And, This is Escape From Alcatraz

This is an iHeart Podcast.

So, um, I was just parking my car, and then I saw you, a Gecko, a huge fan.

I'm always honored to meet fans out in the wild.

The honor's mine.

I just love being able to file a claim in under two minutes with the Geico app.

Well, the Geico app is top-notch.

I know you get asked this all the time, but could you sign it?

Sign what?

The app?

Yeah, sure.

Oh, that means so much.

Oh, it rubbed off the screen when I touched it.

Could you sign it again?

Anything to help, I suppose.

You're the best.

Get more than just savings.

Get more with Geico.

Hi, I'm Morgan Sung, host of Close All Tabs from KQED, where every week we reveal how the online world collides with everyday life.

There was the six-foot cartoon otter who came out from behind a curtain.

It actually really matters that driverless cars are going to mess up in ways that humans wouldn't.

Should I be telling this thing all about my loved life?

I think we will see a Twitch stream or president maybe within our lifetimes.

You can find Close All Tabs wherever you listen to podcasts.

Your day starts with how you sleep, and comfort makes all the difference.

Avocado Green Mattress delivers natural comfort you can feel night after night.

Certified organic materials like breathable latex and temperature-regulating wool create the kind of sleep that leaves you refreshed, not restless.

After all, you sleep better when you sleep cool.

No gimmicks, no shortcuts, just thoughtfully made plush support that helps you sleep deeper and wake up better.

Visit avocado avocadogreenmattress.com to shop today or find a store near you.

Avocado, dream of better.

The ocean delights us as playful otters restore coastal kelp forests.

The ocean teaches us how our choices impact even the deepest places.

The ocean connects us.

Visit Monterey Bay Aquarium.org slash connects.

True home security is having a system that is proactive, not just reactive.

Old school security systems only react once the damage is done.

SimplySafe is different.

It's designed to help stop crime before it starts with active guard outdoor protection.

Protect what matters most and get that peace of mind today.

Get 50% off your SimplySafe system with professional monitoring plus your first month free at simply safe.com/slash Gavin.

Visit simplysafe.com/slash Gavin.

There's no safe like SimplySafe.

This is Gavin Newsom

and this is Escape from Alcatraz.

Well I want to thank everybody for leaving voice messages calling into the show and one of the things that lit up the voicemail line this week was Alcatraz.

Yes, The Rock, Escape from Alcatraz.

Here we are.

I can't even make, you cannot make this up.

Here we are.

at the moment, this critical moment in American history.

And here we are with a brand new distraction, distraction day in the United States of America.

And so, as a former mayor, it's not surprising.

And yes, governor of the state of California, that those calls made their way to the inbox.

Hi, my name is Sarah Turbani.

I am a resident of San Luis Obispo, California.

I've been lived in California my whole life.

I wanted to find out if our governor is going to react to Trump's claims to wanting to reopen Alcatraz.

I'm like, at this point, you know,

a lot of Sati says we're just like, what?

But I don't know, he comes out of left field with so much crap.

It's ridiculous.

Okay.

So yeah, response, please, that would be amazing.

Thank you so much.

First of all,

I love the question.

I love the way you phrased the question.

I love the way you laughed when you left that voicemail because I think that's how all of us, I mean, the overwhelming majority of us responded to this.

I responded quite formally, by the way, with a tweet that said this was just simply distraction day in Washington, D.C.

It wasn't just reopening Alcatraz as a federal prison, but he also asked and called for, asked the Commerce Department and called for new tariffs on foreign-made films.

So this is what Donald Trump does.

He doesn't care if he's the heel or the hero as long as he's the star and we're talking about him.

And this is why it's so important that we sort of distill the essence of what Trump is actually communicating and what he's actually doing that has a real impact in our lives.

So everybody's chasing this.

It's totally understandable.

I totally appreciate the question.

And here I am responding to it because, heck, you know, I'm a fifth generation San Franciscan.

I'm a former mayor of San Francisco.

So what would you expect?

How could I not?

respond to this.

I think I, by the way, may have commented to one reporter that it the proposal has the form and substance of fog, meaning there is quite literally no there there.

I'll remind you, speaking of no there, there, there's no water, there's no operating sewer system.

What is there is a dilapidated old prison that was designed in the 1930s, 1933, that Bobby Kennedy, not Jr.,

Bobby Kennedy, Robert Kennedy, the Attorney General of the United States, announced in 1962 that he was going to shut down and did eventually shut down in 1963.

But I think Donald Trump's mindset is maybe 1983.

I'm making that up, but when The Rock came out and when Escape from Alcatraz, sort of iconic movies,

and there's sort of an indelible sense of place that is attached to Alcatraz.

It's evocative.

Al Capone was there.

Whitey Bolger was there.

Machine Gun Kelly was there, but not many other people were there.

I think it has a capacity of about 330, 336 cells.

Anyone that's visited, and I've been there on multiple occasions, I imagine many people watching and listening have as well.

It's corroded.

You have all that saltwater intrusion.

You've got a place that would quite literally,

Doge, are you listening?

Quite literally cost hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars, would be the most expensive federal prison in the system.

It's completely unnecessary.

And again, it's all intended to be a distraction.

So we're focused on this and candidly, not focused on the real issue, which are these tariffs and the impact that's having in wrecking on our economy and how it's impacting small businesses and how it's impacting each and every one of you watching and listening in more ways on more days than anything else that Donald Trump is currently doing.

And so that's why I think he did this.

And I'll just close on this.

Don't do this to San Francisco and California and don't do this to tourism.

It's one of the drivers of tourism in the United States.

A million plus people, I think it's 1.2 million last year, came to Alcatraz and the island.

I think the park service that runs it generates $60 million a year in revenue.

Back to my Doge point, this would cost tens of millions of dollars.

You have to bring people onto the island, the workforce and everything else.

He specifically directed his Department of Justice and he directed Secretary Bergham to start to put together a plan of action on this.

I mean, I pray that they're focused on other things and not focused on the folly of this latest distraction.

This is about zigging and zagging.

In a couple of weeks, it'll be a couple of days, maybe a couple hours, maybe today.

Maybe as I speak, there is something out there that I'm not looking at that's the next day's distraction.

And this is what Donald Trump does better than anybody else, gets us all talking about something,

so that we're not talking about something else.

And so the critical thing from my humble perspective is we've got to focus on what really matters, what's essential.

And again, the issue right now for Donald Trump that is hurting him more than any other issue, and there's a lot.

And I'm not trying to stack up

any sort of, well, I'm not trying to diminish the other issues, but it's the tariffs, the economy, your 401ks, what's happening in the markets, what's not happening as it relates to imports, and what's not happening as it relates to the kind of certainty that people need and small businesses need in order to make decisions.

What may happen to your school supplies because they're not coming into the ports of entry.

What may happen, my gosh, if it's just a few more months of these tariffs, particularly to China, what may happen as it relates to your Christmas toys that may not be on the shelves later in the year.

And Donald Trump is under deep pressure on that issue.

So I would expect he'll continue to try to relieve some of that pressure and

that focus by bringing more of this nonsense to bear and getting us all to chase these stories.

And I'll just close.

Yeah, we had to chase it.

I mean, my phone lit up with reporters, people calling me saying, is this real?

Can this be true?

What are your thoughts on it?

Can you stop it?

And the fact that there were real reporters in real concern.

frankly concerns me more than anything else.

Form and substance of fog.

There's no there there.

Focus on something else.

By the way, the number of calls that I received, the number of voicemails and text messages from reputable reporters all across the country, from around the world, from other elected officials saying, help, what are we going to do?

Can we stop this?

And I told everybody, you got to, you cannot.

I mean, you got to be kidding me.

This is going nowhere.

This is distraction day in the United States of America.

Everybody, don't worry about it.

Don't panic.

You're going to be on that island as a tourist for decades and decades to come.

Be honest, how many tabs do you have open right now?

Too many?

Sounds like you need close all tabs from KQED, where I, Morgan Sung, Doom Scroll so you don't have to.

Every week, we scour the internet to bring you deep dives that explain how the digital world connects and divides us all.

Everyone's cooped up in their house.

I will talk to this this robot.

If you're a truly engaged activist, the government already has data on you.

Driverless cars are going to mess up in ways that humans wouldn't.

Listen to Close All Tabs, wherever you get your podcasts.

The ocean moves us, surfing a wave or savoring the view.

The ocean delights us as playful otters restore coastal kelp forests.

The ocean connects us.

Visit Monterey BayAquarium.org slash connects.

Looking to buy your first car or home?

Understanding your FICO score is key to achieving your life goals.

Knowing your FICO scores helps you apply for loans with confidence and avoid surprises.

With My FICO, you get access to your FICO score, credit reports, 24/7 monitoring, and alerts on the go.

Take the mystery out of your score and get your FICO score for free today.

Visit myfico.com/slash free.

That's myfico.com/slash free and discover the score lenders use most.

The song about an obsessed fan who's taking me too literal.

From Eminem and the producers of 8 Mile.

Never seen anything like Eminem fans.

This is the story of a fan base.

I had to look in the mirror and be like, Am I one of these crazy stands?

That created a culture.

I do have an addiction to Eminem.

I traveled the world for him.

Without Eminem, I wouldn't have the life I have right now.

What's your first question?

Stands.

New documentary streaming August 26th on Paramount Plus.

Your day starts with how you sleep, and comfort makes all the difference.

Avocado Green Mattress delivers natural comfort you can feel night after night.

Certified organic materials like breathable latex and temperature-regulating wool create the kind of sleep that leaves you refreshed, not restless.

After all, you sleep better when you sleep cool.

No gimmicks, no shortcuts, just thoughtfully made plush support that helps you sleep deeper and wake up better.

Visit avocado greenmattress.com to shop today or find a store near you.

Avocado, dream of better.

This is an iHeart Podcast.