How Do You Mess Up Praising Grandmas?

Speaker 1 Were you or a loved one diagnosed with lung cancer or mesothelioma due to exposure to asbestos?

Speaker 6 For over 20 years, Vogelzang Law has helped families across the country fight for justice after asbestos exposure.

Speaker 7 Call or visit our website and begin your free case review today.

Speaker 9 Call 888-680-2259.

Speaker 11 That's 888-680-2259 or visit vogelzanglaw.com slash connect.

Speaker 12 Hello, Los Angeles.

Speaker 12 Love it or leave it.

Speaker 12 Welcome to Love It or Leave It.

Speaker 13 Very excited to be able to tell you that Crooked Media and the Crooked Media Workers Union have ratified their first ever contract.

Speaker 13 I am less excited than now every time I ask my producers to do remotely anything, they send me a Britney meme saying, I'm Union, bitch.

Speaker 13 And congratulations on those 49 days of PTO. That just means 49 more days when we're just friends outside of work.

Speaker 13 Tonight, Roxanne Gay and I shoot the shit and absolutely nothing else. Then Ashley Ray and Simon Rex blink twice.
Then we all spin it back to our favorite segment, the rant wheel.

Speaker 13 But first, let's get into it. What a week.

Speaker 13 Minnesota Governor Tim Wall spoke at a convention of public employees in Los Angeles on Tuesday. He would have gotten here Monday, but there's already traffic for the 2028 Olympics.
God,

Speaker 13 we are not going to be ready.

Speaker 13 Also, imagine Tim Walls making his way around Los Angeles. The grocery store is called what? The smoothies cost how much? What do you mean, CMOS?

Speaker 13 Walls kicked off his appearance by saying this.

Speaker 15 I happen to be the first union member on a presidential ticket since Ronald Reagan.

Speaker 12 But rest assured, I won't lose my way.

Speaker 12 Wow.

Speaker 16 Damn.

Speaker 13 Take a shot like that at Reagan. You think he was trying to impress Jody Foster? Wallace

Speaker 13 spoke about Harris working at McDonald's as a student and drew a comparison with Donald Trump.

Speaker 15 Can you simply picture Donald Trump working at a McDonald's trying to make a McFlurry or something? It's.

Speaker 15 Oh, yeah, he knows, he knows us, he knows us. He couldn't run that damn McFlurry machine if it cost him anything.
So.

Speaker 13 I'm not sure that's the test we want to use. Can you picture Barack Obama making a McFlurry? Everyone in line would be like, whoa, check it out.
It's former president Barack Obama.

Speaker 13 Besides, no one can work the McFlurry machine until the one living McFlurry machine repairman, who I assume is the richest man in America, can make his way to Shreveport, Louisiana, to fix the first machine on his work order.

Speaker 13 Wallace wrapped up his speech with a reminder that hope is not enough.

Speaker 15 But my wife often reminds me, hope is a great word and a beautiful name, but it's not a damn plan. We can't hope that we defeat Donald Trump.
We can't hope that we can collectively bargain.

Speaker 15 We can't hope we protect Social Security. We can't hope that we address climate change.

Speaker 15 You don't hope to win. You plan, prepare, and work to win.

Speaker 13 Fuck yeah.

Speaker 13 Let's fucking go.

Speaker 13 I'm ready to win win this election or softball game. He's hitting all the dad cords.
I'm getting confused. Let's go out there and vote and/or fuck up Mankato East.

Speaker 13 In the face of a drop in polls and a series of meandering and counterproductive public appearances by the Republican nominee, Republicans are getting nervous.

Speaker 13 Nikki Haley advised Trump to shut up about the size of his crowds already.

Speaker 17 I want this campaign to win, but the campaign is not going to win talking about crowd sizes. It's not going to win talking about what race Kamala Harris is.

Speaker 17 It's not going to win talking about whether she's dumb. It's not, you can't win on those things.

Speaker 13 Yeah, Trump. It's time to get back to the basics.
Hannibal Elector and shark attacks. Also,

Speaker 13 there's something just

Speaker 13 something very like heart of darkness about Nikki Haley being like these awful and disgusting things that reveal your despicable, unrelentingly unacceptable moral failings. Bad strategy.

Speaker 13 Megan Kayleigh said this about Trump on her show Wednesday.

Speaker 18 Like,

Speaker 18 he rambles. He goes on too long at his rallies and in these exchanges and at his presser the other day to where you get kind of bored, you lose the thread.

Speaker 18 And I think that's probably an age-related change.

Speaker 13 Yeah, yeah, I know, yeah. He's fucking sharp as a tack.

Speaker 13 I do take issue with this. People don't naturally get boring as they age.
Joyce Carolots is 86, and she is more captivatingly insane on Twitter with every passing day.

Speaker 13 Kellyanne Conway lamented just how much everyone loves Kamala.

Speaker 21 Everybody's making her whatever they need her to be. She's so good looking.
She's so smart. She's so wealthy.
She's so funny.

Speaker 12 She's close to her mom. She doesn't really think that you'll never break their heart.

Speaker 13 It's ridiculous. Her daughter and her husband like her, and when they talk about her in the press, it doesn't make her sobbage or a 32-ounce awallow of white zim.

Speaker 13 On Wednesday, Trump held a rally in North Carolina and said this about the vice president.

Speaker 14 That's the laugh of a crazy person. I will tell you, if you haven't done, it's a crazy...

Speaker 14 She's crazy. No, her laugh is career threatening.
They said, don't laugh. She hasn't laughed.
She doesn't laugh anymore. It's smart, but someday it's going to come out.

Speaker 14 That's the laugh of a person with some big problems.

Speaker 13 I will say, sometimes guys will bring their girlfriend or wife to a comedy club and they freak out when their wife starts laughing really hard at the comedian because they're realizing in that moment that they've never truly made a woman laugh.

Speaker 13 and they find that super threatening.

Speaker 13 Speaking of men who freak out when women have fun, in a newly resurfaced podcast interview, Joybird DeFiler Vance seemed to agree with the host

Speaker 13 when he said that helping raise grandchildren is the whole purpose of post-menopausal females.

Speaker 19 And you can sort of see the effect it has on him to be around them.

Speaker 19 Like they spoil him, sort of all the classic stuff that grandparents do to grandchildren, but it makes him a much better human being to have exposure to his grandparents.

Speaker 12 Well, I don't know yet.

Speaker 13 And the evidence on this, by the way, is like super clear.

Speaker 20 That's the whole purpose of the postmenopausal female in theory.

Speaker 13 If you're in a conversation where the other person says the words, postmenopausal female,

Speaker 13 and neither of you is a doctor,

Speaker 13 and you don't leave the room like you've been shot out of a cannon, you should be shot out of a cannon.

Speaker 13 Do you know how hard it is to say my kids love grandma in a way that makes 100% of people who haven't heard of Jordan Peterson deeply uncomfortable?

Speaker 13 Like the thought that he is expressing is so common and normal. What kind of a dipshit can fuck up saying baby loves grandma?

Speaker 13 The weirdness also continued with zero pushback from Vance.

Speaker 12 Did your in-laws, and particularly your mother-in-law, show up in some huge way?

Speaker 19 She lived with us for a year.

Speaker 12 Right.

Speaker 19 So, you know, I didn't know the answer to that. Right.
No.

Speaker 23 So that's this weird unadvertised feature of marrying an Indian woman.

Speaker 19 It's in some ways the most transgressive thing I've ever done against sort of the

Speaker 19 hyper-neoliberal approach to work and family.

Speaker 13 Normal way to let someone talk about your wife and her family like she's a car with heated seats.

Speaker 13 We are getting very, like, it's a little window into like a whole community of people talking to each other in this way to the point where they don't realize when they describe whole swaths of the population as miserable, childless cath ladies, that they're off-putting.

Speaker 13 That that's the thing. They don't realize it, right? They didn't know how bad he was because they didn't realize how bad he was to them.
You know what I'm saying?

Speaker 13 In an interview with Laura Ingram, Judge Dudy Vance pushed back on the idea that suburban housewives

Speaker 13 actually care about abortions. He said suburban housewives don't actually care about abortions, he insisted, because they care about normal things.

Speaker 13 Well, first of all, I don't buy that, Laura.

Speaker 23 I think most suburban women care about the normal things that most Americans care about, right?

Speaker 23 They care about inflation, they care about the price of groceries, they care about public safety in the streets where their kids play.

Speaker 13 In a recent poll of the exact people he patronizes here, 69% of suburban women describe themselves as pro-choice. 77% of suburban women say abortion should be legal in all or most cases.

Speaker 13 Six antenna abortion patients in 2021 had at least one previous birth. You'll tear abortion rights from their cold, dead Stanley cups.

Speaker 13 Speaking of people who talk a lot about ICE, needing ice, that kind of thing, Donald Trump on Thursday

Speaker 13 connects to the cup,

Speaker 13 gave a press conference, Donald Trump he did, a press conference.

Speaker 13 To hammer home his message about consumer product prices, Trump had Folgers, Maxwell House, and Jimmy Dean on full display behind him as he spoke. This sent viewers a very clear message.

Speaker 13 This is what groceries look like.

Speaker 13 When Trump finally made it to the podium, interestingly, Trump stuck to his notes more so than he had in recent memory.

Speaker 13 Trump said, I will do the economic speech everyone is yelling at me to do, and I will do it from the script, but I'm not walking more than 10 steps outside my house.

Speaker 13 I'm reading it like a hostage, and the second someone asks me a question, it's Donald Time.

Speaker 13 One question in particular really set Trump off.

Speaker 18 Many of your allies who want you to win in November say your current strategy isn't working, that you need to stop with the personal attacks on Kamala Harris and deliver a more disciplined message.

Speaker 18 Do you agree?

Speaker 13 You can actually see the moment that he's been activated.

Speaker 13 You can see in his eyes that the string in his back that makes him talk has been pulled.

Speaker 13 The question is, will you control yourself just a little bit in order to actually actually make a case against your opponent that sticks, that isn't swamped by endless news cycles about your complaining?

Speaker 13 And the answer that he gave to that question was a literal 10-minute no.

Speaker 13 Here's what he said:

Speaker 14 I think I'm entitled to personal attacks. I don't have a lot of respect for her, I don't have a lot of respect for her intelligence.

Speaker 14 Fawney, F-A-N-I, Fawnee,

Speaker 16 with her boyfriend

Speaker 14 with Hillary.

Speaker 13 She

Speaker 14 was subpoenaed by Congress to give everything she's got,

Speaker 14 and she burned it, she acid washed it, bleach pit, they call it. She totally scrubbed it, and then they broke everything with hammers, with fire, they burned it.

Speaker 14 where you have a very, very biased voting population and a judge whose hatred of Donald Trump was beyond belief.

Speaker 13 That's going to really hurt Hillary in Wisconsin.

Speaker 13 Fantastic.

Speaker 12 More, more, more.

Speaker 13 But what if?

Speaker 13 What if the person we're watching is a person who does not have the words or space or support system to deal with trauma? That's right.

Speaker 13 You know what that sound means. This is the part of the show where we empathize with Donald Trump.

Speaker 13 According to his story in Vanity Fair, Republicans close to Donald Trump are concerned by the former president's new habit, compulsively watching the video of his near assassination on repeat.

Speaker 13 This is the most relatable he's ever been, said that French pole vaulter who was hit in the crotch during the Olympics.

Speaker 13 As someone whose doorbell camera captured footage of him tripping in his driveway, eating shit and dropping the McDonald's he was carrying, I know that you must stop watching in order to begin to heal.

Speaker 13 But maybe just one more time, though.

Speaker 12 Okay.

Speaker 13 A couple nuggets fell loose, but most of them survived. Most of them survived.

Speaker 13 Yeah, I ate them.

Speaker 13 Let's all normalize eating food off the ground.

Speaker 13 What are we doing? Yeah, oh, yeah, no, no, yeah. The pristine, the pristine, immaculate, safe clean room, IBM 5 clean room area of the McDonald's bag has been

Speaker 13 violated. Yeah,

Speaker 13 I think we're fine. Can eat a McNugget that touched gravel.

Speaker 13 Speaking of enjoying

Speaker 13 an elitist falling on his face, RFK Jr. reportedly tried to meet with Harris last week to discuss the possibility of serving in her administration, perhaps in the cabinet.
if he endorses her. RFK Jr.

Speaker 13 says he likes being in cabinets because sometimes he finds delicious mice.

Speaker 13 Not to propose a quid pro quo, but perhaps this will sweeten the deal, said RFK Jr., dumping a rotting bear cub carcass on the vice president's lawn. Harris and her advisors have ignored the offer.

Speaker 13 Try and ignore this, shouted RFK Jr. as he dropped a second bear cub carcass on the vice president's lawn.

Speaker 13 RFK Jr. then angrily tweeted, the Democratic Party of RFK and R and JFK was the party of civil liberties and free speech.
VP Harris is the party of censorship, lockdowns, and medical coercion.

Speaker 13 Kamala, please, there's still time to put this man in charge of the Pentagon.

Speaker 13 Justin Dimberlake Vance told reporters on Thursday that RFK Jr. should drop out and endorse Trump, noting he's much closer on the issues to President Trump than he is to Kamala Harris.

Speaker 13 The main issue being, why doesn't my wife want to hang out with me?

Speaker 13 Former President Barack Obama dropped his 2024 summer playlist, which included 365 by Charlie XEX.

Speaker 13 Not to be outdone, Donald Trump dropped his 2024 summer playlist, which includes the McDonald's jingle and what sounds like a caddy being hit with a golf cart from behind.

Speaker 13 Said job of the dud, Vance. Music?

Speaker 12 Yuck.

Speaker 13 We actually have G Detector Vance's 2024 summer playlist right here. Weirdly, it's just one track.

Speaker 13 Speaking of sex that doesn't lead to children,

Speaker 13 the CDC this week issued updated guidance for doctors about IUDs, finally recommending that clinicians warn patients about potential pain during insertion and offer them the local anesthetic lidocaine to reduce it.

Speaker 13 These things make women so uncomfortable, the CDC is thinking of renaming them IUD Vance.

Speaker 13 The CDC is also apologizing for the delay, explaining, We thought the women were lying and or suffering the rightful consequences of Eve eating that apple.

Speaker 13 We wish to thank American women for nagging us like total bitches until we saw the light. Come on.

Speaker 13 Come on, CDC.

Speaker 13 It's not appropriate.

Speaker 13 Speaking of more compassionate medical care, on Thursday, the White House announced a deal with drug makers, lowering the price of the 10 most expensive commonly used medications under Medicare.

Speaker 13 The price drop was part of the federal government's first-ever direct negotiation with pharmaceutical companies mandated under Biden's Inflation Reduction Act.

Speaker 13 The deal brings down the cost of blood thinners, heart arthritis medications, and diabetes drugs, saving the Medicare program over $6 billion when it goes into effect in 2026.

Speaker 13 Joe Biden is most in his element when he's embodying the platonic platonic ideal of the old man president.

Speaker 13 Making customer service calls less confusing, making heart medicine less expensive, make the lady on entertainment tonight talk slower, lower the flag for Gina Rowlands.

Speaker 13 And I don't think the notebook is good. On Thursday,

Speaker 13 I don't think it's good. I don't think it's a good movie.
I don't think it makes a lot of sense. You never really understand why she leaves one for the other, and that's the whole fucking point of it.

Speaker 13 On Thursday, Biden and Vice President Harris held a conference in Maryland to announce the deal and to take a few shots at Donald Trump.

Speaker 16 The guy we're running against, what's his name?

Speaker 15 Donald Trump or Donald whatever.

Speaker 13 Donald Trump?

Speaker 13 Get him, Joe.

Speaker 13 I don't need him to land anymore. I just need you to have fun up there.
This is your last Olympics, my friend. You get out there and you break dance.

Speaker 13 Seriously, though, Joe was on a roll.

Speaker 16 Let me tell you what our Project 2025 is.

Speaker 13 Beat the hell out of them.

Speaker 13 What does it mean? What does it mean? Doesn't make a bit of sense. Doesn't make sense, but I don't care.
It's very much

Speaker 13 our Project 2025 is beating the hell out of them. Whatever it means, I don't care because it's very much Biden's version of this.

Speaker 13 What do you think you want? I am.

Speaker 13 Doesn't have to make sense. It's the energy.

Speaker 13 And speaking of not making sense, according to the Sarasota Herald Tribune, New College in Florida threw out hundreds of library books and books from the school's now defunct Gender and Diversity Center.

Speaker 13 Nice try, Ron DeSantis. The only place people are less likely to read these books than a pile outside a library is inside the library itself.

Speaker 13 A student told the Herald Tribune that she had asked the school officials if they could donate the discarded books instead and was told under state law the college cannot donate books purchased with state funding.

Speaker 13 It's part of a right-wing campaign to cut down on learning accidents, which is one of the leading causes of learning in Florida.

Speaker 13 It's also why they banned Dr. Bronners and sued Snapple over the caps.

Speaker 13 Speaking of places with a lot of meth, a New Zealand charity

Speaker 13 A New Zealand charity accidentally gave out dozens of small chunks of meth, disguised as individually wrapped candies which have been donated by a member of the public.

Speaker 13 First of all, think about that member of the public who gets home and goes to take part in some of their recently acquired massive stash of meth and realizes what they've done.

Speaker 13 According to the BBC, police have asked that if you have the sweets wrapped in the brand Rinda's yellow packaging to contact them immediately because it's party time.

Speaker 13 Fortunately, and this is true, the candy tasted so bad that everyone who tried them immediately spat them out.

Speaker 13 Meanwhile, a widower widower named Jeffrey Piccolo has sued Disney for wrongful death after his wife ate at a Disney Springs restaurant and subsequently suffered a fatal allergic reaction.

Speaker 13 The facts are actually very galling because the couple were repeatedly assured that the food was safe.

Speaker 13 Nevertheless, Disney has argued that the suit should be tossed out of the court because Piccolo signed up for a one-month free trial of Disney Plus back in 2019, in the course of which he consented to language about arbitrating all disputes with the company.

Speaker 13 He really should have read the fine print where he also might have noticed that Disney Plus is short for Disney, plus we kill your wife.

Speaker 13 And finally, Wally Amos, the entrepreneur behind the cookie empire famous Amos, died this week at age 88.

Speaker 13 I prefer chewy cookie or a combination of crisp and chewy to the famous Amos-style dry crunchy cookie. Still, did not wish him death.

Speaker 13 One of his biggest supporters sent this statement to the press: See, for condolences.

Speaker 13 He's survived by his daughter, Tori Amos.

Speaker 13 Up next, Roxanne Gabe brings out the big guns, and they're very cutesy, very demure.

Speaker 12 Hey, don't go anywhere. There's more of Love It or Leave It coming up.

Speaker 1 Were you or a loved one diagnosed with lung cancer or mesothelioma due to exposure to asbestos?

Speaker 6 For over 20 years, Vogel Sang Law has helped families across the country fight for justice after asbestos exposure.

Speaker 7 Call or visit our website and begin your free case review today.

Speaker 9 Call 888-680-2259.

Speaker 11 That's 888-680-2259 or visit vogelzanglaw.com slash connect.

Speaker 25 Hey, weirdos, I'm Elena, and I'm Ash, and we are the host of Morbid Podcast.

Speaker 28 Each week, we dive into the dark and fascinating world of true crime, spooky history, and the unexplained.

Speaker 29 From infamous killers and unsolved mysteries to haunted places and strange legends, we cover it all with research, empathy, humor, and a few creative expletives.

Speaker 31 It's smart, it's spooky, and it's just the right amount of weird.

Speaker 29 Two new episodes drop every week, and there's even a bonus once a month.

Speaker 26 Find us wherever you listen to podcasts.

Speaker 12 Yay! Woo!

Speaker 33 ONDEC is built to back small businesses like yours. Whether you're buying equipment, expanding your team, or bridging cash flow gaps, ONDEC's loans up to $250,000 help make it happen fast.

Speaker 33 Rated A-plus by the Better Business Bureau and earning thousands of five-star trust pilot reviews, ONDEC delivers funding you can count on. Apply in minutes at on Deck.com.

Speaker 34 Depending on certain loan attributes, your business loan may be issued by ONDEC or Celtic Bank. ONDAC does not lend in North Dakota, all loans and amounts subject to lender approval.

Speaker 34 And we're back.

Speaker 13 Please, welcome to the stage. It's the bad feminist herself, the incredible Roxanne Gay.

Speaker 13 Hi, it's lovely to see you.

Speaker 12 So,

Speaker 13 how you doing?

Speaker 20 Oh, I'm good-ish. I mean, how are we all doing?

Speaker 13 I'm good.

Speaker 12 I see you.

Speaker 13 I'm choosing to be good. Okay.

Speaker 12 That's a choice.

Speaker 13 Now, I want to ask you something. So you have this essay out about your decision to become a gun owner.

Speaker 20 Yes.

Speaker 13 And one thing you say in the essay is that when you're backstage before events, because of the threats you've received, that you're a little more heightened.

Speaker 13 Did you feel that way just now when you came out?

Speaker 20 No, I actually didn't because I just felt like John's got this under control.

Speaker 12 And clearly you do. All right.
Well, that's nice to hear.

Speaker 13 I don't,

Speaker 13 I'm not sure.

Speaker 13 What got you out here?

Speaker 20 You're making that confidence diminished.

Speaker 13 Yes. No, for sure.

Speaker 13 Now, have you bought your Harris Walls camo hat yet?

Speaker 20 I am so tempted, but I don't look good in hats.

Speaker 20 That too.

Speaker 13 Do you think you don't look good in hats or do you think you haven't worn hats enough to be comfortable with how you look in a hat?

Speaker 12 Oh.

Speaker 13 I like, I'm like, do you think you're one week of hat wearing away from thinking you look good in hats?

Speaker 20 Because no, I'm not. I'm not delusional in that way.
I mean, I do have some delusions, but that's not one of them. Hats are not for me.
However, I mean, look at that hat. It's so attractive.

Speaker 12 And I'm from Omaha, Nebraska. So, oh my God, go Huskers.

Speaker 20 Like Waltz, who is from the western part of the state where no one lives, but that's okay. I mean, I'm familiar with this hat.
I've dated this hat.

Speaker 13 Nice.

Speaker 20 And it smells.

Speaker 13 Now,

Speaker 13 I just want to just, can you just give people just a sense? Like, this is a piece where you really talk a lot about your path to becoming a gun-toting.

Speaker 20 Well, I'm not toting it.

Speaker 13 Well, I mean, you know, it's a runtune, let's say. Yes.

Speaker 13 Gun owner,

Speaker 13 in part because of your brother who was a gun enthusiast and really encourage you to be one.

Speaker 13 But can you just talk a little bit about why you ultimately said, despite misgivings, despite wanting more gun control, that you wanted to have a gun in your home?

Speaker 20 Well, I didn't want to. I just had gotten, the threats keep getting more and more acute, but sometimes it's just like a random asshole on Twitter or whatever they call it now.

Speaker 20 And he's just saying words. And they're mean and scary, but they're not specific.

Speaker 20 But as my career has advanced, the threats have become more specific and detailed, which lets me know this is not just someone spewing. This is someone who's doing some internet research.

Speaker 20 And it started to get alarming, especially once I started dating my now wife. And the threats started to involve her.
There was a lot of anti-Semitism in the threats.

Speaker 12 And

Speaker 20 whenever you take all of this to law enforcement, they're like, we have to wait until something happens. And that's not super comforting.

Speaker 20 And so I started my brother has was a avid gun owner which we didn't know where that came from but he kept like go get a gun rocks you're gonna love it blah blah blah and I was like now I'm good and finally he kind of made the argument one time too many and I thought you know this might actually be an option and of course I made his life that he was so happy it was definitely the right decision and of course you can't guarantee safety There's no such thing.

Speaker 20 It's an illusion. But I do

Speaker 20 want to rather have one and not need it than need one and not have it.

Speaker 12 Interesting.

Speaker 13 So

Speaker 13 I have to say, like, there's a kind of pragmatism

Speaker 13 to how you're describing it here. But in the essay, it does feel more emotional.
Like this is, so one thing you say in the piece is,

Speaker 13 I revel in how capable I feel, what a welcome departure it is not to be an active participant in my life instead of passively seething at all the things I cannot control.

Speaker 13 In those moments, I am not merely a weapon, I am a shield, I am not empowered, I am powerful. Like, that's what you describe as what it feels like to have a gun.
And that, I am, I know that there's

Speaker 13 practical reasons you want to have one, but can you talk a little bit about the way in which that kind of

Speaker 13 because what that sounds to me when I see it is like, well, that would be a familiar way of describing having a gun to somebody on the right as well.

Speaker 16 Not that

Speaker 13 emotional connection.

Speaker 20 I don't know that I would call it an emotional connection.

Speaker 20 Instead, I would call it, you know, one of the things I talk about early in the essay is, you know, I'm fairly shy and fairly passive when I probably should be more aggressive. And when...

Speaker 20 We took all of the when I took all of this and, you know, my brother knew some people in law enforcement and I was, there was this one particularly insistent guy.

Speaker 20 And when they just told me, you have to wait for something to happen, that infuriated me. I don't want to just sort of wait for something to happen.

Speaker 20 No one should have to live their life being a victim and waiting. And anyone who has dealt with stalking, with threats, knows how

Speaker 20 horrible that feeling is. And for me, that was just like one time too many of being expected to sit quietly and wait and not have any sort of

Speaker 20 agency. And so I wanted agency.
And I think my motivations are entirely different from someone on the right, but if they're similar, that's fine too. I guess we do have common ground after all.

Speaker 13 And you can stand it.

Speaker 12 Yes.

Speaker 13 Like obviously you have a specific set of circumstances, but when I hear people talk about the need, why they really care about gun access to why they're really against gun control, right?

Speaker 13 And why they really believe in that kind of NRA,

Speaker 13 the NRA talking points, it's a different version of, but a similar shape to what you're saying. They're saying, I don't want to wait for somebody else to protect my family.

Speaker 13 I don't trust the government to protect my family. I don't want to wait to become a victim.
I want to be in control.

Speaker 20 Yes, but I don't believe them when they say that. Because oftentimes it is the people who are the safest that also spout this rhetoric about wanting to be safe and protect their family.

Speaker 20 I'm like, bro, your family's not in any danger. And so it's not the same.
And they also think it's a God-given right.

Speaker 20 And I know that it's actually a right that has been bestowed by other human beings. And frankly, it started as the purview of white men.
And it was the purview of white men for quite a long time.

Speaker 20 And so I think there's a difference when black women, when people of color, when women partake of their Second Amendment rights. Because for many of us, safety isn't guaranteed.

Speaker 20 It isn't the inalienable right that it is for so many of these people that shroud themselves in the Second Amendment.

Speaker 20 And I often hear them spouting this rhetoric, and it's always interesting because I just think, what on earth are you afraid of in your suburban cossetted life?

Speaker 20 Like, what do you think is going to happen?

Speaker 20 And they don't really have an answer. But

Speaker 20 I also think when you look at a lot of the conservative political rhetoric, They have decided to govern from a politic of fear.

Speaker 20 And they have decided that we are going to terrorize our electorate in the hopes that that will help us secure power. And

Speaker 20 it's manufactured, and so I try to recognize it as such.

Speaker 13 Yeah, no,

Speaker 13 it's very thought. Everybody should read the piece.

Speaker 12 Where can people find it?

Speaker 20 They can find it at Everand.

Speaker 20 It is a website for e-books. I curated a series of five essays from some incredible writers, and they're all very long form essays.
And

Speaker 20 you get a free 60-day trial.

Speaker 13 I'm going to work out my thoughts with you if that's okay. And tell me when I'm stupid.

Speaker 12 Or don't.

Speaker 12 Oh, I will. Just think it.

Speaker 13 No, yeah, they'll know too. So it's good to tell them.

Speaker 13 There are sort of two competing truths that I was sort of feeling as I was reading this. And one was the knowledge that

Speaker 13 if there is a gun near you, it's dangerous to you. Right? That

Speaker 13 if you're going to be killed by a gun, the most likely way in which you will be hurt by it is it will be by someone you know, most likely yourself, then after that, a partner or a friend, someone in your life, right?

Speaker 13 And you talk in the piece about the illusion of safety and control, but one thing I wanted to ask you about is

Speaker 13 it's not just the illusion of safety and control on the outside, but of the threats that people face inside. Because on the other other side of that, right,

Speaker 13 is the fact that guns have not been traditionally something that women had. And on the one hand, that has meant that

Speaker 13 women are much more likely to be killed by a partner, right? But on the other hand, there are studies that show that when a woman moves in with a man who has a gun, their rates of suicide go up.

Speaker 13 Just being around a gun goes up.

Speaker 20 Oh, I think it's being around a man.

Speaker 13 It could do.

Speaker 13 Could do it. Could do it every time.
I guess the two truths I'm trying to connect here is on the one hand, women are at risk because they have not had the same cultural access or use of firearms.

Speaker 13 On the other hand, the presence of a gun itself is dangerous to everyone around them,

Speaker 13 even though they can't see or accept that when the gun comes in the home.

Speaker 20 I think that life is dangerous. And yes, I do believe you have to assume a certain amount of risk when you bring a gun into a home.

Speaker 20 And so we tried to mitigate that risk as much as possible with a gun safe. My wife and I took classes, etc.

Speaker 20 And also, there's no men in our house or children. So I feel much safer that way.
But I'm much more afraid of the guns of policemen and

Speaker 20 policemen and policemen than I will ever be of a gun in my own house. I just, I'm sorry, but like reality is such that I have to pick and choose what I'm afraid of.

Speaker 20 And yes, safety is an illusion, but I don't mind harboring that illusion sometimes because I think we all need to feel safe. And the gun doesn't really make me feel safe.

Speaker 20 And one of the things I write about in the essay is what really makes me feel safe is our dog. We got a pandemic puppy, and he's amazing.
His name is Maximus Toretto Blue.

Speaker 12 Rywilder, I believe. No, he's a multi-poo.

Speaker 13 Oh, multipoo.

Speaker 13 Sorry, I forgot.

Speaker 12 He weighs nine pounds.

Speaker 20 And

Speaker 20 he is such a vicious predator.

Speaker 12 When

Speaker 20 if someone is like like even dreaming about our house, this dog knows it. He and the mailman are having an impasse that I fear cannot be bridged.

Speaker 20 And so I always know, like, no matter what's going on, I know when someone's approaching the house, and that's great.

Speaker 20 And so I will say this little tiny dog makes me feel safe, but the gun doesn't make me feel unsafe.

Speaker 13 Janica, I should get a gun.

Speaker 20 I don't think you'll ever need one, but no. I mean, I think it depends on who you are, your level of risk tolerance, and why you think you need one.

Speaker 20 If you just want to like shoot one for fun and get one, yeah, I mean, you could, but I don't know that you seem like the type. Do you like to shoot?

Speaker 13 Um, like in games, you know,

Speaker 13 similar. You know, I'll do a wizard build

Speaker 13 and like a mage build. You'll, you'll end up having more of a range weapon.
Sometimes I played Demon Hunter when I did Diablo 4, and that was a range weapon. Those are crossbows.

Speaker 13 You are taking me back.

Speaker 20 You are taking me back. No, I mean, I think it's a very, I think that people should do what they want.

Speaker 13 I went skeet shooting one time, but then I didn't hit any of them and I realized I was closing the wrong eye.

Speaker 13 But I didn't think about that till I got home.

Speaker 20 I've never tried skeet shooting, but after watching the Olympics, like my wife and I were trying to figure out like what realistically can we bone up on between now and 2028 when the games are here.

Speaker 12 Yeah.

Speaker 20 Like so that we can participate. Clearly break dancing.

Speaker 20 But maybe also some of that shooting because they wear the cool glasses and the girl keeps flipping them down, and then she's like,

Speaker 20 oh, and then the one guy who doesn't use the glasses at all, I just feel like maybe I can try that.

Speaker 13 Yeah, you just got to ask somebody which eye to close.

Speaker 20 Yes. And I think

Speaker 13 it's not the one you think.

Speaker 12 I know.

Speaker 20 I think it's the other one.

Speaker 13 It's the other one. It's a lot.

Speaker 20 It's like math. No.

Speaker 13 I'm just in all seriousness, I had this moment when

Speaker 13 the assassination attempt happened. And I had this,

Speaker 13 I was sitting in my car when I saw it and I really was like

Speaker 13 had this sort of my whole my imagination just went forward and

Speaker 13 within seconds of seeing it the thought occurred to me that like you're gonna want to have a gun in your house and

Speaker 13 and it went away when Kamala became the nominee.

Speaker 20 Amazing, huh? But

Speaker 13 no, but sincerely, like there that, like, I do think that like you have these very real kind of threats that you faced that make it feel more logical. But it's never fully logical.

Speaker 13 It's not fully, you admit that you're saying, you know, I'm not saying anything in the piece you talk about, how it's not fully.

Speaker 20 No, it's partly definitely emotional and

Speaker 20 wanting to have control in a circumstance that you know you'll never truly have control in.

Speaker 20 You know, and I think it's interesting that you bring up the assassination attempt because

Speaker 20 what that made me think was, yet again, here is evidence of why we need to ban assault weapons. And we all know not a single thing is going to happen, even though like

Speaker 20 these people, like their messiah almost lost, you know, a piece of his ear

Speaker 20 because of a man with a gun. And so clearly people have a deep and emotional connection.

Speaker 12 But

Speaker 20 I don't find it to be defining.

Speaker 20 I, if someone said, we're going to repeal the Second Amendment, I would be fine with it. And I would actually think everyone would be safer.

Speaker 20 And I wish that we lived in a country where such a thing was feasible because it has happened in so many other countries.

Speaker 20 And for whatever reason, it seems to be an inherent part of the American identity.

Speaker 13 Aaron Powell, Jr.: Yeah, there's something about the like focus on, and we've talked about this in the show before, the focus on mass shootings.

Speaker 13 I think we almost prefer to talk about mass shootings than we do other forms of gun deaths because because it's an easier thing to be afraid of.

Speaker 13 Because you're afraid of something that is random, not something you can control, right? So you want the government to fix it, right? But

Speaker 13 more than half of all gun deaths are suicides.

Speaker 16 And

Speaker 13 nobody when they buy I mean, you in this piece talk about this is what I thought when I read the piece, that you're at the gun store and a man who is divorced and living with his parent in his 50s is buying a gun on layaway.

Speaker 13 And, you know, my immediate thought is like,

Speaker 13 that's the exact kind of person that's buying a gun to potentially be one of the many people in that age bracket in those circumstances that is more likely to take their own life with a gun.

Speaker 13 We also don't talk about how common gun violence is

Speaker 13 between partners or between friends, right? That's the majority of gun violence.

Speaker 13 We focus on the mass shootings, which makes us focus on the AR-15s, but you can get rid of AR-15s and we're still the most deadly place on planet Earth because of the kind of quotidian mayhem we're all accustomed to.

Speaker 20 Yes. And I mean, there's a reason for that.
It's because it's easier to point at something that's so obvious that we should get rid of. And most people,

Speaker 20 we even see this with Democratic politicians. Like, we need stricter gun laws.
We need background checks. None of them ever say that we need to not own guns.

Speaker 20 And so I think it's the politically safe and the politically viable thing for people to focus on, even though we do know the statistics about gun violence, we do know that there are countless children every year that harm themselves.

Speaker 20 And it's not even only the people that die, it's the people who are grievously injured and whose lives are changed by gun violence.

Speaker 20 And yet they have to also live with that change, live with the wounds that they get from gun violence. And so, yeah, we should have a broader conversation.

Speaker 20 I just don't know how we get people to get there. And the other thing that people don't realize is that 30% of Americans, give or take, maybe 35% own guns.

Speaker 20 But there are more guns than people in this country, which means that the people who love guns really, really love guns. And those are the people who are members of the NRA, who are

Speaker 20 always

Speaker 20 so passionate in their advocacy for gun rights. And so until we can reach those people and the sort of...
the more middle-of-the-road people who are like, well, it doesn't bother me, so why not?

Speaker 20 You know, we're not really going to get anywhere.

Speaker 20 It's a problem, and I don't know how we address it.

Speaker 13 Do you feel like you're kind of making at least your own case for why you have a gun?

Speaker 13 Like we were talking about a piece before the show, and somebody, this is the analogy somebody had, which is it's a little bit like somebody who knows how bad single-use plastic is, but they're getting a water bottle because they're thirsty and it's not so big of a deal.

Speaker 13 But then my other thought was, well,

Speaker 13 but

Speaker 13 you're asking for a straw, but you're also a, we're all turtles asking for straws, right? Who can't, who don't expect the turtle to end up, the straw to end up in their nose. Yes.
You know?

Speaker 13 Do you think of yourself like that?

Speaker 20 No,

Speaker 20 I don't at all. I don't because

Speaker 20 I just, you know, I

Speaker 12 don't.

Speaker 20 And maybe that's delusional thinking, but I think we're all afforded some once in a while. And

Speaker 20 I feel

Speaker 20 perfectly capable. And I do not feel at risk from myself at all.

Speaker 20 But I do feel at risk from many other things and am at risk from many other things. And so I'm kind of going to go with the devil I know.

Speaker 13 And on the other side of that, you just talk a little bit about what we talked about in the piece about that

Speaker 13 the freedom to have a gun is not equally afforded.

Speaker 20 No, it isn't.

Speaker 20 A great many black people either lose their lives or spend time in prison for supposedly standing their ground, which is part of the castle doctrine that if someone enters your domain, you have the right to shoot and take their life.

Speaker 20 And

Speaker 20 this was the defense that George Zimmerman used when he killed Trayvon Martin, even though he was not in his castle. He was on the street driving his car.

Speaker 20 And yet when Marissa Alexander tried to defend herself from her abusive ex-husband, who was menacing her, she spent five years in prison and under house arrest.

Speaker 20 And I'm forgetting his name, but there was a young man recently. He's in the Air Force.
He heard someone breaking into his home. He got his gun.
The police killed him.

Speaker 20 And so we are allowed technically to own guns, but that does not mean that we will not still lose our lives because we're not seen as legal gun owners.

Speaker 20 Philando Castile tells officers, I have a concealed carry permit. There's a gun in my car.
He is not wielding the weapon, and still he is killed.

Speaker 20 We see this time and time and again, which is why safety really is an illusion. And so you just have to decide: what am I more worried about?

Speaker 20 The cop who might kill me for standing my ground or the person who is sending me death threats and telling me where I'm going to be next and how they're going to get into the building or like, you know, what?

Speaker 20 And it's unfortunate that people are even put into this position where you have to make these choices. And so the problem isn't, do you go on a gun or not or what?

Speaker 20 Like the problem is, how do we eradicate the kinds of violence that make people think that they have to turn to guns? And people are not at all ready for that conversation. So.

Speaker 13 Yeah, I do think that's

Speaker 13 the mental illness and racism and hate and isolation that leads people to be mass shooters, the intimate partner violence

Speaker 13 that leads to deaths using guns,

Speaker 13 the just sort of acceptance of an amount of violence and violent behavior that we all live with.

Speaker 20 We seem to be just fine with it. Like there's like there is a real cultural tolerance for, oh, that happens sometimes.

Speaker 20 And you even see see people start to internalize it, especially I see this a lot in young women.

Speaker 20 Oh, yeah, I might get knocked around a little bit, but he loves me. Like, girl, no, that's not love.
And this is not a new problem, but we see it all the time.

Speaker 13 The other night,

Speaker 13 I'm dating someone. Oh, congratulations.
It's not a big deal. And

Speaker 13 the other night,

Speaker 12 I woke up,

Speaker 13 dog's asleep, person asleep.

Speaker 13 I get up because I have to go to the bathroom. It's really dark.
I kind of go into the bathroom. I open up the bathroom door.
They're in the bathroom. They scream at the top of their lungs.

Speaker 13 I scream at the top of my lungs. They scream at the top of their lungs.
I scream at the top of my lungs. I shouldn't have a gun.

Speaker 13 Before we let you go, here are some photos of queer people, and you should tell us if they should own a gun.

Speaker 12 Okay.

Speaker 13 First up, Ellen.

Speaker 20 Oh no.

Speaker 13 Next up, Wanda Sykes.

Speaker 20 Yes.

Speaker 13 Nathan Lane?

Speaker 12 Yes. Okay.
RuPaul?

Speaker 20 No.

Speaker 13 Titus Andromedon from Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, the character. Absolutely.

Speaker 12 I don't know.

Speaker 13 LeFou from the live-action Beauty and the Beast.

Speaker 12 No.

Speaker 13 Sadness from Inside Out 2.

Speaker 12 No.

Speaker 20 Look at the amazing haircut.

Speaker 13 Well,

Speaker 13 what's great about this show is everybody's just cool with saying that this is a queer person. This is a queer thing.
This is a queer emotion.

Speaker 12 But look at the haircut and the glasses.

Speaker 20 I know a dyke when I see one.

Speaker 13 And finally, me, John Lovitt.

Speaker 12 All right.

Speaker 20 I mean, we should have led with this.

Speaker 12 All right. I'm excited.
All right.

Speaker 13 Thank you, Roxanne. Everybody, go check out Stand Your Ground and the rest of Roxanne's essay series on Everland.
When we come back, Simon and Ashley give us some sweet, sweet Zillow talk.

Speaker 12 Thank you.

Speaker 12 Hey, don't go anywhere. There's more of Love It or Leave It coming up.

Speaker 1 Were you or a loved one diagnosed with lung cancer or mesothelioma due to exposure to asbestos?

Speaker 6 For over 20 years, Vogel Sang Law has helped families across the country fight for justice after asbestos exposure.

Speaker 7 Call or visit our website and begin your free case review today.

Speaker 9 Call 888-680-2259.

Speaker 10 That's 888-680-2259.

Speaker 11 Or visit volcalsanglaw.com/slash connect.

Speaker 24 Hey, weirdos!

Speaker 25 I'm Elena, and I'm Ash, and we are the host of Morbid Podcast.

Speaker 26 Each week, we dive into the dark and fascinating world of true crime, spooky history, and the unexplained.

Speaker 30 From infamous killers and unsolved mysteries to haunted places and strange legends, we cover it all with research, empathy, humor, and a few creative expletives.

Speaker 31 It's smart, it's spooky, and it's just the right amount of weird.

Speaker 29 Two new episodes drop every week, and there's even a bonus once a month.

Speaker 26 Find us wherever you listen to podcasts.

Speaker 12 Yay! Woo!

Speaker 33 Ondeck is built to back small businesses like yours. Whether you're buying equipment, expanding your team, or bridging cash flow gaps, ONDEC's loans up to $250,000 help make it happen fast.

Speaker 33 Rated A by the Better Business Bureau and earning thousands of five-star trust pilot reviews, ONDEC delivers funding you can count on. Apply in minutes at on Deck.com.

Speaker 34 Depending on certain loan attributes, your business loan may be issued by ONDEC or Celtic Bank. OnDeck does not lend to North Dakota all loans and amounts subject to lender approval.

Speaker 34 And we're back.

Speaker 13 Please, welcome to the stage to stars. You can see him soon in Blink Twice.
It's the amazing Simon Rex and our incredible friend of the pod. It's Ashley Ray.

Speaker 13 Hi, nice to meet you. Thanks for being here.
Thank you. Simon.
Yeah. I read somewhere that you are living in a shipping container in the desert.
That's correct.

Speaker 12 That's it. That's it.
That's it. That's my very one.

Speaker 16 I live in a shipping container in the desert.

Speaker 16 Yeah, I moved off grid right before COVID. I got that house near Joshua Tree and I was, I just hit the wall of living in the human zoo.

Speaker 16 Born and raised in San Francisco, lived in New York, lived in LA. I was 45 at the time and I said, I need some peace and quiet.
As you see, peace and quiet is out there.

Speaker 16 So I moved out there and I have peace and quiet. And then I go there to unwind.
And then when I get bored, I come here. When I get annoyed here, I go back there.

Speaker 13 And is it actually off the grid? Fully off-grid.

Speaker 12 Like you do your own water.

Speaker 16 Water well, septic tank, solar, no power lines, nothing.

Speaker 12 Have you watched the show Love Off the Grid? No. It's about people who live off the grid and they date someone who was on the grid and they like come out and live off the grid.

Speaker 12 If you wanted to be on it, we could do it together. Oh, I never.

Speaker 12 Just a pitch.

Speaker 16 Okay, okay. I'm open to that.

Speaker 16 Because I'm on grid, off-grid, back and forth.

Speaker 13 I think I can handle it.

Speaker 12 Yeah.

Speaker 12 I think I could. He's by griddle.

Speaker 13 Can you get like a DoorDash out there?

Speaker 16 Nothing like that at all. You have to get your mail in town.
You have to drive your garbage into into town. It's a dirt road, about 20-minute dirt road, no phone signal.

Speaker 16 Once you leave my house, I have this wire, the satellite internet. And once you leave my house, 15-minute no-phone signal, which is a nice peace and quiet drive.

Speaker 12 That is nice.

Speaker 16 Because you can't be on your phone. You're forced to look around.

Speaker 12 Oh, wow.

Speaker 13 It looks nice, though. It's cool.

Speaker 16 It's minimal. It's 450 square feet.
It's probably the size of this stage. The whole house is one big room.

Speaker 16 I had a girlfriend when I first moved in that we lived together during COVID, and it was really tricky if one of us had to zoom, the other one would have to go sit sit outside for privacy.

Speaker 16 It was a very small co-existing living space.

Speaker 13 So you're telling me living in a shipping container in Joshua Tree put a strain on the relationship?

Speaker 12 Yeah.

Speaker 16 Didn't end. We're not together anymore.

Speaker 13 Yeah. No,

Speaker 13 I can, it's, yeah. Yeah.
Yeah.

Speaker 16 It's not for everyone. I have some of my friends come out and they're like, wow, this is awesome.
And some of my friends are like, what are you doing out here?

Speaker 12 But I like it.

Speaker 13 Yeah, I like it too. Yes.

Speaker 12 Yes, me too. Again, I think I could handle it.
Yeah. Yeah, you've laid that out.
You've laid that out for for us. We get it.

Speaker 12 What you're describing is a lot like Love Off the Grid, though.

Speaker 16 I can't believe I don't know that show.

Speaker 13 I should be watching that.

Speaker 13 Do you download things before you go?

Speaker 12 No, no, I have wired. I have internet, though.
So I do. You have internet.
You have internet. Okay.
All right. Check it out.
Because he takes, he has to drive his trash in.

Speaker 12 The what? The guy in the show has to drive his trash in.

Speaker 16 Yeah, that's what you have to do. It's a whole situation.

Speaker 12 Yeah.

Speaker 20 You'll want to be on it and you can hit it.

Speaker 16 Okay, I'll check it out. I'm just saying.

Speaker 13 Simon, you're the new horror thriller, Blink Twice, directed by Zoe Kravitz.

Speaker 13 You shot at the Hacienda Temazon Sur in Mexico. Yeah.
Which is, I think, the most beautiful place I've ever seen in my life.

Speaker 12 Yeah, look at that.

Speaker 13 That's cool.

Speaker 16 It's an old,

Speaker 16 kind of creepy place, but now it's beautiful, but it had like, I don't believe in ghosts, but it would be haunted if the ghosts were real. I invite ghosts to come hang out.

Speaker 16 I don't think they could physically hurt you. I think

Speaker 16 they scare you, but they can't hurt you, right?

Speaker 13 So I gotta say, for a guy that doesn't believe in ghosts, you got some very specific ideas of what they can and cannot do.

Speaker 16 But isn't then there would be cat ghosts and dinosaur ghosts would be taking up space.

Speaker 13 Why?

Speaker 16 Just humans? Why do we think we're the only ghosts?

Speaker 12 That's a really important point. I know.
Well, in a lot of ghost media, there are animal ghosts. There are? Yeah.
Oh, I didn't know that. Yeah.
Ghost dogs.

Speaker 12 Oh, that's a movie, isn't it? Yeah.

Speaker 12 It's got to be.

Speaker 12 It simply must be.

Speaker 16 So, yeah, I just don't believe in ghosts, but maybe I shouldn't say that publicly because now they're coming for me.

Speaker 12 Right.

Speaker 12 But do you guys believe in ghosts? That's how you conjure them is talking about them on a podcast. Do you believe in ghosts? I do.

Speaker 12 I do believe in ghosts.

Speaker 13 No.

Speaker 12 But

Speaker 13 I think that, do I believe that there are forces moving through us that we can't possibly understand that like sort of defy our comprehension? And then we.

Speaker 13 Use our three-dimensional brain in a multi-dimensional universe to kind of make sense of things that our brain simply cannot make sense of and describe them as ghosts. Yes.

Speaker 12 Okay.

Speaker 12 I think.

Speaker 13 Yeah. That's what I think.
Have you had any ghosts?

Speaker 12 I not personally, but I just feel like they could exist. Why not? It feels like I have a soul.
I believe, I feel it. So sure, it could like wander around.
I believe you have a soul. Thank you.

Speaker 12 Thank you.

Speaker 12 I feel it sometimes.

Speaker 13 Ashley, the plot of the movie Blink Twice hinges on the question: if a tech billionaire who looks exactly like Channing Tatum spontaneously invited you to his private island, would you go?

Speaker 13 And the question is,

Speaker 13 well, would you, yeah, just here's Channing Tatum and here's Channing Tatum

Speaker 13 vaping because we thought that would be maybe more appealing for you.

Speaker 12 That's my type right there. Yes.
So you'd go. I'm absolutely going, please.

Speaker 13 Simon,

Speaker 13 personally, we were talking about this. We think America needs a revival of the scary movie franchise.

Speaker 12 Oh, those were fun.

Speaker 16 Yeah.

Speaker 16 I feel like you're right. And I think they're actually doing, they're bringing back Naked Gun, I believe,

Speaker 16 which is the same kind of humor, which is David Zucker, who did Airplane Naked Gun,

Speaker 16 which to me, I grew up watching those movies. I love that kind of put your brain under your seat for 90 minutes and just silly slapstick comedy.
Yes, we need that.

Speaker 13 We do need it. Yeah.
We do need it. Yeah.

Speaker 13 What do you think Gen Z will think?

Speaker 12 I think they'd love it. I mean, most of TikTok is just like referential humor and repeating things.
And most of those movies, that's like what they were.

Speaker 12 Scary movie was just them recreating things from other movies and making it a parody. So how is this not back already?

Speaker 20 There's a lot of material to make fun of.

Speaker 12 Yeah, there is. There is.

Speaker 13 Yeah. There's a lot of material.

Speaker 12 I think they could do it.

Speaker 12 And I know the funniest people who were in it want to come back. Anna Ferris,

Speaker 12 Regina Hall. So

Speaker 12 Sky Sitting right back in there.

Speaker 20 Yeah. And he

Speaker 12 obviously wants to go back to the franchise.

Speaker 16 They were fun. I think it kind of tanked with the last one.

Speaker 16 I did three, four, and five. And by the fifth, Ana Ferris opted out.
And that's when the magic was gone because she was the

Speaker 12 heart of it. Yeah.

Speaker 12 Yeah, but those were good. I remember great in it.
Thank you.

Speaker 16 And I remember Kevin Hart was new at the time. This was like 2003.
We shot in Canada. I remember Kevin Hart showing up and watching him.
And I goes, this guy's going to be a star.

Speaker 12 And

Speaker 13 he's a star.

Speaker 16 He made it big. And I remember seeing him just like, this guy's got the thing.

Speaker 16 That was like his first movie.

Speaker 13 I went to a table read for the blacklist, and

Speaker 13 it was as cool as it sounds.

Speaker 13 And the movie actually eventually got made with a different cast.

Speaker 13 It was like one of those things they're just like putting on a table read with just random actors who they could find in New York City who are willing to come to the theater and be part of a table read for no purpose.

Speaker 13 They weren't casting anything, it was just for fun. And

Speaker 13 this one guy was playing, it was a high school movie. And this one kid was playing like the funny sidekick, like like the fifth character in the thing.
And when I say this guy, he fucking crushed.

Speaker 13 It was like one of the craziest things, like making every line, the whole place is going crazy for this guy. It was Timothy Chalamet.

Speaker 12 Wow.

Speaker 12 What year was this?

Speaker 13 Had to be like, I don't know, like

Speaker 13 2014, 13, something like that.

Speaker 16 I didn't know he did comedy that well.

Speaker 20 Yeah.

Speaker 12 Well, he does.

Speaker 13 At least he did that day.

Speaker 12 I could see it for him. I could.
Honestly, I thought you were going to say, and it was Austin Butler. I don't know why.

Speaker 12 I don't, yeah.

Speaker 13 Used to live in my house. Simon, inspired by your incredible,

Speaker 13 inspired by your incredible digs, a shipping container,

Speaker 13 we have a very special new edition of a classic Love It or Leave It game we'd like to play. Ashley, this is also inspired by your ability to have an opinion on everything.
True.

Speaker 13 Which is why we're going to play, would you fuck this house?

Speaker 12 Ooh.

Speaker 13 Nice.

Speaker 12 I love this.

Speaker 13 Simon Ashley, the game is very simple. I will show you a house.
You will have to tell us if you would fuck it. Obviously, this is not literal, or is it? Doesn't matter.
All right, here we go.

Speaker 13 First up, falling water in Mill Run, Pennsylvania.

Speaker 12 Oh.

Speaker 16 There's a joke there somewhere.

Speaker 12 Yeah.

Speaker 12 It's making my water fall. Yeah, there we go.
Hey. There it is.
There it is.

Speaker 16 The only reason I wouldn't is because it's mid-century.

Speaker 12 Oh.

Speaker 16 You know what?

Speaker 13 You know what? Again, again to our discussion earlier. Yeah, mid-century.
Why?

Speaker 13 everything has to be it boo

Speaker 12 I'm with you yeah I am not enough I'm I'm fucking this house it looks like a like a lumberjack Dawn draper and I'm all about it all right

Speaker 13 it is a sexy house it's a sexy I would have sex with it yeah it's sexy it is sexy but I think we're ready to turn on mid-century modern everybody get ready buckle up You're going to live in a world where that's not everything.

Speaker 13 You really like it.

Speaker 12 It's the sexiest thing. It's a sexy house.

Speaker 12 It's a sexy house. No, I agree.

Speaker 13 I agree. I'm not about Falling Water specifically.
I'm talking about West Elm.

Speaker 12 All right.

Speaker 13 Would you fuck West Elm?

Speaker 13 What is going on? Why? I don't understand how this one aesthetic got a hold of everybody.

Speaker 15 Give me a break.

Speaker 13 Give me a fucking break. Next up.

Speaker 13 The Biltmore Mansion in Asheville, North Carolina. I've been there.
We have been there.

Speaker 16 Yeah, I didn't fuck it. It's very regal.

Speaker 12 It is. I'd say it's really just not my type.
This isn't the kind of person I fuck.

Speaker 12 I don't like, I don't think I've ever dated someone with a good credit score. So it just feels like it's out of my league.

Speaker 16 It looks like a racist house.

Speaker 12 Yeah. That too.
Here's that too.

Speaker 13 Yeah, no, it's a no for me. It's a past.

Speaker 16 If there was ghosts, they would be there.

Speaker 12 That's haunted as hell.

Speaker 13 Yeah, I do think it's like, like in the movie, this is, you know, this is who

Speaker 13 Rose is trying to get away from in Titanic.

Speaker 12 Yeah. You know?

Speaker 12 Could you have sex with a ghost?

Speaker 12 Okay, so people have said that they have. Ooh.

Speaker 20 Yeah.

Speaker 12 There's people who have like

Speaker 12 interviewed and talked about how they had sex with a ghost.

Speaker 16 Like, receive or give?

Speaker 12 Receive, usually. Spooky.
Yeah.

Speaker 13 I gotta tell you,

Speaker 13 I think you believe in ghosts.

Speaker 13 I think you believe in them. And I'm just getting the sense that you might believe in them.
Next up, we have the Flintstones house in Hillsboro, California.

Speaker 13 Phallic.

Speaker 12 Yeah.

Speaker 12 Mounds feel sexual.

Speaker 16 It looks like some orange breasts.

Speaker 12 Yeah.

Speaker 13 It was built with something called monolithic dome construction

Speaker 13 by the South brothers in 1975. That was who created the technique.
And then a Bay Area architect, he got on it.

Speaker 12 Looks like an orange worm. It is those

Speaker 12 walls.

Speaker 12 I kind of love it. The longer I look, the more I'm like, you know, like on a first date, you first think, oh, I don't know if I like this person.
And slowly you're like, okay, okay, I could see this.

Speaker 16 Voluptuous, childbearing rooms.

Speaker 12 Right.

Speaker 13 Yeah.

Speaker 13 Yeah.

Speaker 13 I think it's space-like.

Speaker 12 Yeah.

Speaker 13 I think it's like low gravity.

Speaker 16 Has anyone had sex in outer space yet?

Speaker 12 Oh, probably for sure.

Speaker 13 It's one of those ghosts.

Speaker 13 Has anyone had sex in outer space yet?

Speaker 12 Definitely.

Speaker 16 In the International Space Station? Yeah. After a year alone.
Yeah.

Speaker 13 Oh, yeah. It's like, hey, after this docking, should we do some docking?

Speaker 12 I bet those two astronauts who are stuck up there right now are having sex.

Speaker 13 Yeah, well, that's interesting. That's interesting.

Speaker 16 And if you got pregnant, what would the baby be any different? Does time not exist?

Speaker 13 Time

Speaker 12 Because you're not rotating around the sun. Yeah, no, no.
Do you have more days?

Speaker 16 Yeah, don't you age different in outer space?

Speaker 13 Yeah, these are really important questions.

Speaker 13 Let's just take them one at a time. I think you do age differently up there, but not for the reasons you're saying.

Speaker 13 Would the baby be fucked up? Probably.

Speaker 13 But not again because of time. The amount of time you go around the sun might be different, but the baby wouldn't know.

Speaker 13 But it still might be screwed up because there's no gravity up there. You know what I mean? Yeah, then they also stinks up there.

Speaker 12 Yeah, because they also have, like, they can't pee normal. They can't pee normal.
So there's no gravity, so they have to use a suction cup to pee.

Speaker 13 They're disgusting. They just wipe each other.
They have wipes.

Speaker 13 Imagine spending six months up there, and all you're doing is going into a thing, drawing a curtain, and wiping. Your whole body, head to toe.

Speaker 12 And I do think that does create a sort of sexual environment. It's like, you're seeing me at my worst.
Let's just go at each other.

Speaker 12 And cool. And that's why I would fuck this house.

Speaker 13 And that's why you fuck that house. And, you know,

Speaker 16 after you have sex up there, you could say, I need some space.

Speaker 13 You applaud that.

Speaker 12 Okay. All right.

Speaker 13 Next up, we have Dr. Gregory House.

Speaker 13 This is not Hugh Laurie. This is the spirit and essence of the character.

Speaker 13 Dr. Gregory House, he doesn't do it like the other doctors.

Speaker 12 No, no. I never liked his vibe.
Angry.

Speaker 20 Yeah.

Speaker 12 That works out. Not in a hot way.
Okay.

Speaker 12 Teach each their own.

Speaker 12 Tell me it's lupus. All right.

Speaker 13 Look at those eyes.

Speaker 13 And finally, we have the snail house outside Sofia, Bulgaria.

Speaker 12 Whoa.

Speaker 16 It's a one-night stand.

Speaker 12 Okay.

Speaker 12 Wow. I feel that this house looks like a child, so I opt out.

Speaker 13 I mean, it looks like a fucking snail. What are you talking about?

Speaker 12 It looks like a child. It looks like a child snail house.
No, thank you.

Speaker 16 Yeah, just because you said that it's a past now.

Speaker 12 This looks like

Speaker 12 a house children took over, and they all live here and sing songs while they clean it.

Speaker 13 When you were on that beautiful resort and you're making this movie, did you constantly find yourself saying, I don't need all this. I just need 450 square foot inside of a metal box.

Speaker 13 This is too much for me. Hey, do you feel weird being in big open spaces now because of all your time in the container?

Speaker 16 Well, you know, out there, the big open space is the great outdoors. Mother Nature's undefeated.
She's beautiful. She can't lose.
She's the best.

Speaker 13 But inside the house, yes, very small, confined.

Speaker 16 And you kind of live in hotel rooms on the road half the year anyway. So, I like little cozy, small dens.
You don't need a lot, it's actually more comfortable in a little cozy nook.

Speaker 16 And I have a mini RV, like a Sprinter van-size RV, and I live in that at times as well, which is even smaller, obviously.

Speaker 16 And I like living in small, cozy spaces. There's something more,

Speaker 16 I don't know, you sleep better than a big, like if you had to sleep in this room, it'd be like, ooh, ghosts, right?

Speaker 13 Simon, thank you so much. Ashley, thank you so much.
Blink Twice is in theaters now. And if you're in LA, grab tickets to Ashley's comedy show, Flanks.
And we come back. It's the Rant Wheel.

Speaker 13 And we're back.

Speaker 13 Before the Rant Wheel, we have some big shows coming up. Love It or Leave It is back in the Windy City, August 23rd at the Vic Theater for a post-DNC special.
Join me, author Josh Noel.

Speaker 12 We're going to talk about Malert while drinking Malert.

Speaker 13 And we have comedians Marcela Arguello, Liz Winstead, and our favorite Kamala Harris, Allison Reese, plus some other guests. We're adding some other exciting guests.
This is a good show.

Speaker 12 And only a few tickets left.

Speaker 13 All right. Next up, Pod Save America is headed to Phoenix to swing state into action

Speaker 13 on September 7th.

Speaker 13 And we're excited to announce that Love It or Leave It will be doing a special show in LA at the Bourbon Room at a first-time place we've ever been there before on September 12th with special guest Jane Fonda.

Speaker 13 And we have a bunch more awesome guests lined up for that show. We are 80 days out from the election, so it's time to buckle down and get serious, but not too serious.

Speaker 13 So come say hi, crooked.com slash events.

Speaker 13 Also, big news, the very first episode of Stacey Abrams' new Crooked podcast, Assembly Required with Stacey Abrams, is out now.

Speaker 13 On Assembly Required, Stacey is breaking down some of the biggest issues in American politics and asking, how did we get here? What obstacles lie ahead? And what can we do to get some good done?

Speaker 13 In the premiere episode, Stacey takes on one of the most fraught issues in American politics, the Electoral College, and spotlights the activists working to make ranked choice voting a reality.

Speaker 13 It's very inspiring, very interesting. Everybody, check it out.
If you're looking for a pod that makes your political conversation smarter and keeps you motivated for the long haul, this is it.

Speaker 13 New episodes drop Thursdays. Follow and listen to Assembly Required with Stacey Abrams right now, wherever you get your pods.
All right, please welcome Roxanne Gay back to the stage.

Speaker 16 And did politics originate in ancient Greece?

Speaker 16 I'm not much on the political spectrum.

Speaker 12 Right.

Speaker 13 Such an important question.

Speaker 13 I think in some sense, yes.

Speaker 13 In some sense, no. Oh.

Speaker 16 You know. But where did it originate?

Speaker 13 I think in the flaws and hopes of the human condition, you know?

Speaker 12 Oh.

Speaker 12 Okay.

Speaker 13 All right, now it's time for the rant wheel. Here's how it works.
We spin the wheel. Wherever it lands, we rant about.

Speaker 13 Well, that's how it used to work. Now we just each get to rant when it lands on our faces.

Speaker 13 Roxanne, what would you like to rant about?

Speaker 12 My dog is on there.

Speaker 13 That's actually,

Speaker 13 that's in fact my dog.

Speaker 12 Oh my God, really? Yeah, we're amazing. Yeah.

Speaker 20 Anything with a poodle.

Speaker 12 Max. Yes.
Yes. Good job.
Not Max. Max is the dog.

Speaker 13 Max is the dog, but not this dog.

Speaker 12 He's a different dog.

Speaker 20 What am I going to rant about? Why have we foregone lighting in film and television?

Speaker 20 It's just infuriating. We just watched Presumed Innocent and great show, Jake Gyllenhaal looking very good and muscular and sweaty,

Speaker 20 earnest,

Speaker 20 but you can't see anything at all. You kind of have to just like bring a lantern.
And so I just feel like bring back lighting budgets.

Speaker 20 Bring, I mean, Game of Thrones, the other one, and the other one, like every show and movie now is so goddamn dark. And I just always want to walk on there with just a little lantern.

Speaker 20 I'm just saying, fucking light your shit.

Speaker 13 I don't want to.

Speaker 13 This may be a personal question. Has anyone really gotten in there in the settings? Really gotten in there?

Speaker 12 Oh, yeah. No.

Speaker 20 I'm sorry, but my settings are pristine, as are my televisions. It is not a setting problem.
And it's so infuriating when people are like, oh, it's a setting problem. Look, come on.

Speaker 20 We've had TVs for like 100, no,

Speaker 12 I don't know.

Speaker 13 A long time.

Speaker 20 60, 70, 80 years. Our settings are fine.

Speaker 13 I want you to know something, though.

Speaker 13 It's only out of respect that I ask, because the more respect I have for someone, the more I assume they are not spending their time getting deep in the RGB in there.

Speaker 13 You know, getting real deep in the contrast and the motion,

Speaker 13 making sure the motion flows off. Yes.

Speaker 20 Well, Well, the thing is, I don't have to do it myself. I have an amazing man named Gary.

Speaker 20 And Gary

Speaker 20 does all of that.

Speaker 20 And

Speaker 20 Gary is very anal about that stuff. That's why I'm really confident about my settings.
It's not me.

Speaker 13 Everybody needs an anal Gary.

Speaker 12 Oh, he's so great.

Speaker 20 He is so great.

Speaker 20 And his wife's book club reads my books, so I always give him books to take to her book club. Not just mine, like any book I think they would enjoy.

Speaker 13 That's cool.

Speaker 13 It'd be weird if it were just your books.

Speaker 13 It would. Because you'd be like, oh, wow, thanks.

Speaker 13 All right. Thanks so much.
No, yeah, looking for this. Perfect.

Speaker 13 Let's spin it again.

Speaker 13 Simon, what would you like to rank on?

Speaker 16 Conspiracy theories really annoy me because, first of all, people just act as if they know for sure that they're real. And okay, it's not binary.

Speaker 16 some of them might be true but the fact when people just sort of act as if every conspiracy theory is true it really bothers me because it's just like oh they right they are spraying chemicals they who's they first of all okay that's when it starts to get kind of problematic and a lot of people i think suffer from apophenia which is a 10-point word which i had to look up which basically means that people associate something like if they see the face of something uh like Mother Teresa on a toast, they think it's a sign.

Speaker 16 No, it just happens to kind of look like Mother Teresa. There's no conspiracy behind it.
There's no plan. Life is random, and life is chaos.

Speaker 16 And sometimes that's okay if you just accept the randomness of it all.

Speaker 16 I think you'll be more at peace instead of having to have some answer for everything that there's some group of Illuminatis pulling the strings on everything.

Speaker 16 I just don't buy it, and I think people that use that as a crutch, it's a little exhausting. And I just wish they'd be open to saying, or maybe I'm wrong.

Speaker 16 It's like if you want to have a conspiracy theory, go on your whole thing, but afterwards, say, or maybe not.

Speaker 13 Very good. Very good.

Speaker 13 Was that a minute? It's perfect.

Speaker 12 Let's speak again.

Speaker 12 I wonder who it's going to be. Oh, who could it be?

Speaker 13 Ashley, what do you like to rant about?

Speaker 12 I am very, very upset about this push to bring back Indie Sleaze that's happening all over right now.

Speaker 12 And also that they're calling it Indie Sleaze because that's not what we called it back in the 2010s. It was just being a hipster.

Speaker 12 And now, everywhere online, it's Indy Sleaze is back, Indy Sleaze is back. I'm listening to Phoenix and Mac DeMarco.
That's not what it was.

Speaker 12 Okay, okay. I was there.
I was trying to squeeze into American apparel and my Alita Jeffrey Campbell's, and I was twisting my ankle every night.

Speaker 12 Okay, but I know that society is not ready for Indy Sleaze, as they call it, to truly come back.

Speaker 12 Like, we're just not truly ready because I have been sitting here all night terrified to call this man dirt Nasty.

Speaker 12 But that's how I know him. I'm sorry I didn't know Scary Movie, but I know Dirt Nasty and Mickey Avalon.
Okay, I want to take a picture and bring back my MySpace just to post it with you.

Speaker 12 Top eight friends. Yeah, absolutely.
And they know that's not what they're talking about. They don't know that it was the real indie sleaze.

Speaker 12 And I'm just kind of sick of this stolen valor today with these kids being like, oh my gosh, like I got my Los Angeles apparel circle skirt.

Speaker 12 And it's like, no, back in the day, they didn't even make this past size 10. And it was so so sad all the time

Speaker 12 okay and you're like first you can't even do coke now there's so much fentanyl in it okay we can't have it come back

Speaker 13 and that's so important

Speaker 13 let's spin it again

Speaker 13 I want to talk about something very specific, and it is this. It is happening too often that I'm going into a public restroom and I am finding that someone has spit their gum in the urinal.

Speaker 13 And there is nothing to me that better symbolizes how Trump happens,

Speaker 13 that the decline we see all around us, than in a room that 100% of the time has at least one garbage can expressly for the purpose of throwing away paper towels if they have a little bit of gum in it.

Speaker 13 You are spitting your gum out

Speaker 13 into a device that famously cannot receive anything other than liquid.

Speaker 13 You are saying that in this moment when you are peeing, that you are going to do something that is no easier than spitting it out in the garbage to create a disgusting problem for a stranger who only wants to go into this room, clean it as quickly as possible, and get out.

Speaker 13 And you are deciding that as part of that job, they have to pick up a piece of chewing gum with their, with their gloved hand and throw it out for you for no reason whatsoever.

Speaker 13 It makes absolutely no sense. It is a tiny bit of needless cruelty in an already cruel world.

Speaker 13 And I cannot fathom the mindset of a person that would do that because it is so free and easy to not do that. That is what I thought before this show.

Speaker 13 And when I was saying saying this to Milo, he was like, oh, you've never done that?

Speaker 13 One of the sweetest, best people you could ever work with. The guy is

Speaker 13 the coolest guy. Always a kind word.
Always easy to work with. Always the best, right? You're just like, you know, Milo, fucking rock fucking solid 10 out of 10 dude.
And he's like,

Speaker 13 I don't, I'd done it before.

Speaker 13 I don't get men.

Speaker 13 Thank you.

Speaker 12 All right.

Speaker 12 And that's the rant wheel.

Speaker 12 When we come back, we'll end on a high note.

Speaker 12 And we're back.

Speaker 13 All right, here it is, this week's high note.

Speaker 35 Hi, Love It. My high note is that after just over two years of living in Minnesota, I'm moving back home to North Carolina where all of my family is and a lot of my friends.

Speaker 35 It's going to be a big move and a big life change and kind of scary,

Speaker 35 but also exciting because now I get to vote in the state where they probably need my vote a little more.

Speaker 35 And I'm excited to get out and canvass and volunteer and do what I can to get out the vote this election, especially knowing that Tim Walls is a great VP pick.

Speaker 35 After living in Minnesota for two years, I feel really good about him being on the ticket.

Speaker 35 I will be living with my parents again as an adult, which might be weird, but maybe I can convince them to watch the next season of Survivor with me.

Speaker 35 So overall, I'm excited. Thanks for all you do.

Speaker 13 Thanks to everybody who sent us a high note tonight. If you want to send us a message about something that made you feel hopeful, you can send us a voice memo to lowlyhighnotes at gmail.com.

Speaker 13 Or if you're a friend of the pod subscriber, and if you're not, you should be,

Speaker 13 you can leave us a voice memo in the Love It or Leave It channel or the High Notes channel for a chance to hear it on the show. All right, that is our show.

Speaker 13 Thank you so much to Simon Rex, to Roxanne Gay, to Ashley Ray.

Speaker 13 There are 79 days until the election. Have a great night, everybody, and have a great weekend.

Speaker 13 Love It or Leave It is a crooked media production. It is written and produced by me, John Lovett, and Lee Eisenberg.
Kendra James is our executive producer. Chris Lord is our producer.

Speaker 13 And Kennedy Hill is our associate producer. Hallie Kiefer is our head writer.
Sarah Lazarus and Jocelyn Kaufman. Peter Miller, Alan Pierre, Will Miles, and Mohanad El Shiki are our writers.

Speaker 13 Evan Sutton is our editor. Kyle Seglund and Charlotte Landis provide audio support.
Stephen Cologne is our audio engineer. And Milo Kim is our videographer.

Speaker 13 Our theme song is written and performed by SureSure.

Speaker 13 Thanks to our designer Bernardo Serna for creating and running all of our visuals, which you can't see because this is a podcast, and to our digital producers, David Toles, Claudia Shang, Mia Kelman, and Matt DeGroote for filming and editing video each week so you can.

Speaker 13 If everything in the world seems to be getting you down, we suggest you seek solace in the silliness of the Bananas podcast.

Speaker 13 Every Tuesday, comedian Kurt Broneler and screenwriter Scotty Landis dive into the funniest, weirdest, and least political news from around the world.

Speaker 13 They tell incredible stories and have amazing guests like Phoebe Bridgers and Jamila Jamil in an all-around giggle fest for anyone who needs the escape.

Speaker 13 If you're looking for a feel-good, not-bad podcast, dive into the bananas podcast wherever you get your podcasts.

Speaker 1 Were you or a loved one diagnosed with lung cancer or mesothelioma due to exposure to asbestos?

Speaker 6 For over 20 years, Vogel Sang Law has helped families across the country fight for justice after asbestos exposure.

Speaker 7 Call or visit our website and begin your free case review today.

Speaker 9 Call 888-680-2259.

Speaker 10 That's 888-680-2259.

Speaker 11 Or visit volcalsanglaw.com/slash connect.

Speaker 25 Hey, weirdos, I'm Elena, and I'm Ash, and we are the host of Morbid Podcast.

Speaker 26 Each week, we dive into the dark and fascinating world of true crime, spooky history, and the unexplained.

Speaker 29 From infamous killers and unsolved mysteries to haunted places and strange legends, we cover it all with research, empathy, humor, and and a few creative expletives.

Speaker 31 It's smart, it's spooky, and it's just the right amount of weird.

Speaker 29 Two new episodes drop every week, and there's even a bonus once a month.

Speaker 26 Find us wherever you listen to podcasts.

Speaker 12 Yay! Woo!