September 18, 2024 • 33 mins
ICYMI: Hour Two of ‘Later, with Mo’Kelly’ Presents – A conversation with Charlton Pettus of the legendary British rock band ‘Tears for Fears’ & Kay Hanley, lead singer of the popular 90s alternative rock band ‘Letters to Cleo,’ regarding ‘Kindergarten: The Musical,’ their new Disney Jr. animated series which features “big, theatrical, Broadway-style song & dance numbers (written by Charlton and Kay, who are songwriters and executive producers) around the theme of starting school for the first time” … PLUS – Thoughts on California’s ranking in the nation for student loan debt AND why Many Gen Z employees “aren’t prepared for the workplace” - on KFI AM 640…Live everywhere on the iHeartRadio app
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
You're listening to Later with Mo Kelly on demand from
KFI AM six.
Speaker 2 (00:05):
Forty KFI AM six forty. It's Later with mo Kelly.
Speaker 3 (00:09):
We're live everywhere on the iHeartRadio app filled with big
theatrical song and dance numbers. Disney's new animated series Kindergarten
the Musical, which airs daily on Disney Junior and streams
on demand on Disney Plus, follows five year old Bertie
and her new friends as they navigate the experiences that
come with starting school for the first time. We all
(00:31):
remember that series creators Charlton Pettis and Kay Hanley are
part of the creative team who helped bring Kindergarten the
Musical to life, and they join me now on the show. Charlton, welcome,
how are you.
Speaker 4 (00:43):
I'm well, how are you doing well?
Speaker 2 (00:45):
And Kay welcome as well. Thank you Mo. Great to
be here. Kay.
Speaker 3 (00:49):
I got to start with you because you have the
same first name as my mother and ladies first so children,
music education, They've always gone well together. But the world
has changed so much from when we were children. What
is the same or what would you say is different
about just a child going to school these days?
Speaker 5 (01:08):
I mean, for us as songwriters and storytellers. I don't
think we were concerned so much as what has changed
as what never changes, which is when you walk into
a kindergarten class for the first time, you're excited, you're nervous,
You're like, what's going to happen, but you're also a
little terrified.
Speaker 2 (01:29):
Maybe you're insecure, and at least I was.
Speaker 5 (01:32):
And so the task that we wanted to take on,
the job that came naturally to us, was to tell
stories about that, not so much to educate about, you know,
numbers and reading, as to navigate the social, emotional, almost
mindfield of being being five and doing all so many
(01:54):
of these things for the first time.
Speaker 3 (01:56):
Charleston, this would seem like you would be a huge production.
When you talk about combining the elements of music, theater,
and in the animated format, and I mean the three
D animation style which Pixar made famous, what has been
the most difficult or challenging part of putting something like
this together.
Speaker 4 (02:14):
I think, as you say, just making all the elements
work together. I mean it's not just three D animation.
All our fantasy sequences are generally in two D, so
you know, there's a lot of moving parts. There's a
lot of characters. There's the normal dialogue conversational stuff, there's
musical stuff, there's underscore tying those two together, different styles
(02:36):
of animation. I mean it's a huge process with over
one hundred people involved. I mean, I don't think any
of us realize before doing this how many people are
absolutely critical to making these things happen. So yeah, I
mean it's that whole process.
Speaker 2 (02:52):
Kay.
Speaker 3 (02:52):
As we talk about Kindergarten the musical, each episode contains
at least six Broadway style number in a variety of
styles that provide a peek into kids imaginations. But break
down more for me how these episodes play out.
Speaker 5 (03:09):
Well, The episodes are by and large about when when
you're a kid, every little thing that happens to you
is the biggest thing that has ever happened to everybody.
And so we were able to break down our stories
into like these little slices of life. And every every episode,
(03:33):
as you say, has six.
Speaker 2 (03:35):
Songs in it.
Speaker 5 (03:36):
And and we are, you know, our background is in
pop and rock songwriting and and some you know, dance,
So we we have a pretty we have a pretty
varied background. The the the series songwriters and and we.
Speaker 2 (03:54):
Just we just let we just let loose with all
of it.
Speaker 5 (03:58):
We every single every style of music you can imagine
is represented in Season one of Kindergarten the Musical.
Speaker 3 (04:05):
Charlton, my background is in music, and Kay was talking
about your collective background and music talking about Letters to
Cleo and also Tears for Fears. How does that translate though, yes,
you have the music knowledge, but writing for music for
children that reaches children seems very specific. How do you
go about crafting musically melodies or chord progressions which resonate.
Speaker 4 (04:30):
I don't think we really see a distinction. I mean,
you know, when I was a kid, when I was three,
my favorite band was the Beatles. My kid's favorite band
was the Beatles. I think kids like good music. Like
it's a disservice to kids to think that because they're young,
they don't appreciate good music. I think they totally do.
And our attitude in writing the songs is write the
(04:53):
best song we can that conveys the emotional story that
we're trying to tell.
Speaker 3 (05:00):
As I listened to what Charlton said about telling the
best emotional story that you can tell, and also you've
talked about how there's some maybe one hundred people in
this creative process.
Speaker 2 (05:11):
I would assume most of them adults.
Speaker 3 (05:13):
Are you testing this along the way with children or
how do you know that you're staying on track as
far as reaching children.
Speaker 2 (05:19):
I'm fifty four right now.
Speaker 3 (05:21):
I remember some of the emotions of being five in
my first few days of kindergarten, but I'm quite sure
that emotionally I'm.
Speaker 2 (05:28):
Well removed from that.
Speaker 3 (05:29):
How do you know that each step of the way
you're still on track.
Speaker 5 (05:34):
Well, we don't test drive our songs with children. We
are our own sort of quality control group. And you know,
for us well, and were also are parents, and so
we know, like Charlton was saying, like all of our
kids' first favorite band was the Beatles. And I know
(05:59):
as a parent, and I if I'm going to be
watching television with my child, I don't want to be
listening to to nonsense songs. I think the thing that
we know is going to resonate if it resonates with us.
(06:21):
We know that it will resonate with a kid. If
it's coming from an honest and true emotional place, it's
going to work for a kid or an adult. Right,
We're also like we also write very earwormy melodies.
Speaker 2 (06:37):
We can't help them.
Speaker 3 (06:38):
Charlton Kay makes a great point about watching television with kids,
but also I got to add, in today's world, it's
not just television. Yes, we're talking about something Kindergarten the musical,
which is going to be on Disney Junior and Disney Plus.
But kids don't consume just on a physical television. They
have their laptops, they have their iPads and their phones
(07:01):
as well.
Speaker 2 (07:02):
Does that at all figure into what you do?
Speaker 4 (07:05):
I don't think it figures directly into our thinking process,
but I think you're right. I mean, I think not
only is the platform super variable, but the duration is
super variable. Like I think my older kids. You know,
it's TikTok, it's YouTube. It's much much shorter pieces of information.
Speaker 2 (07:25):
So, you know, part of.
Speaker 4 (07:26):
The challenge for us is to keep these eleven minute
stories compelling enough that the art kind of pulls people
through it, because you know, we are definitely living in
a time of shorter and shorter attention spans.
Speaker 3 (07:40):
Let me just ask you this, in the thirty seconds
I have left with both of you, what brings a
smile to your face when you see the final product.
Speaker 5 (07:49):
Oh, their voices, the voices of our cast. I'm just
blown away every time.
Speaker 4 (07:55):
Yeah, and the Pinocchio thing. I mean, they're real people,
and you know we made them up and now they're there,
they're real people.
Speaker 2 (08:03):
It's magic. The magic you can see now. Kindergarten the
Musical is available daily on Disney Junior and streams on
demand on Disney Plus. I'd like to thank series creators
Charlton Pettis and k Hanley for coming on the show
this evening.
Speaker 3 (08:18):
Congratulations to you both, and I'm quite sure you're changing
the lives of children everywhere.
Speaker 2 (08:22):
Thank you for what you do.
Speaker 4 (08:24):
Thank you both.
Speaker 2 (08:25):
Thanks Mom.
Speaker 3 (08:26):
KFI AM six forty it's Later with mo Kelly. We're
live everywhere on the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 1 (08:31):
You're listening to Later with Moe Kelly on demand from
KFI AM six forty.
Speaker 3 (08:36):
And we have such great news for you. We love
giving away things here on KFI, especially Later with Mo Kelly.
It's Halloween time at the Disneyland Resort and KFI AM
six forty wants to give you a chance to experience
the frightful fun I experienced it myself late last month.
Speaker 2 (08:56):
Had a great time out there.
Speaker 3 (08:58):
To see not only Disney California Adventure but Disneyland Resort itself.
It's something that everyone should see and we have a
chance for you. The Happiest Halloween has brought fiendishly tasty treats,
thrills for one and all, and bootiful de core to
both Disney California Adventure Park and Disneyland Park. And that's
(09:19):
going on right now through October thirty. First, all you
got to do is keep listening to KFI for your
chance to win a four pack of one day one
park tickets to the Disneyland Resort. Or put another way,
keep listening to Later with Mo Kelly for your chance
to win a four pack of one day one park
(09:40):
tickets to the Disneyland Resort. So that's something that's very
cool to look forward to. Something else I want to
remind you of. The Boys and Girls Clubs of Carson
is part of the Boys and Girls Club of America movement,
which provides outcome based after school, during school and summer
programming to youth ages six to eighteen, and the Boys
(10:02):
and Girls Club of Carson has just announced that this
year's annual Blue Door Bash gala is going to be
held at Sofi Stadium on Saturday, October fifth, and yours
truly will be serving as it's MC as they do
each and every year. Is one of the things I'm
most proud of to be able to do in this
business and giving back to the community. And this year's
(10:22):
theme is Mission Possible and the Blue Door Bash gala
will feature a silent auction and a complete evening of
celebration of community leaders and future leaders. But we want
you to be part of it too. Come on out
and be part of the festivities. You can get all
the information at bg C Carson dot org. Again, that's
BGC Carson dot org. And I'll see you Saturday night,
(10:46):
October fifth at Sofi Stadium. And lastly, and not necessarily
most importantly, but I'm pretty excited about this coming up
on October thirtieth, is some that I can't tell you
about yet. I just can't tell you yet. All I
can do is tell you that it's going to be
very cool. It's very near Halloween, that's a hint. And
(11:11):
it's going to be featuring later with mo'kelly, and you're
going to have to block out that evening. Now, you
can always listen to the show but I can tell
you that it's going to be fun to listen to
it up close, if you know what I mean. We're
going to take the show somewhere and you might want
(11:32):
to meet us there, but you'd better block out October thirtieth, Mark, You.
Speaker 2 (11:37):
Still don't know. I told you. You didn't tell me
much at all.
Speaker 3 (11:40):
Actually, I told you when I came into the news mooove,
when I first started announcing this, I said, on October thirtieth,
the show with one.
Speaker 2 (11:51):
I told you maybe that was a day I was
huffing paint. You huff paint. I'm just guessing I don't remember. Okay,
all right, at least you didn't tell me like you
did coke or anything like that. Nah, I wouldn't do that,
you know where I work. Yeah, No, I've never I've
never done any type of drugs like that. I just
never have. Never have, But I've talked to people who have,
(12:12):
and they tell me all the stories. You hear those stories,
There are some of those stories in this business, from
what I understand.
Speaker 3 (12:19):
Yeah, and for me, it was not I'm bouncing around.
For me, it was real easy to scare me straight.
It's only because I worked talking about the Remember I
was talking about the music industry and Diddy last hour. Well,
when I was working in the music industry, there was
a time I was working for a coke addict.
Speaker 2 (12:36):
That wasn't fun. You get to see the range of emotions,
how he wrecked his marriage, wrecked his car, wrecked his life.
It's real easy to tell me stay away from that.
We both know plenty of people, and I think it's
going to be like some of those stories of years
from the music industry that you take to your grave.
I was the first person in my family ever to
(12:57):
finish college, and I've always been afraid of things that
I thought could screw with my brain. So while everybody
in college was saying like, hey man, you got you
gotta try acid. And by the way, come over here
to this window and look at the clouds with me. Man,
that I think not, I think not. Look. I mean,
I will drink a little bit, but even I like,
for example, when I'm on the ship like a cruise
(13:20):
or anything, I do not ever drink and go out
on the decks sort of balconies. Ever, I don't go
near any of that stuff near. That's because you don't
want to disappear right.
Speaker 3 (13:30):
I don't want to be a statistic I just don't
want to be wrong place, wrong time. I don't know,
a gust of wind, lose my balance, you know me
and right, someone want to come up behind.
Speaker 2 (13:41):
Me and shove me. Huh, because you know, because you're
on a cruise ship, you do sometimes have words with people.
You know, people get on your nerves and I've been
known to smart off and yeah, yeah it happens. And
you're kind of in a closed environment. It's not like
they can't find you later on. No, you must remain
hyper vigilant, especially in this situation like that. Don't what
(14:02):
were you.
Speaker 6 (14:03):
Gonna say, I'm not I'm terrified. I was kind of
looking forward to going on a cruise.
Speaker 2 (14:06):
But no, you should. You have to have a commentary.
Speaker 3 (14:09):
You should have common sense, just like if you're anywhere anywhere.
Speaker 6 (14:12):
But that makes sense literally if you're drunk, like if
you fall over, they can't save you.
Speaker 2 (14:17):
No, never find you. They won't even know you're gone
until you're way down at the bottom. Dar.
Speaker 3 (14:25):
Look, it was funny because when I went on the
cruise this past time and Twalla's on the cruise. Before
you set sail, they have like a deck party where
you get up there and you're dancing and everyone's drinking.
Speaker 2 (14:38):
It's you. It's a party, it's a kickoff party.
Speaker 3 (14:40):
We had not even left the port and there was
almost a fight between these two guys. I guess there
was a guy. He seemed like he was in his
early thirties. He was there with his girl. Attractive woman.
She was out there with a bikini showing her wares,
and you know what happens some other guy who doesn't
know that she's with someone on a cruise. Look, no,
(15:01):
there are a lot of single women on a cruise,
no doubt, no doubt. So it's reasonable to assume that
she could have could have been just there with her girlfriends.
And this guy, the boyfriend was about my size, so
I want to say maybe five eighty five nine.
Speaker 2 (15:14):
The guy who wanted to hit on the woman who
didn't know that she had a boyfriend, was like six
' two six y three. And I'm there and I
had my first drink, and I said, well, I saw
all of it. I'll say, evolving.
Speaker 3 (15:29):
You can see where oh, okay, you he doesn't know
that that so and so's girl, and he just went
away to get a drink and he's going to come
back with two drinks in his hand. And see this
guy trying to really really hit on his girl. He's
going to take a person why because he's at that
age where you take everything personally.
Speaker 2 (15:44):
I was at that age. I was, you know, like,
why are you trying to talk to my girl? Can't
you see she's here with me?
Speaker 5 (15:49):
No?
Speaker 2 (15:49):
Da da da, And that's how it went down.
Speaker 3 (15:51):
And next thing you know, you have five nine dude
and six foot three dude chest to chest, and the
five nine dude and all of his friends were like
trying to pull him back, say.
Speaker 2 (15:59):
No, no, no, don't, and I'm yelling at him, why are
you going to f off your cruise before we even leave?
It's not that serious. Oh you're kind of making me
want to go.
Speaker 6 (16:10):
No, no, no, yeah, there's some I have friends that
would literally do that.
Speaker 2 (16:14):
So now I'm like, yes, but why are you efing
off your cruise? They will put you off the ship.
We have not left yet. It is not too late
to put you off. It really does not seem like
the ideal place to get into some fisticuffs. No it's not,
it's not, but it's really entertaining after you had a
drink or so to watch like I don't want to participate.
(16:34):
I was like holding up a pole. It's like, let's
see what happens here. No, No, I watch that stuff
on Reddit all the time. So if I on a cruise,
maybe I've been I've had the wrong idea this whole time.
Speaker 3 (16:44):
It was added entertainment and the ship's security is not
really big, imposing or threatening, but they still can throw
you in the brig, you know.
Speaker 2 (16:52):
Like a bunch of roadhouse daltons. It's a ship. I mean,
I can't call it a jail, you know. Yeah, yeah,
the brig, and you got to use a head. Me
and my friends would end up at the brig. I'm
like one hundred percent sure, yeah, And I try to
avoid that stuff.
Speaker 3 (17:06):
But I say all that to say, you can get
in a situation with someone and I don't want to
have to look over my.
Speaker 2 (17:13):
Shoulder the rest of the cruise. You don't want to
have to go to sick bay after the brig. No, No,
I've never had that problem ship. No, I can. I
can handle my elequer, Thank you very much.
Speaker 6 (17:22):
I appreciate the perspective because I was not thinking about
that at all.
Speaker 3 (17:25):
I'm just passing on the wisdom. Next will learn about
the members of the Supreme Court. Don't laugh at me
and not giving my you know, thank you very much.
Pay off the joke. I am six forty. We're live
everywhere on the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 1 (17:39):
You're listening to Later with Moe Kelly on demand from
KFI AM six forty.
Speaker 2 (17:44):
This next story is just for Mark Ronner because I
care so much about him. But seriously, we have talked
about the cost of education, and I have marveled, and
I mean this in a very sincere and respectful way.
I've marveled at your level of education, your dedication to
furthering your education. Mark and you will make comments from
(18:05):
time to time about not wanting to saddle someone else
with your student loan debt. It's quite a rocket and
there are a lot of horror stories even worse than
mine out there.
Speaker 3 (18:16):
What came out on the wire today they listed the
different states and how different people in different states are
dealing with student debt, the amounts and you may not
know this, but the District of Columbia Washington, DC has
the highest average student debt in the country, with an
average amount of fifty three thousand dollars per person slash
(18:40):
student fifty three grand. And honestly, I know people with
much more than that. Oh yeah, I laugh at fifty three. Right,
California holds the largest total student debt in the country. Yes,
we have a higher population, but also we have a
high collegiate population. And that total is one hundred and
(19:02):
forty six point seven billion dollars of just student debt
one hundred Yeah, I know you didn't hear that. One
hundred and forty six point seven billion dollars of student debt.
It doesn't break it down as far as federal or
state or private loans, just student debt. One hundred and
(19:22):
forty six billion. That's more than the value of most
sports franchises in any sport.
Speaker 2 (19:30):
Right. And you also can't take that number at face value, though,
because there are a lot of insane penalties and fees
and things like that in addition to the original amounts
of the loans. So really take with a grain of
salt any criticism. Some somebody says, you know, you borrowed it,
you have to pay it back. It's a little bit
more complex than just that.
Speaker 3 (19:50):
Well, yeah, and when I say one hundred and forty
six point seven billion. That number could grow each week
each week because of course interest. As Mark was saying,
missapayment increased interests if you're late.
Speaker 2 (20:08):
This is stuff that would make you know a New
York City loan shark blush. It is horrific once you
learn the details about how the student loan industry is run.
Speaker 3 (20:18):
Let's say you want to become a doctor or something
on the doctoral level, like you have a pharmacy major
or or a pharmaceutical sciences major. The highest average debt
this is just average debt. In other words, you have
people with more than that or less, but average debt
for people pursuing their doctoral level degrees three hundred and
(20:40):
ten thousand dollars. Yeah, it's it really is insane, more
than a quarter of a million dollars in just student debt.
And that's not saying you're not a good student. That's
not saying you're not a good person. It's just that
you have qualified to attend an institution of higher learning,
and you're pursuing an advanced degree, a doctoral level degree.
(21:03):
You can expect an average student debt of three hundred
and ten thousand dollars, right.
Speaker 2 (21:10):
And that is training for high income jobs. You might
as well forget now about going to college to get
an education in and of itself, right, let alone a
liberal arts of education. It's our education system really needs
an overhaul from theme. It needs an enema.
Speaker 3 (21:26):
I thank my parents every single day for putting me
through college to Georgetown University. And I would not be
able to afford to send any of my children to
Georgetown University because I think their yearly expenses is more
than eighty thousand dollars tuition, room and board.
Speaker 2 (21:45):
Yeah, keeps up, it keeps going up. And what you're
talking about is a United States where only affluent people
can afford college and it's out of reach for anybody else.
And to that, I say, not my country. You've got
people who didn't have a word to say about forgiving
PPP loans or COVID loans, COVID loans or massive tax cuts.
(22:10):
But somehow they've got strong opinions on you paying back
your student loan.
Speaker 3 (22:14):
Yeah, and maybe because they can put a face to it,
or a group of people to it. And I've noticed
in history, when we see a group of people get something,
Americans get angry.
Speaker 2 (22:28):
They feel like it's a zero sum game. I gets
a pie with a limited number of pieces, and it's
not the taxpayers don't even fut the bill. When somebody's
student loan is forgiven, often people pay for decades and
it hasn't even paid down their principle. It really is insane.
I will give you.
Speaker 3 (22:45):
Some personal information, and I'm sure my wife will hate
me for doing this, but I'll do it anyway.
Speaker 2 (22:49):
Let it all hang out.
Speaker 3 (22:50):
My wife has a master's in public administration. Okay, she's
still paying on those student loans. Yeah, there are people
who are retired and age still paying on them. And
the thing is, unlike say a tax cut, an educated
populace is a societal good.
Speaker 2 (23:08):
There's no debating it is a gain for us. Yeah,
as a society. I don't get it. I mean, unless
we want a society full of serfs who couldn't go
to college. What do you want here? Forgive these student loans?
We have devalued education.
Speaker 3 (23:21):
We've denigrated them with titles like they're elitists or something.
Speaker 4 (23:25):
You know.
Speaker 2 (23:25):
I like my doctors and pilots elite. Oh yeah, and
at least one sense, elitism is good. Expertise is good. Yes.
Speaker 3 (23:34):
Oh, I talked about how California has one hundred and
forty six point seven billion dollars of total student debt.
Texas a second with one hundred and twenty five point
seven billion, Florida is third with one hundred and three
point three billion, and New York is fourth with ninety
three point three billion. I suspect New York is fourth
because they're just fewer universities in the state of New
(23:56):
York comparatively speaking.
Speaker 2 (23:58):
You could be right. I have no idea. Yeah, I
want it.
Speaker 3 (24:00):
But and Georgia surprisingly is fifth, but much further down
the list in terms of money total money with sixty
nine billion.
Speaker 2 (24:11):
There's all these studies that show how every facet of
your life is improved if you have a college education,
and it shouldn't be out of reach for people who
just can't afford it because their parents aren't rich. Yeah,
and I understand that not everyone is cut out for college.
Speaker 3 (24:27):
I get that. I'm just saying we should not be
denigrating the institution of college and I think we should
be more aggressive in promoting it as a means. And
there are a lot of jobs that won't even let
you in the door for an interview without a college degree.
Speaker 2 (24:45):
Oh yeah, it's about access. The more you're educated, the
harder you are to control and lie to Always remember that.
Speaker 3 (24:53):
Did you say something? Did you lie to me? Never
to you mon never. Just want to make sure. I
just want to make sure you're on side. It's Later
with mo Kelly kf I AM six forty. We are
live everywhere on the iHeartRadio app. And speaking of college,
a lot of gen zers are calling me out of
college now and they're ill prepared, it seems to actually
maintain a job. Why because there are a bunch of
(25:17):
brad ass kids. We'll tell you, I guess we just
did tell you. Well, we'll tell you what employers are saying.
Speaker 1 (25:23):
You're listening to Later with Moe Kelly on demand from
KFI AM six forty And I got.
Speaker 2 (25:29):
To say, probably the whole concept of a work day,
or a work life balance or a workspace has changed
tremendously in the past four or five years. Some of
that has to do with the pandemic absolutely, some of
it has to do with attitudes generationally, and some of
(25:51):
it has to do with a generation of just lazy
ass bum ass kids who don't know the value of
an honest day's work. Off my damn lawn. Hello, gen Z,
I'm on another one.
Speaker 3 (26:06):
A recent survey by Intelligent dot Com found that about
one in six companies are hesitant to hire recent college graduates,
you know gen z Ers, and they cite concerns over
their preparedness or lack thereof, communication skills, lack thereof, and professionalism.
Speaker 2 (26:27):
Say it with me, lack thereof. A stunning six in ten.
Speaker 3 (26:33):
We need to work on your your rimshot skills because
I'm just making statements. They're not jokes with a punchline payoff.
Speaker 2 (26:39):
But it was funny. It was like the third one
was like the you know, the climax, he's illustrating your point. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (26:50):
A stunning six and ten companies said they had fired
college grads they hired this year for the reasons that
I just gave you. Some hiring managers and business leaders
believe that gen Z employees often lack the motivation, charisma,
and soft skills necessary to thrive in a professional environment.
(27:15):
I have my suspicions as to why that is, and
I think it has to do with how the gen
Z generation has been socialized. They usually, and yes I'm
generalizing the hell out of this, they usually lack the
social skills that we were taught. They were not that
they were raised by a phone, but they spend an
(27:36):
inordinate amount of time on devices and not actually dealing
with humans, So they don't know how to deal with
humans on a day to day basis. In a work environment,
you probably can't sit on your phone or computer all
the time. You probably have to deal with a manager,
You probably have to deal with other coworkers, and it
seems like maybe they're just ill prepared for that.
Speaker 2 (27:58):
Now. When market I were coming along many many years ago,
we were not distracted by these devices, and we had
to learn social skills. We had to actually ask a
young lady out. We had to go up to her
and speak to her and talk.
Speaker 3 (28:11):
I talked to Tula all the time about his kids
and how they socialize.
Speaker 2 (28:16):
They don't. It's everything's through text. They don't actually talk
to each other like we used to.
Speaker 3 (28:22):
And I think if you extrapolate, by the time they
get into the workforce, they probably don't do well with
eye contact. They probably don't do well with following deadlines
or being held to a very rigid schedule when you're
supposed to be at work. Mark, you and I were
talking about earlier, about the luxury of not having to
(28:45):
be in at seven in the morning.
Speaker 2 (28:47):
Yeah, we both had morning jobs. I could function, but
I wasn't crazy about it. But it was my job
and I did it. And if you didn't show up
on time, you were done. Oh yeah, you think I
just show up here at six point fifty nine, or
maybe I'll trot in at seven oh four and or
maybe seven thirty and do a radio show. No, it
(29:08):
doesn't work that way. I mean, you and I do
nothing but busty on each other constantly because we think
it's funny. But I'll tell you this, I've worked here
three and a half years. I've never once even been late. No,
I've never been late. Yeah, I'm usually this is a
true story. Show starts at seven.
Speaker 3 (29:24):
I'm usually here three thirty on average three thirty. There's
no one who beats me here period.
Speaker 2 (29:31):
What you're saying is that the young people could have
used a little bit more tough love growing up. Is
that it? I think that's part of it. And I
think that there is switch the switch the paddle. No,
it's an instant gratification generation. They seem to expect that
I've done this I should get that. I should not
have to start at the bottom. I'll give you.
Speaker 3 (29:49):
I'll use a radio analogy. Oftentimes we will have young
people come here who immediately expect to get on the
mic or immediate expect to certain level of payment or
a certain level of access, and like no, your in
turn plus a day. So it's the generation which has
(30:10):
no understanding of paying dues.
Speaker 2 (30:13):
Who is the originator of the aphorism nothing worthwhile is easy.
I forget, I don't know, I don't remember. But we
all had that burned into us. Absolutely. It might as
well have been branded into our flesh when we were young. Right,
and let me go back to the study real quick quote.
Many recent college graduates may struggle with entering the workforce
for the first time, as it can be a huge
(30:33):
contrast from what they are used to throughout their education journey.
They're often unprepared for a less structured environment, workplace, cultural dynamics,
and the expectation of autonomous work.
Speaker 3 (30:46):
Put another way, being freaking adults, someone not looking over
your shoulder. You're giving a deadline, Hey, I need this
report by two o'clock tomorrow. They're not going to come
back to you every five minutes and say, are you
still working on that report? Are you moving along? You
know they're not going to baby you. You have a deadline.
You meet the deadline. If you don't, then they'll find
someone who will. You know, I'm on the same page
(31:07):
as you on all this. But at the same time,
I also get a sick amusement from hearing about their
behavior during job interviews, Because if you love the movie
Office Space, when the main character gets hypnotized and he
just starts saying whatever's on his mind to the people,
that's that's really enjoyable.
Speaker 2 (31:24):
You have a cinematic reference for everything. No, No, No. That
turned out to be a classic because it resonated in
so many people's lives, But it's dated now.
Speaker 3 (31:32):
It almost doesn't make sense that the whole idea of
an office environment is obsolete, I guess, but I think
it's funny when I hear these stories about people who
show up the interviews and like shorts and a T shirt.
Speaker 2 (31:45):
Yes, that kind of yes, Or they'll they're asked a
question and they'll give some sort of half assed answer
like like it's your parents, or something like no, it's
an employer for a job, an adult job in the
real world. Check this out.
Speaker 3 (31:58):
Nearly twenty percent of hiring manager said new workers often
arrived late to work. We were talking about Mark and
failed to meet assignment deadlines Like I was talking about Mark.
Speaker 7 (32:07):
Yeah, not ready for prime time. I have seen recent
potential hiaries showing up at the school that I work at.
One young lady literally showed up in scrubs from her
other job well and was like, well, I had a
lunch break.
Speaker 2 (32:25):
So I had to come through.
Speaker 7 (32:26):
I'm like, so you came through here in your scrubs,
not even clean scrubs, just scrubs from her hospital internship
or whatever. I'm like, this is a noo dog, this
is no.
Speaker 2 (32:41):
The presumptuous nature of the younger folks today is mind
boggling to me. Strap into the wheel of pain. Don't
want to work.
Speaker 3 (32:50):
For anything, expect everything, instant gratification, instant reward for no
real work.
Speaker 2 (32:59):
Fit them with shot callers. Now, what's the deal? Face
the wheel.
Speaker 7 (33:02):
Now, my son he went out and has hustled up
his own job. But I think that's because he's watched me.
He knows how hard I work and what work means.
We have to drill that into our kids bottom line.
Speaker 2 (33:13):
Yeah we do. Mark don't have any kids. Think the
ships sailed? Would you? Would you have di sected me
or something? Not yet, but if there's a place open
after work, thank you. Okay, k IF I am six forty.
We're live everywhere in the iHeartRadio app. What the hell
is going on? Well we're about to tell you. K
(33:37):
s I, k OST HD
Speaker 5 (33:39):
Two Los Angeles, Orange County, everywhere on the radio.
You're listening to Later with Mo Kelly on demand from
KFI AM six.
Speaker 2 (00:05):
Forty KFI AM six forty. It's Later with mo Kelly.
Speaker 3 (00:09):
We're live everywhere on the iHeartRadio app filled with big
theatrical song and dance numbers. Disney's new animated series Kindergarten
the Musical, which airs daily on Disney Junior and streams
on demand on Disney Plus, follows five year old Bertie
and her new friends as they navigate the experiences that
come with starting school for the first time. We all
(00:31):
remember that series creators Charlton Pettis and Kay Hanley are
part of the creative team who helped bring Kindergarten the
Musical to life, and they join me now on the show. Charlton, welcome,
how are you.
Speaker 4 (00:43):
I'm well, how are you doing well?
Speaker 2 (00:45):
And Kay welcome as well. Thank you Mo. Great to
be here. Kay.
Speaker 3 (00:49):
I got to start with you because you have the
same first name as my mother and ladies first so children,
music education, They've always gone well together. But the world
has changed so much from when we were children. What
is the same or what would you say is different
about just a child going to school these days?
Speaker 5 (01:08):
I mean, for us as songwriters and storytellers. I don't
think we were concerned so much as what has changed
as what never changes, which is when you walk into
a kindergarten class for the first time, you're excited, you're nervous,
You're like, what's going to happen, but you're also a
little terrified.
Speaker 2 (01:29):
Maybe you're insecure, and at least I was.
Speaker 5 (01:32):
And so the task that we wanted to take on,
the job that came naturally to us, was to tell
stories about that, not so much to educate about, you know,
numbers and reading, as to navigate the social, emotional, almost
mindfield of being being five and doing all so many
(01:54):
of these things for the first time.
Speaker 3 (01:56):
Charleston, this would seem like you would be a huge production.
When you talk about combining the elements of music, theater,
and in the animated format, and I mean the three
D animation style which Pixar made famous, what has been
the most difficult or challenging part of putting something like
this together.
Speaker 4 (02:14):
I think, as you say, just making all the elements
work together. I mean it's not just three D animation.
All our fantasy sequences are generally in two D, so
you know, there's a lot of moving parts. There's a
lot of characters. There's the normal dialogue conversational stuff, there's
musical stuff, there's underscore tying those two together, different styles
(02:36):
of animation. I mean it's a huge process with over
one hundred people involved. I mean, I don't think any
of us realize before doing this how many people are
absolutely critical to making these things happen. So yeah, I
mean it's that whole process.
Speaker 2 (02:52):
Kay.
Speaker 3 (02:52):
As we talk about Kindergarten the musical, each episode contains
at least six Broadway style number in a variety of
styles that provide a peek into kids imaginations. But break
down more for me how these episodes play out.
Speaker 5 (03:09):
Well, The episodes are by and large about when when
you're a kid, every little thing that happens to you
is the biggest thing that has ever happened to everybody.
And so we were able to break down our stories
into like these little slices of life. And every every episode,
(03:33):
as you say, has six.
Speaker 2 (03:35):
Songs in it.
Speaker 5 (03:36):
And and we are, you know, our background is in
pop and rock songwriting and and some you know, dance,
So we we have a pretty we have a pretty
varied background. The the the series songwriters and and we.
Speaker 2 (03:54):
Just we just let we just let loose with all
of it.
Speaker 5 (03:58):
We every single every style of music you can imagine
is represented in Season one of Kindergarten the Musical.
Speaker 3 (04:05):
Charlton, my background is in music, and Kay was talking
about your collective background and music talking about Letters to
Cleo and also Tears for Fears. How does that translate though, yes,
you have the music knowledge, but writing for music for
children that reaches children seems very specific. How do you
go about crafting musically melodies or chord progressions which resonate.
Speaker 4 (04:30):
I don't think we really see a distinction. I mean,
you know, when I was a kid, when I was three,
my favorite band was the Beatles. My kid's favorite band
was the Beatles. I think kids like good music. Like
it's a disservice to kids to think that because they're young,
they don't appreciate good music. I think they totally do.
And our attitude in writing the songs is write the
(04:53):
best song we can that conveys the emotional story that
we're trying to tell.
Speaker 3 (05:00):
As I listened to what Charlton said about telling the
best emotional story that you can tell, and also you've
talked about how there's some maybe one hundred people in
this creative process.
Speaker 2 (05:11):
I would assume most of them adults.
Speaker 3 (05:13):
Are you testing this along the way with children or
how do you know that you're staying on track as
far as reaching children.
Speaker 2 (05:19):
I'm fifty four right now.
Speaker 3 (05:21):
I remember some of the emotions of being five in
my first few days of kindergarten, but I'm quite sure
that emotionally I'm.
Speaker 2 (05:28):
Well removed from that.
Speaker 3 (05:29):
How do you know that each step of the way
you're still on track.
Speaker 5 (05:34):
Well, we don't test drive our songs with children. We
are our own sort of quality control group. And you know,
for us well, and were also are parents, and so
we know, like Charlton was saying, like all of our
kids' first favorite band was the Beatles. And I know
(05:59):
as a parent, and I if I'm going to be
watching television with my child, I don't want to be
listening to to nonsense songs. I think the thing that
we know is going to resonate if it resonates with us.
(06:21):
We know that it will resonate with a kid. If
it's coming from an honest and true emotional place, it's
going to work for a kid or an adult. Right,
We're also like we also write very earwormy melodies.
Speaker 2 (06:37):
We can't help them.
Speaker 3 (06:38):
Charlton Kay makes a great point about watching television with kids,
but also I got to add, in today's world, it's
not just television. Yes, we're talking about something Kindergarten the musical,
which is going to be on Disney Junior and Disney Plus.
But kids don't consume just on a physical television. They
have their laptops, they have their iPads and their phones
(07:01):
as well.
Speaker 2 (07:02):
Does that at all figure into what you do?
Speaker 4 (07:05):
I don't think it figures directly into our thinking process,
but I think you're right. I mean, I think not
only is the platform super variable, but the duration is
super variable. Like I think my older kids. You know,
it's TikTok, it's YouTube. It's much much shorter pieces of information.
Speaker 2 (07:25):
So, you know, part of.
Speaker 4 (07:26):
The challenge for us is to keep these eleven minute
stories compelling enough that the art kind of pulls people
through it, because you know, we are definitely living in
a time of shorter and shorter attention spans.
Speaker 3 (07:40):
Let me just ask you this, in the thirty seconds
I have left with both of you, what brings a
smile to your face when you see the final product.
Speaker 5 (07:49):
Oh, their voices, the voices of our cast. I'm just
blown away every time.
Speaker 4 (07:55):
Yeah, and the Pinocchio thing. I mean, they're real people,
and you know we made them up and now they're there,
they're real people.
Speaker 2 (08:03):
It's magic. The magic you can see now. Kindergarten the
Musical is available daily on Disney Junior and streams on
demand on Disney Plus. I'd like to thank series creators
Charlton Pettis and k Hanley for coming on the show
this evening.
Speaker 3 (08:18):
Congratulations to you both, and I'm quite sure you're changing
the lives of children everywhere.
Speaker 2 (08:22):
Thank you for what you do.
Speaker 4 (08:24):
Thank you both.
Speaker 2 (08:25):
Thanks Mom.
Speaker 3 (08:26):
KFI AM six forty it's Later with mo Kelly. We're
live everywhere on the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 1 (08:31):
You're listening to Later with Moe Kelly on demand from
KFI AM six forty.
Speaker 3 (08:36):
And we have such great news for you. We love
giving away things here on KFI, especially Later with Mo Kelly.
It's Halloween time at the Disneyland Resort and KFI AM
six forty wants to give you a chance to experience
the frightful fun I experienced it myself late last month.
Speaker 2 (08:56):
Had a great time out there.
Speaker 3 (08:58):
To see not only Disney California Adventure but Disneyland Resort itself.
It's something that everyone should see and we have a
chance for you. The Happiest Halloween has brought fiendishly tasty treats,
thrills for one and all, and bootiful de core to
both Disney California Adventure Park and Disneyland Park. And that's
(09:19):
going on right now through October thirty. First, all you
got to do is keep listening to KFI for your
chance to win a four pack of one day one
park tickets to the Disneyland Resort. Or put another way,
keep listening to Later with Mo Kelly for your chance
to win a four pack of one day one park
(09:40):
tickets to the Disneyland Resort. So that's something that's very
cool to look forward to. Something else I want to
remind you of. The Boys and Girls Clubs of Carson
is part of the Boys and Girls Club of America movement,
which provides outcome based after school, during school and summer
programming to youth ages six to eighteen, and the Boys
(10:02):
and Girls Club of Carson has just announced that this
year's annual Blue Door Bash gala is going to be
held at Sofi Stadium on Saturday, October fifth, and yours
truly will be serving as it's MC as they do
each and every year. Is one of the things I'm
most proud of to be able to do in this
business and giving back to the community. And this year's
(10:22):
theme is Mission Possible and the Blue Door Bash gala
will feature a silent auction and a complete evening of
celebration of community leaders and future leaders. But we want
you to be part of it too. Come on out
and be part of the festivities. You can get all
the information at bg C Carson dot org. Again, that's
BGC Carson dot org. And I'll see you Saturday night,
(10:46):
October fifth at Sofi Stadium. And lastly, and not necessarily
most importantly, but I'm pretty excited about this coming up
on October thirtieth, is some that I can't tell you
about yet. I just can't tell you yet. All I
can do is tell you that it's going to be
very cool. It's very near Halloween, that's a hint. And
(11:11):
it's going to be featuring later with mo'kelly, and you're
going to have to block out that evening. Now, you
can always listen to the show but I can tell
you that it's going to be fun to listen to
it up close, if you know what I mean. We're
going to take the show somewhere and you might want
(11:32):
to meet us there, but you'd better block out October thirtieth, Mark, You.
Speaker 2 (11:37):
Still don't know. I told you. You didn't tell me
much at all.
Speaker 3 (11:40):
Actually, I told you when I came into the news mooove,
when I first started announcing this, I said, on October thirtieth,
the show with one.
Speaker 2 (11:51):
I told you maybe that was a day I was
huffing paint. You huff paint. I'm just guessing I don't remember. Okay,
all right, at least you didn't tell me like you
did coke or anything like that. Nah, I wouldn't do that,
you know where I work. Yeah, No, I've never I've
never done any type of drugs like that. I just
never have. Never have, But I've talked to people who have,
(12:12):
and they tell me all the stories. You hear those stories,
There are some of those stories in this business, from
what I understand.
Speaker 3 (12:19):
Yeah, and for me, it was not I'm bouncing around.
For me, it was real easy to scare me straight.
It's only because I worked talking about the Remember I
was talking about the music industry and Diddy last hour. Well,
when I was working in the music industry, there was
a time I was working for a coke addict.
Speaker 2 (12:36):
That wasn't fun. You get to see the range of emotions,
how he wrecked his marriage, wrecked his car, wrecked his life.
It's real easy to tell me stay away from that.
We both know plenty of people, and I think it's
going to be like some of those stories of years
from the music industry that you take to your grave.
I was the first person in my family ever to
(12:57):
finish college, and I've always been afraid of things that
I thought could screw with my brain. So while everybody
in college was saying like, hey man, you got you
gotta try acid. And by the way, come over here
to this window and look at the clouds with me. Man,
that I think not, I think not. Look. I mean,
I will drink a little bit, but even I like,
for example, when I'm on the ship like a cruise
(13:20):
or anything, I do not ever drink and go out
on the decks sort of balconies. Ever, I don't go
near any of that stuff near. That's because you don't
want to disappear right.
Speaker 3 (13:30):
I don't want to be a statistic I just don't
want to be wrong place, wrong time. I don't know,
a gust of wind, lose my balance, you know me
and right, someone want to come up behind.
Speaker 2 (13:41):
Me and shove me. Huh, because you know, because you're
on a cruise ship, you do sometimes have words with people.
You know, people get on your nerves and I've been
known to smart off and yeah, yeah it happens. And
you're kind of in a closed environment. It's not like
they can't find you later on. No, you must remain
hyper vigilant, especially in this situation like that. Don't what
(14:02):
were you.
Speaker 6 (14:03):
Gonna say, I'm not I'm terrified. I was kind of
looking forward to going on a cruise.
Speaker 2 (14:06):
But no, you should. You have to have a commentary.
Speaker 3 (14:09):
You should have common sense, just like if you're anywhere anywhere.
Speaker 6 (14:12):
But that makes sense literally if you're drunk, like if
you fall over, they can't save you.
Speaker 2 (14:17):
No, never find you. They won't even know you're gone
until you're way down at the bottom. Dar.
Speaker 3 (14:25):
Look, it was funny because when I went on the
cruise this past time and Twalla's on the cruise. Before
you set sail, they have like a deck party where
you get up there and you're dancing and everyone's drinking.
Speaker 2 (14:38):
It's you. It's a party, it's a kickoff party.
Speaker 3 (14:40):
We had not even left the port and there was
almost a fight between these two guys. I guess there
was a guy. He seemed like he was in his
early thirties. He was there with his girl. Attractive woman.
She was out there with a bikini showing her wares,
and you know what happens some other guy who doesn't
know that she's with someone on a cruise. Look, no,
(15:01):
there are a lot of single women on a cruise,
no doubt, no doubt. So it's reasonable to assume that
she could have could have been just there with her girlfriends.
And this guy, the boyfriend was about my size, so
I want to say maybe five eighty five nine.
Speaker 2 (15:14):
The guy who wanted to hit on the woman who
didn't know that she had a boyfriend, was like six
' two six y three. And I'm there and I
had my first drink, and I said, well, I saw
all of it. I'll say, evolving.
Speaker 3 (15:29):
You can see where oh, okay, you he doesn't know
that that so and so's girl, and he just went
away to get a drink and he's going to come
back with two drinks in his hand. And see this
guy trying to really really hit on his girl. He's
going to take a person why because he's at that
age where you take everything personally.
Speaker 2 (15:44):
I was at that age. I was, you know, like,
why are you trying to talk to my girl? Can't
you see she's here with me?
Speaker 5 (15:49):
No?
Speaker 2 (15:49):
Da da da, And that's how it went down.
Speaker 3 (15:51):
And next thing you know, you have five nine dude
and six foot three dude chest to chest, and the
five nine dude and all of his friends were like
trying to pull him back, say.
Speaker 2 (15:59):
No, no, no, don't, and I'm yelling at him, why are
you going to f off your cruise before we even leave?
It's not that serious. Oh you're kind of making me
want to go.
Speaker 6 (16:10):
No, no, no, yeah, there's some I have friends that
would literally do that.
Speaker 2 (16:14):
So now I'm like, yes, but why are you efing
off your cruise? They will put you off the ship.
We have not left yet. It is not too late
to put you off. It really does not seem like
the ideal place to get into some fisticuffs. No it's not,
it's not, but it's really entertaining after you had a
drink or so to watch like I don't want to participate.
(16:34):
I was like holding up a pole. It's like, let's
see what happens here. No, No, I watch that stuff
on Reddit all the time. So if I on a cruise,
maybe I've been I've had the wrong idea this whole time.
Speaker 3 (16:44):
It was added entertainment and the ship's security is not
really big, imposing or threatening, but they still can throw
you in the brig, you know.
Speaker 2 (16:52):
Like a bunch of roadhouse daltons. It's a ship. I mean,
I can't call it a jail, you know. Yeah, yeah,
the brig, and you got to use a head. Me
and my friends would end up at the brig. I'm
like one hundred percent sure, yeah, And I try to
avoid that stuff.
Speaker 3 (17:06):
But I say all that to say, you can get
in a situation with someone and I don't want to
have to look over my.
Speaker 2 (17:13):
Shoulder the rest of the cruise. You don't want to
have to go to sick bay after the brig. No, No,
I've never had that problem ship. No, I can. I
can handle my elequer, Thank you very much.
Speaker 6 (17:22):
I appreciate the perspective because I was not thinking about
that at all.
Speaker 3 (17:25):
I'm just passing on the wisdom. Next will learn about
the members of the Supreme Court. Don't laugh at me
and not giving my you know, thank you very much.
Pay off the joke. I am six forty. We're live
everywhere on the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 1 (17:39):
You're listening to Later with Moe Kelly on demand from
KFI AM six forty.
Speaker 2 (17:44):
This next story is just for Mark Ronner because I
care so much about him. But seriously, we have talked
about the cost of education, and I have marveled, and
I mean this in a very sincere and respectful way.
I've marveled at your level of education, your dedication to
furthering your education. Mark and you will make comments from
(18:05):
time to time about not wanting to saddle someone else
with your student loan debt. It's quite a rocket and
there are a lot of horror stories even worse than
mine out there.
Speaker 3 (18:16):
What came out on the wire today they listed the
different states and how different people in different states are
dealing with student debt, the amounts and you may not
know this, but the District of Columbia Washington, DC has
the highest average student debt in the country, with an
average amount of fifty three thousand dollars per person slash
(18:40):
student fifty three grand. And honestly, I know people with
much more than that. Oh yeah, I laugh at fifty three. Right,
California holds the largest total student debt in the country. Yes,
we have a higher population, but also we have a
high collegiate population. And that total is one hundred and
(19:02):
forty six point seven billion dollars of just student debt
one hundred Yeah, I know you didn't hear that. One
hundred and forty six point seven billion dollars of student debt.
It doesn't break it down as far as federal or
state or private loans, just student debt. One hundred and
(19:22):
forty six billion. That's more than the value of most
sports franchises in any sport.
Speaker 2 (19:30):
Right. And you also can't take that number at face value, though,
because there are a lot of insane penalties and fees
and things like that in addition to the original amounts
of the loans. So really take with a grain of
salt any criticism. Some somebody says, you know, you borrowed it,
you have to pay it back. It's a little bit
more complex than just that.
Speaker 3 (19:50):
Well, yeah, and when I say one hundred and forty
six point seven billion. That number could grow each week
each week because of course interest. As Mark was saying,
missapayment increased interests if you're late.
Speaker 2 (20:08):
This is stuff that would make you know a New
York City loan shark blush. It is horrific once you
learn the details about how the student loan industry is run.
Speaker 3 (20:18):
Let's say you want to become a doctor or something
on the doctoral level, like you have a pharmacy major
or or a pharmaceutical sciences major. The highest average debt
this is just average debt. In other words, you have
people with more than that or less, but average debt
for people pursuing their doctoral level degrees three hundred and
(20:40):
ten thousand dollars. Yeah, it's it really is insane, more
than a quarter of a million dollars in just student debt.
And that's not saying you're not a good student. That's
not saying you're not a good person. It's just that
you have qualified to attend an institution of higher learning,
and you're pursuing an advanced degree, a doctoral level degree.
(21:03):
You can expect an average student debt of three hundred
and ten thousand dollars, right.
Speaker 2 (21:10):
And that is training for high income jobs. You might
as well forget now about going to college to get
an education in and of itself, right, let alone a
liberal arts of education. It's our education system really needs
an overhaul from theme. It needs an enema.
Speaker 3 (21:26):
I thank my parents every single day for putting me
through college to Georgetown University. And I would not be
able to afford to send any of my children to
Georgetown University because I think their yearly expenses is more
than eighty thousand dollars tuition, room and board.
Speaker 2 (21:45):
Yeah, keeps up, it keeps going up. And what you're
talking about is a United States where only affluent people
can afford college and it's out of reach for anybody else.
And to that, I say, not my country. You've got
people who didn't have a word to say about forgiving
PPP loans or COVID loans, COVID loans or massive tax cuts.
(22:10):
But somehow they've got strong opinions on you paying back
your student loan.
Speaker 3 (22:14):
Yeah, and maybe because they can put a face to it,
or a group of people to it. And I've noticed
in history, when we see a group of people get something,
Americans get angry.
Speaker 2 (22:28):
They feel like it's a zero sum game. I gets
a pie with a limited number of pieces, and it's
not the taxpayers don't even fut the bill. When somebody's
student loan is forgiven, often people pay for decades and
it hasn't even paid down their principle. It really is insane.
I will give you.
Speaker 3 (22:45):
Some personal information, and I'm sure my wife will hate
me for doing this, but I'll do it anyway.
Speaker 2 (22:49):
Let it all hang out.
Speaker 3 (22:50):
My wife has a master's in public administration. Okay, she's
still paying on those student loans. Yeah, there are people
who are retired and age still paying on them. And
the thing is, unlike say a tax cut, an educated
populace is a societal good.
Speaker 2 (23:08):
There's no debating it is a gain for us. Yeah,
as a society. I don't get it. I mean, unless
we want a society full of serfs who couldn't go
to college. What do you want here? Forgive these student loans?
We have devalued education.
Speaker 3 (23:21):
We've denigrated them with titles like they're elitists or something.
Speaker 4 (23:25):
You know.
Speaker 2 (23:25):
I like my doctors and pilots elite. Oh yeah, and
at least one sense, elitism is good. Expertise is good. Yes.
Speaker 3 (23:34):
Oh, I talked about how California has one hundred and
forty six point seven billion dollars of total student debt.
Texas a second with one hundred and twenty five point
seven billion, Florida is third with one hundred and three
point three billion, and New York is fourth with ninety
three point three billion. I suspect New York is fourth
because they're just fewer universities in the state of New
(23:56):
York comparatively speaking.
Speaker 2 (23:58):
You could be right. I have no idea. Yeah, I
want it.
Speaker 3 (24:00):
But and Georgia surprisingly is fifth, but much further down
the list in terms of money total money with sixty
nine billion.
Speaker 2 (24:11):
There's all these studies that show how every facet of
your life is improved if you have a college education,
and it shouldn't be out of reach for people who
just can't afford it because their parents aren't rich. Yeah,
and I understand that not everyone is cut out for college.
Speaker 3 (24:27):
I get that. I'm just saying we should not be
denigrating the institution of college and I think we should
be more aggressive in promoting it as a means. And
there are a lot of jobs that won't even let
you in the door for an interview without a college degree.
Speaker 2 (24:45):
Oh yeah, it's about access. The more you're educated, the
harder you are to control and lie to Always remember that.
Speaker 3 (24:53):
Did you say something? Did you lie to me? Never
to you mon never. Just want to make sure. I
just want to make sure you're on side. It's Later
with mo Kelly kf I AM six forty. We are
live everywhere on the iHeartRadio app. And speaking of college,
a lot of gen zers are calling me out of
college now and they're ill prepared, it seems to actually
maintain a job. Why because there are a bunch of
(25:17):
brad ass kids. We'll tell you, I guess we just
did tell you. Well, we'll tell you what employers are saying.
Speaker 1 (25:23):
You're listening to Later with Moe Kelly on demand from
KFI AM six forty And I got.
Speaker 2 (25:29):
To say, probably the whole concept of a work day,
or a work life balance or a workspace has changed
tremendously in the past four or five years. Some of
that has to do with the pandemic absolutely, some of
it has to do with attitudes generationally, and some of
(25:51):
it has to do with a generation of just lazy
ass bum ass kids who don't know the value of
an honest day's work. Off my damn lawn. Hello, gen Z,
I'm on another one.
Speaker 3 (26:06):
A recent survey by Intelligent dot Com found that about
one in six companies are hesitant to hire recent college graduates,
you know gen z Ers, and they cite concerns over
their preparedness or lack thereof, communication skills, lack thereof, and professionalism.
Speaker 2 (26:27):
Say it with me, lack thereof. A stunning six in ten.
Speaker 3 (26:33):
We need to work on your your rimshot skills because
I'm just making statements. They're not jokes with a punchline payoff.
Speaker 2 (26:39):
But it was funny. It was like the third one
was like the you know, the climax, he's illustrating your point. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (26:50):
A stunning six and ten companies said they had fired
college grads they hired this year for the reasons that
I just gave you. Some hiring managers and business leaders
believe that gen Z employees often lack the motivation, charisma,
and soft skills necessary to thrive in a professional environment.
(27:15):
I have my suspicions as to why that is, and
I think it has to do with how the gen
Z generation has been socialized. They usually, and yes I'm
generalizing the hell out of this, they usually lack the
social skills that we were taught. They were not that
they were raised by a phone, but they spend an
(27:36):
inordinate amount of time on devices and not actually dealing
with humans, So they don't know how to deal with
humans on a day to day basis. In a work environment,
you probably can't sit on your phone or computer all
the time. You probably have to deal with a manager,
You probably have to deal with other coworkers, and it
seems like maybe they're just ill prepared for that.
Speaker 2 (27:58):
Now. When market I were coming along many many years ago,
we were not distracted by these devices, and we had
to learn social skills. We had to actually ask a
young lady out. We had to go up to her
and speak to her and talk.
Speaker 3 (28:11):
I talked to Tula all the time about his kids
and how they socialize.
Speaker 2 (28:16):
They don't. It's everything's through text. They don't actually talk
to each other like we used to.
Speaker 3 (28:22):
And I think if you extrapolate, by the time they
get into the workforce, they probably don't do well with
eye contact. They probably don't do well with following deadlines
or being held to a very rigid schedule when you're
supposed to be at work. Mark, you and I were
talking about earlier, about the luxury of not having to
(28:45):
be in at seven in the morning.
Speaker 2 (28:47):
Yeah, we both had morning jobs. I could function, but
I wasn't crazy about it. But it was my job
and I did it. And if you didn't show up
on time, you were done. Oh yeah, you think I
just show up here at six point fifty nine, or
maybe I'll trot in at seven oh four and or
maybe seven thirty and do a radio show. No, it
(29:08):
doesn't work that way. I mean, you and I do
nothing but busty on each other constantly because we think
it's funny. But I'll tell you this, I've worked here
three and a half years. I've never once even been late. No,
I've never been late. Yeah, I'm usually this is a
true story. Show starts at seven.
Speaker 3 (29:24):
I'm usually here three thirty on average three thirty. There's
no one who beats me here period.
Speaker 2 (29:31):
What you're saying is that the young people could have
used a little bit more tough love growing up. Is
that it? I think that's part of it. And I
think that there is switch the switch the paddle. No,
it's an instant gratification generation. They seem to expect that
I've done this I should get that. I should not
have to start at the bottom. I'll give you.
Speaker 3 (29:49):
I'll use a radio analogy. Oftentimes we will have young
people come here who immediately expect to get on the
mic or immediate expect to certain level of payment or
a certain level of access, and like no, your in
turn plus a day. So it's the generation which has
(30:10):
no understanding of paying dues.
Speaker 2 (30:13):
Who is the originator of the aphorism nothing worthwhile is easy.
I forget, I don't know, I don't remember. But we
all had that burned into us. Absolutely. It might as
well have been branded into our flesh when we were young. Right,
and let me go back to the study real quick quote.
Many recent college graduates may struggle with entering the workforce
for the first time, as it can be a huge
(30:33):
contrast from what they are used to throughout their education journey.
They're often unprepared for a less structured environment, workplace, cultural dynamics,
and the expectation of autonomous work.
Speaker 3 (30:46):
Put another way, being freaking adults, someone not looking over
your shoulder. You're giving a deadline, Hey, I need this
report by two o'clock tomorrow. They're not going to come
back to you every five minutes and say, are you
still working on that report? Are you moving along? You
know they're not going to baby you. You have a deadline.
You meet the deadline. If you don't, then they'll find
someone who will. You know, I'm on the same page
(31:07):
as you on all this. But at the same time,
I also get a sick amusement from hearing about their
behavior during job interviews, Because if you love the movie
Office Space, when the main character gets hypnotized and he
just starts saying whatever's on his mind to the people,
that's that's really enjoyable.
Speaker 2 (31:24):
You have a cinematic reference for everything. No, No, No. That
turned out to be a classic because it resonated in
so many people's lives, But it's dated now.
Speaker 3 (31:32):
It almost doesn't make sense that the whole idea of
an office environment is obsolete, I guess, but I think
it's funny when I hear these stories about people who
show up the interviews and like shorts and a T shirt.
Speaker 2 (31:45):
Yes, that kind of yes, Or they'll they're asked a
question and they'll give some sort of half assed answer
like like it's your parents, or something like no, it's
an employer for a job, an adult job in the
real world. Check this out.
Speaker 3 (31:58):
Nearly twenty percent of hiring manager said new workers often
arrived late to work. We were talking about Mark and
failed to meet assignment deadlines Like I was talking about Mark.
Speaker 7 (32:07):
Yeah, not ready for prime time. I have seen recent
potential hiaries showing up at the school that I work at.
One young lady literally showed up in scrubs from her
other job well and was like, well, I had a
lunch break.
Speaker 2 (32:25):
So I had to come through.
Speaker 7 (32:26):
I'm like, so you came through here in your scrubs,
not even clean scrubs, just scrubs from her hospital internship
or whatever. I'm like, this is a noo dog, this
is no.
Speaker 2 (32:41):
The presumptuous nature of the younger folks today is mind
boggling to me. Strap into the wheel of pain. Don't
want to work.
Speaker 3 (32:50):
For anything, expect everything, instant gratification, instant reward for no
real work.
Speaker 2 (32:59):
Fit them with shot callers. Now, what's the deal? Face
the wheel.
Speaker 7 (33:02):
Now, my son he went out and has hustled up
his own job. But I think that's because he's watched me.
He knows how hard I work and what work means.
We have to drill that into our kids bottom line.
Speaker 2 (33:13):
Yeah we do. Mark don't have any kids. Think the
ships sailed? Would you? Would you have di sected me
or something? Not yet, but if there's a place open
after work, thank you. Okay, k IF I am six forty.
We're live everywhere in the iHeartRadio app. What the hell
is going on? Well we're about to tell you. K
(33:37):
s I, k OST HD
Speaker 5 (33:39):
Two Los Angeles, Orange County, everywhere on the radio.
Later, with Mo'Kelly News
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