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Adam Carolla
Well, in this episode, Mariana Van Zeller, who's a really interesting Portuguese journalist, tells all sorts of great stories. She's going to be on Mayhem's Got the News and we'll do all that right after this. Hey, it's Adam Carolla from the Adam Carolla Show. Football season is heating up. Thanksgiving weekend is coming up. With the NBA and college basketball seasons, they're off to a running start. There's no better place to get in on all the action then Betonline, your number one source for all things sports and casino. Betonline gives you more ways to play with the latest odds, breaking news, live scores and in game betting, so you never miss a moment. From every NFL and college matchup to NBA and college tip offs excitement, man, UFC fights and NHL futures, BETOnline keeps you locked into the action all year long. And when it's time to switch gears, dive into Betonline casino, packed with hundreds of the hottest slots, classic table games, live dealers and massive jackpots waiting to be hit. Plus, don't forget the VIP program with exclusive link level up bonuses, weekly cash boosts and rewards design for serious players. Head to Betonline today because at Betonline, the game starts here.
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Dawson
From Corolla One studios in Glendale, California, this is the Adam Carolla Show. Adam's guest today, the host of Trafficked with Mariana Van Zeller. Mariana Van Zeller. Plus the news with Jason Mayhem Miller. And now he's actually kind of pissed because he found out that the show isn't about traffic. Adam Carolla.
Adam Carolla
Yeah, get it on, got to get it on. And also the new podcast the Hidden Third Cause traffic. We're not sure is that coming back or do we know?
Mariana Van Zeller
We know that it is not coming back, at least not on National Geographic.
Adam Carolla
Well, you gotta plug for something that doesn't exist. All right, that's the way we work. But the podcast, the Hidden Third, that's what we're here to talk about. So you're a journalist. Portuguese.
Mariana Van Zeller
That's right.
Adam Carolla
And kind of specializing in the seedier underworld part of our society. And I'm saddened to say, and I say it probably once a month, that in 2025, that there's human trafficking going on or slavery or whatever. It's mind numbing because this stuff feels 200 years old. And here we are with iPhone 17s and electric cars, but humans trafficking and slavery.
Mariana Van Zeller
Human trafficking, yeah. I mean, most people don't know this, but these black and gray markets, which is what I've devoted my career to getting access to and understanding and reporting on, they Occupy an estimated 35% of the global economy. I mean, whether we're talking about human trafficking or drug trafficking, guns, scams, these are problems that exist all around us, that have a deep impact on our lives, and yet we know very little about them. And so both my show on National Geographic trafficked, and now this new podcast, the Hidden Third, is a way of me to try and understand these worlds, to gain access to the people behind them and see how we can better sort of protect ourselves in a way.
Adam Carolla
So you say third, 35% of the global economy.
Mariana Van Zeller
It's what economists call the hidden Third, hence the name of the podcast.
Adam Carolla
Right. Which is a huge chunk of money. And I'm guessing there's more of it going on in the places we would suspect it goes on, and probably less in more developed countries, although it exists everywhere, I'm sure. My guess is Scandinavia probably has less of it than Africa, but.
Mariana Van Zeller
Well, the demand comes from places like Scandinavia and America, right?
Adam Carolla
Well, yeah, the drugs. We need the drugs and we need the women. We need all that kind of stuff, but the actual government and the society, and it's not the operators. The operators.
Mariana Van Zeller
So which is one of the biggest learnings from my work is that it is because of inequality and lack of opportunities and lack of jobs that people end up involved in lives of crime. It's usually not because they're born wanting to be criminals. And that's a big part of the work that I do and what I try to show with everyone I interview. It's not everyone, but it's the vast majority of the people I speak to.
Adam Carolla
Well, there's also part of it where you go into something that your culture sort of has done in the past.
Mariana Van Zeller
Yeah. If you grew up in a neighborhood, I mean, here in the United States as well. One of the episodes we did was about pimps and also sex trafficking and pimps. And I will never forget interviewing a pimp here in Los Angeles. And I'm asking him, what did you want to do when you grow up? Did you imagine that you were going to become a pimp? And he was like, quite frankly, yes. Because all the heroes in my neighborhood, all the people that were able to provide for their families were the pimps. So those were the people that we looked up to. So it's very much about not only what jobs you're provided, but the culture and the people that surround you and the people that you look up to.
Adam Carolla
Yeah. So, I mean, I don't know, it's so much different than a diet or something. It's just what is. Or music. It's like what is around you, what is the culture. Yeah.
Mariana Van Zeller
And what is providing.
Adam Carolla
Yeah. So then, you know, and so the human trafficking part, is most of it about sex or is most of it about labor?
Mariana Van Zeller
Both. We did an episode of Traffic this season that was mind blowing. I mean, you've heard of scams, right? You know, I mean, I'm sure you know somebody who's been scammed. I think nowadays we all know somebody who's been scammed. It's the calls that you get saying you won the lottery or the texts. I mean, we've been invaded by scams. And I've done many stories on scams and I've interviewed scammers in the past. Romance scammers, sextortionists, all these different types of scammers, lottery scammers. But I'd never reported on this new thing that happens, which is in Southeast Asia, in countries like Myanmar and Cambodia, where they have these scam factories, these gigantic compounds with tens of thousands of people that are essentially trafficked into the country. They're told that they're going to have these jobs in tech or online, and then they get there, they take away their passports and they force them to scam Americans. Essentially. They spend their whole days, they're beaten, they're tortured, sometimes they're even killed, and they're forced to scam Americans. And these. The owners of these compounds are making billions of dollars and it's.
Adam Carolla
And they're doing it via the phone.
Mariana Van Zeller
Yeah, via the phone, online. They start with a message or they tell you that if you invest in this platform, I can make you rich. A lot of it is romance scams. In this case, it's what it's called in Asia. I mean, around the world nowadays, it's called the pig butchering. Scam. And it's a Chinese expression that essentially means I'm going to build a relationship with you, I'm going to make you trust me and perhaps fall in love with me, and then I'm going to fatten the pig and kill it and drain all your accounts.
Adam Carolla
Yeah, so it takes a while.
Mariana Van Zeller
Yeah.
Adam Carolla
And it takes a kind of human interaction.
Mariana Van Zeller
Yes, absolutely.
Adam Carolla
And I wonder if AI is going to start doing that.
Mariana Van Zeller
100%. They're already using AI. So one of the things we did is we interviewed a woman. A lot of these, I mean, scammers are men and women, again, forced labor in many cases. But we interviewed a woman who was used as sort of the model, as they call her. And so if you're in a relationship, you believe it's with an American woman, you from New York, for example. And then you finally, after you've perhaps already started giving money, maybe you haven't, but you want to have a face to face. You have to want to have a video chat with this person so you can trust that person more. So this video model, what she does is she places her face in front of a screen where they attach the photo of the person the victim believes he's talking to. And as she talks, it's as if it's that other face that they believe they're talking to. And this is all using AI. So AI they use for voices, for faces, for videos, for everything, which becomes even harder nowadays to figure out what's real and what's not.
Adam Carolla
And it's really just all commerce. Right. It's all money. Oh, it's all money, everyone. Yeah, it's all. Whatever it is, it's money.
Mariana Van Zeller
Yeah, it's money. And at the backs many times of these forced labor and human trafficked victims.
Adam Carolla
And what is attempting, I mean, we're attempting to eradicate this stuff, I assume. But if you're going to have factories that have 100,000 square feet, then that's going to kind of be up to the government of whatever municipality that is. And obviously those people are not shutting these places down because I'm assuming they're getting paid as well.
Mariana Van Zeller
Yeah, corruption is big. A lot of governments, a lot of politicians, a lot of powerful people are making a lot of money from this. However, the victims, in many cases, at least from scamming, are here in America. So the United States government has actually started to act finally. It's taken a while, but they are. There were some sanctions placed on a lot of these players and I believe it was billions of dollars. It was $40 billion or something a couple of weeks ago that the US was able to sort of freeze from one of these accounts by one of these owners of these factories.
Adam Carolla
So, you know, you take something like prostitution, and then you go. I've had a few different heads on it. Like, one is, you know, we gotta decriminalize, and then something, something. But then we do that in California. Like, we go, we're not gonna criminalize. And then it gets worse.
Mariana Van Zeller
Yeah.
Adam Carolla
So I don't know what the solution is, because decriminalizing, we'll try it with drugs and we'll try it with prostitution. And all that does is create environment where there's a lot more drugs and a lot more prostitutes.
Mariana Van Zeller
Yeah. I mean, we can talk about the experiment of legalizing marijuana here in Canada, in California. It's a great example of how it didn't work. And it didn't work not because I don't think legalizing marijuana is what the future is. And we should do. We should make, you know, people are smoking marijuana and using marijuana whether we like it or not. And actually it has benefits as well.
Adam Carolla
But. Sorry to cut you off, but cigarettes we don't like, and we didn't outlaw cigarettes, but we did make a real concerted effort to kind of take away any positive thoughts you might have about cigarettes and turn them into a negative thought. And thus, cigarette smoking's gone down a lot. It was cool to do in the 50s and the 60s, and now, you know, basically, it's like this. If you were taking a headshot in the 40s as a celebrity, you would light someone light a cigarette and hand it to you, and you just hold it for a headshot, whether you smoked or not.
Mariana Van Zeller
Right.
Adam Carolla
Now, if you're a celebrity and you want to smoke a cigarette, you're hiding it. You go outside the club and you kneel down by the dumpster on the side, and you smoke in the shadows. Now it's the same cigarette. We just turned it into something different. We said, you know what? Not cool, not popular. People are gonna smoke some people, and we're not gonna make it illegal, but we can knock it way down by sort of this campaign about it. So it seems like that would be a good angle for pot and prostitution and drugs too.
Mariana Van Zeller
Yeah, I think there's a big distinction between pot and other drugs. My point with pot here in California was that we legalized it, but we made it so difficult for people to gain licenses and the taxes are so high that actually the black market for marijuana exploded.
Adam Carolla
Right.
Mariana Van Zeller
So it had the reverse effect.
Adam Carolla
People, we got greedy.
Mariana Van Zeller
Right. Opponents of legalization usually say what happens when you legalize is that you do away with the black market. Right. With the underground economy. But in the case of California, it was a disaster. And that's not the case.
Adam Carolla
Yeah, well, we just to tell you, like, we'll do that. There'll be a lot of bootleg building going on because you made it so onerous to get permits and so expensive and so lengthy that people naturally will start just bootlegging stuff. You know, we're not gonna do it with a permit. Cause it's too much.
Mariana Van Zeller
Yeah, absolutely.
Adam Carolla
Right. Because the government over regulates, gets over its skis and causes way too much difficulty. So you do create a black market, even though it's legal. You created a black market.
Mariana Van Zeller
Absolutely. You made it practically impossible for people to operate and own illegal cannabis front store or plantation or farm. It's incredibly costly. And because it's federally not legal. Right. You can't get a loan from the bank. So it's basically locking out all the people. It's interesting because for many years, minorities who end up in prison for being in the marijuana trade, once they wanted to legally legalize and become, you know, have a legal business in the marijuana trade, they were locked out of it too. So they were locked in during prohibition and now they're locked out of the trade because it's just too costly and expensive and difficult to get to gain access to.
Adam Carolla
Yeah, yeah. So I guess the government plays a hand sometimes as well.
Mayhem Miller
Yeah.
Mariana Van Zeller
Overregulation, absolutely.
Mayhem Miller
Yeah.
Adam Carolla
I mean, again, it always. It's sort of like there's guys in LA that sell smog certificates for your car because we've made it so difficult and so costly for your car to pass the smog that you can get an Armenian guy to sell you a fake one. So it's unintended consequences. You go, this would be a really good idea. But government always goes a little too far and then they create what they don't want. But I'm surprised that in these modern times, it's a third of the world's economy. How much of the United States economy, though, do you know that?
Mariana Van Zeller
Well, we're the biggest black market or demand for drugs in the world. Right. We've got more drug consumption in the United States than anywhere else in the world. And we happen to border Mexico, which is one of the biggest providers of those drugs in the world. And it's another situation where perhaps Mexico wouldn't be the biggest provider if it wasn't neighboring a country that demands that has so many consumers of those drugs. So it' swe're a big part of it. But I would like to just clarify that when I talk about the estimated 35% of the global economy, I'm not just talking about black markets, but also gray markets. So gray markets can be anything. Jobs that aren't regulated, sort of the guy on the corner who's selling fruit. Anything that is untaxed and unregulated. So the black market per se, I would say, is estimated around 10, 12, 15%. It's very hard to quantify because, again, these are, you know, criminal enterprises, and it's hard to get an exact number. But, I mean, the drug business alone is worth an estimated $600 billion a year. So anywhere between 300 to $600 billion a year. So it's like as much as many countries around the world make in their GDPs.
Adam Carolla
What is the drug of choice now? Is it. I mean, marijuana is always there. Cocaine maybe making a comeback. I don't know.
Mariana Van Zeller
Cocaine is making a comeback, as is. Fentanyl has been with us for five, six years now. As we know, the opiate crisis does not go away, unfortunately. We went from oxycontin and prescription pills to heroin, and then heroin to fentanyl. And now one of the episodes we did in this last season of Trafficked, which was about the fourth wave of the opioid crisis, which is tranqu Dope, where fentanyl is being mixed with an animal tranquilizer called Xylazine and is causing horrific wounds where it almost looks like leprosy. People are having to, you know, cut off their limbs because of these just gigantic wounds. And it's very sad. It's a public health crisis that we seem to have forgotten or not care about. And then meth has also made a comeback recently.
Adam Carolla
Is fentanyl the one that kind of turns these people into zombies? I see these people sort of melt over and just frozen in the zombies.
Mariana Van Zeller
Yeah. So that's tranq dope. So that's when fentanyl is mixed with xylazine.
Adam Carolla
Oh, that's what causes that sort of statue phenomenon.
Mariana Van Zeller
So what happened is that with heroin, people, you know, got addicted to OxyContin and other prescription pills. Then it was harder to get that. So they went to the street and started buying their opiates, which was heroin. And eventually when the cartel started mixing fentanyl in this or started making fentanyl, fentanyl instead, because it's synthetic, much easier, cheaper to make in the lab. But fentanyl gives you a very high high, but it's not prolonged. Heroin would last longer. And so what they realize is that they mixed it with this tranquilizer. It would prolong the high for longer. But the unintended consequences are those zombie effects and then these horrific wounds that people have. It's horrible stuff.
Adam Carolla
Yeah. I mean, it's seeing these people in the streets basically expiring.
Mariana Van Zeller
Yeah. We filmed in Kensington in Philadelphia, and it was one of the most horrible things I've ever seen. It was exactly what you described. It was people like zombies bent over. I mean, dozens of people just on the streets. And you see, you know, families commuting kids going to school through these streets and nobody's doing anything about it. And if it was actual leprosy, the government would be all over it and we'd be trying to find a solution. It's the forgotten crisis.
Adam Carolla
I think it's weird that it's forgotten because you have to walk around it to get to work. You know, I had this weird thought because I was in New York not too long ago and I saw a big rat on the subway running around, but in the sort of public area. And I was reacting to it because I'm from LA and I don't see a lot of big rats running around. So I was sort of going, oh. And everyone else was sort of going about their business, you know, and it would run across and people weren't. I mean, they were like almost like stepping over it and walking to the next car. And I was enamored with it. I was like, oh, there he is, he's behind the post. And everyone was like, yeah, okay, go to work. You know. And it struck me that it was like, it was a real novelty to me to see this giant rat running around. But it struck me that the locals who were commuting was no big deal for them to see a rat in the subway. Cause that's what they see every day. And then I realized that's what we do in LA with homeless people. We just sort of walk around them, you know what I mean? But we don't pay any nevermind to them. It was like these New Yorkers just walked around this rat that was running around and that's a rat. We do it with human beings. In la, we're so used to, okay, there's just a bunch of homeless guys flopped out here. So just sort of you and the kids just kind of work around, step over the corpse, you know, on your way to going to the Starbucks. And I thought, but these are human beings. I mean, I'm freaking out over a rat. But I didn't have as strong a reaction to a human because I just got used to it. It just got jaded.
Mariana Van Zeller
Yeah, same here. I was recently in a subway in New York and I have the exact same reaction as you do. And I've done stories on homelessness. And that's why, I mean, when I talk about because a lot of the homeless people have addiction problems. When I talk about the forgotten crisis is because it's been going on for a long time. I mean, a million Americans have died since the year 2000 to the opioid crisis. And forgotten because how is it possible that we're still seeing these high numbers of people dying every year and we're not trying to figure out whatever we're doing until now, which is this, the war on drugs is not working. So how can we all come together and figure out how we can save our fellow Americans?
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Mariana Van Zeller
But Adam, can I tell you something?
Adam Carolla
Well, I'm just saying that's how that's how people look at it. Yeah, that's how they look at it. We have a very different approach to someone who's on the subway and gets whacked in the head with a hammer versus on the subway and beaked out on fentanyl. We go, well, they did it to themselves. And that person was just commuting. And then we have it. Totally different mindset.
Mariana Van Zeller
It is, you're right. But the amount of people that I've interviewed who struggle with addiction, who started because they went to the doctor and they had a back pain or they were injured at work or one of the kids, I won't forget, was a kid in Massachusetts who was a star athlete, amazing kid, great promise, and got injured on his last Game at school, high school, went to the hospital, they gave him OxyContin. And a month or so later, he was shooting up heroin up his arm. And we don't really. This is not somebody who chose that. You know, this is something predictive.
Jeffree Star
No.
Adam Carolla
I mean, there's a lot of people who got hooked on this stuff in their 40s and 50s, like, way past, you know, the high school. It's not like cigarettes. No cigarettes. You either start smoking when you're 16, or you never smoke. You don't start smoking at 42. But pain pills, so many people, they're like, I was fine. I didn't. You know, they'll go like, I didn't drink. I drank socially. But that really anything. And then I had to have back surgery. And then the next thing you know, I was laid up. And the next, you know, I'm on this. Right.
Mariana Van Zeller
Yeah.
Adam Carolla
We have a. We have some video from the Kensington.
Mariana Van Zeller
Oh, yeah.
Adam Carolla
By the way.
Mariana Van Zeller
Oh, yeah.
Adam Carolla
So I'm told. Very depressing.
Mariana Van Zeller
Yeah.
Adam Carolla
Video. But this is.
Mariana Van Zeller
Yeah, yeah.
Adam Carolla
I mean, it's people strewn about. I mean, it's. You know what it's like. It's as if there was. It's like if there was a car bomb that went off and bodies were spread out. Yeah, but if a car bomb went off and bodies were spread out, then helicopters and ambulances would start pulling up. But this is. You just. They just walk around it.
Mariana Van Zeller
Right. And when I asked people, because we were in this street and I interviewed some of these people, and what they said is if they go to the hospital and a lot of them with these wounds and they show up at the hospital or at clinics and they are, like you said, there is an enormous stigma. And they say, you're a junkie. You're just here because you want your pills, and they turn them away or they don't treat them the way. They don't treat them as people who are sick. They treat them as people who are doing this because they want to.
Adam Carolla
Right.
Mariana Van Zeller
And I don't think anyone wants to live like this.
Adam Carolla
No. So, you know, the question is, well, look, if I'm in charge, my whole thing is I'm not claiming to have the solutions, but nobody gets to sleep on the street. That we cannot tolerate that, like, as a society, for you and for the mom who's walking with her kids to the bus stop, so you're not sleeping on the street. So that's got to happen. And I don't know. I know there's people that protest, you know, because you forcibly have to remove people at a certain point. But it's a society. We're trying to participate in this society and we just can't have people expiring on the street. That's it. So that's what we'll, we'll start with that. Rehab and shelter and everything else is fine, but it's all going to come after you're coming off the street because piles of people expiring on the street is not any kind of society.
Mariana Van Zeller
I absolutely agree.
Adam Carolla
Especially in modern times.
Mariana Van Zeller
Yeah.
Adam Carolla
And so then you go, all right, everyone is strung out. And there's such a thing, there's such a thing as being homeless. But homeless minus strung out means you end up on someone's sofa. I don't know. I've not seen non drug addicted homeless people. I mean there's occasions, I mean there's mental illness, there's mental stuff. There's mental stuff. But in California we managed to spend like $24 billion and we don't have anything.
Mariana Van Zeller
Oh, it's a disaster. How much money we spent for very little results in terms of homelessness. Absolutely. I'm not an expert in homelessness either, but I mean, you can. We know, we know that every year when we go to the ballot there's something that we pass to give more money to figure out a solution and there's doesn't seem to work.
Adam Carolla
I think it just goes to the NGOs that who claim to have some euphemistic title. It's, you know, they do these, you know, Nobody Left behind is the name of my organization and I work, I outreach to the homeless community and stuff like that. But at the end of the day, where's your report card? Like how much we got done here? How many people got off the street? How much money did you get in? How much per person? Like what are we talking about? Because ultimately in California it just looks like the money just comes pouring in. It's essentially like this. They go, California's like, look, we have the most expensive gas, but it's cause it's taxes. But because a dollar out of each gallon goes into the roads, it's like, yeah, but we have the worst roads. And so they go, all right, well maybe another dollar gallon. I go, I don't think that's the problem. I think somehow this dollar a gallon is not making its way to the road. Because how do we have the worst roads and the most in gas? So change is hopefully coming. I don't know. I don't know. I do know that my partner, Dr. Drew, who's an addiction medicine specialist, tried to volunteer for the LA City Council Homeless division and they all voted him out and never let him join because the last thing they want is somebody who's competent with a field of expertise showing up and spoiling their party of spending money and getting nothing done. So they literally had a guy who said, I'm an expert in addiction and I will work with you for free. And they went, no thanks. No thanks. So they got, they never confirmed him. And by the way, the LA Times turned on him too with a crazy, crazy article, which is comical, but I think that was kind of the old LA Times back when they just didn't like anything that wasn't super progressive. Now I think they're kind of warming up or moving back toward the center or something. But what is they had a chance to have someone who was an expert in addiction work for free and they rejected this person who was going to work for free. Meanwhile, none of them had any addiction medicine specialties in their background at all.
Mariana Van Zeller
Right.
Adam Carolla
So that seems volitional. Like at this point I don't know what you're doing, but you should probably stop protecting your own interests and start thinking about the guy who's expiring with fentanyl. Is that the worst we have to offer here? The Kensington?
Mariana Van Zeller
I've seen it all throughout the United States. I mean Philly, this Kensington here, in terms of the trank dope, it's pretty high. I think they tested it and it was 90% or so of the fentanyl that's coming out of Philly or that's being sold on the streets of Philly. Has Xylazine is trank dope essentially, which is causing what we're seeing here. But I mean the fentanyl crisis has affect us all. I mean, it's all over the country. Yeah, but yeah, there's going to be.
Adam Carolla
I mean, I know they're working on it, but there's going to be Ozempic for drugs, right?
Mariana Van Zeller
Yeah. So they've studied it and how it's really can have an impact on addiction and health.
Adam Carolla
Ozempic specifically for these peptides.
Mariana Van Zeller
Yes. Glp, peptide, Zygos. Yeah. How they actually can sort of work in your brain in a way that helps you deal with addiction. I mean, that's the hope. Yeah.
Adam Carolla
But more than sort of a side effect of a weight loss thing, there's gonna be just a dedicated drug for opioid.
Mariana Van Zeller
It can't come soon enough.
Adam Carolla
You know, I mean, I don't know, and they're gonna have to put that stuff in, like, firefighting helicopters and just drop it all over the city.
Mariana Van Zeller
Well, I don't know if it's going to be more popular than the weight losing drug.
Adam Carolla
That's a good point.
Mariana Van Zeller
More people want that.
Adam Carolla
I think it's so funny. The funny thing about the weight loss drug is back to human beings and human nature. I'll talk to women and they'll go, you know, she didn't lose that weight on her own. I'll go, who cares? No, no, she didn't do it. It's like, okay, so What? She lost £80. Yeah, I know, but not because she did the hard work it takes. It's like, oh, all right. But I don't know. I don't think it's kind to just be happy that she lost the weight 100%.
Mariana Van Zeller
It's a great cheat, so more people should have access to it. I'm with you on that.
Adam Carolla
I agree. I do have my thoughts. I'm always having unintended consequences. Thoughts like, let's decriminalize marijuana and then overregulate it and we'll get all this tax money. It's like, no, you're creating a black market.
Mariana Van Zeller
And then we're using the tax money to combat the black market. Which is also interesting.
Adam Carolla
The Ozempic. I'm worried that I want. I would wish that people had the discipline to go, I can exercise and I can not eat cake. Like, I can do this. And I worry that the diet part of life, I'm loosely basing this on. I know a couple of people, I've known a couple people in my life who look fantastic in a bathing suit. No matter what they do, no matter how much they drink, how much they eat, how little they work out, they just look good all the time.
Mariana Van Zeller
I hate those people.
Adam Carolla
I hate them. But they're out there. I'm here to tell you they're out there. I know males and females, few males and a few females. They're always the least disciplined people I know because they don't care. Like, if you think about discipline, you can have the discipline to study for the bar or to learn Japanese or something, but diet is every day, all day. And so it creates a kind of a discipline. If you're a person who puts weight on, you go, okay, you know what I'm in the mood for? For lunch, I want pizza, but I'm going to have a salad. And then you start getting a discipline.
Mariana Van Zeller
Very true.
Adam Carolla
Worked in. And these people who eat Whatever they want. Also, coincidentally, not discipline in any other form of their life too, because they just. Just don't have discipline. And I'm wondering if that diet is like your metronome of discipline. Like, that's your base. It's gravity. It's like it's there every day. And then, you know, people are like, well, you know, I had a cheat day on Sunday, but Monday I was right back to it. You know that. But that's what it takes to be successful in business, right. In life. And learning an instrument, like, in everything. Right. So I worry sometimes that Ozempic and these kinds of cheats, if you will, it's great you lost the weight, but maybe you lost some of the discipline that would have affected other facets of your life.
Mariana Van Zeller
And if you add chatgpt to this, right, the discipline of actually sitting down and writing or researching or doing something about the help of AI. Yeah, absolutely. I could not agree with you more.
Adam Carolla
I'll spread it out even further, which is all the stuff in life that we've sort of farmed out. Like, well, they'll bring you the food. You don't have to go pick it up or go to the market or prayer. You can order food and the food will show up. But even stuff like, I'm a guy who likes cars, and I'm a guy who made more than enough money for the last 30 years to have a detailer come to my house and detail my car, which people do. I don't do it. I think you're supposed to clean your own car. And then people go, why? And I go, I don't know. But you just. There's a discipline to it. Like there's something to doing it. Like. Like. Cause.
Mariana Van Zeller
Do you make your own bed?
Adam Carolla
I never make a bed.
Mariana Van Zeller
You don't make your own bed?
Adam Carolla
Never made a bed.
Mariana Van Zeller
I've always learned. My parents always taught me that the biggest. You start the day by making your bed. And it's the best sort of discipline.
Adam Carolla
I got off to a rocky bed start. I think I started off. I don't know what kind of. Let's just say there's a bed grade. You could. Let's just say 1 to 10 in beds. Like. Like, let's say it's a young quality of the bed. Yeah. Let's say is a young person.
Mariana Van Zeller
Okay.
Adam Carolla
If you lived in a home with a large bed and like a comforter and an upper sheet. I didn't know there was an upper sheet. I only thought there was a lower sheet. I didn't know there was another sheet always.
Mariana Van Zeller
I only have a comforter.
Adam Carolla
Oh, good.
Mariana Van Zeller
Yeah.
Adam Carolla
Well, then making your bed's no big deal. Yes, exactly. You don't do a bottom sheet?
Mariana Van Zeller
No, I just do a comforter, but then I wash the comforter. The comforter.
Adam Carolla
But what do you do? You sleep on the mattress.
Mariana Van Zeller
Oh, yeah, I've got that bottom sheet. Yes. I thought you meant the sheet under the comforter. So I have a duvet cover.
Adam Carolla
That's the top sheet. You got the duvet? Yeah, that's fine.
Mariana Van Zeller
I got the duvet cover.
Adam Carolla
Dust ruffle on the bottom.
Mariana Van Zeller
What's the dust?
Adam Carolla
California King.
Mariana Van Zeller
Yes, California King.
Adam Carolla
But you still have. Dust ruffle's the thing that hangs off the frame and goes down to the floor. So it kind of. You don't have that big screw space under there.
Mariana Van Zeller
Okay. No, I don't. I don't think I have that. But why? You still haven't explained why you don't make your bed, though, So I think it's complicated.
Adam Carolla
No, I grew up on like, like, almost a cot mattress. Like. Like, I. It was like. Like a prison bunk or something. Like, I always slept on futons on the floor. I had a very bad bed relationship. You know, I had pillows that didn't have a pillowcases on them. There wasn't multiple. So it would have just been like a really thin mattress and a blanket that just sat there. And I could have done it. I'm not saying I couldn't have, but it was pretty much an old blanket and a pillow with no case on it in a house that was very chaotic and messy. And my mattress was three foot wide. Like, it was literally like a prison cot. And that was basically my life. And I never had a box spring. I never had that upper sheet, didn't have the comforter, dust ruffle. Now who's gay? I didn't even have like a sleeping bag or anything. Like, if I went camping, I just took the blanket from my bed and just lay in the dirt with that. So I never made the bed as a younger person. And then when I got older, I just never had. I never had the habit of it, but it also never made sense to me. I lived alone, I guess, a lot, or like roommates and stuff. And I would just get up. I'd get up and bolt to work. Like, I had to be. I'd do construction. So I had to be at work at 7 in the morning every or five days a week. And I was always getting up at like 6 and just leaving.
Mariana Van Zeller
Right. That Makes sense. Yeah.
Adam Carolla
Also always a napper.
Mariana Van Zeller
Oh, you're a napper.
Adam Carolla
I'm a napper.
Mariana Van Zeller
My dad is a napper too.
Adam Carolla
He's a great man, your dad. I bet he knows what a dust ruffle is. But so now it's a little tough when you're a napper and a bed maker because you get up and you make your bed, but then you come home from work at 4 o' clock and you want to take a nap. Now what are we doing? We undoing the bed.
Mariana Van Zeller
Oh, you nap under the sheets. You like your full in, get ready for bed kind of napper.
Adam Carolla
I don't do the sofa nap or the on top of the comforter nap. I would get in bed, get in.
Mariana Van Zeller
Bed in pajamas or.
Adam Carolla
Yeah. With a candle like Ebenezer Scrooge. Yeah. Old timey. No, I took, I literally took a 19 minute nap yesterday.
Mariana Van Zeller
I had a show nap. But that's like, you know, that's a Spanish Portuguese style.
Adam Carolla
That's great. I was like, something was like, you gotta be on a phone call at 6pm I go, what time is it? It's 5:39. I was like, I'm setting my thing for 19 minutes. I'm just going down. And I just went down and popped up.
Mariana Van Zeller
It's supposedly very good for you actually, these power naps. As long as it's not longer than, you know, half hour or so.
Adam Carolla
The reality is like, I think you're like an electric car where they go, you can plug it into the power station, get to 80% in 20 minutes and they go, was it 100%? Like, no. But 20 minutes will get you to 80 and that's enough to get you to Vegas. You know what I mean? And that's how I feel about napping. Just do it. But then you're right. Do you undo the bed for the nap or do you go on top of the comforter?
Mariana Van Zeller
Yeah, I'm a napper sometimes, not a nap for every day, but once a month I'll take my nap. I travel a lot so there's a lot of jet lag. So I definitely take my naps, but it's always just a little cover. I don't undo the bed, but make.
Adam Carolla
I agree with you that the habit of making the bed is a good habit to be in, right?
Mariana Van Zeller
Yeah.
Adam Carolla
I would say if you sight unseen and you knew nothing about anybody other than they do make their bed every morning, you'd go, I'd say, I'd like that person to babysit for me versus 100% the non bed maker.
Mariana Van Zeller
I would agree I may be the.
Adam Carolla
Exception to the bed making rule.
Mariana Van Zeller
Yeah, I couldn't leave the house without making my bed.
Adam Carolla
Really?
Mariana Van Zeller
It was my mom's orders. Yeah. And I always thought I was gonna teach that to my son. I have a 15 year old son now and I make his bed every day. Pretty bad, mom.
Adam Carolla
Yeah, there was a, I basically had a thing in my life where I was like, you are never going to learn certain things or do certain things, which is fine, but you must now make enough money to not have to do that stuff and someone else can do it. And I did that end up doing that. So what's the scariest? I mean going to South Philly, Is that South Philly Kensington.
Mariana Van Zeller
I should know this. North Philly. North Philly.
Adam Carolla
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Mariana Van Zeller
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What is going on here?
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Adam Carolla
But like where's where are there places you won't go?
Mariana Van Zeller
There are places that I've tried to go that I haven't been able to. I've always wanted to go to Iran. I've been wanting to go to North Korea for some time now. I haven't gotten visas to go to either. But I'd love to. I've been in many scary situations. You know, it was a couple of years ago, we did a story about gold trafficking in Niger, in Africa. And we were there to show how this, these illegal gold that's being mined from the country is actually being used to fund terrorist organizations like Boko Haram and Al Qaeda and isis. All these organizations are intent on attacking America. So it was, you know, the United States had a military base, a couple of military bases there. We went into the country, it took us years to plan and to make sure that we were going there safely. And then we got there and we managed to visit one of these very remote sites where they had these illegal gold trafficking mines. We went deep into these tunnels that are carved by hand. Incredibly dangerous conditions. But I was so happy I came back. I was like, okay, we did it, we're doing our story. And then a military coup happened. They took out the president and they closed all borders and airspace. And we were stuck in a remote part of the country, myself and my team, for several days with an oncoming war and with no way out.
Adam Carolla
Wow.
Mariana Van Zeller
So there's been situations that I was in the wrong place at the wrong time or you know, in the right place because we ended up doing a story about what it was like to be there and how gold actually, and the money that the government got from gold had an impact on what happened in the country and globally.
Adam Carolla
Who's doing most of the labor in a mine like that?
Mariana Van Zeller
It's a lot of young people, 20, 20 something year olds, mostly uneducated. Some of them actually went to college and can't get jobs. There's high unemployment, a very young population in a lot of Africa of these African countries, particularly in this area of Africa, sub Saharan Africa, and people that can't find jobs, young people that can't find jobs. We interviewed a. One of the guys we interviewed was actually about 30 something years old and he was educated, but he couldn't find a job. And so he's being paid, I don't know, a couple of dollars a day, if that, to work in these horrible conditions. I mean, these are mines that have zero safety. We went down, I think it was over 100 meters long and it's damp, it's smelly, it's dangerous. They have dynamite explosions all around to make these mines, and so these could crumble. And, you know, people get stuck there all the time. People die all the time. And we were in and out in like, 20 minutes, but these people work there for hours on end. Yeah, it's very sad. And all of this to get money out, to get gold out that we can buy in the west, and that eventually also passes through the hands of terrorist organizations.
Adam Carolla
Yeah. You know, as a guy who's not a jewelry guy, I like, you know, diamonds and diamond blades and stuff like that. Like, diamonds have a real use, I mean, other than, you know, on the finger of our Kardashian. And gold, too. That's what I was going to say. And silver. Silver, too. And I guess you need it for that. But probably I'd go with the costume jewelry with everything else, But I'm a woman, so.
Mariana Van Zeller
I'm sorry.
Adam Carolla
I know.
Mariana Van Zeller
But I think, yeah, getting your gold and your jewelry, wherever it is, from clean sources, making sure that it's not fueling violence, is probably a good thing.
Adam Carolla
Yeah, it'd be nice. They can synthesize diamonds pretty well now as well. But then it kind of. So then here's the problem, or the rub, as they would say, a diamond, when it's not being used in a diamond blade to cut. I mean, you can go across the street to the Home Depot and get diamond blades for masonry work and wet saws and tile and stuff like that. I've done it a million times. It's really kind of cool how it works. But then a diamond, for a diamond ring doesn't have any utility. It's more about an aesthetic. But then you go, okay, but what if we could synthesize that aesthetic? Like, what if we could just. You couldn't tell the difference between a real diamond and the synthesized one. And the synthesized one is just made in a lab, and it's one twentieth the price. And then you'd go, well, then that would surely be good. Right. But the answer is no, because we're not in it for the utility of it. We're in it because of what it means and what it represents and the rarity of it.
Mariana Van Zeller
Right. Because there are not a lot of them out there.
Adam Carolla
Right. So you getting this thing for a discount price that's easy to make, and then giving it to the love of your life doesn't represent anything.
Mariana Van Zeller
That's right.
Adam Carolla
So it may sound pragmatic, but it's not romantic.
Mariana Van Zeller
No. I mean, no. Unfortunately not. We want what's rarest out there when it comes to yeah, yeah.
Adam Carolla
That's my theory with women and flowers, too.
Mariana Van Zeller
What's that? That women want exotic flowers.
Adam Carolla
Flowers bother guys. Because guys go, you spend 80 bucks and they're dead in four days. That's the point. That's. If they lasted for 100 years, then it wouldn't be. And it was $10. Then there wouldn't. Then you wouldn't be in pain. And if you're not in pain, you.
Mariana Van Zeller
Need to bring me some more. In four days.
Adam Carolla
I have this theory, which is also. I. I do think this is why women are attracted to picnics.
Mariana Van Zeller
What's that? Why is that? And men are not. I didn't know men aren't attracted to picnic.
Adam Carolla
We don't like pic. No. Here's what a woman likes. A woman likes the effort a guy puts into a picnic. So when the guy shows up and he goes, I got the basket, and I went, and I got all the cheeses, and I got all your favorite stuff, and I got this blanket and we're going to do it. It's like sitting on the ground and eating is not awesome, but it's the thought. He puts so much thought into this. And that's the good part. Whereas, guys, we don't need the thought. We need the sort of bottom line.
Mariana Van Zeller
Which is what?
Adam Carolla
Well, like, if you. Okay, so if you said, all right, let's say a guy wanted a cordless drill, right? And you said, I got you a cordless drill for Christmas, but I didn't buy it. It just fell off the back of a Makita truck.
Mayhem Miller
But here it is.
Adam Carolla
The guy'd go, even better.
Mariana Van Zeller
You didn't spend money on women.
Adam Carolla
I'm telling you, I had a girlfriend that loved Tori Amos. Big Tori Amos fan. And then one day I went to the radio station and Tori Amos was there, and some fan gave her a big bouquet. And Tori Amos said, thanks, and then set it down and then left. And I took the bouquet and I said, I'm taking this. And I took it home to my girlfriend and I presented her the bouquet, and she was very happy about it. And then I said, and guess whose bouquet that was? She said, who? I said, tori Amos. And she said, take it back. And she stuffed it back at me because it was not her bouquet. I didn't go through the effort of it. I picked up Tori Amos.
Mariana Van Zeller
The gesture was that you thought about her in that moment.
Adam Carolla
And, you know, that's my argument. In her world, it's sloppy seconds with Tori Amos in a bouquet.
Mariana Van Zeller
Maybe it's because you've never given her flowers before. And she was. She threw.
Adam Carolla
You can try to angle this all that you want, but here's my point. A guy either wants a bouquet or he doesn't want a bouquet. And once he's got the bouquet, he's happy. It doesn't matter if your dad works at a flower mart or hangs around with Tori Amos. The point is, I like this women's a lot more. What's behind and what's going on. Other factors. Yeah. I'm not saying it's good or bad.
Mariana Van Zeller
When men put a little effort.
Adam Carolla
They want the effort. Yeah.
Mariana Van Zeller
Because we spend. Yeah. I think effort is probably right. Effort. But I think men like effort from women, too. I mean, my husband loves it when I want to go on date night.
Adam Carolla
Oh, yeah?
Mariana Van Zeller
Yeah.
Adam Carolla
All right.
Mariana Van Zeller
When I put effort into spending time with him.
Adam Carolla
Yeah.
Mariana Van Zeller
Yeah.
Adam Carolla
Well, you're also pretty rare. I mean, you're out a lot. And also doing dangerous stuff, which, I don't know.
Mariana Van Zeller
He is too. He's also a journalist. He travels all around. I mean, yeah. Less work in the black market, but.
Adam Carolla
Yeah, but dangerous stuff.
Mariana Van Zeller
Yeah, Actually, yes. As well, not as much as me. Cause I have a show that's been going on for five seasons. But we started together, actually, we started trying. We met at Columbia University's journalism. So he was a print journalist, I was TV. And we were there on 9 11, the two of us. I was the only Portuguese journalist in Manhattan on 9 11. I ended up doing all the live reporting for Portugal's television station. I was 24, 25 years old. I had no idea what I was doing, but it changed my life, particularly what I wanted to do in journalism. Because I realized that day, it was such a massive day with such an impact that I realized that day that I wanted to tell stories that sort of contextualize why events like this happen in the world. So a year after graduating from Columbia University, I moved to Syria. And I did my first stories as a freelance journalist about the foreign fighters that were crossing from Syria into Iraq to fight against the Americans. It was sort of the beginning of the insurgency.
Adam Carolla
What's Syria like?
Mariana Van Zeller
Syria, back then, this was 2004 was amazing. I mean, it was an authoritarian regime. As a foreign student in the country, I enrolled in the University of Damascus to learn Arabic. I was a journalist, but I was a secret journalist. I couldn't tell anyone, not even my friends, that I was a journalist. Because I knew that if the government could kick me out or would start spying on me, this was even before cell phones So I remember every phone call I'd make from my house I knew was probably being listened to, because as a foreigner and with a large group of foreigners in the country, that I knew the secret services were probably listening in. And then when we did our story, I went to the border with Iraq, and we met all these Syrians who were under the COVID of darkness crossing the border to fight against what they thought was the invasion of Americans in their region. And traveling to that part of the world was crazy. This was the heart of what became isis. It was a stronghold of Al Qaeda back then. It then became sort of the heart of isis. And I was the only woman out on the streets. All the women were either indoors or if they were outdoors, they were covered. It was a very religious part of the country. Most people don't know this, but the Syrian government, although authoritative, were actually secular. And so these people. This was sort of a different part of the country that was very religious and very conservative. And, yeah, I spent time in mosques. I was the only woman inside talking to people who were risking their lives to fight for Islam. As I said, it was very interesting. But it is also a beautiful country, full of history, wonderful people, incredible food, beautiful. I had incredible parties. I made amazing friends. I learned less Arabic than I wanted to because I partied a lot. So there was that as well.
Adam Carolla
You know what's weird? Remember when Barack Obama would say ISIL.
Mariana Van Zeller
Instead of isis, because that's how it was said. That's what they call it in Europe and a bunch of other countries. I think the United States was the only one at the time that was.
Adam Carolla
Oh, we were calling it isis, and the rest of the country is calling it isil.
Mariana Van Zeller
I cannot remember where it came from, but it was because of the. Oof. I can't remember. But it was.
Adam Carolla
Is the rest of the world back to isis or. They never were at isis, Is it? And I never hear ISIL anymore. Not like Trump's not going to say isil, but I'm saying.
Mariana Van Zeller
But it's all the same organization. I mean, we're talking about the same group of people.
Adam Carolla
Yeah, isil, Islamic State, Iraq, Levant.
Mariana Van Zeller
Oh, the Levant. Yeah. That's what it standed for.
Commercial Announcer
Right?
Mariana Van Zeller
And I think the initial name was isil. That's how people called it. And then it was changed to isis, perhaps.
Adam Carolla
I don't know. I just. I don't know anything about it. All I would do is sit around going. I'd hear Obama call isil. And I was like, I thought we agreed on isis. But I think he was just showing he Was international. But you would call it isis.
Mariana Van Zeller
I called it isis, yes.
Adam Carolla
So what's the most dangerous place right now, you reckon?
Mariana Van Zeller
I mean, some parts, obviously in the sub Saharan Africa, in the Sahel region of Africa right now, places like Mali, like Nigeria, that are just swarming with terrorist groups that can very much become sort of the new Afghanistan. You know, the United States was actually had military bases. There was funding work that was done there to make sure that they were keeping the terrorist groups at bay. Unfortunately, because of the military coup. I think Niger was the fourth country in the region that had a military coup that sort of expelled the Americans and French and other Western groups out of there. And because of it, it's now unchecked. So I think it's in the future going to become very dangerous, not just for people who go there, but for the rest of the world. Because you don't want a place where there's unchecked terrorist groups growing with a lot of potential funding from gold and uranium and other resources that they have in the region. It's dangerous. Yeah. But I mean, I've traveled extensively to Sinaloa, Mexico. You know, if you find yourself in the wrong place at the wrong time, it's also not the best place to be in.
Adam Carolla
Yeah, cartel country, cartel violence. Yeah, yeah. What do you. What's your take on cartels and, I don't know, designated as terrorist groups and stuff like that. What's a plan for the cartels?
Mariana Van Zeller
Yeah, I'm happy you asked me that because I have actually spent a lot of time with cartel members, with sicarios, with drug chemists, traffickers, all of it, and interviewing them and talking to them. And unfortunately, the people that end up doing the trafficking of the drugs are not the people in charge. Right. These are a lot of times the fishermen that can't fight fish and have to provide for their families or the people, like you said, that grow up where their parents, their whole family belongs to the cartel and you cannot not belong to the cartel. So I think indiscriminate killings of people without due process, yes, they are bringing drugs. The vast majority of the drugs are coming through legal ports of entry. They're not coming in boats. Some of them are. But I think that this is not the way. Killing indiscriminately without due process, I don't believe it's the way.
Adam Carolla
What do you do with the cartels, though?
Mariana Van Zeller
Well, you try to figure out how to stop demand. The demand is coming from the United States. I think we blame Mexico for the off, for the supply. And Mexico blames us for the demand. And I think we should pay attention to both sides and understand why is there such demand here? Again, it's a public health crisis. It's not a military crisis. It's not a security crisis. It is all those things, but it's caused because of demand. Why is there demand in the United States? It was initially the opiate crisis started because of American pharmaceutical company.
Adam Carolla
Right. Well, I'll push back and say, please push back. There is, there's a lot of demand for cheap labor, for instance, you know, construction, agriculture and stuff like that. But if you have a stout border and you regulate the chicken farms and the agriculture, whatever, then you would cut back a lot on unregulated labor.
Mariana Van Zeller
That hasn't happened. Right. We can pour millions of dollars in building wars and I can guarantee that as long as there is demand. What happens there?
Adam Carolla
Well, you can cut back. I know, but you can do less of it. You're never going to do away with it.
Mariana Van Zeller
What happens when you do less is that the price increase. So if you're having less fentanyl crossing the border into the United States, the price of fentanyl increases, which makes it more profitable for the cartel to then figure out ways to bring fentanyl into the United States.
Adam Carolla
I'm talking about labor.
Mariana Van Zeller
Yeah, I'm talking about drugs.
Adam Carolla
No, but what I mean is you have something you don't want, you go, we don't want this cheap labor undercutting American jobs or whatever it is. So then you go, where's the labor coming from? You go, well, Mexico, let's say. Okay, so you go, all right, how is the labor getting here? All right, so well, it's crossing the border. All right, so you go, let's do more at the border to stop it. We're not gonna stop all of it. Stop it. And then let's go down and talk to the places that are the chicken farms or the agriculture whatever, the construction sites and regulate them hiring non documented whatever, which then would lessen it, is what I'm saying. I don't think it would get rid of it, but there's ways it can be done. But there's always going to be demand for cheap labor. But that doesn't necessarily mean you're going to get a ton. You don't have to get a ton of cheap labor just because I as a homeowner would like someone to mow my lawn for five bucks instead of 50 bucks. But if it's not available, it's not available. Is What I'm saying. So I think.
Mariana Van Zeller
So we went from a drug discussion to an immigration discussion. I'm happy to have.
Adam Carolla
No, I'm saying we can impact. I think there's ways to impact it. It's not just there's demand, so there's gonna be supply. There's demand for stuff when there's not supply, or we cut into the supply, and then we don't get it.
Mariana Van Zeller
True. But I think that the approach has been to try to cut off supply, and that so far, in terms of drugs, has not worked. We have spent billions of dollars fighting a war that we are losing, and we have been losing since Nixon began this war on drugs. And again, billions of dollars that could have been spent on trying to address the root cause of this problem, which is demand. Why are so many Americans addicted to drugs? What can we stop to prevent them? What can we stop to help the Americans that are already addicted to drugs? And so we at least make some sort of a dent in the demand. And if we just try to figure that out and rehaul the system because the system right now isn't working for anyone, maybe we'd have better results.
Adam Carolla
I agree. I just think it's kind of both. I would do the demand and do the border.
Mariana Van Zeller
Yeah. But right now, we're not doing the demand. That's.
Adam Carolla
Well, I don't. I mean, you know, back to the 24 billion on homelessness, like, I don't know where. I don't.
Mariana Van Zeller
But that doesn't. That's not. It's not about money spent. Is about how that money is spent, right?
Adam Carolla
Oh, yeah, yeah. No, I'm saying I don't. You know, when we talk about needing more resources, I don't know how many more you need than 24 billion, but if nothing's ever coming out the other end, then we need to do something to change that. All right, we agree on that. Let me give you a plug before I get into the news. The Hidden Third. That's the name of the podcast. Real Storage Transformation. You can check it on YouTube as well.
Mariana Van Zeller
That's right.
Adam Carolla
Right.
Mariana Van Zeller
Yep.
Adam Carolla
And we'll see. We'll keep the TV on and see if you pop up. Thanks for joining me. Thanks, Adam. We'll take a quick break. We'll do the news with mayhem right after this. Rosetta Stone. Give the gift of language this holiday. Rosetta Stone is my go to for learning something new that lasts long after the decorations are all packed up for Christmas. I love how easy it is. You can work the lessons right into your day. Even during busy months. Just 10 minutes with the app feels like real progress. The truaxent feature is like having a coach in your pocket. My pronunciation actually sounds more like a native's now, and that's motivating. No flashcards or forced memorization. Rosetta Stone helps you think and speak naturally. That's right, using images, audio and stories from native speakers. There's a huge lineup. 25 languages are available with award winning immersive methods endorsed by millions of folks over 30 years. And a lifetime membership means you can learn any language you want forever on any device. So it's a great holiday value. It's a good gift too. Anyway, you want to travel smarter, connect deeper, then you know how to do it. Am I right Dawson?
Dawson
Don't wait. Unlock your language learning potential now. Adam Caroll as your listeners can grab Rosetta Stone's lifetime membership for 50% off. That's unlimited access to 25 language courses for life. Visit Rosetta Stone.com Adam to get started and claim your 50% off today. Give a gift that keeps giving. Go to Rosetta Stone.com Adam and start learning today.
Adam Carolla
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Dawson
Turn your big business idea into With Shopify on your side. Sign up for your $1 per month trial and start selling today at shopify.com corolla go to shopify.com corolla shopify.com corolla here's a beat from Beat it out with Jay Moore and Adam Carolla.
Adam Carolla
One of the first like comedy notions I had when I was a kid but I didn't really know I was thinking like a comedian I guess in a way like being comedian is like when you're not and you're gay but you don't really know. I guess I always knew I was a comedian. There's nobody to do comedy with, right? Yeah, like I felt like I it's like being gay. We all knew you were a comedian, right? But what are you gonna do? We always knew you were a comedian, but who are you gonna suck off, like? And how's this gonna work? But so my point is, is, like, I was doing comedy all the time, but I didn't know it, and then no one around me let me know it, so I didn't know it was a thing.
Dawson
Beat it out with Adam Carolla and Jay Moore. Subscribe to the show@adamcorola.com substack let's get back to the Adam Carolla show.
Adam Carolla
Mayhem Scott news. Mayhem. I got an idea. All right. I have a thought. I want to bounce it off of Dawson Andrew in the fight game. Checking out a band aid, looks like, you know.
Mayhem Miller
Yeah. I think yesterday at the show, I was just rocking bare stitches. Today, I decided to cover it up.
Adam Carolla
And be polite for the guests. Smart. Little sparring session gone awry.
Mayhem Miller
Yeah. Yeah. I mean, that's business.
Adam Carolla
I was watching the Raiders game on Monday Night Football, and Raiders were at home, and they're playing the Dallas Cowboys. And they cut to the audience, the crowd, and there's lots of guys wearing Dallas Cowboy jerseys in the crowd. There's always a ton of. Of Dallas Cowboy fans everywhere. But then I had this thought, which I hadn't really thought about, which is the Raiders when they were in Los Angeles. I don't think you would have wanted to put on a Cowboys jersey and go to a Raiders home game in Los Angeles back in the day, because you may have been beaten in the parking lot to death. I'm kind of wondering, like, Raiders were in Oakland and they're in la. Lots of bad hombres.
Mayhem Miller
I think they did that, in fact, to merge the gangs into one conglomerate.
Adam Carolla
One giant Oakland Raiders gang.
Mayhem Miller
And now they got Vegas mine. They're everywhere. Right?
Adam Carolla
So, but what I'm saying is, is if the Oakland. So we would go, oh, it's the Oakland Raiders fans, the Oakland Raiders fans. But if the Oakland Raiders fans, if the Oakland Raiders or the Raiders move to one of the Carolinas, then they might not have the Oakland Raider fans that have people who lived in one of the Carolinas. Right.
Mayhem Miller
Damn Panthers.
Adam Carolla
Right? So we got shitty people who are also fans of the Oakland Raiders and. Or the Raiders, because in Vegas, I don't think there's as much something on people.
Mayhem Miller
It's all marketing, Coach. You got to know that. I mean, look, give them a periwinkle blue jersey.
Adam Carolla
Yeah.
Mayhem Miller
They're not attached to that fan base. Black and steel. Yeah.
Adam Carolla
Yeah, but no, no, I'm saying you take the team and you move them to a more docile.
Mayhem Miller
Yeah, like Wyoming Raiders.
Adam Carolla
Yeah. There are San Diego versus LA and Oakland, because now you got a bunch of fucking gang bangers and troublemakers and they put the jersey on and then they go to the game and they're much more apt to beat on somebody.
Mayhem Miller
In the Cowboys telling you, hey, I'm a tough guy and ready to. You know what I mean? You gotta duck them real quick. You're wearing a Cowboys, America's team. This is Raider country.
Adam Carolla
I was watching these people in the stands in Vegas wearing their Dallas jerseys and didn't seem to have the fear.
Mayhem Miller
With impunity.
Adam Carolla
With impunity.
Mayhem Miller
Just walking around casual.
Adam Carolla
So we get what I'm saying, right? It was never the Raiders. It was where they were, all the fucking retards in Los Angeles.
Mayhem Miller
And, okay, Vegas, no big deal. It's a bunch of, you know.
Dawson
And the places you felt it a lot were if you went into a Charger game at Qualcomm, when the Chargers would play the Raiders, especially when the Raiders were in Los Angeles, South Central would come to Qualcomm.
Adam Carolla
Right, right.
Mayhem Miller
I feel like fisticuff.
Adam Carolla
You know what I mean?
Mayhem Miller
It's a rivalry sometimes.
Adam Carolla
All right? No one knows what you're saying. The point is, is my theory is correct.
Mayhem Miller
You're right. You're absolutely correct.
Dawson
Friends growing up who were from Miami. And so every year when Miami would play Oakland, they'd go to the game in their Miami gear and the whole family, it's like they were so brave, but they were soaked in beer and obscenities.
Mayhem Miller
Yeah, it was part of the fun. I thought that was the whole deal was like, you know, get ruckus and it's safe. You know, you guys don't get in a big one, but, you know, settle it amongst yourselves.
Adam Carolla
All right? I. Listen, I have a theory. I don't know if my theory is. But you understand my theory, right?
Mayhem Miller
I totally understand.
Adam Carolla
Okay. All right. Now, the other thing I wanted to get into, which is clarity on the Billy Bob Thornton hat situation. It was found on the Internet and tweeted to me last night. Dawson.
Dawson
Yeah, I saw that and I liked it.
Adam Carolla
And you, Dawson, needs some kudos because I've never seen the show, the commercial with the sound on, because it's always one of the TVs that has the football games. And it's not only one TV has a sound on it. It's not the Billy Bob Thornton. And I've never seen him inside the truck. I've just seen him walking toward the camera where the hat looks weird and fake.
Mayhem Miller
Yes.
Adam Carolla
But it looks more realistic inside of the truck. And Dawson's right. He makes a reference to their competition when we can play the commercials. So I'm now abandoning my CGI hat theory.
Mayhem Miller
Oh, yeah.
Adam Carolla
Oh, yeah.
Mayhem Miller
Legitimate.
Adam Carolla
Their network kind of sucked. His words.
Dawson
Still way too new.
Adam Carolla
But things change now.
Dawson
T Mobile.
Adam Carolla
All right, here's where it looks weird and fake. Let's stop it. Just go back 10 seconds. But the reason. The point is, why is he wearing. He's. Okay, okay, hold on, hold on. The pickup truck he's driving has dirt and mud on it. Like, you couldn't take a brand new pickup truck from the Dodge dealer that had three coats of carnauba wax because someone would go, no, no, he's driving. He's a working guy. He's driving a truck. He's on a ranch. You know what I mean? Truck's got to have a little dirt. It's got to look like he's using the truck. Can't be a brand new truck with dealer plates on. What's with a brand new black hat? Why? Why? The hat is, like, the first thing you get hold of and you go, we got to age it down. He's a working dude. He's driving a dusty pickup truck. He bought that hat at Bass Pro.
Mayhem Miller
Shop because it's on aisle three, and then that shirt is also on aisle.
Adam Carolla
Two, and he bought it that day. That's what I'm saying. Why. Why is the hat jet black and flawless?
Dawson
I think your original theory that say that he's taken a lot of heat for his hair. It has to have something to do with his hair. There's no other reason for that particular hat situation.
Mayhem Miller
The Ellen DeGeneres that he had, he.
Dawson
Has Elizabeth Warren's lesbian haircut.
Adam Carolla
Yes. Yes. All right, so either way, it is not.
Dawson
It's not a rancher hat. There's no way.
Adam Carolla
It's not anything hat. It's a. It's a.
Mayhem Miller
That's a blank.
Mariana Van Zeller
No.
Adam Carolla
You know what that hat is? That's the hat that the police artist draws. When the guy. When you say the guy was wearing a black hat, they go, oh, okay, this guy did what? He robbed me of the atm. Describe. He had an orange windbreaker on and a black baseball cap, and that's what he draws.
Dawson
Usually when you see that hat, it says your logo here.
Adam Carolla
That's right. And it's on a mannequin at the Store. All right, so anyway. But he does refer to their competition, Luke Wilson.
Dawson
See, that's what happens when you have to slum it in one tv, one TV land.
Adam Carolla
You have to sound up.
Mayhem Miller
Wait, wait, how did he throw it at Luke Wilson?
Dawson
He'll do it.
Mayhem Miller
Idiocracy sucked.
Adam Carolla
He'll do it right now. You'll see it. But I'm just another guy in an ad saying the same thing, only first and true.
Dawson
Check out T Mobile Experience.
Mayhem Miller
Experience.
Adam Carolla
What?
Mayhem Miller
It means camera two for the shade.
Adam Carolla
Watch with the brand new hat. And by the way, the boots are worked in, the trucks worked in. Now, the hat is a last minute remedy. It's a last minute remedy to fix your hair problem. But that's why you want to age it.
Dawson
Yeah, it's gotta be. There was no foresight into the hat. It was on the set. They're like, your hair looks like shit and you're tired of hearing of it. Throw this on.
Mayhem Miller
Yeah, in his trailer. Someone delivered that from the Bass Pro Shop.
Dawson
It was probably him who said, I need a hat, and he forgot his hat or something.
Adam Carolla
I think he got made fun of. I think the first one's aired. He got made fun of. All right. Another situation. I've talked about people, young girls. Young girls, but people have no regard for upholstery anymore.
Mayhem Miller
Disrespect.
Adam Carolla
Disrespect for upholstery. And so what would happen when I was a kid, if somebody got a new sofa? They might either put plastic on it or there'd be 2,000 rules about their sofa. Like, you do not. Like if you went to somebody's house who had a new sofa and you went on and watched some TV and you just started eating a taco on their new. Or their mom would come in and go, get the hell out. Take that, go into the dining room, set it on. Even if you had the shit on a tray on your lap, someone would raise, holy hell, that's a new sofa.
Mayhem Miller
You're talking the 60s here.
Adam Carolla
I'm talking 70s, even into the 80s.
Mayhem Miller
I mean, this goes far, far back.
Adam Carolla
This goes way back.
Mayhem Miller
Like the philosopher. I think it's Richard James iii. He said, fuck your couch.
Adam Carolla
Yeah, yeah. That guy said, fuck your couch.
Mayhem Miller
Yeah, yeah.
Adam Carolla
So they made a big deal out of new stuff. And there's a lot of rules. Like if you were napping on a sofa on your back, you could not have your shoes up on the sofa. There was no shoes near anything. And now people sit, women especially, with their feet underneath them and their shoes on. And the soles of their feet on the upholstery. So I took a picture of this chick I was in a lounge with. Mike August. I was in a lounge and you can go tight on it. But there was a chick, I think she was like an ass influencer because she was wearing yoga pants and her ass, she was shoving her ass out and all I could think of is she was some sort of ass influencer. She had a weird thong back thing underneath the yoga pants.
Mayhem Miller
Yeah, that's clearly Raven Grimm.
Adam Carolla
At some point she got up and just pushed her ass out and did like a 180 so everyone in the lounge could see it. And she's like, I make my living off this ass. She probably has her ass insured at Lloyd's of London.
Mayhem Miller
Set my drink up right up there and I'll let the martini walk away.
Adam Carolla
So she puts her face foot. She got one, she got a right foot on. By the way, this is the club chair that other people in the lounge use. And she's just walking through the filthy airport with this and then lands here and she puts her.
Mayhem Miller
Shoot, I see a different. I see you come hither there, cardholder.
Adam Carolla
Not a side shoe, but a bottom. Full, full sole, full flat on club chair. Right? So I'm looking at her and I'm just observing this. I go, okay, I gotta take a picture. Well, a few minutes later, I take another picture because now.
Mayhem Miller
Security has come over and hemmed you up.
Adam Carolla
Now she got both feet up there. She swapped. She now has both feet.
Mayhem Miller
She saw you on the. She saw you, she knows your stance.
Mariana Van Zeller
Isn't it.
Adam Carolla
Isn't it more comfortable to put your feet down on the floor? So now she's got both feet on the chair that everyone else uses when they come to the lounge. She's got both feet.
Mayhem Miller
Look, how do you expect her to do a sudoku?
Adam Carolla
Yeah, I don't know. She's texting. I don't know what she's doing. But now she has both feet. Okay, now understand, this lounge is just filled with people who use the lounge. And we're just looking at her with both her feet. She's clueless and careless. Cause she's a 23 year old ass influencer and does not care. So now she's got both feet. So then at some point I get up to go get a little more bland chilly and I come back and she's moved. She's moved into another chair.
Mayhem Miller
Oh, the saga.
Mariana Van Zeller
Wow.
Adam Carolla
She moved into another chair. She took her one foot and she put it on A second chair, and then took her other foot and put it on the both arms.
Mayhem Miller
You know, I got.
Adam Carolla
She's taken out four chairs, everybody. Now, by the way, is it comfortable to sit with your foot, like, above your head on a. I feel like somebody designed a chair 2,000 years ago, and we all decided, yes. It's a pretty good way to spend the day. Yeah.
Mayhem Miller
It's called chaise lounge.
Adam Carolla
You put your feet on the ground. They have these things called arms, and you put your arms on their arms. It's. She has now hit the arm of two chairs, by the way, that's where your bear arm goes down. When you come in there next to eat your bland chili, you sit there one foot. My whole point is, she's not hiding this. I have no idea why she had to get up and move. Does anyone know why she had to go from one chair to the next chair just to pollute more chairs? Who raised this bitch? Who raised her?
Mayhem Miller
I think Covid is an iPad.
Adam Carolla
Yes. Well, didn't.
Dawson
But at her house, pretty much the same chair. Right. So the only reason to move would be the view or who's viewing you. Seems like she got a little closer to you. She may know who you were. Maybe she's doing a little peacocking here.
Adam Carolla
Oh, she's presenting.
Dawson
She's presenting.
Adam Carolla
Those ass models love me. Jesus Christ.
Dawson
She wants someone as. As fluent as you.
Adam Carolla
I was like. She was like, if only I brought a third shoe I could put on some. This. At some point, she unpacked her bag and pulled the shoe out and starts setting it on everything. She set one on my head. At a certain point, Mike was eating chili. She put one of her shoes in his chili. She's like, I'm not going to leave until my shoes are all over this lounge.
Mayhem Miller
She literally took to the espresso machine and did a shoe.
Adam Carolla
She did a shoe. Like. Like a cage fighter? Yeah, like, she put one shoe on, then both feet on, and then picked up and moved four feet. She said, I'm gonna just get my shoes. They're made for walking, and that's what I'm gonna do. And she walked four feet ahead. She plopped down on another lounge chair, and she's like, I'm gonna take my one foot, and I'm gonna put it on this other chair across from me. And then I'll take this foot and I'll split the two armrests. I'll put one on the armrest of the chair I'm on, and then I'll pollute the Other charm. Rest, bitch you around the fucking air. You want. You know when you go into use the room, the bathroom, and you're walking on the fucking bathroom floor and everything in there. You just brought that shit in here and you're putting it on the arms in the seats of a lounge where people come to lounge in the chairs. You got to get your fucking feet everywhere. Now, listen, this is a young chick thing. There's no way I. There's no way anyone I know would go, this is a totally good thing. Not gonna put my feet. She grew up this way.
Mayhem Miller
Now, would you say that your daughter, who is in this age range, would do a flippity flop, foot on the chair? Could you see her do that? Did you raise her right, Corolla?
Adam Carolla
I raised her right. I would beat her with a flip flop if she did this. This is extraordinary. How much shoe coverage. Now, listen, I had to leave at a certain point. Who knows if she made her way to other chairs. I'm assuming she got to other chairs. She polluted all the chairs in the lounge. But it's more the part where she does it with impunity. Like, I have not a care in the world. You adults can walk past me all day, and I will just have my feet on everything.
Mayhem Miller
Here's a wild. Yeah, well, here's a wild idea. I mean, why didn't you check her? Why don't you politely tell her that people's arms go here. Lady, you're putting bacterial vaginosis right on the.
Adam Carolla
You know, I would rather just quietly take my pictures and then make fun of her on the podcast.
Dawson
But, yes, I remember growing up hearing the words, get your feet off the furniture.
Adam Carolla
Yeah, yeah, yeah. At least.
Dawson
At least a thousand times.
Mayhem Miller
I mean, it's baby with a water bottle.
Dawson
And by the way, my parents, other people's parents, grandparents, other family members, rolled up newspaper. Adults in general wouldn't spoon. Get your feet off the field.
Adam Carolla
Get your feet off. Kick in a fireplace. My buddy Chris's mom would have the carpets clean once a month. No, once a year. And for like, six months. You had to take your shoes off before you came into the house. All about it. There was no. Barbara Bohm would have seen me just with both feet on her fucking sofa. She would have fucking blown her lid. She would have blown her stack. All right, sorry. Mayhem.
Mayhem Miller
Oh, Barbara Bohm.
Adam Carolla
Barbara Bohm. Superpower health. Well, ever leave your doctor's office with that nothing but you're fine or drink more water. No plan, no real data. Just frustration. That's why Superpower Health caught my eye. They send a licensed professional to your home or you can go to a local lab for one quick blood draw. You get Results for over 100 biomarkers, way more than any standard checkup. Heart, liver, thyroid, hormones, metabolism, vitamins, toxins. You actually see what's going on. The app breaks down your numbers and gives you a real health action plan, targeted supplement suggestions, nutrition guidance, lifestyle tweaks, and your true biological age to track progress over time. No more guessing about what your body needs or waiting for health problems to pop up. Now you can make changes before things go off track. Used to cost 499 bucks, but now you can get the full Superpower experience. Comprehensive testing, personalized guidance, and next level tracking for just $199. That's $199. That's less than half of what most testing services charge and way more value. Know your numbers, unlock your hundred year potential and finally get the health answers that matter with Superpower. Right, Dawson?
Dawson
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Mayhem Miller
Hey, we got some news today if you want any makeup mogul Jeffree Star RIP progressive parents for showing gender and transgender issue to their kids as weirdos.
Adam Carolla
Really?
Mayhem Miller
Yeah. Jeffree Star's got a clip here.
Mariana Van Zeller
That's why.
Jeffree Star
Why are we putting in cartoons, trans flags and we're all this stuff that and. And that's my personal opinion. I don't agree with it. I think it's too young. I don't agree with 8 year olds wearing makeup either. It was never sexualized and weird and like why does the 5 year old watching a Netflix cartoon show need to know about that right now? Why? And then let's just really take it there.
Mariana Van Zeller
Let's take it there.
Jeffree Star
Why are we encouraging our kids to be a different gender and feed them false information when they're so young? So this is what I said recently, that people really understood when I grew up and I started looking different.
Adam Carolla
Right.
Jeffree Star
My mother encouraged me to just be myself. When I started wearing makeup and being more feminine and wanting to do certain things, it wasn't. Oh, my God. Jeffrey needs. What do they call it now? Gender affirming care. I'm gonna. I'm done. I'm done. I just. She let me be myself. She didn't push me to be anything. Just like when you're a tomboy. Did your mom try to, you know, get you a surgery to be a. You know what I mean? Did she cut your tits off? Because at 13, that's not. No. So nowadays, it's all these weirdos telling their kids, oh, my God, you like. You like a Barbie. You're. You're a woman. No, that's just a little boy experimenting, not knowing what the fuck he's doing.
Adam Carolla
Well, it is a. You know, it's so weird. I did know a woman who had a kid that was, like, transgendered, and I didn't give a fuck, because here's the bottom line. No one gives a shit about you, but you guys are all narcissists, and she had to work it into every fucking conversation about a transgender kid.
Mayhem Miller
I know.
Adam Carolla
Yeah. You know, you'd go. You want to go to the Chipotle and get a burrito? I have a transgender. Yeah. I just asked you if you wanted a fucking burrito, bitch. I don't ask you about your fucking transgender, but you're a narcissist, and so you have to weave it in.
Mayhem Miller
It's a gay man that presents very feminine. You know, he has, like, woman style. He's a makeup icon. This guy's, like, big time, the original influencer, you know, and, you know, he's had up and downs, and this is kind of drawing a divide between, you know, the ultra sort of progressive people were on gender roles, you know, and, you know, and regular gay people who wear makeup.
Adam Carolla
I just. I would prefer to know as little about you as humanly possible. That's my whole thing. I don't want to know anything about you.
Mayhem Miller
The opposite of the social media age.
Adam Carolla
You know, I do not want to know if you suck dick, eat pussy. I don't want to know that you put your feet on the furniture, that lounge. I don't want to know any. I don't want to know anything about you. Yeah, that's the way I like it. So whatever you're presenting is too much for me. And not interested in your pronouns. Not interested in who you fuck, not interested on whatever your thoughts are.
Mayhem Miller
But it is like people living a different life out there. You know, you normally have a curious mind on this. You're shut down.
Adam Carolla
I would like to. To find out what smart people are thinking, not have presented what dumb people are thinking, which is whatever they're presenting. I don't want to see that. But it's also.
Mayhem Miller
But the irony of this guy making that statement because he's a TikTok star.
Adam Carolla
Jeffree star.
Dawson
Yeah.
Mayhem Miller
He's a big time social media influencer, which they push this type of agenda on there. It's clear. It's clear as day that they kind of have amped up that part of our American culture, you know, gay culture has exploded and now he's given some pushback.
Adam Carolla
Yeah, well, they're just angry and there to piss off. Whatever. Whatever would piss Charlton Heston off the most. That's. That's what they're. They're.
Mayhem Miller
I was thinking Clint Eastwood in the movie with.
Adam Carolla
He's still alive. But yeah, I got it. Yeah.
Mayhem Miller
All right. Well, Bill Maher reveals a shocking reason that he quit stand up comedy. Everybody was giving him guff about it, but he just basically came out on his club random podcast and said it, you know.
Adam Carolla
All right, let's look at the clip.
Bill Maher
Yeah, I mean, look, I got off the road this year for the. I mean, I had been doing it for free.
Adam Carolla
Really?
Bill Maher
Yeah. I stopped doing it at the end of 2020.
Adam Carolla
What made you stop?
Bill Maher
Well, I just did my 13th HBO special. I feel like that's a good body of work. Yeah.
Adam Carolla
Again, I said what I needed to say.
Bill Maher
People, you know, and I felt they all. They basically got better as it went along. I feel like the last one was the best one, which is a good way to get off and a number of things. Just get tired of the travel. Obviously, I miss doing it. Also. I feel like it was a great choice because I don't want to be out there in this country in this political atmosphere. I could get shot by the left or the right.
Adam Carolla
Yeah, well, it's just.
Bill Maher
It's a good time to not be out there. And also, apropos of this discussion, I just got tired of being twice as funny as people who were selling twice as many tickets as me.
Adam Carolla
He's always so humble. He's always so humble.
Mayhem Miller
I like that arrogant bastard.
Adam Carolla
Yeah, he's fine. You know, the people that sell out the arenas, whether they be comedians or bands, usually are never going to be better. They're just gonna be what's happening now, which is how it works. You know what I mean? There's always, there's always. There's great bands and they're at McCabe's in Santa Monica playing in front of 46 people, and then there's whoever's playing at the arena. And that's not. Usually.
Mayhem Miller
There's a whole business side to it. Yeah, right.
Adam Carolla
Yeah, yeah, that. That holds true with, with Stand up as well. So I get where he's at, but he also needs no money. I mean, he's got more money than he knows what to do with because he's never pretty much never been divorced, never been married, and then never had kids and then drugs. And he's never really. The things that'll break you, he never participated in. So he doesn't need to go on the road, you know, and anybody likes doing comedy. And good, good for him.
Mayhem Miller
He's kind of a guy that, you know, blurs a line where he's doing politics and comedy. So he's also what I'm more interested in to hear you think about or your thoughts about his safety.
Adam Carolla
Look, there's like, there's. There's two kinds of safety. There's, you know, real safety and then sort of perceived safety. You know, it's like you watch Jaws and then you don't want to go in the ocean, you know, and there's a lot of people that watch Jaws and didn't want to go in a lake. And there are other people that watch Jaws and wouldn't go to a swimming pool at night. And then there are people who watch Jaws and wouldn't go into an above ground swimming pool during the day.
Mayhem Miller
Y' all saw the Blair Witch and I did not go in the woods for a while.
Adam Carolla
Right, that's. That's what I'm saying. So then there's that and then there's like security. But again, what is security? Everybody, you know has been shot in the last 10 years had some kind of security. It's just they're walking in front of you on a sidewalk and you get shot in the back, you know, or you're up on stage and you get shot, security's off stage.
Mayhem Miller
Or you're in your Lamborghini and just pull up to the block and the.
Adam Carolla
Guy just sprays you up. That's right. So I think. But I don't think anything's going to happen to Bill Maher. But A couple of prominent people get shot in a couple of months, and before you know it, Bill Maher, who does not need to be. Also, Bill Maher is knocking on the door of 70. So, you know, he's 70, he needs no money. Yeah. He's done 13 specials. I don't know what he needs to prove. He's got a daily or, you know, he's got a weekly show.
Mayhem Miller
He's justified in. In his hanging out at Club Random more often.
Adam Carolla
I don't. I think. I don't think he's at risk if he goes out. But, you know, if. If you go into the ocean, there is a 1 in 1 million chance you'll get bit by a shark. But if you never go into the ocean, then it's zero. So he is at zero.
Mayhem Miller
And he's gonna need a bigger boat.
Adam Carolla
He's gonna need a bigger boat. Which I just learned was ad lib by Roy Scheider. The line was not in the script. It's always the best stuff. So there's Bill. And Bill's gotta put a little dig in at the end about being twice as funny as these young assholes selling out these places. But that's Bill.
Mayhem Miller
Yep.
Adam Carolla
Yeah, I like Bill. Here we go.
Mayhem Miller
Here's a nice story. Elementary students given tickets by cops for saying six, seven. Yeah. Police in Indiana are issuing tickets. Elementary schools.
Adam Carolla
I saw that. I know what that was.
Mayhem Miller
Yeah. The students, 6 and 7, seem unbothered by continue shouting 6 and 7. And the seemingly inescapable phrase 6, 7. By making the accompanying hand motion, 6, 7.
Adam Carolla
What does that mean?
Mayhem Miller
6, 7. Yeah, 6, 7.
Adam Carolla
You know what it means?
Mayhem Miller
Yeah, 6, 7.
Adam Carolla
I don't know what that means. You know what this means? Yeah, six, seven, six, seven.
Mayhem Miller
Yeah, six, seven.
Adam Carolla
We'll see it. Six, seven, six, seven. All right. We'll see. We'll see it on tv. Go to the dictionary to look up the meaning of a word. Of course. So we found it strange when Dictionary.com decided to spotlight a word with no meaning whatsoever. Vladimir Duthier explains 6, 7 whether you love it. I'm sorry, 67 is just the 6, 7 thing. It's nonsense or you hate it. We are not saying the word six, seven anymore.
Mariana Van Zeller
If you do, you have to write.
Adam Carolla
A 67 word advice.
Vladimir Duthier
The phrase six, seven seems to be everywhere.
Mariana Van Zeller
You want to know what time I woke up this morning?
Adam Carolla
What time? Around 6, 7, 6, 7.
Vladimir Duthier
Nobody appears to know what it actually means. But that's exactly what Georgetown University linguistics professor Cynthia Gordon says is the draw.
Mariana Van Zeller
I think one reason they use it is because it largely means nothing substantively. It's much more a signal of group insider status.
Vladimir Duthier
While the origin of the phrase isn't entirely clear, some trace it back to a song by Philadelphia rapper Skrilla. A TikTok user added the music to a clip where he talked about the height of Charlotte Hornets point guard Lamelo Ball.
Commercial Announcer
He literally moves like somebody that's six one, six two.
Vladimir Duthier
Except he's six seven. But it wasn't until this young basketball fan added that now viral hand movement that the meme took off. Every generation has its share of catchphrases.
Jeffree Star
Don't.
Mariana Van Zeller
Ugh.
Adam Carolla
As if.
Vladimir Duthier
But it's how quickly the phenomenon over a two digit number has spread that's captured people's attention.
Mariana Van Zeller
The context of social media really makes this much more amplified, and I think it makes the change a lot faster. So we'll see if the six, seven comes and goes. Six, seven.
Vladimir Duthier
Bladder. Mary Dut, CBS News, New York.
Adam Carolla
Not interested. Don't get it. But I guess that's. It strikes me as this is a sort of out of problems kind of conversation. No real problems kind of conversation.
Mayhem Miller
I have no idea what it means.
Adam Carolla
I have no idea. Well, I don't. Being interested. Well, here's what I want to say. Being interested.
Mayhem Miller
These kids, man, they're insane. I'm sorry, Ace. They're just insane.
Adam Carolla
All of them are six, seven. No, I know, but being interested in things that have no inherent interest because other people are interested in them never made any sense to me. I got it. Who was the billionaire with his dating advice from yesterday? Everyone's all up in Bill Ackerman, right? Here you go. Introduce yourself to a young lady or something. I'm like, fine. Who cares? Or don't. Or so what? Oh, we gotta get after Bill Ackerman. I'm like, do we? Why do we have to go after him? It doesn't make a difference. Who gives a fuck? It's nothing. At some point, you're gonna die and you're gonna have a whole day of 6 7's Bill Ackerman dating advice. And it's like you realize your life was completely, completely and utterly ruined. Hey.
Mayhem Miller
Pharrell Williams reveals his political stance and says picking sides inadvertently supports division.
Adam Carolla
Pharrell. That Pharrell.
Mayhem Miller
Yeah. About six of them.
Adam Carolla
Mountie hat. Pharrell.
Mayhem Miller
Yes. Mountain. Yeah.
Adam Carolla
Happy Pharrell. Happy Pharrell. Yeah.
Vladimir Duthier
As we look at what's going on, the current political climate. I'm just saying to. To turn anybody off. I hate Politics, like, despise them.
Adam Carolla
It is.
Mariana Van Zeller
It's.
Vladimir Duthier
It's a magic trick that it's. It's not real. I don't believe in either side. So I think when you pick a side, you are only, you know, you are inadvertently supporting division. Yeah, it's not a popular point of view, but I. I just got to.
Adam Carolla
Say, like, think about it.
Vladimir Duthier
The wells are drying up and that, okay, now diversity's off the table. Not equity's off the table. Now inclusion's off the table. So that makes me. I ask myself, okay, so how do we survive? Well, are there black people here tonight? And in your heart, do you think.
Adam Carolla
For what it is that you do.
Vladimir Duthier
And who you are, do you think you're the best? Okay, so do you want the job because you're black or because you're the best? Do you want someone to support your startup because you're black or because you're the best?
Commercial Announcer
Right.
Vladimir Duthier
So I think now, for me, it's about us having the best ambition. That's the reason why support should support these businesses. Yes, they happen to be dark and brown, but it should be based on the thesis that we're the best, not because we are a total shade of. Of a skin color. That's a point of view that I have now that, like, that I'm resting on. And if diversity, equity, and inclusion never comes back in style, cool. But in the meantime, I want to focus on being the best because I can bank on that. Because that's what's going to get you the position where, you know, I don't.
Commercial Announcer
Want you to give.
Vladimir Duthier
I want you to panic and not let me out the room because I'm the best.
Adam Carolla
Yeah.
Mayhem Miller
Longtime listener, I believe.
Adam Carolla
Trump voter over here.
Mayhem Miller
Yeah, he's great. I mean, I agree with all that.
Mariana Van Zeller
Yeah.
Adam Carolla
Well, listen, here's the whole thing. You can agree with it, or you can disagree with it, and then just get your ass kicked by life. You know, you can sit around and you can go, I want this. I want that. I want to vote in someone who looks like me. I want to get Barack Obama in there so he can take care of me because I'm young and I'm black and whatever it is, you can either subscribe to this sort of what Pharrell just said, or you can be bullied by the lie that you're living with this fantasy of if we just had people in power that look like us, they would take care of us. If there's more programs for people like us or if we got artificially Pushed to the front of the line. That's not going to help you. There's only one way to do it. You can say whatever you want. It's all diet and exercise. Whenever I say diet and exercise, I don't mean diet and exercise, but I mean diet and exercise or whatever life's version of that is. You can talk about dietetic fudge. You can try to get around everything the easy way or whoever. You know, you can chalk everything up to something or you can fucking just start doing the work.
Mayhem Miller
You have to have dietetic fudge.
Adam Carolla
That's all. That's all. And he's right. And nobody. The government cannot make you succeed. What they can do is sort of keep you alive. They can give you a little bit of shitty shelter and a little bit of shitty. They can give you the worst food and the worst shelter.
Mayhem Miller
Yeah. Give you the bare minimum. They'll give you a leg up so you can get yourself. But you have to scramble for everything you got in this world.
Adam Carolla
Will do everything. And by the way, even if the government did do a good job of taking care of you, I would still caution you against putting your hand out. I would say, you know what? Best case scenario, you go kick some ass and take care of yourself. Let's do that. And this thing, or like. I wasn't negatively impacted by the government shutdown because I'm not a snap recipient and I do not rely on the government to take care of me. So it was shut down, but I was not impacted a little bit with the air traffic controllers, But I do not rely on the government. So the government can close down and then I'm not impacted because I don't rely on the government. If you rely on the government, well, sometimes it's gonna close down. And whatever food you get or whatever shelter you get or whatever it is they're handing out is gonna be the worst. Just like Soviet era automobiles. You're not gonna get the best and the brightest. So I'm with Pharrell, and he's a Trump supporter. All right, Texas, tomorrow night, Fort Worth, Texas. Hyenas comedy club. Couple of shows there. And then Friday, Woodlands, Texas, Do Si Doe Big barn, Couple of shows there. Saturday, Walnut Springs, Texas. Rattlesnake Roadhouse. One show there. I do believe me and Jay Moore are going to be at Dos Lagos amphitheater. That'll be out in Corona, California. That'll be December 6th. You can go to amcroll.com for all the live shows. What do you got?
Mayhem Miller
Hey, thanks a lot for the hat, Coach. Harbaugh. See you guys next time.
Adam Carolla
Oh, nice. So till next time, Adam Crow from Mariana Van Zeller and Mayhem Saiyan. Mahalo.
Dawson
You can leave us a voicemail at 888-634-1744 and get tickets. Get to see Adam Carolla at AdamCorola.com.
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Adam Carolla
Every suspect was a train killer Then.
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Buckle up for drive World War Z.
Adam Carolla
Every human being we save Just one.
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Less fight and Charlie's Angels damn, I hate to fly. Launch into sci fi adventure with the fifth Element and laugh through the mayhem in Tropic Thunder.
Adam Carolla
What is going on here?
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Dawson
This.
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November action is free on Pluto tv. Go on the run with Jack Reacher.
Adam Carolla
Every suspect was a trained killer Then.
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Buckle up for draw World War Z.
Adam Carolla
Every human being we save Just one.
Commercial Announcer
Less fight and Charlie's Angels damn, I hate to fly. Launch into sci fi adventure with the fifth Element and laugh through the mayhem in Tropic Thunder.
Adam Carolla
What is going on here?
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Podcast: The Adam Carolla Show
Air Date: November 19, 2025
Guest: Mariana van Zeller (Journalist, Host of "Trafficked" and podcast "The Hidden Third")
Timestamps included for major sections and notable moments
This episode features a candid, far-reaching conversation between Adam Carolla and renowned journalist Mariana van Zeller about the shocking breadth of the global black and gray markets. Mariana shares her insights and firsthand experiences investigating cartels, human trafficking, drug epidemics, billion-dollar scamming operations, and more, drawn from her work on "Trafficked" and her podcast "The Hidden Third." They cover the social, economic, and cultural factors fueling underground economies, the limits and consequences of government intervention, and the complex, all-too-human stories beneath the headlines.
[03:28]
Mariana: "These black and gray markets... occupy an estimated 35% of the global economy. Whether we’re talking about human trafficking or drug trafficking, guns, scams—these are problems that exist all around us that have a deep impact on our lives, and yet we know very little about them."
[05:26]
Mariana: "It's because of inequality and lack of opportunities and jobs that people end up involved in lives of crime. It’s usually not because they’re born wanting to be criminals... it’s the vast majority of people I speak to."
[05:55]
[06:54]
Mariana: "It’s called the pig butchering scam... I'm going to fatten the pig and kill it and drain all your accounts."
[08:39]
Mariana: "They use [AI] for voices, for faces, for videos, for everything, which becomes even harder nowadays to figure out what's real and what's not."
[10:01]
Mariana: "Corruption is big. A lot of governments, a lot of powerful people are making a lot of money from this... However, the victims in many cases... are here in America."
[11:14]
Mariana: "We legalized it, but made it so difficult to gain licenses... that actually the black market for marijuana exploded. So it had the reverse effect."
[14:17]
[15:47]
Mariana: "We filmed in Kensington in Philadelphia, and it was one of the most horrible things I've ever seen... It’s a public health crisis that we seem to have forgotten or not care about."
[19:36]
[21:13]
Mariana: "The amount of people I've interviewed who struggle with addiction... they went to the doctor, had back pain... a month later, they were shooting up heroin. This is not somebody who chose that."
[28:09]
[33:48]
[39:05]
Mariana: "My parents always taught me that the biggest—you start the day by making your bed. And it's the best sort of discipline."
[47:10]
Mariana: "We got there and managed to visit one of these very remote sites... and then a military coup happened. They took out the president and they closed all borders and airspace..."
[56:26]
[60:55]
Mariana: "I've spent time with cartel members... and unfortunately, the people that end up doing the trafficking are not the people in charge... indiscriminate killings of people without due process... I don't believe is the way."
Mariana: "We have spent billions of dollars fighting a war that we are losing, and we have been losing since Nixon began this war on drugs..."
On AI in scams:
"AI they use for voices, for faces, for videos, for everything, which becomes even harder nowadays to figure out what's real and what's not."
— Mariana, [09:44]
On the drug crisis as a public health issue, not just security:
"It's a public health crisis that we seem to have forgotten or not care about."
— Mariana, [17:58]
On discipline in life:
"I'm wondering if that diet is like your metronome of discipline. Like, that's your base. It's gravity. It's like it's there every day."
— Adam, [37:10]
On government overregulation enabling black markets:
"You do create a black market, even though it's legal. You created a black market."
— Adam, [14:03]
"Opponents of legalization usually say what happens when you legalize is you do away with the black market. Right. But in the case of California, it was a disaster."
— Mariana, [13:28]
On the futility and harm of current approaches:
"The system right now isn't working for anyone, maybe we'd have better results."
— Mariana, [65:38]
If you want a deeply human, no-BS look at how global criminal networks thrive on inequality, government inaction, and cultural blind spots—with actionable ideas and fascinating true stories from the frontlines—this conversation is essential. Mariana van Zeller’s experiences bring shocking clarity to the realities most people never see or want to acknowledge, and Adam Carolla ensures no tough truth escapes examination.
Notable Quote for the Road:
"We have spent billions of dollars fighting a war that we are losing, and we have been losing since Nixon began this war on drugs... Maybe we'd have better results if we focused on the root causes."
— Mariana van Zeller, [65:38]