Esai Morales | Club Random

Summary

Podcast Summary: Club Random with Bill Maher featuring Esai Morales

Episode Information:

• Title: Esai Morales | Club Random
• Host: Bill Maher
• Release Date: June 22, 2025

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Introduction

In this engaging episode of Club Random, host Bill Maher sits down for an in-depth, one-on-one conversation with acclaimed actor Esai Morales. Filmed in the intimate setting of Club Random, the discussion traverses a wide array of topics beyond politics, delving into personal experiences, perspectives on societal issues, and insights into the entertainment industry.

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Personal Journeys and Health Consciousness

Esai Morales opens the conversation reflecting on his personal evolution towards a healthier lifestyle:

"When you're dead. You need to leave that to. Oh, you don't have."
[02:08] Esai Morales

He shares his transformative experience from his 30s, where a disappointing photoshoot prompted him to adopt a raw foods diet and embrace natural hygiene, significantly impacting his appearance and overall well-being.

"I got serious about, like, raw foods, you know, like health. Like there's something called the natural hygiene diet..."
[03:58] Esai Morales

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Navigating Fame and Acting

The dialogue shifts to Esai's acting career and his approach to portraying complex characters. He discusses the challenges of being typecast as a villain and the necessity of understanding diverse personalities to deliver authentic performances.

"To play bad people credibly. You have to put yourself in other shoes. You have to understand the asshole, the villain..."
[49:13] Esai Morales

Bill complements Esai's versatile acting skills, highlighting his convincing portrayal of antagonistic roles.

"You are very convincing."
[49:13] Bill Maher

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Reflections on AI and the Future of Work

A significant portion of the conversation centers around the impact of Artificial Intelligence on employment and societal structures. Esai raises concerns about AI potentially rendering many jobs obsolete, questioning the future of human purpose and economic stability.

"AI is quickly eliminating all the jobs. I mean, not all, but very close."
[75:04] Esai Morales

Bill echoes these fears, pondering the implications of a jobless society and the existential challenges it poses.

"But what do people do? And how do they get money? How do they buy food if there are no jobs?"
[75:51] Bill Maher

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Political Ideologies and Social Commentary

The duo delves into political discourse, debating the merits and pitfalls of socialism, capitalism, and communism. Esai shares his journey from identifying with socialist ideals to recognizing the complexities and unintended consequences of striving for equality of outcome.

"I think social... I thought, okay, capital can't love you. People can. And I was... I figured okay, I'm on the side of socialism."
[84:28] Esai Morales

Bill critiques both political spectrums, expressing frustration over the polarization and the erosion of meaningful dialogue.

"One of the stupidest things about wokeness is the absolute abject ignorance about history and putting things into perspective."
[65:12] Bill Maher

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Historical Insights and Conspiracy Theories

Esai shares his skepticism towards widely accepted historical narratives, such as the moon landing, advocating for a more inquisitive and less accepted perspective.

"Why did we lose the will? First of all, Because a lot. Well, I'll tell you why. We went to the moon, like, I don't know, 10 times..."
[89:33] Bill Maher

He also touches upon the Taino Indians and the impact of colonialism, emphasizing the importance of remembering and learning from historical atrocities to prevent their recurrence.

"I think human beings can be loving... It was like, we're generally good people, but we're farmed by people who don't believe in themselves..."
[96:22] Esai Morales

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Cultural Identity and Representation

The conversation explores the complexities of cultural identity within the Latino community. Esai discusses the nuances of being an honorary Chicano and the challenges of representation in Hollywood.

"I'm a very proud Puerto Rican. But one of my biggest prides is that the Mexican American community acknowledges me as their own. At least I'm an honorary Chicano."
[81:25] Esai Morales

Bill acknowledges the importance of diverse representation while sharing his admiration for actors like Oscar Isaac and the evolving landscape of Latino actors in the industry.

"It was when you started a little bit."
[82:17] Bill Maher

---

Parenting and Modern Challenges

Esai opens up about his experiences as a parent, particularly navigating the digital age with his 14-year-old daughter. He expresses concerns over technology's impact on youth and the complexities of fostering meaningful communication in a screen-dominated world.

"I regret giving her a phone. You know, it's just like, it's such a mess."
[30:19] Esai Morales

Bill relates by discussing the challenges of parenting in the digital era, emphasizing the emotional toll and societal pressures involved.

"Have you seen the videos that come back of that stuff that looked like really bad sci fi?"
[89:35] Bill Maher

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Concluding Thoughts and Future Aspirations

As the episode winds down, Esai shares his aspirations to establish a school for underprivileged youth, aiming to nurture talent and passion in the arts amidst concerns over AI's growing influence.

"I'm trying to open a school for underprivileged... give their talent, because it's not easy."
[72:43] Esai Morales

Bill expresses his support and admiration for Esai's commitment to fostering future generations, recognizing the challenges but applauding the vision.

"That's a great title, isn't it?"
[56:05] Bill Maher

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Notable Quotes

• "Learn to love and love to learn."
  [13:12] Esai Morales

• "Humans are not good people. Humans are not good people."
  [66:07] Bill Maher

• "You didn't stop for a Big Mac or drop a crispy fry between the car seats or use your McDonald's bag as a placemat, then that wasn't a road trip. It was a really long drive at participating McDonald's."
  [01:19] Esai Morales

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Conclusion

This episode of Club Random offers a multifaceted conversation between Bill Maher and Esai Morales, blending personal anecdotes with profound societal reflections. Their candid dialogue encourages listeners to ponder critical issues ranging from health and identity to the future of work and political ideologies, all while maintaining an authentic and engaging rapport.

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Note: Advertisements and promotional segments have been excluded to focus on the substantive content of the conversation.

Transcript

[Bill Maher]

Hey, folks, change is coming to Club Random. Moving forward, we will be dropping new episodes on Mondays. Who'd have thunk it? It was on Sundays. But Starting next week, June 30, you can start your week with me here on Club Random, as God intended, at the beginning of the week on Monday. Think of it like a good breakfast to kickstart your week. But a good breakfast, good conversation, maybe a drink at breakfast, whatever works for you. And a little puff. Wow. Hip audience I got. Move over, Wheaties. Club Random is moving to Mondays. Mondays starting June 30th. Rula connects you with high quality, vetted, licensed mental health professionals that are suited for you. And here's the best part. They take most major insurance plans. That means instead of paying hundreds out of pocket, you could pay as little as $15 per session. Thousands have already trusted Rula to support them on their journey toward improved mental health and overall well being. Go to R u l a.comrandom and take the first step towards better mental health. Today, you deserve quality care from someone who cares. If you went on a road trip.

[Esai Morales]

And you didn't stop for a Big Mac or drop a crispy fry between the car seats or use your McDonald's bag as a placemat, then that wasn't a road trip. It was a really long drive at participating McDonald's.

[Bill Maher]

Club Random is brought to you by Mint Mobile. I'll admit it, I thought Mint Mobile was one of those deals that sounds too good to be true, like diet vodka or bipartisan cooperation. But with plans Starting at just 15 bucks a month, Mint Mobile gives you premium wireless service on the nation's largest 5G network. Get your summer savings and shop premium wireless [e-mail] random. That's mintmobile.com random.

[Esai Morales]

When you're dead. You need to leave that to. Oh, you don't have.

[Bill Maher]

No.

[Esai Morales]

Never mind. Is this thing on Club Random not sound like a douchebag who's trying to be smart. You know, like.

[Bill Maher]

No, you're a douchebag who is smart.

[Esai Morales]

Thank you.

[Bill Maher]

Thank you.

[Esai Morales]

Oh, you're so random.

[Bill Maher]

My normal intimate conversation with an old friend.

[Esai Morales]

Oh, my God, I need my naps.

[Bill Maher]

I just hate you. I just rushed from my studio, so. No, I'm so sorry.

[Esai Morales]

No, this is usually the late one and so now. But he got my prayers and I got my prayers.

[Bill Maher]

We don't even usually do Friday taping, but I just wanted to see you so bad.

[Esai Morales]

It's brilliant.

[Bill Maher]

You look the same.

[Esai Morales]

Oh, thank you. A little grayer, but hey, we wear.

[Bill Maher]

It well, no, you, you really aged well. I mean, it's amazing when you get up into these.

[Esai Morales]

Can you just say that on, on here we are.

[Bill Maher]

We are right now.

[Esai Morales]

I'm kidding. No, we're not.

[Bill Maher]

Yeah, we are.

[Esai Morales]

I was teasing you.

[Bill Maher]

But really, I mean, when you get into like over 50, people age very differently. Really? I mean, some people look 112 and some people look amazing. Like, as good as you can look. You, you. I don't know. You must eat well. But you always were very health conscious.

[Esai Morales]

And that's the thing. I, I, you know, at my. In my 30s, I did a photo shoot and I wasn't as conscious as I should have been. And it didn't go well. And I was. I looked bloated. I looked like I was in my 50s. And I was like, okay, this is not bode well for career, you know, unless you're going to play that guy for the rest of life.

[Bill Maher]

Yeah, that doesn't sound like you.

[Esai Morales]

So I got into. No, I got, I got serious about, like, raw foods, you know, like health. Like there's something called the natural hygiene diet, which is like, you know, things meant for the human being and less processed.

[Bill Maher]

When I. When I used to hang around with you a lot when we were both bachelors. Of course, you grew up. I did not.

[Esai Morales]

I believe I wouldn't go that far, but okay. I'm still working on it.

[Bill Maher]

Oh, good. But, you know, we were out and when you're out, you drink. But we were young. We could. Our body could handle it. And we did.

[Esai Morales]

It's not my friend now, but I. I did agree. I did say, you know, because it's you. I will. I will do tequila with you.

[Bill Maher]

Oh, great.

[Esai Morales]

Tequila.

[Bill Maher]

I just had some.

[Esai Morales]

Yeah.

[Bill Maher]

Here, I'm gonna catch up. You should. You should. You have a great year. I saw your movie. The biggest movie ever, I guess, of all time.

[Esai Morales]

Action film in the world. The biggest action film in the world.

[Bill Maher]

The biggest. Well, isn't the Mission Impossible franchise the biggest? Probably can't be. I mean, I can't imagine if you added them all together. Anything made ever made more money than that. And you're a great bad guy. Isa, I gotta say thank you. For somebody who I know is not a bad guy.

[Esai Morales]

Don't ruin my bad reputation. On.

[Bill Maher]

Yes, totally. I found you very convincing as an evil prick who was going to destroy the world. And, you know, that's quite a feather in your cap because, you know, Rocky does not work without Mr. T. You have to have the. You know, you could have the mountain to climb. Well, you have to have the adversary who is equal to the hero.

[Esai Morales]

Formidable enough.

[Bill Maher]

I mean, the original version of that is, of course, Paradise Lost. God has to fight the devil. I mean, as an atheist, I always said if he's God and he's all powerful, I don't see why this is an issue. I don't see why it's. Can't he just eliminate the devil? I mean, plainly he's not all powerful, then it's.

[Esai Morales]

I don't think it's that. And so funny, because we. We've been talking.

[Bill Maher]

But isn't that the truth?

[Esai Morales]

But yes and no, because you have to think about the duality of nature, Yin and yang. You know, it takes one to define the other oftentimes. Do you know what I mean?

[Bill Maher]

Like, yeah, but from a purely religion standpoint, if you're. Many religions believe in the devil.

[Esai Morales]

Yes.

[Bill Maher]

Some sort of devil.

[Esai Morales]

Yes.

[Bill Maher]

And the adversary. But God is always all powerful. But, you know, explain that to me how God can be all powerful and still not be able to bring this guy down in the 14th round.

[Esai Morales]

I think that the. The game isn't over, number one.

[Bill Maher]

The game isn't over.

[Esai Morales]

Yeah, it isn't over.

[Bill Maher]

Oh, I see.

[Esai Morales]

It's. The things are still playing. I'm a person of faith, but I believe so much that it doesn't offend me when people don't. As a matter of fact, I respect an honest atheist a lot more than a. Full of it.

[Bill Maher]

So you. So you think there is a devil?

[Esai Morales]

I think that there is. I don't know if it's a person, but I think that there's malevolence.

[Bill Maher]

But it might be James Corden.

[Esai Morales]

I'm kidding. That's so funny. I met him. He's very sweet guy, you know, but the devil, then again, doesn't act, you know, like. Like the devil all the time.

[Bill Maher]

Right.

[Esai Morales]

I mean, that's the key.

[Bill Maher]

Well, that's the key about the devil. And you know, I'm kidding about James. I mean, we had a little thing, but I don't have any animosity. No, but he would never be the devil. The devil's hot. The devil, I mean, you could be the devil. The devil's like you. Because the devil has to be like super, like baller. I mean, he's like Shaft, the angel of life.

[Esai Morales]

If you think about it, he's the.

[Bill Maher]

Bad dick that all the chicks want, you know, and he.

[Esai Morales]

But why?

[Bill Maher]

Because he has to. Because that's how. That's where his power comes from. He's. He's a seducer. He can't be a seducer.

[Esai Morales]

I think the key is power, what you just said. I think nowadays financial security is a big thing, you know, and it's still secure.

[Bill Maher]

Always. That's the modern version of creating a nest.

[Esai Morales]

Yeah.

[Bill Maher]

Creating a safe.

[Esai Morales]

Yeah, but then men want to feel safe. To do what, though? To then stop worrying about the other guy. Men want to be safe, to be vulnerable, too. And that's where it gets tricky, because often.

[Bill Maher]

Safe to be vulnerable.

[Esai Morales]

Yeah, I think. I think some, not all.

[Bill Maher]

I don't know what that means.

[Esai Morales]

Well, because think about it, you know, you don't want to come home to somebody else. You got to fight with and argue and, like, have power.

[Bill Maher]

Oh, no.

[Esai Morales]

You want to come home nurtured, you know?

[Bill Maher]

Right.

[Esai Morales]

To be kind of like what they call us oftentimes. We're little boys to them. Right. I mean, no matter what it is, you can be as manly as you want, but they view us as a little boy. Especially if you.

[Bill Maher]

If you.

[Esai Morales]

If you're vulnerable at all.

[Bill Maher]

Well, if they do. And that is a very prevalent thing. Absolutely. If you look at the way men are portrayed, certainly in American culture, post.

[Esai Morales]

Homer Simpson, dude, Post love and marriage, you know, post 90s, men are dorks, basically.

[Bill Maher]

Dorks, exactly. They are the fourth child if she has three kids.

[Esai Morales]

But I think that's not by accident. That's by accident.

[Bill Maher]

And I don't think it's not by accident. First of all, it gets laughs.

[Esai Morales]

Yeah. You know, it's a tired joke, but it's still.

[Bill Maher]

It's a tired joke. But on the sitcom, it's always head up his ass, dad. And it's part of the pandering to. Look, I mean, everything has a reaction. For too long, we were horrible to women. There's going to be a reaction. And part of that reaction was, let's all pretend women are perfect and men are completely awful. We're always toxic.

[Esai Morales]

That pendulum.

[Bill Maher]

The pendulum. Exactly. The pendulum never stops in the middle. So it's part of that.

[Esai Morales]

Yes.

[Bill Maher]

I used to do a whole bit about, like. Like, daytime shows were always what I called making women nod. Like, you have to be saying something on Oprah or one of those shows where women are going, you know, who.

[Esai Morales]

Was the master of that? Who I miss? But, you know, got canceled. Phil Donahue.

[Bill Maher]

Phil could make women nod.

[Esai Morales]

Phil Donahue was the sensitive guy, but he always had a sense of fairness, and that came to bite him back in the butt.

[Bill Maher]

Another guy who could not play the devil because he not sexy. I mean, it's nice. I'm sure women like that when a guy makes them nod, but he doesn't. That doesn't. That's not making them come. Making them nod and making them come are two very different things. In fact, if you're nodding when you're coming, that guy is not doing it right.

[Esai Morales]

I don't know how to react now because I got a 14 year old daughter. Now everything is like, oh, God.

[Bill Maher]

Oh my God.

[Esai Morales]

Watch this.

[Bill Maher]

Issa, you're making me feel so old. You were the guy I was out drinking at the clubs with and now you have a 14 year old.

[Esai Morales]

14 year old. Taller than me and like, you know, growing up and.

[Bill Maher]

How long have you been married?

[Esai Morales]

I'm not.

[Bill Maher]

That's what I love about you. E Perfect answer. You're not.

[Esai Morales]

I mean, no, no, I, you know.

[Bill Maher]

Why would you be? You're the devil.

[Esai Morales]

Here's the thing. I. I don't think you have to go through the. You don't do the traditional route to take care of your family and be dedicated to them and to make sure that the two most important. You know.

[Bill Maher]

Or are you women, Are you unmarried to the same person?

[Esai Morales]

I, you know, again, this is something I, you know, we, we need a whole nother podcast.

[Bill Maher]

Okay, then let's just leave that.

[Esai Morales]

But I am. I am.

[Bill Maher]

Good. Let's all be vague. I want to be vague. No, you know what? Don't throw down, because I don't want to throw down. Let's just, let's just say we're both happy.

[Esai Morales]

But we want to. But we want to be. We're interesting.

[Bill Maher]

We're two unmarried devils. That's it. That's all we are.

[Esai Morales]

I just know that I don't need a religious figure or a state to sanctify my union.

[Bill Maher]

That's funny when you say that, because when people say to me, as they have over the years, why didn't you ever get married? Like, you know, it's like a disease. Like, I got the. This is us fucking fungal infection and I'm a crazy zombie. Why didn't you ever get married? I always say, why would I invite the federal and state government into my love life? My love life. And the thing that is more mercurial than anything in our existence, I'm going to try to quantify that. And government. Ify that. I don't think so.

[Esai Morales]

It's bad business. And one thing, by the way, for whoever is the main earner, it's just bad business. And the most unromantic thing to do is to ask somebody, by the way, in case we do this, would you sign this piece of paper? And they look at you like you piece of sh. You know, I mean, like, like, really, if you.

[Bill Maher]

If anytime you're asking a woman to sign a piece of paper, you're not making them nod or come. Nothing is ask.

[Esai Morales]

They may not come back.

[Bill Maher]

They come. Exactly. Just not a good.

[Esai Morales]

But. But here's the thing. Nothing will stop me from learning or loving. And my motto in life is learn to love and love to learn.

[Bill Maher]

Do you know you made that up?

[Esai Morales]

Kind of.

[Bill Maher]

It sounds like it had to be on somebody basic.

[Esai Morales]

No, but it sounds like it had.

[Bill Maher]

To be on some T shirt at Venice.

[Esai Morales]

No, but somebody told me once what advice to give to kids, you know, or people you know. And I'm thinking, what's the most basic thing? Learn to love and love to learn. And I think that's the problem we have today.

[Bill Maher]

I've been telling kids the wrong advice. I'm always telling them, stay out of school and get into drugs. Is that wrong?

[Esai Morales]

You know what? If you think about medicinal mushrooms, it is amazing that it heals the brain and it actually helps repair and re. And like re regrow brain neural pathways that we didn't have before. So mushrooms and certain psychedelic drugs, I think are illegal because they grow consciousness, but it's how you use them. It's like fire. Fire could burn or it could heal. It could, you know, warm, it could cook. Water could drown you, or it could save your life. So I believe in the nuance of things. I. I do. I'm a big advocate of weed, but I don't smoke anymore because I. I mean.

[Bill Maher]

And you're a big medical researcher. Of the things I remember about you from when we saw each other a lot. One fun guy to be out with. Two fun basketball we played here.

[Esai Morales]

And I'm not a baller like you.

[Bill Maher]

You're a baller, great.

[Esai Morales]

You're a real baller. But I'm a hustler is what I am.

[Bill Maher]

Great passer.

[Esai Morales]

And the third in the clubs.

[Bill Maher]

And the third thing was you are interested in science and medicine. I mean, I remember when you were very, very, very, like almost Lenny Bruce level obsessed with aids. Yes. And that they. I mean, I remember you giving me a book, which I still have.

[Esai Morales]

Oh, my God.

[Bill Maher]

A number of copies of. It was a thin book, but it was like everything you know about AIDS is wrong. I think it was called. I mean, this was something that you were very. And I don't know where you now.

[Esai Morales]

I helped fund it.

[Bill Maher]

No, no, but like, with, like, with aids, are we still. At the time and this is going back 20 years, right? This book. Wouldn't you say more?

[Esai Morales]

Early 90s, late 80s? Yeah.

[Bill Maher]

Not.

[Esai Morales]

Not.

[Bill Maher]

Okay, early 90s, I think by the time I was. I don't think I got to know you until I. Well, Politically Incorrect went on in 93. Is that how we met?

[Esai Morales]

I did about two or three of them.

[Bill Maher]

Okay. So. All right, well, mid-90s. Jesus Christ. Yeah. Oh, my God.

[Esai Morales]

But you know what? We're still alive and you look great.

[Bill Maher]

No, but. Well, I didn't get aids, so that was helpful. But, like, makes two of us. But you were very skeptical of what they were saying about aids. Are they still telling us the not truth about aids?

[Esai Morales]

Of course.

[Bill Maher]

Really?

[Esai Morales]

Well, they're still using the same paradigm. You see, I made friends with a guy. I was stupid enough to try to make a documentary about this. Cause I was young and I thought I'd tell the world. Last thing I realized is that it's not very smart to invest money and time into something that goes against what the, you know, consensus is supposed to.

[Bill Maher]

Swallow when you piss off the people who think they have the answers, whether it's on the left or the right. I mean, look, I say it a million times, but I think the right is more dangerous, but the left is more obnoxious. I mean, listen, they've switched places to.

[Esai Morales]

Me a couple times.

[Bill Maher]

They do many. Exactly. They've switched places. Exactly.

[Esai Morales]

It's like the Exorcist.

[Bill Maher]

I mean, look at rfk. He's with the Trump administration and like.

[Esai Morales]

But I love him.

[Bill Maher]

I was gonna say, I bet you you're his biggest fan. And I'm a fan, but not near where you got. Where, like, you and Woody Harrelson are. Because, like, I just can't go there with all the places I think he goes to. But on the general, his idea that we're sick, basically because of the toxins in the atmosphere and what we eat and what we breathe and all this stuff. And also pharmaceuticals and also, you know, the pills.

[Esai Morales]

The real cartels, right?

[Bill Maher]

Yeah, the things that of kids. I mean, so many kids. No wonder they're drug addicts of some sort later in life, because you started. You made them a drug addict when they were 8 years old.

[Esai Morales]

How about when they're born? We've put sugar in everything they eat.

[Bill Maher]

Yes.

[Esai Morales]

We feed them in Halloween. We just. It's like, sugar, sugar, sugar, man.

[Bill Maher]

No, I always give a kid Pepsi A baby I'm talking about. I think you should give babies.

[Esai Morales]

You breastfeed Pepsi, right? No, seriously, we live in an upside down world.

[Bill Maher]

Look, you know how controversial the whole Covid thing is, right? Still, we did get something right. Telehealth therapy in sweatpants. Fantastic. That is if you can actually find a therapist who's taking new patients, fit into their one open slot at 3am and handle fees closer to a car payment than a doctor visit. Getting therapy should not be this complicated. That's why today's sponsor, Rula was formed. RULA connects you with high quality, vetted, licensed mental health professionals that are suited for you. And here's the best part. They take most major insurance plans. That means instead of paying hundreds out of pocket, you could pay as little as $15 per session. Getting started is easy. They ask you a few questions about what you're looking for in a therapist. Things like your insurance, type of care and preferences. From there, Rula matches you with in network providers who fit your criteria. You can book your first session and start your journey to better mental health as soon as the next day. Thousands have already trusted RULA to support them on their journey toward improved mental health and overall well being. Being. Head on over to rula.com random to get started today. After you sign up, they ask you where you heard about them. Please support our show and tell them our show sent you. Go to r u l a.comrandom and take the first step towards better mental health. Today you deserve quality care from someone who cares.

[Esai Morales]

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[Bill Maher]

Okay, so where are we now with aids? Because certainly people who have it are better off. I mean, they used to die and now they get. I mean, whatever. Whatever they get keeps them alive.

[Esai Morales]

This is a rough thing and you know, I swore to myself I would not go headfirst into the canceling thing. It's, you know, It's Friday the 13th. I stupidly agreed to this date. We've been trying to do this for how long? And I.

[Bill Maher]

But you don't really believe that matters. Friday the 13th.

[Esai Morales]

But I consider, you see.

[Bill Maher]

Well, you're the devil. Of course you're gonna, like, write, I.

[Esai Morales]

Don'T believe everything, but I will consider everything.

[Bill Maher]

So in the analogy of you as the devil, like just the fact that. That you haven't killed Tom Cruise in the first two times you have.

[Esai Morales]

Don't give it away.

[Bill Maher]

Don't give it away. Oh, right. Like they're wondering who won at the.

[Esai Morales]

End of Mission Impossible.

[Bill Maher]

Spoiler alert. Tom's a hero.

[Esai Morales]

He's the last great.

[Bill Maher]

He's a star. I mean, last great hero.

[Esai Morales]

First day on the set, I said, I don't know anyone who's done what you've done.

[Bill Maher]

That's true.

[Esai Morales]

Have stayed in the top five, if not like 10, whatever.

[Bill Maher]

At six feet too.

[Esai Morales]

For 40 years. For four decades.

[Bill Maher]

Yes.

[Esai Morales]

I have to respect his accomplishments.

[Bill Maher]

The movies are generally very entertaining without the mass appeal. Without insulting my intelligence like some movies do. And it's like, I get it, you know, this is just for the popcorn crowd. No, I mean, I met him once very briefly, and I just had to tell him, I said, night and Day, one of my favorite movies of all time. And it was not one of his hits, by his level. By his level. Probably made $200 million or something. But him and Cameron Diaz, it's just like such a delightful, fun caper movie. It's, you know, I think Vanilla Sky.

[Esai Morales]

Remember that?

[Bill Maher]

Vanilla Sky. I never understood what the fuck was going on, but it was.

[Esai Morales]

But it was still a fun ride. When she takes that car.

[Bill Maher]

You know what? I don't know.

[Esai Morales]

You know, I identified with that so much.

[Bill Maher]

I take it very personally when the movie makes me feel like a fucking idiot. Okay. I'm like, okay, I get it. I'm not the smartest guy in the world. You have to do this to me. The other one, that dude who did Oppenheimer did the DiCaprio movie. Who's. Who did.

[Esai Morales]

Oh, right, right, right.

[Bill Maher]

You know what I'm talking about.

[Esai Morales]

Yes, yes. The most popular, like the big name now. Oh, my God, this is so bad for me.

[Bill Maher]

Well, I smoked a lot of pot, so I. Oh, my God, what's his name? Yes. Did b.

[Esai Morales]

Yes.

[Bill Maher]

This is like.

[Esai Morales]

He's the biggest, like, people watching this.

[Bill Maher]

Like, oh, wow, this is like the two Stoners dude. The dude's name. Anyway. I know it when I'm sober. He's one of the big directors and he did that one. It was a one word title with Leonardo DiCaprio. I didn't know what was going on in that one? And then he did another one a couple of years ago that like, everything moved backward in time. And I thought that was interstellar. Interstellar. No, no, no, no. That's something different.

[Esai Morales]

There's the other one where the world kind of comes up with DiCaprio. That was another one.

[Bill Maher]

Yeah, that's the one I'm talking about.

[Esai Morales]

Yeah, that's.

[Bill Maher]

Didn't understand that one. And I know people who did understand it. And I'm more than happy to say there are people in the world who are, you know, brighter than me. I don't even know if I want to be them. Does that make them happier? I think in a lot of ways that makes them sadder. I think if you can understand that movie. Yeah, I, I. You're probably not Chris Nolan. Chris Nolan?

[Esai Morales]

Yeah.

[Bill Maher]

Christopher Nolan. There's a great director.

[Esai Morales]

Tasteful, tasteful. Real. One of those British, like.

[Bill Maher]

Yeah.

[Esai Morales]

You know, like.

[Bill Maher]

Except when he goes off the reservation and does something that makes me feel like a.

[Esai Morales]

Is that the.

[Bill Maher]

Yeah, you see, it's all coming back to it.

[Esai Morales]

If you relax, chill out a minute, it'll come back to you. Just when I thought I forgot. Anyway, sorry, I gotta get. I go into my owl. Well, I did a little movie with Alec Baldwin.

[Bill Maher]

Oh.

[Esai Morales]

And Terrence Howard, who I love.

[Bill Maher]

Who you've. You know, I'm sure I had him here. Yeah, I love him.

[Esai Morales]

I love him. Him and I, I'd like. Anyway, love Terrence Howard.

[Bill Maher]

He's got some interesting out there theories. Like you.

[Esai Morales]

Yeah. But you know what?

[Bill Maher]

You two would get along.

[Esai Morales]

We do. But Alec Baldwin and I had an Alof or a Pacino off where we were both talking like, ooh, if there was half a man. If I was.

[Bill Maher]

That's great. You know, that is really a good.

[Esai Morales]

Say hello to my little friend.

[Bill Maher]

That is a really good Al Pacino.

[Esai Morales]

Listen, I was the reason, like when I, when I saw him in Dog Day Afternoon in like the 70s, I was like 12, 13 years old. I saw that thousand yard stare. And I've said this in interviews, you know, they go, why did. What, what made you become an actor?

[Bill Maher]

You know, what made you become an actor?

[Esai Morales]

Good question. The point that I decided this is what I, I wanted to do for a living was looking at his thousand yard stare in Dog Day Afternoon after, like he's in too deep. And it's like, oh, what am I going to do now? What am I going to do? And you just, you see this, like this, this could cost me my life. I'm in a bank. I'm robbing this, like. And then I just felt so much with just a look, a glare, a glance, like he was looking through me. And I was like. I elbowed my breath and the plot.

[Bill Maher]

Of that one in front of me.

[Esai Morales]

I said, that's what I'm gonna do. I said, that's what I'm gonna do. I said I was half the man I was. I'm sorry, guys. This tequila is a good tequila.

[Bill Maher]

I always feel like that's Al's great thing. It's like he makes ham look good.

[Esai Morales]

Oh, dude. Nobody better put some cheese on it. But he means it. The thing about Al is he freaking means it.

[Bill Maher]

He's all in, right?

[Esai Morales]

And that's what you gotta be as an actor.

[Bill Maher]

No, that's true.

[Esai Morales]

Can't phone it in. Fuck off. You know?

[Bill Maher]

No, I love him. I mean, if you'd only ever did Michael Corleone. But it's funny, you know, Like, Michael Corleone. He did, you know. Of course, it's the roles you get. But he did become sometimes. Yes, like your impression. A little over the top. And we loved it. But Michael Corleone, that performance is the exact opposite. It is so right in here.

[Esai Morales]

Oh, it's so there.

[Bill Maher]

I mean, he is so chilling.

[Esai Morales]

Measured.

[Bill Maher]

Measured and just, like quiet and cold. He understood right from the beginning. That's what makes this character. This character does not have to yell. I think he yells one time at his wife.

[Esai Morales]

Yeah.

[Bill Maher]

It wasn't. It wasn't the bad guy.

[Esai Morales]

Come on.

[Bill Maher]

When he's.

[Esai Morales]

Who else? Who pushes our buttons, Right?

[Bill Maher]

Come on. Says a lot. You're right. Yeah. Barzini, I can handle that. But, K. You are driving me to the moon, Alice. But, like, you know, when he is threatening Carlo, you know, Carlos, don't lie to me.

[Esai Morales]

Don't lie to me.

[Bill Maher]

It insults my intelligence, and that makes me very angry. Now, who approached you? Was it Barzini? Or. Who's the other guy? See that? I know, like my name, but I'm stoned.

[Esai Morales]

No, but still, man, look at you.

[Bill Maher]

But yes, it's. Look at you.

[Esai Morales]

Casting directors.

[Bill Maher]

Take note. Take note. It's so right in here. And that's what makes it chilling.

[Esai Morales]

No, it's.

[Bill Maher]

And then Al's performance, the whole time, I mean, he just. He just keeps it. Right? I mean, it's.

[Esai Morales]

But then he did Bobby Deerfield, which was, like, really underplayed. And it didn't really. You know what I mean?

[Bill Maher]

All of us actors now, these are movies that try to go against I know that name, and I don't know if I ever saw it. Was he a race car driver or something? Okay, but Dog Day Afternoon is iconic. I just want to say to the kids who don't like. Well, what. What?

[Esai Morales]

You have to watch Dog Day Afternoon.

[Bill Maher]

Dog Day Afternoon. He is school.

[Esai Morales]

Go to school.

[Bill Maher]

Here's what's very way ahead of itself.

[Esai Morales]

Everybody in that movie was ridiculously.

[Bill Maher]

Here's where it's really way ahead of its time. He was in. He was robbing a bank to get money for a sex change operation. A sex change operation.

[Esai Morales]

Chris Saranon, who was just amazing. And the way he held. He closed his thing. It's like, stop, please, please. I mean, it was amazing.

[Bill Maher]

Yeah, but like, that was not Ned Beatty. I don't remember. No, no.

[Esai Morales]

Durning. Charles Durning. Sorry, I used to confuse him. The police officer.

[Bill Maher]

Ned Beatty's in Deliverance. Oh, Ned Beatty.

[Esai Morales]

Forget that.

[Bill Maher]

The one who's about to get fucked in the ass by the hillbillies. And.

[Esai Morales]

And nobody ever forgot that scene, though.

[Bill Maher]

No. And the guy, the hillbilly goes, he ain't got no hair in his mouth.

[Esai Morales]

He's got purdy lips.

[Bill Maher]

It's chilled us for 50 years. If you were a Clockwork Orange adolescent who saw that?

[Esai Morales]

That movie and a few others. Just my whole childhood. Like, how could you not? Midnight Cowboy.

[Bill Maher]

Oh, Midnight Cowboy. You know, Jon Voight.

[Esai Morales]

Everybody's talking at me.

[Bill Maher]

Oh, one of the greatest soundtrack.

[Esai Morales]

Nielsen. Harry Nilsson.

[Bill Maher]

I mean, I feel like 70s movies earned their reputation. People often say that was the golden age. Now there's the old school golden age. But it's almost hard to compare them because I watch old movies a lot, and you have to watch them with a knowledge that things have changed so much that some of this is just going to look ridiculous. And it's just. You just have to go with it. People just were super, super different, certainly about issues like race and sex. So you're just going to have to understand that. But also, like, the purity level. I mean, what. And also what passes as realism. They did not make any attempt and they did not think you needed to drive.

[Esai Morales]

I missed the Times Square.

[Bill Maher]

Well, if you shot a guy in 1945, you didn't see any sort of realistic death. It was like, okay, the audience, we get it.

[Esai Morales]

It was noir. We knew what was going on. Style, right?

[Bill Maher]

The gun went off and he went down. Hitchcock. You don't see blood ever.

[Esai Morales]

You don't have to.

[Bill Maher]

And then it became Tarantino and you saw lots of blood. Go on Right. So when you're watching one from the old days like that, you just, you gotta put yourself in a different head, which is not that hard to do.

[Esai Morales]

I feel bad.

[Bill Maher]

Not that hard to do. You fucking idiots who need a disclaimer before the mov. Before you watch this movie, we'd like to yell at you for not being as good as people should have been.

[Esai Morales]

It may trigger you. It has real emotions.

[Bill Maher]

Right.

[Esai Morales]

I feel bad for kids today who are so hooked on the little like the device screen, you know.

[Bill Maher]

What does your 14 year old do with her?

[Esai Morales]

Well, I mean, I don't want to get too personal, but I regret giving her a phone. You know, it's just like, it's such a mess.

[Bill Maher]

It's so hard to avoid.

[Esai Morales]

And then they look at you on it all day. I go, yeah, but I'm paying for your bills with this too. I'm not just like, you know, like, let's, let's compare algorithms.

[Bill Maher]

But wouldn't you if you didn't.

[Esai Morales]

Science. I'm into like truth science. Like, oh, I know, I want to know what's really going on. And it gets me in trouble, by the way.

[Bill Maher]

But if you didn't give your 14 year old a phone, wouldn't she be.

[Esai Morales]

A pariah, some weird.

[Bill Maher]

And also hating you for not giving her what every other parent gave their kids.

[Esai Morales]

That's part of it.

[Bill Maher]

You don't raise your kids in isolation. You raise them in a society.

[Esai Morales]

What is it? It's. It takes a village.

[Bill Maher]

Yes, it takes a village. And a village can also. You up.

[Esai Morales]

There you go.

[Bill Maher]

Because the village has decided that the kids have phones for the great. Which makes you the bad guy.

[Esai Morales]

Yes, yes. You have no idea how hard it is for me to like, I came from like, you know, getting beaten. Really seriously.

[Bill Maher]

Beaten where?

[Esai Morales]

Like all over your body.

[Bill Maher]

Why? By who?

[Esai Morales]

By your loving parents.

[Bill Maher]

Oh, by your parents. Your parents beat you?

[Esai Morales]

Oh my God. It meant they loved you.

[Bill Maher]

Really?

[Esai Morales]

You gotta understand this. In old school culture they would point to the kids who could stay out all night and do whatever they want, talk back to their parents and go, that kid's gonna end up in jail on drugs or you know, like, you know, a loser. And they were right most of the time. If you don't have some sort of boundary that they can push up against and go, okay, okay, this ain't okay.

[Bill Maher]

So what did they beat you for?

[Esai Morales]

All kinds of things, dude.

[Bill Maher]

I got backhanded, but for a reason.

[Esai Morales]

Usually disrespect or doing stupid things, which, you know, I'M still prone to. We all do stupid things.

[Bill Maher]

No, I don't. Mark, what stupid thing do you do?

[Esai Morales]

Oh, you. You want me to say it here? Yeah, but don't tell anybody right now.

[Bill Maher]

I mean, what do you. I don't know. I don't. I've never read one bad word about you.

[Esai Morales]

Put it this way, never one bad word.

[Bill Maher]

You never.

[Esai Morales]

And thank God. But there are people who don't like me. I became friends. I tried to do a documentary on aids. That's why I. I going to go back on the AIDS thing. And I became friends with a guy who won the Nobel prize for inventing PCR. Dr. Cary Mullis, who's a bonafide genius. And he did not buy any of Fauci's stuff. He was just not having it. He would challenge him to debates and stuff and just, you know, wouldn't accept it. Now, I don't want to talk bad about anyone, you know, I'm that guy. I'm like, you know, I like being the bad guy in the movies. I do everything I can to like make up for that in real life. I like my demons to work for me, not through me. And it's taken a lot.

[Bill Maher]

It's another good T shirt.

[Esai Morales]

But it's. But it's taken a lot, you know?

[Bill Maher]

Yeah.

[Esai Morales]

It's a never ending battle.

[Bill Maher]

I see. I get it.

[Esai Morales]

When you think you've. You've conquered it, they let you know you. Yeah, no, not so fast. So. So I met him and he told me brilliant things that years later I was like, oh my God, oh my God. Things about the ozone layer and environmentalism and things that I used to go and do PSAs about because as a dutiful liberal actor, you read your script and yeah, you don't want the world to end and you find out that the world was gonna end in the sixties, it was gonna end in the seventies, it was gonna end in the eighties.

[Bill Maher]

It doesn't mean it won't.

[Esai Morales]

Yeah, but we're not gonna end it. The planet is gonna be here. We may end ourselves.

[Bill Maher]

Oh, you know, George Carlin used to say that. And I thought it was stupid then. No, I don't care about the planet being here. I care about me being able to live on the planet.

[Esai Morales]

Let me give you an idea. I went on the beach in Puerto Rico, where I was locked up, thank goodness, in a condo on a beach. And a dear friend of mine was able to let me, you know, I rented it as my place instead of a hotel. And there was a Beach. And at night, I would sneak in and swim. I was going crazy. I was going crazy being locked up. And I knew that I needed. And then when I heard the call, how's it gonna get out on a plane to London? I was like, I have to swim. I gotta get in shape. This. They asked me if I could be physical. And, yeah, I can be physical, but, you know, you just. So I would swim for hours at night.

[Bill Maher]

Wow.

[Esai Morales]

In. Off the coast of Puerto Rico.

[Bill Maher]

Seems scary, dude.

[Esai Morales]

I'm gonna tell you.

[Bill Maher]

Oh, I would never do that in the ocean at night.

[Esai Morales]

In the ocean at night. And let me tell you something, Faith. Yeah. God, I applied a lot of faith. Let me tell you one of the scariest things that ever happened to me by myself. And then eventually I made friends with somebody and we'd both, like, watch out for the cops and then go in. And I had a beard at the time, you know, white beard. And, like, when the cops would Dr. I put my face in the water so they wouldn't see. Cause they'd flash the lights.

[Bill Maher]

I feel like the ocean at night is a black monster. Let me tell you a million ways to get. Kill me.

[Esai Morales]

And. And I. And I. After that, I. Again, it was the desperation of being locked up that I said, I have to swim. And what I learned.

[Bill Maher]

Gotta swim.

[Esai Morales]

Gotta swim. But let me tell you something. What I learned about nature just two weeks after being locked down, that people weren't in the. In the ocean, on the beach all day with their suntan lotions and the boats with the oil. The fish came back. A lot of fish were back. And even the plankton that glue in the, you know, red phosphorescent base. But when I would move it, I would see tiny little bits of that coming back. And then I realized, guess what comes back when fish come back? Predators. And one night I felt something huge bump up against my leg. And I shit you not.

[Bill Maher]

I was.

[Esai Morales]

I made it back. I.

[Bill Maher]

Was it a shark?

[Esai Morales]

I don't know. That's more terrifying. I don't know. It could have been a microphone.

[Bill Maher]

Why do you think it didn't bite you?

[Esai Morales]

Because not everything is hungry. Sometimes they're just feeling.

[Bill Maher]

But the point is, sometimes you're just horny. You said he pumped up against you.

[Esai Morales]

You know what I mean?

[Bill Maher]

We've all heard that. Excuse me.

[Esai Morales]

And I was in good shape. No, but the point is that I was like, I could get eaten at night and not in the good way and never be found. And no one would know.

[Bill Maher]

And you did this why?

[Esai Morales]

Because I knew I was being lied to. Because I had to rebel against the system. I had to say my big fuz. And you're not going to stop me from being in salt water swimming for at times. I mean, I never swam so much in my life. And I would tread water and I'd go really deep because as long as you can tread water and not panic, you catch your breath, and I would just pray. God, angels, the universe, whoever it is out there, because I, I'm religious, but I'm not religious. You know what I mean? People go, I'm spiritual as a fad, but, but I just know something. Somebody out there, in here, all around, loves me enough. That has not allowed me to destroy myself.

[Bill Maher]

But what do you say to the person who like, gets eaten? Why didn't the God love him? You know what I mean? What about all the people who have the shitty outcome?

[Esai Morales]

Oh, very good point.

[Bill Maher]

You know, I used to say that about the Trump assassination when people would say, bill, don't you think that's staged? I'm like, you moron, of course it's not staged. Among.

[Esai Morales]

But I wondered about that too, though, oddly enough, you know why? Okay, because you went down, then you come back and it's all, yeah, but.

[Bill Maher]

Okay, a bullet did go because somebody died there.

[Esai Morales]

Right?

[Bill Maher]

That's my point. It couldn't have been staged. And you know, people say God saved Trump. Where was God for the other guy?

[Esai Morales]

You know, like, and here's what I will tell you about that. I do believe life is eternal. Like, this is just a phase. Like what happens to us here is like a gestation period. Like you're alive before you're born, but you're not technically born. Oh, let's get into abortion. No, I'm saying you're alive, you're evolving. You know, people think, are you into creation or, or evolution? I'm like, I don't think they're mutually exclusive.

[Bill Maher]

Really. Yeah, I do.

[Esai Morales]

We evolve as people, don't you?

[Bill Maher]

Well, creationism says the world is 6,000 years old.

[Esai Morales]

That's literal.

[Bill Maher]

Yeah, well, that's creationism.

[Esai Morales]

Yeah, but, but I believe we were. Again, our holy books are ill preserved records of God knowing men.

[Bill Maher]

But, you know, this is what George Bush used to say when he was president. Like what? Like, well, he was trying to, it was a big issue. Should we teach creationism in school? And he would say, teach evolution and creation, teach them both. And I would say, no, stupidity is not another form of knowledge. It's just a different thing on its own. And you shouldn't teach both. You're allowed to believe whatever you want. I think I may be believers.

[Esai Morales]

I disagree with you. I think you should teach both. And eventually you don't have one. Doesn't have to. Like we as human beings are extremely contradictory.

[Bill Maher]

Oh, well, of course.

[Esai Morales]

Okay, so. So for me, political parties, like I'm too old for parties now. I love when you said I didn't leave the Democratic Party, the party left me.

[Bill Maher]

I didn't say that.

[Esai Morales]

Yeah, you did. I heard you say that.

[Bill Maher]

No, no, no, I didn't.

[Esai Morales]

What did you say? I heard you say that.

[Bill Maher]

What you're doing, which is not wrong is you're conflating what people have said in the past about leaving parties with the, with the. Wait, I know me better than you know.

[Esai Morales]

I don't know.

[Bill Maher]

I'm just gonna tell you. You're putting a title on an actual quote on something that somewhat accurately expresses my point of view. I understand why you said. But I never said that because I never was a Democrat to begin with. I always like caucus with the Democrats and I generally vote for them, I think always vote for them. But I always look at it and like, no, I'm gonna actually make up my mind. They just always are less scary and insane than the Republicans. But I wait for the day when it evens out. We're approaching that because they have gotten crazier and that's a lot of what you're referencing. But I never said I left the party cuz I wasn't there to begin with.

[Esai Morales]

Well, you said something similar.

[Bill Maher]

Very similar. I'm telling you, you have the general feeling. Right? But not that exact quote. And not that exact feeling because it's more than party, it's more like left and right. Yeah, the language changes and I'm sorry, but woke got to be an eye roll. It wasn't originally, but it got to be an eye roll for every crazy, way too far left, non commonsensical bullshit.

[Esai Morales]

My favorite term was woke supremacist.

[Bill Maher]

I love that because you made that up.

[Esai Morales]

No, I saw that and I thought, this is brilliant. Somebody is a woke supremacist pretending to be all. What's the word? Tolerant. And they're the most intolerant sometimes.

[Bill Maher]

They really are.

[Esai Morales]

And if they want to cancel people at the drop of a hat, I'm like, that's somebody's living, like relax. You know? The point I was trying to make was why I've always identified with a Democratic party and I still identify as a liberal at heart, you know, at.

[Bill Maher]

Heart, I voted for her.

[Esai Morales]

You know what my definition of liberal is? Is someone who wants to change the status quo for the better. You liberate yourselves from from.

[Bill Maher]

You know what I. You know what I always say to.

[Esai Morales]

The conservative is someone who wants to conserve what works, what's good.

[Bill Maher]

And I think you know what I always say. The super woke tell me we voted for the same person. You're just why she lost. Club Random is brought to you by Mint Mobile. I'll admit it, I thought Mint Mobile was one of those deals that sounds too good to be true, like diet vodka or bipartisan cooperation. But with plans Starting at just 15 bucks a month, Mint Mobile gives you premium wireless service on the nation's largest 5G network. And all plans come with high speed data and unlimited talk and text. When I heard about Mint Mobile, I assumed it was one of those things where the fine print says service not available on Earth. But no. Turns out it runs on the same massive 5G network as the big guys. Same phone, same coverage, just less gouging. It's so affordable it almost feels un American. This year, skip breaking a sweat and breaking the bank. Get your summer savings and shop premium wireless [e-mail] random that's mintmobile.com random upfront payment of $45 for 3 month 5 gigabyte plan required equivalent to $15 per month new customer offer for first 3 months only, then full price plan options available, taxes and fees extra. See Mint Mobile for details.

[C]

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[Bill Maher]

What knife? You're saying I put the knife in, right?

[Esai Morales]

No, but it's truth.

[Bill Maher]

I love to put the knife in.

[Esai Morales]

No, but you do. But you know, I haven't always, you know, I, I huge fan. And then I said something on your show many years ago and then I never got invited again and I realized maybe I crossed a little line.

[Bill Maher]

No, that's not why.

[Esai Morales]

No, because remember I.

[Bill Maher]

No, no, no. It's because the show changed. We don't have celebrities. When I first did the show.

[Esai Morales]

Is that all I am to you? No, that's like an insult.

[Bill Maher]

You're right. But you know, you're right because you probably. And I will say to you, and I'm sorry, we should have had you more because you are one of the few celebrities who can like very, very credibly talk like a non celebrity. And I mean that. I'm sorry to celebrities, they're lovely people, but that would think and ain their big thing usually. And you are a true thinker.

[Esai Morales]

We have a line.

[Bill Maher]

So you're right. But the reason is because we overcompensated when we came off Politically Incorrect, which was all show business.

[Esai Morales]

I love the concept.

[Bill Maher]

I know, but it was silly. It was a silly show.

[Esai Morales]

Well, that's why I became in that sense.

[Bill Maher]

But when I did real moved to hbo. Now I'm doing a different show and I'm trying to stake out a different territory. And at first we still kind of were. First of all, we had three panelists. Then we moved to two. And with three, like, one of them would be like, oh, we need face name value. And then it was like the audience at one at some point, like got it through to my thick skull. No, we just want a good conversation. And like, celebrities are usually fucking idiots. So we overcompensated and got rid of even some of the ones who are good. But that was just like an overcompensation. So that's really.

[Esai Morales]

That's very kind of you to say.

[Bill Maher]

No, no, but. But we will do it in the future.

[Esai Morales]

You know, it's hard to do because you're right. It's hard to say something. You really believe in that. Not everybody knows and not sound like a douchebag who's trying to be smart, you know, Like, I did hear another.

[Bill Maher]

No, you're a douchebag who is smart.

[Esai Morales]

Thank you. Thank you. Oh, you're so. I love you.

[Bill Maher]

So good to see you.

[Esai Morales]

And you're a good baller. Dude, you're still playing basketball like you do.

[Bill Maher]

Broke my finger doing it.

[Esai Morales]

No. Oh, my God.

[Bill Maher]

Yeah.

[Esai Morales]

Mallet, you got that Mallet.

[Bill Maher]

Mallet finger. Yeah, that's what I mean. You know your medicine.

[Esai Morales]

Listen.

[Bill Maher]

Yeah.

[Esai Morales]

I have a little secret I won't tell everybody, but you see this right here? It ripped. Trying to play basketball. Going for the ball. Somebody's thigh went right. And it never fixed. So my guitar playing never kind of got to the level it could have gotten to. But now I'm obsessed with.

[Bill Maher]

You play the guitar too. Wow.

[Esai Morales]

I'm obsessed with tennis. Tennis.

[Bill Maher]

Still a heartthrob. I bet you you're still wetting panties out there.

[Esai Morales]

Oh, my God. Oh, my God. You know, that's sexist. I remember once, some people say, why just panties?

[Bill Maher]

I remember once I was out. This is. Must be the 90s. And I saw you, and I was with a girl who was Puerto Rican. Oh, you remember this? And I introduced you. We just saw, you know, we saw each other. We were often at the same parties. And because we were bullshit out in the town type of guys, we were having fun. We were having fun at the time when you do that and you, like. And I thought, oh, shit, super hot, and he's gonna try to steal my girl. And he did not. You know, it's like, you were very respectful. You, like, you were like, you, you, like, made the connection that, oh, I'm Puerto Rican. And it's great that we're both Puerto Rican, but you weren't like, hey, you're Puerto Rican too. Why don't you fuck me and stuff.

[Esai Morales]

Oh, he's that guy, right? No, I, you know what it is? I'm an empath.

[Bill Maher]

I feel for you. No, but I've had guys try to do that. None of them succeeded, but I've had them try, and they were. And I just, I just remember that.

[Esai Morales]

I'm not, I'm not a saint. I, I, I unfortunately have, you know, the only real problems I've had in my life, unfortunately, have been due to my inability to, to say, to be saintly when it comes to passion. And, you know, sometimes you, you pick the wrong people to trust or to open up with or to take a chance with. And then, then you do hear stories about yourself. That's not what happened. But okay, I let it, I let it get to a point where that could be said. And that's what I realize as I get older. Like, maybe don't do that. You know, maybe don't trust so much. I, I love humanity. My whole thing is I love people a little Too much sometimes. And, you know, all people almost. I'm sorry. Listen, I play bad people. You know what it takes to play bad people credibly. You have to put yourself in other shoes. You have to understand the asshole, the villain, the evil, the murderer, the. The cartel guy, the. You know, I. I look at people, I go, how could you do this to another human being?

[Bill Maher]

No, you are very convincing.

[Esai Morales]

And I. But I have to figure out a way to go, okay, If A was to B is B is to C, then A is C, and all bets are off.

[Bill Maher]

Well, I think there are some people who really don't have, as I would say, a bad bone in their body, but most people do. And the people who can't even access that one bad bone, they're not actors. Because actors, they've got some bad bones. I mean, I'm not saying they're bad people, but, like, in general, their living is deception.

[Esai Morales]

Yes and no. Because I tell people I know a lot of really good con artists and liars who think, well, I can lie. I can fool. I can lie to you and take your money. And they think they can be actors. And I'm like, dude, you don't get it. Just because you can be a piece of shit as a human being doesn't mean you can respond truthfully under imaginary circumstances. I mean, that's what people respond to. They have to vibe some sort of truth.

[Bill Maher]

Here's my thing about acting. I believe, like, 80% of acting is like, anybody could do it. Like children do it. Wrestlers do it.

[Esai Morales]

Like, you'd be surprised. I coached some friends.

[Bill Maher]

Wait, wait, wait. I did it. I mean, I'm telling you, children, you.

[Esai Morales]

Did good right there earlier when you were doing Pacino.

[Bill Maher]

Michael, that's not like that. That's like, you know, soap operas and. And like, you know, detective work on cbs. He's a little kid, okay? Anyone can do that. But. But on the top 20%, which is where I put you. Yes. That you need a professional for, there are, you know, the real important roles, like the bad guy, whatever, those kind of roles. They. I'll say this about show business. It's full of bullshit. But the people who cast know what they're doing. They generally pick the right people to be the cream of the crop, movie stars and stuff. I really.

[Esai Morales]

I'm glad the casting directors are getting now their, like, attention from the.

[Bill Maher]

You go through the ages and I don't. Like. I look at old movies. I think, you know what? There wasn't somebody better than Jimmy Stewart and Henry Fonda And I look at now, and I'm like, Timothee Chalamet. I don't know him from Adam, but, yeah, I get it. Why? He's like. He's very good at his job. And that's what they're.

[Esai Morales]

There are many great actors out there. You know, people ask me, who's your favorite? I said, there's too many to choose from right now. And they're really good. I just don't know that the material in the studios are backing things that are about human beings anymore. This is a subject I'm sure you have opinions about that. I do, because it's in my name. Esai. I don't think AI can reproduce.

[Bill Maher]

That was deep.

[Esai Morales]

Well, think about it. I don't think AI can reproduce Midnight Cowboy.

[Bill Maher]

I'm all over AI.

[Esai Morales]

You know, we have to be careful.

[Bill Maher]

I'm very obsessed that the robots are taking over. I really am.

[Esai Morales]

And we're like, we have to make a choice.

[Bill Maher]

We're not even fighting.

[Esai Morales]

We're not smartly. I. I'm.

[Bill Maher]

We're not fighting at all. We're helping. We're helping, and it's already too late. But, you know, it's. It's okay.

[Esai Morales]

I gave away. I. I gave an award at the Time magazine AI 100. You know, Time magazine's 100 AI like edition in Dubai.

[Bill Maher]

What's. What's the AI edition?

[Esai Morales]

Well, they.

[Bill Maher]

It was about most influential AI creatures.

[Esai Morales]

Yeah.

[Bill Maher]

Really?

[Esai Morales]

Yeah. Time magazine had had a thing in Dubai, an incredible event.

[Bill Maher]

I was about the people who make AI Yeah.

[Esai Morales]

The people who are in. It's. It's the new.

[Bill Maher]

It's.

[Esai Morales]

It's the. The final frontier to something.

[Bill Maher]

The frontier is here.

[Esai Morales]

And I came up with a line that I had. They put him in there because, you know, as the guy who is AI powered in Mission Impossible. Right.

[Bill Maher]

If people haven't seen it. I mean, the bad guy. It used to be that the bad guy in a movie like that was an entity that some bad guy controlled, which in a way is. You are that bad guy. But it's almost like the villain is the entity itself.

[Esai Morales]

Oh, the villain. According to most reviewers that didn't even mention me.

[Bill Maher]

Really?

[Esai Morales]

Yeah. I was a little like, okay, well.

[Bill Maher]

Tom Cruise can't fight the entity in a helicopter. He has to fight you.

[Esai Morales]

Well, you know, but. But, you know, some people were very kind and some, you know, I don't normally, like, base a lot of feelings. One other opinion, but I was like, oh, wow. Okay. Okay. Maybe someone's not wanting to acknowledge whatever But I mean, I'm extra sensitive, extra sentient.

[Bill Maher]

You and I are very much authentic intelligence, very similar in this way, I think is that like we both think, not wrongly, that the press just couldn't. Doesn't quite get us and is not especially supportive. And whatever we have achieved, which has been great for both of us is in spite of them, not because they helped. And some people, they help a lot. And that's okay. You can't have everything in life. I am not bitter about it. Like you can't check every single box. And I'd rather have the boxes I check and understand that that's one of the sacrifices. If you're gonna like actually speak true things and speak your mind. No, there are gonna be a lot of influential people who want to hate you, ignore you or whatever. And that's, that's okay. It's a, it's a dog eat dog.

[Esai Morales]

Minimize your impact.

[Bill Maher]

Yeah, it's a dog eat dog.

[Esai Morales]

I have a saying. I say in tennis that I'm obsessed with that don't get bitter, get better. And it's a simple one letter thing.

[Bill Maher]

You know, it's just like, Christ, you should open a T shirt store full of these maxims.

[Esai Morales]

But it's true. I also have my R and D theory. When I talk to like, you know, people who want advice.

[Bill Maher]

R D research and development.

[Esai Morales]

That's one way to look at it.

[Bill Maher]

Or isn't that what R D is?

[Esai Morales]

Yes, but it's also the difference between I think success and failure. You either let the things in your life that chip away at you, that hurt you, that attack you, that you know your failures, either refine you or define you.

[Bill Maher]

Right. It's one other difference now, the good one.

[Esai Morales]

No, but I'm serious. If you, if you sit there and, and accept that you're a loser and that you're terrible, you're literally. They say that there's neuro linguistic. You know, you're wiring your brain to.

[Bill Maher]

That either refine you or define you. Take your choice, man, or refinance you.

[Esai Morales]

At a good interest rate. I'm all in anyway.

[Bill Maher]

You're right.

[Esai Morales]

This is so club random.

[Bill Maher]

Oh, there's no gender and there's no agenda here.

[Esai Morales]

No, but I love it.

[Bill Maher]

And no gender. That's how free we are.

[Esai Morales]

I'm a person who.

[Bill Maher]

I'm just a human. Listen, I don't want you to see me as a male.

[Esai Morales]

I always.

[Bill Maher]

Just.

[Esai Morales]

How do you define. Anyway, If I ever had memoirs, if I was ever organized enough to write memoirs, I would call It. But I digress.

[Bill Maher]

That's a great title, isn't it? That's a great title.

[Esai Morales]

Because I do. I do.

[Bill Maher]

That's.

[Esai Morales]

You know, it's hard for me to stay on one subject.

[Bill Maher]

I mean, this show is apropos of nothing. I never.

[Esai Morales]

Is this the Seinfeld of podcasts? Is that what you're saying? What's the show?

[Bill Maher]

First of all, that was also never true. Not about anything.

[Esai Morales]

It's about them.

[Bill Maher]

Well, also, it was about the most amazingly hard to believe coincidences and confluence of events. That's what made it funny. Like, you know, the jacket that you saw in the first scene somehow came back in the last scene to put some comedy, ironic spin on a situation.

[Esai Morales]

But it was supposed to be a show about nothing.

[Bill Maher]

They said that, but, you know, they get everything wrong. It could not have been less about nothing.

[Esai Morales]

And what was it about?

[Bill Maher]

It was about being funny. That was always Larry.

[Esai Morales]

Isn't all the shows. Aren't they comedies all supposed to be?

[Bill Maher]

No. I remember doing sitcoms and I thought it was a good lesson. But I did my first one in 1984. It was called Sarah. I played the office creep, Marty. And Geena Davis was Sarah. She was a lawyer. We were all lawyers in San Francisco.

[Esai Morales]

Bronson, sweet. What an incredible person. I mean, Gina Davis, oh, I loved her.

[Bill Maher]

We got along so great.

[Esai Morales]

But she just seems like such a magnanimous human. Like a, you know, again, going back to AI they'll never replace the soul. Or at least, you know, there's something about a soul that is undefinable. That that's the only thing that we have to get back to that story about AI. So I see her. I see great artists. They pour their soul out into their work. Actors who don't do that don't tend to resonate with audiences, in my opinion. Pop stars, I don't want to mention one. But very, very mega pop star that did all these movies and I could never buy her, ever. And desperate to be taken seriously. And it was just like, I don't know anything about who, you know, I don't know. I don't feel your pain. I don't feel anything. And I feel like you're faking it, you know, and it's just like, you.

[Bill Maher]

Know, I gotta say, Israel, all those years we hung out, I didn't realize it. You're a lot deeper than I am. I mean, I don't. I'm not even saying that. That facetiously or regrettably.

[Esai Morales]

I'm sorry.

[Bill Maher]

I'm happy My daughter says, no, it's just true.

[Esai Morales]

No, my daughter goes, it's, it's okay. My daughter's like, bro, it's not that deep. And I'm like, oh God.

[Bill Maher]

Is that the kind of conversations you have with your kid?

[Esai Morales]

No, I love my kid, but it's hard to get a 14 year old to, to talk about anything.

[Bill Maher]

Like, is she super woke? I mean, they most, mostly are.

[Esai Morales]

No, no, no, really, she is a.

[Bill Maher]

What is she?

[Esai Morales]

Independent thinker. She's really cool, really quiet about her deepest feelings and maybe she just, maybe she has a blessed.

[Bill Maher]

What do you do for like father daughter time? Like, like, what's it, what's a thing.

[Esai Morales]

That we like to go play video games at? Like, you know those, the, the place. The arcade.

[Bill Maher]

Really? You go to an arcade?

[Esai Morales]

Oh yeah.

[Bill Maher]

Play video. And you like it too?

[Esai Morales]

I love it. It brings me back to childhood. You know, there was a time where she was terrified of, of zombies so we couldn't go past the zombie. And I was like, come on, honey, come on, you can do this. It's not real. And you know, at one point I just had to stop or else borders on abuse. You're traumatizing your child. Don't make her do that. But you know, sometimes you gotta like say, hey, hey, do this. And once you get past it, you'll realize your fear's unfounded. But I gave up on it.

[Bill Maher]

And she's okay now, age 14. Have they outgrown video games at that moment? No. So still video games at 14.

[Esai Morales]

And I at 14.

[Bill Maher]

I'm just asking, I'm not judging.

[Esai Morales]

Video games today aren't the same.

[Bill Maher]

There's like six. I never played a video game. I didn't know what they were when they were the same.

[Esai Morales]

I was obsessed with Asteroids and like the 80s ones.

[Bill Maher]

I never played Pac Man.

[Esai Morales]

Oh my God.

[Bill Maher]

I mean, that's when I was in college. That's what they had, Pac Man. But I was not interested in that.

[Esai Morales]

For me, video games is, it's kind of an analogy to life where you try to get good at something and you just try to improve and once. But it's, it's a drug. You know why? Because you get dopamine every time you get to a certain level.

[Bill Maher]

Gamers, I mean, that's such a big subculture. Gamers, huge.

[Esai Morales]

There are some very successful people.

[Bill Maher]

It's so ironic. They're gamers, but they have no game. And this is why they're gamers. See, it's like circular.

[Esai Morales]

They have games, they have game with Other gamers.

[Bill Maher]

Yeah, but they don't. But they're not getting laid. Or maybe, maybe like the big ones are. I know they have, like, tournaments where people watch people playing games.

[Esai Morales]

It's crazy.

[Bill Maher]

Raised. That's. I mean, and then they expect.

[Esai Morales]

When I was young, I never knew that you could have TV shows about people talking about the sport, like espn, all these shows that talk about. And then there was a show that talked about the shows that talked about it.

[Bill Maher]

It's not a sport. It can't be a sport if it's a mental sport. I think if you're sitting down, I mean, I will barely allow golf.

[Esai Morales]

You think chess isn't.

[Bill Maher]

That's a sport.

[Esai Morales]

Chess.

[Bill Maher]

Chess is not a sport. It's different. It is. It's a different category.

[Esai Morales]

Sweat.

[Bill Maher]

Had.

[Esai Morales]

I've had sweat playing chess. It's mental. Sometimes you burn more calories with your mind.

[Bill Maher]

You're a chess player.

[Esai Morales]

I was. I, I wouldn't compare myself to people that are really good now.

[Bill Maher]

But you played. I mean, I don't know. I don't even know how to play chess. Really? Yeah, what you said.

[Esai Morales]

No, it's just one of those things you seem so like, you see, look, for a comedian, you are more intellectual, you know? But it's okay. I, I don't. Believe me, there's a ton of movies I haven't seen where people are like. Really? You haven't seen that?

[Bill Maher]

Yeah. No. I mean, we can't do everything, right? You can't do everything. And why would I do that one?

[Esai Morales]

I mean, chess is amazing because it makes you think steps ahead. It's. It's strategy.

[Bill Maher]

But I do crossword puzzles.

[Esai Morales]

There you go. I'm obsessed with them.

[Bill Maher]

Oh, you are.

[Esai Morales]

And I was.

[Bill Maher]

I love them.

[Esai Morales]

You know when I knew I made it right?

[Bill Maher]

When you were in the crossword puzzle. Like, you, you were always in there because they needed the letters.

[Esai Morales]

Three vowels and a consonant.

[Bill Maher]

E, S, A, I. And not only that, that's that. I always said, kid Leno about that. He's in it. I said, jay, it's not because they love me.

[Esai Morales]

Four letter names.

[Bill Maher]

They need the letters.

[Esai Morales]

Not only that, but I, I thought I made it. Then I, I, I brought myself down because you're in the New York Times crossword pencil. I go, yeah. I go, but aren't they supposed to be hard? You know, like, you're not. You really made it when you're in the TV Guide one. Well, like, everybody knows your name, you know, but, but New York Times, you know, it's Supposed to be more obscure.

[Bill Maher]

M A H E R. They also use yes fairly frequently. Every time they do it. I've cut it out. I probably have a folder with like 20 of them.

[Esai Morales]

But I love exercises for the mind. And that forces you to think. And things like that are probably why you're. As a bright person. Look, none of us here is a bonafide genius. But compared to other folks out there, we give them a run for their money. We're not the stupidest of the bunch. You know.

[Bill Maher]

You're not. I mean show business in general. I'm sorry, I can't in good conscience sit here and tell you.

[Esai Morales]

But where do you draw the line.

[Bill Maher]

That show people are generally. You know. I'm sorry. Their forte is something different. It's charisma. It's good luck.

[Esai Morales]

Riz.

[Bill Maher]

Riz.

[Esai Morales]

What my daughter calls Riz now. Riz.

[Bill Maher]

Talent. Talent is different than intelligence.

[Esai Morales]

How do you define talent?

[Bill Maher]

Talent is. It's raw and it's. You know, Elvis has it and Tom Cruise has it and it's like meat is raw.

[Esai Morales]

How do you define talent besides raw?

[Bill Maher]

I know it when I see it. It's like. It's like pornography. I know it when I see it. No, it's talent. It's. You know, you can sing, you can act, you can dance, you can. I don't know. We both have. Yes, we both have it too. But like the. There are certain levels of it that are just preternatural. Like Elvis Presley. You know? But lots of people like that.

[Esai Morales]

But there are people who say he copied his style off of that guy. Owed us something.

[Bill Maher]

Copied. Everybody copies.

[Esai Morales]

Have you seen that incredible artist before? It sounds just like him. Like if you were to bite.

[Bill Maher]

Everybody in show business steals from who they like are.

[Esai Morales]

I know.

[Bill Maher]

Okay. It's.

[Esai Morales]

The Beatles were some of the greatest. But they were the Beatles. They were the greatest thieves in history.

[Bill Maher]

Yeah. Everybody's a thief. We can't feel bad about that.

[Esai Morales]

Very few things are original.

[Bill Maher]

No. And I would like to say right now that we are standing on land that rightfully belongs to the proud Chumash people. And I feel terrible about it.

[Esai Morales]

But who did they conquer it from? Too?

[Bill Maher]

And I will be giving it back on Monday. Now, exactly. Who did they conquer it from? Exactly.

[Esai Morales]

It's hard, right? I'm never sure about it. I know that 80% of what I think is probably true. 20% of what I pretty much think I'm sure about will change. So walk carefully. That's why I think we should all, as human beings Learn to debate with each other in a civilized way and with perspective.

[Bill Maher]

One of the stupidest things about wokeness is the absolute abject ignorance about history and putting things into perspective. And so they only see the bad side of America, which is not to be denied and not to be not taught, of course, but they only see that and they don't realize that because they don't care about history. They don't think it even happened if they weren't alive for it. But if you go back, everybody in history was terrible, horrible, racist, genocidal.

[Esai Morales]

Like, every Native Americans had slaves. Of course black people had slaves.

[Bill Maher]

Black people gathered the slaves for others to sell them to the slave trade.

[Esai Morales]

White people were slaves.

[Bill Maher]

I say it many times, humans are not good people. Humans are not good people.

[Esai Morales]

They are good people, but they have been awful, too. We can't just call humans awful all the time, or else we wouldn't be here.

[Bill Maher]

No, not all the time. Not all the time.

[Esai Morales]

How did we get here?

[Bill Maher]

Humans are not awful all the time. But if I had to bet, like on a random situation and say, will this human, if it comes down to, like, eat or be eaten, eat. Yes, they would. Humans.

[Esai Morales]

Humans are, you know, creatures survive.

[Bill Maher]

They survive. Exactly.

[Esai Morales]

Can I tell you this much?

[Bill Maher]

And you can't blame them.

[Esai Morales]

Before I went to the middle, I'm a violent. I'm a radical middle.

[Bill Maher]

How dare you.

[Esai Morales]

I used to get crap from conservatives because I would post things like the massacres of the Taino Indians, of, you know, the black Wall Street, Horrible things that happened to people of color.

[Bill Maher]

The Tulsa Massacre.

[Esai Morales]

The Tulsa. Yeah, dude. You know, Rosewood. All kinds of things. Horrible things.

[Bill Maher]

Our history is horrible.

[Esai Morales]

And they would say, why are you race baiting? And I'm like, I'm not race baiting. This was not good, you know, And I'm just saying, I said, I just don't want us to forget so that we don't repeat. I'm not trying to. To make white people feel bad. I'm trying to say, hey, this happened. Why did this happen? And can we make sure we never let it happen again? And then when I say anything that's not the left narrative, they're like, what is wrong with you? Are you one of those. What are you, a right winger?

[Bill Maher]

It's so infuriating. Here's what.

[Esai Morales]

You know, I used to not like certain people on Fox News, and then I grew to understand them. So I still kind of. It's hard to take some. Just hard. Just because of the tone.

[Bill Maher]

I don't watch any Cable news. But here's Jake Tapper. I like Jake, but, you know, I.

[Esai Morales]

Grew to respect Tucker Carlson a lot more, you know.

[Bill Maher]

Really?

[Esai Morales]

Yeah, yeah. And I used. He was one of those people that I couldn't take, especially when he debated Jon Stewart and he got, like, creamed. Remember that?

[Bill Maher]

I can't take him now.

[Esai Morales]

There were some things that he says that I. I get it. Here's my point. I get my conservative friends, and I get my liberal friends, and I don't like it when. And my conservatives paint all liberals as libtards and my liberal friends paint all conservatives as fascists. It's just not the case.

[Bill Maher]

That's not the case. But Tucker Carlson is a douchebag. And I can prove it because they have his texts during the 2020 election thing when he was saying privately, this is the one they were sued about. Fox News paid something like $787 million to the Dominion voting people, I think are.

[Esai Morales]

I've heard things about that that will make you think twice about that. So, yes, I know where you're going with that. But you know what I don't like is when the news tells me something before it's figured out. When everybody says something.

[Bill Maher]

I don't think that's a disputable thing. Fox News definitely did pay over $700 million to settle a lawsuit because they were saying that the election wasn't kosher. And the text that we have from Tucker Carlson tell us he knows it, too, but he was saying it on the air. There is. I'll give a lot of people a lot of rope, but that is a level I can go to.

[Esai Morales]

Go on this show and ask him about that.

[Bill Maher]

I would.

[Esai Morales]

I would love to see that.

[Bill Maher]

He would never do it because he knows he would be asked about that.

[Esai Morales]

Maybe, maybe not.

[Bill Maher]

He also went to Russia and pretended that. That Moscow is some place where you or I would like to live.

[Esai Morales]

I. I went there in 1988. I went there in 1988.

[Bill Maher]

No, bu.

[Esai Morales]

And as a person of color, Latino, who has lived with. Under the shadow of our community constantly, you know, with babies crying and gunshots and guitars playing all the time in the background. Stop it. Like, I'm, like, sick of this. Right? I am sensitive to cultures being like. And so you'd be surprised that Russia may not be the Gulag anymore, that it was once considered. That's all. That's all I have to say there.

[Bill Maher]

Well, I couldn't disagree more. You know, I find your view of Russians, that's very charitable, and I'm Sorry if I'm more of a cynic on that.

[Esai Morales]

I just don't think you should paint anyone with a broad brush. I think you really ought to. You owe it to yourself to be a little more. I mean, as your friend. Buddy, I'm not just a guest here. I like you.

[Bill Maher]

I've always liked you. We all. Whether we want to admit it or not, we all have. We make generalizations about people, about basically where they are culturally from. And, like, we can't admit it publicly, but, you know, you have them, too.

[Esai Morales]

When I was a young actor, I actually was gonna give myself an Arabic name because in the late 70s, early.

[Bill Maher]

This is Anthony Quinn was Mexican. He played Arab.

[Esai Morales]

He was Mexican and Irish, and he played Greek so. Well, Greek that Greek people. I use him as an example. Anywhere he went, Greek, people started breaking plates.

[Bill Maher]

Any restaurant, he was Mexican.

[Esai Morales]

Dude, I am so proud of that man and my relationship with the Mexican American. I'm a very proud Puerto Rican. But one of my biggest prides is that the Mexican American community acknowledges me as their own. At least I'm an honorary Chicano. Absolutely honorary Chicano. And that's because I don't take their culture.

[Bill Maher]

If you walk into a Mexican neighborhood or restaurant, it must be like the Beatles in 64.

[Esai Morales]

I saw, like, a grown gangster almost cry with the. With the socks and the shorts and the. And the Raiders teacher, he says, you're not Mexican. And it was like. It was cognitive dissonance, bro. And I was like, I'm sorry.

[Bill Maher]

Why is there beef between Puerto Ricans and Mexican?

[Esai Morales]

Oh, that there isn't. You know, there's beef between any culture that is next to, you know, like, there's the Mexicans that have 60% of all Latinos, you know, and then the Puerto Ricans that have, like, a lot of success for a tiny little island. We're like the Israel of the Caribbean, you know, we have a special relationship with the United States. Just not as special as Israel, but it's special.

[Bill Maher]

Do you think it should be the 51st state?

[Esai Morales]

That's a really tough one because I have friends on all three sides, and I see all three sides.

[Bill Maher]

What are the three.

[Esai Morales]

Three sides is be a state and get, you know, contribute federal, you know, taxes and get. Get federal funds. Be independent. We're big boys now, which we were supposed to be, right? And. And make our own deals, you know, grow up in our own right or stay like, we are a commonwealth, which is kind of like a welfare state, in a sense, because we live off the largest.

[Bill Maher]

Right.

[Esai Morales]

But we don't pay federal income tax.

[Bill Maher]

Right.

[Esai Morales]

And we. You know, I live there now too. More. I'm. It's a very, you know, I'm spending as much time as I can. I'm trying to open a school for underprivileged.

[Bill Maher]

Really?

[Esai Morales]

Yeah. We were having talk, you know, people like myself who didn't have money to go to class. I went to perform arts school. Yeah. Yeah. Well, I wasn't supposed to announce it yet, but the point is, I'm trying to do something to help other people who may have passion for the arts, you know, give their talent, because it's not easy.

[Bill Maher]

I'm telling you, you're deeper than me.

[Esai Morales]

But I feel like I'm not feeding them to a world that AI is going to make us all obsolete, you know?

[Bill Maher]

Great.

[Esai Morales]

It's like my daughter, she wants to be a writer. I was like, oh, my God, in the time of AI, where like, you know, they. They can copy everything. But now she wants to be a psychiatrist. That's safe. I mean, psychiatrists, we're always going to have screwed up people.

[Bill Maher]

AI. Like right now, June of 2025, AI can't do what I do.

[Esai Morales]

Not yet.

[Bill Maher]

That's my question. It's like, could it even. Because you certainly can type in, you know, do this as Bill Maher would do it and it will write a scene, you know, or something.

[Esai Morales]

Bill Maher? Ish.

[Bill Maher]

Yeah. I mean, somebody I know is desperate for me to, like, voice a cartoon in a big cartoon movie, like the bad guy.

[Esai Morales]

I've been told to digitize myself. Just to copyright your own image before other people steal it when you're gone, when you're dead. You need to leave that to. Oh, you don't have. Never mind. Is this thing.

[Bill Maher]

I don't know, kids. I don't believe I'll be ending the old me after I die.

[Esai Morales]

Your pets will have your estate. You still have all those dogs.

[Bill Maher]

But we put it into chatgpt. Like, like, what would Bill Maher as a cartoon villain, you know, And I, you know, I made some suggestions and it came out with this character. Smug.

[Esai Morales]

Oh, I was gonna. I was thinking smarmy assassin.

[Bill Maher]

And I'm not really smug, but I get why they. And like, it had like, the cartoon version of me, and it was like. It was a little scary how close it got to something that was actually kind of funny. It had my catchphrase, you know, it was just, you know, this thing is a genie let out of the bottle.

[Esai Morales]

But to what point will robots replace you? Because how does that benefit them?

[Bill Maher]

I was asking this on the panel tonight, like, there was a guy on who was talking about a future that may be jobless. And I was talking to a very good friend of mine who said, you know, why are you so afraid of the robots and AI eliminating all the jobs? Because AI is quickly eliminating all the jobs. I mean, not all, but. Yes, well, very close. I mean, first the blue collar jobs went. Now coding. Now they do all that. Driverless cars. It's going to be all truck drivers. And I said, okay, you know, I get it. Why would you want a drudgery kind of job? Great, if we liberate ourselves from that. But what do people do? And how do they get money? How do they buy food if there are no jobs? If AI is doing all the jobs?

[Esai Morales]

Maybe that's why they say that we're being culled as a population called meaning. Meaning they're trying to lower the population slowly but surely.

[Bill Maher]

Who is?

[Esai Morales]

The people who want to stay left running the robots because they don't want the rest of us. Believe me, they don't. There's. I mean, come on, for decades now, there's been like a silent war. I see young kids now.

[Bill Maher]

War against who?

[Esai Morales]

Just the human condition.

[Bill Maher]

That's so vague. What does that mean?

[Esai Morales]

Yeah, Malthusian. Right, Malthus.

[Bill Maher]

Of course. The guy who said 1798.

[Esai Morales]

That's right. He said there were too many people in the world. Do you know that that caused.

[Bill Maher]

Well, he said population expands exponentially. So he did the chart going up, and he was right. Like, you know, for the first, I don't know, 10,000 years of humans, after the agricultural revolution, we were still at, like, you know, I don't know, 100 million or something, and then quickly got to 8 billion. And then in the last century, it went all the way up to eight. And of course, the more people make, the more rapid. Rabbits make more bunnies. And so now we're at 8 million. I don't age.

[Esai Morales]

John Lennon said something to you. In my dreams. No, in a video. He said the world is run by insane people.

[Bill Maher]

For another one of your impressions for your ass.

[Esai Morales]

He's a Scouse, mate. He's a Scouse.

[Bill Maher]

That's pretty good.

[Esai Morales]

But. But I'm saying he said something that I tend to agree with. If you just didn't like most people, you would tend to want to promote the notion that there are too many people in order to make people not care about the. The wanton deaths. Well, there's too many people. So you really And I'll tell you why. Because they were saying that same thing in Plato's Age. There were too many people on the planet way back then.

[Bill Maher]

Really?

[Esai Morales]

Yeah, yeah, I found that out.

[Bill Maher]

I was like, whoa, it was only like 10 people.

[Esai Morales]

No. That's funny. But their world was circumspect, Right. You know, it was.

[Bill Maher]

Well, you know what? Athens was a direct democracy, so they hadn't figured out, well, we could have representatives. So, yes, in a world where your democracy is direct, where everybody votes and they put a pebble, a white or a black pebble in a pot, and that's how you count the votes. I could see them saying, yeah, we got too many people.

[Esai Morales]

When I'm on the 405, I think there's too many people.

[Bill Maher]

Well, there definitely.

[Esai Morales]

Do you know what I mean? When you're in traffic, it seems like too many people.

[Bill Maher]

I believe there are too many people.

[Esai Morales]

But if everybody in the world had a certain amount of space between them, we could all fit in a certain part of Texas.

[Bill Maher]

Yeah, but it's not about how many people. It's about resources.

[Esai Morales]

No, I. Again, I'm gonna tell you, this is. This is something that I think we've been led to. We've been miseducated on because the whole scarcity notion is maybe another one of those things that we'll find out later. Maybe you will. That is. Is being pushed.

[Bill Maher]

We're already running out of, like, water.

[Esai Morales]

We were supposed to be running out of oil a long time ago.

[Bill Maher]

Water. Water. Even more basic than oil.

[Esai Morales]

Where's water going?

[Bill Maher]

What do you mean, where does it go? Water. Well, it goes a lot of it in California to irrigate crops, which we shouldn't.

[Esai Morales]

And then where does it go? It's like carbon.

[Bill Maher]

And then. Well, there's a finite amount because it falls from the sky and it's.

[Esai Morales]

Where does it go? It goes to the ocean, where it evaporates. Again, we're in this closed loop. It's not like we're losing water. It's never coming back.

[Bill Maher]

But enough of it. But more people. Are you saying there's an infinite amount of people that water on Earth could. Could supplant?

[Esai Morales]

Not to supply amount, but it's a lot less. Like Elon Musk, you know, like him or hate him, has been talking about population collapse.

[Bill Maher]

Yes. I don't get that.

[Esai Morales]

Look at Japan.

[Bill Maher]

I'm on the other side of that.

[Esai Morales]

There are places too many people that people are dying more than they're recreating. And now kids are scared, young Men and women are not getting together like they used to be.

[Bill Maher]

You know what? That's true.

[Esai Morales]

Can we do a shot? I will. I will bless the shot.

[Bill Maher]

A shot.

[Esai Morales]

I will bless.

[Bill Maher]

My shot days are over. But I'll. I'll pour another one.

[Esai Morales]

Pour me half a shot. Okay, half a shot. Because I'm going to show off now.

[Bill Maher]

What do you didn't show off because.

[Esai Morales]

I'm not a Jew.

[Bill Maher]

What is that?

[Esai Morales]

I'm Jewish.

[Bill Maher]

You're not Jewish.

[Esai Morales]

I respect. I respect.

[Bill Maher]

You can't.

[Esai Morales]

Says who?

[Bill Maher]

You're not Jewish. Well, you probably learned that from part. See, you could play a Jew.

[Esai Morales]

I did. In 1989. Who? I played a Polish, Jewish, Argentine pimp. Hello.

[Bill Maher]

Wow.

[Esai Morales]

Zico Borenstein in a movie that never made it to the United States.

[Bill Maher]

Hey, you know the actor Isaac, Oscar Isaac.

[Esai Morales]

Brilliant, brilliant guy.

[Bill Maher]

Oscar Isaac.

[Esai Morales]

And yeah, I should have named myself Isaiah Isaac or something, right?

[Bill Maher]

You know what? I always thought he was Jewish because the name sounds so Jewish to me.

[Esai Morales]

Part, I think Guatemalan or something.

[Bill Maher]

No, I. I saw him on Saturday Night Live. He hosted. I'm a big fan.

[Esai Morales]

He's great.

[Bill Maher]

He's a great actor.

[Esai Morales]

Love him.

[Bill Maher]

I love him. And you know, working your side of the street, nice guy, nice looking guy, tan. And he's like. And I was surprised to learn in his monologue he said, my real name is. You know. And then he had two Oscar Isaac.

[Esai Morales]

Like Hernandez or something.

[Bill Maher]

Yes, like he had two names. Two Hispanic names.

[Esai Morales]

He's a real Latino.

[Bill Maher]

And then he said, you know, of course they made me. I'm like, nobody made you.

[Esai Morales]

Let me tell you something. Shut the fuck up.

[Bill Maher]

Nobody made you.

[Esai Morales]

Listen, it helps.

[Bill Maher]

Oh, stop it.

[Esai Morales]

Listen, my middle name is Manuel. If I came out as Manny Morales.

[Bill Maher]

Do you think maybe back in that.

[Esai Morales]

How many actors do you know back in the day? You sound like a Jewish garment worker. Mania Epstein. It's just not like. I mean, Jewish actors changed their name because it didn't sound like.

[Bill Maher]

No, he was Hispanic. Anyway, he was.

[Esai Morales]

John Wayne was marrying, whatever, you know.

[Bill Maher]

I thought he was Jewish. And when he said on this monologue that he was Hispanic, the audience like burst into applause, you know, as if to say, thank God it came out. Thank God you're not white. He's been saved. Anything's better than that. We found out he's Hispanic. That's awesome.

[Esai Morales]

I'm really proud of a lot of actors now that are Latino that are being accepted, embraced. I mean, Pedro Pascal is like on fire, you know, everything he does, it's just amazing. Ben has a movie coming out right now.

[Bill Maher]

It's not an impediment in show business. It really isn't.

[Esai Morales]

Yes and no. Now, now, now, I'm going to let you.

[Bill Maher]

It was when you started.

[Esai Morales]

Let me give you.

[Bill Maher]

It was when you started a little bit.

[Esai Morales]

Raul Julia, man, one of my biggest heroes, John Leguizamo. Guamo.

[Bill Maher]

Yeah.

[Esai Morales]

Let me just say that. Oh, there was something, but the tequila just knocked, derailed my train of thought.

[Bill Maher]

I did that all the time. We're putting together a highlight reel of me just saying.

[Esai Morales]

What are we talking about now? I remember. Thank you for saying that.

[Bill Maher]

Oh, jeez. But that's the.

[Esai Morales]

It's not like they're writing great stuff. It's few and far in between the characters.

[Bill Maher]

Who's they?

[Esai Morales]

Whatever the industry, choosers of material. For some reason, I'm still a bad guy, more than not. And I think I could play good guy, but I think I'm considered boring if I'm a good guy. I don't know.

[Bill Maher]

You could play anything. I mean, I saw you.

[Esai Morales]

Thank you.

[Bill Maher]

I saw you in the Ayn Rand movie, which, you know, if people don't know Ayn Rand, kids, you should really like. Google this one. Ann A Y N Rand. And she was this woman in the 50s, wrote a couple of very long novels and I guess some books of philosophy. Anyway, she's very influential. You should Google her because she kind of, depending on your view of it, promulgated this view that society was being held back by the losers and that just the winner type people. And look, there are winners and losers should just be a little more ruthless in how they take control. And so that's what the Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged are really about. And a lot of people.

[Esai Morales]

Is that what you thought it was about? I kind of thought it was her response to communism, the excesses.

[Bill Maher]

Well, communism is. And that's why it has resonance and did. Because communism is even worse in the other direction, evening things out. And she's saying, life is for the. Society is for the exceptional, and we shouldn't apologize for it. And communism is the exact opposite. Everybody is equal.

[Esai Morales]

But Jordan Peterson says the equality of outcome as opposed to yes, yes, no.

[Bill Maher]

Communism in the worst.

[Esai Morales]

When I was younger, I always felt sympathy for communists and socialists because I thought, okay, if I had to pick an ism, right, Socialism and capitalism. Where am I going to pick? Capitalism is about capital. Socialism is about. About people. I thought social, right? I thought, okay, capital can't love you. People can. And I. And I was. I figured okay, I'm on the side of socialism. And then as I get older, you know, and opinions change and things, you know, life happens, I realize that if you try to be fair too much, you can become unfair. And if you take away people's incentive to strive, then nobody wants to do good. Because if you're going to work harder than me and I'm going to get paid the same as you, then you're not going to work as hard because after a while you're going to feel like an idiot. And that's what I'm saying. And then I thought to myself, I said, okay, capitalism, communism, it's still cronyism. No matter where you go, whether it's Cuba or this, Russia, China. If you're part of the CCP or if you're part of the ruling party, you got it good.

[Bill Maher]

But it's worse. I agree, but I'm saying it is always cronyism. But there are levels to it. And one reason why America was America and the greatest is because we kept cronyism to shoe level, whereas it was just all what communism was.

[Esai Morales]

Can I tell you something? I used to be terrified of the communists, the Chinese. I didn't want the social credit score. I still don't.

[Bill Maher]

I'm still terrified of the.

[Esai Morales]

And there are people in our society, oligarchs that want us to follow that because. Because, oh, my God, they want to be on top of a world. And they, they like the Chinese model because they keep their people kind of in control, but at the same time. Listen, listen, listen, listen. There's more people.

[Bill Maher]

They keep their people very much in control, yet no substitutions yet.

[Esai Morales]

Hang on. Guess what I'm finding out, okay, that. That blew my mind. When they buy a house, they don't have to pay property taxes till they lose it. It's theirs. When they, they have less people in prison per capita than we do, we have more people in prison than China has. It's like we are in prison too, with our own. Let's not get it twisted. Let's always keep some sort of mental thing to realize that we're in our own prisons with materialism, with drugs.

[Bill Maher]

Trust me.

[Esai Morales]

With pleasure. Come on. We don't take care of our own. No, we don't.

[Bill Maher]

Okay, but we have veterans on the.

[Esai Morales]

Street, and then we have people that, that break our laws that are getting taken care of like that. That makes conservatives.

[Bill Maher]

You don't want to live in China.

[Esai Morales]

I'm not saying I want to live in China, but I can't tell you how Many friends that love living in Shanghai. For some reason it is more modern, it is more popular. I don't know.

[Bill Maher]

Oh, yeah. Oh, no. If you're okay. I'm just saying, unless you want to speak freely, then you will run afoul of the state. Unless you want to speak freely. I agree with you. If you're one of those people. You know what? I don't even follow politics. I just want business to be good. You're good. You wouldn't like it. That's not who you are.

[Esai Morales]

I agree with you.

[Bill Maher]

You wouldn't want to live in China.

[Esai Morales]

But I also don't want to live in a world that kids itself. As to how free it is, my biggest complaint with America and I don't.

[Bill Maher]

Want to live in a world that kids itself. That there aren't actual serious important differences. There's a reason why we like it here and it's how many of us.

[Esai Morales]

Have traveled the world at the same time. I have to say, hey, I don't want our greatest export to be the illusion of freedom. Because you're free. Unless you threaten the pharmaceutical interests, unless you threaten the bankers, unless you threaten the military industrial complex. Look what they did to Kennedy.

[Bill Maher]

Tell me a conspiracy theory you don't believe.

[Esai Morales]

Oh, my God. You know which ones?

[Bill Maher]

Okay.

[Esai Morales]

The whole concept of conspiracy theory to me is brilliant because it's the way a certain agency and others have of hiding the truth in garbage. So they come up with a lot of garbage so that the truth looks indistinguishable.

[Bill Maher]

There is that, but there also is sometimes just real garbage. Right. They create a lot of it, but even stuff they haven't created, sometimes garbage is garbage.

[Esai Morales]

Absolutely.

[Bill Maher]

Okay, good.

[Esai Morales]

I don't know everything either. Maybe there was. Maybe whatever happened there had a reason for it. Maybe the people who want to cull the Earth have a reason for it that I'm not aware of.

[Bill Maher]

What about the moon landing?

[Esai Morales]

That's another thing I'm just.

[Bill Maher]

Oh, no, I'm telling you about the moon. I'm telling you we lost the moon.

[Esai Morales]

I'm telling you. Have you seen the videos that come back of that stuff that looked like really bad sci fi? Tell me why today, when we have on our cell phones the same computing power that people have in a building at IBM right in the 60s? And we go, why haven't we been back? Well, we lost the technology. Do you buy that? Honestly?

[Bill Maher]

No. Nobody says that.

[Esai Morales]

They said that. NASA said that.

[Bill Maher]

Nobody says that. Okay, Nobody says that. What they say is we lost the will and we did.

[Esai Morales]

They actually. The video. I'll show they did not.

[Bill Maher]

Well, whoever said that was just on drugs.

[Esai Morales]

Why did we lose the will?

[Bill Maher]

We didn't. Why did we lose the will? First of all, Because a of lot. Well, I'll tell you why. We went to the moon, like, I don't know, 10 times or something, maybe five, I don't know. But we went the first time, you know, it was like anything in show business. First one was great. First one got a lot of hits. And then, you know, the second one was like, okay, well, we've seen this before. It's awesome. I mean, it's amazing. We congratulate you on your technological prowess here in 1970, but you just basically did the same thing. You flew a rocket up to the moon, you landed, and then you got back safely to Earth.

[Esai Morales]

You realized there was no. The real estate wasn't good.

[Bill Maher]

There wasn't pools, there's nothing. So it was either like, where does this series go next? And George Bush used to talk about, we're going to go to Mars. And, you know, we're going to. And. Because if we started from the moon, it would be easier because we were already without gravity, you know, so we're just flying right into space.

[Esai Morales]

Some gravity. Not as much.

[Bill Maher]

Not much. Not as much as Earth. So, okay, that would be next. I'm not for that, by the way, but that would be next if there was something. But like, the series just ended because we couldn't get to Mars. We didn't have that technology. And we also just, what the fuck? Why we keep going back to the moon, okay? We got a rock. We know it's just this fucking barren thing that was a piece of the Earth 4 billion years ago and flew off and.

[Esai Morales]

Okay, do you know what bothered me as a child? And then I'll tell you another concept. When you. Santa Rosa.

[Bill Maher]

Santa Claus. This all goes back to Santa Claus.

[Esai Morales]

I was like, how'd he get down?

[Bill Maher]

That's a conservative theory. Why did they tell me about Santa Claus?

[Esai Morales]

What's going on? No, but Santa Claus is real. Anyway, you haven't heard. So, anyway, the point is, as a kid, I never know. This is just As a child.

[Bill Maher]

We're going to have to wrap this up, okay?

[Esai Morales]

I never knew why, right? The rocket would take off. There's the moon, and it would always go away and we'd never see it. Like, we could see the moon and we never see it. Like, nobody saw it from a periscope, like their own telescope actually landing. Never. Then anything of that and if you.

[Bill Maher]

Look at the module where a telescope would not see something that.

[Esai Morales]

Dude, this telescope sees things now going, your iPhone.

[Bill Maher]

No, no, no.

[Esai Morales]

You blow up your iPhone.

[Bill Maher]

A telescope in 1969 could not see something as small as our spaceship.

[Esai Morales]

Is that the last time we went to the moon?

[Bill Maher]

69 around that. No, we went in the early 70s.

[Esai Morales]

I'm just saying there are things that fly.

[Bill Maher]

I'm just saying that's not exactly.

[Esai Morales]

There was a time, if you ask Native Americans, and before there was time, before the moon, there was a school of thought. Again, I don't necessarily believe everything. I consider everything. There's a school of thought that says the moon was not always there. It's not always. I know, again.

[Bill Maher]

Well, it wasn't. It wasn't always there.

[Esai Morales]

It's not part of the Earth. It's not like a piece that just broke off and then became perfectly wrong.

[Bill Maher]

That's exactly what it is. It's the, you know, not to. We've got to hang out, make this a history lesson. But according to the Big Bang, Native.

[Esai Morales]

Americans knew the time before the Moon.

[Bill Maher]

No, the universe. The big bang is 14 billion years ago, approximately. Then matter cooled for 200 million years and then the stars started to form. Earth was formed about 4 billion years ago, so about 10 billion years after the Big Bang. And the moon was probably a piece of it or something. You know, it's just. It's all just fucking rocks.

[Esai Morales]

But how do you know this?

[Bill Maher]

We don't know this.

[Esai Morales]

Ah, okay.

[Bill Maher]

No, no, no.

[Esai Morales]

Therein lies the rub. Of course I don't know anything either, but certainly not you can admit that we can agree on that.

[Bill Maher]

No, certainly not the Big Bang thing, because that is theoretical astrophysics. You're right. I am absolutely trusting that Neil DeGrasse Tyson knows better than the priest I had when I was a child. Okay.

[Esai Morales]

It's not perfect.

[Bill Maher]

So no. And it could be wrong. And scientific theories are proved wrong. And that one. But they seem to think why the Earth, the universe would have started that way seems inconceivable. But whatever they seem to know, seem to think they have stuff that they know. And I know how they basically.

[Esai Morales]

What caused the Big Bang?

[Bill Maher]

Well, exactly. That question can never be answered. And they don't try. Astrophysicists don't try to answer that question. That's not their job.

[Esai Morales]

What is their job?

[Bill Maher]

Their job is to decipher as well as they can what happened to create the universe and what the universe is now.

[Esai Morales]

That's the question. What happened to create the Universe, what creates.

[Bill Maher]

Right. Again, they're not interested in that. That's not their. And none of us can know. No, it's that they're not saying that they're responsible for that and they're not. No one could be. We don't know. If the big bang was 14 billion years ago, why start things off that way? And why then and what happened before? And those questions you will never answer.

[Esai Morales]

Exactly. And my answer to that is, I don't care. I just want to live a good life.

[Bill Maher]

They say the exact same thing, right?

[Esai Morales]

I don't care.

[Bill Maher]

I don't care because I'll never know.

[Esai Morales]

He's saying there's a lot that we don't know. And, and so I just wish that we were all gentle to each other as human beings and we only have so much on this planet. It's the ants in the jar analogy. You know, they say red army ants and black ants get together. They're in a jar, they're no problem. When somebody shakes the jar, they kill each other.

[Bill Maher]

Really?

[Esai Morales]

Yeah. Our jar is being shaken so much.

[Bill Maher]

By who?

[Esai Morales]

I don't know. Maybe the people who want to see us fight each other instead of them.

[Bill Maher]

Maybe it's us. Maybe we need to look in the mirror. Maybe we're all just humans and it's our nature to be this way.

[Esai Morales]

How about this?

[Bill Maher]

I mean, I don't know that you. Maybe some of it is we're being manipulated and some of it is just us.

[Esai Morales]

Let me tell you about the Taino Indians. When Columbus came in, the Taino Indians.

[Bill Maher]

And the Arawaks, I heard of them.

[Esai Morales]

They're the people.

[Bill Maher]

Arawaks, I heard of them.

[Esai Morales]

Yeah. Well, Taino are the ones that were specific to our island. And I think some of the Dominican Republic, Columbus wrote about them. They go, these are beautiful people. They're copper skinned. They're very healthy.

[Bill Maher]

Did Columbus get to Puerto Rico?

[Esai Morales]

Yeah. Oh, yeah. That was his second trip, really. Day at the Hyatt, I think. No, I think. No, at the El Convento. Sorry, Hyatt was after. Anyway, he said these are beautiful people. They share everything. They have. They don't have, like, they don't, you know, they're very peaceful. They're, they're loving. They, they, they're just. With 50 men, we can make them do whatever we want. And I'm thinking a different mindset took over. I think human beings can be loving.

[Bill Maher]

They can.

[Esai Morales]

And, and, and, and we're generally good people, but we're farmed by people who don't believe in themselves, much less us. So that's my thing.

[Bill Maher]

Well, we're farmed. We're just animals.

[Esai Morales]

Our countries are like farms. It's like a mob. Hey, you control this territory, I control that territory.

[Bill Maher]

We're just animals. And when you introduce the element of fear, all bets are off.

[Esai Morales]

Can I agree? Can we agree on that?

[Bill Maher]

Yes. I mean, if we were ever, you know, crashed on a plane, just you and I, in the Andes, one of us would eat the other. I'm just saying.

[Esai Morales]

Yeah, but I'm, I'm of the thought that we would take our time and look. And look to avoid that.

[Bill Maher]

As long as, of course, first. I'm not, I'm not saying on day two, I'd eat you. Of course. I wouldn't eat you on day two. Of course.

[Esai Morales]

Stop being the killer white male.

[Bill Maher]

Try to fucking find a better, better solution.

[Esai Morales]

Listen, we both, you know, I.

[Bill Maher]

All right. It's great to see you. I hope this is the beginning of many times in the future since we missed too many years.

[Esai Morales]

I've had some really wonderful times.

[Bill Maher]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Esai Morales]

This is the ultimate man cave, by the way.

[Bill Maher]

Okay. No, no, no. It is okay. I, I, I want to see. I'm so glad we do this.

[Esai Morales]

I was terrified I was going to cancel myself. I hope I haven't.

[Bill Maher]

You know what? I think you got to lean into.

[Esai Morales]

That shit a little bit, but, you.

[Bill Maher]

Know, because, like, what do they.

[Esai Morales]

You have to have X amount of money.

[Bill Maher]

Yeah.