Tim Pool | Club Random

Summary

Club Random with Bill Maher: Episode Featuring Tim Pool

Release Date: May 25, 2025
Guest: Tim Pool
Location: Club Random (Undisclosed)

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Introduction

In this episode of Club Random, Bill Maher engages in an in-depth, hour-long conversation with renowned independent journalist and political commentator, Tim Pool. The discussion spans a wide array of topics, including personal beliefs, media polarization, generational shifts, and the complexities of modern politics.

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Personal Background and Beliefs

The conversation begins with Bill Maher inquiring about Tim Pool's religious journey.

• Bill Maher [01:47]: "So how long were you an atheist? And what did we do wrong not to keep you?"
• Tim Pool [01:51]: "I went to Catholic school and left during fifth grade."

Tim shares his transition from Catholicism to atheism, attributing his change to the lack of substantial education in his religious curriculum. He recounts his critical questioning of taught concepts, such as the Big Bang theory and creation stories, which led him to self-educate and ultimately reject religious doctrines.

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Health and Lifestyle Choices

Maher and Pool delve into personal health regimens and lifestyle choices, touching on topics like sobriety and physical fitness.

• Bill Maher [02:19]: "They told me... you don't drink."
• Tim Pool [02:19]: "No, but I'll have a shot or two with you."

Tim emphasizes his commitment to maintaining optimal health to support his demanding schedule, which includes hosting a news show and engaging in skateboarding activities.

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Media Polarization and Fake News

A significant portion of the discussion centers on the impact of fake news and media polarization, especially among younger generations.

• Tim Pool [08:07]: "It's hyperpolarization happening among the younger generation that's substantially more pronounced than the older generation..."
• Bill Maher [08:43]: "Fake news... covers a lot of territory, for sure."

Tim highlights how fake news exacerbates political divisions, making it difficult for individuals to discern truth from misinformation. Both hosts agree that the internet age has intensified these challenges, leading to a distorted public perception of individuals and events.

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Generational Shifts and Political Influence

The guests discuss the shifting political landscape influenced by generational changes and media consumption patterns.

• Tim Pool [09:41]: "For the younger generation, there's a pronounced consideration of violence compared to older generations."
• Bill Maher [27:59]: "Aggressively non common sense or uncommonsensical..."

They explore how younger audiences, particularly Gen Z and soon Gen Alpha, are navigating a more fragmented media environment, which affects their political views and engagement. Tim points out that demographic shifts, such as lower birth rates among liberals, are poised to influence future electoral outcomes.

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Impact of Social Media Algorithms

The episode delves into how social media algorithms shape public perception and political beliefs.

• Tim Pool [75:14]: "They created an algorithm that if it got shared more, it got promoted more."
• Bill Maher [76:30]: "But let's look at what's behind that. What's behind that?"

Tim explains the unintended consequences of social media algorithms that prioritize sensational and emotionally charged content, leading to echo chambers and reinforcing existing biases. This phenomenon contributes to the increased polarization and perpetuation of specific narratives that may not reflect broader societal truths.

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Challenges in Modern Journalism

Bill Maher shares insights from his own experiences in the media industry, highlighting the shift from objective reporting to audience-driven content.

• Tim Pool [14:25]: "I'm not a deist. But I don't know, maybe it's complicated."
• Bill Maher [15:52]: "Politically incorrect. That show went on there."

The conversation touches upon the struggle for media outlets to balance journalistic integrity with the need to engage audiences, often resulting in the prioritization of sensationalism over factual reporting.

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Personal Lives and Work Ethics

Amidst the heavy topics, Maher and Pool share anecdotes from their personal lives, illustrating the human side of public figures.

• Bill Maher [26:22]: "Maybe that's why I'm sort of like somebody who both sides can talk to..."
• Tim Pool [86:13]: "I don't believe in any scriptures or anything like that."

They discuss the pressures of maintaining influential platforms while balancing personal relationships and family life, emphasizing the importance of perseverance and dedication to their respective causes.

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Future of Media and Influence

Towards the end of the episode, the hosts speculate on the future landscape of media and its influence on public discourse.

• Tim Pool [65:06]: "There's going to be less people. You talking about owning a piece of the Mets and I'm like..."
• Bill Maher [66:33]: "It's a great point in your life."

They consider factors such as the decentralization of media, the decline of traditional media dominance, and the rise of niche content creators. Both agree that while the media environment is becoming more fragmented, maintaining a strong, credible presence remains crucial for sustained influence.

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Conclusion

The episode concludes with a reflection on the challenges and responsibilities that come with influential platforms. Bill Maher underscores the importance of honesty and authenticity in media, while Tim Pool expresses his commitment to continuing his work despite external pressures and challenges.

• Bill Maher [70:09]: "I am not a liar. That's my main bond with the audience."
• Tim Pool [93:14]: "I appreciate you having me."

Their candid conversation provides listeners with a nuanced understanding of the interplay between personal beliefs, media dynamics, and political polarization in today's society.

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Notable Quotes

• Tim Pool [09:03]: "For the younger generation, there's a pronounced consideration of violence compared to older generations."
• Bill Maher [27:59]: "Aggressively non common sense or uncommonsensical."
• Tim Pool [14:25]: "I'm not a deist. But I don't know, maybe it's complicated."
• Bill Maher [70:09]: "I am not a liar. That's my main bond with the audience."

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Note: This summary omits advertisement segments and focuses solely on the substantive content of the conversation between Bill Maher and Tim Pool. The timestamps correspond to the transcript provided, ensuring accurate attribution of key points and quotes.

Transcript

[Bill Maher]

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[Tim Pool]

Yeah. Last October I scoop Club Random.

[Bill Maher]

So how long were you an atheist? And what did we do wrong not to keep you?

[Tim Pool]

I went to Catholic school and.

[Bill Maher]

Oh well.

[Tim Pool]

Claude Randall Vilmar.

[Bill Maher]

Hey man.

[Tim Pool]

It is an honor and a privilege.

[Bill Maher]

Ah, sweet. Thank you for saying that. I know you flew in. Yeah, on dime. I can't tell you what a compliment that is. And I, and I appreciate it.

[Tim Pool]

Oh, I appreciate you having me and excited.

[Bill Maher]

They told me. Not that they ever tell me much and I like it that way, but that you don't drink. So.

[Tim Pool]

No, but I'll, I'll. I'll have a shot or two with you.

[Bill Maher]

I can't tell you how. I can't tell you how often this happens. I said it last week, I think like somebody was here and it's like, you know, the handlers are always like, well, you know, he's, he's recovering and he doesn't want to be around smoke and he doesn't drink and deplete. And then they're like hey bro, why aren't you passing the joint? Or can I have a drink or.

[Tim Pool]

Yeah, I'm not like. I just don't really drink because it doesn't, you know, it's smart.

[Bill Maher]

What's the worst thing for you?

[Tim Pool]

I'm kind of. I'm kind of a health terrified, you know?

[Bill Maher]

What does that mean?

[Tim Pool]

I try to, you know, every day. I have a pretty intense schedule. I do a morning show, then I skate, and I'm filming skating with my crew. And so I'm trying to make sure that every day I'm gonna be at 100%.

[Bill Maher]

You're like Brian Johnson without a perfect penis.

[Tim Pool]

Oh, all right.

[Bill Maher]

You know who he is?

[Tim Pool]

Are you referring to the. The guy who did steroids or the guy who's doing the weird medical treatments.

[Bill Maher]

To the guy who wants to live forever?

[Tim Pool]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Bill Maher]

Y.

[Tim Pool]

But you know about Liver King too, right?

[Bill Maher]

But he. Who?

[Tim Pool]

Liver King.

[Bill Maher]

I've heard that. Who is that? What is that?

[Tim Pool]

Super ripped guy. And his name is also. I think his name is Brian Johnson as well.

[Bill Maher]

Whoa. Yeah, Maybe that's the secret.

[Tim Pool]

Doing steroids.

[Bill Maher]

But what does the Liver King do? He does something with his liver to make live. Make him live forever. He eats liver.

[Tim Pool]

I think that's what his thing was. I really follow him.

[Bill Maher]

Not his own, you're saying?

[Tim Pool]

No. Well, but I think his whole shtick was he eats, like, raw meat and claimed that would make you ripped and manly, but he was doing steroids, so well.

[Bill Maher]

Oh, he was?

[Tim Pool]

Yeah. I mean, that's what. I don't know, man.

[Bill Maher]

Well, that'll make you. And not manly because it makes your arms bigger and shrinks your balls.

[Tim Pool]

So I hear.

[Bill Maher]

I mean, like, I never understood that kind of a trade off, you know, like, okay, I want to excel at this. I assume so I can get chicks, but then when I get them, my dick. I've got a mushroom dick, you know?

[Tim Pool]

Yeah. There's so much weird stuff now. Like, I've had. Had guys talking about, like, peptide things they take and hgh, and I'm just like, I don't know, man. I'll get old. That's what I'll do.

[Bill Maher]

I agree.

[Tim Pool]

Yeah.

[Bill Maher]

I mean, I had this actual discussion with Joe Rogan on his show, and, you know, he does the exogenous creams and stuff, and testosterone. I think he's pretty upfront about that. And it's legal. I mean, it's not. We're not talking about steroids. We're talking about testosterone cream. Yeah, but I mean, testosterone does decrease as you get older. That's a fact. And of course, that Makes you. Especially if you're a male. Only if you're a male. I guess with testosterone less healthy. Just ask Joe Biden. Oh, no, too soon. Sorry. We wish you well, Joe. But so, you know, I said, yeah, that stuff is scary to me because when you. Anything you do that the body isn't doing naturally always has the possibility of some bad repercussions. And like, if you had, like, cancer cells in your body and we all have some, you know, sometimes you do something to make you healthier and it all soups up the thing that's work, that's not healthy. And he had a good answer, though. I said, you know, I'm a. I'm afraid that this will make me unhealthy enough. He says something like, well, I do it because I'm afraid to be unhealthy. Which is. I understand what he's saying. Without the proper amount of testosterone, your health does suffer. So he's putting it back in. We don't know. That's the thing about medicine. We don't know.

[Tim Pool]

I think it's also bad for your heart, though, isn't it? Testosterone?

[Bill Maher]

I'm sure it's bad for a lot of things. Look, if it's bad for your balls, it's gotta be bad throughout your. I mean, I just go by that test. Wouldn't you? I mean, it's just that's. I. I feel like sometimes the people who know the most have the least common sense, perhaps. I mean, you know.

[Tim Pool]

You know, one thing that I've been dying to tell you, given the chance is, you know, I do this. I do this talk show. I do this news show. 20 years ago.

[Bill Maher]

I know. Well.

[Tim Pool]

Well, it's your fault. 20 years ago. Every Friday, me and my friends are hanging out at Shout out to Roger and my. My boy Brandon, who works with me now.

[Bill Maher]

Where is this?

[Tim Pool]

Chicago.

[Bill Maher]

Chicago.

[Tim Pool]

And they were stoned off their asses, passing the joint, blowing. Blowing pot smoke into an iguana's face while we watched Real Time with Bill Maher. And that's. I was 18 or 19 years old, and that's what we did every Friday. So cool watching your show.

[Bill Maher]

I love it that they were blowing the pot smoke.

[Tim Pool]

And the iguana loved it. The. The iguana, it loved getting stoned of the real iguana. Literally, there was an iguana. And then one day, I guess the iguana got out and started eating their pot. So it was like, this is not a good thing. But also kind of funny.

[Bill Maher]

Animals do. I mean, I Remember, with my dogs. Not that I would do it on purpose, you know, I would not blow smoke in their face. I'm a PETA board member, for Christ's sakes. But, like, if I was smoking and not thinking about it and the dog was sitting next to me, I would see him, like, trying to, like, bite the air. So that told me something about.

[Tim Pool]

Something about it.

[Bill Maher]

Huh? Unlike testosterone, I use the common sense. And it told me that the pot is not bad for you if the dog is trying to eat it out of the air.

[Tim Pool]

Did you mix your tequila? I don't want to.

[Bill Maher]

Yes. Did you? I think you said shot. Did you want it?

[Tim Pool]

Oh, I'll just sip a little bit and then wash it.

[Bill Maher]

Okay. Okay.

[Tim Pool]

Oh, that's good.

[Bill Maher]

What is it, do you think that is making people so bad at you?

[Tim Pool]

Fake news?

[Bill Maher]

Well, that's very general, Tim. It is, but fake news. What do you. What do you. What do you mean? I mean, I saw things somebody sent me. I don't know why they send me these things. Like the other day it said. I mean, I'm not even on any of these sites. Facebook, nothing. Instagram wouldn't know how to get on. Was Bill Maher's old girlfriends. And it was like, just like a. A cavalcade, some of which were my old girlfriends and some of which were just completely pulled right out of their ass. So, like, fake news. My point I'm making is it. It covers a lot of territory, for sure.

[Tim Pool]

For sure. It's there hyperpolarization happening among the younger generation that's substantially more pronounced than the older generation. And the younger generation is substantially more considering violence than the older generation did. So when you look at the polls, it's really interesting how the polarization expands.

[Bill Maher]

I can see that.

[Tim Pool]

Yeah. So I would say the bulk of our viewers are probably in their 30s, so we have 18 year olds, too, but they're a smaller percentage, but basically 25 to 54. Who watches us? Got a lot of people in their 30s. And what ends up happening is. And this is true for people on the left, the right, doesn't matter who you are. Someone's going to take something you said. It's going to be pulled out of context, of course, and then it makes people go nuts. So, you know, there's. There's so many of these things that are absolutely wild for me. I don't have.

[Bill Maher]

I don't.

[Tim Pool]

I don't. I don't have the worst of it. There's other people in media that have it substantially worse than I do. Their Wikipedia pages are just rife with weird fake nonsense that's made up.

[Bill Maher]

I mean, I just don't feel like anybody in this country can even presume that what people think about them is anywhere near the truth. And if you do think that, you're very naive and people are just gonna wanna believe. Somebody told me just the other day that speaking of girlfriends, this one is funny. This one wasn't in that list, but they could have put it there. But somebody, they were out to dinner with a few people and this person said that I used to date Ann Coulter.

[Tim Pool]

I've heard that. I've heard it.

[Bill Maher]

Okay, well, it's. But it's not true. And both of us would say that. Now, am I friends with her? Yes. And anyone who doesn't like that can go fuck themselves. I'll be friends with whoever I want. I think I proved that over and over again, including with Donald Trump. You know, I believe in talking to people.

[Tim Pool]

Are you?

[Bill Maher]

And. But I, but it's not like I ever to either one of them given an inch on what my beliefs are. It's not like I'm taken in. I just think we need to talk to each other and, and anyone who doesn't want to do that. But, you know, this idea that the, the, the image that people have of you is anywhere near what you really are. I, yes, that got way worse in the Internet age, but I think it was almost always thus.

[Tim Pool]

Absolutely. It just, it just, it goes both ways too. My fans think they know me based on seeing my face for, you know. Well, to be honest, I do like five hours of recording a day. But those that watch, they watch several hours a day and they think this shows them everything about me.

[Bill Maher]

Right.

[Tim Pool]

And to be honest, the people who watch me are much better informed as to who I am than the people who don't. But they still have this probably, you know, rose colored glasses view of who I am and what I represent and stuff.

[Bill Maher]

So better you say rose colored.

[Tim Pool]

Yeah, they're fans and so they.

[Bill Maher]

But sometimes fans. I mean, about a month ago, during my monologue, this had never happened in over 600 tapings of real time. But during my monologue, I see a guy in the audience with his phone out, taking a picture and taking. And I stopped the monologue. I mean, I just went, I walked over, I was like, what the fuck are you doing? There's no taking pictures here. And then, you know, the audience laughed and I said, it's so disappointing when even your own fans are assholes. You know, because, like, it takes a lot to get tickets to real time. People write in, and he was a fan, and it's just. But, like, people can be assholes. Even. Even your own. You can't ever be so purist as to think, well, you know, the people, the good people. I mean, that's one of our big problems, I think, politically, is, like, this idea that we're the good people, we know what's good, and anyone who doesn't agree with that, well, they're an existential threat to America. And that happens on both sides.

[Tim Pool]

I agree. But, you know, it is a weird position for me to be in. I was talking to some friends before the show, and I was saying, like, I think that if you and I discussed policy solutions for the country, I'd probably be to the left of you.

[Bill Maher]

But in some ways, yeah, probably most. You like Bernie?

[Tim Pool]

I did.

[Bill Maher]

I like Bernie. But I don't want socialism in America, you know, more than what we have. We already have plenty.

[Tim Pool]

But the. The issue is today, I feel like what defines someone politically is not. It's not the policies they want, but it's what they believe to be true.

[Bill Maher]

Correct. Exactly. Yeah. Matt Taibbi writes about this.

[Tim Pool]

I'm a big fan. He's amazing.

[Bill Maher]

Yeah.

[Tim Pool]

And. And they call him far right now.

[Bill Maher]

I sure don't. Well, I sure don't agree with everything he says. I mean, he's. I think he's wrong about Russia, Gate, and a lot of other stuff, but first of all, he's just funny. He can say things that make me. Lol. That's. I cannot say that about many writers. Just the. The. The choice, like description of something in one or two words is just very often just priceless. But what were you talking about? Why don't I bring up Matt Tape? What did he say?

[Tim Pool]

What makes someone liberal conservative?

[Bill Maher]

Oh, yes. He writes so well about this and about how the modus operandi of news organizations used to be informing the public, and then it became audience stroking. How can we interpret this thing that just happened in such a way that our audience will give us likes? Yep, I like that. I like. You said it that way. I like your point of view, because that's what I already think, and that's. And I hate them. And so I like.

[Tim Pool]

He's right.

[Bill Maher]

He's right.

[Tim Pool]

Yeah.

[Bill Maher]

No, and it's just.

[Tim Pool]

It's just I. I worked for ABC, started a ABC Univision, did a joint venture in 2014 called Fusion, and I was at Vice, and I moved over there, and then they told me that the new trend was going to be called mission driven storytelling. And I said, what does that mean? And they said, there's no such thing as objectivity. Everyone is subjective. So we're going to tell the stories that our audience wants to hear. I had a meeting with the president and he was talking to me about this. And I said, does that mean if there is a news story that is true and important, we would choose not to report it because it might upset our audience? And he said, yeah, I think that's fair. The company went bankrupt. They fired everybody. But this wasn't unique to them. They were chasing the trend. One of their marketing guys told me explicitly, we want to maximize shares because we have to maximize views. We have to maximize views because we've already sold a set amount to the advertisers. One company bought 500,000 views from us. We don't complete that contract until those views are delivered. How do we deliver them? Angering moms. Middle aged women who are angry share more than anyone else. So we're going to write stories that do that. Actually what he told me. So it was social justice, it was racism.

[Bill Maher]

I just pictured my writers all guffawing just because, you know, I'm always in a. I'm in for. I've had like a writer's room since 1993. Politically incorrect. That show went on there.

[Tim Pool]

So I was a little kid.

[Bill Maher]

Yeah, I'm sure. And, and it's, you know, the joy of my life. One of the great joys is having a writer's room. I've said this before, but like Paul McCartney once said, I'd rather have a band than a Rolls Royce and I'd rather have a writer's room. But a writer's room has always been me, the bachelor. And then like 10 guys who are married and are always making like, just in the room. This is not going to be on the show, but like always just making jokes about marriage and how they don't get laid and they don't get blown. You know, it's like it just never telling.

[Tim Pool]

You don't get married.

[Bill Maher]

Well, they're just, It's. Everybody does it. I, I watch TMZ every night. The, the guys, the people in the, you know, the gallery that Harvey talks to, they're just. Same thing. They're just endless jokes that are made about how much Baron sucks. But if you say a bad word against it, they're like, you're the crazy one. You know, you're a newlywed, right?

[Tim Pool]

I am, yeah. But you know, I think Awkward. No, but. But I agree. I think, you know, I'm 39, and I just had my first child, and it's amazing. And I just got married. And I do think for the millennial generation, largely every. Every TV show, we didn't have these wholesome family shows. Everything was like, marriage is scary in bed. And mocking marriage.

[Bill Maher]

So, like, what? Which ones?

[Tim Pool]

Like Married With Children.

[Bill Maher]

Yeah, I was on it.

[Tim Pool]

Oh, wow.

[Bill Maher]

I was a guest star. I played a game show host on Married With Children. I mean, it was a funny show on YouTube.

[Tim Pool]

I'll take a look.

[Bill Maher]

You should. It's pretty funny.

[Tim Pool]

But I understand that there were those moments where they loved each other, but it very much was this slog of like, oh, no, I'm married.

[Bill Maher]

It's Pac.

[Tim Pool]

Oh, geez. So what do you think happens when these millennials grow up and they get these red pill dating guys saying everything they grew up hearing is true, but not comedy serious, and then they end up believing it.

[Bill Maher]

Okay, but, Tim, the reason why those jokes work is because that's how people do feel about marriage. You know, I'm lucky, I guess. You're a. Well, you're a newlywed is what you are.

[Tim Pool]

You know, we've known each other for almost 20 years.

[Bill Maher]

20 years.

[Tim Pool]

Yeah.

[Bill Maher]

So you married your high school sweetheart.

[Tim Pool]

I guess, technically, we. Yeah, we. We.

[Bill Maher]

It's like something Dick Cheney does.

[Tim Pool]

It's pure luck. I am lucky. I am lucky. Which camera do I look at?

[Bill Maher]

Just look at me.

[Tim Pool]

It's. We. We're both from Chicago. We both like the same music. We have very similar views. We're both lapsed Catholics. And it's like, you're lucky. I got lucky.

[Bill Maher]

And I know I'm a lapsed Catholic. We could have a throuple.

[Tim Pool]

Pass. No, but I am lucky. And, you know, it's weird how I see all these stories and people talk about marriage, and I'm like, it sounds like you got married to someone you don't really know, because Allison and I know each other very well, and we get along very well, and we're both very rational, reasonable people.

[Bill Maher]

That's a great thing to find in a woman.

[Tim Pool]

I know.

[Bill Maher]

And I don't mean that. I'm not saying women are crazy. They're not. Men are also. Let's put it this way, we're both crazy. And it's not like men aren't emotional and blah, blah, blah. But I don't really care about that aspect in men because I don't date men. What I care about is the opposite sex. And if you can find a woman who's sexy and also rational, that's great. Because sometimes, let's just put it this way, they sometimes don't go hand in hand.

[Tim Pool]

That's true. You know, it was funny that I.

[Bill Maher]

Was talking my piece, I was talking.

[Tim Pool]

To my wife, and I made a joke, you know, I said, be crazy, yo, which is. Is a line from the movie.

[Bill Maher]

Of course it's nothing.

[Tim Pool]

And then she goes, are you kidding? She's like, I've watched you guys out there at the skate park. You guys are nuts. And I look out the window and one of our. One of our team riders is like, trying to jump off a building. And I was like, she's right. Men are crazy. Crazy in different ways.

[Bill Maher]

Different ways. Of course.

[Tim Pool]

We got a guy, so we bought these things called grabos, okay? They are handles with vacuums that you can stick to a wall. And I bought them because they were funny.

[Bill Maher]

Handles with vacuum?

[Tim Pool]

Yeah. Okay, so it's this oval and it's got a handle on it. You take it, you press a button, put it on the wall, and it's.

[Bill Maher]

Like what Tom Cruise uses to climb down a 130 story building doing his own stunt in Mission Impossible. And they say Scientology doesn't make you crazy.

[Tim Pool]

Well, so one of our skateboarder team riders, Mike Noggle, decided he was going to jump up on his board against the wall, grab them, and then flip himself upside down. And then he fell on his head and he had to go to the hospital. And so I said, you know, my wife is right. Men are crazy in different ways.

[Bill Maher]

Yeah, again, no doubt about that. It just doesn't matter to me because I don't have relationships with men that involve, you know. And, you know, once in a while, there have been guys and guys I like, and I'm not gonna mention anybody specifically, but they will get a little girl, like. And I will have to say to them, bro, I don't have this kind of shit with women. You think I'm gonna have it with you? Like, I'll call you back. When? I'll call you back. Okay? No nagging. If I want to be nagged, I'd have gotten married. Again, I wouldn't do this for a woman. So just don't be so clingy. You know, the way the world is going, everybody could use therapy. But a lot of people I know who really need it complain that it costs a fortune. It's time consuming because of the back and forth, and sometimes is a mismatch with their personality. 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. 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 we sent you. Go to r ula.comrandom and take the first step towards better mental health. Today you deserve quality care from someone who cares.

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[Bill Maher]

So so how does your wife like West Virginia?

[Tim Pool]

I think she likes it.

[Bill Maher]

You know, I think they like Green anchors. She wishes.

[Tim Pool]

She wants to be in Montana.

[Bill Maher]

Wow.

[Tim Pool]

Yeah, anywhere actually. Probably Wyoming. And I don't. She loves skiing and I would, I would love to go there as well. In fact, we looked there before coming to Western Maryland. But it's impractical to try and do an in person news show from Wyoming or Montana.

[Bill Maher]

So why is it any more impractical than West Virginia?

[Tim Pool]

Because we're an hour from D.C. so we. Yeah. Let you land at Dulles and you're an hour, hour and a half and you're in the studio ready to go.

[Bill Maher]

Right.

[Tim Pool]

Yep. I looked at Maine too, you know, because we, we were like far away, middle of nowhere, safer, more secure. And we need the Internet. So east coast is best. Half the country lives on the East Coast.

[Bill Maher]

Right.

[Tim Pool]

So if we could, we would have done Wyoming and then, you know, been skiing and farming and whatnot.

[Bill Maher]

Well, this goes to what I always say about politics, I think, which is that it's an outgrowth of personality. Obviously your personality is you. You want to be remote. You're not a city guy. Even though you're from Chicago. That's not your personality. You're. I mean, you're a guy. West Virginia was not remote enough for you. You wanted someplace with an even bigger sky. Montana, Wyoming.

[Tim Pool]

I think eventually, I think, you know, for us it's work.

[Bill Maher]

I'm a suburban guy. Like, I grew up in the suburbs. I never liked living in New York City. I know it's a great city and I enjoy going there a few times a year in the spring and the fall when the weather's nice and I know a lot of people and it's, of course, it's the greatest. But I never enjoyed being there. I like the suburbs. That's what's just my personality.

[Tim Pool]

No, I agree.

[Bill Maher]

Maybe that's why I'm sort of like somebody who both sides can talk to because I'm not exactly a city dweller. But I'm also don't want to live in the middle of bumfuck, you know.

[Tim Pool]

You know what's fascinating is my neighborhood from Chicago turned red. And so my audience, the biggest demographic is, location wise, is Chicago. And it's, it's a weird position to be in because in to see Chicago's liberal. My neighborhood was by the Midway Airport and it's a lot of firefighters and cops.

[Bill Maher]

Yeah.

[Tim Pool]

And it's largely like Polish immigrant and then like white working class and Hispanic. And it turned, it flipped for Trump in Chicago and I think some parts.

[Bill Maher]

Of the Bronx too.

[Tim Pool]

Oh, wow. I think My. My politics are like, if you were, you know, I'm like a Chicago liberal, but the way things have gone, especially with, like, the woke stuff, is where I end up in this position, and so does my neighborhood. I think it's interesting to see my neighborhood reflective of my politics and vice versa.

[Bill Maher]

I think the phrase I was using last year was aggressively non common sense or uncommonsensical. And it's like, I accent aggressively. I don't think the woke people, who have the vast amount of energy really, in the Democratic Party, understand why the people vote against them. And it's like, because if you add up, like, how much. How many people are really affected by some of the aggressively uncommon sense things, it's probably not that many.

[Tim Pool]

You had a great bit on that.

[Bill Maher]

Yeah.

[Tim Pool]

Why are you pandering to 400 people?

[Bill Maher]

Of course. Okay. But when you add up these things and, you know, men competing in women's sports and, like, just too much indoctrination of children with sexual ideas that they're too young to understand, like, when you add up all these things that get in the media a lot, it paints a picture, not a wrong picture in the mind of the average voter that, yeah, maybe policy wise, I would do better under the Democrats or Bernie Sanders, but these other people just seem fucking crazy. They seem, like, committed to just going to absurd lengths just for shits and giggles, just for the fuck of it. Just this bizarre attachment to things that are just ridiculous.

[Tim Pool]

I think it's to hate the other side.

[Bill Maher]

It is. And that's certainly what the other side does. They call it making you cry, your liberal tears the entire policy. Well, not always. Now, there are some things that have different motivations. You know, I know you're involved with the tariff debate.

[Tim Pool]

Oh, yeah.

[Bill Maher]

Because, you know, that works both ways. Sometimes free trade does hurt people, and that's why there are tariff. Trump is not the first person to advocate tariffs. He just the first person to do it in this kind of crazy, haphazard way. Right.

[Tim Pool]

I agree. I think that, you know, when. When he. When he announced selective tariffs, I was like, all right, let's go. Then we announced universal tariffs. I was like, I don't know if that makes sense. I don't. What is he doing? And I'm, you know, but. But I'm not. I think one of the problems that we've seen over the past several years with Trump is the immediate assumption that there's not that he's a crazy person all the time. And so the only thing I can say is, well, look, you know, I vote for the guy. I think this is probably doesn't make sense to me, but I'll see what happens, and we'll see if it makes sense. Selective tariffs, I think, do make sense, but I do think that the way the Democratic Party has handled opposition has guaranteed the kind of Trumpian politics.

[Bill Maher]

Well, I'm sure you heard about my little trip to the White House.

[Tim Pool]

Absolutely.

[Bill Maher]

And very important. Thank you. And the thing that upset the far left so much, these same people who believe in the crazy things I was just mentioning, and the ones who really hate me, they really found a new reason to hate me. Because when I came back and gave my report about it, you know, among the things I said to your point about everything, is he crazy? Was, I think, word for word. A crazy person doesn't live in the White House. A person who plays a crazy person on TV lives in the White House.

[Tim Pool]

Yeah.

[Bill Maher]

And they found that very triggering. But again, as I said many times during that piece, I'm just going to tell you the truth. I'm not going to. I'm not. I didn't vote for him. I think we all know that. I went right back to being as tough on him as I ever had been. So I wasn't, like, seduced, but that was my estimation. Again, to your point about, is he just crazy? When you meet him in person and spend that kind of time and he's not on his, like, his attack mode thing, he does not strike you as a crazy person or a person who doesn't listen or can't hear things. Again, they were very mad at me for saying this, but that's what happened. And I am not a liar. That's my main bond with the audience. So even if I offended some people by telling the truth, in the long run, that's what I do. And they.

[Tim Pool]

Yeah, what, what, what I saw in 20. So in 2020, I was not gonna vote for Trump. I'll never vote for Trump. I don't like Trump. And I was out. I. I donated the max to Andrew Yang and Tulsi Gabbard. And my position, my whole thought process was the Democrats are going crazy and we need the moderate, sane Democrats to maintain control of this party and stop the insanity.

[Bill Maher]

Correct.

[Tim Pool]

And they lost.

[Bill Maher]

And they lost.

[Tim Pool]

And so then Trump put out his statement in around August saying, we're going to ban DEI in government contracting, we're going to do these things, blah, blah, no new wars was big for me. I'm a very anti interventionist for a lot of reasons. And so I said, I guess I'm voting for Trump. Instantly, it was like, the liberals, even YouTube, they all said, we're going to move your name over to this list. I kid you not. There's representatives at YouTube. They told me straight up that the liberal rep was no longer representing me, and they were switching me to a conservative rep. It was the weirdest thing. Yeah. And I'm like, it's not that I like who Trump is or that I'm, like, thinking that conservatives have a good policy. I'm pro choice. The issue is that the, the, the. You can look at it right now. There's no, there's no charismatic leaders, there's no front runners, there's no policy position. It seems like the only thing they ever had is they have. Is the right is bad, Trump is bad. And so I'm asking, like, what are our plans?

[Bill Maher]

No, they, they, they have. Democrats have policy positions on everything. And many of them are, I think, preferable to Republican policy positions. Number one being they concede elections. That's kind of a big one with me. They listen to what courts say.

[Tim Pool]

I don't know about that.

[Bill Maher]

You don't think they listen to what courts say? I mean, they.

[Tim Pool]

So Joe Biden.

[Bill Maher]

Yeah.

[Tim Pool]

I mean, that's ignored the court rulings twice on forgiving student loans and then tried to decree the, The Equal Rights Amendment.

[Bill Maher]

That's true. That's true.

[Tim Pool]

But I'm not, I'm not saying defend Trump. I'm just saying, like, Club Random is.

[Bill Maher]

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[Tim Pool]

Not Hillary Clinton, just not Al Gore.

[Bill Maher]

It. They just. Well, Al Gore. When was that? Was not Al Gore doing that? That election was obviously decided by 537 votes. There was an absolute. When it's that close, there should be a recount. And whether that recount went the right way, we'll never know because that state was run by Katherine Harris and Jeb Bush.

[Tim Pool]

There's a real. Sorry to interrupt, but there's a really good. I guess I don't know if you call it a philosophical point that I've noticed that I think you're experiencing right now is I'm 39. So you lived through a lot of these administrations and these political cycles.

[Bill Maher]

Yeah.

[Tim Pool]

And you have experiences that I don't even know they exist.

[Bill Maher]

Yeah. But you know what? I didn't live through Lincoln, but I know about it.

[Tim Pool]

Sure. My point is, my experience in politics has been the Democrats have challenged more than Republicans, to be fair, have challenged the court, challenged the elections more than the Republicans have in extreme ways.

[Bill Maher]

That's ridiculous.

[Tim Pool]

So, but, but perhaps because you're older than me and you've seen more than I have.

[Bill Maher]

So again, there are history books, there's newspapers. You don't know something only because you live through it. I know about the French Revolution also. My point is, I mean, you could know about this. Indeed, if you, I mean, this is something that people your age say all the time. And I've made fun of it before. Like, it's this. Like, if I wasn't alive for it, it didn't happen. I don't have to know about it.

[Tim Pool]

But that's.

[Bill Maher]

No, I mean, okay.

[Tim Pool]

But I'm saying that in 2016, I didn't vote for either Trump or Hillary. And then I got three years of Trump is working for the Russians.

[Bill Maher]

He was not Working for the Russians.

[Tim Pool]

Jonathan Chain went on MSNBC and said he may have been a Soviet asset since the 80s. Well, and so for me, I'm like, I'm out. This is crazy. And so, like, understand. And I'm not saying you're wrong about history. I'm saying that experiencing a political cycle over years is different from reading the condensed history books, which of course I do. So to live through four years of a president, their term, every single moment, the history books gloss over most of those experiences that we don't have as young people. So I have people on my show who are 25, and one of the people who works for us says, nothing ever happens. She's 24, and this is like a Gen Z thing. Nothing ever happens. And I said, are you kidding? The past 10 years have been nothing but happenings. Here's the issue. When she was 14, she wasn't paying attention to politics. When she was around 20 years old and started, this was the natural state of politics in her experience. So this is basic, this is normal. And for me, it's crazy. And I think for you it's crazy. But they grew up in this and they've normalized it. So my view is this. Not to say that you're wrong, obviously. My point is, when I watched the Democrats accuse Trump and Manafort and Carter Page and all of these things, especially when they fabricated evidence against Carter Page, I'm just like, wow, I can't believe the Democrats are going to this length to deny an election.

[Bill Maher]

You're watching a little too much Fox News or somebody who's. Who's slanting this certain way. I mean, Paul Manafort was sharing polling information with a GRU agent.

[Tim Pool]

And, you know, they found out about that.

[Bill Maher]

How did they find out about that?

[Tim Pool]

Ukrainian government officials shared it with the Democratic Party politic. Politico reported that. So you have this Ukrainian interference in our election as recorded by. Reported by Politico. And I look at that and I go, wow, the Ukrainian government sent incriminating evidence to the Democrats. Crazy story then they claimed.

[Bill Maher]

But it was true.

[Tim Pool]

Indeed. And. And the issue is, why wasn't that a scandal that the Ukrainians were interfering in the election?

[Bill Maher]

Let's not get. Because this is a friendly thing. Let's not get into the weeds, unlike the Russia thing, First of all, it's like five years old, so people are bored with it. Okay? But I'll just say this in general. It be hard to argue with it, I think, but I'll just say it and maybe we can just move on whatever it was, I don't think Trump was a Russian asset. Don Jr. At one point said, or maybe it was Eric, we do get a lion's share of our country, you know, to the company from the Russians. So there was obviously a lot of involvement with the Russians. Trump was asked at his first press conference, and he said, I have no dealings with the Russians and it's a total, complete lie. They had lie, nothing. That's not illegal, but it just looks suspicious to say, I don't know anything about the Russians. I have no idea. And then, like, I don't know anybody who's talking to the Russians. Everybody in the administration. Michael Flynn was prosecuted for it was talking to the Russians. He said on tv, Russia, if you're listening, I want your help with something. Okay. Whether you think that's good or bad, it was completely unprecedented. So, like, the idea that he should not have been investigated for is there. There's a lot of smoke here with Trump and Russia. To me, okay, they. I'm sure they overdid it, as everybody overdoes everything. But. But there was a lot of smoke, enough to investigate. And he was. And what he was asking another country to do in our elections publicly was unprecedented. We always had one rule in this country. We're going to go against each other. Yes, Republican, Democrat will do whatever it takes, but we don't bring in ringers from another. From outside Ukraine.

[Tim Pool]

What?

[Bill Maher]

They brought that in in the same election?

[Tim Pool]

Yeah. I forgot the name of the woman. This is on Politico. You can just read their story. It was. I can't remember the guy's name. Reported it now.

[Bill Maher]

It's possible that, again, there's always some version of it on the other side. It's just not as egregious, I think.

[Tim Pool]

You know, they're accusing me of working for the Russians now. And this is. Or they tried. And so here's the story. I get contacted by a conservative personality. I've got several. I've got three shows that I host, several that I have staff that host. One of them is called the Culture War.

[Bill Maher]

Right.

[Tim Pool]

We produced it for two years Friday mornings, similar to this, sometimes debates. And I. I was reached out by, like, three different companies who said, we want to license something you're doing. And I said, we do our own internal ad sales. We don't need the license. Some offers were made. Some of them were really good. And I said, I'm not really interested because the ad sales I can generate exceed your licensing. So I get reached out by this company. In Tennessee from a well known prominent conservative personality who works for one of the big companies and said, we've secured an investor. We want to license the show. We negotiated terms, lawyer negotiated terms, market rate, non exclusive license for distribution. They could sell the ads on the, on the show. I get the money, the licensing fee, which basically, you know, I can choose to grow the show for two years or just license it now and take the money.

[Bill Maher]

You sound like you're a naturally savvy businessman.

[Tim Pool]

Maybe. Well, this didn't work out too well for me because what happened was at the end of last year, the DOJ indicted some random, I say random because they're not personalities from Russians who are apparently in some eastern European country claiming that they were funneling money illicitly into this conservative company in Nashville to then promote Russian propaganda or something. The narrative now is Tim Pool was prosecuted for working for the Russians. The real story is the DOJ launched an indictment and dropped it almost immediately with no evidence accusing a conservative personality of illicitly taking money from the Russians without evidence, destroyed the company, destroyed their lives, and then impugned the honor of anybody who had done any license agreements with a Nashville based company.

[Bill Maher]

Well, you really hit people's nerves.

[Tim Pool]

But I didn't do anything.

[Bill Maher]

I tell you what I'm not going to do is show up unannounced at your door in the middle of the night. Hey, Tip, it'll be like Sonny on the causeway, you know, it'll be the end of Bonnie and Clyde. I'll just like riddled with. Yeah, boy.

[Tim Pool]

It's, it's, it's a crazy, you gotta.

[Bill Maher]

Take it as kind of a compliment. People care. That's true.

[Tim Pool]

If they're not, you know, I, I, I don't know.

[Bill Maher]

I, but does your, does it make your wife nervous? Does she hate it? Is she like, get out of the game, man.

[Tim Pool]

Yeah. Oh, yeah.

[Bill Maher]

Get out of the game. Really?

[Tim Pool]

Huh.

[Bill Maher]

And what do you say when she says, get out of the game? Yes, you do. You're gonna get out of the game.

[Tim Pool]

So.

[Bill Maher]

No.

[Tim Pool]

Yeah. Last October.

[Bill Maher]

Wow.

[Tim Pool]

I, I, I, I, I basically was.

[Bill Maher]

Just fed up with the game, with politics again, just.

[Tim Pool]

Yeah, absolutely, absolutely. And I, I said, you know, before I started doing my night leash, I, I do, I work 16 hours a day plus.

[Bill Maher]

I was gonna say use. You got so much going on, maybe just cut back, you know, less hours. Less hours, more guns maybe.

[Tim Pool]

Here's the problem, and I know that you can relate to this. I've got employees, I got staff.

[Bill Maher]

Do you know you can have A harpoon, legally, in some states in this country.

[Tim Pool]

I like that.

[Bill Maher]

In case you're attacked by a whale.

[Tim Pool]

But if I stop, then I got to fire everybody.

[Bill Maher]

Well, you know, I mean, that's a noble thing, and I've heard it before from people, and I always think it's bullshit. It's like you're hiding behind that. You really want to keep working because you know why? Like, you achieved a big thing, you know, you're a big success. No one saw it coming, including you. Right.

[Tim Pool]

I'm really.

[Bill Maher]

Did you. You did you think you were going to be this when you were 15?

[Tim Pool]

In some form, yeah.

[Bill Maher]

Oh, really? Okay.

[Tim Pool]

Yeah, I'm. I'm a good piece of shit.

[Bill Maher]

But. But doing this exact thing, or close to it.

[Tim Pool]

Close to it, yeah.

[Bill Maher]

I'm the same way.

[Tim Pool]

Yeah.

[Bill Maher]

I knew I was going to be a comedian when I was. Before I was 10.

[Tim Pool]

Yeah.

[Bill Maher]

And then I imagined. I mean, in my day was Johnny Carson, so I imagined being that. But. But it morphed into more. No, I think a political talk show, but also a gregarious, charming host would be, you know, a great combination, I think.

[Tim Pool]

I think people who claim otherwise are lying. Not always. But come on, you didn't try your hardest and grind your fingers to the bone to get here thinking you weren't gonna do it, you know.

[Bill Maher]

Oh, exactly.

[Tim Pool]

You did everything.

[Bill Maher]

Like, I'm sure you're doing this to keep your staff employed, but really, you want to do it because. And why wouldn't you? You're 39. If you quit now, man, first of all, you're going to regret it because, you know, once you quit, can you get it back? Yeah, but audiences move on quickly. Quickly.

[Tim Pool]

They do now, too.

[Bill Maher]

No, I'm saying they always have.

[Tim Pool]

Yeah.

[Bill Maher]

Like, when you go, you think you're so indispensable, and this is anybody. And you're not. Because there's always people willing to. Wanting to take your place, you know, I mean, you.

[Tim Pool]

It happens no matter what.

[Bill Maher]

You could be at the top of the heap, you know, you'll be.

[Tim Pool]

I mean, just me sitting here right now, you know, with you. You know, you have, like, I would say that real time from my circle. I can't. I don't know, but I feel like it's the most consequential political show.

[Bill Maher]

I appreciate that because it is. Even though the, you know, the problem is that the most of the most influential media is controlled by that far left that hates me, so they will never give it up to me.

[Tim Pool]

But this is.

[Bill Maher]

They will never like, write about it. Say that nobody ever covers it. You know, it's just like their thing is like, even though the audience is always there and almost always in much bigger numbers than the things they do cover.

[Tim Pool]

One, one of the biggest videos we have, I think is us talking about what you said. But here's.

[Bill Maher]

I said that it means so much to me because, like, it's not always.

[Tim Pool]

Good things we're saying.

[Bill Maher]

Yeah, but at least you're watching, right? And you're. And you're allowed to be wrong.

[Tim Pool]

Yeah, I say similarly. But you know, my point is, like, there are people that I bring on my show who are like in their 20s. I'm like, man, I've been watching you for years.

[Bill Maher]

Yeah.

[Tim Pool]

And I'm like, one day you will be sitting where I am and I'll be retired. And that's the way life goes.

[Bill Maher]

I mean, I don't even care if everybody agrees all the time. It's just that it's about. And I think you would say the same for your show. It's about taking you seriously. It's about having the credibility to have them listen to whatever you're saying and then you can say your thing. But usually they know. Well, maybe he's not completely wrong about that one.

[Tim Pool]

You know, what I'm really interested in is Real Clear Politics. Put out this aggregate polling by, by decade, age. I don't want to say demographic because it was like 18 to 29 and it was like 30 to 39 and only one. One bracket was anti Trump and it was 70 plus. And then I think I saw that Gen X was a tie. And then there's. You know, I really want to talk to you about this too. They're saying that Gen Z is becoming more Christian.

[Bill Maher]

Yep, heard that too.

[Tim Pool]

I'm wondering what's going to happen in 10 years. The, the boomers are going to be moving on, passing on. I'm not trying to be crass, but it's true. Or retiring.

[Bill Maher]

You can say dead.

[Tim Pool]

They'll be dead.

[Bill Maher]

Yeah.

[Tim Pool]

And what happens to politics in this country?

[Bill Maher]

Not me. Haters.

[Tim Pool]

Bill's going to live forever.

[Bill Maher]

Fucking haters and click baiters.

[Tim Pool]

The pot and the boo is going to make you young.

[Bill Maher]

I mean, what, do I look like I'm at death's door?

[Tim Pool]

No, you look pretty good.

[Bill Maher]

I mean, do I act like it? I've never missed a show except the two they forced me to miss when I had Covid. Wink, wink. They forced me because of course I could have contaminated the entire city. Could have died.

[Tim Pool]

I Think I would have died, to be honest.

[Bill Maher]

You what?

[Tim Pool]

I got real sick. Yep. Yep. And then Joe Rogan. Joe Rogan saved my life.

[Bill Maher]

How so? I remember.

[Tim Pool]

No, well, technically. So I had called the hospital because my temperature was low and I was shaking really bad, and I was. I was like, really bad pain. I would say the worst pain I've ever had.

[Bill Maher]

Okay. Why are you in such bad health to begin with? Because unless you're. Unless you're in bad health.

[Tim Pool]

That was fat. Er.

[Bill Maher]

That's it. I always said that about COVID Who does it kill? Fat people and very old people. I'm sorry. But that's just the truth. That's just the truth. No, obviously, it could kill anybody and blah, blah, blah. And we should protect. We should, you know, the most vulnerable. But that's who would kill. That's what bugged me about. Like, all of our medical profiles are unique. That's why I don't like, one size fits all diagnoses.

[Tim Pool]

They were. They were. They were banning people off social media, shutting down anybody who brought it up. It was a weird time, and it still is weird. And there's. Yeah. I don't know.

[Bill Maher]

So what are you gonna do if you. If you quit the game? What are you gonna do? Be a farmer? Be a rancher?

[Tim Pool]

Yeah, maybe. Well, so I'm not. I mean, really, it's not just about that. There's people who, you know, they have livelihoods here. They've moved to the area. They have. Maryland, D.C. area. But it's. You know, the conversation I've had with Alison is I could stop doing the nightly show, which currently is. It's typically the second biggest live stream news. It's the biggest live stream news podcast. But Steven Crowder is bigger than us. But he's comedy news. If we want to lump it all together, we're number two. And it feels. We both feel guilty about saying, stop doing this show with a massive audience that. So that we can go and have, like, we're rich. We can go do whatever we want. We can just go skiing whenever we want. We can fly to South America and go skiing any time of the year. We feel guilty about that. We both kind of agree on it.

[Bill Maher]

That's so fucked up. Why do you feel guilty? I don't know.

[Tim Pool]

I. I think it's like we were afforded this luxury and comfort.

[Bill Maher]

Oh, for fuck's sake. Get over it. Just be. Just enjoy it, you know? Christ, you could be that fucking.

[Tim Pool]

In the different.

[Bill Maher]

You could be in the hospital with leukemia or some shit. You're lucky in some ways, you also worked for it. And this is your fate and you have it. And trust me, you're not going anywhere. You know, you can go through these permutations in your mind, but at the end of the day, something on your shoulder is going to say, you know what, let's make hay while the sun shines and then we can go skiing in South America because like, you don't know how long it's gonna last. Popularity, you know, I mean, you know, the more you get, the more you have in the bank. It's good. I mean, if you really skyrocket to ultimate sort of fame, people never forget you. I mean, look at Britney Spears. She hasn't put out a record in 20 years. They won't let it go. And people are still very interested.

[Tim Pool]

But I think that's going away. You know, like looking at everything you have and you're talking about the Mets and all this stuff. I think because of the. There's two phenomenon that I think are gonna break this one is the decentralization of media through the Internet, but also the lack of new.

[Bill Maher]

Wait, break. What?

[Tim Pool]

Everybody wants to know what you think about things.

[Bill Maher]

Good, thank you.

[Tim Pool]

I don't. But it is true. You know, I go to like some of these media reporting websites and entertainment websites. And it's not just that Trump did something, it's how you thought about it.

[Bill Maher]

Oh, good.

[Tim Pool]

It's you, Ann Coulter and Joe Rogan almost always interesting. I don't know that we have that in 10 or 20 years. So I'll break it down entertainment wise.

[Bill Maher]

Really? You don't think there'll always be people who. Not other humans. What?

[Tim Pool]

Not the way you guys are so Timcast IRL. We do maybe like 7 to 800,000 viewers per night, which is nothing compared to where Anderson Cooper was 20 years ago. It's decentralizing, it's changing. And Right. So we have a big audience. People talk like, wow, you've got this really big show. And I'm like, yes, but there's 50 other shows now that are comparable.

[Bill Maher]

And also, just to put it. Okay, how many adults are there in America? About 280 million.

[Tim Pool]

And gen Alpha's okay.

[Bill Maher]

But I'm just saying of all the adults who could be doing something, if it's 280 million and 7 to 800,000 are doing something. Yeah. That's compared to how many it could be to your point.

[Tim Pool]

Right.

[Bill Maher]

You know, like, I mean.

[Tim Pool]

Here'S the other factor.

[Bill Maher]

TV shows used to get like a share, which is like the percentage of there's a rating in a share. One is like the percentage of people who are doing anything. They could be watching tv, they could be masturbating, they could be playing tennis or ping pong. And the other is just a percentage of the people who are actually watching tv. So a share is a smaller number because again, it's only, I mean, it's among the people who could be doing anything. And like TV shows sometimes used to get like a 40 share. 40, like 40% of the country who could have been doing anything were watching the Wild Wild West. I mean, that is to your. Again, this is your point. Like, it's just, it's so much more bifurcated now.

[Tim Pool]

So I'll give you an example. I was at a bar and I went to the jukebox and I put in Bohemian Rhapsody. And what happened? Everyone in the bar started singing. Lit 100%.

[Bill Maher]

Everybody knows that one.

[Tim Pool]

The next song that came on, I didn't even know what it was. It was hip hop, R and B. Everybody broke apart. And so back when we had very few radio stations and very few television channels, they had to be very selective about what they promoted. But they promoted to, you know, like you said, like 40 million people. Who knows? So you had that time period. Now for us, I think that combined with the lack of new people. So Gen Alpha is about 40 million. And they're expecting that if we, if we can.

[Bill Maher]

What age are we talking about?

[Tim Pool]

This is zero to, I think 13 years old.

[Bill Maher]

So the one coming up.

[Tim Pool]

Yeah, so Gen Z just finished. Our Gen Z finished a while ago. I think it was like 2010 or something. No, 2012, I think. Gen Z ended.

[Bill Maher]

Gen Z just began.

[Tim Pool]

Gen z is like 97 to 2012, I think. Yeah. Gen Alpha is, is 2013 to 2025.

[Bill Maher]

Oh, okay, right. So we're going from when they're born, right? Yeah. Right. So we don't really count what they're thinking until they're at least.

[Tim Pool]

Right.

[Bill Maher]

A teenager.

[Tim Pool]

So gen alpha is 40 million. It's expected to be between 40.

[Bill Maher]

So millennials ended at the end. They're like from 1980, 1996, I think.

[Tim Pool]

Okay, yeah, 81 to 96. It depends on which chart you use.

[Bill Maher]

Right.

[Tim Pool]

But there were 80 million millennials and there were actually. No, I'm sorry, I met you. Yeah. 72 million millennials right now. 69 million Gen Z, 40 million Gen Alpha. So talking about share, if in 20 years we're looking at Gen Alpha and Gen Z, the dominant generations, there's Substantially, substantially less of them to buy products, to buy tickets, to know who you are. And there's an increasing competition from decentralization of media. So I don't know how we end up with another Ann Coulter, Bill Maher, Joe Rogan personality, you know, and like the Bohemian Rhapsody song. If I go to anybody in my town, where I grew up with, they all watched your show. It's liberal Chicago. And everybody would put on Real Time and Jon Stewart and things like that. If I asked anybody who was on a Daily show right now, they'd say, I don't know Jon Stewart. I'd be like, one night a week, I think. And who are the other people? No idea. I think Jordan Klepper is one of them. Don't know the rest. To be fair, they have more than one host now. But I think everybody is choosing media that represents them like you brought up earlier. And it's easier than ever to get into. Then there's going to be less people. You're talking about, you know, owning a piece of the Mets and I'm like, you know, I might have a big show, but I don't think I'll ever be able to afford owning a piece of the Mets or anything like that.

[Bill Maher]

Well, I doubt if they're going to sell it again. I mean, it was a rare thing. It doesn't happen often in sports when a team sells a. A chunk of themselves. The Mets were in very bad shape in 2010 and they sold 40% of the team to a select group of investors. That doesn't happen. Billionaires sell the whole thing to each other. You know, they don't sell little pieces of it. But the Mets were so fucked up that they need. They were being sued by the Madoff survivors because they were very. The ownership of the Mets and they were lovely people, but they were apparently very in with Bernie Madoff. And so they were. There were. And again, this is the New York franchise. New York. This is baseball. There's nothing more Americana than that in New York. And yet they could not attract investors. I mean, when I got it, I was like, I can't believe that I got a piece of the Mets.

[Tim Pool]

Are you like the same one?

[Bill Maher]

Where are the, like hundreds of people richer than me?

[Tim Pool]

Are you allowed to say, like, what was the value that they had put on the Mets? Not what you.

[Bill Maher]

Absolutely. It was so under undervalued at the time. It was 7:50. 750 million.

[Tim Pool]

Wow.

[Bill Maher]

Again, these aren't the Royals. No offense, Kansas City. This is the Mets. But that's how much they were shit on at the time. And it just shows the sheep mentality. Like, it got into people's heads. The Mets, there's a horrible toxic stink on them. Don't go near them. And I was like, oh, I'll go near them. Oh, I'll happily go near them. And again, I mean, when they sold, it was for like, two and a half billion. But even that's way underpriced now. I mean, the Celtics, I think, just sold for 6 billion. I mean, you know, I said to myself, if there's one thing that always goes up, it's France. Sports franchises. That's just a no loser. And then the pandemic came along and made it slightly more still a winner, but, like, it could have been so much of a bigger. Bigger winner without the pandemic. So you don't think I suffered? Yeah, we both suffered from the pandemic. You almost died. I lost money.

[Tim Pool]

I don't know. I. I mean, I was sick, but one with the age thing, too, so. I'm a skateboarder. I've been skateboarding my whole life.

[Bill Maher]

I know you are.

[Tim Pool]

Yeah. Tony Hawk's fault. He. He landed at 900, and then every millennial had to get a skateboard.

[Bill Maher]

Yeah.

[Tim Pool]

Now there's no skateboarders anymore.

[Bill Maher]

Why?

[Tim Pool]

No kids skateboarding. There's not enough young. There's not enough. So there's 40 million. Gen Alpha, to be fair. Like, it really is that skateboarders are. Let's say this in a. I'm saying this in a. In a. In a punk rock kind of way. Degenerates. And so when they found themselves in the late 2000s being millionaires, what did they do? Nothing. They bought big houses, they partied. And now more than half of skateboarders are over the age of 30.

[Bill Maher]

But this is. That. That is the story of every generation as they get older.

[Tim Pool]

But you need an industry. So, like, Hollywood music and entertainment had an industry.

[Bill Maher]

Sure.

[Tim Pool]

The rock stars were nuts. The problem with skateboarding is the rock stars ran the business. So the core industries that made skateboarding big were also running the business. And here we are. And.

[Bill Maher]

But that is amazing to me.

[Tim Pool]

Yeah.

[Bill Maher]

That kids are not into it anymore.

[Tim Pool]

Scooting scooters, you know? You know what? I think there. There's. So this is where we get into that tariff stuff.

[Bill Maher]

There's none of that going down a flight of stairs.

[Tim Pool]

There is like.

[Bill Maher]

And wrecking your body on an unforgiving pavement. Yeah.

[Tim Pool]

You still get paid for it anymore. I think the top. The top Earner in skateboarding off of the sport alone was like 400,000 for the year. And then it immediately curls down to the top 10, made about a hundred.

[Bill Maher]

Don't you think a lot of that is just every new generation has to shit on what the previous generation did and not do anything but that.

[Tim Pool]

Well, maybe the older skateboarders think that skateboarding comes and goes in waves and there's nothing you can do about it, but I don't believe that's true. It's an Olympic sport. You're going to have China. Well, actually, let me put it this way. China, I believe tariffs, I'm sorry, not tariffs, but free trade is one of the principal culprits for the decline in skateboarding. And the proof of that is that in Japan and China, skateboarding has never been bigger. So one of the biggest skateboard brands, probably the biggest, the premier, it's called the barracks, shut down in la and it shocked everybody. And they're reopening in Japan where we offshored all of our jobs in manufacturing and the industry to China. Now Southeast Asia has a massive booming skate culture. They even have a reality TV show which is, it's like Ninja Warrior, but for skateboards in the United States you got a bunch of 35 year old men.

[Bill Maher]

So how old do you think you'll be when you stop skateboarding?

[Tim Pool]

Never.

[Bill Maher]

Yeah, that's what I say about basketball. I mean, I always have. I mean, look at my finger. That's a basketball injury.

[Tim Pool]

Wow.

[Bill Maher]

I don't give a shit. Yeah, rebounding, you know when the ball hits there.

[Tim Pool]

Yeah, yeah, it's fine.

[Bill Maher]

It'll get better. Yeah, it jams.

[Tim Pool]

That just happened the.

[Bill Maher]

Yeah, about a week ago.

[Tim Pool]

Oh, wow. You know, that's great.

[Bill Maher]

It's great. Yeah, it's, it's totally worth it. I played last night.

[Tim Pool]

Oh yeah.

[Bill Maher]

You know, I gotta like, I do like now when I play. Like I make sure I do like a good 40 minute stretch before. I mean, I don't get out and then, you know, knee pads and. Yeah. All the things the pros wear on their ankles. You want all the support you can.

[Tim Pool]

I gotta stretch now too.

[Bill Maher]

What?

[Tim Pool]

I gotta stretch now too?

[Bill Maher]

Yeah, that's. You know what, Trust me, bro, 40 is nothing. You're at a great point in your life. It's a great, it's great to be 40 and look, you're killing it. That, that's really great. And every, you know, apropos to your thing about feel guilty. Don't. That's stupid. If you live here with One piece of advice. Don't do that. That's dumb. Don't give up liberal in you. Don't give up. That's not the liberal in me. That's the smart guy in me. Don't give up your fucking show. That's stupid, too. Keep doing. You know, at some point, they might put you out to pasture. Don't put yourself out to pasture. I can name some people who did that to themselves in this business who are like, oh, I'm going to walk away from this. Yeah, good luck. And nobody ever invites you to walk back. When you have it. Have it. Take. You have a good piece of real estate. Just take it. There was a. Here, let me tell you about generation. There's a movie that actually was Johnny Carson's production company made. It was a big movie in 1983 called the Big Chill. And it was about how the hippies, the people who were like, fucking hippie dippies in, like, the late 60s when they were like 18, 1920, right? You know, the flower power and free love and Woodstock, okay? You got the general impression, right? All you need is love. Okay?

[Tim Pool]

So boomers had it good, man, right?

[Bill Maher]

So, like, then this movie takes place, like, in currently, which was at the time 1983. So now these people who were hippies are like, you know, early 30s. And it takes place. It's about like these. It's a. It's a. It's some guys, he lives in the, like, kind of kind of remotely, just out, like in the exurbs of. In. I think it's North Carolina. And, like, all the college friends are coming over. And so there's a lot of reunioning kind of thing. And we. When we were hippies, it was great. There's a scene where, like, something happens and the cop. A cop car comes up to the house. And the guy who owns the house and is having all his college friends over, and he's just like, oh, thanks, nothing, but whatever it was. And you Bob and goes, thank you. And he goes back in the house and his college friend is like, man, you were so nice to the pigs, you know? And he's like, dude, I live here now, okay? It's not like we're in college. I'm dug in. I think that was his line. I'm dug in here, you know? Yeah. Like, I have a family. I want the cop to be my friend. They're not all pigs anymore, okay? Grow the fuck up. And that's like the great conflict of the movie is like, are we still hippies with all that ideology, some of which was good and some of which was stupid. Or are we just growing up and you know what that generation, who did they vote for in 1980? Ronald Reagan. Reagan.

[Tim Pool]

You know, but, but I hear from you, it sounds like a mix. A little bit of the understanding growing up and being responsible, but also the, you know, come on, do your thing. I guess my question is, like, what do you have a preference for what the future of this country and world should be?

[Bill Maher]

A preference? I mean, peace and prosperity and democracy.

[Tim Pool]

Because I feel like you, you, you're with, with politics, you're very in it. And there's a reason you, I or anybody else wants to be involved in the goings out of the world is because.

[Bill Maher]

Right.

[Tim Pool]

We want things to be done better or Right.

[Bill Maher]

Correct.

[Tim Pool]

Yeah. You know, so I wonder, when I say, like, things about being guilty, it's like if I have this platform that is influential and I can, you know, like you said, people will listen to me and I can say, hey, like, I think this is a good way to do things, and that can make the world that way. That's why I feel guilty of walking away from that opportunity. You know what I mean?

[Bill Maher]

I mean, that's great too. I mean, that's a great motivation. I mean, that's the best motivation. I mean, I never try to fool myself to think that what I'm doing is so noble, that it's not really because it's doing what I want to do. If I didn't enjoy it, I wouldn't do it. I'm so glad that it does things for other people. And if you ask me what is the great joy of my life, I would sum it up by saying there's this thing that I can do that enough people feel like I'm the only one who can kind of do that for them. I'm the only one who can kind of scratch that itch, you know what I mean? And every week I'm like, they want me to do this thing for them, and I love being able to give them that gift. Like, I'm gonna do this, I'm gonna interpret the news in a way that is just different than anybody else does. And it does the thing for you. And I love that connection. Like, I give you this gift and, and you appreciate it. And that really is the, that's the relationship of my life.

[Tim Pool]

You're, you're obviously an atheist.

[Bill Maher]

Yes.

[Tim Pool]

Famously religious list. I saw it when you put it out and good.

[Bill Maher]

Thank you.

[Tim Pool]

I, I, I know. I, I, I was lapsed Catholic Briefly atheist. Now I can. Now I, I'm not Christian. I don't like the word deist. But the future, we're, we're seeing this massive push towards Christianity. And like, young people are. Yes.

[Bill Maher]

What do you make of that?

[Tim Pool]

Well, one thing I think is true is that conservatives had more kids in the 2000s. I know a lot of people want to claim these ideological victories where they say, like, we've read pills and I've pointed this out for years. No, just in, in, like 2003, there were a couple studies that came out saying that liberals were having less kids than conservatives. Well, 20 years later, what do you expect to see? There's going to be more conservative people than liberal people just because the parents had kids.

[Bill Maher]

Right.

[Tim Pool]

I do think also that one of the, one of the more interesting trends, however, is that among Gen Z, irrespective of that, there's been a rightward ideological shift among men. And I think this has to do with contemporary politics, movies, games, culture, et.

[Bill Maher]

Cetera, and also men feeling that they were targeted unfairly. There is a lot of toxicity in being maleness. Some of that we can't control. Some of that is just how we're born. We were, we were drawn that way. You know, boys are going to be more rambunctious in school. They're going to be harder to discipline. They're going to have more excess energy. And we kind of made, we went like we do with everything. Went overboard and made, made it seem sometimes like maleness itself was on trial.

[Tim Pool]

It was like a race to the bottom.

[Bill Maher]

So it's not what it was, a.

[Tim Pool]

Race to the bottom of all these different cultural elements trying to one up. What was wrong with masculinity?

[Bill Maher]

Yeah, kind of. And so it's not surprising that they would run to Trump. Yep, they would run to the guy. I mean, it's kind of like, why do cops vote for Trump? Well, who, you know, the guy who's like, out there saying they're not the enemy and they're not. I mean, there are things that obviously should be criticized about the police, too, which Trump would never do because he's always all in on one way. But I can totally understand if you're a cop, you feel very misunderstood and you are. And you understand that you do something that the society needs and they don't seem very grateful about it.

[Tim Pool]

Oh, yeah.

[Bill Maher]

And yeah. So it's kind of similar to that people.

[Tim Pool]

You know, man, there's one prominent cop, I think this is Donut operator. I could be wrong. So forgive Me, if I'm getting the guy wrong. But he was a cop, and I. No, I could be getting the guy wrong. But the thing that these cops deal with, that people don't understand, is they see these negative stories in the press all the time. And, yeah, when there's a bad cop doing a bad thing, let's lock him up, let's put him in jail. But my dad was a firefighter, and he told me when I was younger, he's like, never be a cop. Because the things these guys deal with. One day, you're. You're getting a phone call about a domestic violence incident. You show up, and some guy's screaming in your face, spitting on you, swinging at you. And then you go and see a mother holding her dead son who got hit by a car in one day. And then these people are just. They deal with this stuff all the time.

[Bill Maher]

Yeah.

[Tim Pool]

And then what happens is they go to a store where there's some minor altercation and they're not having it. And these people are. These cops are assholes, man. And it's like that man just watched a child die and the mother scream. And now you're bothering him over some, like, petty BS at a supermarket.

[Bill Maher]

Right.

[Tim Pool]

You know, so it is pretty brutal. But then I do think, you know, I say this somewhat facetiously. Ban the Internet, get rid of social media, because puts people in these. These bubbles where they only see the bad thing. And I think it's making people go crazy. So we're talking about the younger generation, right? Here's one really interesting phenomenon in the political polarization in the end of the 2000s, on Facebook, the top content was police brutality. And there was one website that was one of the top global websites that only made articles about police brutality. Why hit all the algorithmic points, Shot content, justice, anger. And so imagine you're 10 years old in 2010, and you go onto Facebook. Maybe you're not supposed to, but you do. What do you find? Buzzfeed, Huffington Post, mike.com. and they're blasting you with nothing but black men killed. Black men killed. Unarmed black man killed. The reason they were doing this was when. So Facebook found that after around 300 friends and or likes, the chronological feed becomes incomprehensible. And they wanted to make sure that people stayed on the page longer, so they created the algorithm. That's why if you post I'm getting married or having a baby, you will appear on the top of everyone's feeds. It's true. Yeah, it works.

[Bill Maher]

Yeah.

[Tim Pool]

At the time, they didn't do this intentionally, but they created an algorithm that if it got shared more, it got promoted more. And so what happened was first that these websites like Huffington Post found that an article that said something like racist thing happens would get more shares. So they made more of it eventually. A great example is mike.comm I C. It started as a Ron Paul libertarian freedom website. It was trending on the Internet in 2008 and then it turned into social justice, intersectional feminism and police brutality because that was generating most of the shares on Facebook. So these younger kids who are 10 or whatever are inundated with nothing but this. What happens? There's this famous video where a guy goes to Venice beach and he asks people, how many unarmed black men do you think were killed by police last year? And they say a thousand. Ten thousand. It was nine.

[Bill Maher]

I know.

[Tim Pool]

And it's because the media, or I should say social media, was propping up select stories over and over and over again. And where it gets crazy is even the same story every week.

[Bill Maher]

But yeah, but let's look at what's behind that. What's behind that? What it is is white guilt. There's a certain segment of the left.

[Tim Pool]

Yeah.

[Bill Maher]

That feels very bad about the horrible racist history of our country which they themselves probably participated not at all in. Yeah. And they are just constantly doing things that they think are for someone else, but I think are for themselves.

[Tim Pool]

I completely agree.

[Bill Maher]

Yeah. I mean it's a lot of self flagellating themselves about. About this, the racial issue, which of course the history is appalling and the present has problems too racially in this country. But they make, they make it. They make it worse. Let's put it just in general.

[Tim Pool]

I agree.

[Bill Maher]

They make it worse. And it's really about how. It's not about actually helping making any black lives better. Actually that doesn't really happen from all their hyperventilating. It makes them feel a certain way. It makes them. That's what people have to realize about that.

[Tim Pool]

Have you followed any of the Chicago stuff with Mayor Brandon Joses? You want to know what's really fascinating about that?

[Bill Maher]

He's worse than the last one.

[Tim Pool]

Oh, he's terrible. But you know how he won. White guilt.

[Bill Maher]

Yes, I understand.

[Tim Pool]

But wait, wait. It's good. So I actually took the electoral map of vote breakdown by neighborhood, overlaid it with the racial breakdown per neighborhood. And what do we find? Every black neighborhood. Their top three candidates were black. Even people who weren't front runners or polling anywhere near didn't matter. The black Neighborhoods did not vote for any white guy or Latinos. The Latino neighborhood, guess what Latino guys, The white neighborhoods. White guys. Except for one, the college liberal area of Loyola.

[Bill Maher]

Sure.

[Tim Pool]

They voted for Johnson.

[Bill Maher]

Yeah.

[Tim Pool]

And so even though Johnson wasn't that the election that tipped it. And so people thought there was this white dude that all of the suburbanites were going to vote for. Not the suburbanites, but it's Chicago. So it's not suburban, but like the outskirts in the northwest. And he did really well. But when Loyola College liberals was the one area where it was predominantly white that voted for the black candidate. Put it over the edge. And this is what you get.

[Bill Maher]

Yeah.

[Tim Pool]

Now they're all Madden.

[Bill Maher]

Living here in California. Trust me, the. The concept of liberal in theory. This is something I say very often. People who are liberals in theory, and then you see how they live. Like terrible to the household help.

[Tim Pool]

Yeah.

[Bill Maher]

Like consider their assistance because everyone out here has to have an assistant. They can't do anything for themselves. I mean, I do too, but I never call my assistant on the weekend or after hours. Most people here consider their assistant a 247 slave. This is what I mean about liberal in theory. In theory, you're a liberal, but like, how do you actually live your life? And of course, like, very privilegey. They absolutely hate privilege. But they. Their whole life is sustained by the privilege of not being able. Having to be practical or knowledgeable about a lot of things which they pontificate on and act like they're knowledgeable about. And also just, you know, like many homes, like expensive vacations. I mean, it's not like they are, you know, if you really feel that bad about it, switch houses with someone in Compton, let them live here in your house, and you could live in their house and then you'll feel better.

[Tim Pool]

This is a part of what I call wokeness. Everybody's always trying to define it some way.

[Bill Maher]

Right.

[Tim Pool]

But I define it specifically as cult like adherence to the liberal orthodoxy. And the reason why I say that is because being in media and cultural spaces for the past 15 years, watching all of this, the conservatives like to say it's dei, it's race, but that doesn't explain support for certain institutions. Support for war in Ukraine doesn't explain the MeToo movement. These are all different things. It doesn't explain support for Islam particularly, which is the second biggest religion in the world. So it's not about critical theory or anything like that. It's about looking like you're virtuous. So these liberals who live the way you're describing it want to make sure that as they're seen outwardly to other liberals, they are perfectly in line with what is virtuous and right. We call the virtue signaling. But it could take. It can manifest into literally anything. Like again, supporting the second largest religion in the world while claiming that they're oppressed, but massive.

[Bill Maher]

Well, I mean, there's so much to get into here. One is the word liberal very fraught for me because I still think I'm a liberal. I think woke is a different thing.

[Tim Pool]

I agree.

[Bill Maher]

Yeah. I mean, but your example about Islam is completely right. And it's one of the main reasons why the far left started to really hate me is because I call out Islam as what it is. Extremely illiberal. That's what's, what's so ironic about liberals being so supportive of Hamas is because you're liberals and these are the people. I'm sorry, but this ideology, Islam, even in its more benign forms, Yes, I agree. Most. The vast majority of Muslims, not terrorists, of course, but Islamists, which is the word we use to describe people who are not terrorists, but kind of agree with the things terrorists are doing and are for. That's a much higher number. That's many millions of people and even the rank and file. I mean, most Muslim societies live under some form of Sharia law which no Westerner who thinks that Hamas is so great could ever live under. Your fundamental rights that you take for granted here in America, you would not have, you know, I mean, all the protesters who are protesting in Gaza against Hamas, they've all been killed. They killed protesters, women. I mean, do I have to say anything more than just, just if it was just that issue, how women are treated. Are you fucking kidding me?

[Tim Pool]

And the narrative is when I, when I talk to some of these academics, like the anti woke people, they're like, well, it's because they say that, you know, Gaza is oppressed. And I'm like, sure, but they're siding with the second biggest religion in the world, which is authoritarian, fundamentalist. And like, I don't care if you practice whatever religion you want to practice, it's fine. But it's strange to me to claim that Islam is oppressed in any meaningful way.

[Bill Maher]

Well, I do care what you practice, and I fully defend to the death your right to practice whatever religion you want. Just don't lie to me and say all religions are alike. All religions are not alike. And what makes them different mostly is how fundamentalist they are. Fundamentalist means you actually believe what's in the holy book. I mean, there's the Quran, there's the Bible, and they're both full of nonsense. But we have learned to wink at the Bible in the west, whereas Islam, to a much greater extent, takes it very seriously. I mean, we do not have things like madrasas here where they send kids to school and they just learn that one book that they are not studying anything else in a madrasa. That's. That's the meaning of it.

[Tim Pool]

Yeah.

[Bill Maher]

And of course, they're segregated completely sexually. So, I mean, what's going to be the upshot of that?

[Tim Pool]

It's like a handmaid's tale, right?

[Bill Maher]

It's worse. Yeah, I think. But.

[Tim Pool]

Yeah, you know, and. And I'm. I'm not Christian, and. But I have a lot of friends who are, and I don't care.

[Bill Maher]

But what are you. You said you were going on this before. You were like, I'm not a deist. I'm not.

[Tim Pool]

Well, that's the thing. Like.

[Bill Maher]

But you're not an atheist anymore.

[Tim Pool]

No.

[Bill Maher]

What do you believe?

[Tim Pool]

I don't think God exists, but I don't believe in any scriptures or anything like that. I think man is fallible, and to write down books and then claim it's the word of God is silly.

[Bill Maher]

So how long were you an atheist? And what did we do wrong not to keep you?

[Tim Pool]

I went to Catholic school and. Well, there you go.

[Bill Maher]

I went to catechism.

[Tim Pool]

Well, I didn't do that. At fifth grade, I left. And so what happened for me in Catholic school was they taught me nothing. They showed me a video of Adam riding a brontosaurus. I'm not joking.

[Bill Maher]

I went to the museum in religion where they have the exhibit of Jesus on the brontosaurus. Exactly. Yeah.

[Tim Pool]

So they were trying to. So they told us that the dinosaurs were too big to fit on the ark and the unicorns were too rambunctious. Not kidding. Unicorns were dancing and ran away from the ark. And I. And I'm like, so I remember those.

[Bill Maher]

That's why they didn't survive.

[Tim Pool]

That's right.

[Bill Maher]

I see.

[Tim Pool]

One formative moment was when I asked.

[Bill Maher]

My 5th grade teacher, can't argue with logic.

[Tim Pool]

Right. So the big bang was. We were learning it. 5th grade science.

[Bill Maher]

Really good. Good for you.

[Tim Pool]

At Catholic school. And I asked my teacher if the universe was in a single point and then expanded outward, is it possible that I raised my hand and asked this. Is it possible that at some point it stops and then comes back in? And she went, I don't know. Moving on. And I Was furious.

[Bill Maher]

Why? Who does know that? No one.

[Tim Pool]

It's called the Big Crunch theory and it was dismissed 100 years ago. So what pissed me off was reflecting upon it. I genuinely wanted to know what they were trying to teach. And they couldn't teach me anything. So what did I do? I went home and went on the Internet and read to myself. And so immediately I'm like, fake. They don't have no idea what they're talking about. The religion is, is bs. I'm done. And so it wasn't like I was five, I was in fifth grade, nine years old. But this is when I was like, when I was like, probably around 12 or 13 is when I was like, this is stupid. What are they even talking about? And like shellfish you can't eat, but they're eating it. These people don't follow this stuff. Well, but that's scripture. That's, that's, that's not God. And so what happened was I read about negative entropy and it discusses the. Trying to simplify as much as I can. Everything tends towards entropy.

[Bill Maher]

Entropy being randomness. Everything tends toward randomness to a certain.

[Tim Pool]

Degree, but at some point it will become uniformity in the heat death of the universe.

[Bill Maher]

The way it was described to me when I took Physics for Poets at Cornell University was like, if after six months, you don't reorganize your sock drawer, it's a mess, that's entropy. And that happens in the universe.

[Tim Pool]

An egg breaking.

[Bill Maher]

Everything happens toward randomness. You know, and it's true. Like, you have to, in your own life, you have to constantly be retarding entropy or else your life is a mess. And some people can live in a mess and clutter, and they like it. But that desk, you know, that we've all seen, where the tuna fish sandwich is under like three piles of, you know, from two weeks ago that some people live in that. I can't, I have to always retard entropy.

[Tim Pool]

But so that is negative entropy, which can only exist.

[Bill Maher]

Yeah. What is. So what is negative entropy?

[Tim Pool]

Exactly what you described.

[Bill Maher]

Oh, fixing it.

[Tim Pool]

Yeah. But that can only exist within a greater system of entropy. And so I'm reading this and I started reading about how matter coalesces. You know, hydrogen becomes helium. It fuses the greater elements and things like that. The elements become compounds, becomes, you know, chemical compounds becomes single cellular. Life becomes multicellular organisms. I kind of view it like on top of that fire. We know it exists. We can make it. And what is fire? It's the releasing of energy from you Know, carbon and oxygen slammed together and the energy gets released and the energy was stored from solar energy, which we view as some type of fire. It's fusion which we're watching in the sky, but it works similarly. Right. And so then my thought was consciousness exists, at least I can say for myself because I experience it. But if consciousness is a component that exists within the universe, mathematically, like in the code of the universe, same as fire, is there probability of a higher form of consciousness? Yes, completely. Just like fire can be a forced fire, can be a star or even a gigantic supermassive black hole, consciousness exists in the universe as a component of the universe, thus the universe experiences consciousness. So I wonder if God then is not scripture based, but that there is something beyond our singular consciousness. You get where I'm trying to go with it? I don't know, maybe it's complicated.

[Bill Maher]

I think it's really deep for a redneck.

[Tim Pool]

I really, I'm from Chicago, what can I say?

[Bill Maher]

Just fucking with you. Yeah, No, I mean, it's like I love the way everybody like takes their shot at talking themselves into what they just really want to believe and I totally respect that. No, I mean it's a lot easier and probably healthier to have that in your back pocket, like to think, oh, and I just don't. But I don't know, but I don't say it's not, you know what, that people have this thing that atheists are dogmatic. No, we're just saying we don't know. And quite frankly we don't really get. We don't really care because we don't think we're ever going to really know or be able to know. So we just kind of put it out of our heads, but we don't think it's obviously the myths that have come down to us from.

[Tim Pool]

I agree with that. Yeah, yeah, but, but I'm not trying to say that there's like a being watching over us.

[Bill Maher]

And of course it couldn't.

[Tim Pool]

I mean it's, it's, it's more like the logic that is the universe is the Einsteinian God, they call it viewing, you know, our human experience and our emotions are unique to us.

[Bill Maher]

I mean, I said this before, but the idea that. And I, I'm sure the Big Bang theory is correct, or I guess it is. I mean, again, talk about going on faith. I just, I just think Neil DeGrasse Tyson seems smarter than my pastor when I was a kid. I mean my priest is. And so I guess I. But the idea that all of matter in the universe, which is just. I can't even go into how big it is. Was just fit into something like tiny, like, and just exploded. Like, first of all, why do it that way? Just seems silly.

[Tim Pool]

I think it's wrong.

[Bill Maher]

And you don't think. You don't believe in the Big Bang theory?

[Tim Pool]

No.

[Bill Maher]

What about the show?

[Tim Pool]

The show was terrible. And you take the laugh track out, it didn't work. But let me elaborate. Science is wrong all the time. And so I think the Big Bang is what we know so far.

[Bill Maher]

Right.

[Tim Pool]

But there's already theories about the Big Bang may have been what's called a white hole. Are you familiar with that?

[Bill Maher]

No.

[Tim Pool]

The other side of a black hole. And so string theory, unified M theory. I don't really follow the stuff as much as I was, you know, 20 years ago. But it. One. One idea is that the universe is a 12 dimensional structure. And basically what happened with our universe is someone took a piece of rubber, pinched it and then blew. It's expanding as matter is pouring into it. But that's just one balloon of the universe being blown up in a much larger universe of multi. Multiple dimensions. I really don't know. You know.

[Bill Maher]

Well, I just got word from the Huffington Post we need to capitalize black hole but not white hole.

[Tim Pool]

Because one is socially acceptable.

[Bill Maher]

All right. Well, I'm so glad I got to know you.

[Tim Pool]

I really do appreciate you having me.

[Bill Maher]

Yeah. I hope you had a good time.

[Tim Pool]

I know everyone's gonna wait. They're gonna yell at me saying, why weren't you yelling at Bill Maher? I'm like.

[Bill Maher]

Because I was just gonna say I'm so. That's what I love about this show is like, yeah, there's some yelling because we're human and of course we're not gonna be there. But it doesn't get in the way of being pals.

[Tim Pool]

I appreciate you having me.

[Bill Maher]

Yeah.

[Tim Pool]

You know, my friends are. My friends are super excited.

[Bill Maher]

I was. You wanted to do it. Enjoy a little of LA while you're.

[Tim Pool]

I lived here for a little bit. It's not actually live. I lived in Westwood for. For every.

[Bill Maher]

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