Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:04):
This is Later with Lee Matthews, The Lee Matthews Podcast
more what You Hear weekday afternoons on the Drive.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
Kat Temp is a writer, comedian, a libertarian commentator, and
she is currently the co host of gut Field on
Fox News weeknights at ten. She's written such New York
Times bestsellers as You Can't Joke About That, Why Everything
is Funny, Nothing is sacred, and We're all in this together.
And her newest creation will probably hit home to you
(00:32):
as well. It's called I Used to Like You Until
How Binarying? How binary Thinking Divides Us? Cat Temp? Welcome.
Let's start with just what is binary thinking?
Speaker 3 (00:44):
So it's to us versus them one side or the other,
left versus right. It's this idea that just because someone
is in the opposite political party, or maybe even have
a different view on a single political issue, that that
means that we have absolutely nothing to have in common
with that person. We're being conditioned to believe that right now,
(01:06):
and sadly it's absolutely not accurate, as I show in
this book, not only for my person you know, research,
but many of my personal experiences as well.
Speaker 2 (01:14):
So you did do some research on this. I mean,
I've been doing informal research on it because I work
in the same line of work as you, and I've
noticed it steadily on since maybe two thousand and ten
twenty eleven. To me, I directly attribute it to the
development and the infiltration of digital technology into our world,
where it is easier for us to be manipulated. It
(01:37):
is easier to create perceptions that really aren't there.
Speaker 3 (01:42):
It definitely is easier. And I also think social media
has a lot to do with it in other ways too,
where it kind of just takes the humanity away of
the person you're talking to. And that's why I think
that in this book I show I tell a lot
of very personal stories about myself. I'm very vulnerable about
myself in this book, because I think that vulnerability is
(02:04):
a huge way to get us out of this mess.
If we want to be able to see each other's humans,
show that we're human, we have to show that we're
human in order to be able to accomplish that, and
so that's why I do it. I mean, it's easier
to show compassion when you know maybe what the other
person's going through.
Speaker 2 (02:25):
It's called I used to like you until dot dot
dot caat temp is with us. You've seen her on
many US news shows, including co host of Guttfeld week
Nights at ten, that, by the way, has really taken
off that show.
Speaker 3 (02:40):
Yeah, really really so very grateful for that.
Speaker 2 (02:42):
Yeah. So here's the question that I deal with along
these lines. And it came first of all from none
other than my priest, who came to me knows that
I work in this field, and said, look, I'm really
confused as to how I can how I can better
communicate in my sermons something that someone may think is
(03:05):
a liberal tendency because we have a very conservative congregation.
And I said, just do it. And I said, just
do it. It doesn't matter if it's liberal or conservative.
What matters is that we are polite about it. Polite
discourse is what is missing.
Speaker 3 (03:22):
Absolutely, And I think if you want to win over
and connect with someone who's diadment from you, then the
best way also is to folks on what you have
in common. First, Like I said, we're really being conditioned
to believe that if someone is liberal and you're conservative
or vice versa, you're not going to agree with them
on anything that's it's not true. And so my book
is really a guide for people to connect with people
who may have written them off. I think we've all
(03:42):
been there or our personal relationships have sadly been affected
by politics, and I think it's it is very sad.
I think it's really honestly, it's sad. And you break
it down that politics makes us fight with people who
we know in our real lives on behalf of people
who don't even know we exist, and this book as
a guide for that. And it's also it's an entertaining
(04:02):
read because I think also having it be entertaining, people
want to be entertained, right.
Speaker 2 (04:07):
Oh yeah, yeah, well if it's not entertaining, don't do it.
As evidenced by you and Greg Guttfeldt show, the reason
it is being watched by more people than ever before
is because it is entertaining.
Speaker 3 (04:21):
Yeah. Absolutely, nobody likes to just sit there and be
preached at, right, So like, if you have some if
you're able to entertain them as well, then that's something
people are more likely to want to pay attention to.
Speaker 2 (04:33):
I used to like you until dot dot dot And
the subtitle is how binary thinking divide just can't tempt
us with us? Who do you think is doing the conditioning?
Since we are being conditioned.
Speaker 3 (04:46):
I write a lot about that in the book. I mean,
it's the media and it's politicians. I mean, you know,
when you take the example of politicians, it's fear and
division is obviously very lucrative for them in terms of
their political capital. Saying vote for me is nowhere near
as effective as saying, if you don't, if the other
person wins and we're all destroyed and everyone's going to die,
(05:08):
you know, the country's over, that is a lot more motivating.
And I you know, there's definitely ways to be attuned
to the manipulation as it's happening, whether it's in terms
of elections or it's in terms of trying to get
through legislation that is taking away our rights. But I
(05:31):
and I kind of expose a lot of that in
the book. So if you get read the book, there's
a lot of ways to see. You know, the media
does it too, you know, to kind of be attuned
to how you're being manipulated and how to avoid that,
and also how to connect with other people who might
you might see being manipulated as well.
Speaker 2 (05:50):
And you've been through these meetings probably like I have
with our superiors about Okay, we need to we need
to increase our digital presence and how many likes and
how many, how many clicks we're getting. So I think
that feeds into it as well, because they not only
want you watching or listening to their content, they want
(06:11):
you to participate in the content digitally so that they
can get metrics and numbers that can be sold to advertisers.
So I'm wondering if a lot of what we're seeing
is not somewhat of a death knell of the traditional
media as they try to survive.
Speaker 3 (06:30):
Well, it's also interesting that the you know, the social media,
a lot of the most extreme voices. It amplifies the
loudest on social media, so there's often you know that
there's that motivation there.
Speaker 2 (06:45):
Yeah, Cat Temp is with us. I used to like
you until how binary thinking divides us. Every author I
speak with has learned something in the process of writing
their book. What was the thing that you learned most
once you closed the proofreading and sent the pages off
to the publisher?
Speaker 3 (07:05):
You know, you know what? I thought that this would
be an enduring topic, right, And I really learned quickly
kind of just how right I was about that, because
I sent this book off in May, and then there
was the Trump assassination attempt, and then there was Biden
dropping out of the race and all these things, and
I worried for a second. I was like, is this
going to be relevant still? Right?
Speaker 2 (07:26):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (07:26):
But then I reread my book a few times. I mean,
I wrote every word, but you know, and then I
reread it over and over again of Prayer for Media,
and I read the audiobook as well. But it really
if you read this book, it provides a great explanation
for how we wound up where we are here today.
I mean, just for example, with Biden dropping out the
last minute, how was he able to go on for
so long? And I think it's because saying, hey, that
(07:49):
man doesn't look well, let alone, can that man do
another four years became a sort of republican thing to say.
So there was only one side of the people's saying again.
The other people couldn't think that was a republican thing
to say, so, I you know, I think it honestly,
I keep going back to my own words that I
wrote in terms of things I see around me happening
(08:10):
every day in this election cycle. And then I'm sure.
Speaker 2 (08:13):
Beyond I used to like you until dot dot dot
how binary thinking divide us. Kat Temp is with us.
We thank you for the book, for joining us, and
we'll be watching you on gut Faeld weeknights of ten.
Speaker 3 (08:25):
Yeah, thank you so much for having me.
Speaker 1 (08:27):
Thanks for listening to Later with Lee Matthews, the Lee
Matthews Podcast, and remember to listen to The Drive Live
weekday afternoons from five to seven and iHeartMedia Presentation
This is Later with Lee Matthews, The Lee Matthews Podcast
more what You Hear weekday afternoons on the Drive.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
Kat Temp is a writer, comedian, a libertarian commentator, and
she is currently the co host of gut Field on
Fox News weeknights at ten. She's written such New York
Times bestsellers as You Can't Joke About That, Why Everything
is Funny, Nothing is sacred, and We're all in this together.
And her newest creation will probably hit home to you
(00:32):
as well. It's called I Used to Like You Until
How Binarying? How binary Thinking Divides Us? Cat Temp? Welcome.
Let's start with just what is binary thinking?
Speaker 3 (00:44):
So it's to us versus them one side or the other,
left versus right. It's this idea that just because someone
is in the opposite political party, or maybe even have
a different view on a single political issue, that that
means that we have absolutely nothing to have in common
with that person. We're being conditioned to believe that right now,
(01:06):
and sadly it's absolutely not accurate, as I show in
this book, not only for my person you know, research,
but many of my personal experiences as well.
Speaker 2 (01:14):
So you did do some research on this. I mean,
I've been doing informal research on it because I work
in the same line of work as you, and I've
noticed it steadily on since maybe two thousand and ten
twenty eleven. To me, I directly attribute it to the
development and the infiltration of digital technology into our world,
where it is easier for us to be manipulated. It
(01:37):
is easier to create perceptions that really aren't there.
Speaker 3 (01:42):
It definitely is easier. And I also think social media
has a lot to do with it in other ways too,
where it kind of just takes the humanity away of
the person you're talking to. And that's why I think
that in this book I show I tell a lot
of very personal stories about myself. I'm very vulnerable about
myself in this book, because I think that vulnerability is
(02:04):
a huge way to get us out of this mess.
If we want to be able to see each other's humans,
show that we're human, we have to show that we're
human in order to be able to accomplish that, and
so that's why I do it. I mean, it's easier
to show compassion when you know maybe what the other
person's going through.
Speaker 2 (02:25):
It's called I used to like you until dot dot
dot caat temp is with us. You've seen her on
many US news shows, including co host of Guttfeld week
Nights at ten, that, by the way, has really taken
off that show.
Speaker 3 (02:40):
Yeah, really really so very grateful for that.
Speaker 2 (02:42):
Yeah. So here's the question that I deal with along
these lines. And it came first of all from none
other than my priest, who came to me knows that
I work in this field, and said, look, I'm really
confused as to how I can how I can better
communicate in my sermons something that someone may think is
(03:05):
a liberal tendency because we have a very conservative congregation.
And I said, just do it. And I said, just
do it. It doesn't matter if it's liberal or conservative.
What matters is that we are polite about it. Polite
discourse is what is missing.
Speaker 3 (03:22):
Absolutely, And I think if you want to win over
and connect with someone who's diadment from you, then the
best way also is to folks on what you have
in common. First, Like I said, we're really being conditioned
to believe that if someone is liberal and you're conservative
or vice versa, you're not going to agree with them
on anything that's it's not true. And so my book
is really a guide for people to connect with people
who may have written them off. I think we've all
(03:42):
been there or our personal relationships have sadly been affected
by politics, and I think it's it is very sad.
I think it's really honestly, it's sad. And you break
it down that politics makes us fight with people who
we know in our real lives on behalf of people
who don't even know we exist, and this book as
a guide for that. And it's also it's an entertaining
(04:02):
read because I think also having it be entertaining, people
want to be entertained, right.
Speaker 2 (04:07):
Oh yeah, yeah, well if it's not entertaining, don't do it.
As evidenced by you and Greg Guttfeldt show, the reason
it is being watched by more people than ever before
is because it is entertaining.
Speaker 3 (04:21):
Yeah. Absolutely, nobody likes to just sit there and be
preached at, right, So like, if you have some if
you're able to entertain them as well, then that's something
people are more likely to want to pay attention to.
Speaker 2 (04:33):
I used to like you until dot dot dot And
the subtitle is how binary thinking divide just can't tempt
us with us? Who do you think is doing the conditioning?
Since we are being conditioned.
Speaker 3 (04:46):
I write a lot about that in the book. I mean,
it's the media and it's politicians. I mean, you know,
when you take the example of politicians, it's fear and
division is obviously very lucrative for them in terms of
their political capital. Saying vote for me is nowhere near
as effective as saying, if you don't, if the other
person wins and we're all destroyed and everyone's going to die,
(05:08):
you know, the country's over, that is a lot more motivating.
And I you know, there's definitely ways to be attuned
to the manipulation as it's happening, whether it's in terms
of elections or it's in terms of trying to get
through legislation that is taking away our rights. But I
(05:31):
and I kind of expose a lot of that in
the book. So if you get read the book, there's
a lot of ways to see. You know, the media
does it too, you know, to kind of be attuned
to how you're being manipulated and how to avoid that,
and also how to connect with other people who might
you might see being manipulated as well.
Speaker 2 (05:50):
And you've been through these meetings probably like I have
with our superiors about Okay, we need to we need
to increase our digital presence and how many likes and
how many, how many clicks we're getting. So I think
that feeds into it as well, because they not only
want you watching or listening to their content, they want
(06:11):
you to participate in the content digitally so that they
can get metrics and numbers that can be sold to advertisers.
So I'm wondering if a lot of what we're seeing
is not somewhat of a death knell of the traditional
media as they try to survive.
Speaker 3 (06:30):
Well, it's also interesting that the you know, the social media,
a lot of the most extreme voices. It amplifies the
loudest on social media, so there's often you know that
there's that motivation there.
Speaker 2 (06:45):
Yeah, Cat Temp is with us. I used to like
you until how binary thinking divides us. Every author I
speak with has learned something in the process of writing
their book. What was the thing that you learned most
once you closed the proofreading and sent the pages off
to the publisher?
Speaker 3 (07:05):
You know, you know what? I thought that this would
be an enduring topic, right, And I really learned quickly
kind of just how right I was about that, because
I sent this book off in May, and then there
was the Trump assassination attempt, and then there was Biden
dropping out of the race and all these things, and
I worried for a second. I was like, is this
going to be relevant still? Right?
Speaker 2 (07:26):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (07:26):
But then I reread my book a few times. I mean,
I wrote every word, but you know, and then I
reread it over and over again of Prayer for Media,
and I read the audiobook as well. But it really
if you read this book, it provides a great explanation
for how we wound up where we are here today.
I mean, just for example, with Biden dropping out the
last minute, how was he able to go on for
so long? And I think it's because saying, hey, that
(07:49):
man doesn't look well, let alone, can that man do
another four years became a sort of republican thing to say.
So there was only one side of the people's saying again.
The other people couldn't think that was a republican thing
to say, so, I you know, I think it honestly,
I keep going back to my own words that I
wrote in terms of things I see around me happening
(08:10):
every day in this election cycle. And then I'm sure.
Speaker 2 (08:13):
Beyond I used to like you until dot dot dot
how binary thinking divide us. Kat Temp is with us.
We thank you for the book, for joining us, and
we'll be watching you on gut Faeld weeknights of ten.
Speaker 3 (08:25):
Yeah, thank you so much for having me.
Speaker 1 (08:27):
Thanks for listening to Later with Lee Matthews, the Lee
Matthews Podcast, and remember to listen to The Drive Live
weekday afternoons from five to seven and iHeartMedia Presentation
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