Overtime – Episode #656: Jillian Michaels, Jon Meacham, Jane Ferguson

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Welcome to an HBO podcast from the HBO Late Night Series, Real Time with Bill Ma.

Okay, here we are on overtime with a Pulitzer Prize-winning historian and author of And There Was Life, John Meacham, an award-winning journalist and author of No Ordinary Assignment, Jane Ferguson and the Fitness and Nutrition Expert and host of the podcast, Keeping It Real, Jillian Michaels.

Okay,

here are the questions from the people. John, for you, what did you think of Trump's take on the Battle of Gettysburg?

This was yesterday. He was talking, he was, I guess he does the trial and then he flies off and does the trial.
He was in Gettysburg, I think,

right before the jury selection. It's a little bit like when he talked about how the air power was so essential to winning the revolution.

He's not making it out.

Not making it out. He called it both horrible and so beautiful.

Yeah, yeah.

Robert E. Lee once said, as well, that war is so terrible, else we should grow too fond of it.
Right. Sounds like a guy who made his money off war.

Okay. And for those who forget why the significance of the Battle of Gettysburg, I believe it was July 1st to 3rd, 1863, am I wrong?

And Vicksburg did not happen. It happened at the same time, did it not? Exactly.
Very good. Vicksburg.
They cut the Mississippi off from the Confederacy. And the river?

Gettysburg is as far north as the Confederates ever got. Right.

And who won that war? I forgot.

Well,

we're still trying to decide. Yeah,

in a way we are. I mean,

yeah. Okay.
So, Jillian, how can you tell if an influencer has been bought off by big food companies to push an unhealthy product? Oh, that's a good question.

Well, generally, we'll have to say sponsored, but common sense should do it for you.

So, when someone is pushing sugary cereal or artificial sweeteners, if we just go back to kind of everything everything you learned in kindergarten about what's healthy, you'll know right away.

Right, what I learned in kindergarten. Remember that book? Everything I need to know I learned in kindergarten? Pretty much, yeah.
Yeah. Everything your mom told you.
I read it to all my kids.

Eat your vegetables.

I raised them up.

Jane, what are the challenges the media faces in covering the war in Gaza? Oh, well.

Where do we start?

International media, the fact that you can't go there is the biggest challenge.

We're all banned from entering Gaza.

Is that right for how long has that been going on the whole world?

There's never...

And that's the Israelis, obviously. Yeah, Israelis and Egyptians.
That's the only way in. And so

that's our challenge is for the Palestinian journalists. It's the challenge of staying alive, which has proved increasingly difficult.
But also then just, you know,

you're covering a war that's just so emotional and so emotive. And you are damned if you do, damned if you don't.

It's always been a really tough one to cover. Nowadays,

it's almost impossible. You can't please everybody in a way.
And you would go if they let you in? I would. Yeah.

And it's just, you know, it's.

It's very tough because, you know, for the journalists who are on the ground there, they are trying their best. And many, many of them have been killed now, dozens and dozens.

And for them, you know, they're fighting in a place, or they're in a place where there's so much fighting that their own families are also at risk.

And so it's very, very difficult for them to do their jobs. And those of us who usually get the luxury of going in and coming out, and our loved ones are safe at home.
So

it's very, very difficult to watch from the outside.

This one says for the panel, but it must be for you, because I don't know anything about this. What was your take on the Irish Prime Minister stepping down so suddenly last month?

Did that happen, and why was it sudden?

Well, I mean, it wasn't expected, and it was quite emotional. Who's the Irish Prime Minister?

Where did they go? The Taoiseach had just been.

I was going to say maybe it's because he was on Ozempic. I didn't feel well.

Yeah.

He had just returned, actually, from the United States, I believe, on a trip. And it was very, very sudden.
No one was expecting it. Also, he's so young.
And Ireland has been very, very proud of

having this our Taoiseach. And he stepped down, and he kept having to return to say there isn't a scandal.
And I think we just live in such a scandal-riddled era. People are like, well, what happened?

You know, embezzlement of funds or some sort of sex scandal or what's coming up? Like, everyone brace for something salacious. And he just kept saying, no, no, there really is none.
I just retire.

So we're still waiting. I'm Irish heritage.

I should know Irish history better. The last Prime Minister I followed was Eben De Valera.
So I just always wanted to say that word on the show.

It never sounded Irish to me, that name. De Valera.
What kind of name is that for an Irishman? I don't know, but you know, he was pretty beloved once. I know.
It's all right.

What does the panel make of FBI Director Christopher Wray's warning that Chinese hackers are planning to attack U.S. infrastructure? Oh, yes, I saw that.
They said they have the ability.

They're just waiting for the right moment, or if they, maybe they'll never do it, but they certainly could shut down a lot of our key infrastructure. I mean, people would go nuts.

I mean, when people's phone doesn't work for 20 seconds, they go nuts.

No, cyber is amazing.

I mean, just think about your life

if anything shuts down. I mean, the financial sector, air traffic, I mean, it's bad enough as it is.

And the question would be,

one of the things the foreign policy dorks

talk about is

is cyber going to be seen as the same kind of rational warfare? That is,

are you going to take it as seriously as you would a physical attack? Or are you just going to think of it as softer?

And I think it's a huge, I think it's a, it's almost, I think, I would think of it as the same. I mean, if Beijing does something and it's clear as it was Beijing.

So meaning where you retaliate in kind or you trialiate with me. You would have to, and from what I understand,

I wouldn't pick a fight with us on this.

Because

I think we, from what I understand, we have pretty extraordinary capabilities ourselves. And when when you think about the impact as well of a cyber attack, I mean, it's essentially on the homeland.

In a country here, which is not used to being, you know, fighting wars on the homeland, that's why 9-11 was so traumatic and

so horrifying. You know, this is not an attack against U.S.
interests, you know, in the Arab world or in Africa or in Asia.

You know, this would be like reaching into potentially into people's homes, into hospitals, into governments.

There's so many ways to attack us now. I mean, it's not just militarily.
I mean, you think about this, cyber, but there's also germ warfare. You know I am not of the belief that COVID was deliberate.

I am of the belief it was at least a 50-50 proposition that COVID escaped from a lab. And by the way, NPR, you weren't even allowed to suggest that.

That's another reason. Okay, we won't go back to that.

But absolutely, it could have escaped from a lab. But what if we did find out? it was deliberate and your doctrine of retaliating kind, what do we do then? Then we release a disease on them?

I mean, that's crazy. It is.

Yeah.

And I would, I mean, not that this is a room where I need to say this, but

who do you want making that decision? Right. Oh,

I'm with you.

Jillian, do you have cheat days? And

from Germany to cheat, yes.

Because we're solving movies of rational life.

Yes, you can have a slice of pizza.

What's your favorite unhealthy snack? You do have cheat days. Oh my gosh, I don't actually believe in the psychology of a cheat day.

I think that you can incorporate foods that are less than optimal, make it 20% of your daily calories, work them in, but the psychology of a cheat day makes these foods bad, which makes them that much more desirable and builds in the shame component that we're trying to get rid of.

And therefore, it's like, look, use your comments again it does come back to I disagree

I do I disagree about your cheese I disagree about your cheese obviously I'm marijuana

I just think it's it's easier to eat my normal like not crazy orgasm in the mouth diet

like most days and then when I want to, you know, like on weekends, you know, that's more like you're out to dinner. Okay.

When you're out to dinner, I don't care where you are, except if it's about some sort of really hardcore vegetarian restaurant, it's not going to be healthy.

They don't care about your health in a restaurant. They care about you coming back because it tasted great.
So even if you order off the menu and you think, no, no, they don't care.

They're not using the oils you would use at home. They're not doing the things you would do.
They want you to have the mouth orgasm so that you'll come back.

You won't go to dinner on a Wednesday? Gets it, Roy.

So I'm just saying.

And I do like to go out to dinner. So when you go out to dinner, it's like, that's when you just feel like that's it.
I'm going to give up then. And don't do it at home.
Don't

keep the shit at home because I'm going to get stoned and I'm going to.

Know thyself. Out the hell, we got to go.
It's time. Thank you very much, everybody.

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