November 20, 2025 • 35 mins
What happens when a former TV star apologizes for real harm, an AI “artist” tops a Billboard chart, and your phone quietly admits you’re glued to it for 21 hours a day? We pull these threads together to ask a bigger question: how do we protect agency and integrity in a world optimized for speed, spectacle, and shortcuts.
We start with Allison Mack’s public reckoning over NXIVM and examine what genuine accountability requires: clear admissions, repair centered on victims, and time. Not all crimes are equal, and not all returns to public life should be treated the same. The conversation widens to the small-scale traps we all recognize—MLMs, clout-chasing scenes, and high-pressure “communities” that exploit insecurity with polished promises. Those same dynamics explain why even smart, capable people get pulled in.
Then comes the shockwave: an AI-generated country hit reaching No. 1, and an AI gospel single grabbing headlines. We dive into the business incentives and creative risks, making the case for transparent labels, fair pay for human creators whose work and likenesses fuel these systems, and dedicated award categories for synthetic performances. If innovation is inevitable, resilient standards should be too. We also touch on TV and film, where machine-assisted scripts may already be slipping into the pipeline, and why lived experience still matters for stories that last.
To balance the noise, we spotlight a Gen Z-built abstinence app designed to help people step back from social media. Education, office hours, and structured breaks create room to reset habits without quitting life or work. Practical tactics—intentional engagement, time boundaries, and swapping doomscrolls for laughter or learning—help reclaim attention. We round out with a grounded look at the government shutdown’s end: air traffic safety, back pay, and why most of us now crave normalcy more than drama.
If you value sharp takes on culture, tech, and mental health—delivered with curiosity and care—hit follow, share this with a friend who’s wrestling with screen time or AI art, and leave a quick review to help others find the show. What change would make your digital life feel yours again?
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."
Please help support our show by following us and telling others about our show. New podcasts weekly.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_00 (01:12):
Hello everyone.
Welcome to this week's episodeof Thirsty Topics.
I'm Lawrence Elrod.
SPEAKER_01 (01:17):
And I'm Meryl Klimo.
SPEAKER_00 (01:19):
Hey Meryl, how's it going?
SPEAKER_01 (01:21):
Hey, hey, hey.
Life is good.
How are you?
SPEAKER_00 (01:24):
I'm doing fantastic.
Doing anything fun over theweekend?
SPEAKER_01 (01:28):
Yes.
I went to a museum with my, Idragged my boyfriend to a
museum, I should say.
And it's it's really cool.
I don't know if you guys like mymy pro tip for visiting a museum
is they always give free tours,or you have to pay a you know a
few extra dollars.
But I felt like we had a personto walk around with, like a tour
guide.
And I felt like I learned somuch more.
(01:50):
Usually I would just walkthrough and be like, yeah, yeah,
yeah, okay, paintings, whatever.
But he really got into it.
And so um his name is Michael.
Shout out, Michael.
And he was a fabulous gay manwho lives in Los Angeles, and
um, he took us around and justexplained more of the details to
me.
And so now I feel like everymuseum or like art place, I
really want to try to find aprofessional to tell me stuff.
SPEAKER_00 (02:12):
Nice, nice.
Um, had a great weekend.
Um, of course, my bears won andfirst place.
SPEAKER_01 (02:19):
Yay!
SPEAKER_00 (02:20):
I'm happy about that.
SPEAKER_01 (02:21):
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (02:23):
And then on yesterday, uh, I actually was
the guest on a uh podcast, SoulSits Podcast, where I talked
about um the subject was aboutmen's mental health.
And you know, I talked about uhmy experience, my trauma that I
experienced when I was a childup into uh you know adulthood,
(02:47):
and also you know, gave a aquick peek into things to come,
um, like my new book that'scoming out, uh, From Silence to
Broadcast to Lawrence Elrodstory.
That book will be coming outwithin the next couple months.
So it was a nice podcast.
Um, it's actually online rightnow if anyone wants to watch it.
So I had a lot of fun.
SPEAKER_01 (03:07):
Yeah, I want to listen.
What would you say the title is?
SPEAKER_00 (03:10):
The the podcast is uh Soul Sys Podcast.
I'll probably go ahead and andand share it um on on social
media, but if you just gostraight to that podcast, it's
the latest one that was done.
SPEAKER_01 (03:22):
That's so cool.
Soul sis?
Yes, awesome, cool.
Not like not solstice, like themoon moon stolcis, not the not
the summer solstice.
Okay, cool.
That's so awesome.
I can't wait to listen.
Congratulations.
SPEAKER_00 (03:35):
Well, thank you, thank you.
So had a lot of fun there.
And um, it was it was very,very, very nice, um, especially
be able to share experiences.
SPEAKER_01 (03:45):
So yeah, that's why I love podcasts so much, is
because we can all listen tothem at any time we want and
just connect without having toworry about like a bunch of
third-party things getting inthe way, and it's just amazing
to talk to each other andconnect that way.
SPEAKER_00 (04:00):
That is so true.
So, so true.
So, um I will start it off, andum, this one is um a little bit
of a troubling one.
Um, do you remember the the showor the movie Smallville?
SPEAKER_01 (04:16):
Yes, and I've heard a lot about that woman.
SPEAKER_00 (04:20):
Alrighty, well, former small still small bill
star Alison Mack has broken hersilence regarding her
involvement in the Nexum cultthrough a new podcast series
titled Allison After Nexum.
Uh, in seven episodes, whichpremiered on November 10th,
2025, Mac speaks publicly forthe first time since her release
(04:44):
from prison in 2023.
Um, to kind of give you someperspective, um admit she she
had an admission of guilt.
Uh Mac who pleaded guilty toracketeering and racketeering
conspiracy charges in 2019,admitted she was aggressive and
(05:04):
abusive, and used a fang withsmall bill as a power to to
recruit and control women withinNext V secret female subgroup.
Thus, the menace obsequent ormaster over the slave.
Oh wow.
(05:24):
So basically, in a nutshell, shetalked about her involvement in
recruiting women.
Um talked about the cult and herinvolvement in it.
And I don't know, I mean,Hollywood is is very a different
world.
Um, I guess two questions isone, how do you feel about her
(05:44):
role and what she did?
And secondly, do you think thatshe'd get a second chance in
Hollywood again?
SPEAKER_01 (05:50):
That's such a good question.
Number one, I feel like it's soweird, but you're right.
I feel like when people aremaking it in Hollywood or trying
to or even on the inner circle,like there's so many little
versions of cults or differentreligions that kind of are cults
as well.
And you know, you can kind ofjoin them and be part of them
and move up in the industry,quote unquote.
But like I think it's so weird.
(06:12):
And I know there was a bunch of,I don't know if this is the cult
um exactly, but there's onewhere like they literally
branded the people almost likecattle, you know.
And so I think it does a lot ofpsychological and physical
trauma to people.
Um, and so obviously I'm not abig fan of it.
And I feel like it this one Ifeel like was taken seriously
just because it got so big andso many people spoke out.
(06:34):
Um, and I mean, I don't thinkreally, of course it's
Hollywood, so people are justgoing to get like a tenth
millionth chance, but I do thinkif someone is able to escape a
cult and really do their ownlike psychological healing, and
then I think they have everyright to like join back in
society.
And in fact, I think that wouldhelp a lot of people not to be
shunned away after they joinsomething and then you know, uh
(06:56):
made some mistakes in their lifeor maybe they like estranged
from their parents.
Like, I think we should let themback in, but only when they show
that they're like fully readyand not about to join another
culture, like make someone elsejoin their thing.
So I feel like, yeah, she shouldbe allowed to like be healthy
and be in a community, but withlike at arm's length kind of
thing.
SPEAKER_00 (07:16):
Oh, yeah.
I mean, the biggest thing is,and I guess this is her way of
doing this first thing you do ishave to admit guilt, and
secondly, take it, you know,take accountability for what you
did.
SPEAKER_01 (07:27):
Yeah, yeah, and it's almost thinking like what
mindset got you into this cult.
A lot of people do it becausethey either feel lonely or they
feel like they're never loved,or they, you know, so I think
like thinking about that andthen making sure you make
changes.
SPEAKER_00 (07:41):
Oh, absolutely.
And you know, I mean, there'sthis big debate all the time
about you know, once a personhas done their time, you know,
you know, they should be givinga second chance, they should
have a fresh start.
And I agree to a certain extent,and the reason why I word it
that way is I think that allcrimes are not created equal.
(08:03):
Yeah, oh yeah.
There are some crimes where um,you know, you you you look at it
and go, okay, you know what,this person made a stupid
mistake, you know, let's not letit define the rest of their
life.
But there's other crimes waslike it's just so horrific that
you just can't let it go.
SPEAKER_01 (08:20):
Exactly.
I always think cults and allthat stuff is so interesting
because even on like a microlevel, say like a few years ago,
I signed up for that smoothieprogram, I think it's called
like Beach Body or something,where and it felt like it cold,
it really did.
Obviously, it wasn't hurtinganyone besides like hurting my
wallet and just drinking notreally great tasting smoothies,
but it was all these womenmessaging me like, hey girl, hey
(08:42):
girl, you know, and it promisedlike the nicest car, and it was
like this kind of a multi-levelmarketing scheme.
And I joined it just because Iwas like, okay, maybe I'll get
rich this way.
And I and I think all thesethings have like false promises,
and then even though that that'san example, but I soon realized
it it felt a little weird, andlike one person was saying that
they have a mansion from allthis, and then it like trickled
(09:05):
down to all of us where we wereall like the worker bees for
them.
So I feel like something likethat, how you were saying, like
all crimes are not committed thesame, where it's like something
like that where you're just kindof joining like a silly, not
like a full-on cult, but like amulti-level marketing.
Obviously, you can be likeapologize for that and be
forgiven, but when you'rehurting people or like making
(09:25):
them leave their family andfriends, I agree that it needs
to be taken more seriously.
SPEAKER_00 (09:30):
I agree.
And you know, the one thing Iwill give her credit for is
publicly, you know, uh sayinghow sorry she is and and you
know, apologizing to thevictims.
Now, whether the victims acceptthat apology or not, that's
probably a whole differentconversation.
But uh I do commend her for atleast taking uh taking
(09:52):
accountability uh for what she'sdone.
SPEAKER_01 (09:54):
Exactly.
It's so funny.
I won't even say the name of it.
We can all piece it together,but Tom Cruise loves it a lot,
and it's a religion that it'slike a religion that's also kind
of a cult.
But driving here in Los Angeles,they it the first time I moved
here, I was like driving past,I'm like, what is these
buildings?
These are like the most gorgeousbuildings I've ever seen in my
life.
And then you see what it is andwho it belongs to, and it's
(10:16):
like, oh, I could tell why theyget people.
Because like if I was so new toLA where I didn't know anyone, I
would just be like, here's aplace that's a gorgeous
building, and they have likebrunches and they do a lot in
the industry and everything.
And so I can see how people getcaught up in um those types of
things, you know, especiallyactors, because we as we know,
like it's some of the mostinsecure people and just neat,
(10:40):
you know, kind of crazy people.
SPEAKER_00 (10:43):
Yeah, I mean, once you say Tom Cruise, I think
unless you like fell off of arock, everyone knows what
everyone knows.
SPEAKER_01 (10:50):
Yeah, I'm scared because they go after people, so
I'm not saying anything bad.
I'm almost saying I I could seewhy they I can see why people
join it because either likeyou're lost in the world or
you're promised something, youknow, or it's just from what I
heard, the brunch there isreally good.
So I my friend Sophia went totheir brunch, but anyway, that's
(11:10):
not the subject.
Um, yeah, it's just like abeautiful brunch.
They kind of lure you in andthey want to talk to you about
stuff, and then of course, it'slike you see who's involved with
it, and then you're like, okay,I want to join.
But I think she she just wentthere because she was broke and
needed breakfast.
SPEAKER_00 (11:27):
Yeah, I think I'd starve personally, but you know,
it's easy so me too.
SPEAKER_01 (11:31):
I'll go to Denny's, it's on call.
Well, that's that we'll keep aneye on that.
But if honestly, if I wasAllison, if I was this person,
like wouldn't you just like moveand start a whole new life like
uh in like Italy or something?
I just I'm like I wouldn't go sofar away from like Hollywood.
SPEAKER_00 (11:48):
I would think that most people want a low profile,
(12:47):
but you know, people have provenme wrong in this industry, so
yeah, that's true.
SPEAKER_01 (12:52):
It's wacky.
Well, my first one is its owncult, Kim Kardashian.
Maybe I maybe I I wouldn't jointhe Kardashian cult, but I
definitely watched them on Hulu.
Um, I thought this was so funny.
So she was really mad becausefour psychics swore that she'd
pass the bar the bar, um, andshe was fuming after she flunked
(13:13):
yet again.
So uh Kim Kardashian flunked theCalifornia bar exam.
It turns out she was banking ondifferent kinds of counsel, a
bunch of psychics who sworeshe'd pass.
Uh, there was a snippet from herTV show where she was venting to
her mom that at least fourpsychics she met were full of
SHIT because every one of themtold them that she'd pass the
bar.
(13:33):
Um, and I thought this was veryfunny because honestly, like I
thought, I mean, do you believein psychics a little bit?
I guess is my first question foryou.
SPEAKER_00 (13:44):
Um, not so much, to be honest with you.
SPEAKER_01 (13:47):
Not so much, yeah.
See, like like yeah, I I believethat some people can maybe tune
into stuff, and I do believepeople might have like a
clairvoyant gift.
But uh like as we've seen fromthere's been so many things,
whether it was a HurricaneMilton or a few different like
really large events, uh,psychics have been like saying
things for sure up and down, andthey've been wrong so much, you
(14:09):
know.
Whether that was like Trumppassing away or they said
something bad was gonna reallyhappen at the Super Bowl, and
these these psychics were likeputting their careers on the
line, saying, like, I'm sure ofthis.
And then of course, when itdoesn't happen, they're like,
Well, the universe has freewill, so anything could happen.
So no, I I thought I thoughtwhat about this that was
interesting was um they a lot ofpsychics weighed in and saying
(14:32):
maybe the psychics are right,like give it time just because
Kim didn't pass this bar.
They might be saying, like, ingeneral, one day she'll become a
lawyer.
But at that case, I'm like, dowe really just need a psychic to
find that out?
You know?
SPEAKER_00 (14:46):
Yeah.
I mean, the thing is when itcomes to the bar, I've never
taken it myself personally, butI've heard that it's extremely
hard.
And to fail it the first time isactually pretty common.
So it's like nothing to reallyfreak out over.
Um, you know, you failed it, nobig deal, brush up and just
retake it.
SPEAKER_01 (15:05):
Exactly.
And I've had friends that havegone to psychics, and one had
told them, like, oh, you shoulddefinitely be living in this
side of the country, orsomeone's like, oh no, you San
Francisco is the place for you.
So so I feel like sometimes ifyou go to too many psychics, you
can get like, you know, uh mixedmessages.
SPEAKER_00 (15:24):
Well, especially when you're paying them, they're
gonna they're gonna tell youwhat you want to hear to keep
you paying.
SPEAKER_01 (15:29):
Yeah, yeah.
I and I also do, I mean, I knowwe're being silly and stuff like
that, but I do feel bad forsometimes then when when they
take advantage of people,whether it's like psychics or
tarot readers or whatever,because I think a lot of people
are like, oh, I'll remove yournegative energy for$500, and
then they'll say, You have somemore.
Can I I need to remove like$500more more worth, you know?
(15:52):
So I think that's where it getsin trouble for people that can
like lose thousands of dollarsjust trying to get some psychic
like uh insight.
SPEAKER_00 (16:02):
Well, I agree.
I think it just boils down toyou know, asking yourself, do
you really want to hear whatthis person says?
And doesn't it really matter?
Because there's so many thingsthat can affect your outcome
that this quote unquote psychiccan't see.
So why even wor worry aboutspending the money?
SPEAKER_01 (16:20):
Yeah, and if you have enough money, like I would
have almost a coach, like Iwouldn't have a psychic, but
maybe like a spiritual andbusiness and like a coach that
you can tell this to, and thenthey could say, Okay, well, how
do we prepare you for the barexam?
And how do we like set up yourmindset so that you have like a
success mindset?
You know, how how athletes havethat?
SPEAKER_00 (16:40):
Oh, yeah, and and you know, the other thing too is
just because a psychic saysyou're gonna pass a test doesn't
mean you don't study for thetest.
SPEAKER_01 (16:48):
Yeah, yeah, exactly.
SPEAKER_00 (16:51):
So there may be some stuff behind the scenes we're
not aware of.
SPEAKER_01 (16:54):
I know, and why would you ask for psychics if
you're gonna pass or not?
Like at one point, it's justlike that's like four hours that
you could have been studying.
SPEAKER_00 (17:03):
It's almost like after the one the first one said
you're gonna pass, you didn'tbelieve it yourself.
SPEAKER_01 (17:08):
So you have to do that.
Yeah, that's a good point.
And it's the Kardashians.
What do you think they're gonnasay?
Like, no, actually, you're gonnafail, and that they know that if
they say the right thing,they're gonna get like returned
to, and maybe on TV.
SPEAKER_00 (17:20):
Exactly, exactly.
So, yeah, I would say just studyup for it and um do better next
time.
Yeah, well, this actually leadsinto a bit of topic here, and I
would love to get your youropinion on this.
Uh AI chart topping country songWalk My Walk is number one on
(17:43):
the Billboard charts.
Now, what makes this interestingis I don't know if you caught
the first thing I said is AI.
It's not even one person, andthey've topped the charts.
No, oh yes, a song createdthrough artificial intelligence
(18:03):
has made history topping aBillboard country music chart,
but it has sent shockwaves tothe music industry with artists
getting vocal about theAI-generated hits.
The new country tune, Walk MyWalk, by Breaking Rust, recently
(18:23):
hit number one on theBillboard's country digital song
sales chart, reaching over threemillion streams on Spotify in
less than one month.
SPEAKER_01 (18:34):
Oh my gosh.
SPEAKER_00 (18:36):
That success has generated mixed reactions from
music fans and artists alike,particularly on TikTok, where
hundreds of users have postedvideos addressing the tune and
others discussing the music inhis comments.
They're not the only one doingthis.
Right.
There's another one.
(18:57):
It's called Let Go Let God, is abreakthrough single by Xenia
Monet, the world's firstAI-powered gospel artist created
by poet Talicia Nikki Jonesusing the Sunu AI platform.
The song which topped the hotgospel songs chart is about
(19:18):
surrendering control to God andfinding peace with this message
and innovative creation methodsparking conversations in both
faith and tech communities.
I actually saw the interviewwith her, she was on Tamar and
Hall, and this whole thing,again, it's not a real person.
(19:40):
Um, she says that some of hervoice may be in it, but pretty
much it's computer generated.
Um, she's got all these streamsand just signed a multi-million
dollar record deal.
I would love to find out fromyou, Meryl.
What do you think about this?
SPEAKER_01 (19:59):
Oh my god, this could be like a whole, I feel
like a whole we could talk forlike an hour about this because
okay, I have I can't wait tillit's gonna be one day there's
gonna be like a Grammy AIcategory I bet for like best AI
vocalists.
But I mean, okay, my firstthought is I think for a while
we've already been doing a lotof not just straight AI, but a
lot of manipulated songs aremaking it into it, whether
(20:21):
that's um what's the thing thatthe people put on their voice um
that everyone uses?
I forget, like autotune.
Like, you know, I know autotuneobviously there's still mixers
and actual humans that are doingit, but I think what we're
hearing from a lot of people areis like a version of AI that
it's been for a while, you know,where it's like they're covering
up a lot of pop stars, like I'mI hate to say it, but like
(20:44):
Britney Spears, she has a goodvoice, but like we heard kind of
like an AI version of her for awhile.
Um, so I feel like it's beenslowly inching that way with
just a lot of the very heavilyproduced songs, but obviously I
don't think it should be likeall AI, and the same way that we
talked about that actress, thatTilly Norwood actress, where we
should at least have like realpeople doing the stuff, and then
(21:05):
of course we can manipulate it,but like not just pretend.
SPEAKER_00 (21:10):
I agree.
I mean, I know that there's alot of artists that don't like
this at all because they feelit's taken away from creativity,
it's taken away from you knowreal artists showing their
talent because there's so muchtalent that's out there, and you
know, obviously it's impossibleto have all the talent uh being
featured.
So um I think this is a moneyplay where the record industry
(21:34):
is looking at making as muchmoney as humanly possible, and
because it's AI generated,thinking in their minds, well,
we don't have to pay them asmuch.
And I could be wrong, but Ithink that's the play.
SPEAKER_01 (21:45):
Yeah, and and not having to worry about contract
signing, like you know how youknow Simon Cowell or American
Idol, they always get into thesereally bad contracts and stuff,
and with with AI, you could justhave the likeness and usage
whenever you want and manipulateit and license it out to
commercials, and you don't haveto worry about like a real
person getting a lawyer oranything.
SPEAKER_00 (22:06):
That's true, that's true.
Um making AI music didn'tsurprise me how popular it was
hitting the billboard charts.
That really shocked me.
SPEAKER_01 (22:21):
Yeah, yeah, I think so too.
And I think you're right, thereshould be more people talking
about this because I feel likethat it changes the whole
industry and what it allows.
And I feel like that's not notgood for their other industries,
too, you know.
SPEAKER_00 (22:36):
Because here's the reality, Merrill.
Um and again, you know, I wantto be careful how I say this,
but yeah, I can create a songthat people like, and it may
even be a hit.
And I'm not a singer, I'm not anartist musician.
So to me, you kind of blur inthose lines a little bit for
people who really are artists,really are serious about their
(22:58):
crap versus someone that justwants to put something out there
to make money.
SPEAKER_01 (23:02):
I know.
I've been thinking about that alot lately too, with even TV
shows, because I feel like rightnow there's a few TV shows that
Jack and I are really into,whether that's I think it's like
all her fault or something, andthen there's a squid games and a
few other ones.
But I I have I have to startwondering what scripts that
we're seeing are like strictlyAI, like you know, or what TV
(23:23):
shows.
There was another Pleurabus, Ithink is one on Apple that we're
watching.
And a part of me is like, okay,this feels well written, but it
also feels like it could be justlike an AI idea and something
that like ChatGBT came up with.
And so I I wonder if some of theTV shows that we'll even start
seeing are like totally AIwritten and conceived.
SPEAKER_00 (23:44):
I agree.
I mean, we we may have thatalready, we just don't know it.
SPEAKER_01 (23:49):
Exactly, exactly.
Because a lot of people are justhanding in like AI scripts to um
networks and they're just makingthem, so yeah, I wonder.
SPEAKER_00 (23:57):
Really?
That's what I've heard.
Wow.
Wow.
Well, I knew AI was gonna changethe world, but I didn't think it
was gonna change it this fast.
SPEAKER_01 (24:08):
I mean no, I'm not ready.
We're still a real podcast,unless you think we're just AI.
Believe me, if I was AI, I'd bebetter at all this.
The Meryl clone.
Well, well, I think my nextsubject actually ties in
perfectly to your talk aboutthis because it sounds like we
need something like this.
Um, a Bay Area Harvard gradstudent launched a new movement
(24:32):
to quit social media.
She created an app called a24-year-old Rebecca, uh, or
actually Gabriella, uh, helpedis help trying to help people
quit social media.
She's behind the growingabstinence tech resistant
movement.
So basically, this girl createdan app called Abstinence, which
I mean, uh to me, it kind of mymind went other places at first,
(24:53):
but I think there are thingscalled abstinence too, uh, on
online.
But this one is an app to helpyou either get off social media
entirely or just take a breakfrom it, or even have like a
couple hours without it.
And I think it's really cute.
Um, she said that she tried toslowly wean herself off social
media, she attempted differentmethods, but it wasn't until she
(25:14):
practiced full-on abstinencefrom social media that she was
able to disconnect.
And so she made it through 30days and then she kind of saw
the uh positive benefits inthat.
Now, I think that this is goodbecause the app offers support
through like um education.
There's meetings, and there's Ithink this is really cute.
There's even office hours withexperienced Gen Z educators, so
(25:37):
like providing other optionsthan to use your phone.
So I and you know, she goesthrough a whole we can post the
article or whatever, but she hasthis whole like 5D method for
decreasing, deactivating yoursocial media.
Um now I know you know you and Iboth we use it as a tool.
Like I you because I promote myshows on there and we promote
(25:57):
the show and everything, likeit's not really feasible to go
completely off social media, butI definitely need to use it
better.
Like, what do you think?
SPEAKER_00 (26:07):
Um, yeah, I mean, I agree.
Um, we we all can definitelysharpen up our skills when it
comes to social media.
Um, I know some people who aremasters at social media where
they put a post out there andthere's like tens of thousands,
even hundreds of thousands offthis one post because they're
just that good to do it.
And you know, sometimes you geton the phone, and I'm guilty of
(26:29):
it too, where you're goingthrough your social media, and
all of a sudden it feels likeyou're down this dark hole where
you're like on your phone andyou like look like whoa, I've
been on this phone for a couplehours now.
SPEAKER_01 (26:38):
Yeah, okay.
I'm gonna admit something that II I was gonna not tell anyone,
but this is crazy.
Yesterday I got my like, youknow when it tells you your
hours on the phone.
Okay, this is crazy, but it saidthat like last week my daily
average screen time was 21 hoursa day.
Wow, so like obviously I sleep,so I think my phone is on when
(27:02):
I'm even sleeping.
I saw that and I quickly put myphone away.
Of course, I was looking at myphone when the information came
in, and I'm like 21 hours a day,like that means I'm not on my
phone for three hours.
Like, that's really ridiculous.
And so after that, obviously I'mtrying to do better, but um,
yeah, I really like scroll tick.
I think TikTok is the culpritfor me just because I love it so
(27:24):
much.
SPEAKER_00 (27:25):
Wow, you live on your phone, huh?
SPEAKER_01 (27:27):
Yeah, isn't that that's that's different?
I think maybe because I waslike, I don't know if it counts.
Like if I'm on a walk andlistening to a podcast,
obviously I'm not looking at thephone.
I think I think I hope I hopethat like it's counting that
too.
SPEAKER_00 (27:41):
Because all your activity, but wow, that is a
lot.
SPEAKER_01 (27:45):
Isn't that crazy?
Yeah, I saw that.
I'm like, that is reallyembarrassing.
So you know, and I don't reallyeven enjoy like, I mean, but we
just we obviously need Instagramfor like it's hard to be fully
off of it, but I do think we canall afford to you know be on it
a little bit less or or use itin a positive way.
Like I've really gotten backinto the reminder that like
(28:07):
social media is we're supposedto be social with each other and
have fun.
Like you're great at commentingand you're always so nice.
And I try to like also insteadof just like looking at my own
content, I try to really engagewith like my friends and just
you know reply to people'sstories and stuff.
SPEAKER_00 (28:23):
Oh, definitely, definitely.
And you know, I I like to I liketo read and and post positive
stuff.
Um yeah, you know, I like stuffthat'll lift me up, I like stuff
that makes me laugh.
Uh, there's a lot of stuff thatI watch on social media that has
me cracking up because seriousand crazy.
You need to laugh every day, youreally do.
SPEAKER_01 (28:42):
Yeah, tick tock is the the people on TikTok are
like the funniest ever.
And it's the stupidest stuffthat that we we all laugh about
too, but it's really, reallyfunny.
Like the comments will have melike crying, laughing.
SPEAKER_00 (28:54):
Sometimes the comments are actually better
than the post.
SPEAKER_01 (28:57):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
For real, for real.
And then yeah, someone said thatif you if your comment gets more
than like 10,000 likes, youshould get paid, and I agree.
SPEAKER_00 (29:07):
I agree, that's true.
SPEAKER_01 (29:08):
That's definitely good for listeners that might
have younger people in theirlives, you know, uh children as
they call it.
Uh, I think this app may be goodfor like teens, or if you're,
you know, if you have a kid thatkind of has phone addiction.
Because I think it's cool thatthere's other Gen Z people on
this app to like help them.
SPEAKER_00 (29:29):
I agree.
I agree.
So kudos to the to the makers ofof this new app.
SPEAKER_01 (29:35):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (29:36):
And also, uh, my final topic for this segment.
The government shutdown isofficially over.
SPEAKER_01 (29:45):
Yay.
SPEAKER_00 (29:47):
Let me tell let me ask you, Meryl, do you think
this was gonna go out a littlelonger than it than it did?
SPEAKER_01 (29:52):
Um not no.
I mean, it it really also itdidn't really prove what it
would, it didn't really do whatit set out to do, right?
Like no.
I started to get worried, whichis like I'm sure a lot of people
did, which is why we kind offolded uh when it starts getting
real when it starts getting intolike flying safety and aviation
(30:15):
and people going hungry, youknow.
Then I think like the fun of itand the whatever the sport of it
starts to wear off.
And I think people werebeginning to see that there was
like about to be some real lifeconsequences, which you know,
people losing their health careand all that stuff would have
really like actually killedpeople.
So um, no, I I I thought itwouldn't go on longer.
(30:36):
I thought it was like gonna endpretty soon.
SPEAKER_00 (30:39):
I agree, I agree, and you know the one thing about
it is they really never fixedthe problem, they just kind of
kicked the can down the road abit because it was only funded
and think until the end ofJanuary, except for I think
veteran benefits and um andSNAP.
Uh both of those I think are tothe end of September of next
(31:02):
year.
So, with the exception of thosetwo items, they're gonna be
doing this all over again in acouple months.
SPEAKER_01 (31:10):
See, that's so crazy.
SPEAKER_00 (31:13):
Yeah.
And you know, um, some of theair traffic controllers actually
found different jobs.
So we don't even know if all ofthem are coming back because of
this shutdown.
So, and again, if you have thisagain, because you know, a lot
of people gave uh air trafficcontrollers a lot of crap, which
(31:33):
I don't understand about how youknow a lot of people support
them, but there are some peoplethat say, well, they should have
came to work or you know, it'skind of easy to say that when
you know you're not gettingpaid.
Right, yeah.
And you still have bills, youstill have childcare and all
these other responsibilities,but you're expected to come to
work and not get paid.
SPEAKER_01 (31:53):
Yes.
I don't know.
But I don't know, one personthat's able to go a month
without getting a paycheck andstill working and everything.
So yeah, I'm I'm glad obviouslythey're back and I've I hope
they're getting back pay andthey get everything and they
don't miss like one day or hourof pay.
Um but yeah, it's crazy andscary.
SPEAKER_00 (32:12):
I mean it's very easy to criticize someone when
you're not in their shoes.
And I think people need to takea step back and just be grateful
for the job that they do becausethey do keep our airs their our
airspace safe.
SPEAKER_01 (32:24):
Yeah.
I feel like the next person thatruns opposite to what is
happening now, if they just givea message that like they just
want normalcy instead of thelike whole making it almost is
like we now we just want likeboring but happy as like a
society, you know.
And I feel like the next personthat runs, if they can say that
message where like in a good waywe won't have to deal with as
(32:46):
much um like upheaval.
I think that's what a lot ofpeople are seeking.
SPEAKER_00 (32:51):
I definitely agree with that.
I definitely agree with that.
So kudos to it being done, anduh you know, we'll enjoy it for
the next few months.
SPEAKER_01 (32:59):
Exactly.
But for now, hopefully we'llhave air traffic controllers
landing us in airplanes.
SPEAKER_00 (33:06):
Hello everyone, welcome back.
Um, we had a little bit of atechnical issue uh with Merrill,
but um Merrill will be back onthe next episode.
Uh, we do want to take the timeto thank everyone for watching
us, supporting us, and um uhhelping us grow.
Um, we definitely need your helpgrowing.
(33:27):
And if you can let other peopleknow who we are, share um our
social media and also share ourpodcast.
And then also, if you can go toour our website,
lradtvnetwork.com, and watch usand watch other programs, we'd
really appreciate it.
Once again, have a great, greatday.
(33:48):
I'm Lauren Selrod.
Take care, everyone.
Bye.
Hello everyone.
Welcome to this week's episodeof Thirsty Topics.
I'm Lawrence Elrod.
SPEAKER_01 (01:17):
And I'm Meryl Klimo.
SPEAKER_00 (01:19):
Hey Meryl, how's it going?
SPEAKER_01 (01:21):
Hey, hey, hey.
Life is good.
How are you?
SPEAKER_00 (01:24):
I'm doing fantastic.
Doing anything fun over theweekend?
SPEAKER_01 (01:28):
Yes.
I went to a museum with my, Idragged my boyfriend to a
museum, I should say.
And it's it's really cool.
I don't know if you guys like mymy pro tip for visiting a museum
is they always give free tours,or you have to pay a you know a
few extra dollars.
But I felt like we had a personto walk around with, like a tour
guide.
And I felt like I learned somuch more.
(01:50):
Usually I would just walkthrough and be like, yeah, yeah,
yeah, okay, paintings, whatever.
But he really got into it.
And so um his name is Michael.
Shout out, Michael.
And he was a fabulous gay manwho lives in Los Angeles, and
um, he took us around and justexplained more of the details to
me.
And so now I feel like everymuseum or like art place, I
really want to try to find aprofessional to tell me stuff.
SPEAKER_00 (02:12):
Nice, nice.
Um, had a great weekend.
Um, of course, my bears won andfirst place.
SPEAKER_01 (02:19):
Yay!
SPEAKER_00 (02:20):
I'm happy about that.
SPEAKER_01 (02:21):
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (02:23):
And then on yesterday, uh, I actually was
the guest on a uh podcast, SoulSits Podcast, where I talked
about um the subject was aboutmen's mental health.
And you know, I talked about uhmy experience, my trauma that I
experienced when I was a childup into uh you know adulthood,
(02:47):
and also you know, gave a aquick peek into things to come,
um, like my new book that'scoming out, uh, From Silence to
Broadcast to Lawrence Elrodstory.
That book will be coming outwithin the next couple months.
So it was a nice podcast.
Um, it's actually online rightnow if anyone wants to watch it.
So I had a lot of fun.
SPEAKER_01 (03:07):
Yeah, I want to listen.
What would you say the title is?
SPEAKER_00 (03:10):
The the podcast is uh Soul Sys Podcast.
I'll probably go ahead and andand share it um on on social
media, but if you just gostraight to that podcast, it's
the latest one that was done.
SPEAKER_01 (03:22):
That's so cool.
Soul sis?
Yes, awesome, cool.
Not like not solstice, like themoon moon stolcis, not the not
the summer solstice.
Okay, cool.
That's so awesome.
I can't wait to listen.
Congratulations.
SPEAKER_00 (03:35):
Well, thank you, thank you.
So had a lot of fun there.
And um, it was it was very,very, very nice, um, especially
be able to share experiences.
SPEAKER_01 (03:45):
So yeah, that's why I love podcasts so much, is
because we can all listen tothem at any time we want and
just connect without having toworry about like a bunch of
third-party things getting inthe way, and it's just amazing
to talk to each other andconnect that way.
SPEAKER_00 (04:00):
That is so true.
So, so true.
So, um I will start it off, andum, this one is um a little bit
of a troubling one.
Um, do you remember the the showor the movie Smallville?
SPEAKER_01 (04:16):
Yes, and I've heard a lot about that woman.
SPEAKER_00 (04:20):
Alrighty, well, former small still small bill
star Alison Mack has broken hersilence regarding her
involvement in the Nexum cultthrough a new podcast series
titled Allison After Nexum.
Uh, in seven episodes, whichpremiered on November 10th,
2025, Mac speaks publicly forthe first time since her release
(04:44):
from prison in 2023.
Um, to kind of give you someperspective, um admit she she
had an admission of guilt.
Uh Mac who pleaded guilty toracketeering and racketeering
conspiracy charges in 2019,admitted she was aggressive and
(05:04):
abusive, and used a fang withsmall bill as a power to to
recruit and control women withinNext V secret female subgroup.
Thus, the menace obsequent ormaster over the slave.
Oh wow.
(05:24):
So basically, in a nutshell, shetalked about her involvement in
recruiting women.
Um talked about the cult and herinvolvement in it.
And I don't know, I mean,Hollywood is is very a different
world.
Um, I guess two questions isone, how do you feel about her
(05:44):
role and what she did?
And secondly, do you think thatshe'd get a second chance in
Hollywood again?
SPEAKER_01 (05:50):
That's such a good question.
Number one, I feel like it's soweird, but you're right.
I feel like when people aremaking it in Hollywood or trying
to or even on the inner circle,like there's so many little
versions of cults or differentreligions that kind of are cults
as well.
And you know, you can kind ofjoin them and be part of them
and move up in the industry,quote unquote.
But like I think it's so weird.
(06:12):
And I know there was a bunch of,I don't know if this is the cult
um exactly, but there's onewhere like they literally
branded the people almost likecattle, you know.
And so I think it does a lot ofpsychological and physical
trauma to people.
Um, and so obviously I'm not abig fan of it.
And I feel like it this one Ifeel like was taken seriously
just because it got so big andso many people spoke out.
(06:34):
Um, and I mean, I don't thinkreally, of course it's
Hollywood, so people are justgoing to get like a tenth
millionth chance, but I do thinkif someone is able to escape a
cult and really do their ownlike psychological healing, and
then I think they have everyright to like join back in
society.
And in fact, I think that wouldhelp a lot of people not to be
shunned away after they joinsomething and then you know, uh
(06:56):
made some mistakes in their lifeor maybe they like estranged
from their parents.
Like, I think we should let themback in, but only when they show
that they're like fully readyand not about to join another
culture, like make someone elsejoin their thing.
So I feel like, yeah, she shouldbe allowed to like be healthy
and be in a community, but withlike at arm's length kind of
thing.
SPEAKER_00 (07:16):
Oh, yeah.
I mean, the biggest thing is,and I guess this is her way of
doing this first thing you do ishave to admit guilt, and
secondly, take it, you know,take accountability for what you
did.
SPEAKER_01 (07:27):
Yeah, yeah, and it's almost thinking like what
mindset got you into this cult.
A lot of people do it becausethey either feel lonely or they
feel like they're never loved,or they, you know, so I think
like thinking about that andthen making sure you make
changes.
SPEAKER_00 (07:41):
Oh, absolutely.
And you know, I mean, there'sthis big debate all the time
about you know, once a personhas done their time, you know,
you know, they should be givinga second chance, they should
have a fresh start.
And I agree to a certain extent,and the reason why I word it
that way is I think that allcrimes are not created equal.
(08:03):
Yeah, oh yeah.
There are some crimes where um,you know, you you you look at it
and go, okay, you know what,this person made a stupid
mistake, you know, let's not letit define the rest of their
life.
But there's other crimes waslike it's just so horrific that
you just can't let it go.
SPEAKER_01 (08:20):
Exactly.
I always think cults and allthat stuff is so interesting
because even on like a microlevel, say like a few years ago,
I signed up for that smoothieprogram, I think it's called
like Beach Body or something,where and it felt like it cold,
it really did.
Obviously, it wasn't hurtinganyone besides like hurting my
wallet and just drinking notreally great tasting smoothies,
but it was all these womenmessaging me like, hey girl, hey
(08:42):
girl, you know, and it promisedlike the nicest car, and it was
like this kind of a multi-levelmarketing scheme.
And I joined it just because Iwas like, okay, maybe I'll get
rich this way.
And I and I think all thesethings have like false promises,
and then even though that that'san example, but I soon realized
it it felt a little weird, andlike one person was saying that
they have a mansion from allthis, and then it like trickled
(09:05):
down to all of us where we wereall like the worker bees for
them.
So I feel like something likethat, how you were saying, like
all crimes are not committed thesame, where it's like something
like that where you're just kindof joining like a silly, not
like a full-on cult, but like amulti-level marketing.
Obviously, you can be likeapologize for that and be
forgiven, but when you'rehurting people or like making
(09:25):
them leave their family andfriends, I agree that it needs
to be taken more seriously.
SPEAKER_00 (09:30):
I agree.
And you know, the one thing Iwill give her credit for is
publicly, you know, uh sayinghow sorry she is and and you
know, apologizing to thevictims.
Now, whether the victims acceptthat apology or not, that's
probably a whole differentconversation.
But uh I do commend her for atleast taking uh taking
(09:52):
accountability uh for what she'sdone.
SPEAKER_01 (09:54):
Exactly.
It's so funny.
I won't even say the name of it.
We can all piece it together,but Tom Cruise loves it a lot,
and it's a religion that it'slike a religion that's also kind
of a cult.
But driving here in Los Angeles,they it the first time I moved
here, I was like driving past,I'm like, what is these
buildings?
These are like the most gorgeousbuildings I've ever seen in my
life.
And then you see what it is andwho it belongs to, and it's
(10:16):
like, oh, I could tell why theyget people.
Because like if I was so new toLA where I didn't know anyone, I
would just be like, here's aplace that's a gorgeous
building, and they have likebrunches and they do a lot in
the industry and everything.
And so I can see how people getcaught up in um those types of
things, you know, especiallyactors, because we as we know,
like it's some of the mostinsecure people and just neat,
(10:40):
you know, kind of crazy people.
SPEAKER_00 (10:43):
Yeah, I mean, once you say Tom Cruise, I think
unless you like fell off of arock, everyone knows what
everyone knows.
SPEAKER_01 (10:50):
Yeah, I'm scared because they go after people, so
I'm not saying anything bad.
I'm almost saying I I could seewhy they I can see why people
join it because either likeyou're lost in the world or
you're promised something, youknow, or it's just from what I
heard, the brunch there isreally good.
So I my friend Sophia went totheir brunch, but anyway, that's
(11:10):
not the subject.
Um, yeah, it's just like abeautiful brunch.
They kind of lure you in andthey want to talk to you about
stuff, and then of course, it'slike you see who's involved with
it, and then you're like, okay,I want to join.
But I think she she just wentthere because she was broke and
needed breakfast.
SPEAKER_00 (11:27):
Yeah, I think I'd starve personally, but you know,
it's easy so me too.
SPEAKER_01 (11:31):
I'll go to Denny's, it's on call.
Well, that's that we'll keep aneye on that.
But if honestly, if I wasAllison, if I was this person,
like wouldn't you just like moveand start a whole new life like
uh in like Italy or something?
I just I'm like I wouldn't go sofar away from like Hollywood.
SPEAKER_00 (11:48):
I would think that most people want a low profile,
(12:47):
but you know, people have provenme wrong in this industry, so
yeah, that's true.
SPEAKER_01 (12:52):
It's wacky.
Well, my first one is its owncult, Kim Kardashian.
Maybe I maybe I I wouldn't jointhe Kardashian cult, but I
definitely watched them on Hulu.
Um, I thought this was so funny.
So she was really mad becausefour psychics swore that she'd
pass the bar the bar, um, andshe was fuming after she flunked
(13:13):
yet again.
So uh Kim Kardashian flunked theCalifornia bar exam.
It turns out she was banking ondifferent kinds of counsel, a
bunch of psychics who sworeshe'd pass.
Uh, there was a snippet from herTV show where she was venting to
her mom that at least fourpsychics she met were full of
SHIT because every one of themtold them that she'd pass the
bar.
(13:33):
Um, and I thought this was veryfunny because honestly, like I
thought, I mean, do you believein psychics a little bit?
I guess is my first question foryou.
SPEAKER_00 (13:44):
Um, not so much, to be honest with you.
SPEAKER_01 (13:47):
Not so much, yeah.
See, like like yeah, I I believethat some people can maybe tune
into stuff, and I do believepeople might have like a
clairvoyant gift.
But uh like as we've seen fromthere's been so many things,
whether it was a HurricaneMilton or a few different like
really large events, uh,psychics have been like saying
things for sure up and down, andthey've been wrong so much, you
(14:09):
know.
Whether that was like Trumppassing away or they said
something bad was gonna reallyhappen at the Super Bowl, and
these these psychics were likeputting their careers on the
line, saying, like, I'm sure ofthis.
And then of course, when itdoesn't happen, they're like,
Well, the universe has freewill, so anything could happen.
So no, I I thought I thoughtwhat about this that was
interesting was um they a lot ofpsychics weighed in and saying
(14:32):
maybe the psychics are right,like give it time just because
Kim didn't pass this bar.
They might be saying, like, ingeneral, one day she'll become a
lawyer.
But at that case, I'm like, dowe really just need a psychic to
find that out?
You know?
SPEAKER_00 (14:46):
Yeah.
I mean, the thing is when itcomes to the bar, I've never
taken it myself personally, butI've heard that it's extremely
hard.
And to fail it the first time isactually pretty common.
So it's like nothing to reallyfreak out over.
Um, you know, you failed it, nobig deal, brush up and just
retake it.
SPEAKER_01 (15:05):
Exactly.
And I've had friends that havegone to psychics, and one had
told them, like, oh, you shoulddefinitely be living in this
side of the country, orsomeone's like, oh no, you San
Francisco is the place for you.
So so I feel like sometimes ifyou go to too many psychics, you
can get like, you know, uh mixedmessages.
SPEAKER_00 (15:24):
Well, especially when you're paying them, they're
gonna they're gonna tell youwhat you want to hear to keep
you paying.
SPEAKER_01 (15:29):
Yeah, yeah.
I and I also do, I mean, I knowwe're being silly and stuff like
that, but I do feel bad forsometimes then when when they
take advantage of people,whether it's like psychics or
tarot readers or whatever,because I think a lot of people
are like, oh, I'll remove yournegative energy for$500, and
then they'll say, You have somemore.
Can I I need to remove like$500more more worth, you know?
(15:52):
So I think that's where it getsin trouble for people that can
like lose thousands of dollarsjust trying to get some psychic
like uh insight.
SPEAKER_00 (16:02):
Well, I agree.
I think it just boils down toyou know, asking yourself, do
you really want to hear whatthis person says?
And doesn't it really matter?
Because there's so many thingsthat can affect your outcome
that this quote unquote psychiccan't see.
So why even wor worry aboutspending the money?
SPEAKER_01 (16:20):
Yeah, and if you have enough money, like I would
have almost a coach, like Iwouldn't have a psychic, but
maybe like a spiritual andbusiness and like a coach that
you can tell this to, and thenthey could say, Okay, well, how
do we prepare you for the barexam?
And how do we like set up yourmindset so that you have like a
success mindset?
You know, how how athletes havethat?
SPEAKER_00 (16:40):
Oh, yeah, and and you know, the other thing too is
just because a psychic saysyou're gonna pass a test doesn't
mean you don't study for thetest.
SPEAKER_01 (16:48):
Yeah, yeah, exactly.
SPEAKER_00 (16:51):
So there may be some stuff behind the scenes we're
not aware of.
SPEAKER_01 (16:54):
I know, and why would you ask for psychics if
you're gonna pass or not?
Like at one point, it's justlike that's like four hours that
you could have been studying.
SPEAKER_00 (17:03):
It's almost like after the one the first one said
you're gonna pass, you didn'tbelieve it yourself.
SPEAKER_01 (17:08):
So you have to do that.
Yeah, that's a good point.
And it's the Kardashians.
What do you think they're gonnasay?
Like, no, actually, you're gonnafail, and that they know that if
they say the right thing,they're gonna get like returned
to, and maybe on TV.
SPEAKER_00 (17:20):
Exactly, exactly.
So, yeah, I would say just studyup for it and um do better next
time.
Yeah, well, this actually leadsinto a bit of topic here, and I
would love to get your youropinion on this.
Uh AI chart topping country songWalk My Walk is number one on
(17:43):
the Billboard charts.
Now, what makes this interestingis I don't know if you caught
the first thing I said is AI.
It's not even one person, andthey've topped the charts.
No, oh yes, a song createdthrough artificial intelligence
(18:03):
has made history topping aBillboard country music chart,
but it has sent shockwaves tothe music industry with artists
getting vocal about theAI-generated hits.
The new country tune, Walk MyWalk, by Breaking Rust, recently
(18:23):
hit number one on theBillboard's country digital song
sales chart, reaching over threemillion streams on Spotify in
less than one month.
SPEAKER_01 (18:34):
Oh my gosh.
SPEAKER_00 (18:36):
That success has generated mixed reactions from
music fans and artists alike,particularly on TikTok, where
hundreds of users have postedvideos addressing the tune and
others discussing the music inhis comments.
They're not the only one doingthis.
Right.
There's another one.
(18:57):
It's called Let Go Let God, is abreakthrough single by Xenia
Monet, the world's firstAI-powered gospel artist created
by poet Talicia Nikki Jonesusing the Sunu AI platform.
The song which topped the hotgospel songs chart is about
(19:18):
surrendering control to God andfinding peace with this message
and innovative creation methodsparking conversations in both
faith and tech communities.
I actually saw the interviewwith her, she was on Tamar and
Hall, and this whole thing,again, it's not a real person.
(19:40):
Um, she says that some of hervoice may be in it, but pretty
much it's computer generated.
Um, she's got all these streamsand just signed a multi-million
dollar record deal.
I would love to find out fromyou, Meryl.
What do you think about this?
SPEAKER_01 (19:59):
Oh my god, this could be like a whole, I feel
like a whole we could talk forlike an hour about this because
okay, I have I can't wait tillit's gonna be one day there's
gonna be like a Grammy AIcategory I bet for like best AI
vocalists.
But I mean, okay, my firstthought is I think for a while
we've already been doing a lotof not just straight AI, but a
lot of manipulated songs aremaking it into it, whether
(20:21):
that's um what's the thing thatthe people put on their voice um
that everyone uses?
I forget, like autotune.
Like, you know, I know autotuneobviously there's still mixers
and actual humans that are doingit, but I think what we're
hearing from a lot of people areis like a version of AI that
it's been for a while, you know,where it's like they're covering
up a lot of pop stars, like I'mI hate to say it, but like
(20:44):
Britney Spears, she has a goodvoice, but like we heard kind of
like an AI version of her for awhile.
Um, so I feel like it's beenslowly inching that way with
just a lot of the very heavilyproduced songs, but obviously I
don't think it should be likeall AI, and the same way that we
talked about that actress, thatTilly Norwood actress, where we
should at least have like realpeople doing the stuff, and then
(21:05):
of course we can manipulate it,but like not just pretend.
SPEAKER_00 (21:10):
I agree.
I mean, I know that there's alot of artists that don't like
this at all because they feelit's taken away from creativity,
it's taken away from you knowreal artists showing their
talent because there's so muchtalent that's out there, and you
know, obviously it's impossibleto have all the talent uh being
featured.
So um I think this is a moneyplay where the record industry
(21:34):
is looking at making as muchmoney as humanly possible, and
because it's AI generated,thinking in their minds, well,
we don't have to pay them asmuch.
And I could be wrong, but Ithink that's the play.
SPEAKER_01 (21:45):
Yeah, and and not having to worry about contract
signing, like you know how youknow Simon Cowell or American
Idol, they always get into thesereally bad contracts and stuff,
and with with AI, you could justhave the likeness and usage
whenever you want and manipulateit and license it out to
commercials, and you don't haveto worry about like a real
person getting a lawyer oranything.
SPEAKER_00 (22:06):
That's true, that's true.
Um making AI music didn'tsurprise me how popular it was
hitting the billboard charts.
That really shocked me.
SPEAKER_01 (22:21):
Yeah, yeah, I think so too.
And I think you're right, thereshould be more people talking
about this because I feel likethat it changes the whole
industry and what it allows.
And I feel like that's not notgood for their other industries,
too, you know.
SPEAKER_00 (22:36):
Because here's the reality, Merrill.
Um and again, you know, I wantto be careful how I say this,
but yeah, I can create a songthat people like, and it may
even be a hit.
And I'm not a singer, I'm not anartist musician.
So to me, you kind of blur inthose lines a little bit for
people who really are artists,really are serious about their
(22:58):
crap versus someone that justwants to put something out there
to make money.
SPEAKER_01 (23:02):
I know.
I've been thinking about that alot lately too, with even TV
shows, because I feel like rightnow there's a few TV shows that
Jack and I are really into,whether that's I think it's like
all her fault or something, andthen there's a squid games and a
few other ones.
But I I have I have to startwondering what scripts that
we're seeing are like strictlyAI, like you know, or what TV
(23:23):
shows.
There was another Pleurabus, Ithink is one on Apple that we're
watching.
And a part of me is like, okay,this feels well written, but it
also feels like it could be justlike an AI idea and something
that like ChatGBT came up with.
And so I I wonder if some of theTV shows that we'll even start
seeing are like totally AIwritten and conceived.
SPEAKER_00 (23:44):
I agree.
I mean, we we may have thatalready, we just don't know it.
SPEAKER_01 (23:49):
Exactly, exactly.
Because a lot of people are justhanding in like AI scripts to um
networks and they're just makingthem, so yeah, I wonder.
SPEAKER_00 (23:57):
Really?
That's what I've heard.
Wow.
Wow.
Well, I knew AI was gonna changethe world, but I didn't think it
was gonna change it this fast.
SPEAKER_01 (24:08):
I mean no, I'm not ready.
We're still a real podcast,unless you think we're just AI.
Believe me, if I was AI, I'd bebetter at all this.
The Meryl clone.
Well, well, I think my nextsubject actually ties in
perfectly to your talk aboutthis because it sounds like we
need something like this.
Um, a Bay Area Harvard gradstudent launched a new movement
(24:32):
to quit social media.
She created an app called a24-year-old Rebecca, uh, or
actually Gabriella, uh, helpedis help trying to help people
quit social media.
She's behind the growingabstinence tech resistant
movement.
So basically, this girl createdan app called Abstinence, which
I mean, uh to me, it kind of mymind went other places at first,
(24:53):
but I think there are thingscalled abstinence too, uh, on
online.
But this one is an app to helpyou either get off social media
entirely or just take a breakfrom it, or even have like a
couple hours without it.
And I think it's really cute.
Um, she said that she tried toslowly wean herself off social
media, she attempted differentmethods, but it wasn't until she
(25:14):
practiced full-on abstinencefrom social media that she was
able to disconnect.
And so she made it through 30days and then she kind of saw
the uh positive benefits inthat.
Now, I think that this is goodbecause the app offers support
through like um education.
There's meetings, and there's Ithink this is really cute.
There's even office hours withexperienced Gen Z educators, so
(25:37):
like providing other optionsthan to use your phone.
So I and you know, she goesthrough a whole we can post the
article or whatever, but she hasthis whole like 5D method for
decreasing, deactivating yoursocial media.
Um now I know you know you and Iboth we use it as a tool.
Like I you because I promote myshows on there and we promote
(25:57):
the show and everything, likeit's not really feasible to go
completely off social media, butI definitely need to use it
better.
Like, what do you think?
SPEAKER_00 (26:07):
Um, yeah, I mean, I agree.
Um, we we all can definitelysharpen up our skills when it
comes to social media.
Um, I know some people who aremasters at social media where
they put a post out there andthere's like tens of thousands,
even hundreds of thousands offthis one post because they're
just that good to do it.
And you know, sometimes you geton the phone, and I'm guilty of
(26:29):
it too, where you're goingthrough your social media, and
all of a sudden it feels likeyou're down this dark hole where
you're like on your phone andyou like look like whoa, I've
been on this phone for a couplehours now.
SPEAKER_01 (26:38):
Yeah, okay.
I'm gonna admit something that II I was gonna not tell anyone,
but this is crazy.
Yesterday I got my like, youknow when it tells you your
hours on the phone.
Okay, this is crazy, but it saidthat like last week my daily
average screen time was 21 hoursa day.
Wow, so like obviously I sleep,so I think my phone is on when
(27:02):
I'm even sleeping.
I saw that and I quickly put myphone away.
Of course, I was looking at myphone when the information came
in, and I'm like 21 hours a day,like that means I'm not on my
phone for three hours.
Like, that's really ridiculous.
And so after that, obviously I'mtrying to do better, but um,
yeah, I really like scroll tick.
I think TikTok is the culpritfor me just because I love it so
(27:24):
much.
SPEAKER_00 (27:25):
Wow, you live on your phone, huh?
SPEAKER_01 (27:27):
Yeah, isn't that that's that's different?
I think maybe because I waslike, I don't know if it counts.
Like if I'm on a walk andlistening to a podcast,
obviously I'm not looking at thephone.
I think I think I hope I hopethat like it's counting that
too.
SPEAKER_00 (27:41):
Because all your activity, but wow, that is a
lot.
SPEAKER_01 (27:45):
Isn't that crazy?
Yeah, I saw that.
I'm like, that is reallyembarrassing.
So you know, and I don't reallyeven enjoy like, I mean, but we
just we obviously need Instagramfor like it's hard to be fully
off of it, but I do think we canall afford to you know be on it
a little bit less or or use itin a positive way.
Like I've really gotten backinto the reminder that like
(28:07):
social media is we're supposedto be social with each other and
have fun.
Like you're great at commentingand you're always so nice.
And I try to like also insteadof just like looking at my own
content, I try to really engagewith like my friends and just
you know reply to people'sstories and stuff.
SPEAKER_00 (28:23):
Oh, definitely, definitely.
And you know, I I like to I liketo read and and post positive
stuff.
Um yeah, you know, I like stuffthat'll lift me up, I like stuff
that makes me laugh.
Uh, there's a lot of stuff thatI watch on social media that has
me cracking up because seriousand crazy.
You need to laugh every day, youreally do.
SPEAKER_01 (28:42):
Yeah, tick tock is the the people on TikTok are
like the funniest ever.
And it's the stupidest stuffthat that we we all laugh about
too, but it's really, reallyfunny.
Like the comments will have melike crying, laughing.
SPEAKER_00 (28:54):
Sometimes the comments are actually better
than the post.
SPEAKER_01 (28:57):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
For real, for real.
And then yeah, someone said thatif you if your comment gets more
than like 10,000 likes, youshould get paid, and I agree.
SPEAKER_00 (29:07):
I agree, that's true.
SPEAKER_01 (29:08):
That's definitely good for listeners that might
have younger people in theirlives, you know, uh children as
they call it.
Uh, I think this app may be goodfor like teens, or if you're,
you know, if you have a kid thatkind of has phone addiction.
Because I think it's cool thatthere's other Gen Z people on
this app to like help them.
SPEAKER_00 (29:29):
I agree.
I agree.
So kudos to the to the makers ofof this new app.
SPEAKER_01 (29:35):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (29:36):
And also, uh, my final topic for this segment.
The government shutdown isofficially over.
SPEAKER_01 (29:45):
Yay.
SPEAKER_00 (29:47):
Let me tell let me ask you, Meryl, do you think
this was gonna go out a littlelonger than it than it did?
SPEAKER_01 (29:52):
Um not no.
I mean, it it really also itdidn't really prove what it
would, it didn't really do whatit set out to do, right?
Like no.
I started to get worried, whichis like I'm sure a lot of people
did, which is why we kind offolded uh when it starts getting
real when it starts getting intolike flying safety and aviation
(30:15):
and people going hungry, youknow.
Then I think like the fun of itand the whatever the sport of it
starts to wear off.
And I think people werebeginning to see that there was
like about to be some real lifeconsequences, which you know,
people losing their health careand all that stuff would have
really like actually killedpeople.
So um, no, I I I thought itwouldn't go on longer.
(30:36):
I thought it was like gonna endpretty soon.
SPEAKER_00 (30:39):
I agree, I agree, and you know the one thing about
it is they really never fixedthe problem, they just kind of
kicked the can down the road abit because it was only funded
and think until the end ofJanuary, except for I think
veteran benefits and um andSNAP.
Uh both of those I think are tothe end of September of next
(31:02):
year.
So, with the exception of thosetwo items, they're gonna be
doing this all over again in acouple months.
SPEAKER_01 (31:10):
See, that's so crazy.
SPEAKER_00 (31:13):
Yeah.
And you know, um, some of theair traffic controllers actually
found different jobs.
So we don't even know if all ofthem are coming back because of
this shutdown.
So, and again, if you have thisagain, because you know, a lot
of people gave uh air trafficcontrollers a lot of crap, which
(31:33):
I don't understand about how youknow a lot of people support
them, but there are some peoplethat say, well, they should have
came to work or you know, it'skind of easy to say that when
you know you're not gettingpaid.
Right, yeah.
And you still have bills, youstill have childcare and all
these other responsibilities,but you're expected to come to
work and not get paid.
SPEAKER_01 (31:53):
Yes.
I don't know.
But I don't know, one personthat's able to go a month
without getting a paycheck andstill working and everything.
So yeah, I'm I'm glad obviouslythey're back and I've I hope
they're getting back pay andthey get everything and they
don't miss like one day or hourof pay.
Um but yeah, it's crazy andscary.
SPEAKER_00 (32:12):
I mean it's very easy to criticize someone when
you're not in their shoes.
And I think people need to takea step back and just be grateful
for the job that they do becausethey do keep our airs their our
airspace safe.
SPEAKER_01 (32:24):
Yeah.
I feel like the next person thatruns opposite to what is
happening now, if they just givea message that like they just
want normalcy instead of thelike whole making it almost is
like we now we just want likeboring but happy as like a
society, you know.
And I feel like the next personthat runs, if they can say that
message where like in a good waywe won't have to deal with as
(32:46):
much um like upheaval.
I think that's what a lot ofpeople are seeking.
SPEAKER_00 (32:51):
I definitely agree with that.
I definitely agree with that.
So kudos to it being done, anduh you know, we'll enjoy it for
the next few months.
SPEAKER_01 (32:59):
Exactly.
But for now, hopefully we'llhave air traffic controllers
landing us in airplanes.
SPEAKER_00 (33:06):
Hello everyone, welcome back.
Um, we had a little bit of atechnical issue uh with Merrill,
but um Merrill will be back onthe next episode.
Uh, we do want to take the timeto thank everyone for watching
us, supporting us, and um uhhelping us grow.
Um, we definitely need your helpgrowing.
(33:27):
And if you can let other peopleknow who we are, share um our
social media and also share ourpodcast.
And then also, if you can go toour our website,
lradtvnetwork.com, and watch usand watch other programs, we'd
really appreciate it.
Once again, have a great, greatday.
(33:48):
I'm Lauren Selrod.
Take care, everyone.
Bye.
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