Unfiltered: Life Quitting, AI Fraud, and Taylor Swift's Engagement for 9/10/25

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What happens when childhood pranks turn deadly? Why are middle-aged women leaving their marriages in record numbers? And how did Cardi B charm her way to a courtroom victory? These questions and more take center stage in our latest deep dive into cultural phenomena both fascinating and frightening.

Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce's engagement kicks off our conversation, as we examine why this celebrity coupling has captured such intense public attention. But we quickly pivot to the concerning trend of "life quitting" – the practice of quitting your job live on social media for all to see. While it might feel empowering in the moment, we explore the potential career suicide this represents for most professionals.

The episode takes a somber turn as we discuss an 11-year-old boy fatally shot while playing "ding-dong ditch" in Houston. This tragedy forces us to confront uncomfortable questions about childhood mischief in a society where some homeowners are quick to reach for weapons. The contrast between innocent pranks and deadly consequences has never been starker.

From Will Smith's bizarre AI-generated concert video to Kevin O'Leary's $12.9 million sports card purchase, we navigate the increasingly strange landscape of celebrity culture. Meanwhile, "meno-divorce" emerges as a powerful social trend as women in their 50s reassess marriages during menopause, choosing independence over unhappy partnerships.

The deepfake dating scam that cost a woman her life savings highlights the dangerous evolution of romance fraud, while our discussion of hikers requiring rescue after psychedelic mushroom trips in the Catskills serves as a cautionary tale about recreational drug use in wilderness settings.

Have you heard about friends creating joint bank accounts for group vacations? We close with a spirited debate about the "girls trip cost plan" and why mixing friendship with shared finances might be a recipe for disaster. Join us for these conversations and more on Thirsty Topics!

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.

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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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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:15):
Hello everyone, Welcome to this week's episode
of Thirsty Topics.
I'm Lawrence Elrod.

Speaker 2 (00:21):
And I'm Meryl Clemo.

Speaker 1 (00:23):
Hey Meryl, how are you doing today?

Speaker 2 (00:25):
I'm good.
I'm bursting with news.
I feel like there's been somuch good stuff.
I was really looking forward toour recording today.

Speaker 1 (00:32):
Yes, there's been a lot going on, good and bad,
unfortunately.

Speaker 2 (00:36):
I know, I know.
Sometimes it's good to remindourselves that there's both,
because I feel like I can getstuck in a doom scroll situation
.

Speaker 1 (00:44):
That is so true.
Well, Meryl, let's start off onsomething positive.

Speaker 2 (00:50):
Okay, good, we'll bring some levity to the
situation.
And I can't believe at thispoint it feels like it's been a
year already but a few weeks agothe wonderful Taylor Swift and
Travis Kelsey announced theirengagement, which I think is
very cute.
I wouldn't classify myself as aSwifty, but it's so funny
because my boyfriend was likeSwift and Travis Kelsey
announced their engagement,which I think is very cute.
I am not, I'm not, I wouldn'tclassify myself as a Swifty, but
it's so funny because myboyfriend was like I don't know
if we're non Swifty, you surelike a lot of her songs and like

(01:12):
got very excited about thisengagement.
So I feel like I'm Swiftyadjacent, where you know, like
I'm not obsessed, but I can seewhy people really like her.
And you know, of course, there'sthings about this couple that
people say are not real or ifit's just for pr.
To me this would have to belike really playing the long
game and getting engaged tosomeone that just for pr, when

(01:34):
you don't have to, it just seemslike you're committing to a bit
a lot.
Um, I hope they're real and Ithink that they're a very cute
couple and I don't know, I can'thelp but just feel very excited
when I saw that maybe it's likethe disney princess girl in me
or something, but I do.
You know, like I feel like alot of people.
Even though I know that wedon't know taylor swift, she has

(01:55):
a wonderful way of like makingus all feel like we do know her.
So I feel like that's whythere's an element of extra
excitement for this, because weit just feels like you're
watching like a friend getengaged, but I understand she's
not my friend, she's everybody'sfriend.
Yeah, no, how did you feel?
And also like Travis Kelsey ispretty hunky.

Speaker 1 (02:17):
Well, am I surprised that got engaged?
No, I don't think anyone is.
The only thing that reallysurprised me is how much news
coverage it got when it happened.
Whoa that surprised?

Speaker 2 (02:28):
me the most.
I mean, they really are like abrand deal, where the fact that
Google was like updating what itlooked like on their people's
search terms I didn't love.
I think like the next day hehad posted, travis had posted
something I don't know if it wasAmerican Eagle or some business
collaboration the next day andI'm just kind of like, oh,
that's a little bit like I knowlife goes on and he had stuff to

(02:50):
post, but it's like a littleopportunistic To me.
It's like if you're them andyou're getting engaged, I don't
know like wait a week or justhave that week be that, before
you post some type ofsponsorship or something.

Speaker 1 (03:03):
Yeah, but you know what I think he's probably
thinking okay, my girlfriend'sgoing to get coverage, no matter
where she goes.
If she sneezes too hard, it'sgoing to make the headlines.
So let me take a little bit ofadvantage of this, without going
too far.
So I understand what he did andI don't blame him, you know.

Speaker 2 (03:19):
Yeah, no, I'm also.
I'm not the kind where, like, Idon't need to know every single
thing about either theengagement or like their wedding
details or what she was wearingor her dress or anything like
that, like I'm just happy forthem.
Are you someone?

Speaker 1 (03:39):
I mean, I don't think you're like dying to know about
the ring or how much it cost oranything, not really, I mean,
I'm happy for it, but not really.

Speaker 2 (03:43):
There was a big in like the the girl engagement
ring world.
There was definitely a big uhtalk about I think my camera
went out but I'll fix it a bigtalk about like, uh, what type
of ring and if it was like anold source diamond or like a new
diamond or something like that,is that?
That's not.
That didn't make its way pastyour algorithm, right?

Speaker 1 (04:05):
No, that one I didn't get.
I know that.
The last thing I heard that Idon't know if it's official or
not, but a lot of people arespeculating she's going to get
married in her home in thebackyard.

Speaker 2 (04:16):
Yeah, and I feel like the same thing is.
I feel like when you're asfamous as her, you just probably
want your immediate friends andfamily, and I feel like her and
Travis seem prettyfamily-oriented.

Speaker 1 (04:29):
Keeping it small yeah , that's true, Even though I
really did expect a big lavishtype wedding similar to Bezos,
but I figured maybe she's alittle bit on the opposite when
it comes to all the attention.

Speaker 2 (04:41):
I know, but yep, I thought it was very cute.
I think having the podcast withthem a few weeks before made
everyone extra excited for theirengagement, because we got to
see, like a longer form, look atthem as a couple.
So it's funny, though, becauseeverything they do definitely is
very calculated and veryintentional, but I still can't
help be happy for them.

Speaker 1 (05:02):
Oh yeah, you know there's so much attention on
them that I don't know if youknew it or not, but I guess when
Travis was playing his firstgame for this season, the
opposing player I'm not going tocall him out, but the opposing
player, I guess slapped himacross the face, you know.

Speaker 2 (05:22):
Yes, I saw that.

Speaker 1 (05:28):
Everybody's all up in arms and I and I'm like, okay,
you do realize he's wearing ahelmet and all this.
He's not, you know.
Yeah, more spectacular thananything, but that kind of shows
you how strong this uh, thetaylor swift travis kelsey
effect is right now I know, Iknow I can't help it.

Speaker 2 (05:42):
I think they're very cute.
I also have some very diehardSwifty friends that are fans.
I texted them as though theywere getting engaged.
My friend Kendall, I texted her.
I'm like congratulations.

Speaker 1 (05:57):
Now tell me, are your friends Swifties?

Speaker 2 (06:01):
Definitely not all of them.
I run the gamut.
I have friends that will notput her on a playlist and
they're not into her.
I have some friends that are inthe gayler category, which,
like they think she's gay andthey're pretty convinced that
she's a lesbian.
And then I have friends thatare Like weary, diehard Swifties
.
So it runs the gamut of TaylorSwift friends that I have.

Speaker 1 (06:23):
Wow, okay, I learned something new.

Speaker 2 (06:26):
Oh yeah, there's the Gaylor community and then
there's the Hetler communitythat believes that she's
heterosexual.
I kind of don't care, like thatis like beyond none of my
business and like, like I said,I don't know her well enough to
know, like or care, what thesecret of all that is.
But in this timeline I'mexcited for them.

Speaker 1 (06:44):
I think it's cute I agree, and besides, with all
this negativity going on, wedefinitely need something
positive to talk about every nowand then yeah, exactly to me.

Speaker 2 (06:54):
They're not harming anyone and so it's just, it's
fun to look at and think about,so it's cute got to do now.

Speaker 1 (07:03):
This next subject.
I don't know if you're going tofind it so cute or not.
Have you ever heard of this newthing out and I hate when they
come out with these new acronymsbut it's called life quitting.
No, Okay, Life quitting is whenyou're quitting your job, but
you're doing it live on socialmedia.
Oh, my God oh my God, when I sawthis on TV I thought this was

(07:27):
just a fad, you know, justwhatever.
But it's a real thing and it'sactually very popular, and just
so.
People are aware what someonedoes.
Let's say, they want to quittheir job.
So the way that peopletypically do it is they'll

(07:50):
either send an email, they'llwrite out their resignation
letter and they give it to HR,give it to their manager With
live quitting, they go live onsocial media, on any of the
platforms, and they announcethat they're quitting.
Oh my gosh, I get it.
You know, you get your 15minutes of fame or whatever, but
think about that.
That could come back to biteyou in the butt.

Speaker 2 (08:11):
Yeah, are there any HR violations to that?
Not really, because you'refilming yourself.

Speaker 1 (08:19):
I don't think there's any HR violations.
I think the problem that youhave is that, let's say, you're
trying to find a new job.

Speaker 2 (08:26):
Like, if you're on the job.

Speaker 1 (08:27):
That may keep you from finding one or the other
things.
Let's say you do have a job andyou go on to that next job.
How do you know they won'trescind your offer after you see
you do this?

Speaker 2 (08:37):
Right, they're going to be like well, we checked out
your social media in the lastfive videos.
Is you quitting every job thatyou've had?
But I wonder, if you post, say,if you're live quitting and
you're telling like an HRmanager that you're leaving, or
even your supervisor, wouldn'tthat be like recording someone
that didn't give theirpermission and posting it?
Or, and I don't even know ifthat's okay nowadays, I don't

(08:57):
even know.

Speaker 1 (08:59):
See, I don't know how that works.
I know you can't record someonein certain States without their
permission.
Now what when you're puttingthem live?

Speaker 2 (09:09):
I don't know how that goes, and that's actually an
excellent question.
Yeah See, I do love the inverseof that, which is sometimes
people say like I have a feelingI'm getting fired from my job,
so let's watch.
And then they film them andthen, sure enough, it's like
their HR manager very coldlytelling them you know, we're
going to do part ways with you.
I think that's okay becauseit's kind of like funny and

(09:29):
everyone's there to support.
But I don't know, live quitting.
I don't know.
There's a part of me that'salways like yeah, like leave
your job.
But I can see if I was like ahiring person being wary of that
.

Speaker 1 (09:41):
Now, in certain situations let's say, for
example, you're getting out ofthe workforce, have at it.
Or let's say, you started yourown business Again, have at it,
because you know you're notgoing to fire yourself.
So you know no big deal.
But I don't know.
I mean again, is this somethingI would do?
Absolutely not.
I don't know, meryl, would youdo life quitting?

Speaker 2 (10:05):
do, absolutely not.
I don't know, meryl, would you,would you do live quitting?
No, it's so funny.
I really only like quoteunquote quit two jobs and I in
like one of them if I was live.
Both of them have been thenicest breakups in the entire
world with like me and the otherperson and I feel like if
people were watching they wouldbe like this is a hallmark movie
because because, like the otherone of them, I just quit and
then she was so nice to me andended up really supporting me in

(10:26):
my next careers and then theother quitting took almost four
months for me to leave.
So people watching live wouldhave been really bored.
They wouldn't have gottenanything juicy.
So, yeah, I think I would muchrather watch someone in film
myself getting fired than Iwould quitting, because there's
something about getting firedwhere you kind of are the victim

(10:47):
a lot of times and so watchingit it's like I think I'm more
interested in that.
Watching someone be let go, notfrom like a mean point of view,
just an interesting point ofview.
Yeah, that's true.

Speaker 1 (10:59):
I mean, do you think that the person is really trying
to get back at the company orbasically just getting their 15
minutes of fame?

Speaker 2 (11:06):
um, that's a good question.
I think it can be both, I think.
Sometimes I do think peoplefeel alone in jobs that aren't
kind to them or that arestressful, and I feel like we
are like a little tribe and alittle community.
So in some ways I almost feellike maybe this can keep people
accountable, and and also if thejob like tries to talk them out
of quitting or a lot of times Ithink employers are like mean

(11:28):
to the people when they quit,you know they'll say good luck
finding something else out there, or like it'd be insulting, and
so I think this would makesomeone feel like there's like
an audience helping them orwatching them.
But I think it's what exactlywhat you said.
Sometimes it's good andsometimes it's just for
attention.

Speaker 1 (11:45):
Yeah, that's true.
I'm just amazed at all thesenew terms that's coming up now
Quiet, quitting, live, quitting,all these different things.
It's like who has time to sitback and think these things out.

Speaker 2 (11:58):
Exactly, you need to film yourself live, quitting,
quiet, quitting.
Now.
Have you ever left a job andhad an employer be like outright
mean to you or like you know,kind of say, like, oh, you're
not going to amount to anything?

Speaker 1 (12:15):
um, yeah, I've had mean employers in the past.
Um, I'm not gonna call them outbecause you know everybody
likes us, but yeah, I've had.

Speaker 2 (12:23):
I've had mean employers in the past definitely
see, this is where I wish Icould like teach everyone just
to have like.
I definitely have like a MissPiggy attitude where if someone
was to tell me that I'm like whoare you talking to?
Like who be me, you know, so Ifeel like in a good way, people
know not to do that you wouldthink so, most people do.

Speaker 1 (12:42):
But you find that the one asshole every so often that
you know proves you wrong andjust some of the horrific place.
And you know the other thingtoo, and I guess, looking at it
from devil's advocate, you knowif you work in a place that
you're going through hell andit's miserable to you.
You know, I may not agree withit, but I definitely understand
it too.

Speaker 2 (13:02):
You know miserable it , but I definitely understand it
too.
You know, oh yeah, miserable.
Where you at.
You know exactly.
I feel like people taking jobsand leaving jobs is so personal
to them.
It's like people just have todo what's right for them and
their family and we can't reallyjudge, like if it, you know, if
you're at a job and someoneelse leaves, it may not be right
for them and like, yeah, Ithink it's everyone has to to

(13:23):
decide what jobs are, like youknow, workable for them.

Speaker 1 (13:26):
I agree, I agree.
You know, I know I've said thismany times before in previous
episodes.
I commend the young workersright now, without dating myself
.
You know, coming into theworkforce, you know you
generally, it takes generallyabout two to six months for you
to realize where you really workat what kind of people they

(13:47):
really are.
Yeah, a lot of times you go inyou find out they lie through
their teeth but you're gonna.
Okay, I don't want to bouncearound, let me try to work it
out, whatever.
Well, the new generation comingin, they don't do that.
Once they figured out thatyou've lied to them, they're
gone yeah, absolutely.

Speaker 2 (14:04):
I also saw a real a video, like a real video, of um
a girl saying that she wasinterviewing and then she didn't
get the job.
But she had gone through likethree or four interviews and
they sent her an email sayingjust a word for the future that
during an interview you're notexpected to talk about salary.
So that that was really weird,that you asked us what the
salary was for this position andshe was like I was on my third

(14:28):
interview with them and I justasked what the salary range was
and they were saying like theywere almost saying for the
future, it's not nice to askwhat the salary is.
Wow, isn't that crazy?
Yeah, they said you didn't getthe job and it was like in so
many words, but it was likealmost they were being kind of
like, you know, cheeky, justsaying oh, in the future you may
not want to ask what the salaryis because that's not

(14:50):
appropriate.
And I'm like when would youfind that out?
Like on your first day of workor something that's so weird but
I, I guess I'm what thecandidate there's like.

Speaker 1 (15:00):
okay now if.
If this is your first interview, I can see that that's a valid
yeah.
If you're on your thirdinterview, I don't see that as
being off limits.
I really don't.

Speaker 2 (15:14):
I mean, I think to me .
I think at least the range ofsalary should be posted on the,
on the description, just sopeople aren't even wasting their
time.
Because even if someone isgoing through like a whole big
long interview, even if it'stheir first one, and like the
salary range is so off for bothparties, that's like a waste of
everyone's time.
So I feel like it's completelylike why wouldn't you ask that's
what we're working for, is thesalary I agree.

Speaker 1 (15:37):
I mean, there are states that require that to be
listed, but it's not in allstates.
I really think it should be ona federal level.
And again, if you don't want toput the exact down, I agree
with you, at least put the rangein there.

Speaker 2 (15:50):
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Yeah.
It seems like a waste of timeto not do that, but yeah, anyway
, that would be a job that Iwould live, quit in front of
everyone so well.
I thought this was superinteresting.
Mr Wonderful from Shark Tankbought the most expensive
Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryantcard ever.
So the world of sportscollectibles has been rocked by

(16:12):
this news.
It left lots of peoplespeechless where Kevin O'Leary,
known as Mr Wonderful on SharkTank, along with his partners,
had acquired the most expensivecard in history, a unique piece
featuring two NBA legends,michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant.
He bought it for $12.9 million.

Speaker 1 (16:32):
Must be nice.

Speaker 2 (16:33):
Yeah, exactly.
So he just said you know I'mproud to own it.
He's been watching this cardfor three years and the decision
was not taken lightly.
And so, yeah, I don't know,would you ever, if you have the
resources, would you buy a?
Or do you have like a sportsthing that you would buy if
money wasn't a thing?

Speaker 1 (16:54):
I would say for me it would be some type of a Chicago
bear memorabilia, because I'm abig.
So it would be a Chicago bears.
Yeah, if I had the means, yeah,I would definitely do fan.
So it would be a Chicago Bearsitem.
Yeah, if I had the means, yeah,I would definitely do it.
What about you?

Speaker 2 (17:10):
I would buy something Padres-ish for my boyfriend and
then something Philly.
Actually, neither of them aregoing to watch it, but my first
thing would be something Phillyfor my dad Interesting.

Speaker 1 (17:24):
Interesting.

Speaker 2 (17:25):
So I don't know what like a card or something I'm
trying to think about.
I don't know something thatwould would age well but also be
like a very unique memorabiliathing.

Speaker 1 (17:36):
That's true, you can always get a painting.

Speaker 2 (17:40):
Yeah, that's true, or maybe I would.
If money was no object, I wouldbuy them like my dad could hang
out with, like John Crook forthe day or something.
I find them a gift of time.

Speaker 1 (17:53):
You know what One thing I have to admit about Mr
Wonderful is to the averageperson that's a lot of money, oh
my God, but to him it's likeprobably spending 40 bucks,
won't even think twice about it.
You know Exactly.
I know he's a lot of money, ohmy God, but to him it's like
probably spending 40 bucks,won't even think twice about it,
you know.

Speaker 2 (18:06):
Exactly.
I know he's a big watchcollector too, Like he's known
for I think he likes the finerthings in life, which I don't
blame him.
I think that's pretty cool, I'mnot.
I'm not mad about it, that'strue.

Speaker 1 (18:18):
I mean and it's one thing you know a watch
collection you could pass onfrom generation to generation.
So that's a good, safe namepiece that would continue to
grow in appreciation, you know.

Speaker 2 (18:29):
Yeah, yep.

Speaker 1 (18:32):
Interesting, but I don't know if I would buy what
he bought though.
Well, he probably wouldn't buya Chicago Bears memorabilia, so
I can't really say he probablywouldn't buy a Chicago Bears
Memo B, so I can't really say.

Speaker 2 (18:45):
I wonder what the most expensive Michael Jordan
thing alone would be.
I mean, I can't believe it.
There's a card shop in Burbank,here where I live, and some of
the things are like $30,000.
I mean there's nothing therethat's $12 million, but I still
can't believe there's thingsthere that are like the price of
a car.
That's crazy to me.

(19:10):
And also I wonder what type ofsecurity he has with these
things, because also, now thatpeople know that like this I'm
sure along with other stuff isin his house, you have to have
it locked up pretty good oh,yeah, exactly.

Speaker 1 (19:19):
I mean remember we talked about that security guard
who broke into the team's theprofessional team's locker room,
and so in fact it was I want tosay it was the Lakers and it
was LeBron's jersey and theamount of money that those items

(19:41):
cost was unbelievable, and Iwant to say like, say, millions
of dollars worth of items rightout of the locker room, I guess,
when they're out playing andstuff, and I guess I don't
really pay attention tomemorabilia so I really don't
know values or anything, butit's amazing what some of those
things cost these days.

Speaker 2 (19:59):
Now, I'm completely ignorant about that, but who
sets the price?
Who determines that at $12?

Speaker 1 (20:05):
million.
Know that's a great question.
I mean, I guess you know myguess would be that they would
probably check with some uhcollectors and say, hey, how
much do you think this is worth?
Start from there.
And then, you know, probably goto an auction and then, or
maybe look at previous auctionsbased on similar items and say,

(20:26):
this will probably go for thismuch here, based on these that
were sold in the past.

Speaker 2 (20:32):
Yeah, I get that.
I wonder, if you're MichaelJordan, if you think it's
ridiculous that, could youimagine something of yours
selling knowing that someonebought it for $12 million?
If I was Michael Jordan, Iwould just be like Mr Wonderful,
I'll just hang out with you onyour boat, it's okay?

Speaker 1 (20:50):
He probably already does that too.
We never know.

Speaker 2 (20:52):
Yeah, I also think, too, the fact that it said that
his acquisition was with hispartners in the industry.
They bought it together.
I'm wondering how that workswhere it's just like you get to
own it for six months at a time.
They probably had to have somelegal stuff written up too, the

(21:13):
fact that more than one personbought it.

Speaker 1 (21:16):
That's true.
That's true.
Like I said, I would never havethat issue.

Speaker 2 (21:24):
That $12 thing.

Speaker 1 (21:27):
Well, jumping from something funny to something
pretty sad, wow, I was talkingpreviously about all these
little silly games that they doon social media.
And one of them is they call theDing Dong Ditch game, where
basically what these kids do isthey go ring people's doorbells
and they run away.

(21:48):
And again, they've been doingthis kind of nonsense for years.
Now they're putting it onsocial media.
Well, there's been a tragedybecause of that.
An 11-year-old boy named JulianGoof Gooseman was fatally shot
in Houston, texas, on Septemberthis year after participating in

(22:11):
a ding-dong ditch prank.
A man identified as GonzaloLeon has been charged with the
murder in connection with theincident.
The shooting occurred late atnight as the boy and his friend
rang the neighbor's doorbell andran with the homeowner opening
the door, firing as the childrenfled, and basically he was shot

(22:35):
in the back and he died.
And you know, there's a fewthings with this Number one.
I always say this there areconsequences to things.
With this Number one, I alwayssay this there are consequences
to what you do.
You think this stuff is fun andall this stuff like that.
And I said before, someone'sgoing to get hurt or killed,
yeah, especially in this time.

(22:58):
And what made it even worse?
The homeowner, you know.
He ran out with the gun,chasing after him, shooting and
shot him in the back.

Speaker 2 (23:08):
Oh yeah, that's wrong .

Speaker 1 (23:09):
That's different than when someone's kicking your
door in.

Speaker 2 (23:13):
Yes, yeah.

Speaker 1 (23:15):
You know, you protect yourself because you don't know
what's going on.
You just see someone coming inthrough your door.
But that's why I say thesegames are just silly and stupid
and they need to stop.
I mean, what do you think,Meryl?

Speaker 2 (23:26):
I completely agree with you.
I feel like it's one thing ifit's 2 am and someone kicks down
your door and you think you'redefending yourself, you know
that is something.
But when you see an 11-year-oldrunning away and you do have
time to think and stop and justeven if you are mad, that's like
, and just even if you are mad,that's like, it should never be
a shooting situation, that'sjust very, very sad.

Speaker 1 (23:48):
No, I agree with you and you know the thing is, and I
guess the biggest question isfor the homeowner to me is if
someone rings your doorbell butthey never tried to break in,
why are you going outsideshooting and just start shooting
randomly?
That's just stupid, because ifyou're going after them you can
clearly see that's a child.

Speaker 2 (24:10):
I know, I know and I also think too, like I agree
that the stupid games need tostop, but we should be allowed
or kids should be allowed,sometimes to just be like kids,
and I'm not saying that's a goodthing, but just to say we're
the adults, so just to be like.
Okay, they're being stupid kids.
You know.
They're digging the doorbelland then running away.
It's not like they're hurtingour pet or anything like that,

(24:31):
you know.
Just to realize it, oh yeah.

Speaker 1 (24:34):
And you know there was another, unfortunately,
incident where these three kidswere out at four o'clock in the
morning.
I want to say they were 13, 14,and 15.
Or 14, 15, and 16.
They were still young teenagerswhen they kicked in a man's
door and they had guns and whenthey came through the door the

(24:57):
homeowner who was a veteran,also was a gun owner shot and
killed all three of them thatcame through the door.
So one died instantly at thescene.
The other two, um, passed awayat the hospital.
So he got a lot of flack fromtheir parents saying he should
be charged this and that.
That's a totally differentsituation to me right one.

(25:19):
What are your teenagers doingout at four o'clock in the
morning?
Let's just be real about that.
Second thing is you don't knowwhat's going on.
Your door is being kicked in.
Yeah, you're announcing to them.
Hey, you have a gun, don't comein.
They come in anyway, and Iguess you know one of them shot
first.
So he, oh my gosh, I mean what?

Speaker 2 (25:41):
are they doing?
What were they?
Were they actively trying tojust shoot?
I don't know what they weretrying to do.

Speaker 1 (25:48):
To me.
If you're wearing a mask andyou're a kid breaking into
someone's house at 4 o'clock inthe morning with guns in your
hands and again, I don't knowhow many guns it was, but one
gun is too many You're not inthere for the best reason.
You're in there to do harm anddo wrong.
Again, I know that this is verycontroversial, but that man has

(26:09):
a right to protect himself,period.
I don't care if you're 13 or 33.
You come into someone's house.

Speaker 2 (26:17):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (26:18):
That person has a right to protect himself.
I'm sorry.

Speaker 2 (26:21):
Yep, I agree, I definitely agree.
But yeah, but this is just atotal like this situation.
I could just imagine how thiskid's parents feel to you know,
or I can't imagine it, but, likeyou know, just knowing that
their kid did like one stupidmove and then all of a sudden it
cost him his life, and it'sjust very sad yeah, and, and
what these kids have tounderstand today and this is

(26:43):
that kind of sad thing is theydon't realize that a mistake
that takes a few seconds canchange your entire life.
Yeah, there needs to be some funlike a prank outlet, because we
did that growing up.
We definitely rang people'sdoorbells and then ran away.
But I feel like there needs tobe some type of like I don't

(27:05):
know like fun pranking or justharmless nowadays, you know, but
like.
But it is different knowingthat way more people have guns
or people have ring cameras ontheir phone and people are just
like close to snapping anyway.

Speaker 1 (27:18):
Yeah, I mean, if somebody rang my doorbell and
ran, you had to piss me off.
Am I going to try and chasethem?
Absolutely not.
No, I'm not going to chase them.
And you know it's like what'sgoing on with the public that
you're ready to chase the littlekids down the street for
ringing your doorbell.
Piss me off too, but not to thepoint where I want to, you know

(27:39):
.
Try and take their life orcause them harm.

Speaker 2 (27:43):
Yeah, the only thing is I definitely watch a lot of
horror movies with very creepykids.
I feel like if the 11-year-oldis running away, that's one
thing, but if they're standingthere looking creepy with dark
eyes, I may the movie where thekids' eyes are just jet black
and they have no pupils.
Then I may freak out and thinkI'm in a horror movie.

Speaker 1 (28:01):
Yeah, that's true.
I just pray that these kids.

Speaker 2 (28:08):
Stop these silly games, though I really do, I
know, yep, yep, I agree, and Ithink you're right.
I think it's up to parents tojust reason with their kids when
they're 11 and say, hey, like,unfortunately you can't do these
types of things, but you know,if you want to go have a prank
or something like, let's get youall together and we can like
put water balloons on each other, like I don't know to think of
constructive things, you knowthat's true, that's true crazy

(28:33):
times I know that's what I am afan of like those I know not
everyone can afford it, but likethose little play gyms where
kids can go together or, youknow, like activity centers I
feel like, or even like freecamps or something, are so good
because kids do need to like besilly and play games, but I
think having like a setenvironment for it is so

(28:55):
important I agree, I agree butalso don't shoot your neighbors
unless they're coming into yourhouse.

Speaker 1 (29:03):
Amen to that.

Speaker 2 (29:06):
Okay, this next one I am obsessed with and I feel
like I feel like Will Smith gotoff very easy that Taylor Swift
got engaged, because otherwisethis would have been like the
news story for two weeks.
And like I'm bringing it upCause I go, we need to talk
about it more, I kind of flewunder the radar, but I'm so
obsessed with this that WillSmith posted like an ai
generated concert video and itlook it's crazy.

(29:29):
So, basically, okay, like heposted himself.
Uh, it was his comeback tour,called based on a true story,
and pretty soon online observersnoticed that ai had gone
haywire, adding like these, likegarbled looking fans, like
they're, you know, look liketheir faces were kind of like
glitched out and everything.
And then they had signspraising the actor, but it was

(29:52):
like the signs were wilted andit looked like ai written things
and it just looked like it is.
If you put into a video,generate an audience for me.
I mean, you know, sometimeswith ai, where you see the
bunnies or you see like a deer,a bunch of deer like the one in
the background will be likemissing half a body and it just
kind of looks like that.
This is what it looked like forthe audience.
And so I mean Will Smith likereally knows how to just keep us

(30:16):
talking about him like everycouple of months.
But people, he posted this andall of a sudden people were like
oh, this seems pretty AI.
And then people startedlaughing about it and posting it
and, yeah, it started to makeits way a little bit onto going
viral.
But then I think, truly I think, taylor Swift got engaged and
knocked him out of the media.

Speaker 1 (30:39):
And, you know, the sad part about it is that it was
only a matter of time before AIwas going to make its way into
music Videos, just like it'smade its way into other things
In life.
Like I said, I really didn'thear about this, probably
because, like you said, it cameout around the same time Of the
Taylor Swift Announcement, sothat kind of knocked a little

(31:02):
bit of steam out of it.

Speaker 2 (31:03):
Yeah, I also I think I saw something too the Taylor
Swift announcement, so that kindof knocked a little bit of
steam out of it.
Yeah, Now I also I think I sawsomething too that like he he
might have been in on the bitand like he trolled people
because there was even like acrowd of cats AI in the thing,
so like I think he was part ofit.
I feel like he's very goodabout making like.
I remember when he first got onTik TOK, he was making like

(31:24):
amazing videos and whoever histiktok person was was like out
of control because it was likethe best of the best.
But I don't know, to me thisdoesn't really build credibility
and it's like it's funny, butit kind of I don't know.
I think not enough people gotthe joke or were in on it if it
was one and it just made himlook a little bit foolish.
I don't know.
What do you think about it?

Speaker 1 (31:47):
You know what A lot of times artists try to do
something, to step outside thebox, do something different.
Above and all that, sometimesit's a swing and a miss.

Speaker 2 (31:58):
Yeah, I think this is one of those times where it may
have been a little bit of aswing and a miss I know, I know
I I also feel like we're notsure as, like a general public,
yet how, like how we feel aboutwill smith again, you know, I
think that's been fractured fora lot of people, so him just
like having weird ai cats andpeople cut off from, like

(32:20):
looking weird.
I think it's just kind of likeokay, and to me, if me, if
you're going to go in on it,make it so obvious that you're
trolling everyone.
Don't make it look like you'rekind of trying to have an
audience and kind of not.

Speaker 1 (32:31):
That's true.
That's true.
I mean again with the AI thing.
I think this is just one ofmany more videos to come using
AI.

Speaker 2 (32:46):
Oh yeah, there's some things I can pretty much tell
Anytime.
It's like a grizzly bear goingto sleep on someone.
I'm like, okay, this looks likean AI.
But there was one that I sawwhere a golden retriever brought
a skunk into the couple's bed,and that one looked really real.
I was like, oh my God, I looked.
I'm like, wait, this is AI.

Speaker 1 (33:04):
That is true.
That is true.
Now, the only thing about that,what you just said, that could
possibly happen, because thereare dogs that would do that.

Speaker 2 (33:11):
Right, because it said the caption was something
about like oh no, you know,we're going to have to give them
a tomato soup bath or something.
And I'm like, well, this issilly.
And then I looked but it wasfake.
The Will Smith thing I justthink was so ridiculous because
if you look at the video it'slike people really do look like
Picasso paintings where theirface is melting and everything.

Speaker 1 (33:32):
Yeah, I mean, like I said, I get what he's trying to
do, but I think it was probablya swing and a miss.
People would give him gracebecause he is well spent.

Speaker 2 (33:46):
So I know, and maybe this was like it also was kind
of a fail if he was trying tolike spark conversation about it
too, because if anything,people were like, oh, that's
weird.
Moving on.

Speaker 1 (34:00):
That's true.
That's true.
Now, did you watch the videoall the way through?

Speaker 2 (34:05):
no, I did not.
I saw cats and weird audiencemembers and I was like this is,
this is enough.
The signs looked weird too, butI mean, I don't know like.
I think I mean you can't blamesomeone for trying, and I feel
like, if anything will, smith isalways also not afraid to try.
I like that.
He works with a lot ofdifferent creators.

(34:28):
I can't hate someone for tryingto be creative.

Speaker 1 (34:31):
That's true Talk about someone being creative.
Cardi B gives a masterclass onhow to win over a jury.
I love it.
Well, cardi B is being praisedfor being a masterclass in
charming a jury during herrecent civil assault trial,

(35:01):
winning a not guilty verdict byusing her public image, comedic
timing, relatable candor andauthentic, unfiltered testimony
to connect with the jurors andredefine celebrity defenses.
She leveraged moments of humor,bluntness and even her changing
hairstyles and wigs to turn thepotential damaging situation
into a demonstration of herresilience and truth, rather

(35:23):
than appearing as a snooty oroverly polished professional.
Now, I did see some of thosevideos and it was kind of
interesting that you know whenshe was changing her hairstyles
every day.
I'm a little surprised, um, atthe prosecution asking her said
uh, you know her hair, is thatyour natural color?
We know that you change yourhair and it's like dude, what?

Speaker 2 (35:44):
are you doing?
I know that's not the point ofit.
Yeah, you kind of like playinginto what she's doing.
Yeah, talk about not taking itseriously.

Speaker 1 (35:54):
I mean, she played it like a fiddle.
I have to give her credit onthat.
What do you think?

Speaker 2 (35:59):
I think I would definitely be susceptible to
Cardi B charming me, charmingthe pants off of me for sure,
like I feel like if she was in ajury, if I was in a jury and
she was like up for trial, Itotally she would like wink at
me and make me laugh and I'mlike no guilty.
Depending on what she did,though, but I feel like, yeah, I
could see her being verycharming and I think it's cool.

(36:24):
I think there's some things tobe taken about it, about just
how to face a jury or how tohave charisma if you are
innocent, but if she didsomething very serious, then we
should all not forget that.

Speaker 1 (36:38):
Yeah, that's true, that's true.
I mean I don't know if you knowthe situation, but basically
she was.
She was basically accused ofharming a female security guard,
I guess in the event ofwhatever with her, with her
nails, because you know she hasvery long nails.

(36:59):
So I guess, if it's not likeher face slashed or whatever
like this, I can see how acelebrity can use their ability
to connect with fans, becausethere were probably fans in that
jury too.

Speaker 2 (37:18):
Yeah, I'm surprised she just wanted to settle
something like that and justgive the fan a certain amount of
money.
I would need to know.
Wanted to settle something likethat and just give the fan a
certain amount of money.
I would need to know how badlythis person is hurt.
This just seems like aridiculous thing to have a jury
for and take up the court's timeand everything.

Speaker 1 (37:34):
Yeah, but I think sometimes people use that to try
and get as much money out of anentertainer as possible.

Speaker 2 (37:40):
Yeah, if that was my loved one, if she scratched my
mom or a friend, entertainer aspossible.
Yeah, yeah.
But if that was like, if thatwas my loved one, like if she
scratched my mom or a friend orsomething that I would want like
, and then I would be mad atpeople being turned by her, I'd
be like, no, this person, she'sstill a human that like hurt
someone or you know, like sheshould definitely, uh, like have
to pay if she really did hurtsomeone yeah.

Speaker 1 (37:58):
Do you think that whenever a celebrity goes to
court, regardless of what theaccusation is or the charges, do
you think that whenever acelebrity goes to court,
regardless of what theaccusation is or the charges, do
you think that it's harder toconvict a celebrity because of
their celebrity status?
Oh, yeah.

Speaker 2 (38:11):
Maybe, unless it's Gwyneth Paltrow, because
everyone wants to convict her,even if she's innocent.
They're like, no, she's guiltyanyway, she's just annoying.
Anyway, she's just annoying.
Yeah, definitely, I think weall have probably a little soft
spot for certain celebrities,but then in general they get off
more, except for Martha Stewart.

Speaker 1 (38:32):
That's true.

Speaker 2 (38:34):
Maybe some, but not all of them, like a Johnny Depp
type of situation.
I think we're more likely tohear them out and maybe not
condemn them right away that'strue type of situation.
Or I think we're more likely tohear them out and maybe not, um
, not like condemn them rightaway, that's true.
Or know if they did somethingbad, but like like a Chris Brown
type of situation which issomething terrible that they did
.
But then there's a lot ofpeople that were like yeah, but

(38:56):
he's so talented, you know, notnot me, but like I think it's
easy to kind of look past somethings when, like you, already
think the person's amazing.

Speaker 1 (39:05):
Yeah, that's true, and you know, the thing is that
sometimes I don't think thatfans can separate the event from
the person.

Speaker 2 (39:15):
Oh yeah, oh yeah for sure.

Speaker 1 (39:17):
Yeah, I just think that if someone does something
horrible or something bad, youhave to take a look at the
evidence and you have to make upyour own mind on what you
believe.
But I don't believe in blindloyalty either.
You know, if a person is a badperson, they're a bad person.
I don't care if they got $100in their account or a million
dollars in their account.
You know you have to have aperson on their own character.

Speaker 2 (39:40):
I think that happened .
Like it's so funny.
This is me saying this as, likea white woman, but I was gonna
say I think white women arehonestly so annoying.
Like this doesn't have to be arace thing.
But when I think about likeblake lively and I just I just
feel like sometimes we can bevery unlikable in in terms of
like, like.

(40:00):
I think of someone like a BlakeLively who already, like I
would judge her more because Ikind of don't like her starting
it rather than viewing someoneas more innocent.

Speaker 1 (40:11):
Wow, really.

Speaker 2 (40:12):
Yeah, not that I'm like I'm sure there's a million
trillion white women that I lovemore than anything.
I'm getting myself in hot waternow, but basically, when I'm
thinking of some of the peoplethat have been on trial, who I
find annoying, it has been, itjust happens to be that.

Speaker 1 (40:29):
Okay, so note to the jury do not pick Meryl if you've
got a celebrity up there.

Speaker 2 (40:35):
Exactly exactly If the singer, Meghan Trainor,
needed some help.
I'm not the one that should befor that.
Cardi B, yes, but yeah,basically.
Anyway, I feel like if we viewcelebrities sometimes already as
, like Ellen, someone thatdoesn't have a great background

(40:55):
already, where it's like, okay,there are rumblings that this
person may not be the bestperson behind the scenes, then I
feel like I'd probably be theother way, which would be
thinking that you know, not goodthings about them.

Speaker 1 (41:08):
I hear you, public opinion is really hard to
overcome sometimes.

Speaker 2 (41:13):
Yeah, yep, they definitely are.
That'd be so funny If I'm like,if I get taken off the jury
cause I'm like I just don'treally like other white women.
Don't be mad at me, people, I'm, I'm a comedian, okay, I love
all people.
Just I annoy myself.

(41:33):
Um, okay, well, feel free toedit that part out if you want
to, but anyway, this is.
This is perfect.
Talking about white middle-agedwomen, is that?
Uh met?
Something called meno divorceis on the rise.
Middle-aged women leavemarriages at record rates.
Meno divorce is on the rise.
Middle-aged women leavemarriages at record rates as
menopause unleashes built-upresentment.
So I think this was veryinteresting and crazy.
Uh, while a decreasing numberof marriages are ending in

(41:54):
divorce, overall they're uh, therates continue to climb amongst
adults aged 50 and older.
For some women, menopause can,uh, and I think everyone knows
this, but menopause can.
I think everyone knows this.
But menopause is kind of whenyou stop menstruating as a woman
and then you know the changeshappen.
A lot of women get hot flashes,your mood can change, you can
get brain fog, you know all thatkind of stuff, and it can

(42:16):
happen to women, you know, indifferent ages.
Usually it's like the late 50s,late 40s, early 50s, but it can
be, you know, different.
And then there's alsoperimenopause, which is
definitely people are talkingabout, which is like the period
of time leading up to menopause,and so, yeah, a lot of times I

(42:37):
think this is a time when, likeyou're together and maybe the
kids are off in college now, andlike you're just starting to
kind of all the things that youhaven't been noticing in your
relationship because you've beentoo busy or people just haven't
like sweeping it under the rug.
I feel like that's when peopleare like oh man, are we really
going to be together for likethe whole rest of our lives and
resentment starts building.
So, yeah, like I know you're ina happy marriage and like I'm

(43:02):
obsessed with my boyfriend andstuff, so I feel like, as time
goes on, I like it more happywith my relationship.

Speaker 1 (43:10):
I think basically because we're in that situation
where we're in a different phaseof marriage, because we're
empty nesters.
Now, you know, my son is off tocollege and everything.
And you're right, you've raisedone or more children.
You know your life is a certainway.
You got to get them off toschool, get them off to baseball

(43:31):
, basketball, whatever practiceor whatever.
So your life kind of revolvesaround your kids.
Well, when your kids move out,all that's gone.
So now it's just you and yourspouse and, depending on your
situation one or more of you maybe retired at the same time, so
you go from you know beingaround each other for maybe a
few hours during the week,because you're working hard in

(43:52):
the weekend, to every single dayall day long.
Yep, sometimes people don'tknow how to react to that, and
that's where I think the rubgoes.
So I think it's one of thosesituations where either A you
basically stick together justbecause of the kids or something
else, or, b the other situationis that you don't really know

(44:16):
how to communicate or how to bea couple without all those other
things that you had to worryabout.

Speaker 2 (44:24):
Exactly, and I feel like the fifties are also the
times where people you justdon't have to take it anymore.
If you have a partner that'slike not pulling their own way
and this could be any type of itcould be man, woman, two men,
two women, you know like where,if you're kind of in a
relationship where you're notbeing appreciated or treated
really well, at a certain pointin your life you just hopefully
develop enough like self-esteemwhere you're just kind of fed up

(44:46):
with it and want to like livethe the last half of your life
in like, either by yourself orin a relationship that
appreciates you yeah, that'strue.

Speaker 1 (44:56):
I mean, the biggest thing is is that people don't
understand.
But you have to work on yourrelationship every single day,
and when your household changes,you have to work even harder,
because now you have to get usedto a different type of norm.
Yeah, aren't used to that.

Speaker 2 (45:14):
Exactly I'm I'm so grateful to that Like like I
feel like I'm in a relationshipwhere I don't have to take care
of the person, like I'm not likebabying him and we're both like
two separate adults and we'rehelping each other.
But I think a lot of women feelthat way where they almost feel
like their husband is like anextra kid.
And then I think it just hits,especially in their fifties,
when your hormones are shifting,where you're like Nope, I'm not

(45:36):
dealing with that.
And you know, it's time foreveryone to like live a good
life, and sometimes that meansleaving for people.

Speaker 1 (45:43):
That's true, and sometimes you have to do what
you have to do for yourself.
But at the same token, too, isyou got to communicate Exactly.
You know you can't go, you knowall these years or whatever,
and your partner's thinkingeverything is fine.

Speaker 2 (45:58):
You know it's not perfect.

Speaker 1 (46:00):
But wait, we're doing good and then all of a sudden,
boom, I hate you, I don't wantto be around you, let's get a
divorce.
And it's like whoa, where elsecome from?

Speaker 2 (46:06):
exactly, exactly.
I I feel too like.
I feel like this is an age toowhere, as we saw with the cold
play concert too, a lot of timeslike men or women too, anyone
could do it, but like that'swhen people also have divorces
because they're kind of or notdivorces affairs, because
they're, like you know, boredwith their life, or someone else
younger comes along orsomething, and so I think that

(46:28):
could shake up a lot of thetimes too.

Speaker 1 (46:31):
Yeah, but you know, like they say, that few minutes
of pleasure could cause you alifetime of unhappiness.

Speaker 2 (46:37):
Absolutely.
Also, I think it's so funnythat the article about this I'm
looking at caption says onecouple separate toilets saved
their marriage.

Speaker 1 (46:47):
So you could either get some horse or get a whole
separate other bathroom.

Speaker 2 (46:50):
But, um, yeah, I can totally see how this is and I
think for some women that itcould be like the best thing
ever to happen to them, wheremaybe they're living in a
marriage that's just kind ofless than helpful and then all
of a sudden're like you knowwhat?
I've lived long enough andthese hormones got me, you know,
feeling away, and so I'mleaving.

Speaker 1 (47:10):
Yeah, that's true, and you know, at the end of the
day you got to do what's rightfor yourself, you know.
Yeah, Unfortunately, sometimesthat may mean moving on, you
know.

Speaker 2 (47:22):
I know it's so interesting to the dynamic of
sometimes I feel like, um, Ifeel like men may like move on
quicker after a relationship,but then women like heal faster.
Really you know what I mean.
Like any breakup that I've seenher happen, men will like kind
of move on quicker or at firstthey seem like they don't care,
they're not that affected, butthen, like years later the woman

(47:43):
is really healed and has reallygone through all of it and men
are like what?
They'll circle back or they'llstill be confused or whatever.
So I feel like a lot of timeswith these relationships, if the
woman leaves she may have aterrible year or two while she
rebuilds her life, but then whenshe does, she's really moved on
.

Speaker 1 (48:04):
Yeah, that is so true .
That is so true.
But unfortunately that's thegame of life, as they say, right
?
I know yep, yep well, talkingabout the game of life here.
Um, the interesting thing isthis is going to be a real big
surprise to some people, but youknow we talked about these love

(48:28):
scams and stuff like that.
That goes on.
Well, there was a deepfakevideo of General Hospital star,
steve Burton that conned a womanout of her life savings.
That conned a woman out of herlife savings.
Scammers used defaked videos ofGeneral Hospital's actors,

(48:52):
steve Burton, to con a66-year-old California woman out
of her life savings, leading toher losing her condo.
The victim, abigail Revalcuba Ithink I probably butchered her
name, ru Kuba, sorry believesshe was in a romantic
relationship with Burton aftercommunicating for over a year on

(49:16):
Facebook.
The scam, which came to lightin August of 2025, highlights
the increasing sophisticationand prevalence of AI-driven
fraud.
Well, there's a lot I can sayon this here.

Speaker 2 (49:30):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (49:31):
Please don't hate me when I say this, but why would a
TV star be reaching out formoney from you?

Speaker 2 (49:38):
I know, come on, remember, we had one of these a
few months ago.
Was it like Brad Pitt orsomeone that?
Or Keanu Reeves?
Yeah, like someone thatliterally thought they were
deeply in a relationship withthis person and needed to give
rapid money.
It's like, I mean, I don't wantanyone to get scammed, but you
really have to.
There's a certain level ofawareness that my empathy goes

(49:59):
down a little bit when it's asituation like this, you know.

Speaker 1 (50:03):
Yeah, I mean, and I'll give it to them, there's a
lot of sophisticated scams.
Now you know like.
I said I get phone calls andstuff all the time about being
approved for loans that I neverapplied for all the time.
So there's scams out there.
It's very sophisticated, butcome on now, why would let's

(50:24):
think about this for a minute?
That's just like okay, you knowyou at home and Denzel
Washington reaches out to you onFacebook.
He has this great social mediaaffair with you.
He's like, hey, can you send me$50,000 or whatever it's like.
You'd know this isn't DenzelWashington, you know what.

Speaker 2 (50:48):
I mean, as you said, it's so easy to get scammed from
when it's like you'd know thisisn't Denzel Washington.
Yes, as you said, it's so easyto get scammed from when it's
like pretend Bank of Americacalling or they use someone's
voice and you're like exactlywhat you said.
There's more sophisticated waysthat people can definitely get
used of their money, but whenit's like Denzel Washington 004
is requesting some money, it'slike come on, I can't believe

(51:09):
people that fall for that areout there driving and working
and being part of society.

Speaker 1 (51:15):
Yeah, I mean.
The thing is, everybody wantscompanionship, everyone wants to
be in love with someone, butdon't be so desperate to the
point that you're not payingattention to the common sense
though yeah, and I'm not sayingthis to the common sense though,
yeah.
And I'm not saying this to becold or mean or anything like
this, but think about this for aminute A TV star on TV that you

(51:38):
see has to reach out to you formoney.
You've never met this person,right?
I mean, at some point you'vegot to say to yourself this is
just stupid, this makes no sense.
Or am I just being too mean?

Speaker 2 (51:53):
No, I don't think you're being mean.
I really don't know anyone inmy life that would fall for this
.
This is definitely foolish.
People like this don't deserveto have their money taken away,
but they definitely deserve sometype of like.
I don't know, it's very silly.
I get up in arms about it too.
I don't think it's mean.
I think it's a little silly.

Speaker 1 (52:13):
Yeah, and the crazy thing about it, merrill, I'm
quite sure there's been morepeople that's been scammed like
this, but this is kind of one ofthose scams that you're
probably too embarrassed to talkabout.

Speaker 2 (52:23):
Yeah, I, I could see if, like, maybe you think that
you're I think I talked aboutthis too but, like, I heard of
one situation with a podcasterthat I like about, um, like a
girl thought she was dating himbecause this girl really was
using his profile picture andlike his likeness and stuff and
so she thought that they hadlike some type of like you know
situationship going or whatever,where they were talking all day

(52:46):
and I could could see if, like,after months of talking, that
guy you know in theory, thatpretend person was like oh man,
you know, I can't access myaccount.
I need like $1,000 or somethingI can see, maybe if you'd like
built up a long relationshipwith them.
But wouldn't you just like makesure you see someone in person
or like FaceTime with them orsomething?

Speaker 1 (53:05):
Yeah, and you know what?
You had a great point, orFaceTime with them or something.
Yeah, and you know what?
You hit a great point Becausethis was an AI-generated person.
That means you never didFaceTime with this person.

Speaker 2 (53:14):
Right, yeah, yeah, it makes me mad, it annoys me and
this definitely I don't evenhave a quarter of the empathy
that I do for when it's an olderperson that gets called by a
pretend Walmart or credit cardor something like that.
Yeah, I agree, I agree thatgets called by a pretend Walmart
or credit card or somethinglike that?

Speaker 1 (53:29):
Yeah, I agree, I agree.
And then the sad part about itis Meryl.
Is that because she lost somuch money I think she was
forced to say something, becauseyou had to file a police report
at that point Money she lost Ifyou're a relative of her, you

(53:50):
got to be, you know, pull heraside and be like, hey, what's
going on?

Speaker 2 (53:55):
you know, I'd almost be more embarrassed about that
than like actually losing themoney.
Like how do you even explainthat to people?

Speaker 1 (54:06):
but, um, I just hope that people kind of wake up a
little bit.
And I'm not saying, you know,don't help anyone in need, or
whatever, but again I'm going tosay it again the common sense
back.
They got to kick in at somepoint you know what I mean, I
agree.

Speaker 2 (54:21):
So don't help everyone listening.
Don't give money to pretendCardi B when she says she needs
money for her trial.
Good point, exactly.
Well, I thought this was verysilly.
I mean not silly, butannoyingly silly.
Four hikers had to be rescuedafter suffering debilitating

(54:44):
psychedelic mushroom trip in NewYork's Catskill Mountains.
So there was a bunch of hikersand they tried to, you know,
take some shrooms and shroom out, as they say, and did not have
a very good high and so, uh,couldn't continue with their
thing and they had to call forhelp.

(55:04):
And, um, the rangers scaleddown the trail and helped them
back and it took a few hours andpeople were just like sharing
their situations of bad highsand how bad it can be.
And then some people are like,if you're going to do mushrooms
or acid or drugs like that, likethe woods is exactly the place
you want to do them.
But a lot of people are like,well, you should at least have

(55:25):
one person with you.
That's not, you know, uh, underthe influence or something,
just in case something badhappens.
So, like you know, whatever, Idon't judge too much, I'm not a
drug taker by any means, butlike that just seems really
scary to me, and especiallynowadays with like all the
different weird scary types ofthings in drugs.
I feel like you should.
Just people just need to bemore careful.

Speaker 1 (55:47):
I think they're nuts.
Because here's the thing You'reon the wilderness or wherever
you are.
Depending on where you are,there are certain wild animals
there.
Yeah, I do not want to bemushroomed up or anything.
Yeah, let's just face the facts.
Let's say you're sitting there,you're relaxing, whatever, you

(56:10):
had your mushrooms, you'refeeling real good, you know like
and then all of a sudden, abear comes creeping up on you
Exactly, you know, instead ofyou either freezing, make
yourself look big or whatever,you know you're like hey, what's
going?

Speaker 2 (56:30):
on Yogi.
Both know that's not going toend very well, right?
That's why I think it's goodfor like I mean, and also I
don't know, to me it would justseem boring to like be in the
woods and be tripping for hours.
I don't know what experience Iwould want, but not that.
But exactly in all four people.

(56:53):
Like what?
If everyone's on a differentwavelength?
That would also be weird too,because if one person is like
crying, about their history andone person's like in team purple
.

Speaker 1 (56:58):
It's just that's a lot to to uh try to base your
experience on.
It definitely is, and I don'tknow.

Speaker 2 (56:59):
I mean, if you're gonna do mushrooms or whatever,
do it at home, in the safety ofyour house, you know I know
you're right because also thatthat is like it's not dangerous
for other people, but you areright too, where if you're out
in public, it's just not theright place and space to do it
at.
And imagine, like you know,you're using the resources of
rangers who have to go and likepull your butt out and just

(57:21):
there's other people that areprobably like twisted their
ankle or that need actual helpoh, absolutely, and you know.

Speaker 1 (57:27):
The other thing too is when you're doing mushrooms.
My thing is when you're doingmushrooms, you're trying stuff
for the first time.
You really do not know how it'sgoing to react to your body.

Speaker 2 (57:37):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (57:38):
If everybody has had those mushrooms and one person
has a bad reaction to it, thatmeans that there's not going to
be a person that will be able toget help right away for that
person, and I could be wrong.

Speaker 2 (57:49):
Exactly I have like like to me personally, anyone
but like I feel like being outin nature is enough, like I I
think we're not like there'smore to notice without even
being on drugs than like youknow I would really try, whether
it's like listening to ameditation tape or just going
out there or like drinking avegetable juice or something

(58:10):
like.
I feel like there's other waysto like connect with your senses
and spirit rather than havingto like leave it through drugs.
I understand some people feellike it's a portal and
everything but um like to me,just being in the woods is is
like alone and enough.
Like I don't think I need a tonof things to like enhance it.

Speaker 1 (58:27):
Exactly, exactly, and again, you know you have
something better.
Yet let's say, you know, a lionor a tiger or a leopard or
something walks up to you andyou, so high You're like hey,
kitty, kitty, come, let me petyou.
You know, imagine being in ahospital, and then what were you
doing?
What happened?
Well, I got a little high andyou know, I started petting.

(58:51):
Imagine being in a hospital,and then what were you doing?
What happened?
Well, I got a little high andyou know, I started petting the
whole.

Speaker 2 (58:57):
And you know the emergency professionals doing
their little thing, like what Iknow, and imagine you're like
once again having to explain topeople like how your hike went.
You're like, well, we actuallyhave to get carried away by
rangers, that's when your buddygoes.

Speaker 1 (59:10):
mental note I would never go hiking with you.

Speaker 2 (59:14):
Same thing.
I wouldn't do it on a boateither, because then I would
jump in the ocean and think thatsharks are being friendly with
me.
Especially, there's an areahere called Yosemite which is
very, very beautiful but verywindy roads and twisty roads,
and I've heard of like some I'vehad some friends too that will

(59:34):
like take mushrooms and takethings, and then I'm like you're
driving with basically likearound cliffs and around the
mountain, and I just feel like,even if they're just camping, I
don't want to be near any ofthose types of things or I don't
want to be driving aroundpeople that are oh no,
absolutely not.

Speaker 1 (59:50):
And if I see someone taking mushrooms and they're
like hey, let's take a ride.

Speaker 2 (59:53):
I'm like no, yeah, not at all.

Speaker 1 (59:57):
Yes, Well, my last topic, this one I've been saving
.
This is a good one.
Well, there's a thing calledthe girls trip cost plan.
So basically what it is is thatwomen get together and they get

(01:00:18):
a joint account check-in orsavings account that all of them
share.
They put money into there andthey use that to go on trips or
go out or whatever like that,and in their minds, it saves
them from the hassles of tryingto split a bill or do this and

(01:00:39):
do that.
I personally think this is nuts, but I wanted to be fair.
I wanted to get your opinion.
What do you think?

Speaker 2 (01:00:48):
This seems like a disaster, absolutely Like.
I love the thought of.
I mean like why would we needthat, if anything?
If I plan a trip with myfriends, we like like, for
example, I have a friend, one ofmy best friends, I'm going to
Vegas with her in November, butlike we're staying at the same
hotel but we're making all ofour arrangements separately,
Like I'm doing it out of my ownmoney, she's doing it out of her

(01:01:10):
money, and then when we go toeat, we will just like split it
or pay for what we got, or likeI don't, we don't need like a
group situation, because alsosometimes, like people may order
alcoholic beverages and somepeople won't, and like also, I
don't need, I don't need, Idon't know, I just don't want my
, my money, like tied up withother people's, and that just

(01:01:31):
seems like a weird thing.
It's going to build resentmentone way or another and actually
make a good point.

Speaker 1 (01:01:35):
Because let's say you're out and let's say one
person, for whatever reason,can't drink or they don't drink
and the other people you knowthey're drinking up or whatever.
So how do you handle that?
Because technically it's noteven right.

Speaker 2 (01:01:51):
I mean exactly.
Yeah, I also think, too, you'remissing out on, everyone's
missing out on their individualcredit card points.
I'm spending credit cardsbecause it's also who's gonna
put the like 600 tab on theircredit card and get the points
for it?
Because that's part ofsomething when you travel, like
if you can be responsible andpay it off, like it is good to
you know, accumulate some pointsand everything but um, yeah, I

(01:02:13):
think this seems like a crazything.

Speaker 1 (01:02:15):
I feel like I have I don't know one friend group that
I could really like picture itgoing well, and I think it's a
recipe for disaster I mean, Iknow they talked about it on
good morning, amer, and I knowthere was, I think, a camera
person or something that waslike in the background, like
shaking her hand, likeabsolutely not.
And Michael Strahan was alittle mean.

(01:02:36):
He's like you wouldn't do that,maybe you need some new friends
.
Yeah, I'm like no, I agree withthat, I wouldn't do that either
.
I mean.

Speaker 2 (01:02:46):
I think it's good to like you know, it's always like
in the group chat we should gohere, we should go.
I think it's good, I think it'sawesome when someone makes like
the first thing and they'relike I booked the Airbnb, Like
I'm the first one to make themove, but but we don't need to
have like a joint account to doit.
I feel like everyone can beresponsible and like make their
travel moves on their own, ohyeah moves on their own.

Speaker 1 (01:03:06):
Oh yeah, and the reality is, let's face it, not
everybody handles their accountsvery well.
It's like if the person BecauseI guess the example that they
used this group of women thatdid it one person had control
over the account, but everyonehad access to what's in the
account and the way they handledthe situation.

(01:03:27):
Let's say, if one person, forwhatever reason, doesn't drink
and the other people handle thesituation.
Let's say, if one person, forwhatever reason, doesn't drink
and the other people do, thenthey would still pay out of the
account, but they wouldcalculate what that person would
have spent and give them moneyback and it's like okay.

Speaker 2 (01:03:42):
I'm not going to turn someone into an accountant?

Speaker 1 (01:03:44):
now I'm just trying to figure this out?

Speaker 2 (01:03:48):
Whose account is it in and how are we sure Do you
have to really monitor it tomake sure they're not taking a
little bit?
Why don't I just buy this $26lipstick with the account?

Speaker 1 (01:03:59):
That's a great point, Meryl, because here's the thing
Obviously, if you spend a bigamount, everybody's going to see
it, but if you pitch off a fewdollars here and there, no one's
probably going to be watchingthat account close enough to see
that.

Speaker 2 (01:04:13):
Yeah, I think it's never a good idea and like
hopefully everyone stays friendsforever, but if any point
they're not friends, then liketrying to get that money back
seems like a nightmare.
It just seems very weird andthere's other ways to like share
things as friends.
I bet there's other ways toshare things as friends.
I think there's a lot of goodapps set up where you can split
bills and I think there's a lotof user-friendly things for

(01:04:34):
friends that travel, but oneaccount just seems really stupid
.

Speaker 1 (01:04:40):
And I would say for the people that watch this and
are listening to this, I wouldlove for you guys to come on our
social media and tell us whatyou think, because this will be
interesting.

Speaker 2 (01:04:51):
Exactly.

Speaker 1 (01:04:53):
Yeah, I have a feeling that most, most men
would not want to do this, but Icould be wrong.

Speaker 2 (01:04:59):
Oh yeah, I mean, I'm on the I'm on the way other end
of things where, like for themost part, my boyfriend, I don't
even have like like accounts.
So you're right, I grew up withparents that are very like
combined with everything, like afamily that's like one account,
one everything.
But.
But I think, because myboyfriend and I like started
dating a little bit later inlife, we just have our own
things and, um, yeah, I likekeeping things separate.

(01:05:22):
It just seems like easier ohyeah, definitely, definitely.

Speaker 1 (01:05:26):
Do you think most women would do this?

Speaker 2 (01:05:29):
No, most smart women?
No, definitely not.
It just seems kind of like anImmature thing to do, I think.

Speaker 1 (01:05:39):
Yeah, that's true.
It's almost Like you don'ttrust everyone if you need to do
this.

Speaker 2 (01:05:43):
Yeah, yeah, I could definitely see Like I'm trying
to think like building up somepool, like.
If you know like, for example,if my friend and I were gonna
like go to vegas and each monthwe contributed like the same
amount for like if we knew thatlike a spa pass was each gonna
cost us 200 or something youknow like, if we each put in for

(01:06:06):
like a set amount that we knew,but even something like drinks
and dinner.
It's just so hard because thatcan fluctuate.
You can get free drinks or youcan not be drinking at all.
It's just hard to know.

Speaker 1 (01:06:16):
That is so true.
That is so so true.

Speaker 2 (01:06:21):
That way I don't want them to know what I'm giving
money to Denzel Washington Goodpoint, good point yeah.
Well.

Speaker 1 (01:06:33):
Meryl, this was a great great great episode?

Speaker 2 (01:06:34):
tell us what?
Oh yeah, I was so happy to doit.
Um, okay, so, uh, if you'relistening to this, on sunday
night I have a show at um, aplace called flappers in burbank
, which is one of my favoritevenues to perform at, and it's
so cute.
It's the venue's like 15thbirthday, so it's called like
Flappy Birthday, which I don'tknow why.

(01:06:55):
I find that so funny, but it'sa free show and it's at 5 pm, so
you'll be done with comedy byseven, which is amazing.
So that's at Flappers and thatis on Sunday.

Speaker 1 (01:07:06):
Wow, nice flappers.
And that is on sunday wow, nice.
Well, if you're in the area,definitely come out support
meryl.
Let her know that you, uh,either heard about it or saw on
our on our channel,lrtvnetworkcom.
This was a lot of fun, merylthis was so fun.

Speaker 2 (01:07:22):
This really like is one of the highlights of my
whole week I love it for me aswell.

Speaker 1 (01:07:27):
everyone, thank you so much for watching or
listening to us.
Always make sure that youfollow us, tell everybody about
us and continue to support ourprogram.
We really appreciate itAbsolutely.
I'm Lawrence Elrott.

Speaker 2 (01:07:42):
I'm Meryl Clemo.
Take care everyone.