and you'redriving for the first time and
you have a Tesla, like I woulddefinitely have gotten into
trouble with some of thosethings, you know, just like some
of the car.
But um, no, I don't think itshould go this far.
(20:06):
And I know like Elon and Teslais known for like pushing the
envelope and just kind of beinga little cheeky and everything,
but this is definitely crazy.
SPEAKER_0 (20:16):
SPEAKER_01
It reminds me of a goodcommercial you could create
using this.
In fact, I should write thisdown, but I could picture uh
16-year-old getting ready to gettheir license, they're about to
do their the driver's test, andthen all of a sudden the car
goes, Hey, remember you said youhope you don't get a stupid uh
driver's insurance, uh driver'sinstructor or tester, and the
(20:40):
testing guy looks over like thatwould be so good, yeah, or
especially to like a pay ifyou're driving with a parent and
it's like don't tell your momthat you skipped school on
Tuesday, or yeah, yeah, yeah,yeah.
S (20:54):
SPEAKER_00
But I think that you're rightthat it's unless it's serving us
helping, like I think we needhelp driving safer and just
navigating the roads better, andall this stuff is just extra and
kind of getting in the way oflike the main purpose, which is
just to be safer on the roads.
SPEAKER_01 (21:10):
SPEAKER_01
I totally, totally agree withthat.
SPEAKE (21:14):
SPEAKER_00
on the next one because I knowyou are a football person.
And wait, Aaron Rodgers is afootball person, right?
Yes.
Okay, okay, so um the the AaronRodgers wife rumor explodes
after family speaks out.
Now, I didn't know about this,it was news to me, but I thought
I went down a whole rabbit holeof this.
(21:35):
I thought this was sointeresting.
So, after months of speculation,the mystery surrounding Aaron
Rodgers' alleged wife hasreached new levels of intrigue.
His friends and families are allbaffled by the quarterback's
secret of love life, which hehas managed to keep entirely
hidden.
Fans are wondering whether hismarriage is even real, if she's
a real woman, who this is.
Um, one of his teammates toldhim that, told the Daily Mail
(21:58):
that she's like a phantom.
We have yet to meet her.
We don't know.
Now he keeps his secret like orhis private life under wraps.
Um, he mentioned that he wasdating someone named Brittany,
describing her as a privateperson, but like no one can
figure it out.
So what do you think?
Is this weird?
Do you know some insideinformation?
SP (22:18):
SPEAKER_01
strange person, depending onwhat you know what you think
about him.
I do have to put this disclaimerout there.
Uh, he used to be thequarterback for a long time for
uh Green Bay, and he's made somecomments about my bear, so I'm
not particularly a big fan ofhis.
So I do want to put a disclaimerout there.
SPEAKER_00 (22:40):
So we might have a bias against him, okay.
S (22:43):
SPEAKER_01
he's he's he's a very, veryinteresting person.
Maybe not in a good way.
SPEAKER_00 (22:53):
Um, and so like if he has a wife, this this means
she doesn't come to any gamesand they're like never seen out
together.
I just don't understand how youcould hide this if you're like a
public person.
SPEAKER_01 (23:03):
I personally think he's not married because in this
day and age, especially withsocial media and everything else
going on, it would be prettymuch impossible to hide a wife
for that many years.
SPEAKER_00 (23:15):
Yeah, yeah, because wouldn't someone even just
capture you like going out ofyour house, you know, with
someone?
SPEAKER_01 (23:20):
Yeah, and again, I could be wrong.
People have done strangerthings, but I honestly don't
think that she has a wife.
And I could I could be totallywrong, but I don't think he
does.
S (23:32):
SPEAKER_00
just so we to people so peopleleave him alone?
Or it's also weird if he hooksup with women and then they're
like, oh no, he doesn't have awife because I was like dating
him, you know.
SPEAKER_01 (23:44):
Yeah, and you know, sometimes people have this crazy
attitude that you know even badpress is is good press.
In other words, anything to stayin the limelight where people
are talking about it, becausereally, in all honesty, he's on
the downward spin of his career,and yeah, you know, probably
should have retired.
I think, and there's a lot ofpeople that feel this way, you
(24:07):
want to leave when you're on topof your game.
You don't want to when you knowyou're going kind of downhill
sports-wise, because otherwisepeople are will only remember
the last few years versus yourentire career.
SPEAKER_00 (24:21):
Yeah, but don't you think too, some of the teams,
like whether it's a coach or theopposition from a team, would
call it out if they're like, Doyou know his wife is fake?
Like, I feel like this would bethe kind of thing that someone
would like sell out the story tothe press.
It depends on who they are.
SP (24:38):
SPEAKER_01
probably don't want nothing todo with it just because they
don't want to get dragged intothe mess.
But outside of that, yeah,you're right, that could
potentially happen.
SPEAKER_0 (24:50):
SPEAKER_00
Well, we'll see.
I don't know why someone wouldalso want to like I can see
keeping your private lifeprivate, but like at least let
people know who you're marriedto.
Or if I was the wife, I'd belike, okay, let's like at least
we don't have to post anything,or we don't have to go out for
the paparazzi, but let's atleast like let people know that
we're married.
SPEAKER_01 (25:09):
That's true, that's true.
And most women would not want tobe hit for that long either.
SPEAKER_00 (25:14):
So no, I get mad if my boyfriend doesn't post me on
Instagram for like a month.
He we the other day we got intoa fight about it.
He said he was gonna messageevery single person on Instagram
just a picture of me so thatthey know that I'm around.
So I could not I could not beAaron Roger's wife.
I'm too petty.
SPEAKER_01 (25:42):
Um, this is a shame that we're even talking about
this, but elderly people arebeing scammed out of their money
using Bitcoin ATMs.
SPEAKER (25:52):
SPEAKER_00
S (25:54):
SPEAKER_01
disproportionately targeted inscams involving Bitcoin ATMs,
resulting in substantialfinancial losses.
These scams typically involvefraudsters using impersonation
tactics and creating a falsesense of urgency to coerce
victims into depositing cashinto these machines with losses
(26:19):
ranging in the millions ofdollars annually.
Millions.
SPEAKER (26:24):
SPEAKER_00
There's so many scams nowadays,whether it's like the target
gift cards or the bitcoins orthe ones where they pretend that
they're a bank.
SPEAKER_01 (26:35):
Yeah, you know the crazy thing, Merrill, is that
you know, don't get me wrong,scams have been around for a
long time, but it just seemslike this year it's just like at
an all-time high now.
Yeah, yep.
SPEA (26:47):
SPEAKER_00
gift cards, and she spent like$1,400 on gift cards, and and
and she even she went to thetarget employee and said, This
seems weird, is this a scam?
And the target employee waslike, Nope, it seems right to
me.
And then wow, yeah.
So after that, like I called myparents and I was like, Do not
believe anyone, like unlessyou're walking into the bank
(27:09):
itself and like talking to acashier inside the bank, just
never trust anyone.
S (27:14):
SPEAKER_01
is that they're also playing onemotions, too, because when you
look at it in most of thesethings, if you look hard enough,
you can kind of see the scam forwhat it is.
SPEAKER_00 (27:29):
Oh, yeah, for sure.
And I think too, like this one,like Bitcoin and crypto things,
they're confusing in general topeople, so it's like they
already kind of seem like ascam, and I can tell how older
people may not know what's realand what's not, like you know,
they're not sure if they'reinvesting in bitcoins or not.
SPEAKER_01 (27:47):
That's true, that's true.
I mean, I've I've seen videosabout this where um, in fact, it
was this one older woman, andyou know, she was depositing
thousands of dollars into thisBitcoin ATM.
And just so people are aware, aBitcoin ATM, you put money in.
You don't get money out, so it'snot like a regular ATM.
(28:09):
Right.
So I it was, I guess, thisworker there called the police,
um, you know, to say, hey, Ibelieve this person's being
scammed, and the police officerwas, you know, telling them,
man, who are you sending thismoney to?
You know, and and she wastalking about some kind of
emergency or whatever.
And to me, that's a red flag,too.
When you get a phone callsaying, hey, you need to pay me
(28:31):
$1,000 right now.
Yeah, yeah, this is gonnahappen, you know, or or better
yet, there was one scam wherethere was a guy who, and this
goes back to the AI thing again,where they had an AI voice for
grandson saying, Hey, I'm injail, and then the lawyers on
the phone with them, supposedlythere at the jail, saying, Hey,
(28:53):
you need to send us$9,000 rightnow so we can get them out of
jail.
And it's like that sounds crazyas hell.
S (29:01):
SPEAKER_00
So, yeah, I think anytime thathappens, people need to take
their emotion out of it and justlike calm for a second and make
sure, you know, like call thecounty jail to confirm or call
the bank.
Like, you always err on the sideof being paranoid, I think.
SPEAKER_01 (29:18):
Yeah, and just thing is, I remember one time we I got
a phone, a scam phone calltalking about there's something
wrong with my account orwhatever.
Can you verify your accountnumber?
I said, No, I'm not gonna verifymy account number.
I said you tell me, yeah.
Well, we just need to verify,but if you're my bank, you know
what my account number is.
(29:40):
Exactly.
Let me call you right back.
Well, let me give you thenumber.
Um, if you're from my bank, Ihave your number.
And I guess the guy's got somefrustrating, just hung up on me.
SP (29:51):
SPEAKER_00
Let me patch in the policereally quick.
SPE (29:57):
SPEAKER_01
But just just people out therelistening, you know, just if you
get one of these crazy calls ortaxes, please, please take a
deep breath, sit back and thinkabout it, and just you know,
again, if they're saying they'recalling you from the police
station, ask them what policestation, and you call the police
(30:17):
station to verify.
SPEAKER_00 (30:19):
SPEAKER_00
Yep.
And sometimes it's just good tojust like walk into the bank,
you know, even if you thinkyou're talking on the phone to
the bank, because a lot of thesepieces now will say have numbers
that say like Bank of America oryou know, something like that.
So I always do that too.
And it's just so terrible thatelder people get scammed.
S (30:37):
SPEAKER_01
the on the side of caution.
Here's the other thing, too, andI think this is an excellent
idea.
I have this as well, my son.
Create a a safe word that onlythat person knows, and that's an
easy way to find out whetheryou're talking to the person or
(30:59):
if it's a scammer.
Because unfortunately, there'ssoftware out there that can make
the computer sound like yourloved one, which is very scary
in itself.
SPEAKER_00 (31:11):
SPEAKER_00
SPEA (31:13):
SPEAKER_01
SPEAKER_00 (31:16):
Yeah, that was fun.
SPEAKER_01 (31:19):
Well, Merrill, tell everyone what you have coming
up.
SPEAKER_00 (31:22):
Yay, I have a show if you're in the Los Angeles
area, uh, Tuesday, November 18that a place called The Dime,
which is like a bar.
Um, but it's a fun show.
It's a bunch of very cool, funnycomedians.
And uh yeah, it's at 8 p.m.
The dime in Los Angeles.
It's right across from thestreet from the very famous
(31:43):
Cantors Deli, which is a greatdeli.
So if anyone comes before, youit you should stop and have a
matzo ball soup at Cantor's.
SPEAKER_01 (31:51):
SPEAKER_01
Well, if you're an area.
definitely make sure you go outand support Meryl.
Let her know that you heardabout us uh about her show uh
from our from our show i i'mquite sure she would love to
hear that i would love that andthen tell me that you're stuck
in a hotel and you need eightthousand dollars sent right away
via bitcoin and i'll i'll sendit the safe word could be
(32:14):
thirsty there you go welleveryone thank you so much for
watching and to listening for usuh please continue to share and
let people know who we are andbring people over to watch and
listen to us i'm lawrence elbrodand i'm married bye everyone
SPEAKER_01
Welcome to this week's episodeof Thirsty Topics.
I'm Lawrence Elrod.
SPEAKER_00 (01:18):
And I'm Meryl Climo.
SPEAKER_ (01:20):
SPEAKER_01
S (01:22):
SPEAKER_00
SPEAKER_ (01:24):
SPEAKER_01
How about you?
SPEA (01:26):
SPEAKER_00
I'm pulling up some good topics.
I'm clearing my phone historyright now of me looking at brown
leather jackets.
I've been obsessed with shoppingfor did you ever like look
online and shop for stuff andthen all of a sudden be like,
no, no, no, I want none of it.
S (01:42):
SPEAKER_01
you look and it's like, yeah,yeah, this would be nice.
And then right before you pullthe trigger to buy, like, nah, I
don't really need this.
SPEAKER_00 (01:50):
SPEAKER_00
And I feel like that's a goodhack that I do too.
Even if I know I want it, I feellike companies will then give
you like coupons, like they'llthey'll then email you and be
like, We saw that something's inyour cart.
Here's 15% off.
And I I wait to see like howdesperate they get, and then
I'll click purchase.
S (02:06):
SPEAKER_01
look up something or you have aconversation, and all of a
sudden you get all theseadvertisements on what you just
looked up or what you justtalked about.
SPEA (02:16):
SPEAKER_00
S (02:19):
SPEAKER_01
listening, huh?
SPEAKE (02:22):
SPEAKER_00
And I'll I'll be thinking like Ithink I I genuinely like saw um
someone in a brown leatherjacket that I thought was cool,
and then of course I didn't likesay it to anyone, I didn't even
Google it, and then of course Icame back to my phone and it was
like showing me brown leatherjackets, so yeah, that's kind of
cool and also creepy at the sametime.
Yeah, yep.
SPEAKER_01 (02:45):
Well, Meryl, uh, why don't you start off today and
tell us what we're talkingabout?
SPEAKER (02:48):
SPEAKER_00
Now, have you seen any of thislike Miss Universe drama at all?
What have you seen so far?
S (02:59):
SPEAKER_01
I mean the leader of the youththe Miss Universe pageant made a
very, very disrespectfulcomment.
Basically, she's mad at Ibelieve it was Miss Mexico,
because I guess she didn't dosomething to promote the
(03:22):
pageant.
So he got mad at her, called hera derogatory name, and made her
leave.
And as a result, a bunch ofother pageant members got angry
and in protest, they left aswell.
SPEAKER_00 (03:34):
Okay, so you already know that's perfect.
Okay, good.
Because I think everyone hasseen the clip of like the
walkout, you know, but they'remaking it seem at first, they
made it seem like Miss Mexicowas almost being dramatic and
like being a diva walking out,but what they don't know is like
exactly the stuff that was saidto her.
Um, they said in the video, theexecutive was heard saying, um,
(03:58):
you must promote the hostcountry, be careful, you're in
Thailand, you are in a game.
Um, and basically a lot of theother women stood for her, which
is really nice.
I think we saw a lot of like uhcamaraderie by the other
contestants and basically sayingyou can't be if you're mean to
one of us, you're gonna likehave to go through all of us
type of thing.
Um the pageant director hadalready been kicked out of the
(04:22):
country, and they're saying, uh,for the queen, if you follow the
order of your national director,you're a dummy.
And I just thought um the MissMexico was saying you're not
respecting me as a woman.
She appeared to walk out of theroom on her own, and a handful
of contestants jumped to herjump to their feet to follow her
out.
And then with that feed stillgoing, we heard him threaten
(04:43):
that anyone that left the roomwould be would be banned from
the competing in the pageant.
So this is just crazy.
And then, like afterwards, ofcourse, people were saying,
like, he he apologized on lateTuesday saying, I was not
feeling good.
Um, and I do apologize foreveryone, but I'm like, the
times that I don't feel well,you're gonna threaten a bunch of
(05:04):
women and like make them feelunwelcome in your country.
Like, I've never heard of that.
And so it his apology didn'treally go well.
The press conference kind ofbackfired.
Um, and I mean this was live,everyone heard it live, so it
was right there.
It wasn't like a he said, shesaid type of thing, you know, it
was right there on video.
SPEAKER_01 (05:23):
Yeah, I believe he was sorry too.
He was sorry that he got caught.
S (05:27):
SPEAKER_00
Sorry he got caught and exactly,exactly.
And sorry his behavior was likelive streamed to everyone.
SPEAKER_01
comfortable he was tell me thatthis kind of nonsense probably
went on for a long time.
I don't I doubt very seriously,this is the first time I'm ever
saying something like this.
SPEAKER_00 (05:46):
SPEAKER_00
I think too, like a lot of Ithink in the past, maybe when I
was growing up, there was thislike wrong fallacy that these
the beauty pageant women werejust kind of very like vapid and
they didn't really haveanything, but it's like these
are women that are so powerfuland smart in like every
category, and they're notthey're not just beautiful, and
they tend to have really goodhearts and like support each
(06:06):
other, they're not a bunch oflike catty women.
I feel like by the time you getto this stage in the beauty
pageant, like you have so muchelse going for you just besides
your beauty, and and a lot ofthese women support each other,
and in this day and age, they'rejust not gonna take that from a
man.
SPEAKER_01 (06:22):
SPEAKER_01
Uh, I think it's silly.
Um, no one should be talked tolike that, period.
So no one should be disrespectedlike that.
And I've heard horror storiesbehind the scenes about what
happens at these pageants, andyou know, I'm really glad that
the other women stood up andsaid, you know what, enough's
enough.
SPEAKER_00 (06:40):
SPEAKER_00
That was mixed Miss Mexico.
I feel like all the the women ofMexico are really getting uh
like last this other the otherrecording we talked about, uh
Miss Mexico president.
So good.
I'm glad, and and this isamazing that I feel like now
we're with like live stream,we're able to call these things
out in real time rather thanjust women feeling like uh you
(07:04):
know, kind of just put down allthe time.
S (07:07):
SPEAKER_01
hope that um people watchingwhat happened understands that
this kind of nonsense won't betolerated anymore.
SPEAKER_00 (07:17):
SPEAKER_00
I I love that uh he asked her,Why are you still talking?
And then she said, Because Ihave a voice, you're not
respecting me as a woman.
Like, I think that's amazing.
SP (07:27):
SPEAKER_01
didn't.
And like I said, you know, thishalf-assed apology again.
Yeah, he was sorry, he was sorrythat he got caught.
S (07:38):
SPEAKER_00
are you a baby?
You know, like that's so weird,and you're with a bunch of just
like strong, powerful women,like then go take a nap and like
let someone else handle it.
SPEAKER_01 (07:48):
So I guess if I have a bad day, I should just go to
the grocery store and just curseout the cashier for no reason.
Yeah, today, you know.
SPEAKER_00 (07:56):
SPEAKER_00
They they should let him go andbe like, sorry, we're having a
bad day.
SPE (08:02):
SPEAKER_01
not gonna be around any pageantsanytime soon.
SPEAKER_00 (08:08):
SPEAKER_00
And uh, don't you think a lot ofthose, I mean, I don't know how
it is there, but I feel likehere in the US, there's like
sponsors and board of directors,and like that was just even from
a financial decision, peoplewould pull out because they
don't even want likeadvertisers, don't want their
higher-ups treating contestantslike that.
SPE (08:24):
SPEAKER_01
backlash because if people gobacklash against Ms.
Universe pageant, they're gonnaalso go after those sponsors,
too.
SPEA (08:35):
SPEAKER_00
SP (08:37):
SPEAKER_01
Um, unfortunately, um we'regonna talk about another sad
incident.
Um UPS Airline flight number2976 was a scheduled domestic
cargo flight from Louisville, uhMohammed Ali International
(09:00):
Airport in Louisville, Kentucky,to Honolulu, Hawaii on November
4th, 2025.
The aircraft operating theflight, a McDonnell Douglas
MD-11, suffered an engineseparation during the takeoff
roll and crashed into anindustrial area shortly after
(09:23):
takeoff at about 5 13 p.m.
local time.
The crash killed 14 people,including all three aboard the
aircraft.
The accident is beinginvestigated by the NTSB, which
is the National TransportationSafety Board.
SPEAKER_00 (09:39):
Oh, I've seen that.
It's terrible.
SP (09:42):
SPEAKER_01
I mean, it looks like somethingout of a out of a high-action
movie, because you wouldn'texpect to see a plane going down
in flames like that in realtime.
SPEAKER_00 (09:54):
SPEAKER_00
I and like I saw a video fromsomeone that was supposed to be
on the next plane, too.
Like they were like on the nextplane out, and it's it's so
weird and scary.
And we've talked about this awhole bunch of times just with
everything with the air trafficcontrollers and more of the
commercial flights, like what wedon't need in our vision is just
more and more like you know,plane disasters, and it's so
(10:17):
terrible.
S (10:18):
SPEAKER_01
this shutdown, and I know in theprevious episode we talked about
how they're going to becanceling 10% of the flights
because of the shutdown.
This incident doesn't makepeople feel any better, I
wouldn't think.
SPEAKER_00 (10:34):
SPEAKER_00
Yeah, no, me neither.
Yeah, I think this is so scary.
And once again, too, it's likebecause uh like also I I
subscribe to a lot of pilots onYouTube that anytime this
happens, then they go on YouTubeand make a detailed thing like
when the aircrash happened inIndia, they'll go by
specifically like what happenedand kind of talk about more of
the malfunctions from like atechnical point of view and
(10:56):
everything.
And it's like these poor pilotsare having to just do this daily
and like explain to everyone.
And I mean, not only that, butthe people that lost their
lives, it's like just terrible.
SP (11:06):
SPEAKER_01
fell off the plane, though.
I mean, that's crazy.
SPE (11:11):
SPEAKER_00
Yeah, that sounds like and youhave to wonder if it's um if
that was something that someonecould have caught before, or if
it was just one of those, like amalfunction that was just one in
a million.
SPEAKER_01 (11:24):
Yeah, I mean, that's true.
Um, it it's also said that outof the 14 people, only three of
them were actually on the plane,which means that there were 11
people on the ground that werekilled because of this.
SPEAKER (11:36):
SPEAKER_00
Yeah, very scary.
SPEAKER_01 (11:42):
SPEAKER_01
SPEAKER_00 (11:45):
Well, I'll make it uh a lighter thing.
But now you don't have anysecret TikToks account.
I guess you wouldn't tell us ifyou didn't because they're not
secret, but I feel like you knowyou're very active on social
media, and and are you too busyto have any secret TikTok
accounts?
SPEAK (12:03):
SPEAKER_01
accounts.
I don't have time to be honestwith you.
SPEAKER_00 (12:14):
SPEAKER_00
Same thing.
Well, well, Jennifer Lawrence isa little bit different.
She says that she has a secretlife on TikTok where she has
these troll accounts that shegoes in and she gets in like
online fights with people andshe'll comment on people's
videos.
Um now this is understandablefor her because obviously, if
like Jennifer Lawrence is theone making getting into fights
(12:35):
with people, it's going to makeheadlines.
And I feel like as a celebrity,that would be funny to like do
that and just start arguing andbe like, actually, I think she
was great in this movie.
And and, you know, into justgetting fights with people.
Maybe not in fights, but I feellike I would more support people
or like I would be up in my owncomments or things about me.
Um, but she was talking withco-star Robert Pattinson, and
(12:57):
she admitted that she gets intofights in the comments section.
Um, she went on to reveal thatit all started with fights back
and forth about topics like thereal housewife and the
Kardashians.
So I think that's cute.
And I feel like, you know, sheshould have a right to go on
TikTok like a normal person andnot have to like constantly be a
celebrity.
So I think that'sunderstandable.
SPEAKE (13:20):
SPEAKER_01
I mean, I guess the other way Ilook at it too is you're a
celebrity and you have time todo this, a lot of time on your
(14:23):
hands.
SPEAKER_00 (14:24):
I I almost feel like they have more time than we
think because if you think aboutit, like they have someone doing
something for them at everygiven point, you know, like a
chef is making them a meal,they're probably getting a
massage, like it and I feel likesomeone like her probably sits
in the makeup chair for so manyhours a day, and you're just
like sitting there bored thatyou could just, you know, have a
real sneaky account.
(14:48):
I I've never had an account.
I've no I've known friends likewhen we were teenagers that they
would have um accounts to liketext their boyfriend and see if
he would cheat on them orsomething.
Like, you know, they would getlike burner accounts or to to
look at someone online and topeek at them.
But same thing, I'm like youhave never really had time for
that.
SPEAKER_01 (15:06):
SPEAKER_01
And um to have an A-lesson to itis kind of crazy when you think
about it.
SPEAKER_00 (15:13):
SPEAKER_00
So if you get into a fight withsomeone online, just know that
it may be Jennifer Lawrence.
SPEAKER_01 (15:19):
Yeah, it could be, and you're right, it definitely
could be.
Well, that actually is a greatlead into the next conversation
here.
I don't know if people everheard of this.
Have you ever heard of the termgrok?
S (15:35):
SPEAKER_00
I I did, and then I saw this,but yeah, like very recently in
the past like week or two.
SP (15:45):
SPEAKER_01
conversations in the Teslas now.
Now, just so people are aware,because I know some people like
me before I ran across thisstory is like, what the hell is
Grok?
Well, basically, to put itsimply, uh, Grok has the
(16:07):
potential to engage ininappropriate conversation in
Tesla vehicles due to pastincidents where the AI exhibited
hateful and offensive behavior,such as anti-Semitic remarks and
mentioning white genocide inresponse to unrelated queries.
(16:27):
While Grok's behavior has beencriticized, some sources say
that these issues have beenaddressed through updates, while
others note that these issuesraise significant concerns about
safety and the integration ofadvanced AI into vehicles,
especially Tesla's, has notprovided an official uh comp uh
(16:49):
comment on the matter.
Now, I guess my question is asyou can probably know by what I
just described here, it'sbasically AI in the vehicle.
Um it's an AI program that youcan have a conversation with,
which is probably a wholedifferent conversation all into
itself.
But why would you need this inyour vehicle, first of all?
(17:13):
And then secondly, for this tohave the hateful stuff coming
across, I saw a video of a womandriving, and basically her
children was talking to Brock.
Uh, and I guess Grok kind ofwent off the rails on the
conversation a little bitbecause she had turned off.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00
(17:34):
basically.
SPEAKER_01 (17:35):
SPEAKER_01
And I was sitting there thinkingto myself, why the hell would
you create technology like thisto put in a vehicle?
Or am I missing something?
SPEAKER_00 (17:44):
No, I think I think you're completely right.
It's so weird because yeah, I'msure someone could find what
they were talking about, butlike it was definitely
inappropriate.
And and I feel like we don'tneed our car to search the way
that I'd say at home.
I'd say, you know, Alexa orwhatever, like, you know, how
how old is Jennifer Lawrence?
Or like I'd say something likethat.
I'm like, I feel like we can gofive seconds without knowing
(18:06):
information in our car, otherthan just navigating to where
we're going or like what theweather is like or something,
you know.
But I I agree that it's reallyweird that it goes so off
script, and it's like you haveto wonder how it's programmed
and who is reading that type ofstuff, or like you know,
engineering it.
SPEAKER_01 (18:25):
Yeah, and then the other thing too is you know, if
we don't get this under control,you're gonna have a situation
where you know you're doing yourGPS and this AI-generated GPS,
you're driving, everything'sgoing good, and it tells you to
turn this way, but I'm gonna gothe long way.
And then your vehicle goes, Hey,dummy, why'd you go that way?
You're not supposed to turn thatway.
SPEAKER_00 (18:46):
SPEAKER_00
SPEAKER_01 (18:47):
You're arguing with your car, which okay, people
driving by may not know what'sgoing on, but oh, this person's
gonna go crazy here, you know.
I mean, at what point do we slowthis down?
Because it is kind of getting alittle out of control.
S (18:59):
SPEAKER_00
I remember a few years ago whenlike Tesla first started making
its way in the market.
I was just so impressed that itcould like honk out jingle
bells, and and and I think itlike made a fart sound or
something too.
And I remember being like, thisis so crazy, you know, that it's
able to do this.
And I feel like we should havestopped at that level of
engineering where it's likethat's enough, like just be
(19:19):
happy with that.
And now we we have it likedirecting us and like doing
inappropriate things.
SPEAKER_01 (19:25):
Yes, that is true.
That is definitely true.
Um, I would just say that if youhave this technology in your
vehicle, be very careful whatyou say around it and be very
mindful of who's in the vehicleat you with you at all times.
Personally, I wouldn't want thiskind of technology in my car.
No, would you want thistechnology?
SPE (19:45):
SPEAKER_00
I be I barely even know how to.
I use the backup camera in mycar.
That's that's all I know how todo.
And especially if you're, Imean, I could only imagine if
you're like 18 or 19 and you'redriving for the first time and
you have a Tesla, like I woulddefinitely have gotten into
trouble with some of thosethings, you know, just like some
of the car.
But um, no, I don't think itshould go this far.
(20:06):
And I know like Elon and Teslais known for like pushing the
envelope and just kind of beinga little cheeky and everything,
but this is definitely crazy.
SPEAKER_0 (20:16):
SPEAKER_01
It reminds me of a goodcommercial you could create
using this.
In fact, I should write thisdown, but I could picture uh
16-year-old getting ready to gettheir license, they're about to
do their the driver's test, andthen all of a sudden the car
goes, Hey, remember you said youhope you don't get a stupid uh
driver's insurance, uh driver'sinstructor or tester, and the
(20:40):
testing guy looks over like thatwould be so good, yeah, or
especially to like a pay ifyou're driving with a parent and
it's like don't tell your momthat you skipped school on
Tuesday, or yeah, yeah, yeah,yeah.
S (20:54):
SPEAKER_00
But I think that you're rightthat it's unless it's serving us
helping, like I think we needhelp driving safer and just
navigating the roads better, andall this stuff is just extra and
kind of getting in the way oflike the main purpose, which is
just to be safer on the roads.
SPEAKER_01 (21:10):
SPEAKER_01
I totally, totally agree withthat.
SPEAKE (21:14):
SPEAKER_00
on the next one because I knowyou are a football person.
And wait, Aaron Rodgers is afootball person, right?
Yes.
Okay, okay, so um the the AaronRodgers wife rumor explodes
after family speaks out.
Now, I didn't know about this,it was news to me, but I thought
I went down a whole rabbit holeof this.
(21:35):
I thought this was sointeresting.
So, after months of speculation,the mystery surrounding Aaron
Rodgers' alleged wife hasreached new levels of intrigue.
His friends and families are allbaffled by the quarterback's
secret of love life, which hehas managed to keep entirely
hidden.
Fans are wondering whether hismarriage is even real, if she's
a real woman, who this is.
Um, one of his teammates toldhim that, told the Daily Mail
(21:58):
that she's like a phantom.
We have yet to meet her.
We don't know.
Now he keeps his secret like orhis private life under wraps.
Um, he mentioned that he wasdating someone named Brittany,
describing her as a privateperson, but like no one can
figure it out.
So what do you think?
Is this weird?
Do you know some insideinformation?
SP (22:18):
SPEAKER_01
strange person, depending onwhat you know what you think
about him.
I do have to put this disclaimerout there.
Uh, he used to be thequarterback for a long time for
uh Green Bay, and he's made somecomments about my bear, so I'm
not particularly a big fan ofhis.
So I do want to put a disclaimerout there.
SPEAKER_00 (22:40):
So we might have a bias against him, okay.
S (22:43):
SPEAKER_01
he's he's he's a very, veryinteresting person.
Maybe not in a good way.
SPEAKER_00 (22:53):
Um, and so like if he has a wife, this this means
she doesn't come to any gamesand they're like never seen out
together.
I just don't understand how youcould hide this if you're like a
public person.
SPEAKER_01 (23:03):
I personally think he's not married because in this
day and age, especially withsocial media and everything else
going on, it would be prettymuch impossible to hide a wife
for that many years.
SPEAKER_00 (23:15):
Yeah, yeah, because wouldn't someone even just
capture you like going out ofyour house, you know, with
someone?
SPEAKER_01 (23:20):
Yeah, and again, I could be wrong.
People have done strangerthings, but I honestly don't
think that she has a wife.
And I could I could be totallywrong, but I don't think he
does.
S (23:32):
SPEAKER_00
just so we to people so peopleleave him alone?
Or it's also weird if he hooksup with women and then they're
like, oh no, he doesn't have awife because I was like dating
him, you know.
SPEAKER_01 (23:44):
Yeah, and you know, sometimes people have this crazy
attitude that you know even badpress is is good press.
In other words, anything to stayin the limelight where people
are talking about it, becausereally, in all honesty, he's on
the downward spin of his career,and yeah, you know, probably
should have retired.
I think, and there's a lot ofpeople that feel this way, you
(24:07):
want to leave when you're on topof your game.
You don't want to when you knowyou're going kind of downhill
sports-wise, because otherwisepeople are will only remember
the last few years versus yourentire career.
SPEAKER_00 (24:21):
Yeah, but don't you think too, some of the teams,
like whether it's a coach or theopposition from a team, would
call it out if they're like, Doyou know his wife is fake?
Like, I feel like this would bethe kind of thing that someone
would like sell out the story tothe press.
It depends on who they are.
SP (24:38):
SPEAKER_01
probably don't want nothing todo with it just because they
don't want to get dragged intothe mess.
But outside of that, yeah,you're right, that could
potentially happen.
SPEAKER_0 (24:50):
SPEAKER_00
Well, we'll see.
I don't know why someone wouldalso want to like I can see
keeping your private lifeprivate, but like at least let
people know who you're marriedto.
Or if I was the wife, I'd belike, okay, let's like at least
we don't have to post anything,or we don't have to go out for
the paparazzi, but let's atleast like let people know that
we're married.
SPEAKER_01 (25:09):
That's true, that's true.
And most women would not want tobe hit for that long either.
SPEAKER_00 (25:14):
So no, I get mad if my boyfriend doesn't post me on
Instagram for like a month.
He we the other day we got intoa fight about it.
He said he was gonna messageevery single person on Instagram
just a picture of me so thatthey know that I'm around.
So I could not I could not beAaron Roger's wife.
I'm too petty.
SPEAKER_01 (25:42):
Um, this is a shame that we're even talking about
this, but elderly people arebeing scammed out of their money
using Bitcoin ATMs.
SPEAKER (25:52):
SPEAKER_00
S (25:54):
SPEAKER_01
disproportionately targeted inscams involving Bitcoin ATMs,
resulting in substantialfinancial losses.
These scams typically involvefraudsters using impersonation
tactics and creating a falsesense of urgency to coerce
victims into depositing cashinto these machines with losses
(26:19):
ranging in the millions ofdollars annually.
Millions.
SPEAKER (26:24):
SPEAKER_00
There's so many scams nowadays,whether it's like the target
gift cards or the bitcoins orthe ones where they pretend that
they're a bank.
SPEAKER_01 (26:35):
Yeah, you know the crazy thing, Merrill, is that
you know, don't get me wrong,scams have been around for a
long time, but it just seemslike this year it's just like at
an all-time high now.
Yeah, yep.
SPEA (26:47):
SPEAKER_00
gift cards, and she spent like$1,400 on gift cards, and and
and she even she went to thetarget employee and said, This
seems weird, is this a scam?
And the target employee waslike, Nope, it seems right to
me.
And then wow, yeah.
So after that, like I called myparents and I was like, Do not
believe anyone, like unlessyou're walking into the bank
(27:09):
itself and like talking to acashier inside the bank, just
never trust anyone.
S (27:14):
SPEAKER_01
is that they're also playing onemotions, too, because when you
look at it in most of thesethings, if you look hard enough,
you can kind of see the scam forwhat it is.
SPEAKER_00 (27:29):
Oh, yeah, for sure.
And I think too, like this one,like Bitcoin and crypto things,
they're confusing in general topeople, so it's like they
already kind of seem like ascam, and I can tell how older
people may not know what's realand what's not, like you know,
they're not sure if they'reinvesting in bitcoins or not.
SPEAKER_01 (27:47):
That's true, that's true.
I mean, I've I've seen videosabout this where um, in fact, it
was this one older woman, andyou know, she was depositing
thousands of dollars into thisBitcoin ATM.
And just so people are aware, aBitcoin ATM, you put money in.
You don't get money out, so it'snot like a regular ATM.
(28:09):
Right.
So I it was, I guess, thisworker there called the police,
um, you know, to say, hey, Ibelieve this person's being
scammed, and the police officerwas, you know, telling them,
man, who are you sending thismoney to?
You know, and and she wastalking about some kind of
emergency or whatever.
And to me, that's a red flag,too.
When you get a phone callsaying, hey, you need to pay me
(28:31):
$1,000 right now.
Yeah, yeah, this is gonnahappen, you know, or or better
yet, there was one scam wherethere was a guy who, and this
goes back to the AI thing again,where they had an AI voice for
grandson saying, Hey, I'm injail, and then the lawyers on
the phone with them, supposedlythere at the jail, saying, Hey,
(28:53):
you need to send us$9,000 rightnow so we can get them out of
jail.
And it's like that sounds crazyas hell.
S (29:01):
SPEAKER_00
So, yeah, I think anytime thathappens, people need to take
their emotion out of it and justlike calm for a second and make
sure, you know, like call thecounty jail to confirm or call
the bank.
Like, you always err on the sideof being paranoid, I think.
SPEAKER_01 (29:18):
Yeah, and just thing is, I remember one time we I got
a phone, a scam phone calltalking about there's something
wrong with my account orwhatever.
Can you verify your accountnumber?
I said, No, I'm not gonna verifymy account number.
I said you tell me, yeah.
Well, we just need to verify,but if you're my bank, you know
what my account number is.
(29:40):
Exactly.
Let me call you right back.
Well, let me give you thenumber.
Um, if you're from my bank, Ihave your number.
And I guess the guy's got somefrustrating, just hung up on me.
SP (29:51):
SPEAKER_00
Let me patch in the policereally quick.
SPE (29:57):
SPEAKER_01
But just just people out therelistening, you know, just if you
get one of these crazy calls ortaxes, please, please take a
deep breath, sit back and thinkabout it, and just you know,
again, if they're saying they'recalling you from the police
station, ask them what policestation, and you call the police
(30:17):
station to verify.
SPEAKER_00 (30:19):
SPEAKER_00
Yep.
And sometimes it's just good tojust like walk into the bank,
you know, even if you thinkyou're talking on the phone to
the bank, because a lot of thesepieces now will say have numbers
that say like Bank of America oryou know, something like that.
So I always do that too.
And it's just so terrible thatelder people get scammed.
S (30:37):
SPEAKER_01
the on the side of caution.
Here's the other thing, too, andI think this is an excellent
idea.
I have this as well, my son.
Create a a safe word that onlythat person knows, and that's an
easy way to find out whetheryou're talking to the person or
(30:59):
if it's a scammer.
Because unfortunately, there'ssoftware out there that can make
the computer sound like yourloved one, which is very scary
in itself.
SPEAKER_00 (31:11):
SPEAKER_00
SPEA (31:13):
SPEAKER_01
SPEAKER_00 (31:16):
Yeah, that was fun.
SPEAKER_01 (31:19):
Well, Merrill, tell everyone what you have coming
up.
SPEAKER_00 (31:22):
Yay, I have a show if you're in the Los Angeles
area, uh, Tuesday, November 18that a place called The Dime,
which is like a bar.
Um, but it's a fun show.
It's a bunch of very cool, funnycomedians.
And uh yeah, it's at 8 p.m.
The dime in Los Angeles.
It's right across from thestreet from the very famous
(31:43):
Cantors Deli, which is a greatdeli.
So if anyone comes before, youit you should stop and have a
matzo ball soup at Cantor's.
SPEAKER_01 (31:51):
SPEAKER_01
Well, if you're an area.
definitely make sure you go outand support Meryl.
Let her know that you heardabout us uh about her show uh
from our from our show i i'mquite sure she would love to
hear that i would love that andthen tell me that you're stuck
in a hotel and you need eightthousand dollars sent right away
via bitcoin and i'll i'll sendit the safe word could be
(32:14):
thirsty there you go welleveryone thank you so much for
watching and to listening for usuh please continue to share and
let people know who we are andbring people over to watch and
listen to us i'm lawrence elbrodand i'm married bye everyone
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