General Mayhem

Summary

Podcast Summary: Lovett or Leave It – Episode: General Mayhem

Released on [Insert Date]

Overview

In the "General Mayhem" episode of Lovett or Leave It, host Jon Lovett navigates through a whirlwind of political drama, cultural anecdotes, and comedic segments. Joined by notable guests—Colorado Governor Jared Polis, comedian and SNL cast member Ego Nwodim, and Hollywood legend Barry Sonnenfeld—the episode delves into the current political landscape, election strategies, climate action, and lighthearted banter about pop culture and personal anecdotes.

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1. Political Highlights and Election Week Review

Timestamp: 00:00 – 05:59

Jon Lovett kicks off the episode by recapping the tumultuous week in politics and pop culture. Key events include:

• Tim Walz vs. Elon Musk: During a rally in Wisconsin, Governor Tim Walz criticizes Elon Musk, leading to a humorous exchange where Ego Nwodim impersonates Musk with the line, "You're gonna lose" at [02:13].

• Eminem Endorses Kamala Harris: At a Detroit rally, Eminem throws his support behind Vice President Kamala Harris, emphasizing the importance of freedom of expression and contrasting his current supportive stance with his past lyrics [02:21].

• Insane Clown Posse Backs Kamala Harris: In a surprising move, the Insane Clown Posse endorses Harris after her proposal for broadband access to the "Dark Carnival," highlighting unconventional alliances in politics [04:18].

• Nobel Prize Economists Support Harris: Over half of the living American Nobel laureate economists sign a letter endorsing Harris's economic agenda over Trump's, showcasing elite academic backing for her policies [04:18].

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2. Interview with Governor Jared Polis

Timestamp: 23:25 – 39:18

Governor Jared Polis joins the show to discuss Colorado's political climate amidst Trump's campaign rhetoric targeting Aurora as a symbol of failed immigration policies.

• Defense of Aurora: Polis vehemently defends Aurora, highlighting a significant decrease in crime and emphasizing the city's diversity and growth. He criticizes Trump's misleading portrayal of Colorado towns, asserting, "Crime is down 25% in Aurora, and it's a great town" [27:09].

• Election Strategy: Polis underscores the importance of collective action over panic, urging listeners to focus on the stakes of the election rather than the uncertainty surrounding the outcome. He emphasizes securing the border through constructive policies rather than apocalyptic narratives [30:12].

• Support for LGBT Rights: As the first openly gay governor, Polis addresses the ongoing threats to LGBT rights, stressing the importance of protecting marriage equality and other fundamental freedoms against potential Supreme Court decisions [35:11].

• Daylight Saving Time Advocacy: Polis advocates for allowing states the autonomy to decide their stance on daylight saving time, promoting federalism and state rights in handling time-related regulations [33:41].

Notable Quotes:

• Governor Jared Polis: "When he comes and talks about it, first of all, he gets in the airport... Donald Trump wasn't there to win Colorado." [27:40]
• Governor Jared Polis: "We want to secure the border. We don't want to complain about a broken border. We actually want to fix it." [30:12]

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3. Comedy and Podcast Highlights with Ego Nwodim

Timestamp: 39:18 – 64:07

Ego Nwodim brings her comedic flair to the episode, introducing her new podcast "Thanks, Dad," where she explores father figures and their influence.

• Double Standards Game: Ego and Jon engage in a playful game highlighting societal double standards between parents, dissecting scenarios to determine whether actions are attributed to fun dads or scrutinized moms [43:12].

• Ghosting Discussions: The duo delves into the nuances of ghosting in modern dating, sharing personal regrets and humorous takes on social etiquette surrounding unrequited interest [52:31].

• Celebrity Parent Lightning Round: Ego participates in a rapid-fire segment identifying whether certain parent behaviors belong to moms or dads, adding a humorous twist to celebrity anecdotes [48:03].

Notable Quotes:

• Ego Nwodim: "I'm all of those things all the time." [39:20]
• Ego Nwodim: "I find myself asking this. I talk about it in therapy." [56:21]

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4. Hollywood Anecdotes with Barry Sonnenfeld

Timestamp: 64:07 – 86:54

Barry Sonnenfeld shares behind-the-scenes stories from his illustrious career in Hollywood, blending humor with industry insights.

• Men in Black Fiasco: Barry recounts a fabricated yet humorous story about Will Smith causing delays on the set of Men in Black due to excessive farting, highlighting the challenges of working with big personalities [65:15].

• Squeezing a Blackhead on Johnny Knoxville's Show: In a candid moment, Barry describes his appearance on Johnny Knoxville's show where he squeezed a blackhead, leading to unexpected and humorous outcomes [67:12].

• Firing Donald Trump: Barry humorously details an encounter with Trump during a commercial shoot, illustrating the difficulty of working with the former president and ending the interaction on a high note [72:05].

• Critique of Dress Shoes: In a lighthearted discussion, Barry and Jared debate the practicality and aesthetics of men's dress shoes, injecting humor into everyday sartorial choices [79:02].

Notable Quotes:

• Barry Sonnenfeld: "If you get on an airplane and you turn to the person next to you and say, before we land, this plane is going to crash, one of two things happen." [74:35]
• Barry Sonnenfeld: "It's the most disgusting thing he's ever had on his show." [67:24]

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5. Climate Change Dialogue with Bill McKibben

Timestamp: 91:59 – 95:48

As part of Crooked Ideas' Anti-Doom Initiative, Jon Lovett interviews renowned environmentalist Bill McKibben about the progress and challenges in climate action.

• Inflation Reduction Act Impact: McKibben discusses the significance of the Inflation Reduction Act, highlighting it as a monumental investment in renewable energy—"the largest investment any country on earth has ever made in addressing climate change" [92:21].

• Role of Collective Action: Emphasizing the limitations of individual efforts, McKibben advocates for large-scale movements and collective action to effectively combat climate change, moving beyond personal responsibility narratives [95:10].

Notable Quotes:

• Bill McKibben: "June 2023 was the month when human beings started past the point of putting up a gigawatt of solar panels every day." [92:21]
• Bill McKibben: "The most important thing an individual can do is be a little less of an individual and join together with others." [95:10]

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6. Conclusion and Listener High Notes

Timestamp: 89:03 – End

The episode wraps up with listener high notes, showcasing personal achievements and endorsements for the show. Jon Lovett encourages continued voter engagement and participation in the upcoming elections.

Notable High Notes:

• Xochitli from MIT: "I've been a longtime listener since my senior year of high school, and my…" [89:03]
• Ego Nwodim: "I passed my PhD qualifying exam and submitted my vote by mail ballot with the help of Vote Save America's Build your own ballot tool." [89:08]

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Conclusion

"General Mayhem" offers a dynamic mix of political discourse, celebrity insights, and comedic interludes, providing listeners with a comprehensive look at current affairs through a unique comedic lens. From defending Aurora against misleading political narratives to sharing hilarious Hollywood stories and discussing pivotal climate policies, Jon Lovett and his guests deliver an engaging and thought-provoking episode.

Key Takeaways:

• Political Integrity: Governor Polis emphasizes the importance of factual representation in politics, countering misleading narratives with data and positive developments.
• Collective Action in Climate Change: Bill McKibben highlights the necessity of large-scale movements over individual efforts to effectively address climate challenges.
• Humor and Humanity: Through interactions with Ego Nwodim and Barry Sonnenfeld, the episode underscores the value of humor in navigating personal and professional challenges.

For those looking to stay informed and entertained amid the chaos of current events, "General Mayhem" is a must-listen episode that balances serious discussions with levity and charm.

Transcript

[John Lovett]

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[Ego Nwodim]

You're gonna leave.

[John Lovett]

You stink. You're gonna leave.

[Ego Nwodim]

Yay.

[John Lovett]

Elon is. First of all, it's funny. Yeah. In that movie, one of the heroes hurts a child. That's okay then. It was a different time, both when it was and when it was about. Speaking of losing yourself, Eminem endorsed Kamala Harris at a rally in Detroit on Tuesday. People shouldn't be afraid to express their opinions. And I don't think anyone wants an America where people are worried about retribution or what people will do if you make your opinion known. I think Vice President Harris supports a future for this country where these freedoms and many others will be protected and upheld. These are the stakes. Eminem's words now versus Eminem's lyrics in the 2000s. Barack Obama then took the stage after Eminem's introduction, and the man was hyped. My palms are sweaty, knees weak, arms are heavy, Vomit on my sweater already, mom spaghetti.

[Barry Sonnenfeld]

I'm nervous, but on the surface I.

[John Lovett]

Look calm and ready to drop bombs. But I keep on forgetting, dad, you're being crazy. He was into it too. He did a little humble, kind of I'm being silly, but he was into it. He's getting encouraged, getting cheered. Anyway, it was a better week for white rap as Kamala also secured the endorsement of Insane Clown Posse, the Insane Clown Posse and Insane Posse of Clowns. The endorsement came after Kamala proposed broadband access to the Dark Carnival. I don't know who that's for, said Violent J in an interview to the Daily Show. I want her to win because she's a Democrat and I love my mom, later adding, my mom said Democrats are saying less taxes on the poor, more taxes on the rich. As I'm often saying about the mother of Insane Clown Posse's Violent J, that woman raised her son right. Violent J also said he supports women's rights, explaining they have the right to be the fucking shit, and had this to say about environmental conservation, we think we're the superior animal on this planet, right? Let me tell you what the superior animal is.

[Jared Polis]

A whale.

[Ego Nwodim]

It's the biggest.

[John Lovett]

Take a good long look. That's what a man with perfect politics sounds like. If I hear one person making fun of him, I will lose it. People made fun of my posse when they asked fucking magnets how do they work? And you know what? It's a great question because you could take a whole course in electromagnetism in college and at the end of it you will still not know how magnets work. Not one person here knows how magnets work. And by the way, there is magic everywhere in this bitch. In less exciting and less important endorsement news, 23 Nobel Prize winning economists, more than half of the living American recipients, signed onto a letter that called Harris economic agenda vastly superior to Trump's. Or, as Magelwald reported it, the Jews are at it again. The letter is also signed by Eminem, who wasn't asked to participate but got a little excited. On Wednesday, Kamala sat down with Anderson Cooper for CNN Town hall, where she got right to the point.

[Jared Polis]

You've quoted General Milley calling Donald Trump a fascist. You yourself have not used that word to describe him. Let me ask you tonight, do you think Donald Trump is a fascist?

[Ego Nwodim]

Yes, I do. Yes, I do.

[John Lovett]

And I.

[Ego Nwodim]

And I also believe that the people who know him best on this subject should be trusted.

[John Lovett]

Yes. We just have to persuade people to listen to Trump's top military advisers, his White House staff, dozens of Republicans, women who have been assaulted by him, anyone who's ever had a casual exchange with him over the past decades. Your own eyes, his own words, every journalist who has interviewed him, every historian and expert on fascism and the Insane Clown Posse. Good company. In other news, Kamala will be reportedly delivering a closing argument next Tuesday from the Ellipse, the same place Donald Trump spoke on January 6, 2021, whipping his supporters into a frenzy that became the Insurrection. And it says here that Harris's closing messages. I will protect abortion rights. Now let's go storm the Capitol. Kamala. No, no, no. Maybe it's something about that space. Like that town in New Hampshire from it. Speaking of election interference, on Wednesday, the Washington Post reported that RFK Jr. S former running mate and current kook, Nicole Shanahan, attempted to pay a journalist $500,000 to whistleblow on her political opponents. On the bright side, someone tried to pay a journalist. The Justice Department warned Elon Musk's America PAC that its promise to pay out $1 million prizes to people who register to vote in swing states may violate federal election law. Which is weird, because all the cow exhausted lawyers on Musk's payroll thought it was an awesome idea. Anyway. Please let him do this doj. It's better for the nation if we let him spend every red cent. He's much less dangerous as a deadbeat dad of 11 than a guy who can pay to build a base on the moon. Speaking of the base, here's Tucker Carlson on Wednesday appealing to Trump's biggest fans in a way that feels honestly refreshing.

[Barry Sonnenfeld]

There has to be a point at which dad comes home, dad comes home, and he's pissed. Dad is pissed.

[John Lovett]

Someone called Tim Walls. The weirdometer could blow. We'll probably be okay, though, as long as this doesn't get 50 times weirder.

[Barry Sonnenfeld]

And when dad gets home, you know what he says? You've been a bad girl. You've been a bad little girl, and you're getting a vigorous spanking right now.

[Jared Polis]

Ugh.

[John Lovett]

If everyone here at the theater looks under your chairs, you'll find your complimentary gift bag of a mini Dasani bottle and cyanide capsule. There's also a little card in there if you'd like to leave a. And you don't even have to ask. He keeps going and now it's not.

[Barry Sonnenfeld]

Going to hurt me more than it hurts you.

[John Lovett]

No, it's not. I'm not going to lie.

[Barry Sonnenfeld]

It's going to hurt you a lot more than it hurts me. And you earned this. You're getting a vigorous spanking because you've been a bad girl.

[John Lovett]

We got to start kink shaming again. I'm sorry, but these people are getting horny for mass deportations before fucking each other's wives on cruise ships. And honestly, I think the Bible had some good points. We ought to circle back to maybe if we win wedo project 2025. I'm just. I'm just. I'm seeing that. I'm just spitballing. We've got to do something. What an absolute freak. Who is that for, by the way? It's a job about sending out Social Security checks and making sure the roads are paved and so forth. Daddy's been a bad girl. What? That's not even how the saying would go. Well, it's not for me. I passed the fucking test. Tuck Carlson, he's been rich his whole life. He's been rich for as long as he's been a person. He has no idea what normal people go through. He didn't have a normal childhood of any kind, but he has a fantasy of some kind of 50s notion of what happens when dad comes home and that. But, like, think about what that represents, right? It represents an idea that, first of all, mom is not a real authority figure and dad is a terrifying menace, right? Like, those are the two. Those are the twin. That's like the good version of this fantasy, right? In his mind, it's like, wow, remember how great things used to be when people didn't have to listen to their mother because mom is just a kind of a servant of the father. But when dad got home, he was a gruff, violent menace. That's what their pitch is here. I'm at the end, people. I'm losing it. How many more of these are we going to do till we find out what happened? Okay, between 2 and 10 on Friday, Trump will travel to Austin, Texas, for an interview with Joe Rogan in a bid to appeal to young male voters ahead of the election. No word on whether he will also attempt to gain support from young men who didn't like Todd Phillips. Joke. Reuters says Kamala could also sit down with Rogan, which the Harris campaign has yet to confirm or deny. Kamala. Come on, lowly. We can talk ancient aliens. Creatine, whatever you want. Speaking of ancient aliens, a federal judge ruled that Rudy Giuliani must turn over that Rudy Giuliani must turn over all of his valuable possessions, in addition to his Manhattan penthouse, to the Georgia election workers he defamed during Stop the Steal. This is real. It was weird watching him cry as he handed playboys from 1969 to the election workers one by one. I don't believe in saging a space to clear it of evil, but it would be hard to fall asleep in that apartment in the first night. Mostly because a drunk Rudy Giuliani is scratching at the door like a feral cat. But also, it's creepy. After surrendering his apartment, Giuliani has temporarily moved into the Ritz Carlton. I'm sorry, into Rick's carton. That's a. That's a refrigerator box in the garage of a man named Rick. The former mayor of New York and erstwhile Trump attorney owes vote counters Ruby Freeman and Shay Moss $150 million for smearing them during Trump's attempt to overturn the results of the 2020 election. Other luxury items Giuliani must fork over include a signed Joe DiMaggio jersey, several watches given to him by European presidents after September 11, and a 1980 Mercedes once owned by actress Lauren Bacall. In good news, Lauren Bacall was released from the trunk unharmed. Nah. She died in 2014 of suffocation in the trunk of Rudy Giuliani's car. But the family was glad to finally get the bones back. A report in the Atlantic this week contains somehow new and shocking examples of Trump being awful and menacing. For example, Trump was reportedly enraged by the funeral bill for a 20 year old army private who was murdered by a fellow soldier after he invited her family to the White House and offered to cover the costs, said Trump. Sorry, you don't want your daughter to be interred on a golf course, your Majesty. That was a tough one. During a meeting in the Oval Office, Trump reportedly raged, it doesn't cost 60,000 bucks to bury a fucking Mexican. Trump then turned. Yep. Trump then turned to his chief of staff, Mark Meadows, and said, don't pay it. And sure, the earth should have cracked open and swallowed him whole. Should have just sucked him down like a pneumatic mail tube. But it didn't. And now we have to get Eminem involved. Trump also reportedly said in a private White House conversation, I need the kind of generals that Hitler has, people who were totally loyal to him that follow orders. Replied the doordash delivery driver. Right. I still have to get a picture of the bag being delivered to you, though. Zone of interest, of course. An important text on the dangers of a hybrid work from home policy. Trump's former chief of staff, John Kelly, told the Atlantic that when Trump once asked him, why can't you be like the German generals? He replied, do you mean Bismarck's generals? Kelly continued, I mean, I know he didn't know who Bismarck was or about the Franco Prussian War. Do you mean the Kaiser's generals? Surely you can't mean Hitler's generals. And Trump responded, yeah, yeah, Hitler's generals. Hey, I have a question. What the fuck are we doing here? Hitler's generals? Over on Fox and Friends, Brian Kilmeade attempted to justify Trump's Hitler admiration.

[Jared Polis]

And I could absolutely see him going out. You know what?

[John Lovett]

It would be great to have German generals that actually do what we ask them to do, knowing that's a third.

[Barry Sonnenfeld]

Maybe not fully, fully being cognizant of.

[John Lovett]

The third rail of German generals were Nazis and whatever that famously touchy subject. I'm sorry, your defense of Trump is he might not be familiar with the negative connotations associated with Hitler's generals. That's the defense. Also not the most important point, but it is revealing. Hitler's generals famously tried to kill him several times before losing the war so badly that the French patrolled the streets until 2014. I do think the reason that matters is because what Trump is asking for here is in some ways even worse than reality, because he is asking for the fantasy of Hitler's Germany that exists only in his own mind. Here's Howie Kurtz weighing in. Trump may have just been letting off steam about the loyalty he wanted from his generals compared to what he thought about Hitler's generals? Who among us, after a stressful day, hasn't unwound by kicking off your shoes, sinking into a bubble bath, and wondering why the American military isn't more like the Wehrmacht? John Kelly also told the New York Times this week that Trump met the definition of a fascist, and Trump's former Defense secretary, Mark Esper agreed. I'm not going to get into that type of labeling, if you will, but, you know, John Kelly did something and he looked it up in a dictionary, and if you look it up, I think everybody should ask yourself, does he fall into those categories?

[Barry Sonnenfeld]

And.

[John Lovett]

And it's hard to say that he doesn't when you kind of look at those terms, but, you know, he certainly has those inclinations, and I think it's something we should be wary about. Why do these people all suddenly sound like the riddle, the fucking Sphinx when talking about Donald Trump. Why are we doing reverse psychology of like, it's like a reverse psychology Best man's wedding speech calling out fascism. Webster's Dictionary defines love as an intense feeling of deep affection. I'm not going to say that that's what Josh and Christine have, but it's hard to deny that it meets the definition I just read. What are we doing here? New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu was asked on CNN whether the explosive new revelations changed how he felt about Trump and his plans to vote for him, and he offered this look, we've heard a.

[Barry Sonnenfeld]

Lot of extreme things about Donald Trump from Donald Trump. It's kind of par for the course.

[John Lovett]

It's really.

[Barry Sonnenfeld]

Unfortunately, with a guy like that, it's.

[John Lovett]

Kind of baked into the vote. The question was, do you support this? And your answer is, you know, I think a lot of people dismiss what Trump says. But the reason people dismiss what Trump says is because people like you go on television and justify supporting him anyway. This shit is baked into the vote because depraved people like you put on a chef's hat and an apron and bake it in. It's your recipe in your restaurant, and I will not kiss the chef. LeBron James and his son Bronny made history during Tuesday's Laker vs. Timberwolves game, becoming the first father and son duo to play together in NBA history. Their next challenge? Becoming the first father and son to talk on the phone for more than two minutes before handing the phone to mom. The U.S. department of Transportation fined American Airlines $50 million for numerous serious violations against disabled passengers, including damage to wheelchairs and even physical injuries due to unsafe physical assistance by staff. Never surrender, you fags, said Spirit Airlines CEO as he sprayed down a group of hogtied senior citizens who tried to board before their zone was called. If you don't want to be hogtied, you have to sign up for their credit card. Never surrender, you fags. This week, former Abercrombie and Fitch CEO Mike Jeffries was charged with sex trafficking, with authorities alleging Jeffries used a casting couch to coerce and sexually assault male models. But does this look like the face of a man who would do that? Speaking of sickening, at least 49 people across 10 states have fallen ill in an E. Coli outbreak linked to McDonald's Quarter Pounders, McDonald's. I defended you. I trusted you. And look what they did to my boy. Look at how they massacred my boy. Anyway, when Chipotle had their E. Coli moment, there were no lines, and they sometimes just gave you your burrito for free to say thank you for showing up. It was a glorious time. Drive through lines are about to be a breeze, baby. And I'm here for a good time, not a long time. This really was true. I'd be like, oh, my God. You just walk right at Chipotle and you would just get together and they just hand you the burrito and they say, that one's on us. Thank you for your bravery. While promoting her new erotic drama, Baby Girl, Nicole Kidman told the sun she experienced burnout from too many fictional orgasms. And weirdly, all of them were on the set of Paddington. Los Angeles county prosecutor requested a re sentencing for the Menendez brothers, which could lead to immediate parole after they're serving more than three decades in prison for the murder of their parents. So my sympathies to single straight women in Los Angeles already hanging onto sanity by the thinnest of gossamer strands coming across Lyle Menendez's hinge profile. Yeah, if you're convicted of killing your parents, do you get the money anyway? I don't know. I don't think so. Where's that money go then? Interesting to think about. Speaking of women going through it, Kotex is giving away free stigma fighting jeans with a clear pocket to show off your maxi pad. Not to be outdone, Trojan will be releasing a pair of jeans that loudly make this noise whenever they detect an erection. Yahoo. Put a binder in front of it. Doesn't matter. Everybody heard the noise. And finally, bear enthusiasts are grieving after the death of grizzly number 399, one of the more beloved grizzlies in Grand Teton national park. The killer RFK Jr. Remains at large. Up next, it's Governor Jared Polis. Hey, don't go anywhere. There's more of Love it or Leave it coming up. Love it or Leave it is brought to you by Simplisafe. If you're like me, the safety of your home and loved ones isn't just a priority. It is your everything. The problem is old school home security systems only take action once somebody is already inside your home. Simplisafe Home security is changing that with its new Active guard outdoor protection. 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[e-mail] Get 50 ends November 24, 2024 the credit card companies are ripping you off and you don't even know it. Every time you use your credit card, they charge a hidden swipe fee. It cost the average family more than eleven hundred dollars per year. Really $1100. That's because the credit card companies organize banks into pricing cartels. It's like OPEC for credit cards with no competition. We have the highest credit card swipe fees in the world. That is just wrong. Thankfully, the House and Senate have a bipartisan bill to fix this problem, the Credit Card Competition Act. It would finally make credit card companies compete like every business across the country is supposed to do. So call your senators and representatives and tell them to pass the Credit Card Competition Act. And we're back. It's time to say Rocky Mountain hi. Okay. To my next guest. He puts the cool in Colorado. All right, we just got it. Governor Jared Polis. Good to see you. Thanks for being here. Look at.

[Jared Polis]

Thank you. Thanks for having me.

[John Lovett]

All right, let's start. I want to start. All right. With I think, a sensitive subject for both of us. I was in Boulder, my hometown. Welcome. And you were not able to make love it or leave it. You couldn't do it.

[Jared Polis]

Good excuse, by the way.

[John Lovett]

Can I tell you, your excuse was that you had to be a part of the parade that circled Boulder and the theater.

[Jared Polis]

No, no, no. My uncle's 90th birthday Holocaust survivor was in New York City. So. Yes. I mean, John Lovett, Holocaust survivor, 90 year old.

[John Lovett]

Was it on the actual day.

[Jared Polis]

That was the day of his party. Yeah, we had it.

[John Lovett]

Day of his party.

[Jared Polis]

Yeah, we all came in. He has some thoughts about Hitler, by the way.

[John Lovett]

Yeah, I bet against. Hated it.

[Jared Polis]

Hated it. He was on one of the kindertransports and was 12 years old and was in Switzerland basically during the war without his parents. Lost his dad. His mom somehow made it through. But one of those, one of those great stories. Married my, my dad's sister and have great kids and grandkids and everybody else.

[John Lovett]

Yeah. So he doesn't.

[Jared Polis]

Hitler's generals didn't win.

[John Lovett]

Yes. Well, thank. Yeah, they were not very particularly good and they did try to kill him. One of the interviews by one of these guys said that they had mentioned Rommel to Trump and Trump was not familiar with Rommel. And like, I don't understand how a straight American man can get from 40 to 70 without having gone through a desert fox. The desert fox phase, it really speaks to a real kind of emptiness and depravity. Donald Trump, that he didn't go through that phase where he would say, like, well, you know, they called him the Desert fox. All right, we should move on.

[Jared Polis]

And tried to take down Hitler, of course, at the end there.

[John Lovett]

Yes, he did. One of the many generals who tried to take out Hitler. Did you have any questions about Arnold Palmer's schlong before Trump brought it up last week?

[Jared Polis]

Is a topic that I never have thought about or want to think about.

[John Lovett]

Yeah.

[Jared Polis]

I think that's like the, is it that the drink our kids have at restaurants, like lemonade and iced tea or something?

[John Lovett]

Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. But I do think, I do think there's.

[Jared Polis]

That's what my kids know it as. Cause, like, you know, they're post, post Arnold Palmer. I mean, that's It's a drink, not a person.

[John Lovett]

Right.

[Jared Polis]

So it's really confusing to kids who think it's a drink.

[John Lovett]

Right. I mean, I. I think, like, you know, Shirley Temple, Arnold Palmer, they drink.

[Jared Polis]

Temple's a drink, too.

[John Lovett]

Yeah, that's right. Of course. Of course it is.

[Jared Polis]

Not a lollipop.

[John Lovett]

No, no. My feeling about Otto Palmers is you really want 60 to 80% iced tea. You really don't want 50. 50, but that's not important.

[Jared Polis]

It's actually foreign for me. I just go for unsweetened iced tea myself. So.

[John Lovett]

Wow. Must. I mean, what a.

[Jared Polis]

What a hardcore.

[John Lovett]

What a. What a. What a austere existence. I must be awful. How do you move through life like.

[Jared Polis]

That with the caffeine?

[John Lovett]

All right, all right. So I do want to ask you something serious, which is you have been one of the local leaders who has been dealing with what happens when Donald Trump and J.D. vance and the MAGA media propaganda network sets its sights on an area to try to turn it into a kind of horror story about immigration. And Donald Trump has started talking about Aurora as this terrible example of what's gone wrong in immigration, that the town has overrun and been taken over by gangs. And I just want you to talk about. Obviously, that's false, but what happens in a place like Aurora when a presidential candidate, a former president, makes that kind of accusation?

[Jared Polis]

So Aurora is an awesome town. It's Colorado's third largest city, over 400,000 people. Now, we have. It's also an amazing city. We have, like, little Vietnam Koreatown. Now, I have to say, though, I drove through your LA Koreatown on the way here. It kind of makes ours look a little wimpy, but I'm proud of it for Colorado.

[John Lovett]

Okay. Thank you for saying that. I was, like, a little nervous for a second that I was about to have a fight.

[Jared Polis]

We have four blocks.

[John Lovett]

Okay.

[Jared Polis]

We were driving for, like, 20 minutes, but actually that was only four blocks in LA. 20 minutes.

[John Lovett]

So he came around. He got us. So seriously, he got us.

[Jared Polis]

Yeah. So look, seriously, though, he talked about a Colorado that none of us who live in Aurora or anywhere in Colorado recognize. I mean, the facts matter. People who live in Aurora love a great place to raise kids, raise a family, retire. Crime is down two years in a row in Aurora. It's down actually more than it's down in the states. Down 25% in Aurora, and it's a great town. So, like, when he comes and talks about it, first of all, he gets in the airport. The airport, by the way, all land around it. Aurora, if you've ever been to Denver International Airport, right around it.

[John Lovett]

Aurora.

[Jared Polis]

That's Aurora.

[John Lovett]

Yeah, there's that. There's that evil horse there.

[Jared Polis]

Oh, that. Yeah. I'm surprised that hasn't made it onto the right wing circuit. That demon horse, I mean, evil horse.

[John Lovett]

That killed the artist.

[Jared Polis]

It did actually. That's actually true, as John knows. So the artist who made. Who made it died. It collapsed on him while he's making his sons had to finish a tragic story. It is beautiful art. I like it. Some people hate it. Some people.

[John Lovett]

I mean, it's hideous. It's art.

[Jared Polis]

It's art. Hey, what airport art do you like? I mean, this is airport art.

[John Lovett]

I don't know, I just think it would. I mean, just a field there would have been nice.

[Jared Polis]

So, like, when. So anyway, when Donald Trump came to Aurora, he just went to the airport, went over to a hotel, fancy hotel, of course, said, you know, Aurora, take it over gangs, blah, blah, blah. And that actually hurts him in Colorado because Coloradans know that. Like, who is this guy coming to our town and attacking it, describing a town we don't even recognize? He wasn't there to win Colorado. He was there to talk to other people about this vision in his head of this dark, scary, sinister America. And, you know, it's a shame that he picked on us, frankly, and, you know, we're going to pick on him back.

[John Lovett]

Donald Trump flying in to Colorado to persuade people who don't live in Colorado of something false about Colorado is a pretty good small example of the larger kind of fraud that Donald Trump is perpetuating right now in his campaign. He is trying to rile up a bunch of people into believing that the cities are unlivable, that the country's being overrun. How do you, as somebody who is a governor, which is a job that requires just delivering and actually kind of meeting people and being on the ground, how do you strike the balance between addressing people's genuine concerns around the border, around immigration, while also not giving in and not. And not being afraid to say, hey, actually, you know what? Crime is going down. Actually, you know what? We don't need to be. We can address this issue without this kind of apocalyptic language.

[Jared Polis]

So, look, there's the facts, and yes, crime is down, but that doesn't diminish the experience of victims of any crime. It's a terrible thing. If crime is down 90%, that 10% that experiences a burglary or an assault, that's a horrible thing. And we need to hold Those perpetrators accountable and lock them away for a long time. When it comes to the border, I believe, and I was served in Congress for 10 years. I believe and I know the Democrats want to solve it rather than talk about it. We want to secure the border. We don't want to complain about a broken border. We actually want to fix it. That's what Kamala Harris will do and that's what Democrats in Congress will do.

[John Lovett]

Hey, so do your base. Does your baseball team have an advantage because you're so high up and the balls go further and their lungs are used to it.

[Jared Polis]

Over the White Sox, maybe.

[John Lovett]

I don't understand the reference. I thought we're both gay now. That's stolen valor. Sort of a. Sort of a soft. A sports reference. I meant if you have any.

[Jared Polis]

If there's a Venn diagram has John Lovett fans and baseball fans, they will get that reference I made. I don't know how big that group is, but they will get it.

[John Lovett]

Hi, Jeff.

[Jared Polis]

Jeff and Toledo.

[John Lovett]

You get it. Front row. We got a front row person. But. But seriously, do the balls go further up there?

[Jared Polis]

They do, yeah. So because of both. There was even a mini scandal about balls kept in a humidor a few years ago, if anybody remember.

[John Lovett]

So humid balls.

[Jared Polis]

Yeah. Well, and then there's a saying in baseball, it always depends what mood they're in in Haiti, whether they wind them tight or not. And. But yeah, we had a humidor scandal in Colorado, what, five, six years ago. But yes, balls go further. It's a hitters ballpark. Pitchers that do well elsewhere in the league fall apart when they come to Colorado. We've learned to live with this.

[John Lovett]

That seems like a cool problem for you.

[Jared Polis]

Understand any of that, John?

[John Lovett]

Yes, I would say because you guys, your lungs are used to it. You guys have gotten the extra hemoglobin.

[Jared Polis]

There you go. You got the biological part down. You a mathematician or something? Are you.

[John Lovett]

I did study math. Well, I'm smarter than I seem sometimes. Sometimes I'm dumber than I. I forgot my. I lost my train of thought. Do you care who wins between the Yankees and the Dodgers?

[Jared Polis]

You know, so Rockies are NL West.

[John Lovett]

So National League West.

[Jared Polis]

National. Yes, I am. That is awesome. So. So yes, I'm going to go with the Dodgers. And Ohtani is just incredible. And I'm in Los Angeles and politicians like to pander.

[John Lovett]

Yeah, that's good. So I've heard. So his translator was stealing millions of dollars embedding it. That's crazy. That's crazy. Really? Well, beyond the purview of a translator. Supposed to just sort of communicate on your behalf. There's a lot of banking involved.

[Jared Polis]

And gambling.

[John Lovett]

And gambling. Gambling. Terrible.

[Jared Polis]

But the guy can play.

[John Lovett]

I mean, he's very good. He's apparently very good. Oh, my God, yes, he's very good. I've heard of him. If I've heard of him. That's how good you have to be. Really good. Hmm, let's see. Oh, back to Colorado. Colorado endorsed year round daylight savings time. Okay. In 2022. How do we get. We gotta get. We gotta get. You gotta get Congress to do something. I just. Here's my view on this. I think some states should keep switching. If they like switching, they should keep switching. Some states wanna be on standard time. They should be on standard time. Some states want to be on daylight saving time. They should be on daylight saving time. But nobody's passed a bill like that. The only two bills, there's the current standard, but there's no bill that just says everybody can do whatever they want.

[Jared Polis]

I would absolutely support that. So, you know, some states, like Arizona, they don't shift time because they predated this law that preempts them. But none of us got in in time. I think it was before I was born. Probably before you were born. And I absolutely agree that Congress should leave the important matter of time up to the states. We're perfectly capable of handling.

[John Lovett]

They're perfect. I got. See, I got. I got. I got dragged. I got dragged. You are gay after all.

[Jared Polis]

You're in drag.

[John Lovett]

No, I. You dragged me. All right.

[Jared Polis]

You want me to read you.

[John Lovett]

You're a Swift.

[Jared Polis]

The library's open.

[John Lovett]

Oh, my God, No. All right. No. If you want to, you can just throw it in. I'm gonna make a whole show of it. All right. As a Swiftie, what is your favorite Taylor Swift song?

[Jared Polis]

Oh, God. So this is true. I was actually just in the Arrows tour in Miami. Had an amazing time. I campaigned for Kamala while I was down there too. I was there for Kamala. Do you believe that?

[John Lovett]

No, I don't. I simply don't.

[Jared Polis]

I'm gonna go. Shake it off.

[John Lovett]

Shake it off. Interesting. Interesting. I like exile. I was in a moody phase when I heard it. You know, it's about breakup. It was helpful during a breakup. Let's see, what else do I got for you? Hey, as the first out gavener, this race has been mostly focused on abortion, on the border, on inflation. Do you think people really understand the stakes around LGBT issues?

[Jared Polis]

I hope it gets talked about more. I mean, first of all, Kamala Harris, completely supportive of LGBT community. I mean, zero question. Donald Trump appointed Supreme Court justices who, of course, removed right to choose for women. And obviously, what we're scared about, and it's not just a potential, it's a real threat, depending on the future direction of the Supreme Court, is we could lose the ability to marry who we love because that's only protected by Supreme Court precedent. So law in some states. It's on the ballot in Colorado this year. I think it'll pass. But obviously, people should be able to marry who they love as Americans, wherever they are. And that's, yes, very much in jeopardy.

[John Lovett]

Colorado also has a Dolly Parton imagination library. What are you doing there?

[Jared Polis]

Oh, this is awesome. So Dolly Parton has an incredible philanthropic effort where they send every month families who sign up a book, an age appropriate book for a year old, two year old, all the way up through four years old. So we implemented this in Colorado. I think we're now in every county in our state and we partner with Dolly Parton to do that.

[John Lovett]

That's cool. Dolly Parton is cool.

[Jared Polis]

Dolly Parton is very cool.

[John Lovett]

And you're a gamer? You're a gamer?

[Jared Polis]

I am.

[John Lovett]

And you're playing League of Legends? Yes. Interesting. Interesting.

[Jared Polis]

Do you play?

[John Lovett]

I don't play the online big fighting games. I like to. I like to face off against a game.

[Jared Polis]

I don't like to play as a single person shooter. It's. It's, you know, it's. It's five versus five on a field, so it's. It's. It's fun. And. Yeah, me and my husband do that many nights. Most nights a week.

[John Lovett]

Can you both play on the same screen?

[Jared Polis]

Yeah, we're on the same. We'd be on the same team except. Well, we're on different computers.

[John Lovett]

We're on different computers?

[Jared Polis]

Yeah. We can't be on the same computer.

[John Lovett]

Well, I'm saying, you, you know, that's why it used to be. Well, obviously, that's like a.

[Jared Polis]

That's like a console system. This is a PC game.

[John Lovett]

Okay, Sorry, do you have a controller or using asd. And what. How are we moving around?

[Jared Polis]

It's a mouse and a keyboard.

[John Lovett]

God damn it.

[Jared Polis]

Yeah.

[John Lovett]

That is dorky. I. No controller. I don't want to play a video game without a controller. I like a controller.

[Jared Polis]

It's a free country, man. Play whatever game you want.

[John Lovett]

No, I'm just. Not for me. I wasn't trying to insult you. I'm sorry. Did you see that Taylor wore a new outfit? During the ERAS tour.

[Jared Polis]

Well, I mean, she had multiple outfit changes. Yeah.

[John Lovett]

Yes. But there's a new era. A new era. But there's something new as it cycled in, apparently for reputation.

[Jared Polis]

Is that right? Yeah, I, I mean, what was amazing is just, I mean, first of all, the stamina of this woman. I mean, we're talking a four hour concert. We're talking eight, ten costume changes. I mean, I, I mean, this is absolutely incredible. In addition to the talent. So just an amazing lady.

[John Lovett]

It is pretty good. It's a pretty wild show. Where did he.

[Jared Polis]

Where did you see it?

[John Lovett]

Los Angeles. And talk about that. Talk about traffic. Final pitch for people to make sure that they do what they can here in the last 10 days.

[Jared Polis]

Yeah. Look, if you're listening to this vote, start by voting right wherever you are. Vote, vote election day, early, whatever it is. And then your family, your friends take personal responsibility. Get them out. It's most, the most meaningful contact that somebody get. We have volunteers going door to door, and that helps. But if your friend or family member takes ownership and reminds you and helps you do it, that's more important than anything. So if you care about this election, care about electing Kamala Harris, make sure your personal network, friends, family, they all vote.

[John Lovett]

Yeah. And I just also want to say, like, Colorado is a state that was a swing state. And over time, through a lot of organizing, a lot of work, it is now a blue state. And because it's a blue state, you're able to do incredible things on renewable energy, incredible things on healthcare, incredible things on education. Donald Trump can go there to try to foment whatever he wants to try to foment. But Colorado is in Democratic hands.

[Jared Polis]

We are ready. We're saving people money. We're cutting costs. We've cut income tax three times. We've cut property tax. We're building more housing. We're protecting our environment. It's a great place to live.

[John Lovett]

Colorado Governor Jared Polis. Thank you so much. Thank you. He'll be back. Thank you. We come back. Ego Odom is here. And we're back. Please welcome Ego Odom.

[Ego Nwodim]

Hello.

[John Lovett]

Hi. Good to see you. Thanks for being here.

[Ego Nwodim]

Thank you for having me.

[John Lovett]

First of all, how are you here? You must be exhausted.

[Ego Nwodim]

I am always exhausted. My friend told me, before you make any tough decisions, you should halt. That is discern whether you are hungry, angry, lonely, or tired. I'm all of those things all the time.

[John Lovett]

Yeah, I guess I'll never make another.

[Ego Nwodim]

Fucking decision again in my life.

[John Lovett]

Yeah, but you're just like it's SNL in an election year.

[Ego Nwodim]

Yeah, but we're off this week. We happen to be on hiatus this week.

[John Lovett]

And you're just gonna work through it.

[Ego Nwodim]

Does this work? This is fun.

[John Lovett]

It is fun. But I mean, yeah.

[Ego Nwodim]

Yeah. But also I like working. Blessed to be able to work. She's grateful.

[John Lovett]

Nice. Now you have a new podcast.

[Ego Nwodim]

Yes.

[John Lovett]

And it's called. And tell people what it's about. It's called. It's called thanks, dad.

[Ego Nwodim]

It's called thanks, dad today. My friend called it thank you, dad. And I go. It doesn't quite have the same ring to it, but it's. It's called thanks, Dad. I don't. I was raised by a single mom. Don't have a relationship with my dad. I'm never going to have a relationship with him because turns out he died last year. It's okay. No, it's not sad. I want you to laugh. I'm like me. Thank you. That's the response. I like this audience.

[John Lovett]

Yeah. Listen, you gotta. You gotta bully them sometimes.

[Ego Nwodim]

Oh, no.

[John Lovett]

But they. But their hearts are in the right place.

[Ego Nwodim]

That's what was so easy.

[John Lovett]

They're good people.

[Ego Nwodim]

Yeah.

[John Lovett]

They're most of them, sweet people.

[Ego Nwodim]

They mean well.

[John Lovett]

One of them is going to write postcards. Some of them aren't doing shit.

[Ego Nwodim]

Oh, no.

[John Lovett]

A couple of them.

[Ego Nwodim]

So a couple who point them out.

[John Lovett]

I could. I was trying. I protected their anonymity.

[Ego Nwodim]

Light saw it in the house and point them out.

[John Lovett]

I don't like that guy.

[Ego Nwodim]

I'm feeling violent. Okay. No. Third row. Third row.

[John Lovett]

So you started this podcast. Your dad's dead. It's funny.

[Ego Nwodim]

It's funny. Not sad.

[John Lovett]

Not sad. Funny. Dead dad. That's a funny one.

[Ego Nwodim]

It's funny. It's a funny thing.

[John Lovett]

It's a funny thing.

[Ego Nwodim]

It's silly.

[John Lovett]

It's silly. It's goofy.

[Ego Nwodim]

So I have father figures come on the podcast to be my dad for the day, and I get to talk to them about what their dad was like and then what they are like as dads. And then they end each episode or I end each episode asking them for a piece of dad vice. I coined that recently.

[John Lovett]

Oh, yeah.

[Ego Nwodim]

I don't know if I like it. It might be too corny, but I do get a piece of advice from them. What do we think?

[John Lovett]

It should be corny.

[Ego Nwodim]

I like this audience.

[John Lovett]

Yeah. I saw someone on Twitter talking about a dad joke. Their dad told them about what happened when water from the morning had caused a fence to open and let some pigs loose.

[Ego Nwodim]

And he said, I don't follow, but keep going.

[John Lovett]

Well, he's saying, do let the hogs out.

[Ego Nwodim]

Oh, sad. See, I said sad.

[John Lovett]

Aw.

[Ego Nwodim]

To a funny thing.

[John Lovett]

Yeah. And, yeah, now it's. They don't know.

[Ego Nwodim]

Now it's even playing.

[John Lovett]

You let the hogs out.

[Ego Nwodim]

I got it. I did get. I got.

[John Lovett]

I thought that was a good dad joke.

[Ego Nwodim]

I got it.

[John Lovett]

It was in a very moving poem, believe it or not.

[Ego Nwodim]

Oh, really?

[John Lovett]

Yeah.

[Ego Nwodim]

Oh, fascinating.

[John Lovett]

Do you find having. Do you have. Find having a podcast dad for a few minutes helpful?

[Ego Nwodim]

I find it, yes. Sure. It seems a lot of these dads. I've had wonderful guests on the podcast. Not to disparage my guests, but it seems a lot of them aren't equipped to advise me. And that makes me feel like I never. I didn't miss out on having a death. It's rather healing. I go there. Nobody knows what they're doing.

[John Lovett]

Nobody knows what they're doing.

[Ego Nwodim]

Nobody knows what they're doing. It's all a ruse.

[John Lovett]

Now, I don't have any kids, but I guess my Google searches for.

[Ego Nwodim]

Are you sure?

[John Lovett]

Yeah.

[Ego Nwodim]

Got an envelope in my. Well, I hate to tell you what.

[John Lovett]

A choice that would be, but my Google searches for more fiber. Please help. Toilet shattered. Did tip the algorithm. Okay. Because half the videos I get are about parenting. And, boy, I've noticed a trend, and here's the trend. People treat fathers online versus mothers. And so we're gonna explore it in a game we're calling Double standards. Double standards.

[Ego Nwodim]

Dads stand. Dads.

[John Lovett]

Double standards.

[Ego Nwodim]

And some dads are named Stan. And so this is really just a double entendre.

[John Lovett]

Stan. Double standards. Ye Dads.

[Ego Nwodim]

Yeah.

[John Lovett]

So I'm gonna read you something a parent did, and you have to tell us who did this. A fun dad or a bad mom.

[Ego Nwodim]

Okay.

[John Lovett]

All right, here we go. Okay, number one is gluing bows to your baby's bald ass head. Is that something? An overenthusiastic dad sharing his infant daughter with affection, or is it a mother who should be scrutinized by all of America for her commitment to femininity?

[Ego Nwodim]

Ooh, I think that was. Ooh, a dad had to do that.

[John Lovett]

I'm wrong.

[Ego Nwodim]

See? Oh, my God.

[John Lovett]

If a dad did it, it'd be fun. But when a mom does it, this is what happens.

[Ego Nwodim]

Okay. Actual glue.

[John Lovett]

Well, I'm sure it's. I'm sure it's biodegradable or whatever. Mom. Amy Davis Clark received backlash online for posting a video praising girly glue. A baby safe hair Glue. She used to decorate her daughter's hair with bows.

[Ego Nwodim]

Amy, don't do that this time. Amy.

[John Lovett]

I don't know. I think it's cute.

[Ego Nwodim]

Amy can't do that. It doesn't even look like a bow. It looks like a bandage. It looks like baby hit her head.

[John Lovett]

Is the baby eating the glue?

[Ego Nwodim]

Yeah.

[John Lovett]

That's a shame.

[Ego Nwodim]

Yeah. Now looks like tomato paste also. So this whole photo's confusing to me, but yes. I'm like, that looks like the tomato paste I buy at the grocery store. And that looks like a bandage on the baby's head.

[John Lovett]

But. Okay.

[Ego Nwodim]

We love you, Amy.

[John Lovett]

You know what?

[Ego Nwodim]

Yeah.

[John Lovett]

I have a question about tomato paste.

[Ego Nwodim]

Sure.

[John Lovett]

How long do you think. Do you have to cook it or can it just kind of go in right at the end?

[Ego Nwodim]

I think you gotta cook it. It's so rich and such a strange flavor. I feel like it needs to be cooked.

[John Lovett]

You gotta cook it for a while.

[Ego Nwodim]

I think it's gotta be cooked.

[John Lovett]

Yes.

[Ego Nwodim]

Yeah, I think it's enjoyable. Have you been just at the end, right out the tube, slurping, derping tomato paste.

[John Lovett]

I was wondering why it was weird.

[Ego Nwodim]

Oh, no.

[John Lovett]

Not a good cook. Next up, not being enraged at having four daughters.

[Ego Nwodim]

Oh, my gosh. That's. That's. That's going to be dad.

[John Lovett]

Yeah. Four girls in one house. More like four satans in four hells. Or is it. Is this a fun dad embracing his crowing, squabbling brood?

[Ego Nwodim]

Oh, girl dad.

[John Lovett]

Father Austin Von Litkeman. I don't like that. Went viral on Instagram in April for a video telling people to, for the love of God, stop coming up to him in public and saying, I'm sorry. When they find out he has four daughters.

[Ego Nwodim]

Is that real?

[John Lovett]

They come up to him and say, sorry, you have four daughters.

[Ego Nwodim]

That's cuckoo bananas. That's truly crazy. Then on one hand, I'm thinking, are the people doing that because they're like, oh, you're gonna have to protect your girls, or is it because girls are hard? What do we think the sorry is about? It's not okay regardless, right?

[John Lovett]

I think it's like, bitches be crazy. That's how I. That's how I was.

[Ego Nwodim]

Poor children. Bitches.

[John Lovett]

They look very sweet. They look so sweet.

[Ego Nwodim]

Well, the one on the end, she.

[John Lovett]

It's just funny that it's like, this gets you on four girls television.

[Ego Nwodim]

Yeah. Well, girl dad, it's just. He's like a. This quintessential girl daddy.

[John Lovett]

Yeah.

[Ego Nwodim]

Yeah. Which is. Couldn't that just be a dad.

[John Lovett]

That's just a dad.

[Ego Nwodim]

Girl dad. Just be a dad. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[John Lovett]

Like when, you know, I'm a. I, you know, as a, as a father of daughters, I care about equality. It's like, okay, all right, well, did you not get it before?

[Ego Nwodim]

Right? I know. It's like, yeah, you don't need to have daughters or even a female cousin. Or like you could just go, oh, equality is correct.

[John Lovett]

Right? Like, use your imagination. Imagine you're related to anyone.

[Ego Nwodim]

Right. In life, frankly.

[John Lovett]

Right. Just sort of think of the world. They're all related to someone who cares about them.

[Ego Nwodim]

Correct.

[John Lovett]

And that could have been you.

[Ego Nwodim]

Right?

[John Lovett]

You could care about them. As if facts. It's interesting that people don't think that. Like whenever a Republican politician who is anti gay becomes pro gay because their kid is gay, it's like you're so close to getting it. You're so close. Now imagine everyone that has everything is your son, you know?

[Ego Nwodim]

Yeah, yeah, I'm with you. I'm with you. Love it.

[John Lovett]

You know what that sound means?

[Ego Nwodim]

No, I don't. I actively do not.

[John Lovett]

It's time for the celebrity parent lightning round. I will read you something a parent did. I need you to say mom or dad as your answer and if you want a bonus point, you will tell us who that celebrity is.

[Ego Nwodim]

Okay.

[John Lovett]

Are you ready?

[Ego Nwodim]

I'm ready.

[John Lovett]

Declared themselves co parent of the child after initially trying to hide the existence of the child.

[Ego Nwodim]

I'm hearing people say Arnold, so I'm going to go dad. Tom Brady.

[John Lovett]

It's actually so many people texting with their 16 month old child.

[Ego Nwodim]

Texting with their 16 month old child. Mom.

[John Lovett]

It was actually dad. Because in a baffling BBC interview, 83 year old actor Al Pacino said of his 16th son. What's going on with Al Roman? He does text me from time to time.

[Ego Nwodim]

Al also like saw death, right? Or something.

[John Lovett]

He says, okay, he's been through it.

[Ego Nwodim]

He's been through it.

[John Lovett]

Those eyes, those big eyes.

[Ego Nwodim]

Those big beautiful eyes. Expressive eyes, really expressing. Directors say they're looking for in talent. Big, expressive.

[John Lovett]

Has Al Pacino ever hosted while you were there?

[Ego Nwodim]

Unfortunately not, no.

[John Lovett]

I bet that'd be funny.

[Ego Nwodim]

I bet it would be fun. I'm trying not to cheat. I'm not looking.

[John Lovett]

Wearing a diamond encrusted necklace that says skibidi toilet.

[Ego Nwodim]

It's giving dad.

[John Lovett]

It was my mom, Kim Carter.

[Ego Nwodim]

I don't know anything about parents.

[John Lovett]

Okay, well, this is why you need the podcast.

[Ego Nwodim]

Yeah.

[John Lovett]

Whose daughter Northwest got her a skibidi toilet necklace for her 44th birthday.

[Ego Nwodim]

Oh, fun.

[John Lovett]

Skibidi Toilet.

[Ego Nwodim]

I don't understand what skibidi toilet is.

[John Lovett]

It's important that we never know.

[Ego Nwodim]

Okay.

[John Lovett]

It's important that we never know. It's apparently a web series. Oh, I have a card telling us what it is.

[Ego Nwodim]

Skibidi. What is Skibidi? Maybe today I can learn something.

[John Lovett]

What is Skibidi Toilet is a web series from Alexei Gerasimov on his channel Def Boom about a war between human headed toilets and human, like characters with TVs for heads that has become wildly viral.

[Ego Nwodim]

Didn't understand any of those words. And that's, my friend, is a skibidi toilet. I'm confused as well. Whoever said that in the audience is my kin. I'm also. That was a lot of words that they all individually make sense, but then.

[John Lovett]

Thrown together, culture's leaving us behind.

[Ego Nwodim]

It is. I feel like the rapture has happened.

[John Lovett]

Yeah. That's what getting older is about, I think.

[Ego Nwodim]

Yeah, I think so.

[John Lovett]

How is it working on SNL during an election year?

[Ego Nwodim]

You know, it feels like this is what I think. I've done it before. It feels the same, honestly, to be honest, every year in that way, it's.

[John Lovett]

Incredibly intense, no matter what's going on.

[Ego Nwodim]

Yes, correct. Yeah.

[John Lovett]

Do you feel like there's a pressure to be part of this debate about in a way that's funny, even though the stakes feel so high?

[Ego Nwodim]

Well, I think that, I mean, given it's a comedy show, the writers are always thinking funny first. And so I don't know that it feels more. They feel more pressure. I can't speak to it because that cold open that is usually political. I don't write and I'm rarely a part of. And so I don't know what. I don't know what they're thinking, but it's funny and I think they're always aiming to make it funny and sort of draw from whatever is happening and has happened in the landscape that week.

[John Lovett]

Yeah. Do you ever hear from Jasmine Crockett?

[Ego Nwodim]

I had lunch with Jasmine Crockett, like last week.

[John Lovett]

Really?

[Ego Nwodim]

Yeah. Yeah, I had lunch with Jasmine Crockett last week. We talked about everything. Everything. Yeah, it was very cool.

[John Lovett]

What did you talk about?

[Ego Nwodim]

Let me be mindful and demure. We talked about her. She's on the campaign trail for Kamala, so she's tired and she's bouncing all around. She's everywhere. And we talked about dating. We talked about. I feel like there was something else really juicy in there. I can't remember, but it was Like, a little. We had a good kiki, me and Congresswoman Crockett.

[John Lovett]

She's cool.

[Ego Nwodim]

Yeah, she's really cool. I like her.

[John Lovett]

Yeah.

[Ego Nwodim]

Yeah.

[John Lovett]

What's a piece of advice you got from a podcast dad that you actually found really helpful?

[Ego Nwodim]

Hmm. Recently, Langston Kerman was one of my dads, and he. I was asking him about ghosting, and he said that I found this fascinating. He was like, ghosting is not the violence we've made it out to be. He's like, I don't believe it is. He says, I actually think engaging with people when you're not interested is more violent than ghosting. And he was like, I actually. And if you've never made a promise to someone and is very early on and you haven't made plans and it was one date, you can ghost rather than engage with them knowing you're not interested.

[John Lovett]

Yeah. I think that's interesting. I have some ghosting regrets, and I think part of what makes a ghosting, I think sometimes what leads to ghosting is what makes it so bad to do is because in a date, sometimes you will have this kind of, like, brief and false intimacy, which you'll kind of lean into, and then the date is over, and you don't want that intimacy again.

[Ego Nwodim]

Really?

[John Lovett]

That's how I'm saying you. But.

[Ego Nwodim]

And that's happened to me. You said, I'm yet to experience, but.

[John Lovett]

You know what I mean. And so, like, I sometimes feel like when I have. What I have felt, the worst is because, like, I had been. I. That I had led someone on. Not be. Not. No. No word. Nothing.

[Ego Nwodim]

You weren't, like, tangible anything. Was there any talk of, like, we should go to that museum. I'd love to go to that with you? Yes, there was that.

[John Lovett]

There's that level. But I think it's less about a specific plan for the future. There's nothing. There's no contract. There's nothing objective that you can point to, but there is a kind of. I think there is like, an emotional line where you cross it, and then you really owe somebody a text. And then I. I panicked. Not. I. I would. Not that I would ghost.

[Ego Nwodim]

You would just short. Short answer.

[John Lovett]

Rare. And also, like, I'll come back to this. I'll come back to this. And then I never came back to it. And I feel guilty about it.

[Ego Nwodim]

I say, I'll come back to this. Do you mean the text or this person?

[John Lovett]

Like, I need to send this person a text.

[Ego Nwodim]

So ultimately, you did ghost.

[John Lovett]

Yes.

[Ego Nwodim]

Okay. And that is rough. But you have Regrets about it. I don't need to shame you further.

[John Lovett]

No, but I. But I do have regrets about it. Have you ever ghosted anybody?

[Ego Nwodim]

Sure. Lots of people.

[John Lovett]

Do you have regrets about it? No.

[Ego Nwodim]

Typically, no. I'm. No, because I don't make. I. I'm stunned. I have been on dates where I'm not having a good time. I'm. I'm, like, very aware of the time and just shy of. I don't wear a wristwatch. But I should start so that I can get a sense of how long we've been here. Because I've sat on dates and thought about the other person, and I would not want them to feel rejected. So I've, like, let the date be a date. And in my mind, two hours, we did it, Joe. And then. But I'm not interested. And I'm not trying to sell you that narrative either. And then that person, maybe after is like. And I'm like, unfortunately, I was not with you. I mean, I was physically with you, but I was in no way having a time. And I was actively trying not to mislead you during that time.

[John Lovett]

But I bet. Here's. Can I ask you a question?

[Ego Nwodim]

Sure you can. What I answer is tbd, Right?

[John Lovett]

That's the beauty of questions.

[Ego Nwodim]

Questions and answers. But if I answer, I should.

[John Lovett]

Yeah, you don't have to answer. And that goes for anything you can ask. You can get up and walk out anytime you want, and then ghost. You can just disappear.

[Ego Nwodim]

What if I ghosted this episode of the Just Gone? That wouldn't be a ghosting, because I'd be kind of sort of announcing my.

[John Lovett]

Departure, but I would have a here. I wonder your. There are dates where another person would be like, this is the best date of my life. And it's. And for you, it's a B minus at best. But you're very funny and charming. And so it's like, was it a good date or did you just carry a great time?

[Ego Nwodim]

I find myself asking this. I talk about it in therapy. Really, I do. I do talk about it in therapy. I'll go on dates and genuinely not be trying to be charming and in fact, go. I'd like to see what you bring to the table. Almost like an interviewer. And so I think maybe that is what's happening. Maybe the other party is finding me fun and charming. But I'm actively. I feel like toning it all, like, down and just being sort of drywall.

[John Lovett]

Yeah, but how do we cover this light? You know, need a pretty thick blanket. Cover this Light.

[Ego Nwodim]

That's very sweet. You know, there may be something to that and you might. But I talk about it in therapy because I'm like, it's interesting. They think that we had a great time. And I'm curious to know on what basis. This sounds so bitchy.

[John Lovett]

No, it's not. It's interesting.

[Ego Nwodim]

And like, I know when I've had a really good time and me and another person are hitting it off and it's like, oh, my gosh, the energy, the vibes are both right here. What a time we're having. And then there's these other dates. There are these other dates that I'm like, that's not really happening. Did you really have a great time or was I just not so bad? And thus that's a great time to you. Does that make sense?

[John Lovett]

No, it does make. Yeah, it's interesting. Do you ever have the opposite where you've put on quite a show and you realize after that that was fun because I was on and I didn't really get much from the other person?

[Ego Nwodim]

Yes, I have. I've gone on dates being like, I refuse to have a bad time tonight, so I'm gonna have a good time and then it will be a good time. But if we were to, you know, post game inventory, if you will, I go, oh, they weren't really doing much of anything, but I just. I wanted to have a good time that night and I did. And whether you're sitting there or not, I was.

[John Lovett]

I like that.

[Ego Nwodim]

Yeah.

[John Lovett]

I like that. Yeah.

[Ego Nwodim]

Sometimes you want to go on a date and you're like, I don't want to have a bad time. And so I'm not going to have a bad time. Yeah, but dating's weird.

[John Lovett]

It's hard.

[Ego Nwodim]

Yeah. I don't even know if I think it's hard.

[John Lovett]

I'm sorry I said that.

[Ego Nwodim]

No, no, you can. No, you said it's hard. I said it's weird. You have your opinion. I think it's strange. I think it's a strange.

[John Lovett]

Is there anyone here on a date? Wow.

[Ego Nwodim]

Anytime that happens, is everyone coupled? Is that what?

[John Lovett]

Is everyone here. No one here is on a date.

[Ego Nwodim]

Is everyone here single? That was like a big woo.

[John Lovett]

How many people here are coupled up? How many people are here in polyamorous arrangements? Has it really caught? Hasn't caught. Hasn't caught.

[Ego Nwodim]

But I. But I bet there are people here in polyamorous arrangements.

[John Lovett]

Is anyone here pretending to not be in a polyamorous relationship but having a secret emotion?

[Ego Nwodim]

I'm seeing a Friend. Point to a friend in the. In the first row and he's shaking his head.

[John Lovett]

Wow.

[Ego Nwodim]

And then we're getting accurate.

[John Lovett]

That's cool. Why are you afraid of this?

[Ego Nwodim]

Why is it shameful?

[John Lovett]

It's still a weird thing.

[Ego Nwodim]

We found one.

[John Lovett]

Wow. Get him.

[Ego Nwodim]

I knew it.

[John Lovett]

Bring. Bring in the police.

[Ego Nwodim]

Wait, why is.

[John Lovett]

Are you. Are you happy?

[Barry Sonnenfeld]

Yes.

[John Lovett]

Wow. That's nice. I think it's an abomination.

[Ego Nwodim]

Are you happy? I think it's an abomination.

[John Lovett]

Ego Bodum. Thank you so much for being here. This is fun. Everybody check out the podcast. Thanks, dad.

[Ego Nwodim]

Thank you, Ego.

[John Lovett]

Be back at the end of the show. We are back.

[Ego Nwodim]

Yeah.

[John Lovett]

Thank you. When we come back, Barry Sonnenfeld is here. Don't go anywhere.

[Jared Polis]

This is Love it or leave it.

[John Lovett]

And there's more on the way. Love it or Leave it is brought to you by ExpressVPN. I know that none of you watch porn, but in case you have any friends that do help pass along this important bsa. Incognito mode does not make you incognito unless you use ExpressVPN. ExpressVPN reroutes 100% of your traffic through secure encrypted servers, so third parties can't see your browsing history or track your online activity. I like ExpressVPN, especially when I'm traveling. You know, you're on hotel WI fi, you're on airplane WI fi, you're on random public wifi. And you know, it's nice to know that you're using something where your data's not being harvested. You don't have to worry about anybody, you know, snooping on. You know, you're planning surprise parties, right, Peter? Everybody should have a VPN Also, by the way. Like, you can use VPN to set where your location is so that you can get access to other movies in streaming services. And all these Internet service providers, they're basically just harvesting your data and erasing your privacy to make money off of you. And like, I don't want them to do that. Like, I pay for the Internet. You don't get to monetize my private data. So they can eat right. Now you can take advantage of ExpressVPN's Black Friday Cyber Monday offer to get the absolute best VPN deal you'll find all year. Use our special link expressvpn.com Love it. To get 4 extra months with the 12 month plan or 6 extra months with the 24 month plan. Totally free. That's expressvpn.com Love it to get an extra 4 or even 6 months of ExpressVPN for free. Love it or Leave it is brought to you by Sling TV. Seems like things change every 20 minutes. It's hard to keep up. That's why you should watch Sling. They provide the best value for essential news channels. With Sling, you get your favorite news channels at the best price. CNN, MSNBC, even Fox News if that's your jam. Anderson Cooper 360 and Hannity. Your two favorite shows. Also the Rachel Manow show and more for just $40 a month. So yeah, with the election coverage and everything else happening, you can get news that'll raise your blood pressure at prices that won't get the best price on news about what's going on in the world. Then say that's what's going on in the world. And it's not just news. Check this out. Sling has live sports, news and entertainment channels you love and less of the ones you don't. So you save hundreds of dollars. Sling lets you choose and customize your channel lineup so you can choose the channels you actually like. Slings cloud DVR lets you record your shows to watch in your schedule. There's no complex technology, no long term contracts, and no hidden rigmarole. Sling is great. You can record most of the live TV channels with the DVR you can watch on all of your devices. Even at the same time you have access to some of your favorite local channels. So it's a great way to make sure you're, you know, getting the channels you need to get and not, you know, the hundreds of channels are crap that you don't need. Get rewarded for watching your favorite news channel. Sling lets you do that. Visit sling.com now to learn more and get started. That's sling.com now. Sling.com now. This show is sponsored by BetterHelp. This month is all about gratitude and along with thanking family and friends is another person we don't get to thank enough ourselves. Thank you. I've been saying that to myself. In between my weekly dose of applause from an audience, I've been looking for more opportunities to thank myself. Maybe a standing O for you. Yeah, from you right there in the mirror. It's sometimes hard to remind ourselves that we are trying our best to make sense of everything. And in this crazy world, that isn't easy, here's a reminder to send some thanks to the people in your life, including yourself. If you're thinking of starting therapy, give better help a try. It's entirely online, designed to be convenient, flexible and Suited to your schedule. Just fill out a brief questionnaire to get matched with a licensed therapist and switch therapists anytime for no additional charge. It's now the time of the election season where I realize that the low hum of anxiety of the election is hitting me in other places. Same like I'm starting to realize, like, oh, that's why I'm in such a bad mood. The country's on the precipice of decline. Like, my tummy hurts. Yeah, yeah. Why all the time? Oh yeah. It's weird that I have all of a sudden. It's also just all of a sudden I realize that like, oh, there's Tums in my car now. You know, I think maybe you turn 40 and then like the Tums appear. The Tums. I take a couple every day just to be proactive, you know, like, I got acid reflux. I got trump reflux. Huh? That's what's happening right now, that feeling in your chest. The point is you need therapy. And if you're like me and scheduled a podcast recording where your therapy used to be, you realize how much that was a mistake. If you're thinking of starting therapy, give better help a try. It's entirely online, designed to be convenient, flexible, suited to your schedule. Just fill out a brief questionnaire to get match licensed therapist and switch therapists anytime for no additional charge. Let the gratitude flow with better help. Visit betterhelp.com love it today to get 10% off your first month. That's betterhelp h l p.com love it. And we're back. My next guest loves making movies and hating Donald Trump. Please welcome to the stage a Hollywood icon and legends, Barry Sonnenfeld. Thank you for being here. Come around.

[Barry Sonnenfeld]

Hi, John.

[John Lovett]

Hi, Barry. May I call you Barry?

[Barry Sonnenfeld]

Unfortunately, yes.

[John Lovett]

Do you not like your name, Barry?

[Barry Sonnenfeld]

Hate it.

[John Lovett]

Really?

[Barry Sonnenfeld]

I ran into Bill Hader once and I said, did you call your main character Barry? Cause like it's the ultimate loser name. And he went, yeah.

[John Lovett]

Why? Why is it such a loser name?

[Barry Sonnenfeld]

It's just a loser name. I hate it. Although if I was a woman, I would have been Bertha. So I'm kind of okay.

[John Lovett]

My grandmother's name was Bessie.

[Barry Sonnenfeld]

Bessie. Well that's an old fashioned name, ain't it? Yeah.

[John Lovett]

And my grandfather was Bernie, so it was Bernie and Bessie. And she was a very big person. She was a very. So she was a big Bessie and it went with the name. She fit her.

[Barry Sonnenfeld]

Can you imagine what I'd look like if I was Bertha? Yeah.

[John Lovett]

Beautiful.

[Barry Sonnenfeld]

Yeah. Thank you, John.

[John Lovett]

Well, recently, a guest on Kelly Ripa's podcast, you revealed that Will Smith farted so badly on the set of 1997 smash hit Men in Black, you had to evacuate the set for three hours. My question is, what?

[Barry Sonnenfeld]

Okay, guess what? That's not true. That's not true. Here's what happened.

[John Lovett]

What happened?

[Barry Sonnenfeld]

Okay, so Will and Tommy in Men in Black, one Tommy Lee Jones famous, are inside the hypercar, and they're upside down, going through the midtown tunnel, and they're locked into this hermetically sealed space, and they're up 15ft, and they're upside down. And I say, roll camera. And I hear Will says, geez. Oh, sorry, Tommy. Oh, my God. Baz, get us down. Get us down right away. Get us down, Tommy. I'm so sorry. And you hear Tommy go. That's okay, Will. And we get the ladder. We open up the thing. Tommy is, like, reaching out to the ladder before it's even close to him. And Will had farted. Will is a known farter. He does a lot of farting. But here's what happened. He farted. Well, everyone knows everyone's a known farter.

[John Lovett]

Everyone farts.

[Barry Sonnenfeld]

No, but Will is sort of a little more proud of his farting than most. But here's the thing. Kelly then said. Kelly Ripa then said, and did you have a vac. Did you have to evacuate the stage? Well, obviously, we didn't have to. No one's fart has you having to evacuate a stage. So I said, yeah, for, like, three hours, as a joke. But Variety has it, like, on the front page that I had to evacuate the stage for three hours. So I apologize, Will, wherever you are.

[John Lovett]

Having a.

[Barry Sonnenfeld]

A fart somewhere.

[John Lovett]

Yeah, yeah. Everybody farts. Isn't it weird that it's something we all do, but it's embarrassing?

[Barry Sonnenfeld]

No.

[John Lovett]

Good answer. Can you please give our podcast an anecdote equal to or more disgusting than that one? For example, did John Travolta have explosive diarrhea on the set of Get Shorty? Perhaps Tim Allen had a terrible boil while making Big Trouble.

[Barry Sonnenfeld]

Okay, none of those happened, but I will tell you that I was on Johnny Knoxville's show squeezing a blackhead that I save up for eight or 10 years.

[John Lovett]

It's more disgusting. I asked for this, and now I'm getting what I'm asked for.

[Barry Sonnenfeld]

But anyway, Knoxville brought out a crew, and I squeezed my blackhead, and he said, it's the most disgusting thing he's ever had on his show.

[John Lovett]

Wow, what an achievement.

[Barry Sonnenfeld]

I'm very proud of that.

[John Lovett]

Do you think Big Trouble was undermined by 911 or Tim Allen or both?

[Barry Sonnenfeld]

Mainly. In all honesty, Tim Allen was no fun to work with at all. But mainly 9 11. I mean, we were supposed to come out. We were supposed to come out 11 days after 9 11. And a plot involved Tom Sizemore and Johnny Knoxville stealing a suitcase nuclear bomb. Look, there's Warburton, one of my all time favorite people ever, stealing a nuclear bomb which wouldn't work nine days after 9 11. 11 days after 9 11.

[John Lovett]

So, yeah, Tim Allen, a prick.

[Barry Sonnenfeld]

Yeah. No, he's just one of those comedians that's always on.

[John Lovett]

Oh, I hate those people. Now you also. So I wanna ask you about this. David.

[Barry Sonnenfeld]

Yes, John.

[John Lovett]

David Schwimmer talked about turning down the Men in Black role that would eventually go to Will Smith. Schwimmer said, I don't know if I made the right choice. My question is, what's.

[Barry Sonnenfeld]

Well, Schwimmer says he was up for that role, so he probably was. The one that I remember was, oh, you know, sweetie, who was it? Chris O'Donnell. Thank you. My brains. The brains of the operation. Chris O'Donnell. Everyone wanted Chris O'Donnell, but Saweetie told me Will Smith, so I had to get Will Smith.

[John Lovett]

Wow.

[Barry Sonnenfeld]

So Chris. Yeah, so Chris.

[John Lovett]

Chris O'Donnell's great.

[Barry Sonnenfeld]

Yeah, he's great. He's very great. But I don't know about Schwimmer. He's lovely.

[John Lovett]

So there is a question that we were talking about that we wanted to ask you. That there was a rumor about the Wild Wild west spider and that it had originally been a part of a Superman movie, and that then it came over and became part of Wild Wild West. Is that true?

[Barry Sonnenfeld]

Okay, so what you're getting at is Jon Peters. Jon Peters was the producer of Wild Wild West. There were several things he insisted on. The least of the problems was a giant spider. The bigger problem was Will Smith and Drag. Something that neither Will nor I had any interest in having in the movie. We could not talk John out of it. So there's this horrible scene. Look, it's not a good movie, don't.

[John Lovett]

Get me wrong, but I don't know that I agree.

[Barry Sonnenfeld]

Okay, well, fine. Well, you're wrong. Yeah. The spider was also way too big. And there was no chemistry between Will and Kevin Kline, unlike Will and Tommy Lee Jones, where it was all chemistry.

[John Lovett]

When you first heard Kenneth Branagh's accent, did you. What was your response?

[Barry Sonnenfeld]

Okay, so before you start a movie, you have a table read where everyone sits around, and for the first time, you hear all the actors reading their roles. And we had all the Warner Brothers guys there and all that. And Will Smith goes out of his way to do a bad reading. He doesn't want to be judged, and he doesn't want his performance or his attitude or anything judged. So he's the worst. You want his stand in, who can't even read necessarily to be his table read guy. But Kenneth came in totally dressed the part. He had the trident facial hair, the southern accent, and the head of Warner Brothers Lorenzo di Bonaventura, after the table read, said to me, is there any way we can get rid of Kenneth Branagh and hire that guy to play Loveless? And it was Kenneth Branagh. Kenneth Lorenzo didn't realize he was so. Kenneth was so good that he didn't see Kenneth in the role.

[John Lovett]

We have a clip of his accent.

[Barry Sonnenfeld]

Don't you just hate that song?

[John Lovett]

How do you. This is a good movie.

[Barry Sonnenfeld]

It's camp.

[John Lovett]

It's camp.

[Barry Sonnenfeld]

There are parts of it that are very funny. A projector. A head is a projector, is a very funny concept.

[John Lovett]

Lot of funny concepts. All right, next question. You talk in your book about firing Donald Trump. You are one of the few people on earth that can claim to have successfully done this. Other than 81 million Americans, what happened?

[Barry Sonnenfeld]

Okay, so basis used to have these commercials where they would have all their branded stars. Martha Stewart, Usher, who I beat in leg wrestling, Mariah Carey, all these people. And Trump was selling his ties, probably, or his suits. And so we're tracking down this whole row. It's set up for Thanksgiving, past all these famous people, and we end up at the end of this huge dolly shot on Donald Trump and a little girl who's about to touch his hair. And he says, don't even think about it. That's a joke of the commercial. Funny, kind of. All right, so we shoot to wide master. We get it in one take because Don will only give us 20 minutes. Everyone else was there for two full days. He said, I'll give you 20 minutes. So I said, okay, we're just going to go in for your close up. I line up the camera. He says, you can't shoot me. That's my bad side. I said, well, Don, we have to shoot you from this side because you were looking this way at the little girl. And he said, find a place where you can shoot me from the good side or I'm leaving. So I held out my hand and I said, thank you very much for coming. It was A pleasure working with you. And he said, you're gonna let Donald Trump leave and not get a close up of this? Meaning his face.

[John Lovett]

His amazing face.

[Barry Sonnenfeld]

His amazing face. And I said, well, yeah. And I said, okay, we're over here. Next shot. We're over here on Martha. And 10 minutes later, he tapped me on the shoulder and he said, all right, you can shoot me from my bad side. And I said that we've moved on. Don, like all bullies, if you just call them on it. Like the governor of Georgia is constantly calling Don on it. And Don backs down all the time against Brian Kemp.

[John Lovett]

Yeah. Yeah. So this is a book about your incredibly storied career. What do you look back on as the like, I feel like there are movies, there are directors who have those moments where a movie seems like it fell down on top of them. And then there are moments where a director says, ah, this is it. I've clicked in. This is exactly where I was supposed to be. And you've had all manner of experience. How do you know? What is it? What have you learned from those two different versions of what it means to direct a movie?

[Barry Sonnenfeld]

Oh, it's so hard. Making movies is really hard. What the book tells you is it's really hard. So much is about luck, and so much is trying to not deal with horrible, horrible studio executives. And there are very few good studio executives. There are very few good studios. The best one that I ever dealt with, and I don't know if they're still like, this, was Netflix. I did three years of a show called the Series of Unfortunate Events for Netflix, and it was the three best years of my life. They literally, their theory is, hire the right director and spend the time, get the right guy, but then let him be the director. I mean, when you go to the dentist, you don't say, I would use that drill. I wouldn't use that. You don't say that a plumber used the crescent wrench. Use it. But studio executives think that they can say anything because they don't understand what directors do. So having said that, what I will say is directing is really hard and it's really painful. I've had Sciatica for almost 30 years from the stress of directing, but luckily, I'm not directing much. And once people read this book, I'll direct even less. So maybe my sciatica will go away.

[John Lovett]

And that's one of the beautiful things about becoming an author. The book is best possible place, worst possible time. It's out now. We come back, it's Wheel time. Barry Sonnevelt. Everybody stick around. And we're back. 11 days left. There's so much on the line, but this is the climate election. The climate is on the ballot in the presidential, in the House race, in the Senate race, in governor's races, in local races all across the country. As part of Crooked Ideas anti doom initiative, I sat down with writer, activist, and the founder of Climate Action, one of the world's leading environmentalists, Bill McGibbon, to talk about how we can solve the climate crisis. If you stick around to the end of this episode, you can hear part of my conversation with Bill McKibben. And he is somebody that has been fighting tooth and nail on climate. And I think over the next couple days, you'll hear in his conversation, the conversation I just recorded with aoc. We're talking to Bernie Sanders tomorrow about pragmatism, progressivism, how we fight in the way that gets the best results. And it was a really interesting conversation. So everybody stick around to the end of the episode to hear that. All right, Please welcome back to the stage ago and Governor Jared Polis. Welcome back. All right. With the election less than two weeks away, no one has even a speck of an idea of what's going to happen. We just have to live with that. In that same spirit, we're each going to share one unknowable, unexplainable thing that we've accepted in order to get through this wild, wacky, wet, for some reason, ride we call life. All right, do we have a wheel? Yeah, of course we do. It's a very professional show. Barry Sonnevelt. Barry, what's something unknown you'll accept?

[Barry Sonnenfeld]

I have learned to accept something that I don't understand, which is the concept of optimism. I'm a big believer that there's no upside to optimism. And I'll tell you what I mean by that. If I could. If you get on an airplane and you turn to the person next to you and say, before we land, this plane is going to crash, one of two things happen. Either as a plane is about to crash, you get to turn to the guy next to you and go, am I right or what? Which is a win. Or you don't crash, which is a win. That's the joy of pessimism. If you get on a plane and say, if we land, we're going to land successfully at best, that's only one of two possible outcomes. The other one is you crash and then you lose. So always embrace pessimism. But I'm trying. My wife is trying to convince me to be more optimistic, but I don't understand the concept.

[John Lovett]

Right, right. Doesn't relate for you? Yeah. I mean. Huh. I mean, it seems like a terrible way to move through life.

[Barry Sonnenfeld]

No, it's great.

[John Lovett]

Okay.

[Jared Polis]

I think I read, though, that optimism correlates with, like, longevity, too. So if you're more pessimistic, you wind up, like, dying.

[Barry Sonnenfeld]

Great.

[Jared Polis]

Cause, you know, you're gonna predict you're gonna die and you die.

[Barry Sonnenfeld]

Right?

[Jared Polis]

Is that what you're saying?

[Ego Nwodim]

Yeah.

[John Lovett]

Well, right. I guess you'll be miserable. But good news, it won't last long.

[Barry Sonnenfeld]

It won't last long. Very Woody Allen.

[Ego Nwodim]

Live.

[John Lovett]

Yeah. Yeah. All right, let's.

[Barry Sonnenfeld]

You're welcome.

[John Lovett]

Thanks. Let's spin that again. Governor Paulos, what is something you'll never know and you're fine with?

[Jared Polis]

I never understand dress shoes for men. And I see that we all are wearing sneakers. I don't own any and don't wear any, and I don't understand it, and I'm fine with that.

[John Lovett]

I appreciate that they're uncomfortable.

[Jared Polis]

They're horrible. And you get blisters. Like, why?

[John Lovett]

Why? Yeah, no, it's actually something that has always bothered me because it's like, hey, I thought men were. I thought there was a patriarchy and that the men were in charge. Why are we ties?

[Jared Polis]

Ties.

[John Lovett]

Why are we cinching fabric around our necks and then wearing these sort of tighter shoes? Like, it doesn't make any sense, the tie. You look fantastic. It looks great. And no one's saying otherwise. Uncomfortable.

[Barry Sonnenfeld]

Embrace affectation.

[John Lovett]

Oh, okay. Why?

[Barry Sonnenfeld]

Because people remember you.

[Jared Polis]

That takes a cravat.

[Barry Sonnenfeld]

Oh, good point. Good point. That's okay. Good. Very good point.

[John Lovett]

Huh?

[Ego Nwodim]

Huh?

[John Lovett]

Yeah, it's interesting.

[Ego Nwodim]

I love to see a man in a dress shoe.

[John Lovett]

It does look nice.

[Jared Polis]

Just a dress shoe.

[Ego Nwodim]

Just. Well, it's not as attractive when a man keeps the shoes on in the rest.

[John Lovett]

No, that doesn't work.

[Ego Nwodim]

It doesn't translate that way.

[John Lovett]

Do you think people won't remember you if you're not wearing a tie? You're a very memorable person.

[Barry Sonnenfeld]

Well, I wasn't always that until I started to wear the ties. But what about cowboy boots? Are they allowed?

[Jared Polis]

I can't them fighting words in Colorado.

[Barry Sonnenfeld]

No, I love. I. I'm a big embracer of cowboy.

[Jared Polis]

No, no, those serve a purpose because, like, if you're going through, like, mud and terrain, like, you do want boots. Yeah. Snakes. Exactly. So I'm talking dress shoes. Don't understand it. I'm good with It.

[Barry Sonnenfeld]

Okay, good.

[Jared Polis]

They don't protect you from snakes.

[Barry Sonnenfeld]

No, good point.

[Ego Nwodim]

So at your wedding, you were wearing sneakers.

[Jared Polis]

Uh.

[Ego Nwodim]

Oh.

[Jared Polis]

You know, you were not being true to yourself.

[Ego Nwodim]

I'll go back and look at the photos.

[Jared Polis]

I have to go. I was wearing a cravat. I literally was a yellow one.

[John Lovett]

I'm sorry. What kind of fucking gay man doesn't remember the shoes he wore at his own wedding? What are.

[Jared Polis]

What? I look at the photos.

[John Lovett]

Are you kidding me? Does your husband remember what shoes you were wearing?

[Jared Polis]

I'll ask him right after this.

[John Lovett]

I hope you do. Again.

[Ego Nwodim]

I have a feeling it's gonna be me.

[Barry Sonnenfeld]

There you go.

[John Lovett]

Odom it is. Okay, what's an unknown you accept.

[Ego Nwodim]

Why? We say bless you after people sneeze, but nothing for a cough. Nothing for a cough. Bless you for a sneeze. Confounding to me.

[John Lovett]

It is confounding. Why do we do that?

[Ego Nwodim]

You're asking me and I'm asking you.

[John Lovett]

It would seem like we should say nothing after people sneeze, and it's cool after people fart. Like, you're cool, we're cool.

[Ego Nwodim]

But lots of farts are silent.

[John Lovett]

Right?

[Ego Nwodim]

But deadly.

[John Lovett]

But deadly. But deadly. But deadly.

[Ego Nwodim]

Yeah, a lot of farts.

[John Lovett]

It is a pure cultural thing that farting is shame. I mean, obviously they're gross. We don't enjoy them. So there's a value to us finding them repellent. Embarrassing.

[Jared Polis]

Proper etiquette's to pretend you didn't do it. Isn't that the proper etiquette?

[John Lovett]

Yeah, that's often. That's a politician's tactic, I suppose. Yeah. Why do we say blessedness?

[Ego Nwodim]

It's strange. I'm like. And oftentimes people don't even hear you say it. It's a formality. They've sneezed, they've moved on. There's three in a row. Are you saying usually a sneeze comes in threes? We're saying bless you each time. That feels crazy.

[John Lovett]

Do you ever throw in a gesundheit?

[Ego Nwodim]

I'm not a gesundheit girl. No, Guilty.

[John Lovett]

I see that. I see that. Have you ever thrown into gesundheit?

[Barry Sonnenfeld]

God, no.

[John Lovett]

Yeah, Bless you. It used to be the full God bless you.

[Ego Nwodim]

God bless you.

[John Lovett]

God bless you. Yeah, I just throw. I do. Bless you. I think I just shortened.

[Barry Sonnenfeld]

Do you really? Do you actually say bless you when someone sneezes?

[John Lovett]

Yes, I do.

[Jared Polis]

I think. Doesn't that, like, date from, like, they thought that, like, you were possessed by a demon if you sneezed or something. That's why I think that's like what that.

[Ego Nwodim]

Oh, wow.

[Jared Polis]

I don't know.

[Barry Sonnenfeld]

But then the cough. You're not.

[Ego Nwodim]

But you're not possessive. Which I find more repelling a cough, frankly.

[Barry Sonnenfeld]

Yeah, it is.

[Jared Polis]

It's more contagious, at least I don't know.

[Ego Nwodim]

And a cough, I do know that a sneeze is a function of an allergen. So it's like there's an allergen and you cough. It's like you got a virus situation going on.

[John Lovett]

The other thing too is with. There was a generational change because like when I was a kid, we were taught to cough and sneeze into our hands. But then there was a change in the 90s or 2000s. And now you do it in the elbow. We all are supposed to do it in the elbow now. But as a kid we were like. How many people are. As a kid were trained make sure you cover your mouth when you cough with your hand? And how many people were trained to do it in the elbow as a kid? It's an older crowd.

[Jared Polis]

We didn't have elbows back then.

[John Lovett]

We didn't have elbows back then. But you, Kennedy, you were. Wait, so Chris, Gen Z was in the crook. You're not? No. And do they know about. Did you get. Do you taught that at all? Do they have germ theory?

[Barry Sonnenfeld]

No germ theory. I was an only child. I was allowed to do whatever I wanted.

[John Lovett]

Wow. All right, let's spin it again.

[Barry Sonnenfeld]

Wait, there's more.

[John Lovett]

Wow. All right, I have two. My first one is I'm just going to do this. This is my last time I'm going to do this. You will not learn from early vote who is going to win. You will not learn from any model who is going to win. You will not know from the absentees who will gonna win. Even though John Ralston is the only person to listen to in Nevada, he doesn't know right now who is gonna win Nevada. There's gonna be no information over the next 10 days that will tell us what the outcome of this election is. There's just nothing to reassure us. You're allowed to be as scared as you want to be. You're allowed to be as confident as that man in RO K who knows what's going to happen. As long as you're doing something to make that outcome a reality, you are allowed to feel over the next 10 days however you want. It simply does not matter how you feel over the next 10 days. What's going to matter is how we feel when the election is over. Our mistake in 2016 was worrying way too much about how we felt in the moment as the election was unfolding, and not nearly enough about the stakes themselves. So let's focus on the stakes and getting those last few people out. Go to votesaveamerica.com this is the final stretch. A lot of you are doing a lot. Thank you. A lot of you are doing a little. That is great. A lot of you can still go through your contact list and find those three friends in those seven swing states and get them to turn out. We're just going to have to live with the uncertainty over the next week. I don't never need. I never need to find out where the eels are mating or how they do it. I simply never need to find out. I know that they're going to somewhere far away. I know it's a bit of a mystery. That's supposed to be a mystery. What about an eel is telling these scientists that they ought to be. We ought to be getting to the bottom of their reproductive situation? They're little demon freaks from deep below the ocean. Don't follow them. They go so far from us to mate and we're gonna fucking follow them. Let them go. They are monsters from the deep. You're gonna go find the place. I don't think so.

[Barry Sonnenfeld]

Can I comment on your thing for one second? If you embrace my theory of pessimism, what you wanna do is bet money that Trump will win. Therefore, if he wins, you make money. If he loses, you get to not have Trump as president.

[Jared Polis]

That's like blood money, Barry. That's like blood money. Yeah, like his blood diamonds in Africa. Like, that's.

[John Lovett]

That's hedging. That's a. You're. You.

[Barry Sonnenfeld]

Okay, you're right, I'm hedging.

[John Lovett]

Well, just to go to my sincere. My sincere. Just to leave it here, My sincere response to your pessimism is I think if you want to be pessimistic because you enjoy being pleasantly surprised, I think that's a completely fine way to go through life. I. But I think just that, especially in a cynical and very anxious time, remembering, and this is something I've said before, that being cautiously optimistic and disappointed is not less sophisticated than being cynical and pleasantly surprised.

[Barry Sonnenfeld]

Totally agree.

[John Lovett]

And that's, I think, the most important. You can be hopeful, you can be nervous, come as you are, but nobody knows what's gonna happen.

[Jared Polis]

And leave it all on the field.

[John Lovett]

Leave it all on the fucking field.

[Jared Polis]

Work your butts off this. Let's just make make sure if the wrong thing happens, you know, that you did everything that you could to forget it, to make sure it didn't. And don't feel guilty for one moment.

[John Lovett]

Yeah, no guilt. When we come back, we're going to end on a high note. Say that into the mic.

[Barry Sonnenfeld]

I love the present pause. There's so much tension every time there's that silence. It's just. That's fantastic. I love it.

[John Lovett]

Have I just been discovered? Is it happening for me?

[Jared Polis]

Finally, he's politely saying, you shouldn't talk.

[John Lovett]

Yeah, yeah. I like the quiet parts of the show, the parts where he didn't talk. All right. And we're back. Because we all need it. Here it is, this week's High note. Hi, Lovett. My name's Xochitli and I'm getting my PhD in neuroscience at MIT. I've been a longtime listener since my senior year of high school, and my.

[Ego Nwodim]

High note this week is that I.

[John Lovett]

Passed my PhD qualifying exam and submitted.

[Ego Nwodim]

My vote by mail ballot with the help of Vote Save America's Build your own ballot tool. Hi, Lovett.

[John Lovett]

This is Mary from Salt Lake City.

[Ego Nwodim]

My high note of the week is.

[John Lovett]

That I just finished another round of phone banking and writing letters to remind.

[Ego Nwodim]

People to get out and vote.

[John Lovett]

My 30th birthday is on election day this year, and I'm working really hard to make sure my birthday wish comes true.

[Ego Nwodim]

Anyways, I love your show and keep.

[John Lovett]

Up the good work. Thanks. One week before the election, if you want to send us a high note, you can leave us a message about something that made you feel hopeful at Lowly high [e-mail]. or you can leave it in the friend of the pod Discord that is our show. Thank you so much to Ego Wodom, Barry Sonnefeld and Governor Jared Polis.

[Ego Nwodim]

Thank you.

[John Lovett]

There are nine days until the elections. Have a great night. Have a great weekend. Sign up for a [e-mail] love it or leave it is a Crooked Media production. It is written and produced by me, John Lovett and Lee Eisenberg. Kendra James is our executive producer, Chris Lord is our producer and Kennedy Hill is our associate producer. Hallie Kiefer is our head writer. Sarah Lazarus and Jocelyn Kaufman, Peter Miller, Alan Pierre, Will Miles and Mohanad El Sheikhi are our writers. Evan Sutton is our editor. Kyle Seglin and Charlotte Landis provide audio support. Stephen Colon is our audio engineer and Milo Kim is our videographer. Our theme song is written and performed by sure Shore. Thanks to Our designer, Bernardo Serna, for creating and running all of our visuals, which you can't see because this is a podcast. And to our digital producers, David Toles, Claudia Shang, Mia kelman, and Matt DeGroat for filming and editing video each week. So you can. Hey, everybody, it's Lovett. Before we go, check out my interview with climate activist and environmentalist Bill McKibben, one of the smartest people talking about climate change. This is part of Crooked's anti doom initiative from Crooked Ideas. We are talking about climate change, not only about the threats we face, but of the people and organizations and companies and policies that are actually having an impact and proving that we can win this fight. Check it out. It was a great conversation. Joining us today is writer, activist, founder of climate action nonprofit 350.org and one of the world's leading environmentalists, Bill McGibbon. Welcome to the show.

[E]

Hey, what a pleasure to be with you, man.

[John Lovett]

Let's start with this. The Inflation Reduction Act. Terrible name. I mean, it's fine. I'm glad we called it that. But many thought climate action on this scale was a political impossibility. Can you talk about what its passage represents, both in terms of the policy and in terms of how the politics have shifted?

[E]

Well, let's talk about the politics that got us there, which is completely fascinating. Young people in the sunrise movement set up this amazing thing and brought us the Green New Deal. And it kind of changed the politics for a moment around all this, such that in the 2020 Democratic primaries, climate was in many polls, the number one issue for voters. And that meant that Joe Biden needed to consolidate support with the Bernie Wing of things. And he did so by making, above all, a real pledge to take that Green New Deal and start translating it into something. And he kept that pledge, the first big slug of money that the US Government has ever spent on trying to fight the single biggest problem the world.

[John Lovett]

Has ever faced and the largest investment any country on earth has ever made in addressing climate change based on the passage of the ira. The pledges we've seen around the world, the shifts we've seen in politics and policy, a lot more to do. But where are we now in your mind on the doom hope continuum?

[E]

Well, look, the things that we were warning about 40 years ago are now coming true, and they are scary and real. On the other hand, we're also seeing a rapid spike in the implementation of renewable energy, which is the one thing big enough to have some hope. We finally are starting to build out those solar panels and Wind turbines. And it's starting to make a difference. You know, June 2023 had the hottest temperatures ever recorded on this planet. But June 2023 was also the month when human beings started past the point of putting up a gigawatt of solar panels every day. That's the equivalent of a nuclear power plant in solar panels every single day. We've got cheap wind, cheap sun, cheap batteries. They're on the shelf. We can deploy them at speed and we must.

[John Lovett]

The other day I saw an article on, I think it was the New York Times or some other elite publication that said top 10 climate friendly recipes when youn're Cooking At Home. And what I honestly wanted to say is like, hey, why don't you do me a favor and go fuck yourself. Because for a long time the oil industry and sort of right wing media has been trying to make this about individual responsibilities and individual pain, right? You're going to lose your hamburgers. You're going to lose your straws. No one's taking my straws, Bill. But what we've seen with the Biden administration with their political tack is it's much more about what we're going to gain. We're going to gain clean energy, we're going to get new jobs, new industries. How do you feel about that distinction? Do you think it's a little bit of a cop out to try to not talk about individual responsibility or do you think that that's the right move politically?

[E]

Look, I'm glad that my house is covered with solar panels and I'm glad that they connect to a EV in the GR garage. But we are past the point where we're going to solve this. One Tesla at a time. One vegan dinner at a time. The most important thing an individual can do is be a little less of an individual and join together with others in movements and campaigns large enough to change the basic economic and political ground rules here.

[John Lovett]

Bill McGimmon, thank you so much.

[E]

Thank you man. What a pleasure. And thanks for all the work you guys do all the time. We're really grateful for it.

[John Lovett]

Thank you to Bill McKibben. Learn more about the Anti Doom Initiative at crookedideas.org and to make sure your voice is heard on everything you care about. You know what you have to do? You have to vote and you have to get everybody that you've ever met to vote. Norwegian Cruise Cruise Line's Black Friday preview sale is finally here. Enjoy huge savings with 50% off all cruises and NCL's all new Moritz Sea Package including unlimited open bar, specialty dining and more.

[Ego Nwodim]

Visit ncl.com call your travel advisor or 1-888ncl. Cruise offer ends soon Norwegian Cruise Line ships registry the Bahamas and USA Restrictions apply.

[John Lovett]

This is the sound of your ride home with dad after he caught you vaping. Awkward, isn't it? Most vapes contain seriously addictive levels of nicotine and disappointment. Know the real cost of vapes brought to you by the fda?