October 22, 2025 • 33 mins
Two thousand jobs are being cut at Paramount-Skydance, roughly 10% of the workforce, equating to a projected $2 billion in savings. Meanwhile, Warner Bros. Discovery is for sale – and Paramount is interested in acquiring the organization. The ’80ssong “Danger Zone” by Kenny Loggins, which was famously used in Top Gun, is getting used in Donald Trump campaign videos, and Loggins is pissed!
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
You're listening to KFI AM sixty on demand.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
Hi there, I'm Chris Merril.
Speaker 3 (00:11):
More stimulating talk on demand anytime and the Ihard Radio app.
Speaker 2 (00:18):
All right, we'll talk to you. We talk Uh.
Speaker 3 (00:23):
Start over, Hi, Yeah, skip all that crap. We're gonna
talk a danger zone dust up. All right, this coming
up here after Mark's a little news headliner in about
ten minutes. First, though, the entertainment industry is shaking things
(00:44):
up again. Two thousand jobs is what Paramount Skydance say
they're gonna cut.
Speaker 2 (00:51):
Now.
Speaker 3 (00:52):
Oh man, that's not just a that is not just
a a right sizing. That is not a reduction in force.
That is a slaughter. That is an absolute massacre. They
say we're gonna get two billion dollars in savings by
(01:14):
cutting two thousand jobs. Paramount has just under nineteen thousand employees,
so they're cutting more than ten percent of their workforce.
They did do a round of layoffs in the merger
with sky Dance. Back in June, they cut three and
a half percent of their global staff. Skydance reported that
(01:34):
they had cut more than five hundred employees before the merger,
and now they're gonna cut out another two thousand. Good lord,
if you are somebody who is going to be victim
to that, I am so so sorry. That is never
fun being right sized. Hopefully you had a heads up,
(01:57):
Hopefully you were being proactive.
Speaker 2 (02:01):
It is no Wayne On my friends.
Speaker 3 (02:04):
But then this, this is where things get weird.
Speaker 2 (02:08):
Man.
Speaker 3 (02:10):
So you've got Paramount that's going to drop two thousand
people to save a couple billion dollars. Then there's another
media conglomerate that is now talking about selling themselves off.
Speaker 2 (02:27):
Warner Brothers.
Speaker 3 (02:28):
Discovery is for sale, and evidently lots of different places
are interested.
Speaker 2 (02:35):
Strategic options, according to Highwood.
Speaker 3 (02:37):
Reporter, include continuing with the previously announced split and spin
which is the NBC Universal in versant that's where they
spend some of the stuff off, which is a transaction
for the entire company, where a separate transaction for its
Warner Brothers and or Discovery Global business. Okay, then they
say that there's an alternative separation structure that would enable
(02:58):
a merger of Warner Brothers, and it's been off Discovery
Global to shareholders. So they say everything's on the table.
But now New York Times is reporting that Paramount may
be interested in acquiring Warner Brothers Discovery, so Warner has
acknowledged those discussions. They didn't name any specifics. If the
(03:21):
deal with Paramount reaches fruition, it would create a news
and entertainment behemoth that would rival streaming juggernauts like Netflix
and Disney. So that would mean that Mission Impossible and
Superman would both be on the same platform. It's Star
Trek and Batman are on the same platform. Top Gun
and Harry Potter same platform. You could also potentially see
(03:42):
streaming services that would merge, including Paramount Plus and HBO Max.
Speaker 2 (03:50):
So what is that? What does that do then?
Speaker 3 (03:53):
Well, if you are a Paramount Plus subscriber, you might
have access to Max for a nominal amount more.
Speaker 2 (03:58):
If you're an if you're an HBO.
Speaker 3 (03:59):
Max subscriber, you may have access to Paramount Plus phenomenal
amount more. It would also potentially merge paramounts CBS News
with Warner Bros.
Speaker 2 (04:11):
CNN. How does that play out?
Speaker 3 (04:14):
Roner, did you have thoughts on what might happen with
CBS News in charge?
Speaker 4 (04:22):
I've been having little fantasy scenarios of Barry Weiss encountering
the late Morley Safer and trying to tell him how
to report a story or something. She has no idea
what she's doing.
Speaker 2 (04:32):
I am.
Speaker 3 (04:33):
I would be very curious to see what would happen
if there would be autonomy between those two, or if
they would merge the brands so that you've have a CNN,
CBS News, you know, mix, and then they put one
person over the top of all of it, or would
they allow them to maintain autonomy.
Speaker 2 (04:53):
Very curious to see how that would shake out.
Speaker 4 (04:55):
I think CBS News it's done. Put a fork in it.
I mean, I mean to imagine working and being a professional,
a career professional in that newsroom and taking orders from
somebody who has no reporting experience.
Speaker 2 (05:07):
Here. I hear everything you're saying. However, we are.
Speaker 3 (05:11):
Seeing that experience doesn't seem to matter in today's day
and age. I would like to give you example a
the cabinet where we can simply pluck someone from Fox
News and they are now the secretary of insert name
of department.
Speaker 2 (05:27):
Here.
Speaker 4 (05:27):
Turns out there's repercussions for that.
Speaker 3 (05:30):
Well, I mean you say that, but they're still in charge.
There are repercussions for you and I, but the people
are hag Seth is still in charge.
Speaker 2 (05:40):
Cash Bettel is still in charge.
Speaker 3 (05:42):
Janine Piro is still a judge, right, Caroline Levitt is
still sending your mom text messages back to reporters who
are saying, what was the thought process behind this?
Speaker 2 (05:53):
Who thought this was a good idea? Your mom?
Speaker 4 (05:56):
Yeah, don't forget Sean Duffy, Oh, thank.
Speaker 2 (05:58):
You Sean Duffy.
Speaker 3 (05:59):
Another great example, because as we all know, the trains
are running on time, aren't they?
Speaker 2 (06:04):
They are not.
Speaker 3 (06:06):
Now, if Paramount and Warner do merge, then you would
potentially see a combination of Showtime and HBO. How does
that play out? And would they maintain separate subscription models
for those two those two bohemos. But again, all of
this would come as a result of a multi billion
dollar merger. And now you might say, well, where they
(06:28):
going to come up with a billion dollars maybe from
the two billion that they say they're saving by firing
two thousand people. And if they do that, how many
more people get canned? If you're at Warner right now,
just like your brother in at Paramount, I think you
probably ought to start considering how much value you present
(06:51):
to the company. And if you need to, is it
time to dust off the resume? And I don't say
that to be alarmist. I say that simply is a
cautionary tale. And for many of you, you're safe again.
If Paramount is canning more than ten percent of their staff,
that means nearly ninety percent or not being fired.
Speaker 2 (07:10):
But I've been a part of that. I've been a
part of.
Speaker 3 (07:12):
The calling before when I thought my job was safe,
and then I get the call that says, hey, can
we see in the office as I'm watching my longtime
colleagues being marched out of the building with their banker's
boxes full of personal belongings, And I know when I
go into that office why I'm going into that office.
It is a miserable feeling. So just talk to your unions,
(07:35):
talk to your agents, whoever you got to talk to.
Just make sure everything is everything is just tracking the
way you want it to. There is good news, though
I don't want to be able to doom and gloom.
There is good news, and by good news, I mean
really good news because there is some hope finally in
(07:56):
the California production business. You're gonna find out what that
hope is here and just you moments and a rock
legend says that his biggest hit just got dragged somewhere
it doesn't belong.
Speaker 2 (08:05):
Will he be able to drag it back? That's next.
Speaker 3 (08:08):
I'm Chris Merril k I AM six forty. We're live
everywhere in the iHeart Radio. I have Chris Merril. It's
k I AM six forty. More stimulating talk coming up
here after marks nine thirty news. You're going a chance
to buy now panic later. We'll find out why that
is in the meantime. Oh, hang on, I should have
thought ahead on this one. I don't know if I
(08:29):
have this. No, I don't. Hey, uh Sam, we please
pull up Kenny Log's danger Zone. We're gonna need that
here in a minute. Will you give me one moment?
I appreciate that. That's called producing on the air. I have
good news in the entertainment realm. I just give you
bad news. Paramounts canning another two thousand people. Bad HBO
(08:50):
is selling so HBO Max and HBO or I guess
it'd be Warner Warner Brothers Discovery. There they say, you
know what we're for sale? They put the for sale
sign up front. Okay, we'll get it. I'll let you
know one so. Oh, and then I also got this
notice today. Hang on, I got this straight from my email.
Speaker 2 (09:12):
Mark.
Speaker 4 (09:12):
Do you do you have a max subscription? A max subscription? Yeah,
hbo max oh max max, Yeah we do yeah yeah.
So the email today, I got it ten twenty eight
this morning. We want to let you know about an
upcoming change to your subscription. I got a monthly plan.
Speaker 3 (09:29):
You got it too, Standard monthly plan will increase to
eighteen forty nine a month.
Speaker 2 (09:34):
It was sixteen ninety nine a month.
Speaker 3 (09:35):
And that's the one with the commercials, right, That is
the no, I don't have commercials, but I also don't
have four K. I think I can only do two
screens in high DEPF not four K or something like that.
Speaker 2 (09:49):
It's the middle I have the middle plan standard monthly.
They call it.
Speaker 3 (09:53):
Okay, okay, So anyway, it's going up a buck and
a half. If you've got the high end plan, that
goes up two dollars. So there it is. They say,
don't worry, you don't have to do anything. Your subscription
will automatically renew at the new rate using the payment
method we have on file.
Speaker 4 (10:11):
So no worries.
Speaker 2 (10:14):
Turds. They just they just raised that. When did they
raise that June or something? Last year. I think, didn't
you have that in your story? Mark? Didn't you have
one of those stories on that earlier tonight? And I
thought I heard you saying that I did.
Speaker 4 (10:27):
And there are three tiers, and I was curious what
the third super tier gets you?
Speaker 3 (10:33):
Like, Okay, yeah, So they have ads supported that goes
up to ten ninety nine.
Speaker 2 (10:37):
They have Standard that's what I have, that's.
Speaker 3 (10:39):
Going up from sixteen ninety nine to eighteen forty, so
basically seventeen dollars to eighteen fifty. And they have the Premium,
which is going up from twenty one dollars to twenty
three dollars. Right, it gives you. I think it's more
screens and more logins. I think you can have like
you can share your log in.
Speaker 2 (11:01):
Oh that was good. That's Sam telling me to get
onto the next topic. I will thank you very much. No, no, no,
you said loan, you're good. No, you're good. I loved it.
Speaker 4 (11:08):
You said logins.
Speaker 2 (11:10):
So that's funny, multiple logins.
Speaker 3 (11:13):
No, hit it again. That was perfect. That's hilarious. That
is so funny. This is a uckstand that is so hilarious.
Speaker 2 (11:24):
All right. The song danger Zone.
Speaker 3 (11:29):
Shout Out Archer from a top gun, of course, has
been used in Trump campaign videos. And one thing I
know about artists, they love their music being used in
Republican propaganda. At this point, if you're a Republican, there
are artists you can use, many country artists and kid rock.
(11:53):
You have card Blow, oh and Ted NuGen, card Blunch,
use all those songs that you want pretty much anybody else. Yeah,
nobody likes that. So Trump's been using danger Zone for
campaign videos. I don't know why Trump needs a campaign
video anymore, because you know he's not running, but by god,
he's still making campaign stops. LA is reporting that Login's
(12:15):
rep said the campaign never sought or received any rights.
Logins is now joining a long list of musicians that
are objecting to political use of their songs. It was
circulating widely online before takedown requests where filed, and then,
of course there are always those questions about copyright consent
and then political messaging. My understanding on these on the
(12:36):
use of the license music is this, if you pay
for the license, you can use the music. The artists
can request that you stop using that, but it's nothing
more than a courtesy that you would have to say, sure,
out of respect for this artist, and because you don't
want the artists running around saying I don't want him
using my song. I disagree with this person, and then
it kind of makes you look like a chump doing it.
(12:59):
But my understanding is you don't have to stop if
you've paid for the license. That's how licensing music works. So,
because you are licensing your music out to anywhere, if
someone's paying for the rights to play your music, they
can play your music. That's my understanding on it.
Speaker 5 (13:17):
Well, yeah, no, Usually, whenever a band says something to
the nature of please don't use my music in your campaign,
stops or don't use it on TikTok, there's blanket licensing
that covers all of that stuff. So basically like anything
that's played in an arena is already is covered in
that blanket. And so whenever a band steps up and says, hey,
(13:38):
don't use my music, it's really performative, they're not.
Speaker 2 (13:41):
They don't.
Speaker 5 (13:42):
Whoever's using the music doesn't actually have to do anything.
Speaker 2 (13:45):
OK, got it?
Speaker 3 (13:46):
Okay, you and I that's exactly all I understood it too, Sam.
This is I feel so good when Sam validates my
points because he's much smarter he's just a smart guy.
Speaker 4 (13:57):
I fooled you.
Speaker 3 (13:57):
Yeah, it's pretty pretty sad that the dumbest guy in
the show is the one hosting you. That's that's pretty miserable.
That's uh, that's this This a real uh fault of leadership,
if you ask me. Uh So, here's where here's where
President Trump could say, I'm gonna do whatever I want.
I'm not gonna let the woke left push me around.
I'm gonna do anything. I'm gonna steal their stuff. It's
(14:18):
mine now, which is kind of what he did. When
it comes to AI copyrights. He says, it's more important
AI training is more important than your copyrights.
Speaker 2 (14:27):
It's more important than you getting paid for your work. Right,
That's exactly what happened.
Speaker 3 (14:33):
And now he could say, I'm just gonna keep using
whatever I want to use. But then you could have
the artists that continue to throw a fit, and they
could probably make a mockery of the president too and
make their own little counter ads if they wanted to.
Speaker 2 (14:46):
Would they?
Speaker 3 (14:47):
I don't know how much they want to get into it. Yeah,
there's no telling. And then I had one more store.
I don't know that's all that interesting though, You see
that the Succession house is consider like a public nuisance. Now,
so the mansion from Succession the show, which that was
(15:10):
an HBO show.
Speaker 2 (15:11):
Too, wasn't it? I think it was.
Speaker 3 (15:15):
So anyway, this mansion is declared a public nuisance because
it's one of the Pacific Palisades homes that got tosy.
So now as a result of that, the Board and
Building Safety Commissioners declaring properties public nuisances after they missed
the deadline. A cleanup has was to breathe after the
Palisades fired. So now I'd basically say it's an eyesore.
(15:42):
So what would Brian Cox say? He probably wouldn't care,
and nothing we could broadcast on the radio.
Speaker 2 (15:48):
Nothing. He would cut it all off. Yes, it's enough
of this. It's my company. I'll do what I want
with it.
Speaker 3 (15:55):
I will not tell anyone checking auditorial control gar I
don't know, turns into a fiate.
Speaker 4 (16:01):
Uh.
Speaker 3 (16:02):
You probably already clicked it, maybe last week, maybe this morning.
That tiny little button makes you feel like you're getting
away with something, but you're not going to know exactly
what it is that you're getting away with until you
see how much it's hurting your net worth. That's next.
I'm Chris Merril KFI AM six forty. We're live everywhere
in the iHeart Radio webb.
Speaker 1 (16:20):
You're listening to KFI AM six forty on demand.
Speaker 3 (16:25):
Sark if I brought to you by Fiber Fiber, Keeping
me going, keeping me up, keeping regular, Chris Merril I
AM six forty more stimulating talk Listen anytime on demand
in the iHeart Radio app.
Speaker 2 (16:38):
I was stinking away one of those mark you're an
old man.
Speaker 3 (16:42):
You ever get the careful you ever do the little
meta mucial fiber crackers. U.
Speaker 4 (16:48):
I'm not that old, and no you should.
Speaker 2 (16:52):
It's good. It's good for gut health fiber crackers. Yeah.
Speaker 4 (16:58):
So there's like there's snacks to make.
Speaker 3 (17:00):
You Yeah, I'm eating a mine's a cinnamon spice.
Speaker 2 (17:03):
I'm doing it now to let it work overnight.
Speaker 4 (17:05):
That really sounds delicious, it is. What kind of wine
would you drink with those crackers? M Maybe something with
a cap oh.
Speaker 3 (17:15):
Yeah, yeah, oh, something with a cardboard wrapper.
Speaker 2 (17:19):
Yeah. Yeah. I'm trying to think. Do I want something
sweet or no? Not too sweet? No, because it's already sweet. Also,
perhaps a nice velveta to go with it. Oh, very good? Yeah,
the fanciest of the cheeses. Uh huh, yeah, very good.
I like where you're going with this. I like it. No,
(17:39):
I recommend it. It's good, it's great for gut health.
Speaker 4 (17:41):
I love it.
Speaker 3 (17:42):
I love it, and it's easy and just get stuck
in your teeth. When you're trying to do a radio show,
the last thing you want is crap stuck in your teeth.
Speaker 4 (17:49):
I'm sure people understand. Yeah, they love a little cracker
as mr. Okay, no, no, no, no.
Speaker 2 (18:00):
All right, very good.
Speaker 3 (18:01):
You know how I could have bought this because I
I like to do a lot of shopping online and
I like to do.
Speaker 2 (18:08):
I don't know.
Speaker 3 (18:08):
I'm torn between the whole delivery thing because I'm cheap
and I don't want to have to pay people to
do something I'm perfectly capable of doing myself, is to
go down to the store it's two miles away and
pick up my food. But also, I hate people, so
it's not that I hate individuals. I just don't like
(18:30):
crowds and I don't like going to the store. I
get anxious. I just get a lot of anxiety when
I go into the stores. Right Costco is like a
it's I have to my wife literally will psych me out,
psych me up.
Speaker 2 (18:43):
I guess to go to cos.
Speaker 3 (18:45):
She goes, We're gonna go to Costco, and I'm like, okay,
she goes, I just want you to be ready, Okay,
all right?
Speaker 2 (18:52):
And I have to think about it and it gives me,
gives me anxiety, but I do it.
Speaker 3 (18:58):
But man, if I could just pay somebody to deliver
things to me, then I wouldn't have to when I
have to go deal with it.
Speaker 2 (19:04):
Right when I have to pack myself up, anxiety be gone.
Speaker 3 (19:07):
But then I worry about how much i've I've paid,
and they try to make it even easier too. When
I go to Amazon Now anytime I buy something that says,
do you want to use our buy now pay later program?
It's interest free, and I'm like interest free? Interest free
is like using somebody else's money. That seems like a
(19:27):
great idea. No, it's actually not. It's not a great idea.
Your financial advisor would tell you that if you can't
pay for I don't buy it. But the buy now
pay later is basically like payday loans with better branding,
so they the buying out pay later. If you're unfamiliar
that you can use it for just about anything now,
(19:49):
whether it's Klarna or a firm or one called after pay.
When you check out on Amazon, you get this option.
This is do you want to use you know, the
the Amazon thing and make this into x amount of
easy payments?
Speaker 2 (20:05):
That sounds tempting?
Speaker 4 (20:06):
Afterpay sounds kind of gross. Who came up with that?
The focus group? Did that come out.
Speaker 2 (20:14):
Of dapkin for this? Yeah?
Speaker 4 (20:17):
I wipe up all this afterpay?
Speaker 2 (20:20):
Okay, all right, let's see where you're going.
Speaker 3 (20:25):
Hippies will try to dry it, turn it into a powder,
and then make it into a pill.
Speaker 2 (20:30):
Yeah, of course they will. Where was that mark?
Speaker 6 (20:34):
Oh?
Speaker 2 (20:34):
Yes.
Speaker 3 (20:35):
The concern with the buy now, pay later is that
you've got regulators that are worried. Wait a minute, you're
basically like a credit card, but you're not playing by
the same credit card rules. So let's suppose that you're
looking at something and it's eight hundred dollars and you go, who,
I don't have eight hundred dollars. Well that's no problem.
Could you do two hundred dollars four times? And you're like,
(20:57):
you know, you're making a lot of sense. All of
a sudden, what's happening? Is especially with the younger generation.
And I think there are a couple of reasons that's
happening to the younger generation. I'll tell you that here
in a second. But they're going, oh, I can do that,
I can cash flow two hundred dollars a month. I
don't have eight hundred dollars, but I want it now.
So they go, look, this is interest free. But what
(21:19):
happens if you miss it? They go, well, I'm not
gonna miss it. I've got two hunred dollars. I've already
budgeted that. Sure, until you see the next thing that
you want, and then you're using that, you're using the
buy and now pay later for that, and then the
next thing, and then the next thing. And what's happening
is people are getting stuck in this cycle. They're getting
caught in this they're calling a cycle of micro debt.
(21:39):
And retailers love it because if you have the impulse
to purchase it now, they're lubricating the sale. They're making
it even easier to purchase that product. And the retailers
don't care because the retailer are not the ones dealing
with the debt. And the same way the retailers don't
care what your credit card balance is before you come
in and try to purchase something. They're perfectly fine with
(22:00):
making that sale. They're gonna get their money out of it.
The risk is on the part of these companies, the clarina,
the affirm, the afterpays. But what's happening is when people default,
it's no longer no interest. Now all of a sudden,
you're getting smacked with like thirty percent interest. I mean,
you are getting slammed with it. They say that millennials
(22:21):
and gen Z have used nearly half of millennials and
gen Z have used the buy now, pay later, the
clarina of the affirm, the after pay, which I believe
Clarna teamed up with. Correct me if I'm wrong here, guys,
was it door dash? So now you can actually do
a buy now, pay later for you know, your five
(22:42):
guys or your burrito.
Speaker 4 (22:44):
That's a great sign for the economy. It's not, And
I love your sarcasm. It is just not.
Speaker 2 (22:50):
O my god. I think that.
Speaker 3 (22:54):
The younger generations are susceptible to this because not because
gen Z is dumb. I have plenty of reasons to
bag on gen Z, but more often than not, what
I find is people that are critical of gen Z
are simply critical of that age, not this particular generation,
just anyone in that age range. They like said, the
(23:15):
kids these days, the kids these days are lazy. Nobody
wants to work anymore. This is a tale as old
as is employment itself. But what we run into is
in that age you're at a point where one you
have limited impulse control because you're being run largely by hormones.
Speaker 2 (23:31):
Rights.
Speaker 3 (23:32):
This is how the reproductive system works. Your hormones tell
you what to do. And then the other thing, too,
is that you're also at a point where you don't
have very much, and because you don't have very much,
attaining certain things can feel impossible and someone just made
it possible. So they just made the impossible tangible, and
(23:53):
you have limited impulse control. Throw into that, you're also
at the age where you are probably starting a family,
or you've got young family, and you've got extra needs,
and suddenly you get hit with all these well, I
have an emergency, I have to have breaks on my car,
I have to get to work, so well, look this
is a way for me to finance it. The buy now,
pay later is an easy way again to lubricate that sale,
(24:16):
and it is preying on our younger generations. And I
know you're gonna have people arguing, like, wait a minute,
you can't limit this. How could you possibly limit this?
You can't limit the free market.
Speaker 2 (24:32):
It's buy or beware, And if they're not aware, then
it's on them. At what point does the.
Speaker 3 (24:39):
Free market turn into predatory lending. That's the question that
the regulators are gonna have to figure out right now.
Because we do have rules around credit cards, we do
have certain rules around payday loans. At some point we're
gonna have to take a look at the rules around
the buy now pay laters. All right, think about your
spouse for a moment. You probably fight about a lot
of things, right in laws? Whoever left the dishes in
(25:01):
the sink? All these different things. My wife and I
got in a argument today because I said that her
family doesn't like me.
Speaker 2 (25:08):
They just tolerate me.
Speaker 3 (25:09):
They like you, they like I got nah, they always
refer to me as your husband.
Speaker 2 (25:13):
I'm just they look.
Speaker 3 (25:14):
I appreciate that they tolerate me, but I'm not an
I'm nobody's buddy.
Speaker 4 (25:18):
Yeah, David, you are on then that was.
Speaker 2 (25:20):
Our fight today. The dumbest fight ever.
Speaker 3 (25:23):
There's new data that says there is one fight that
is a bigger threat to your marriage than anything that
you assumed before. I will tell you what it is next.
I'm Chris Merril kfi AM six forty. We're live everywhere
on the iHeartRadio app they handle out there. I'm Chris
merylkfi AM six forty. More stimulating talk and you are
just ten minutes away from Coast to Coast with the
(25:43):
Hall of Famer George Nori, my friend.
Speaker 2 (25:46):
Welcome to the program. Great to hear from you, doing
real well there.
Speaker 3 (25:52):
I'm a man, and I see that that three I
Atlas is sneaking around the Sun here and probably gonna,
you know, shower us with a bunch of aliens.
Speaker 6 (26:02):
Whatever that thing may be. And they also discover the
second moon around Earth that'll be here until twenty eighty three.
Speaker 2 (26:09):
They said, Oh my, this is why I listened. I mean,
where else am I going to get this information from? Then?
From you?
Speaker 6 (26:16):
On the show tonight, We've got the folks from Critical
Health News dot com coming to give us some health tips.
And then later on Magic and the Occult on Coast
to Coast, ah good stuff.
Speaker 3 (26:28):
Every night coast to coast, George Noring magic and the
occult that fascinating.
Speaker 2 (26:33):
That's good stuff, all right, George, have a great show there,
my friend. Thank you. Uh it is till debt do
Us part?
Speaker 3 (26:40):
New national survey from a place called debt dot com,
which obviously you've probably bookmarked. It shows that credit card
debt is now a leading factor in divorce.
Speaker 2 (26:51):
Yeah, so top driver.
Speaker 3 (26:54):
In some cases it surpasses infidelity. People would rather stick
around with you're cheating ways then stick around with your
broke ass. Rising interest rates, inflation, hidden debt disclosures adding
to stress in couples relationships. There are fights over spending
habits and secret credit card use.
Speaker 2 (27:14):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (27:14):
I don't do the secret credit cards. And honestly, it's
easier than ever to have a secret credit card.
Speaker 2 (27:20):
Why did I think of this? So dumb? Okay, how
do you get away with a secret credit card? I'm
glad you asked.
Speaker 6 (27:27):
Now.
Speaker 3 (27:28):
The old days, you'd get a credit card and then
the statement would show up in the mail, which meant
that you always had to get to the mailbox before
your spouse did because you didn't want that credit card
statement to show up when they're picking up the mail
and then, of course there might be some month that
you don't do it, or you're out of town and
your spouse is there, or whatever it is, your spouse
gets it and goes, that's weird. I didn't know we
had a capital one card. What are all these charges
(27:50):
on here?
Speaker 2 (27:53):
Right?
Speaker 3 (27:54):
People try to get away with that in the past,
the same way that you know, men used to try
to have subscription to Playboy after they got married, and
they had to get to the mailbox first, but eventually
she figured it out. She'd get to the mailbox and go,
why is there a Playboy in here? That sob right.
But now everything's online. You have paperless statements, so you
(28:15):
could go get a credit card, and unless your spouse
is checking your credit, you're probably not gonna get caught.
Speaker 2 (28:24):
How much trust do you have in your spouse and
how much did your spouse trust you? All Right?
Speaker 3 (28:30):
The big deal breaker now in marriage is not necessarily cheating,
although I wouldn't recommend it. Money is the big one.
There is one group though, that is seeing an uptick
in divorce rates. It's the over fifties. Yeah, divorce rates
among people eligible for AARP, so called gray divorce has
(28:54):
doubled since the nineteen nineties. Overall divorce rates declining, but
the old divorce rates increasing.
Speaker 2 (29:04):
Why that's a good question. First of all, this is.
Speaker 3 (29:09):
The This is the group of people who grow up
with when when divorces were at the highest in the
nineteen eighties. Now here we are forty years later, and
they haven't experienced it yet. So I think they're probably
less hesitant to get divorced because they saw it so much. However,
we'll say this too. There are a number of people
(29:30):
who stick around in a marriage and they go I
just wanted to stay there until the kids were grown,
until the kids got to college. Once the kids went away,
that's when we decided we were going to split. And
I hear that all too often in my cohort. And
then they do and I always wonder, what, you know,
why do you wait so long? Then well, we did
(29:51):
it for the kids. So the kid's example of a
marriage was loveless. Feels like that's not real healthy either.
If you are thinking that things are not going to
work out, first step, call Sam. I know it sounds
like a commercial for a bad lawyer, but Sam does
a lot of couple's therapy.
Speaker 4 (30:09):
That's yeah, oh yeah, that's.
Speaker 2 (30:11):
What he does. I'm surprisingly good at it, and God
bless you for it. But honestly, don't don't stick around
for the kid. That's my advice. Sam.
Speaker 3 (30:19):
Maybe you disagree and go, no, no, the kids need that,
but I think that's I just think that you're setting
an example of what a loveless marriage looks like, and
then they don't know what a good marriage looks like
and you need to lead by example.
Speaker 5 (30:29):
Yeah, you kind of need to set an example for
your kids of what it's like to actually be happy,
and both of you encouraging each other's happiness even if
you guys aren't going to stay together.
Speaker 4 (30:40):
I love that.
Speaker 3 (30:42):
The other thing that explains why we're seeing uptick is
that we have more women over the age of fifty
now who have their own income, and they have their
own retirement savings more than ever before. They're not reliant
on their husband's pensions from the factory job or whatever
else it might be, and so we're seeing that happening.
The other thing, too, is what do I like to say,
(31:03):
sixty is the new forty and all that kind of stuff. Basically,
if you're fifty, you still have a lot of years
ahead of you, and so people are living longer, and
they go.
Speaker 2 (31:12):
Look, I did twenty years with this boob.
Speaker 3 (31:14):
I don't want to do another twenty and I'm gonna
have at least another twenty in me. Honestly, this is
not a joke, and it is one of the things
I fear that one day I'm gonna come home and
my wife is gonna say, yeah, I figured out you
are actually the giant adult that you keep talking about.
You know that you keep calling yourself on the radio.
I always thought it was shtick. It's actually true, and
(31:36):
I'm out worries the hell out of me. I had
a buddy, it's been about ten years now, and his
parents were wait in their mid to late fifties, and
his mother came home one day when there was a
moving truck in the yard and his dad was just
packing everything up.
Speaker 2 (31:53):
I'm leaving just he goes. She goes, what are you doing?
Speaker 3 (31:57):
He says, I'm leaving you was it? They've been together
over twenty years. He said, I can't do it anymore.
Speaker 2 (32:02):
I'm out.
Speaker 3 (32:04):
Two of the nicest people you'd ever meet too. You
never you would never assume that this guy would do that,
But he did, and.
Speaker 5 (32:12):
Think about how much communication got missed between him think
deciding that it's time to go and him actually leaving lots.
Speaker 2 (32:21):
And I think, I mean, without getting too deep into it,
because we're short on time here. We gotta get we
gotta get away for Norri.
Speaker 3 (32:28):
But I know that in talking to my buddy, trying
to trying to be there for him, I know that
his father had expressed concerns and she kept saying everything's fine,
everything's fine, everything's fine, and just she never wanted to
address it head on, and finally he just said, I'm out.
I think you may have I think he may have
(32:48):
wanted to start another relationship too. I don't think he
cheated on her, but I think he probably had one
of those emotional affairs and was.
Speaker 2 (32:57):
Ready to jump ship.
Speaker 3 (32:59):
But I can tell you that it's my buddy's mom
was devastated, just wrecked, so really tough.
Speaker 2 (33:05):
Anyway that's happening. Well. On that note, George Noury is
going to tell you about the occult. That sounds fun.
Speaker 3 (33:14):
I'm back again tomorrow, Chris Merrill, have a good way. Sam,
love you, buddy, Nick, you did a great job tonight.
And Mark, I always love it when I can get
you fired up too, pal or just fired Nah, You're
definitely it needs to weakness feel away from that.
Speaker 2 (33:29):
Guys are great.
Speaker 3 (33:30):
Back again tomorrow, Chris Merril k if I Am six
forty relive everywhere in the iHeartRadio app
Speaker 1 (33:34):
I kf I am six on demand
You're listening to KFI AM sixty on demand.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
Hi there, I'm Chris Merril.
Speaker 3 (00:11):
More stimulating talk on demand anytime and the Ihard Radio app.
Speaker 2 (00:18):
All right, we'll talk to you. We talk Uh.
Speaker 3 (00:23):
Start over, Hi, Yeah, skip all that crap. We're gonna
talk a danger zone dust up. All right, this coming
up here after Mark's a little news headliner in about
ten minutes. First, though, the entertainment industry is shaking things
(00:44):
up again. Two thousand jobs is what Paramount Skydance say
they're gonna cut.
Speaker 2 (00:51):
Now.
Speaker 3 (00:52):
Oh man, that's not just a that is not just
a a right sizing. That is not a reduction in force.
That is a slaughter. That is an absolute massacre. They
say we're gonna get two billion dollars in savings by
(01:14):
cutting two thousand jobs. Paramount has just under nineteen thousand employees,
so they're cutting more than ten percent of their workforce.
They did do a round of layoffs in the merger
with sky Dance. Back in June, they cut three and
a half percent of their global staff. Skydance reported that
(01:34):
they had cut more than five hundred employees before the merger,
and now they're gonna cut out another two thousand. Good lord,
if you are somebody who is going to be victim
to that, I am so so sorry. That is never
fun being right sized. Hopefully you had a heads up,
(01:57):
Hopefully you were being proactive.
Speaker 2 (02:01):
It is no Wayne On my friends.
Speaker 3 (02:04):
But then this, this is where things get weird.
Speaker 2 (02:08):
Man.
Speaker 3 (02:10):
So you've got Paramount that's going to drop two thousand
people to save a couple billion dollars. Then there's another
media conglomerate that is now talking about selling themselves off.
Speaker 2 (02:27):
Warner Brothers.
Speaker 3 (02:28):
Discovery is for sale, and evidently lots of different places
are interested.
Speaker 2 (02:35):
Strategic options, according to Highwood.
Speaker 3 (02:37):
Reporter, include continuing with the previously announced split and spin
which is the NBC Universal in versant that's where they
spend some of the stuff off, which is a transaction
for the entire company, where a separate transaction for its
Warner Brothers and or Discovery Global business. Okay, then they
say that there's an alternative separation structure that would enable
(02:58):
a merger of Warner Brothers, and it's been off Discovery
Global to shareholders. So they say everything's on the table.
But now New York Times is reporting that Paramount may
be interested in acquiring Warner Brothers Discovery, so Warner has
acknowledged those discussions. They didn't name any specifics. If the
(03:21):
deal with Paramount reaches fruition, it would create a news
and entertainment behemoth that would rival streaming juggernauts like Netflix
and Disney. So that would mean that Mission Impossible and
Superman would both be on the same platform. It's Star
Trek and Batman are on the same platform. Top Gun
and Harry Potter same platform. You could also potentially see
(03:42):
streaming services that would merge, including Paramount Plus and HBO Max.
Speaker 2 (03:50):
So what is that? What does that do then?
Speaker 3 (03:53):
Well, if you are a Paramount Plus subscriber, you might
have access to Max for a nominal amount more.
Speaker 2 (03:58):
If you're an if you're an HBO.
Speaker 3 (03:59):
Max subscriber, you may have access to Paramount Plus phenomenal
amount more. It would also potentially merge paramounts CBS News
with Warner Bros.
Speaker 2 (04:11):
CNN. How does that play out?
Speaker 3 (04:14):
Roner, did you have thoughts on what might happen with
CBS News in charge?
Speaker 4 (04:22):
I've been having little fantasy scenarios of Barry Weiss encountering
the late Morley Safer and trying to tell him how
to report a story or something. She has no idea
what she's doing.
Speaker 2 (04:32):
I am.
Speaker 3 (04:33):
I would be very curious to see what would happen
if there would be autonomy between those two, or if
they would merge the brands so that you've have a CNN,
CBS News, you know, mix, and then they put one
person over the top of all of it, or would
they allow them to maintain autonomy.
Speaker 2 (04:53):
Very curious to see how that would shake out.
Speaker 4 (04:55):
I think CBS News it's done. Put a fork in it.
I mean, I mean to imagine working and being a professional,
a career professional in that newsroom and taking orders from
somebody who has no reporting experience.
Speaker 2 (05:07):
Here. I hear everything you're saying. However, we are.
Speaker 3 (05:11):
Seeing that experience doesn't seem to matter in today's day
and age. I would like to give you example a
the cabinet where we can simply pluck someone from Fox
News and they are now the secretary of insert name
of department.
Speaker 2 (05:27):
Here.
Speaker 4 (05:27):
Turns out there's repercussions for that.
Speaker 3 (05:30):
Well, I mean you say that, but they're still in charge.
There are repercussions for you and I, but the people
are hag Seth is still in charge.
Speaker 2 (05:40):
Cash Bettel is still in charge.
Speaker 3 (05:42):
Janine Piro is still a judge, right, Caroline Levitt is
still sending your mom text messages back to reporters who
are saying, what was the thought process behind this?
Speaker 2 (05:53):
Who thought this was a good idea? Your mom?
Speaker 4 (05:56):
Yeah, don't forget Sean Duffy, Oh, thank.
Speaker 2 (05:58):
You Sean Duffy.
Speaker 3 (05:59):
Another great example, because as we all know, the trains
are running on time, aren't they?
Speaker 2 (06:04):
They are not.
Speaker 3 (06:06):
Now, if Paramount and Warner do merge, then you would
potentially see a combination of Showtime and HBO. How does
that play out? And would they maintain separate subscription models
for those two those two bohemos. But again, all of
this would come as a result of a multi billion
dollar merger. And now you might say, well, where they
(06:28):
going to come up with a billion dollars maybe from
the two billion that they say they're saving by firing
two thousand people. And if they do that, how many
more people get canned? If you're at Warner right now,
just like your brother in at Paramount, I think you
probably ought to start considering how much value you present
(06:51):
to the company. And if you need to, is it
time to dust off the resume? And I don't say
that to be alarmist. I say that simply is a
cautionary tale. And for many of you, you're safe again.
If Paramount is canning more than ten percent of their staff,
that means nearly ninety percent or not being fired.
Speaker 2 (07:10):
But I've been a part of that. I've been a
part of.
Speaker 3 (07:12):
The calling before when I thought my job was safe,
and then I get the call that says, hey, can
we see in the office as I'm watching my longtime
colleagues being marched out of the building with their banker's
boxes full of personal belongings, And I know when I
go into that office why I'm going into that office.
It is a miserable feeling. So just talk to your unions,
(07:35):
talk to your agents, whoever you got to talk to.
Just make sure everything is everything is just tracking the
way you want it to. There is good news, though
I don't want to be able to doom and gloom.
There is good news, and by good news, I mean
really good news because there is some hope finally in
(07:56):
the California production business. You're gonna find out what that
hope is here and just you moments and a rock
legend says that his biggest hit just got dragged somewhere
it doesn't belong.
Speaker 2 (08:05):
Will he be able to drag it back? That's next.
Speaker 3 (08:08):
I'm Chris Merril k I AM six forty. We're live
everywhere in the iHeart Radio. I have Chris Merril. It's
k I AM six forty. More stimulating talk coming up
here after marks nine thirty news. You're going a chance
to buy now panic later. We'll find out why that
is in the meantime. Oh, hang on, I should have
thought ahead on this one. I don't know if I
(08:29):
have this. No, I don't. Hey, uh Sam, we please
pull up Kenny Log's danger Zone. We're gonna need that
here in a minute. Will you give me one moment?
I appreciate that. That's called producing on the air. I have
good news in the entertainment realm. I just give you
bad news. Paramounts canning another two thousand people. Bad HBO
(08:50):
is selling so HBO Max and HBO or I guess
it'd be Warner Warner Brothers Discovery. There they say, you
know what we're for sale? They put the for sale
sign up front. Okay, we'll get it. I'll let you
know one so. Oh, and then I also got this
notice today. Hang on, I got this straight from my email.
Speaker 2 (09:12):
Mark.
Speaker 4 (09:12):
Do you do you have a max subscription? A max subscription? Yeah,
hbo max oh max max, Yeah we do yeah yeah.
So the email today, I got it ten twenty eight
this morning. We want to let you know about an
upcoming change to your subscription. I got a monthly plan.
Speaker 3 (09:29):
You got it too, Standard monthly plan will increase to
eighteen forty nine a month.
Speaker 2 (09:34):
It was sixteen ninety nine a month.
Speaker 3 (09:35):
And that's the one with the commercials, right, That is
the no, I don't have commercials, but I also don't
have four K. I think I can only do two
screens in high DEPF not four K or something like that.
Speaker 2 (09:49):
It's the middle I have the middle plan standard monthly.
They call it.
Speaker 3 (09:53):
Okay, okay, So anyway, it's going up a buck and
a half. If you've got the high end plan, that
goes up two dollars. So there it is. They say,
don't worry, you don't have to do anything. Your subscription
will automatically renew at the new rate using the payment
method we have on file.
Speaker 4 (10:11):
So no worries.
Speaker 2 (10:14):
Turds. They just they just raised that. When did they
raise that June or something? Last year. I think, didn't
you have that in your story? Mark? Didn't you have
one of those stories on that earlier tonight? And I
thought I heard you saying that I did.
Speaker 4 (10:27):
And there are three tiers, and I was curious what
the third super tier gets you?
Speaker 3 (10:33):
Like, Okay, yeah, So they have ads supported that goes
up to ten ninety nine.
Speaker 2 (10:37):
They have Standard that's what I have, that's.
Speaker 3 (10:39):
Going up from sixteen ninety nine to eighteen forty, so
basically seventeen dollars to eighteen fifty. And they have the Premium,
which is going up from twenty one dollars to twenty
three dollars. Right, it gives you. I think it's more
screens and more logins. I think you can have like
you can share your log in.
Speaker 2 (11:01):
Oh that was good. That's Sam telling me to get
onto the next topic. I will thank you very much. No, no, no,
you said loan, you're good. No, you're good. I loved it.
Speaker 4 (11:08):
You said logins.
Speaker 2 (11:10):
So that's funny, multiple logins.
Speaker 3 (11:13):
No, hit it again. That was perfect. That's hilarious. That
is so funny. This is a uckstand that is so hilarious.
Speaker 2 (11:24):
All right. The song danger Zone.
Speaker 3 (11:29):
Shout Out Archer from a top gun, of course, has
been used in Trump campaign videos. And one thing I
know about artists, they love their music being used in
Republican propaganda. At this point, if you're a Republican, there
are artists you can use, many country artists and kid rock.
(11:53):
You have card Blow, oh and Ted NuGen, card Blunch,
use all those songs that you want pretty much anybody else. Yeah,
nobody likes that. So Trump's been using danger Zone for
campaign videos. I don't know why Trump needs a campaign
video anymore, because you know he's not running, but by god,
he's still making campaign stops. LA is reporting that Login's
(12:15):
rep said the campaign never sought or received any rights.
Logins is now joining a long list of musicians that
are objecting to political use of their songs. It was
circulating widely online before takedown requests where filed, and then,
of course there are always those questions about copyright consent
and then political messaging. My understanding on these on the
(12:36):
use of the license music is this, if you pay
for the license, you can use the music. The artists
can request that you stop using that, but it's nothing
more than a courtesy that you would have to say, sure,
out of respect for this artist, and because you don't
want the artists running around saying I don't want him
using my song. I disagree with this person, and then
it kind of makes you look like a chump doing it.
(12:59):
But my understanding is you don't have to stop if
you've paid for the license. That's how licensing music works. So,
because you are licensing your music out to anywhere, if
someone's paying for the rights to play your music, they
can play your music. That's my understanding on it.
Speaker 5 (13:17):
Well, yeah, no, Usually, whenever a band says something to
the nature of please don't use my music in your campaign,
stops or don't use it on TikTok, there's blanket licensing
that covers all of that stuff. So basically like anything
that's played in an arena is already is covered in
that blanket. And so whenever a band steps up and says, hey,
(13:38):
don't use my music, it's really performative, they're not.
Speaker 2 (13:41):
They don't.
Speaker 5 (13:42):
Whoever's using the music doesn't actually have to do anything.
Speaker 2 (13:45):
OK, got it?
Speaker 3 (13:46):
Okay, you and I that's exactly all I understood it too, Sam.
This is I feel so good when Sam validates my
points because he's much smarter he's just a smart guy.
Speaker 4 (13:57):
I fooled you.
Speaker 3 (13:57):
Yeah, it's pretty pretty sad that the dumbest guy in
the show is the one hosting you. That's that's pretty miserable.
That's uh, that's this This a real uh fault of leadership,
if you ask me. Uh So, here's where here's where
President Trump could say, I'm gonna do whatever I want.
I'm not gonna let the woke left push me around.
I'm gonna do anything. I'm gonna steal their stuff. It's
(14:18):
mine now, which is kind of what he did. When
it comes to AI copyrights. He says, it's more important
AI training is more important than your copyrights.
Speaker 2 (14:27):
It's more important than you getting paid for your work. Right,
That's exactly what happened.
Speaker 3 (14:33):
And now he could say, I'm just gonna keep using
whatever I want to use. But then you could have
the artists that continue to throw a fit, and they
could probably make a mockery of the president too and
make their own little counter ads if they wanted to.
Speaker 2 (14:46):
Would they?
Speaker 3 (14:47):
I don't know how much they want to get into it. Yeah,
there's no telling. And then I had one more store.
I don't know that's all that interesting though, You see
that the Succession house is consider like a public nuisance. Now,
so the mansion from Succession the show, which that was
(15:10):
an HBO show.
Speaker 2 (15:11):
Too, wasn't it? I think it was.
Speaker 3 (15:15):
So anyway, this mansion is declared a public nuisance because
it's one of the Pacific Palisades homes that got tosy.
So now as a result of that, the Board and
Building Safety Commissioners declaring properties public nuisances after they missed
the deadline. A cleanup has was to breathe after the
Palisades fired. So now I'd basically say it's an eyesore.
(15:42):
So what would Brian Cox say? He probably wouldn't care,
and nothing we could broadcast on the radio.
Speaker 2 (15:48):
Nothing. He would cut it all off. Yes, it's enough
of this. It's my company. I'll do what I want
with it.
Speaker 3 (15:55):
I will not tell anyone checking auditorial control gar I
don't know, turns into a fiate.
Speaker 4 (16:01):
Uh.
Speaker 3 (16:02):
You probably already clicked it, maybe last week, maybe this morning.
That tiny little button makes you feel like you're getting
away with something, but you're not going to know exactly
what it is that you're getting away with until you
see how much it's hurting your net worth. That's next.
I'm Chris Merril KFI AM six forty. We're live everywhere
in the iHeart Radio webb.
Speaker 1 (16:20):
You're listening to KFI AM six forty on demand.
Speaker 3 (16:25):
Sark if I brought to you by Fiber Fiber, Keeping
me going, keeping me up, keeping regular, Chris Merril I
AM six forty more stimulating talk Listen anytime on demand
in the iHeart Radio app.
Speaker 2 (16:38):
I was stinking away one of those mark you're an
old man.
Speaker 3 (16:42):
You ever get the careful you ever do the little
meta mucial fiber crackers. U.
Speaker 4 (16:48):
I'm not that old, and no you should.
Speaker 2 (16:52):
It's good. It's good for gut health fiber crackers. Yeah.
Speaker 4 (16:58):
So there's like there's snacks to make.
Speaker 3 (17:00):
You Yeah, I'm eating a mine's a cinnamon spice.
Speaker 2 (17:03):
I'm doing it now to let it work overnight.
Speaker 4 (17:05):
That really sounds delicious, it is. What kind of wine
would you drink with those crackers? M Maybe something with
a cap oh.
Speaker 3 (17:15):
Yeah, yeah, oh, something with a cardboard wrapper.
Speaker 2 (17:19):
Yeah. Yeah. I'm trying to think. Do I want something
sweet or no? Not too sweet? No, because it's already sweet. Also,
perhaps a nice velveta to go with it. Oh, very good? Yeah,
the fanciest of the cheeses. Uh huh, yeah, very good.
I like where you're going with this. I like it. No,
(17:39):
I recommend it. It's good, it's great for gut health.
Speaker 4 (17:41):
I love it.
Speaker 3 (17:42):
I love it, and it's easy and just get stuck
in your teeth. When you're trying to do a radio show,
the last thing you want is crap stuck in your teeth.
Speaker 4 (17:49):
I'm sure people understand. Yeah, they love a little cracker
as mr. Okay, no, no, no, no.
Speaker 2 (18:00):
All right, very good.
Speaker 3 (18:01):
You know how I could have bought this because I
I like to do a lot of shopping online and
I like to do.
Speaker 2 (18:08):
I don't know.
Speaker 3 (18:08):
I'm torn between the whole delivery thing because I'm cheap
and I don't want to have to pay people to
do something I'm perfectly capable of doing myself, is to
go down to the store it's two miles away and
pick up my food. But also, I hate people, so
it's not that I hate individuals. I just don't like
(18:30):
crowds and I don't like going to the store. I
get anxious. I just get a lot of anxiety when
I go into the stores. Right Costco is like a
it's I have to my wife literally will psych me out,
psych me up.
Speaker 2 (18:43):
I guess to go to cos.
Speaker 3 (18:45):
She goes, We're gonna go to Costco, and I'm like, okay,
she goes, I just want you to be ready, Okay,
all right?
Speaker 2 (18:52):
And I have to think about it and it gives me,
gives me anxiety, but I do it.
Speaker 3 (18:58):
But man, if I could just pay somebody to deliver
things to me, then I wouldn't have to when I
have to go deal with it.
Speaker 2 (19:04):
Right when I have to pack myself up, anxiety be gone.
Speaker 3 (19:07):
But then I worry about how much i've I've paid,
and they try to make it even easier too. When
I go to Amazon Now anytime I buy something that says,
do you want to use our buy now pay later program?
It's interest free, and I'm like interest free? Interest free
is like using somebody else's money. That seems like a
(19:27):
great idea. No, it's actually not. It's not a great idea.
Your financial advisor would tell you that if you can't
pay for I don't buy it. But the buy now
pay later is basically like payday loans with better branding,
so they the buying out pay later. If you're unfamiliar
that you can use it for just about anything now,
(19:49):
whether it's Klarna or a firm or one called after pay.
When you check out on Amazon, you get this option.
This is do you want to use you know, the
the Amazon thing and make this into x amount of
easy payments?
Speaker 2 (20:05):
That sounds tempting?
Speaker 4 (20:06):
Afterpay sounds kind of gross. Who came up with that?
The focus group? Did that come out.
Speaker 2 (20:14):
Of dapkin for this? Yeah?
Speaker 4 (20:17):
I wipe up all this afterpay?
Speaker 2 (20:20):
Okay, all right, let's see where you're going.
Speaker 3 (20:25):
Hippies will try to dry it, turn it into a powder,
and then make it into a pill.
Speaker 2 (20:30):
Yeah, of course they will. Where was that mark?
Speaker 6 (20:34):
Oh?
Speaker 2 (20:34):
Yes.
Speaker 3 (20:35):
The concern with the buy now, pay later is that
you've got regulators that are worried. Wait a minute, you're
basically like a credit card, but you're not playing by
the same credit card rules. So let's suppose that you're
looking at something and it's eight hundred dollars and you go, who,
I don't have eight hundred dollars. Well that's no problem.
Could you do two hundred dollars four times? And you're like,
(20:57):
you know, you're making a lot of sense. All of
a sudden, what's happening? Is especially with the younger generation.
And I think there are a couple of reasons that's
happening to the younger generation. I'll tell you that here
in a second. But they're going, oh, I can do that,
I can cash flow two hundred dollars a month. I
don't have eight hundred dollars, but I want it now.
So they go, look, this is interest free. But what
(21:19):
happens if you miss it? They go, well, I'm not
gonna miss it. I've got two hunred dollars. I've already
budgeted that. Sure, until you see the next thing that
you want, and then you're using that, you're using the
buy and now pay later for that, and then the
next thing, and then the next thing. And what's happening
is people are getting stuck in this cycle. They're getting
caught in this they're calling a cycle of micro debt.
(21:39):
And retailers love it because if you have the impulse
to purchase it now, they're lubricating the sale. They're making
it even easier to purchase that product. And the retailers
don't care because the retailer are not the ones dealing
with the debt. And the same way the retailers don't
care what your credit card balance is before you come
in and try to purchase something. They're perfectly fine with
(22:00):
making that sale. They're gonna get their money out of it.
The risk is on the part of these companies, the clarina,
the affirm, the afterpays. But what's happening is when people default,
it's no longer no interest. Now all of a sudden,
you're getting smacked with like thirty percent interest. I mean,
you are getting slammed with it. They say that millennials
(22:21):
and gen Z have used nearly half of millennials and
gen Z have used the buy now, pay later, the
clarina of the affirm, the after pay, which I believe
Clarna teamed up with. Correct me if I'm wrong here, guys,
was it door dash? So now you can actually do
a buy now, pay later for you know, your five
(22:42):
guys or your burrito.
Speaker 4 (22:44):
That's a great sign for the economy. It's not, And
I love your sarcasm. It is just not.
Speaker 2 (22:50):
O my god. I think that.
Speaker 3 (22:54):
The younger generations are susceptible to this because not because
gen Z is dumb. I have plenty of reasons to
bag on gen Z, but more often than not, what
I find is people that are critical of gen Z
are simply critical of that age, not this particular generation,
just anyone in that age range. They like said, the
(23:15):
kids these days, the kids these days are lazy. Nobody
wants to work anymore. This is a tale as old
as is employment itself. But what we run into is
in that age you're at a point where one you
have limited impulse control because you're being run largely by hormones.
Speaker 2 (23:31):
Rights.
Speaker 3 (23:32):
This is how the reproductive system works. Your hormones tell
you what to do. And then the other thing, too,
is that you're also at a point where you don't
have very much, and because you don't have very much,
attaining certain things can feel impossible and someone just made
it possible. So they just made the impossible tangible, and
(23:53):
you have limited impulse control. Throw into that, you're also
at the age where you are probably starting a family,
or you've got young family, and you've got extra needs,
and suddenly you get hit with all these well, I
have an emergency, I have to have breaks on my car,
I have to get to work, so well, look this
is a way for me to finance it. The buy now,
pay later is an easy way again to lubricate that sale,
(24:16):
and it is preying on our younger generations. And I
know you're gonna have people arguing, like, wait a minute,
you can't limit this. How could you possibly limit this?
You can't limit the free market.
Speaker 2 (24:32):
It's buy or beware, And if they're not aware, then
it's on them. At what point does the.
Speaker 3 (24:39):
Free market turn into predatory lending. That's the question that
the regulators are gonna have to figure out right now.
Because we do have rules around credit cards, we do
have certain rules around payday loans. At some point we're
gonna have to take a look at the rules around
the buy now pay laters. All right, think about your
spouse for a moment. You probably fight about a lot
of things, right in laws? Whoever left the dishes in
(25:01):
the sink? All these different things. My wife and I
got in a argument today because I said that her
family doesn't like me.
Speaker 2 (25:08):
They just tolerate me.
Speaker 3 (25:09):
They like you, they like I got nah, they always
refer to me as your husband.
Speaker 2 (25:13):
I'm just they look.
Speaker 3 (25:14):
I appreciate that they tolerate me, but I'm not an
I'm nobody's buddy.
Speaker 4 (25:18):
Yeah, David, you are on then that was.
Speaker 2 (25:20):
Our fight today. The dumbest fight ever.
Speaker 3 (25:23):
There's new data that says there is one fight that
is a bigger threat to your marriage than anything that
you assumed before. I will tell you what it is next.
I'm Chris Merril kfi AM six forty. We're live everywhere
on the iHeartRadio app they handle out there. I'm Chris
merylkfi AM six forty. More stimulating talk and you are
just ten minutes away from Coast to Coast with the
(25:43):
Hall of Famer George Nori, my friend.
Speaker 2 (25:46):
Welcome to the program. Great to hear from you, doing
real well there.
Speaker 3 (25:52):
I'm a man, and I see that that three I
Atlas is sneaking around the Sun here and probably gonna,
you know, shower us with a bunch of aliens.
Speaker 6 (26:02):
Whatever that thing may be. And they also discover the
second moon around Earth that'll be here until twenty eighty three.
Speaker 2 (26:09):
They said, Oh my, this is why I listened. I mean,
where else am I going to get this information from? Then?
From you?
Speaker 6 (26:16):
On the show tonight, We've got the folks from Critical
Health News dot com coming to give us some health tips.
And then later on Magic and the Occult on Coast
to Coast, ah good stuff.
Speaker 3 (26:28):
Every night coast to coast, George Noring magic and the
occult that fascinating.
Speaker 2 (26:33):
That's good stuff, all right, George, have a great show there,
my friend. Thank you. Uh it is till debt do
Us part?
Speaker 3 (26:40):
New national survey from a place called debt dot com,
which obviously you've probably bookmarked. It shows that credit card
debt is now a leading factor in divorce.
Speaker 2 (26:51):
Yeah, so top driver.
Speaker 3 (26:54):
In some cases it surpasses infidelity. People would rather stick
around with you're cheating ways then stick around with your
broke ass. Rising interest rates, inflation, hidden debt disclosures adding
to stress in couples relationships. There are fights over spending
habits and secret credit card use.
Speaker 2 (27:14):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (27:14):
I don't do the secret credit cards. And honestly, it's
easier than ever to have a secret credit card.
Speaker 2 (27:20):
Why did I think of this? So dumb? Okay, how
do you get away with a secret credit card? I'm
glad you asked.
Speaker 6 (27:27):
Now.
Speaker 3 (27:28):
The old days, you'd get a credit card and then
the statement would show up in the mail, which meant
that you always had to get to the mailbox before
your spouse did because you didn't want that credit card
statement to show up when they're picking up the mail
and then, of course there might be some month that
you don't do it, or you're out of town and
your spouse is there, or whatever it is, your spouse
gets it and goes, that's weird. I didn't know we
had a capital one card. What are all these charges
(27:50):
on here?
Speaker 2 (27:53):
Right?
Speaker 3 (27:54):
People try to get away with that in the past,
the same way that you know, men used to try
to have subscription to Playboy after they got married, and
they had to get to the mailbox first, but eventually
she figured it out. She'd get to the mailbox and go,
why is there a Playboy in here? That sob right.
But now everything's online. You have paperless statements, so you
(28:15):
could go get a credit card, and unless your spouse
is checking your credit, you're probably not gonna get caught.
Speaker 2 (28:24):
How much trust do you have in your spouse and
how much did your spouse trust you? All Right?
Speaker 3 (28:30):
The big deal breaker now in marriage is not necessarily cheating,
although I wouldn't recommend it. Money is the big one.
There is one group though, that is seeing an uptick
in divorce rates. It's the over fifties. Yeah, divorce rates
among people eligible for AARP, so called gray divorce has
(28:54):
doubled since the nineteen nineties. Overall divorce rates declining, but
the old divorce rates increasing.
Speaker 2 (29:04):
Why that's a good question. First of all, this is.
Speaker 3 (29:09):
The This is the group of people who grow up
with when when divorces were at the highest in the
nineteen eighties. Now here we are forty years later, and
they haven't experienced it yet. So I think they're probably
less hesitant to get divorced because they saw it so much. However,
we'll say this too. There are a number of people
(29:30):
who stick around in a marriage and they go I
just wanted to stay there until the kids were grown,
until the kids got to college. Once the kids went away,
that's when we decided we were going to split. And
I hear that all too often in my cohort. And
then they do and I always wonder, what, you know,
why do you wait so long? Then well, we did
(29:51):
it for the kids. So the kid's example of a
marriage was loveless. Feels like that's not real healthy either.
If you are thinking that things are not going to
work out, first step, call Sam. I know it sounds
like a commercial for a bad lawyer, but Sam does
a lot of couple's therapy.
Speaker 4 (30:09):
That's yeah, oh yeah, that's.
Speaker 2 (30:11):
What he does. I'm surprisingly good at it, and God
bless you for it. But honestly, don't don't stick around
for the kid. That's my advice. Sam.
Speaker 3 (30:19):
Maybe you disagree and go, no, no, the kids need that,
but I think that's I just think that you're setting
an example of what a loveless marriage looks like, and
then they don't know what a good marriage looks like
and you need to lead by example.
Speaker 5 (30:29):
Yeah, you kind of need to set an example for
your kids of what it's like to actually be happy,
and both of you encouraging each other's happiness even if
you guys aren't going to stay together.
Speaker 4 (30:40):
I love that.
Speaker 3 (30:42):
The other thing that explains why we're seeing uptick is
that we have more women over the age of fifty
now who have their own income, and they have their
own retirement savings more than ever before. They're not reliant
on their husband's pensions from the factory job or whatever
else it might be, and so we're seeing that happening.
The other thing, too, is what do I like to say,
(31:03):
sixty is the new forty and all that kind of stuff. Basically,
if you're fifty, you still have a lot of years
ahead of you, and so people are living longer, and
they go.
Speaker 2 (31:12):
Look, I did twenty years with this boob.
Speaker 3 (31:14):
I don't want to do another twenty and I'm gonna
have at least another twenty in me. Honestly, this is
not a joke, and it is one of the things
I fear that one day I'm gonna come home and
my wife is gonna say, yeah, I figured out you
are actually the giant adult that you keep talking about.
You know that you keep calling yourself on the radio.
I always thought it was shtick. It's actually true, and
(31:36):
I'm out worries the hell out of me. I had
a buddy, it's been about ten years now, and his
parents were wait in their mid to late fifties, and
his mother came home one day when there was a
moving truck in the yard and his dad was just
packing everything up.
Speaker 2 (31:53):
I'm leaving just he goes. She goes, what are you doing?
Speaker 3 (31:57):
He says, I'm leaving you was it? They've been together
over twenty years. He said, I can't do it anymore.
Speaker 2 (32:02):
I'm out.
Speaker 3 (32:04):
Two of the nicest people you'd ever meet too. You
never you would never assume that this guy would do that,
But he did, and.
Speaker 5 (32:12):
Think about how much communication got missed between him think
deciding that it's time to go and him actually leaving lots.
Speaker 2 (32:21):
And I think, I mean, without getting too deep into it,
because we're short on time here. We gotta get we
gotta get away for Norri.
Speaker 3 (32:28):
But I know that in talking to my buddy, trying
to trying to be there for him, I know that
his father had expressed concerns and she kept saying everything's fine,
everything's fine, everything's fine, and just she never wanted to
address it head on, and finally he just said, I'm out.
I think you may have I think he may have
(32:48):
wanted to start another relationship too. I don't think he
cheated on her, but I think he probably had one
of those emotional affairs and was.
Speaker 2 (32:57):
Ready to jump ship.
Speaker 3 (32:59):
But I can tell you that it's my buddy's mom
was devastated, just wrecked, so really tough.
Speaker 2 (33:05):
Anyway that's happening. Well. On that note, George Noury is
going to tell you about the occult. That sounds fun.
Speaker 3 (33:14):
I'm back again tomorrow, Chris Merrill, have a good way. Sam,
love you, buddy, Nick, you did a great job tonight.
And Mark, I always love it when I can get
you fired up too, pal or just fired Nah, You're
definitely it needs to weakness feel away from that.
Speaker 2 (33:29):
Guys are great.
Speaker 3 (33:30):
Back again tomorrow, Chris Merril k if I Am six
forty relive everywhere in the iHeartRadio app
Speaker 1 (33:34):
I kf I am six on demand
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