Illinois Hold 'Em

Summary

Lovett or Leave It – Episode: Illinois Hold 'Em Release Date: August 9, 2025

Hosted by Jon Lovett from Crooked Media, "Lovett or Leave It" delves into the most pressing political and social issues of the week with a blend of insightful analysis and humor. In this episode, titled "Illinois Hold 'Em," Lovett navigates through contentious topics ranging from Trump's economic claims to redistricting battles, all while engaging with special guests Ken Jennings and Amy Schneider.

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1. Trump's Battle with Reality and the Labor Department

Jon Lovett opens the episode by addressing former President Donald Trump's recent confrontations with reality, specifically focusing on the Department of Labor's bleak job reports.

• Trump's Dismissal of Job Numbers: Trump reacts negatively to the Department of Labor's report, claiming, “It's a highly political situation. It's totally rigged. Smart people know it, people with common sense know it…” (03:30).

• Firing of Labor Commissioner Lori Chavez D. Riemer: Without providing evidence, Trump fired the labor commissioner over unfavorable job numbers, asserting, “We had no confidence. I mean, the numbers were ridiculous.” (04:26).

• Response from Experts: National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett counters Trump's claims by emphasizing the consistency of job numbers despite revisions, stating, “Once again, numbers bad.” (06:15).

2. Ghislaine Maxwell and the Trump Administration

The episode shifts focus to the controversial relationship between Trump and Ghislaine Maxwell, highlighting recent developments and administrative maneuvers.

• Maxwell's Transfer and Alleged Assistance: Maxwell was transferred to a minimum-security facility, prompting speculation about potential inducements. An administration official remarked, “Ghislaine Maxwell simply chose to end her life.” (07:27).

• Secret Meetings Rumored: Reports surfaced about top administration officials planning a secret meeting to discuss Epstein’s situation, which was later denied as “pure fiction” by J.D. Vance’s office. (10:13).

• Trump's Denials: Trump and Vance dismissed the meeting reports as fake news, with Trump asserting, “We are not meeting to talk about the Epstein situation.” (10:21).

3. Redistricting Wars: Texas vs. Blue States

Lovett delves into the intense redistricting battles unfolding in Texas, California, and New York, showcasing the strategic maneuvers by both Republicans and Democrats.

• Texas Democrats' Quorum-Breaking Tactic: Dozens of Texas Democrats fled to Illinois to block the passage of new congressional maps, incurring substantial fines under Texas House rules. Governor Greg Abbott voiced frustration, predicting, “Eventually they're going to have to come back.” (13:45).

• Blue States' Countermeasures: Governors like Kathy Hochul of New York and Gavin Newsom of California are pushing for independent redistricting commissions to combat partisan gerrymandering. Hochul declared, “If Republicans are willing to rewrite these rules, then we're left with no choice.” (16:35).

• Implications for the Midterms: The aggressive strategies by Republicans have raised concerns about their prospects in the upcoming midterm elections, with fears of courting disaster due to unpopular policies focused on deportations and culture wars. (15:50).

4. Vaccine Projects and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)

The discussion moves to the termination of RFK Jr.’s mRNA vaccine projects and the broader impact on public health initiatives.

• End of mRNA Projects: RFK Jr. announced the cessation of 22 mRNA vaccine projects, which Lovett criticizes as “real life damage” due to the denial of scientific advancements by HHS. (20:05).

• Consequences: The halt threatens the development of treatments and cures, potentially impeding progress in areas like autism research, as the head of HHS denies the reality and effectiveness of vaccines. (22:00).

5. Cutting the Orbiting Carbon Observatory Satellite

Lovett highlights the Trump administration's decision to shut down the Orbiting Carbon Observatory, a crucial satellite for environmental monitoring.

• Purpose of the Satellite: Designed to measure atmospheric carbon dioxide, the satellite unexpectedly provided high-resolution maps of plant growth, aiding farmers and policymakers. (25:30).

• Shutdown Decision: Rather than utilizing the satellite's valuable data, the administration opts to burn it up, dismissing the scientific findings that contradict Trump's climate skepticism. Lovett warns, “If that is what Donald Trump is willing to do to a satellite, just imagine what he'd do to a hypothetical pedophile...” (30:00).

6. Special Segment: Ken Jennings and Amy Schneider Take the Stage

In an engaging departure from political discourse, Lovett welcomes Jeopardy champions Ken Jennings and Amy Schneider to discuss AI skepticism, their memoirs, and to participate in a trivia game.

• AI Skepticism and Jeopardy: Both guests express concerns about AI's role in society and its potential to outperform humans in areas like Jeopardy, with Ken stating, “It might be better at Jeopardy, but it won't be better at anything useful.” (24:25).

• Trivia Game Highlights: The trio engages in a trivia segment inspired by Jeopardy, covering topics from "Jesus Christ Superstar" to the "Orbiting Carbon Observatory," showcasing the guests' quick wit and knowledge.

7. Comedy Interlude with Tim Heidecker and Vanessa Gonzalez

The episode features comedian duo Tim Heidecker and Vanessa Gonzalez, who present AI-generated videos and share humorous takes on current events.

• AI-Generated Content Reactions: Heidecker and Gonzalez react to deepfake videos, including one of AOC endorsing a Nazi propaganda ad and Ozzy Osbourne interacting with deceased musicians. Their critiques highlight the uncanny realism and potential dangers of AI in misinformation. (51:14).

• Discussion on AI's Impact: The comedians ponder the future implications of AI, humorously speculating about AI taking over mundane tasks and the authenticity of digital interactions.

8. Hot Takes: Rapid-Fire Opinions

In the "Hot Takes" segment, Lovett, Jennings, and Schneider defend controversial statements, showcasing their ability to handle divisive opinions with grace and humor.

• Texas Doing Everything Right: Vanessa defends the assertion that “Texas is doing everything right,” emphasizing cultural pride and local specialties like breakfast tacos. (74:24).

• Jeopardy's Host Replacement: Amy contends that the traditional Jeopardy format shouldn’t hinge on outdated conventions, arguing for a modernization that respects its cultural heritage while adapting to contemporary norms. (75:10).

9. Conclusion and Upcoming Events

Jon Lovett wraps up the episode by promoting upcoming events like Crooked Con, encouraging listeners to engage with the community through subscriptions, merchandise, and live shows. He also acknowledges the collaborative efforts of the production team, ensuring listeners are aware of the behind-the-scenes contributors.

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Notable Quotes:

• Donald Trump on Job Reports: “We had no confidence. I mean, the numbers were ridiculous.” (04:26)

• Ken Jennings on AI: “It might be better at Jeopardy, but it won't be better at anything useful.” (24:25)

• Amy Schneider on Polling Numbers: “You can't act like these poll numbers are written in stone.” (28:39)

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Key Takeaways:

• Political Manipulation: The episode critically examines Trump's attempts to undermine unfavorable economic data and his administration's questionable dealings with Ghislaine Maxwell.

• Redistricting Battles: Highlighting the strategic tug-of-war in Texas, California, and New York, the discussion underscores the broader implications for upcoming elections and democratic processes.

• AI Concerns: Through special guests and comedy segments, the show explores the dual-edged sword of AI advancements, balancing innovation with apprehension over potential misuse.

• Public Health Setbacks: The termination of mRNA vaccine projects serves as a cautionary tale about the interplay between politics and scientific progress.

• Community Engagement: Promotions for events like Crooked Con emphasize the show's commitment to fostering a proactive, engaged listener base.

Conclusion:

"Lovett or Leave It – Illinois Hold 'Em" masterfully intertwines political analysis with cultural commentary, ensuring listeners are both informed and entertained. Through engaging discussions, expert guest appearances, and humor-infused segments, Jon Lovett provides a comprehensive look at the current political landscape, urging listeners to stay informed and involved.

Transcript

[John Lovett]

Love it or Leave it is brought to you by Webroot. We take measures to protect ourselves in different aspects of our lives. Sunscreen, seat belts, security systems. One of my co hosts shouted condoms from a nearby building. With Webroot you can safeguard all parts of your digital life, your devices, personal data and privacy from threats like viruses, identity theft and data breaches. Webroot offers multiple layers of protection to ensure you live a better digital life. Webroot Total Protection is an all in one solution that offers antivirus, identity protection, VPN backed and more for one identity and up to five devices or a family plan for up to 10 devices and 10 identities. Their antivirus offers real time protection from malware, ransomware and phishing scams, plus a firewall, network monitor, password manager and more. Identity Protection offers family coverage for toddlers, students, seniors and other dependents, including up to $1 million for identity theft, expense reimbursement, web roots, VPN and backup allows you to hide your IP address, personal data and location from hackers and backup and restore your data with unlimited cloud storage for one PC or Mac. Or if you're just looking for reliable antivirus protection, Webroot Essentials provides cloud based antivirus protection for PC, Mac or mobile devices, including a web threat shield that blocks malicious websites from across multiple browsers. Look like when you're on God's Internet, it's important to have some peace of mind and having Webroot Total Protection, making sure you have a VPN that you have antivirus that you have these tools is so important. So get 50% off webroot total Protection or or Webroot Essentials when you go to webroot.com love it. That's 50% off Webroot total Protection or Webroot Essentials available [e-mail] loveit webroot.com love it. Live a better digital life with Webroot At Radiolab, we love nothing more than nerding out about science, neuroscience, chemistry. But but we do also like to get into other kinds of stories. Stories about policing or politics, country hockey, sex of bugs.

[Ken Jennings]

Regardless of whether we're looking at science.

[Amy Schneider]

Or not science, we bring a rigorous.

[Ken Jennings]

Curiosity to get you the answers and.

[John Lovett]

Hopefully make you see the world anew. Radiolab Adventures on the Edge of what.

[Amy Schneider]

We Think we know Wherever you get.

[John Lovett]

Your podcasts, Love it or Leave It. It's Love it or Leave It. Hi everybody. Welcome to Love it or Leave It. It's great to see everybo. We've got a great show for you tonight. Ken Jennings and Amy Schneider are here. They're gonna fight it out for Twitter dominance like two elephant seals. Tim Heidecker and Vanessa Gonzalez are here. And then we close it down with the return of hot takes. But first, let's get into it. What a week. Donald Trump has finally met his greatest foe. Reality. And maybe dementia. But for now, we're saying reality. Last Friday, the Department of labor released a bleak monthly jobs report. The US had added just 73,000 jobs in July and only 33,000 jobs in May and June combined, making this report the worst jobs performance since Ashton Kutcher. Stupid. Trump, for his part, took the news in stride. It's a highly political situation. It's totally rigged. Smart people know it, people with common sense know it, and a lot of people like to keep their head under the covers. And let's move on to this. As always, we wish Biden appointees were even a fraction as scheming as Trump claims. You think this woman was rigging the numbers? This woman has gone to find a grocery store employee because she accidentally rang up an organic zucchini as a regular zucchini at the self checkout. Trump, naturally, provided no evidence to support his claim. He fired the labor commissioner because the numbers were bad, and so they must be fake. We're seeing phenomenal numbers. I mean, really phenomenal numbers. We'll be announcing a new statistician sometime over the next three, four days. We had no confidence. I mean, the numbers were ridiculous.

[Amy Schneider]

It's a scam, in my opinion.

[John Lovett]

Look at this tremendous number. Trump continued, turning the calculator around to reveal the word boob. Lucky for Trump, there's a seasoned statistician who recently lost his job due to budget cuts. The economy added a billion jobs. I didn't commit the economy. The economy added a billion jobs. Ah, ah, ah, ah, ah. That's it. You gotta ah, ah, ah. That's what it is. It has to be short. As usual, a fleet of intellectual Zambonis were following close behind Trump to defend him. Here's National Economic Council director Kevin Hassett noting that if you just ignore the new, more accurate numbers, the old numbers are pretty good. While the job stubbers had this big kind of mysterious revision, if they didn't have the revision, then the jobbers were fully consistent with the three. In a sense, the play Our American Cousin was a huge success until the revision at the end by John Wilkes Booth. And here's Hassett's evidence for the claim that the numbers were rigged, which is once again, numbers bad. Does the administration have any evidence that it was rigged, as the President said. And will you be presenting that to the American public? Well, the evidence is that there have been a bunch of revisions that could hold to partisans. Well, I mean, the revisions are hard evidence. Claiming something's hard when it's not. What is this? J.D. vance on date night, still in his head over a Twitter fight with Chris Hayes. This is, of course, nonsense, because job numbers have always been revised as the Bureau receives more information. And while the revisions seem big as a share of job losses, these adjustments are actually impressively small when you remember that the Bureau is keeping track of roughly 160 million jobs. Impressively small. What is this? JD Vance marveling at a bonsai tree? Here's that's a little twist. Here's Trump's Secretary of Labor, Lori Chavez D Riemer, riding for her boy. And the president absolutely has the right to determine who is going to be advising him. And I support the president's decision in this replacement. It is my job to support the president in this issue and I do support him. But it's actually not your job to support the president. You're not the Secretary of Emotional Labor. William Beach, Trump's BLS chief in his first term, said that the decision to fire his successor made absolutely no sense. It's impossible for the commissioner to do that. The commissioner does not even see the numbers until the numbers are completely done.

[Ken Jennings]

And they're loaded and ready to be distributed.

[John Lovett]

So like most bosses, she did none of the work but gets all the credit. Sorry, it's not called producer or leave it. I don't. That's how it is. Meanwhile, Trump keeps getting caught up in the reality of his friendship with America's most probably dead sex trafficker, Jeffrey Epstein. And look, we've all had friendships we regret. If I could go back in time, would I go to Cabo with those 4, 9, 11 hijackers? Of course not. But that's based on what I know now. Trump's deputy Attorney general, who was his personal attorney until late last year, went to meet with Ghislaine Maxwell on July 25. During the meeting, Maxwell begged the Deputy AG to throw her a rope, to which she replied, oh, don't worry, we'll definitely have a rope for you. Then on Friday, we learned that Maxwell had been transferred from her Florida prison to a minimum security federal facility for non violent offenders in Texas known as Club Fed. With no official announcement or justification, said one Trump administration official. There is nothing unusual about this. Ghislaine Maxwell simply chose to End her life. Oh, my gosh, I'm so sorry. That is for tomorrow's press conference. Now, many are wondering, could her transfer be an inducement of some kind? Yes, of course it is. On Tuesday, ABC News reported that Ghislaine Maxwell said nothing during her nine hour interview that would be damaging to Trump and that the administrators was considering releasing the transcripts. Though officials are reportedly trying to figure out whether they can redact the part of the transcript that describes Maxwell doing a big wink. According to cnn, top administration officials, including Vance, Trump's Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, Attorney General Pam Bondi, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, and FBI Director Kash Patel, planned to gather at the Vice President's residence on Wednesday for a secret meeting to discuss their Epstein strategy. Jeffrey Epstein, of course, planned to join remotely. Vance's office denied the report, saying the CNN story is pure fiction. There was never a supposed meeting scheduled at the Vice President's residence to discuss Epstein's strategy, which is a very interesting way to slam a door closed so hard it stays a little bit open. When Trump was asked about the reported Epstein dinner, he and Vance denied it. It's completely fake news. We're not meeting to talk about the Epstein situation. And I think the reporter who reported it needs to get better sources. Look, the whole thing is a hoax.

[Amy Schneider]

It's put out by the Democrats because we've had the most successful six months in the history of our country. And that's just a way of trying.

[John Lovett]

To divert attention to something that's total bullshit, okay? And I wasn't even excited about a dinner party because I'm invited to them all the time, said Kash Patel, holding a bottle of Sancerre Sauvignon Blanc he chose after a deeply vulnerable 15 minute conversation with a clerk at the Wine Star. Also, how about Tim Cook standing between those two fucking guys? He's there to present him with some sort of gold iPhone or something. Just like kissing the fucking ring. And then you're standing there and he's like, I don't even know. Epstein. Epstein. Who's Epstein? He's like, Jesus fucking Christ. Good. Suffers. Fucking suffers and you suffer. Tim Cook, you made your bed, you sleep in it. That's right. You're standing between J.D. vance and Donald Trump while they fucking yell at the press about some fucking bullshit. That's what you deserve. You stand there, fucking like it. Tim Cook. Too many cords for the fucking iPhone. CNN reported Thursday that the Epstein meeting actually happened, but they moved it from the Naval Observatory to the White House. Outsmarting us once again, on Tuesday, Trump was on the roof. Mr. President, what are you doing over there? Taking a little walk. No, stop. Don't do it. You got so much to live for. At one point, Trump could be seen making the shape of a large boob with his hands and mouthing the words, it's gonna be beautiful. What the fuck is that? It's gonna be beautiful. What's gonna be beautiful, you ask? Why, it's the 200 million dollar ballroom that Trump plans to build. The administration announced last week that the new ballroom would be 90,000 square feet, which is almost twice the size of the entire White House. It's basically the size of a Walmart. Why so big, you ask? Trump told reporters it's going to take a pretty big gala to find all the Bennett sisters suitable husbands for the Longbourn estate is inherited by that insufferable Mr. Collins. And look, as far as distractions go, this is a good try, but we can still shit on this dumb ballroom warehouse and stay focused on Trump's failures and scandals at the same time. A ballroom the size of a Walmart. Think of how many unemployed workers, vaccine scientists and dead pedophiles could fit inside there. The White House also revealed the redesign of the Rose Garden, which Trump recently paved over, covered with Mar A Lago style tables and yellow umbrellas. All in all, a lot of construction for a four year lease. Meanwhile, Attorney General Pam Bondi ordered prosecutors to open up an investigation into Trump's Russia hoax and present evidence to a grand jury in South Florida, even though the five year statute of limitations has expired. John Durham already did this investigation during Trump's first term and ended up with two acquittals and zero convictions. And there is no evidence that any of these crimes, which never happened, if they had happened, would have happened in Florida. But Trump. But Trump isn't the only one struggling with reality. Here's Nebraska Republican Mike Flood addressing his constituents this week. Why did you cut SNAP and healthcare research?

[Tim Heidecker]

We do not have unlimited money in the United States.

[Amy Schneider]

Next slide, please.

[John Lovett]

And then the next slide answered everybody's concerns. Kind of put the whole thing to rest. Best slide anybody's ever seen. Most Americans now hold Trump responsible for the rising cost of living as he obsesses over deportations and tariffs and culture wars, which has led Republicans to worry that they're courting disaster in the midterms. And Republicans are doing that, courting the only way they know how, being way too aggressive, blaming you for not liking it, and then trying to get their cup friend to scare you for not being willing to hang out again. That's right. On Sunday, dozens of Texas Democrats fled to Illinois to break quorum and prevent Republicans from passing a new congressional map during a two week special session. And that is why on this night we eat very, very thick bread. For when the Democrats fled Texas, they went to Chicago, where The pizzas take 40 minutes to cook. Usually, redistricting happens once a decade, but Republicans have been emboldened by Supreme Court rulings that scrap part of the Voting Rights act, rubber stamp partisan gerrymandering and raise the threshold to challenge discriminatory maps. And maps shouldn't discriminate except against left turns on major streets when there's no light. Under Texas House rules, each lawmaker is fined $500 for each day they fail to show up, and that's a lot of money, said Illinois billionaire Governor J.B. pritzker. Texas Governor Greg Abbott could call special session after special session, which Democrats could only stop by remaining out of state and racking up more fines. And who knows how long they can keep that up? People are going to start missing their dogs and kids or whatever. So far, Texas Democrats have been undeterred, which has been deeply frustrating to Texas Republicans. Here's the state's attorney general, Ken Paxton, and I think the governor is going to be forced into calling several special sessions. Eventually they're going to have to come back. There's no doubt they'll come back. They have to. They have jobs, they have lives, they have families. They're not going to live in Chicago, especially when it starts getting cold. Why? Because they'll hate having a power grid that doesn't conk out the first time it snows. Abbott can't have state law enforcement arrest anyone who isn't physically in Texas, which is why we got Trump saying this. Do you want the federal government and the FBI to help locate and arrest these Texas Democrats who have left the state? Well, I think they've abandoned the state. Nobody's seen anything like it, even though they've done it twice before. Should the FBI get well, they may.

[Amy Schneider]

Have.

[John Lovett]

Also stop giving him ideas, unless the idea is you'll probably float to the ground like Mary Poppins. Many Democrats have long pushed for independent, nonpartisan redistricting, which is what we have in California, Colorado and several other states. Even as Republicans have grown more and more brazen in their redistricting schemes. It's led to an interesting political phenomenon called losing. But the attention Texas Democrats have brought has led blue state governors to step up at least Rhetorically, New York Governor Kathy Hochul called the redistricting fight a war and said this. If Republicans are willing to rewrite these rules to give themselves an advantage, then they're leaving us no choice. We must do the same. The problem is mid decade redistricting in New York would require an amendment to the state constitution because of a ballot measure passed by voters in 2014 as part of the Ice Bucket Challenge. Gavin Newsom said that California Democrats would move forward with a new map of their own aimed at flipping five of the state's GOP House seats next year. It was always going to come down to California versus Texas. Tex Mex. That's cute, you dust farmers. We put French fries in our burritos on our way to the goddamn ocean. The California legislature has to pass a proposal by August 22 to have it before voters in November so the maps could be in place by the elections in 2026. We gotta move fast. California, I know it's not our usual move. There's been a four year gap between seasons on euphoria. But still, a lot of us did come from New York. Some of that muscle memory's gotta still be in there. Gavin's plan has angered former Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, who plans to lead the campaign against redistricting. Schwarzenegger considers California's independent redistricting commission his baby and this baby he has claimed from the very beginning. Which leaves us only one option. Gavin Newsom must go back in time to kill Arnold Schwarzenegger's father who was a Nazi. So it's fine. There is hope in all of this, in Republican arrogance and brazenness. Because believing you can dictate reality to voters when voters will ultimately dictate reality to you is hubris. Just ask two term president and beloved national hero Joe Biden. You can fire the bean counters at the labor department, but it doesn't change how many people are looking for work. And you can claim tariffs punish other countries, but Americans will feel the average increase of $2,400 in costs and a lot of people will still be hurt. RFK Jr announced the end of 22 MRNA vaccine projects based on nonsense. This is real life damage because the head of the HHS department denies reality. Not only does this give up the promise of so many treatments and cures, it will mean so many people who would have otherwise been autistic will now just be fucking normal and boring. I'll end with this. NPR reported on Monday that the Trump administration is looking to shut down a satellite mission called the Orbiting carbon observatories. These are satellites that were designed to measure carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. But there was a happy accident, as one climate scientist described it, in how those satellites were measuring carbon. They were also creating a high resolution map of plant growth all over the world. And that has allowed the government and private companies to use the data to map crop yield, analyze drought conditions, predict when you're masturbating, and a lot of other amazing science. It costs shy of a billion dollars just to get these satellites into orbit. It costs relatively little to keep them aloft while providing data for farmers, ranchers and policymakers that has genuine positive benefits. But now it looks like the Trump administration is going to purposefully burn up a satellite in the atmosphere rather than deal with the reality it describes. And if that is what Donald Trump is willing to do to a satellite that says things he doesn't like, just imagine what he'd do to a hypothetical pedophile with nothing to lose, with whom he shares a secret, deep and long lasting friendship. He might kill him and make it look like a suicide. Hypothetically, for legal purposes, a bit we're doing. We've got a great show for you tonight coming up. It's a double jeopardy with Ken Jennings and Amy Schneider. Hey, don't go anywhere. There's more of Love it or Leave it coming up. Love or to Leave it is brought to you by Helix. I love Helix mattresses. So comfortable. I have a Dawn locks, the best. There's the best. Love Don. Talk about the data I saw from your wearable device. I don't use those. I don't need any more data about my fucking Cummins and going same. But I know I have some data for you. It's great, it's comfortable. Helix knows there's no better way to test out a new mattress than by sleeping on it in your own home. 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[Vanessa Gonzalez]

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[John Lovett]

And we're back. Wait, who are. Wait. My favorite Jeopardy. Contestants of all time. Who are Ken Jennings and Amy Schneider? I botched that a little bit. Hi. Nice to meet you. Thanks for being here. What a dream to have you both here. Hello.

[Amy Schneider]

How's it going?

[John Lovett]

So good to see you both. If you're both here, who's feeding the thousand monkeys that write all the Jeopardy questions? Amy.

[Ken Jennings]

Yes.

[John Lovett]

You're on the record as being very anti AI.

[Ken Jennings]

Yes.

[John Lovett]

You're both smart and you sort of cornered the market on it. Are you maybe just worried that AI is going to be better at Jeopardy. Than you?

[Ken Jennings]

I mean, it might be better at Jeopardy, but it won't be better at anything useful.

[John Lovett]

Wow, Ken, shots fired.

[Amy Schneider]

I was the very first person to lose to an AI at Jeopardy. So I'm sorry. I'll try to put in a good word for you with the machines when they take over. I feel like we go way back. IBM Watson back in 2011 or whatever that was.

[John Lovett]

Oh, wow.

[Amy Schneider]

So I've been an AI skeptic, by which I mean deeply resentful, broken person for over a decade.

[John Lovett]

Amy, on July 23rd, Trump issued the executive order preventing woke AI in the federal government. I don't know. Two great things that taste great together if you ask me. It's trying to stop the incorporation of concepts like critical race theory, transgenderism, unconscious bias and intersectionality into AI. What?

[Ken Jennings]

Well, I mean, I think if you see what Brock is up to, you understand they want AI and they want it to be racist. So that's what they're doing. It's simple enough.

[John Lovett]

That's too bad.

[Ken Jennings]

Yeah.

[John Lovett]

Well. Amy.

[Ken Jennings]

Yes.

[John Lovett]

You published a memoir Called in the form of a question, the Joys and Rewards of a Curious Life, which also has a young reader's edition titled who Is Amy Schneider? Questions on Growing Up, Being Curious and Winning it big on Jeopardy.

[Ken Jennings]

Yeah, that's all true. You don't have either of those on stage, I'll note.

[John Lovett]

But anyway, you're right about that. Yours sounds like a poignant exploration of your life, but this one's got little questions, fun little questions in it. It's a fun one. So many, so many fun questions.

[Ken Jennings]

You're right. I'm going to put more fun little questions in my next book.

[John Lovett]

Now, how many trans teens do you hope to recruit with the young adult edition for you to consider the book a success?

[Ken Jennings]

I mean, I'm well on my way. There's like about a thousand of us. There's not that many trans people is the thing. So as many as I can get.

[John Lovett]

Nice.

[Ken Jennings]

Yeah.

[John Lovett]

Ken, you posted last month that you won't vote for Gavin Newsom for president after he made comments about trans athletes who said any candidate cynically triangulating on trans kids is a non starter. And now it's time to say so. There's still so much time to advance candidates that. That don't suck.

[Amy Schneider]

I guess I'll stand by that.

[John Lovett]

Yeah. Well, so you're both two very smart people. At least one of you is trans. What would you, you know, they're getting this question all the time and they're all struggling to grapple with a reality which is while Americans remain broadly supportive of trans people and equal rights, there's a lot of skepticism around the issues that the right has been hammering, which is trans athletes and gender affirming care for younger kids. And you see a lot of Democrats struggling for how to be supportive of trans people while trying to figure out how to gain purchase with what is now two thirds of people, including almost half of Democrats, that are deeply skeptical about trans athletes and deeply skeptical now about gender affirming care for younger kids. So what do you think about that?

[Ken Jennings]

First of all, I think that these, like, polling numbers, these ideas, like, there's a question of if you're just called on the phone and ask this question, will you say one side or the other is very different from how much it's actually motivating you for any purpose. And the second thing I would say is it would be one thing if they had not been supporting trans people when it was easy, but they did when it was easy. And it's this exact sort of thing. This. Oh, this is Unpopular now. So we are changing our position. That is why nobody trusts the Democrats. So, like that's really the issue. Like, voters don't want you to do what the polls say because then they know if the polls change, you'll change. They want you to have principles that you stand up for. And like, choosing to support trans people is a very good principle. It's the one that the future is going to agree with. So get onto it.

[John Lovett]

Anything to add that Ken?

[Amy Schneider]

Agree 100%. Like, you can't act like these poll numbers are written in stone. Well, I guess trans people are unpopular. What are we going to do? Those issues were made unpopular by like a never ending decade long propaganda campaign. Like what you do is you, you fight back against the misinformation. You don't say, well, I wonder if we can get some middle aged white men in the Midwest if we just sell out trans kids. I mean, it's just awful to think about.

[John Lovett]

Yeah, no, I agree, I agree. Oh, good. So you got me, you got me. No, well, so here's what I struggle with, which is what do I care about? I care about broad trans acceptance, right? Not just acceptance, but love and appreciation to see the value that trans people bring to our world and the way they challenge us to see gender in new and more interesting and diverse ways. I want young kids to be free to express themselves and I want parents, kids, doctors to be able to get kids exactly what they need when they need it, carefully, thoughtfully, respectfully, whatever. I also want kids who are trans to be able to play sports in school and just play with their friends that match their gender. Right? Like, I just want that. And I want adults who are trans to feel safe and be able to work and be able to access gender affirming care. And I don't give a fuck about what happens at high level NCAA tournaments. I just don't care. I really don't. And I feel like there is this problem where correctly you are noting that there's some kind of a dark concession in this. Right? There's a kind of effort to capitulate and Republicans won't say, oh, thanks, you met us in the middle, we're good on trans people now, they'll just keep fighting. But at the same time, the issue of like high level sports, which affects a tiny percentage of trans people who are themselves a tiny percentage of the world, kind of blows everything out of proportion. And so I honestly feel this conflict because part of me wants to say, you know what, like when, you know, Gavin Newsom gets a ton of shit for this. And I think that kind of went a little bit out of his way. But, like, Pete tries to struggle with this, says trans people are vulnerable, says they're under attack, also says people have legitimate fairness questions. He gets attacked for it. Right. Some people say fairly, some people say not. But what makes me worried is I. I see us losing ground on the issue. You can blame Democrats for that, but clearly there's some larger debate we're struggling with.

[Ken Jennings]

You know, one thing I'll say is that I. I do, and I think I try to in. In my public, like, life, I once held every anti trans position that you can imagine. I grew up a conservative Catholic in Ohio in the 80s. Like, this is exactly what I was raised to believe, and I did believe it. And, like, so it's. I. I'm not saying that anybody who has these concerns, like, the people that you're talking about, are bad, irredeemable people. And I am totally on board with trying to communicate with them in a respectful way. And it's understandable why they feel the way they do and the fears that they have are understandable. But the thing about it is, like, I understand. And I also understand that, like, trans issues are not the most important thing. They're not more important than the Supreme Court. They're not more important than whether we have another Democratic election in this country. But I'm trans, and I can't. It just is the most important issue to me, and I can't help that. And so, like, that's the thing I struggle with, is that, like, I'm not trying to be dismissive, and I'm not trying to be dismissive of the point of needing to win elections. But, like, also, this is real, and it's happening to me and to people like me that don't have a way to talk about it. And so I feel the need to talk about it for them.

[John Lovett]

Ken, I think we could sneak you into some pretty Republican places.

[Amy Schneider]

Is this a plan you've been thinking about? I just.

[John Lovett]

No, it occurred to me now, just sort of, you know, that Amy's transness is inescapable. So is your general shape. I know. What.

[Amy Schneider]

What about the host of Jeopardy. In a suit is Republican coded? I don't know what you're talking about.

[John Lovett]

So. So sophisticated.

[Amy Schneider]

I came straight from work.

[John Lovett]

Did you?

[Amy Schneider]

I did.

[John Lovett]

Wow.

[Amy Schneider]

We're not all podcasters, John. Like, some of us have a day job. I had to host five Jeopardies today.

[John Lovett]

Wow. And where's Ken's parade? So when you when you're on Jeopardy. Number five, and you walk up to somebody and it says on the car, like so. It says here, you like skateboarding. Is your heart in it?

[Amy Schneider]

So I have to admit, as a kid, I found the Jeopardy. Interview so cringy that I would leave the room. That's my. That's my Jeopardy. Origin story. Because these people mean well, but you make them stop playing Jeopardy. For a second to talk about their cat or their trip to Thailand or something, and they're not there for that. They just want to answer the little question. So I try to make it good. I try to make it the least bad it can be and get out of there. My promise to you, the viewer.

[John Lovett]

What percentage of the time do you have to say, no, I'm sorry, you can't also talk about trains.

[Amy Schneider]

My version of that joke would be cats. It is 100%. You would not believe the crazy thing my cat does. And I'm like, I bet I can. Does it sit on top of the couch? That's nuts.

[Ken Jennings]

I have to say, as somebody who has seen Ken work up close, his ability to laugh at the end of any story is remarkable.

[Amy Schneider]

I've spent my whole life trying to get out of conversations in 25 seconds. That's why the Jeopardy. Host is the job for me.

[John Lovett]

Maybe I should have been that, too. Well, what is it when your specialty is having other people try to get out of conversations with you? Something to think about. Okay, this show. What am I gonna do? I'll transition, which is why it's time for a game we're calling Connections with Schneide Effects. We've been inspired by Ken's book and Amy's book.

[Ken Jennings]

Oh, good.

[John Lovett]

Here's how it works. I'm gonna read you three trivia questions you can buzz in and try to answer, and at the end, you have to tell us what the connection is between the three answers.

[Amy Schneider]

This is my trivia format.

[John Lovett]

Yeah. That's why, as I referenced.

[Amy Schneider]

I love that it's catching on.

[John Lovett]

I guess you maybe don't listen to the answers. No, I'm kidding. But, yes, this is based on your book and, to a lesser extent, Amy's book. All right, first question. What superstar musical protagonist did Cynthia Erivo portray across from Adam?

[Ken Jennings]

I was waiting till the end, but go ahead. Wow.

[John Lovett]

Should I not?

[Amy Schneider]

Should I not?

[John Lovett]

No, no. You dozed in. There's no rules.

[Amy Schneider]

I hope it's Jesus Christ Superstar.

[John Lovett]

You got it. Next question. The Coast Guard released their findings this week, revealing that the 2023 implosion of what submersible was preventable.

[Ken Jennings]

Titan.

[John Lovett]

You got it. Wow, they're both so smart. You can feel it in the room. You can feel the energy intimidating. Ken's darting, intelligent, shark like eyes.

[Amy Schneider]

That has never been a compliment in the history of the language. You know what I love about him is his shark like eyes.

[Ken Jennings]

Shark like famously intelligent looking shark eyes.

[John Lovett]

Yeah, that's exactly what I'm talking about. I gotta stay on my toes. Blowing it. What American radio host did Trump call a racist sleazebag this week after he criticized Trump on his daughter in law Lara Trump's Fox News show. A radio host.

[Amy Schneider]

Are there still radio hosts?

[John Lovett]

There are.

[Ken Jennings]

Is Howard Stern still on?

[John Lovett]

It's not Howard Stern. It was Charlemagne the God.

[Amy Schneider]

I saw that.

[John Lovett]

So we have. We have Jesus Christ the Titan and Charlemagne the God. What is the connection? The Kennection.

[Ken Jennings]

They're all gods.

[John Lovett]

Yeah.

[Amy Schneider]

That did get easier at the end.

[John Lovett]

Yeah. Next question. This week, the White House Historical association exhibit in D.C. revealed a full size replica of what room before Trump added gold trim to it.

[Ken Jennings]

The Oval Office.

[John Lovett]

Correct. Scientists announced that they'd identified the bacteria behind the death of 5 billion of what sea creature over the last 10 years?

[Amy Schneider]

I actually don't know. Oysters?

[John Lovett]

No. Oh, you could steal it.

[Ken Jennings]

Sea stars.

[John Lovett]

Yeah. I'll give it to sea star. Oh, that's a correct answer. Sea stars or starfish?

[Ken Jennings]

I'm glad you'll give it to me.

[John Lovett]

Gotta stay on my toes. I never heard them called sea stars. I always called them starfish.

[Ken Jennings]

I read a lot of the New York Times this week in preparation for the show, so thank you for that.

[John Lovett]

And finally, what federal department jumped into the Sydney Sweeney American Eagle fray with a photo of their secretary's great jeans as he got off the plane?

[Amy Schneider]

Who looks good in jeans? Hhs.

[John Lovett]

That's incorrect.

[Ken Jennings]

State.

[John Lovett]

No, it was the Pentagon. It was defense. It was the Pentagon. What? Can we just. This is an aside about jeans, but. And I really am not making this about. I don't care about Pete Hegseth's pants. But these are the genes that have this sort of faux weathering or whatever you call it, or what's that called when the jeans are weathered. Distressed. Distressed. And I think things really went wrong as a society when we started artificially distressing things. I think it spoke to something deeply wrong in us. Like when all the restaurants proved how authentic they were because their signs had the letters painted but printed, but as if they had been printed long ago and then worn. And they got reclaimed wood. So the Tables looked old, like they'd been made from what was around.

[Amy Schneider]

It's real decadence. It's decadence like things used to be shitty just because things were actually shitty.

[John Lovett]

Yeah, yeah.

[Ken Jennings]

No, I definitely think that that's what's wrong with America.

[John Lovett]

Now. What is the.

[Amy Schneider]

They're shapes.

[John Lovett]

There are their shapes. They're shapes. Ken's connection, I guess.

[Amy Schneider]

The Pentagon. I was like, what Cabinet Department is a sheep? I don't know.

[John Lovett]

Only that Pentagon one.

[Amy Schneider]

I feel bad.

[Ken Jennings]

Not exactly a department.

[John Lovett]

But anyway, I know it's not the name. It's the building the department is housed in. We're doing our best. Let's do one more. This week, the USDA admitted to playing an argument scene from what Scarlett Johansson Adam Driver drama to scare wolves away from livestock. Yes.

[Amy Schneider]

I did not hear this.

[John Lovett]

Yes. A USDA district supervisor from Oregon told the Wall Street Journal, I need the wolves to respond and know that, hey, humans are bad. I never clicked play on that movie because it was always like, I don't want to watch them fight. They're such good actors, but I don't want to watch them fight.

[Amy Schneider]

Is that really the one movie that convinces wolves that humans are bad? It's like going to, like, Battlefield Earth. I don't know what my pitch would be here, but it would not be Noah Baumbach.

[John Lovett]

Ken, how long do you think you would need to learn to fly a Harrier jet?

[Amy Schneider]

I'm not one of these overconfident guys. Like, I love when they ask men, hey, could you beat Serena Williams? And they're always like, yeah, probably. I don't know if I could ever learn to fly a Harrier jet.

[John Lovett]

Who knows? Come on. I think he could do it eventually if he had the time, I guess.

[Amy Schneider]

I saw the rehearsal. Nathan Fielder can fly a commercial airliner now, and it. It took him, I don't know, a year. So I think, yeah, a year.

[John Lovett]

Nathan Fielder timescale in battlefield dirt. They just kind of sit in one and go like, I got it. And they're not even, like. They're like. They don't even have technology. They, like, put their sticks down and they get in the fucking Harrier jet and they're like, whoo.

[Amy Schneider]

It's like Independence Day. Like, we're in a flying saucer. We just need to put a diskette in it.

[John Lovett]

Yeah.

[Amy Schneider]

Then it'll have a virus.

[John Lovett]

Yeah. The aliens are on iOS. Yes.

[Ken Jennings]

Luckily, USA. USA.

[John Lovett]

This week's episode saw south park toying with Director of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, also known by what Nickname.

[Amy Schneider]

Gustavo Barbie.

[John Lovett]

Or we'll give it to you. We'll give it to you. It's Ice Barbie. I'll take Gestapo Barbie. I think we'll take it. We'll take it.

[Amy Schneider]

On Jeopardy. On Jeopardy. Ice. I guess stop our. We have a hard time judging. Yeah.

[John Lovett]

If we didn't. Yeah. Hey. Never mind. Struggling to fall asleep. TikTok users recommend you try green noise which contains mid range frequencies of about 500 Hz. Unlike what more common sleep supporting sound which contains all frequencies at the same intensity.

[Ken Jennings]

White noise.

[John Lovett]

You got it. Here are both. This is white.

[Amy Schneider]

Pretty good.

[John Lovett]

Let's hear some green noise. That's nice. That's nice.

[Amy Schneider]

Better, right?

[John Lovett]

That is better. We have white noise going in my office called Fox News. Sorry, Ken. All right, it's time. What's the connection? We got white noise. We got Ice Barbie. We got whatever the first one was.

[Amy Schneider]

Marriage story.

[John Lovett]

Marriage story.

[Amy Schneider]

They're all extremely white.

[John Lovett]

You're warm. Oh, I'll say this. They have a writer in common. Writer white. Oh, it's your face kind of made the word.

[Ken Jennings]

Well, I. Well then I thought of other people. I don't know.

[Amy Schneider]

Credit or wreck it Is Greta Gerwig.

[John Lovett]

No. Well, close. It's Noah Baumbach.

[Ken Jennings]

Yes.

[Amy Schneider]

Oh, he wrote.

[John Lovett]

He wrote Barbie with.

[Amy Schneider]

And he wrote the Adam Driver. White noise.

[John Lovett]

Right. It's always. This is such a classic Hollywood thing of like giving a woman credit for something a man.

[Amy Schneider]

When will people finally stand up for Noah Baumbach?

[John Lovett]

I'll do one more. What summer month contains this year's Sturgeon Full moon.

[Amy Schneider]

Ty, what were you gonna say?

[Ken Jennings]

August.

[John Lovett]

You got it.

[Amy Schneider]

Okay. Very nice.

[John Lovett]

In May, the New York City planning commission okayed a casino project proposal. For what? Brooklyn Landmark Casino, Coney Island. You got it. Wow. Ghislaine Maxwell is staying in the same Texas prison at white collar criminal Elizabeth Holmes. What's the name of author John Carrey's nonfiction expose on Holmes Fraudulent testing startup Bad Blood. You got it. What is the connection?

[Amy Schneider]

What are they again?

[John Lovett]

August Bad Blood.

[Amy Schneider]

Something else. And a third.

[John Lovett]

Coney Island.

[Amy Schneider]

Coney Island.

[John Lovett]

Bad Blood. August Coney Island. What is the connection?

[Amy Schneider]

The Taylor Swift.

[John Lovett]

Yes.

[Amy Schneider]

Is that right?

[John Lovett]

You got it. You got it.

[Amy Schneider]

I didn't buzz, though.

[John Lovett]

I feel like you got it. You also didn't phrase any of these in the form of a question.

[Amy Schneider]

That is not what I'm gonna be in trouble with for Jeopardy.

[John Lovett]

After this show.

[Amy Schneider]

So.

[John Lovett]

Ken had no idea what this was. We grabbed him off the fucking street. He said, please, I have to get home to My family and I said, you have to do this podcast.

[Ken Jennings]

Don't change out of that suit.

[John Lovett]

Don't change out of that suit. What a great tie.

[Amy Schneider]

Thank you. Stephen Zimmelman used to dress Alex Trebek and now this might be an Alex era tie. It is.

[John Lovett]

Look.

[Amy Schneider]

When they say look, this is fun when the ties have this little code at. That's like an Alex Warren game tie. I know, right? It's like a game worn baseball jersey or something. I always feel an extra power when I inherit an Alex tie.

[John Lovett]

There are videos that go around of Alex Trebek just ripping on contestants. Like every once in a while, every once in a while he would. There's that one famous clip where he said, it's called a loser. That's not your speed. Have you ever really given anybody the business?

[Amy Schneider]

I don't think I would. That clip is somebody explaining nerdcore rap to Alex. Yes, but I feel like that's what you should expect when you explain nerdcore rap to Alex Trebek. Like, in other words, losers. But no, I'm from a different generation. We're participation trophy Jeopardy. At least in the interview segments. Like all these stories are winners to me.

[Ken Jennings]

I mean, I would also say ask Ken about that in like 20, 30 years.

[Amy Schneider]

Yeah, that's right. Maybe it's, you know, I'm just still the fresh faced new guy. I'm sure Trebek used to care about the stories too. Good for you.

[John Lovett]

I want to talk more about this, but we're gonna have to leave it there for now. Thank you, Ken and Amy. The connections, trivia book and memoir in the form of a question, plus the young reader's edition, who is Amy Schneider, are all available now. Next up, Tim Heidecker and Vanessa Gonzalez. Rage against the Machine. Kate. 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 policygenius. Buying a home, having a child, starting a business. These are the moments that remind you of that you need life insurance. Because, you know, sunrise, sunset, Tommy. Yeah, we're all gonna go. Policygenius makes finding and buying life insurance simple. Ensuring that your loved ones have a financial safety net they can use to cover debts and routine expenses. You can compare quotes from top insurers and find coverage that fits your needs and your budget. With policy Genius, you can find life insurance policies starting at just $276 a year for $1 million in coverage. It's an easy way to protect the people you love and feel good about. The future. And with policygenius, you can compare quotes from America's top insurers side by side for free. Their licensed support team helps you get what you need fast so you can get on with your life. They answer questions, handle paperwork and advocate for you throughout the process. Life insurance is not a one size fits all product and PolicyGenius doesn't treat it like one. They lay out all your options clearly. Coverage, amounts, prices, terms. No guesswork, just clarity. Secure your family's future with Policygenius. Head to Policygenius.com to compare free life insurance quotes from top companies and see how much you could save. That's policygenius.com heads up it managers support for Windows 10 ends October 14, 2025. That means no more standard security updates for evolving cyber threats threats. It's time to upgrade your business to Windows 11 Pro PCs with Intel Inside. They're built for advanced workflows with out of the box security, simple deployment, and built in AI tools to help teams achieve more in less time. Upgrade today at www.windows.com business intel. And we're back. Please welcome to the stage two comedians no AI could replicate yet. It's Tim Heidegger and Vanessa Gonzalez. Come on out. Hi to you both. Welcome. Good to see you. Hello. You can come through any way you want. It's not really. You can go around or I guess go maybe all the way around. Yeah, I guess you're right. It's a weird amount of space. It's a weird amount of space. I'm sorry. It's a weird amount of space. Okay. No skin off my back. It's a podcast with a big video presence. Growing, growing. Hi. Hi, Tim. Thanks for being here.

[Tim Heidecker]

Oh, you're welcome. Thanks for having me.

[John Lovett]

Hi, Vanessa. Hi. Thank you both for being here.

[Tim Heidecker]

It was cool to meet Ken Jennings backstage, right? Throwing around a lot of slurs.

[F]

Yeah, I pretended not to notice.

[John Lovett]

No, it's this sort of classic thing. You come to LA and you just never meet your heroes. Don't meet your heroes because they're going to throw out a lot of slurs. Every time, Every time, every time, every time. On Thursday, OpenAI released its latest model, ChatGPT5, which OpenAI's co founder Sam Altman described as PhD level. Meanwhile, as AI generated videos become more realistic, they're becoming more difficult to spot, which makes this a perfect week for a segment we call ok, stop. Colon AI carumba.

[F]

Oh, that's us.

[John Lovett]

It is.

[F]

Oh, I look snatched. I love it. I love the game already.

[John Lovett]

Tim and Vanessa we'll play you the AI videos that sent to shutter up our souls this week. Whenever we've got thoughts we need to share, we'll say, okay, stop, wait.

[Tim Heidecker]

Say that again.

[John Lovett]

What? We're just gonna watch videos and react to it. It's fine. Video number one. First up, we have an AI muse. Boosh, if you will. A little viral video of bunnies jumping on a trampoline. Many TikTok users reported with horror that this was the first AI video they'd actually fell for. Let's take a look.

[Tim Heidecker]

That's it.

[F]

That's it.

[John Lovett]

That's it. Hey, Tim, why do you think we're doing this?

[Tim Heidecker]

Cause it's cool. And there should be more videos like this.

[John Lovett]

Yeah, I agree. It's cool. It is cool. That's a cool video.

[Tim Heidecker]

I got fooled today. I saw this video, a picture of Rita Wilson with Tom Hanks, and she was holding a birthday cake, and it said 69 on it. And I was like, guess what these two are doing this weekend? That was my little joke. But it was an AI picture of the two of them, but it looked. Looked really real, and I felt stupid for sharing that. Hey, I also felt stupid for telling that joke.

[John Lovett]

No, no, no, no.

[Tim Heidecker]

Joke's fun.

[John Lovett]

The joke's. It's great. Yeah, it's great.

[Tim Heidecker]

Imagine Rita Wilson and Tom Hanks 69ing.

[John Lovett]

Yeah.

[F]

Yes.

[John Lovett]

Clearly, I can imagine anyone. 69. That's like a. That's like a talent of mine. You name two people, I can do it. You.

[Tim Heidecker]

You put your head on my face.

[John Lovett]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Tim Heidecker]

You go down on me.

[F]

Oh. Is this where you want me? I don't know what she sounds like. Is it something like this?

[Tim Heidecker]

Sure.

[John Lovett]

Wow. It felt like it was happening in front of us. Vanessa, what do we do? I don't know.

[F]

I. I'm like. Because I'm gonna be 41.

[Tim Heidecker]

One. One day. One day.

[F]

No, soon. Yeah. Like in a month. And I'm. I'm like, is it. Is it AI is getting better? Is it my brain? Is it both? Like, all of them? I'm like, I can't tell anymore, and I'm getting scared.

[John Lovett]

Yeah. I mean, it's both.

[F]

It's both.

[John Lovett]

Yeah. You're gonna slow. Your brain is gonna slowly get worse. You're gonna gain more experience and wisdom. But the actual. The software is going to improve. The hardware is going to keep getting worse. Isn't that interesting? That's what getting older is. Software gets a little better. Hardware keeps getting worse.

[Tim Heidecker]

Yeah, that's. It's like a Seinfeldian take.

[John Lovett]

Oh, thanks. They should make the whole plane out.

[Tim Heidecker]

Of it a little bit worse. I guess I'm just doing impressions on this show. Bad impressions.

[John Lovett]

No, they're really good.

[Tim Heidecker]

Thank you.

[John Lovett]

You're putting yourself down too much. They're so good.

[Tim Heidecker]

I just wish I like. I do. There's one part of AI that I want which doesn't exist, I think. I mean, like, at home, I do a little podcast and I do the stupid things of, like, I have to press all these things with my mouse and send things places and do these stupid things. I want to go into my little studio and be like, computer, how are we doing? Let's go. And then does all the dumb shit that I don't want to do, but I don't give a shit about bunnies on trampolines. Right.

[John Lovett]

That's such an important point. In Star Trek the Voyage Home, Scotty picks up the mouse.

[Tim Heidecker]

Computer.

[John Lovett]

Yes. He's so annoyed. He shows up and he's like, all right, I gotta make some transparent aluminum.

[Tim Heidecker]

Thank you.

[John Lovett]

Classic.

[Tim Heidecker]

Yeah.

[John Lovett]

And he goes into the place where he's gonna hold a whale. To hold the whale.

[Tim Heidecker]

To bring back to the future.

[John Lovett]

To bring back the future whales. Because the whale aliens only wanna talk to our whales, and our whales are fucking dead.

[Tim Heidecker]

They go back to 1980, something.

[John Lovett]

Yeah, the 80s. And Scotty is trying to use the computer and they say, you gotta use the mouse. Really?

[Tim Heidecker]

Yeah.

[John Lovett]

And he picks up the mouse and he goes, computer, computer. Yeah, that's what we want.

[F]

This is from the news.

[John Lovett]

Video number two. Up next, we have Rod Stewart's Forever Young concert video.

[Tim Heidecker]

Oh, this was bad. Yeah.

[John Lovett]

Featuring AI renderings of deceased musicians, including the very recently dead Ozzy Osbourne. This is from North Carolina. Let's take a look.

[Tim Heidecker]

It's Ozzy going through his Bono phase.

[John Lovett]

Cena Turner. Oh. Oh, no.

[F]

A Tupac.

[John Lovett]

I hadn't seen this. It's Ozzy with everybody. Wow.

[F]

Where's Selena?

[John Lovett]

Oh, that was Selena. Oh, no.

[F]

Oh, no.

[John Lovett]

Oh, wow. It's clean. That's so cool.

[Tim Heidecker]

George Michael.

[John Lovett]

That George Michael. Okay, I think we've had enough of this. For those listening, it was Ozzy Osbourne holding a selfie stick with Prince, Tina Turner, Bob Marley and Tupac. He also took selfies with Michael Jackson, Freddie Mercury, George Michael, Kurt Cobain, Whitney Houston and others. So everyone who's ever died.

[Tim Heidecker]

Jeffrey Epstein.

[John Lovett]

Jeffrey Epstein did make an appearance. Vanessa.

[Tim Heidecker]

I'm so glad. As comedians, we have a new guy to say.

[John Lovett]

Yeah.

[Tim Heidecker]

Because it was OJ For a while. You Know, like, there's just a name now we can just say and get a laugh.

[John Lovett]

Yeah. What is this? Fucking Jeffrey Epstein. What? Sorry. Epstein didn't kill himself. You know, it works. You're right. Vanessa.

[F]

Yes.

[John Lovett]

Is this disrespect? Is this disrespectful?

[F]

I don't know. He looked pretty happy. Yeah, he's having fun. I feel like my mom does similar things. She's not in heaven, though. I don't know.

[Tim Heidecker]

But shouldn't Ozzy be in hell? Like, I mean, like, isn't that his whole vibe? Like, he's the prince of darkness, Right?

[John Lovett]

Didn't he bite the head off a bat?

[Tim Heidecker]

Yeah, she's been, like, with flames behind him and everything. Like, it's cool to be in hell.

[F]

Maybe God. Slower in the bar. Maybe it's easy.

[Tim Heidecker]

I just think it would be his preference to be in hell. Like, his whole identity.

[John Lovett]

Right. Unless hell is just, you know, a godless place and we're in it in a sense. Vanessa, you talk about being Catholic and raised Catholic in your standup.

[F]

Yes.

[John Lovett]

On some level, is this demonic? Are we experiencing demons?

[F]

Yes. Yes. Yeah, that's the devil for sure. At work, I'm just trying to cover my bases, but, yeah, I mean, we're. Yeah, this is hell. I think you're right. It's not getting any better. If that's what heaven is. Us just going in a circle with a selfie stick. I'll take it. It's better than this shit.

[John Lovett]

Right? Yeah. Why would.

[F]

I got one.

[John Lovett]

Shouldn't there be a photographer in heaven? Right. Like, a selfie stick is inherently like a. A practical kind of solution. Best of bad options.

[Tim Heidecker]

Yeah.

[John Lovett]

So heaven is a place where there's no one who can help you take a picture, so you just do it yourself.

[Tim Heidecker]

Heaven. I mean, heaven is hell. Like, this idea that you'd, like, see these old aunts and stuff, old aunts and uncles.

[John Lovett]

Think about that.

[Tim Heidecker]

Like, I don't want to hang out with these old fucking people that I never knew.

[F]

You're right.

[John Lovett]

You know what's unsolvable? There's a lot of people who have died who are in love with other people who died, who did not love them back.

[Tim Heidecker]

Right. Then you run into them up there.

[John Lovett]

So that means there's gotta be a heaven where the unrequited person is, like, doesn't have to deal with it, but the person who loved gets them.

[Tim Heidecker]

This is heavy shit, man.

[John Lovett]

So it's a lot to think about, you know?

[F]

I hope heaven's all dogs.

[Tim Heidecker]

What a mess.

[John Lovett]

That's it. That's what a dog's like.

[Tim Heidecker]

I do impressions.

[F]

That's a good dog.

[Tim Heidecker]

I'm a comedian. I do dog impressions.

[F]

I'm still Rita Wilson. Like.

[John Lovett]

Like when you're playing a video game, if it's too easy, it's not fun, and it's too hard, it's not fun. It's gotta hit that right amount of difficulty to, like, endorphin, serotonin, Goldilocks. Right.

[F]

Mario Kart.

[John Lovett]

So heaven has to be like that too, Right? Cause if it's just super easy, that gets boring. But you don't wanna be too hard. Cause that's what hell is, I guess.

[Tim Heidecker]

Yeah.

[F]

Yeah.

[John Lovett]

So it seems like it has to be right in the middle. Seems like what being alive mostly is.

[Tim Heidecker]

Yeah.

[John Lovett]

It's a lot to think about, Tim. Speaking of being alive. Him, him, him. You're in a. It's a football horror movie.

[Tim Heidecker]

Yeah.

[John Lovett]

Called Him.

[Tim Heidecker]

I'm in it.

[John Lovett]

It's from Jordan Peele's company. It looks like it's about two very real horrors. Being famous and getting cte.

[Tim Heidecker]

Yeah.

[John Lovett]

Doesn't it sometimes feel like we have cte, all of us, in some sense now, from the Internet and so forth? Yeah.

[Tim Heidecker]

I can't. We were talking about this backstage. Our attention span has gone down the toilet, right?

[F]

Oh, yeah. It's real bad.

[Tim Heidecker]

And that's the worst thing about having cte, I think, is just a short attention span. Or does it lead to murder, suicide?

[John Lovett]

I don't know. I never finished the article.

[Tim Heidecker]

Okay.

[F]

I think you can't find your keys, right?

[John Lovett]

Yeah. Elon Musk just rolled out Grok Imagine this week, which allows users to request AI images under the categories custom, normal, fun, and spicy. People immediately started to make deep fake nudes of famous people.

[F]

No.

[John Lovett]

Are you. Either of you worried about people gooning out to your spicy aid fakes? No.

[F]

You made one of me in a vest, right?

[John Lovett]

Now, that's a cheap fake. We cut your face out and put it on a thing.

[F]

I like it. Y' all can goon if you want.

[Tim Heidecker]

Remember when there was that.

[John Lovett]

That.

[Tim Heidecker]

That phishing scam or whatever it was, where they're like, we found we. I have video of you masturbating. Remember that? Yeah, that was going around.

[John Lovett]

Yeah. I'm finding out now that that was not. That was a scam. And.

[Tim Heidecker]

But, like, I was thinking, like, what would that picture be of me? It would just be like this. This pic. Because it's my. You know what I mean? I'm not filming.

[John Lovett]

No, we know It. It beats.

[Tim Heidecker]

Yeah, because it's like a picture of me, like.

[John Lovett]

Cause you're not composing the shot, you know, you're not framing it up.

[Amy Schneider]

Right.

[John Lovett]

In my previous relationship, I was dating a journalist, and he got some people that were following him because of a story he was reporting, and they followed me. And there was all these, like, fake blackmail emails, and then there was. They followed me around, and then the former Mossad people that were following me sent a note to HQ saying, he's so boring, we can't. We can't keep following him. But as part of that, there was, like, an email that accused me of something, and it was so awesome because I hadn't done it right. It was like, haha, nothing. Next up, here's an AI video of AOC talking about the Sydney Sweeney Good Genes ad, despite the fact that it is a watermark saying parody 100% made with AI and is so clearly fake. Chris Cuomo retweeted it Wednesday, thinking it was real. Let's see it. Sydney Sweeney looks like an Aryan goddess, and the American Eagle jeans campaign is blatant Nazi propaganda. Okay, so Cuomo retweets that video and wrote nothing about Hamas or people burning Jews cars. But Sweeney Jean's ad deserve time on the floor of Congress. What happened to this party? Fight for small business, not for small culture wars? AOC replied. This is a deep fake. Dude, please use your critical thinking skills. At this point, you're just reposting Facebook memes and calling it journalism. Like, Chris Cuomo was a mainstream journalist. He is a mainstream journalist. He fucking fell for that.

[F]

His brains.

[Tim Heidecker]

That's HGH going on in that brain.

[John Lovett]

I gotta try that stuff.

[Tim Heidecker]

I want to live in that world like this. Yeah.

[John Lovett]

Should we be on hgh?

[Tim Heidecker]

Let's do it. Let's get big. Let's get big and strong like Sasha Baron Cohen.

[John Lovett]

Do you see him? Does he get strong now?

[Tim Heidecker]

Did you see the picture of Sasha?

[John Lovett]

He's getting strong.

[Tim Heidecker]

Oh, you gotta look that up. It's crazy.

[John Lovett]

Is it real?

[Tim Heidecker]

Can you find that?

[F]

I don't know what's real.

[Tim Heidecker]

You're not gonna believe this. He's on the COVID of, like, Men's Health or something, and he's, like, ripped, cool. Like, shredded. And it's like, funny. Dude.

[John Lovett]

Let's get. Let's get shredded, you and me.

[F]

All right, I'm good.

[John Lovett]

We'll take hgh. We become guys that. Those guys on the. We've got a podcast where we talk about it and get really intense and, like, super intense.

[Tim Heidecker]

Just that, you know, just doing that, I hurt myself.

[John Lovett]

Yeah, I did. I'm a Pilates girl. All right, now, Chris Cuomo fell for this. Look at what AOC is made to say in the rest of his video. I mean, fuck watching that sultry little temptress squeeze into a Canadian tuxedo three sizes too small with her bouncy little fun bags on the screen, staring at you, piercing through the core of your soul with those ocean blue eyes that could resurrect the Fuhrer from his grave in Argentina. Okay, all right, that's enough.

[F]

Why is she talking about me like that?

[John Lovett]

So, Vanessa. Yes. Chris Cuomo got got pretty badly. What do you think he said about it when he was addressing the confusion on air? What do you think he did to kind of make this right? How contrite do you think he was about this?

[F]

I'm sure he admitted he was wrong and took full responsibility for posting something that he didn't look into.

[Tim Heidecker]

Sounds like the Cuomo way.

[John Lovett]

Yeah. Yeah. Let's see what he did. AOC tweeted back and said, dude, that's a deep fake. That Sydney Sweeney ad. You suck in so many words. And she was right. They got me, AI. It was really good.

[Amy Schneider]

And it did seem like something she.

[John Lovett]

Would say, but it wasn't her.

[Amy Schneider]

So I thanked AOC for correcting me.

[John Lovett]

But I then reminded her she ignored the part of the tweet that mattered. Okay. Why will you not address my question based on a fake video of you? Why are you only replying to tell me that I've fallen for some fucking dumb bullshit? Incredible.

[F]

Yeah, go eat a sandwich.

[Tim Heidecker]

Yeah.

[F]

Is that a good burn?

[Tim Heidecker]

I mean, it's a little. It's a little mean spirited, but I like it.

[F]

I'm sorry, I get. I get. I get wound up.

[John Lovett]

That's a fun one because you can say it any way you want. Hey, go eat a sandwich. You know, because it could be just be a nice thing to say.

[F]

Yeah. You know, but I don't mean it nice.

[John Lovett]

Hey, here's a dolphin on a trampoline.

[F]

What is going on?

[John Lovett]

That's really good. That's really good.

[Tim Heidecker]

That's real.

[John Lovett]

That's real. Real. That's real. That's real.

[F]

That's not okay.

[John Lovett]

It's not. It's real and it's not okay. Tim, are you recording office hours? That was recording.

[Tim Heidecker]

Not right now. No, no, we did this morning.

[John Lovett]

This morning? Yeah. Yeah. No, it's part of the day. Another part of the day.

[Tim Heidecker]

Yes. Office hours every Thursday morning on YouTube and Patreon and you take questions? Yeah, we take calls and everything. Called in to tell me that I was. That I'm a bully. Today. I got a big conversation about. And that I should think about. When we have guests and people, do they leave feeling more loved than they did when they came in? And that's pretty good advice. And you think now it's become a joke?

[John Lovett]

Do you think it's true? Do they not leave more loved than they came in?

[Tim Heidecker]

I think they generally either leave the same feeling or maybe a little more loved. I don't know.

[John Lovett]

That doesn't sound like you're a bully.

[Tim Heidecker]

I don't feel like I am, but, you know, I come from the tradition of, you know, Letterman or people like that where you're trying to keep the show moving and if someone calls in and they got nothing to say, you go, bye, bye.

[John Lovett]

Right.

[Tim Heidecker]

Which is not very bullyish. Do you find me to be a bully? Backstage? I was being pretty rude, but no, it's fine.

[F]

You know, just the slurs. But that's.

[John Lovett]

Yeah, he was just trying to fit in with Ken, though. Yeah. Yeah, he was just trying.

[Tim Heidecker]

A real boys club back then.

[F]

Oh, yeah.

[Tim Heidecker]

Real locker room talk.

[John Lovett]

It was pretty ads. I'm sorry that happened.

[F]

Vanessa, it's fine.

[John Lovett]

You can find office hours with Tim Heidecker on YouTube and wherever you get your podcast. Him hits theaters in September 1719. And you play a quarterback?

[Tim Heidecker]

I play the cornerback.

[John Lovett]

Cornerback?

[Tim Heidecker]

No, I play. Yeah, I play a sports agent.

[John Lovett]

Oh, you don't play football in the movie?

[Tim Heidecker]

No, no, not me.

[John Lovett]

Oh, that's good. I was confused.

[Tim Heidecker]

You were? I could. I mean, in the olden days, I'd be a. Probably a pretty good football player.

[F]

Hell, yeah.

[Tim Heidecker]

I don't think.

[John Lovett]

I don't think there's any era for you. Really. No.

[Tim Heidecker]

I'm a six foot tall guy. You want to go?

[John Lovett]

Oh, no, I'm not. I'm not seeking. Yeah, let's. No, I'm not. I didn't say you're not better than me.

[Tim Heidecker]

Okay. But not like a professional football player.

[John Lovett]

Right. I mean, I guess back when it was just like they let anybody do it.

[Amy Schneider]

Yeah.

[Tim Heidecker]

Like when the three. Like when the Three Stooges were playing.

[John Lovett]

Football in their movies when tryouts were like, they put a sign up in Grand Central and you're like, I'm gonna go for it. Yeah.

[Tim Heidecker]

Well, I'm in the movie nonetheless.

[F]

That's great.

[Tim Heidecker]

I have lines too, in the movie.

[John Lovett]

Oh, a speaking role, they call it. Wow, that's. That's cool. Oh, my God. Memorizing your lines. It must be so nerve wracking.

[Tim Heidecker]

I'm not good at it.

[F]

Because of your brains.

[Tim Heidecker]

Yeah. My cte.

[F]

Yeah.

[John Lovett]

And you can follow Vanessa on socials at Vanessa G Comedy. And you've got shows at the Lyric this fall. Lyric Hyperion, where we've done this show as well. When we come back, we turn up the heat. Uh oh. 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 Bombas. Summer's here and we're all chasing something. A break, a goal, a vibe. Don't let bad socks and blisters ruin it. Bombas make socks that keep up with whatever your summer looks like, whether you're running a marathon or just a few errands. Seriously, you know that song that makes you want to go fast? Bombas running socks are like that. They wick sweat, help you keep cool and fight blisters. And it's not just running. They make specialized pairs for hiking, tennis, golf, you name it. They even make socks that can make international flights bearable. Yeah, we're talking Bombus compression socks to help curb aches and keep those legs energized for all the sightseeing ahead. Compression socks, Tommy, that's the age we're at. I feel like they make a difference. You do, they really do. They're pretty good compression socks. Yeah, that's where we're at. Yep, we're reaching the compression socks era. I'm in my compression socks era. That's a sad Instagram caption, but I'll tell you, I'm also in my Bombus era, so it's not so bad because I love my Bombas socks. I wear them every goddamn day. Plus, with wedding season in full swing, you're going to want to see those ruffle and dress socks that'll make you look your best. Best of all, they don't just feel good, they do good. One purchased equals one donated to someone who needs it. You can also order Bombas abroad and abroad can order Bombas. That's right. Along with the US they now ship internationally to over 200 countries. Head over to bombas.com and use the code love it for 20% off your first purchase. That's B O M B A S.com code love it at checkout. B O M B A S bombas.com and use code Love it. They're great socks. Just buy them.

[Vanessa Gonzalez]

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[John Lovett]

And we're back. In case you missed it, the folks at Crooked Media and Vote Save America. We're hosting our first ever Crooked Con, the first ever event where we're gonna bring together organizers and all the amazing people that are part of the friends of the pod community and the least annoying politicians. We're gonna have really interesting conversations and events. We'll be in Washington D.C. on November 6th and 7th. We're gonna have a Pod Save America live show at the Warner Theatre on Thursday, November 6th. And on Friday, November 7th, we'll be at the Wharf joint.

[Tim Heidecker]

The Wharf sounds like you're about to say the Worf film. But it's just the Wharf.

[John Lovett]

It's just the Worf. For a full day of workshops, conversations, live pods, all about figuring out how to build the big pro democracy movement we need before or maybe after it's too late. Tickets are on sale now. Crookedcon.com to get some tickets, use the code, freedom and content. That's all one word. We also have great new merch at the crooked store. Crooked.com store 20% off everything. All right, please welcome back to the stage Ken Jennings and Amy Schneider. Come on back. Ken, you go over here. You go right there. I'm gonna sit here.

[Amy Schneider]

It's a little messy here in my seat.

[John Lovett]

Okay, well, why don't you put a comment card in the fucking box on your way out? I like Ken Jennings. It's fun to kind of razz ya a little bit. Yeah, yeah, but like sweetly.

[Amy Schneider]

That's kind of what the host of Jeopardy. Is like. He's. He's in on the joke. He's a figure of fun, even though Jeopardy's real. But like, Alex was kind of always in on the joke.

[John Lovett]

Yeah.

[Amy Schneider]

You know, like when Will Ferrell would do him on SNL or whatever.

[Tim Heidecker]

Who's the host of Jeopardy Now?

[Amy Schneider]

Like, like when I'm here.

[John Lovett]

All right, now it's time for a segment we call Hot Takes. Here's how it works. That's new. I didn't know that was gonna happen. Here's how it works. We're each gonna be given a hot take to defend. If the take is just too hot to the touch, we're each allowed one skip, but the next one could be worse. Sincerely, I have not seen these. Whatever I get, I'm not in charge of. This is all done by the producers. So let's kick it off. This is for Vanessa. Texas is doing everything right. 30 seconds on the board.

[F]

Texas is doing everything right. You know, it's real hot there. You know, we got breakfast tacos. Yeah. Can't fuck with it. Selena's from there. Can't fuck with it. Let's see. Oh, shit. It's. Yeah. Go, Texas.

[John Lovett]

Nice. Really good.

[F]

Eat a sandwich if you don't like it.

[John Lovett]

Got him.

[F]

Got him.

[John Lovett]

Let's see what's next. Putting the answer in the form of the question is dumb. Ken. 30 seconds. Defend it. Or you can say, this is gonna.

[Amy Schneider]

Get me in so much trouble. But this is actually true. Like, if I came up to you on the street and said, hey, John, who is Grover Cleveland? And you said something like this 19th century Democrat, formerly of Buffalo, New York. Like, you would sound like a crazy person. The syntactic reversal of Jeopardy. Just doesn't work. And when Jeopardy. Like, goes to other countries, they're like, what is up with the what is thing? That doesn't even make sense. But it's just part of our culture now. It's part of our heritage. So you have to have a carve out for this weird, weird historical relic.

[John Lovett]

I like that. I like that. It ties us to the past. It's like how the rules of being kosher don't make sense. Yes. But there's something. Or baseball or kosher. In following them, you demonstrate your care for something. In a sense. Yeah.

[Amy Schneider]

It's like. It's what Torah is based on. Basically.

[John Lovett]

It's about Torah.

[Amy Schneider]

Jeopardy Is what is Torah coded?

[John Lovett]

Torah coded. Let's see what's next. They never found the right person to replace Alex Trebek. Amy, that's yours to defend.

[Ken Jennings]

Yeah. All right. They never found the right person to replace Alex Trebek. You know, they tried a lot of different people, and, you know, the one they came up with was the one who had no previous television experience, which was an odd choice. And, you know, also, you know, I really think that they. They should have gone with, you know, like, I get that they went with the Jeopardy Champion. They maybe should have gone with one who was more popular. Um, so I don't know. I'm just Saying I'm. I'm still open to taking. Taking a call if they want to check that out.

[John Lovett]

Yeah. Wow. Wow.

[Tim Heidecker]

Ken Jennings has no talent. You gotta get rid of them.

[Amy Schneider]

More impressions.

[John Lovett]

More impressions. They're so good. They're so good. I'm freaking out.

[Amy Schneider]

You people could have had Aaron Rodgers. You could have had an unvaccinated Jeopardy.

[Tim Heidecker]

Host, a super spreader Jeopardy.

[Amy Schneider]

And you're complaining?

[John Lovett]

Don't compare him to the Almighty. Compare him to the alternative. Let's see what's next for Tim. I wouldn't mind hopping on the Riyadh Comedy Festival lineup. Tim, you wouldn't mind hopping on the Riyadh Festival Comedy festival lineup. Take it away.

[Tim Heidecker]

I wouldn't mind hopping on the Riyadh Comedy Festival lineup. There's a million dollars in it for me, and I'm looking to end my life, so I'm looking to end up in a black duffel bag in a dumpster somewhere in Saudi Arabia.

[John Lovett]

You were telling me before the show that you don't care that they cut up a journalist's money's money. That was what you said backstage. Hey, you know, the cash didn't cut him up. That just goes in my bank account. That's what you said.

[Tim Heidecker]

I'm gonna give credit to Doug for this joke, but he says they've got the bone saws ready for the funny bones over there.

[John Lovett]

It's horrible.

[Tim Heidecker]

And it's a horrible thing to say.

[John Lovett]

It's a horrible thing to say. It's a horrible because of the serious topic underneath it, because what happened.

[Tim Heidecker]

And yet we gotta laugh.

[John Lovett]

We gotta laugh. We gotta laugh about it. That's what they're gonna say at the Riyadh Comedy Festival. Hey, look, we know it's a series. This is a crazy time out there. But some. But you know what brings people together? Laughter from all over the world.

[Tim Heidecker]

Comedy's dangerous.

[John Lovett]

Comedy is dangerous. Not as dangerous as, say, fucking Bonesaw at the business end of a autocracy.

[Amy Schneider]

But isn't there a progressive take for the festival? Like, what if we could get them off fossil fuels and into delightful standup? Think of the environmental benefits.

[John Lovett]

Wow, that's going to be some quality standup. They get the Saudis. Those are some good jokes.

[Amy Schneider]

Men be driving like this and women don't be driving.

[John Lovett]

Really good. That was really good.

[Tim Heidecker]

You know, that set from Kevin Hart last night really made me think. No one's ever said.

[John Lovett]

All right, let's do one more. This is for me. I don't agree with RFK Jr on much, but he's right about eating roadkill. You know what? Of all the things he's ever done, that is not a problem for me. It's not something that I personally would do. But, like, if you hit an animal with your car, it's fresh.

[Amy Schneider]

It's right there.

[John Lovett]

It's right there. When you want to make a chicken cutlet, you hit it with a hammer. So what do you think happens when you hit a deer? You're just starting the process. I also just don't think vaccines work, so there's, like, a lot you can do. See it? It's invisible. Okay, I still got Covid. Thank you.

[Tim Heidecker]

He didn't eat the bear.

[John Lovett]

Well, he couldn't eat the bear.

[Tim Heidecker]

He's got a line.

[John Lovett]

Yeah, he does have a line, but because his story doesn't fucking make sense. His story never checked out about the bear. He didn't. He couldn't eat the bear because the bear was dead when he found it. Oh, right, because he was like, oh, some other woman hit a bear, then I took it. What woman? What? What? What? Ken? What?

[Amy Schneider]

Kennedy is explaining car accidents implausibly. Like, name a more iconic pair.

[John Lovett]

Well, that's a great place to leave it. That is our show. Thank you so much to Ken Jennings, Amy Schneider, Tim Heidecker, and Vanessa Gonzales. We'll see you next week at Dynasty typewriter. 451 days till the midterms. Have a great night. Have a great weekend. If you're already scrolling endlessly, which we know you are, don't forget to follow us Rooked media on Instagram, TikTok and all the other ones for original content, community events and more. You can also find Love it or leave it on YouTube for videos of your favorite segments and other YouTube exclusive content. And if you want to type our praises or rip us a new one, consider dropping us a review. Finally, you can join Crooked's Friends of the Pod subscription community for ad free Love it or Leave it and Pod Save America episodes, subscriber exclusive pods and more. Sign [e-mail] friends 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. Bill McGrath is our producer, and Kennedy Hill is our associate producer. Hallie Kiefer is our head writer. Sarah Lazarus, Jocelyn Kaufman, Peter Miller, Alan Pierre and Subha Agrawal are our writers. Jordan Kanter is our editor. Kyle Seglin and Charlotte Landis provide audio support. Stephen Colon is our audio engineer. Our theme song is written and performed by Shuri. Thanks to our designer Sammy Cadearna Rees for creating and running all of our visuals, which you can't see because this is a podcast. And thanks to our digital producers David Toles, Claudia Shang, Mia Kelman, Delon Villanueva and Rachel Gajewski for filming and editing video. Each week. Our Head of Production is Matt de Groat and our production staff is proudly unionized with the Writers Guild of America East Just Love it or Leave it.

[Vanessa Gonzalez]

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[John Lovett]

Hey everybody, it's Babs. I am so excited to tell you about Birch Lane, a brand that shares my passion for classic style and joyful living. Their classic furniture and decor helps you celebrate it all. From big holiday gatherings to everyday moments at home, each piece is carefully crafted and delivered fast and free so you can celebrate what matters most. Shop my hand picked Birch Lane collection and more classic [e-mail].