FULL SEND PODCAST | Bill Maher | Ep. 158

Date: June 5, 2025
Host: Shots Podcast Network / Nelk Boys
Guest: Bill Maher

Episode Overview

This episode of the Full Send Podcast features the legendary comedian, political commentator, and TV host Bill Maher. The conversation serves up candid reflections on aging, drug use, party culture in LA, social change, political polarization, and Maher’s philosophy on life and celebrity friendships. The dialogue is loose, personal, and often hilarious, with Maher’s signature blend of insight and irreverence driving a lively, honest exchange with the Nelk Boys.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Aging, Maturity, and Life Stages

• Gradual Change Over Decades
  Bill reflects on how people's personalities, perspectives, and relationships shift over decades:

  "Life is a revolution. It's not a revolution. 30 to almost 70, that's 40 years... Each decade is— you're a different person a little bit." (01:54)

• Marriage and Change
  Bill jokes about never marrying and comments on how people fundamentally change, sometimes growing apart:

  "You're not a bad person if you're like, Jesus Christ, I'm sorry I married you at 20. And now I'm just, you know... you look over and go, 'Who is this person in my bed?'" (02:39)

• Men’s Maturity Lagging Behind
  Maher highlights the late-bloomer status of many men compared to women:

  "Women just mature much, much sooner. You literally, I think, need like a 40-year head start." (06:32)

2. Drug Use: Personal Habits, Generational Change, and Social Commentary

• Weed and Personal Consumption
  Bill describes himself as a 'high-functioning drug addict', preferring moderation:

  "People think I'm a huge pothead. I'm not a huge pothead. I'm a pothead. I'm a high functioning drug addict. I'm very proud of it." (03:50)

  • He also stresses the importance of clean access to marijuana and is skeptical of claims that it's strictly healthy.
• Party Stories & Changing Attitudes Towards Drugs
  • Bill reminisces about wild youthful experimentation (whipped cream canisters, tobacco in weed) and how attitudes shift with age.

    "You gotta outgrow the whipped cream for 30 seconds of a high. It was just a terrible bargain." (06:30)

  • Comment on today's youth:

    "Nobody had pot... They all are high... on something they swallowed." (12:32)

• Microdosing and Psychedelics
  • The group discusses the mainstreaming of mushroom chocolates and microdosing LSD and psilocybin.
  • Bill notes the innovation and commercialization of psychedelics, making them more palatable and profitable than the all-in, old-school approach.

    "It was a shitty trip... Now, micro dosing of acid... is not like you're tripping. You're very focused and in a great mood." (14:53–15:26)

• Drug Safety & Fentanyl
  • The conversation moves into the present dangers lurking in recreational drug use, especially fentanyl's proliferation:

    "How do you know it's not in the drugs you're doing?" (22:25)

    • On cocaine:

      "Cocaine is, I think, always the one that's going to get you... It's the classic honeymoon drug... diminishing returns." (23:34–24:59)

3. Reflections on Career and Achievement

• Favorite Era of Life
  At 69, Bill finds current life most satisfying:

  "To me it is now. I like it now because I just don't make stupid mistakes like I used to. I'm nicer. I have no competition with anybody. I've already won everything I wanted to..." (19:37–19:55)

• Career Wisdom
  • Maher addresses stress and insecurity in comedy:

    "The thing that gnawed at me the most when I was exactly your age is am I going to be a failure... Stressful. And I don't have, you know, you don't… just don't have any of that now." (19:55–21:37)

4. Party Culture: Past and Present

• LA Partying and Wild Years
  • Anecdotes abound:

    "I feel like I ran a little roughshod over this town... after I got Politically Incorrect started in 93..." (26:17)

  • On throwing big parties, the perils of LA's open house culture, and the random chaos that ensues:

    "My recollection of, like, the two parties I threw is like... somehow somebody got in who was like a real turd in the punch bowl..." (30:13)

• Materialism & Security
  • Bill is open about eschewing material possessions in favor of land and personal space, sharing a home robbery story:

    "They were looking for jewelry which I really don't have... There's nothing to take. They didn't take anything." (32:36–32:48)

5. Political and Social Commentary

• Talking Across the Aisle
  • Maher emphasizes importance of dialogue, referencing his controversial dinner at the White House with Trump:

    "I definitely think we should talk. And could I become friends with anyone? Yes. But it never happens. Friends happens over time." (35:25)

  • He describes his document of Trump's 56 insults, signed by Trump himself (a valued memento):

    "It's just the funniest, greatest fucking memento in the world." (39:14)

• Criticizing Both Sides
  • Maher rails against both right-wing attacks on democracy and far-left excesses:

    "The far left, what we call the woke, they seem to embrace every sort of... aggressively anti-common sense thing..." (41:35)

    • But balances the critique:

    "The right is even worse because they don't respect the rule of law anymore, and they certainly don't respect democracy…” (41:30–41:35)

• Election Integrity & Trump
  • Bill links election denial to Trump specifically rather than to conservatives in general, but stresses the dangers it presents:

    "Trump is the right now... expecting a very rosy future based on that... may not be pretty..." (44:09–44:19)

6. Personal Philosophy and Resilience

• Staying Active, Staying Positive
  • Maher closes with a story about overcoming a finger injury from basketball:

    "You can always make a positive out of a negative. If I come out of this, like, better with going to my left, which I should... then I'm gonna look on the bright side." (45:57–46:16)

Notable Quotes & Moments

• On Aging & Change:
  "You're not the same person at 40 as you were at 20. If you can still make that work with the same person, good. Or if you're faking it, that's your choice." — Bill Maher (02:07)

• On Drug Culture:
  "I'm a high functioning drug addict. I'm very proud of it." — Bill Maher (03:50)

• On Psychedelics:
  "Somebody got the bright idea—we can make a lot of money just taking some of these drugs... Let's make it, like, a lot easier to do and not quite as severe. And I bet they do." — Bill Maher (15:26)

• On Fentanyl:
  "How do you know it's not in the drugs you're doing?" — Bill Maher (22:25)

• On Friendship with Trump, and Talking to Political Opponents:
  "I think it's important that we all talk to each other... I definitely think we should talk. And could I become friends with anyone? Yes. But it never happens. Friends happens over time." — Bill Maher (35:18–35:25)

• On Political Discourse:
  "The left has no power, and you're still not going to talk to them, right? That's crazy... it's like, talk about misjudging your leverage.” — Bill Maher (37:04)

• On 'Woke' Excesses:
  "The far left, what we call the woke, they seem to embrace every... aggressively anti common sense thing so that... regular, normal people... go, 'These people just seem to be so deliberately counterintuitive.'" — Bill Maher (41:35)

• On Resilience:
  "You can always make a positive out of a negative." — Bill Maher (46:16)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Opening & Intro - [00:00–01:14]
• On Maturity and Marriage – [01:46–03:04]
• Weed, Smoking, and Moderation – [03:47–05:19]
• Male vs. Female Maturity Discussion – [06:28–07:15]
• Making Up for Lost Youth/Childhood – [08:39–10:16]
• Drugs and Party Culture, Then & Now – [11:26–17:02]
• Pharmaceuticals and Depression – [17:01–18:51]
• Best Era in Life & Career Reflections – [19:31–21:55]
• Drug Dangers (Fentanyl, Cocaine) – [22:21–24:59]
• Bill's Party Years and Throwing Parties in LA – [26:06–31:25]
• Materialism, Home Security, and Robbery – [31:25–33:02]
• Political Dialogue, Trump, and White House Dinner – [34:04–39:17]
• Political Extremes and Lost Trust – [40:30–43:31]
• Closing: Injury and Resilience – [45:23–46:22]

Final Thoughts

Bill Maher displays trademark wit and candor throughout, offering unexpected vulnerability and comedic genius in equal measure. The episode offers not just outrageous and funny stories, but sharp social and political observations, wisdom on getting older, and a call for open discourse in polarizing times. A must-listen for fans of Maher and anyone interested in comedy, politics, and the wildness of LA party life.