Trae Crowder and Geoffrey Asmus on Comedy and Politics

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Al Franken Podcast – "Trae Crowder and Geoffrey Asmus on Comedy and Politics"
Released April 26, 2026 | Guest Host: Trae Crowder | Guest: Geoffrey Asmus

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Overview

This episode of The Al Franken Podcast is guest-hosted by comedian and satirist Trae Crowder (the "Liberal Redneck"). Trae dives into an insightful, breezy, and sharply funny conversation with standup comic Geoffrey Asmus (who appears to be referred to as "Jeffrey Atkins" in the transcript, likely an error). The two discuss growing up in conservative, midwestern families, how politics and comedy intersect, the evolution of audience sensibilities, the rise of right-wing comedy, "clapter" culture, and the looming impact of AI on creativity. The conversation is candid and laced with humor, self-awareness, and political observations.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Family Backgrounds & Political Shifts

[03:20 – 11:00]

• Geoffrey's Midwest Upbringing: Born in suburban Woodbury, MN ("pretty boring place, honestly"), now living in Brooklyn.
• Parents' Politics:
  • Dad: Former nuclear plant safety engineer, proud Trump supporter ("openly and proudly"), but recently cooled on MAGA ("been humbled a bit in the last six months") [04:46 – 05:05].
  • Mom: Retired special ed teacher—liberal-appearing but "super into Trump" due to generational differences in media literacy.
• Generational Media Gaps:
  • Older generations' faith in "if it’s on the news, it must be true" leads to susceptibility to misinformation and propaganda ([09:05 – 09:50]).
  • Satirical depiction: "She’ll just like, share these articles and it’s just like Zoran pissed on a flag and stuffed it down a veteran's throat. And you’re like, how could you think this is real?" – Geoffrey Asmus [09:32].

2. Changing Political Tides & Voter Sentiment

[05:05 – 06:45; 45:35 – 47:57]

• Noticing disillusionment among MAGA voters, especially as real-world issues (e.g., inflation, "chicken wing prices") persist ("No one cares about kids dying in Gaza; all they care about is if chicken wings are going up at the local bar." – Asmus [05:14]).
• Some longtime Trump fans may not switch to Democrats, but might become nonvoters: "You know, you stay home. Maybe that's... That also counts. That's a W." – Crowder [06:31].
• Parents' firsthand experiences with ICE and escalation of international conflict (Iran) are causing even die-hard supporters to question right-wing narratives.

3. Comedy as Political Bridge & Satire

[12:04 – 20:35]

• Crowder praises Asmus’ rare ability to present political material without alienating mixed audiences, especially right-leaning ones.
• Satire and Subtlety: Asmus suspects some conservative fans miss the satirical undertones ("I think I'm making fun of them, but they don’t quite know that I’m making fun of them sometimes." [13:55]).
• Relatability vs. Ostracization: Crowder notes, from advice and personal experience, that even family members with MAGA sensibilities would enjoy 85–90% of his material, but a whiff of opposing politics can cause total rejection [17:44 – 18:27].
• Asmus self-identifies not as a "liberal" but as a "leftist": "I actually don’t like liberals. I actually think they’re annoying." – Geoffrey Asmus [18:40].

4. The "Clapter" Debate in Political Comedy

[23:06 – 25:14]

• Clapter: The phenomenon of audiences applauding statements they agree with, rather than laughing at jokes.
  • Both hosts express some disdain for it, but Asmus has softened: "Now, as the world descends into fascist madness, I think you can have a two or three clapters. ...I want to plant my flag a little bit." [24:18].

5. Comedy's Political Schism & the Rise of Right-Wing Comedy

[25:28 – 34:00]

• Comedy's landscape is shifting: increasing visibility of right-wing or "adjacent" comics (especially out of Austin, Texas, and via Joe Rogan’s orbit).
• Asmus critiques their approach: "They might be famous, but they’re not funny." [26:34].
• Challenges the notion of these comics being "edgy": "Making fun of women in a country that doesn’t give women rights... that’s not edgy." [31:12].
• Satire vs. Pandering: Points out that much right-wing comedy is as guilty of 'clapter' and pandering as the left they accuse.

6. Digital Culture: Algorithms and the Rise of 'Bro' Comedy

[34:08 – 37:58]

• Crowder hypothesizes that shows like Kill Tony thrive because they, like American Idol, thrive on spectacle—especially the appeal of watching beginners flail.
• The internet’s algorithmic structure props up "low information," lowbrow humor ("The algorithm caters to the lowest common denominator. ...they want idiots.") – Asmus [37:35].

7. Navigating Young Male Audiences and the Andrew Tate Phenomenon

[38:24 – 39:53]

• Both reflect on how vulnerable young men are to reactionary, misogynistic rhetoric—acknowledging "when I was in college, I probably would have liked Kill Tony" (Asmus [36:44]), and that incel/bro phases can be outgrown.
• Tate and others fill a "directionless" void in young men’s lives; the left doesn’t offer comparable seductive tribalism for young men.

8. AI as Existential Threat to Comedy, Creativity, and Society

[41:30 – 45:35]

• Both comics deeply distrust AI’s creative applications: "This is so obviously evil like this. How could this be good?" – Asmus [41:45].
• They decry artists who embrace AI-generated material, and point out the lack of "soul" or joy in AI-generated media.
• Asmus notes the hypocrisy of comedians like Joe Rogan, supposedly champions of creativity, celebrating AI music: "That’s a guy who's never actually cared about art." [44:42].

9. Final Thoughts: Political Realignment, Hope & the Road Ahead

[45:35 – End]

• Possibility that worsening material conditions ("gas prices," "ICE down your block") will force Americans, even previously stalwart conservatives, to reject right extremism [45:35 – 47:57].
• Both hopeful for a future left resurgence—possibly post-crisis—but recognize we may be in for "it has to get worse before it gets better."
• Asmus and Crowder end by plugging their tours and noting the importance of comics with integrity—"Two of the only people in comedy with integrity, folks. That's right. Right here... We're trying." ([49:01]).

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Older Generations and Propaganda

  "Old people don’t know. No offense to the elderly...they just don’t know how to...the rules changed like 20 years ago. You can just lie."
  – Geoffrey Asmus [09:05]

• On Political Conversion

  "No one cares about kids dying in Gaza...All they care about is if chicken wings are going up at the local bar."
  – Geoffrey Asmus [05:14]

• On Left/Right Common Ground

  "A lot of people who are Republican aren’t really conservative…you talk to these people—‘should we have universal health care?’…‘yeah, of course’…But there’s no party doing that, so they just revert to this dumb racist party because at least the Republicans will give them a bone..."
  – Geoffrey Asmus [14:56]

• On Clapter

  "If you’re a right wing person in the crowd, just so you know I’m not with you. Just a little bit."
  – Geoffrey Asmus [24:08]

• On Modern Right-Wing Comedy

  "They might be famous, but they’re not funny."
  – Geoffrey Asmus [26:34]

  "It’s a fascist sweat dream, honestly."
  – Geoffrey Asmus [27:21]

• On the Internet's Role

  "The algorithm caters to the lowest common denominator. I do think that’s something we didn’t have to deal with when we were younger. The feed. I didn't have a feed that was just feeding me garbage all day."
  – Geoffrey Asmus [37:35]

• On Andrew Tate & Young Men

  "These guys like Andrew Tate just take advantage…he gives them a direction. It’s not a good one, but he gives them something. …Unfortunately, there’s no left wing version of that."
  – Geoffrey Asmus [39:08]

• On AI in Creativity

  "This is so obviously evil…How could this be good?...There’s no way this could end well."
  – Geoffrey Asmus [41:45]

• Podcast Sign-off

  "Two of the only people in comedy with integrity, folks…We’re trying."
  – Geoffrey Asmus [49:01]

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Important Timestamps

| Timestamp | Segment/Topic | Speakers | |-----------|--------------------------------------------------|------------------| | 03:20 | Geoffrey’s upbringing & family politics | Crowder, Asmus | | 05:05 | MAGA disillusionment, voter trends | Asmus, Crowder | | 09:05 | Older generation media habits, propaganda | Asmus, Crowder | | 13:15 | Discussing comedy’s political tightrope | Crowder, Asmus | | 18:40 | Asmus: “I’m not actually a liberal, I’m a leftist” | Asmus | | 23:06 | The “clapter” discussion in comedy | Crowder, Asmus | | 25:28 | Comedy’s left/right schism; right-wing comics | Crowder, Asmus | | 34:08 | Kill Tony, bro-comedy, digital spectacle | Crowder, Asmus | | 38:24 | Andrew Tate, incel/bro phases, young men | Crowder, Asmus | | 41:30 | AI’s threat to creative work | Crowder, Asmus | | 45:35 | Political realignment; possibility of hope | Crowder, Asmus | | 47:57 | Plugs, goodbyes, and closing banter | Both |

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Tone & Style Notes

The episode is conversational, irreverent, self-deprecating, and sharp. Both hosts blend earnest left-leaning critique with humor, occasionally breaking the fourth wall to joke about the audience’s reactions, and never taking themselves too seriously. Even the bleakest observations are punctuated with levity and jokes that keep the tone buoyant.

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For listeners who missed this episode:
You’ll find a spirited, highly self-aware conversation about the shifting politics of both America and comedy, littered with genuine concern, hard-won lessons from the road, and plenty of laughs—even when the topics get heavy. Both Crowder and Asmus care deeply about comedy as art, as community, and as a vehicle for making sense of our bewildering cultural moment.

Transcript

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[Podcast Producer/Host Intro]

Hey everybody, we got a great one today, you know, for a change because this one is is guest hosted by my friend and friend of the show, Trey Crowder. You see, I'm taking a little break from the podcast. I've been doing this show for seven years and I deserve it and nothing is happening. Well, Trey can tell you more about that.

[SpinQuest Advertiser]

Now.

[Podcast Producer/Host Intro]

You might remember Trey from his previous appearances on the show, but in case you forgot, I'll tell you why Trey is so great. Trey is probably best known for his character the Liberal Redneck, which is really just Trey ramped up to an 11 as he puts it. He grew up in Salina, Tennessee near the Kentucky border and in abject poverty. He became a liberal for a number of reasons, one of which was his beloved gay Uncle Tim. I first met Trey on a flight out of la. I'll be honest, I didn't know who he was, but I went and watched his liberal redneck videos and became a huge fan. Trey is a great stand up comedian. I went to see a show in Brooklyn and as they say, he killed. You can watch his comedy special trash Daddy on YouTube and catch his stand up live on tour around the country. Trey also co hosts a weekly podcast, well read with two other comedians and today Trey Crowder hosts the Al Franken Podcast. I can guarantee that this is going to be a great one, you know, for a change. So Trey, take it away.

[Al Franken]

Thank you Al and thanks for having me. Hello everybody. Yes, it's the Al Franken Podcast with your guest host, me, Trey Crowder. I'm thrilled and honored to be here. I don't know how much, hopefully it makes some amount of sense to you all listening. It's definitely a bit of a change up for the listenership of this particular show, but we've Got some familiarity with you or for you today because my guest oh so kindly agreed to be here as buddy of mine, one of the funniest, most quick witted comedians in the game right now. And he also, like Al Franken, is one of Minnesota's own.

[Jeffrey Atkins (Comedian Guest)]

I'm talking about Jeffrey, Asthma, Trey, Minnesota, let's go.

[Al Franken]

Yeah, mixing it up for him. So I want to start with a little bit of background and everything for everybody. You know, we don't have to do like the, the whole origin story as much as however much you want to. But like I said, you're from Minnesota.

[Jeffrey Atkins (Comedian Guest)]

Yes.

[Al Franken]

It like small town Minnesota. Suburban Minnesota.

[Jeffrey Atkins (Comedian Guest)]

From suburban Minnesota. Woodbury, Minnesota. Very average suburb. Pretty, pretty boring place, honestly. But the Twin Cities is amazing. The actual Minneapolis St. Paul is a very. One of the best places in the country in my opinion.

[Al Franken]

Right. But you, and now you live in New York now.

[Jeffrey Atkins (Comedian Guest)]

I love Brooklyn. I'm from Brooklyn right now. Yeah, I'm zooming in from Bed Stuy, Brooklyn.

[Al Franken]

So your, your parents, what'd your parents do there in Woodbury?

[Jeffrey Atkins (Comedian Guest)]

My dad has the same job as Homer's Simpson. The exact same job as Homer. He's like the safety guy at a nuclear power plant.

[Al Franken]

You guys have a nuclear power plant

[Jeffrey Atkins (Comedian Guest)]

up there with, I believe it might be closed now because these damn liberals don't want, want the radiation. That's like the one political thing me and my dad agree on is actually we're pro nuclear power. I'm all in on nuclear power.

[Al Franken]

Because you said the one thing you and your dad agree on. Because your dad, I know in one of your, one of the clips I watched, you described your dad as you said, you know, pretty openly and proudly Trump fan or whatever. Right. And you said your mom is a secret Republican, which I wanted to talk about. So.

[Jeffrey Atkins (Comedian Guest)]

Yes.

[Al Franken]

Would he describe himself as maga?

[Jeffrey Atkins (Comedian Guest)]

I think in the last six months he maybe would no longer do that. He actually has kind of seen the light a little bit in the last six. I think he's been humbled. He's been humbled a little bit. I think he's not going to wave that flag as proudly anymore. I don't think.

[Al Franken]

How anecdotal do you feel like that is? Like that's your dad. But do you think like how widespread do you think? Because people are wondering that a lot. I feel like how many are seeing the light?

[Jeffrey Atkins (Comedian Guest)]

I think as like the prices continue to stay the same and the gas prices, that's the only thing that people care about. No one cares about kids dying in Gaza Or Iran. They should, but they don't. All they care about is if chicken wings are going up at the local bar. And they are. So it's tough to deny. You can't really be like, oh, it's the same as you can't afford to get 12 boneless wings anymore. So it is. I do think, unfortunately, we don't have a good alternative yet. But I do think people are seeing the light. I do think it's more. No, not just anecdotal. I think it is real.

[Al Franken]

Yeah. I think, you know, I'm thinking and hoping the same thing.

[Jeffrey Atkins (Comedian Guest)]

I'm hoping. I'm hoping. Yeah, there's a lot of, like, there's the. The way the big tech owns all these news outlets and the way AI could create propaganda, could stall this momentum for sure.

[Al Franken]

Well, and I also, sometimes I wonder if, like, when push comes to shove, if it's like, you know, they'll still, I don't know, fall back in line is the right term. But if it. That doesn't mean that they'll necessarily vote in another way or even. I saw a clip of a guy, the other saying, you know, he's. He's fed up with Trump and MAGA and all this. This is like a barstool sports guy. And they. And the podcast he was on, the host asked him, he was like, so you think, what, are you going to vote for a Democrat? He's like, no, never. He's like, but then. And I'm like, that's all right. You know, you stay home. Maybe that's. I. I'll count. That also counts. That's a W. The guy asked him, well, so what? You're going to stay home? And the guy was like, well, no, I mean, I vote.

[Jeffrey Atkins (Comedian Guest)]

I always vote. Right.

[Al Franken]

So it's like, I, you know, I don't. I don't think he's going to do anything different. He's just, like, not happy about it, which, I mean, he's like, I'll vote,

[Jeffrey Atkins (Comedian Guest)]

but they won't lock the vote. Yeah, it's going to count as one. Yeah. Some people have this weird thing. You're like, you got to vote. It's like, right. If they both suck, I. I think you don't have to vote. I, I think that's a strange. It's your civic duty. Is it your civic duty to vote for two rich people? I don't know.

[Al Franken]

I, I have always, for a very long time, felt like that. I do. I don't want to find myself in a Colin Kaepernick Situation. I don't know if you remember which. That's never likely to happen for any number of reasons. I mean, Colin Kaepernick, not a huge amount of overlap.

[Jeffrey Atkins (Comedian Guest)]

Yeah.

[Al Franken]

Big Venn diagram, things we have in common. But if you. He, you know, his whole thing blew up the way it did. He became like, sort of iconic for it and everything. And then there was an election that year, and he said that he. He said that he didn't vote and he got just raked for that.

[Jeffrey Atkins (Comedian Guest)]

Oh, did he? Oh, 20. Was that 2016?

[Al Franken]

I guess so.

[Jeffrey Atkins (Comedian Guest)]

Yeah. That's a tough one not to vote.

[Al Franken]

Right. And so I've always felt like I don't want that to happen, so. But that's what I'm saying. I guess I sort of relate to the dude I was talking about for the barstool guy because it's like, I've certainly, you know, voted with my nose held a few times, but I still do do.

[Jeffrey Atkins (Comedian Guest)]

Right.

[Al Franken]

But. Okay, but. And your mom.

[Jeffrey Atkins (Comedian Guest)]

My mom is a. Or they're. They're both retired, but my mom was a special ed teacher.

[Al Franken]

Right.

[Jeffrey Atkins (Comedian Guest)]

Which is a tough job. Very insane. I. Yeah. I don't know how she did it. She was with the. The, like, the vegetables.

[Al Franken]

Right. Now that's. But that's like real hero.

[Jeffrey Atkins (Comedian Guest)]

It's a very tough job. Yeah.

[Al Franken]

Yeah. I mean, I. One of my best friends growing up. His. His mom was a special ed teacher, and she's one of the most angelic human beings I've ever.

[Jeffrey Atkins (Comedian Guest)]

Yeah. They. My mom is a very nice person, which makes her strange. Trump turn all the Right. All the wilder.

[Al Franken]

You talk about that a little bit, and it's like, you say. You say that your mom, you know, because, you know, I got a big lefty audience and stuff, and I have a lot of teachers, a lot of lady teachers, special ed teachers, all kinds, you know, like, it's a very common demographic at my. At my shows. And so like, you said your mom's a special ed teacher, but you also, I remember you described her as like, I think either like artsy or hippie. Ish. Or both or something. You're like, if you met her and talked to her, you would never think that. Nothing about her seems that way, but she got super into Trump.

[Jeffrey Atkins (Comedian Guest)]

And so I think it's just. They just. I. Old people don't know. No offense to the elderly or she's like 70 years old. They just don't know how to. I think the boomers were raised in an era where they're like, well, if it's on the news. It must be true, right? They're like, they wouldn't put it on a website. How could it be on a website if it's not true? They just weren't like, taught that, like, the rules changed like 20 years ago. You don't have to tell the truth anymore. You can just lie. And my mom is unable to see through that. Sometimes I think, right, she'll just like, share these articles and it's just like Zoran pissed on a flag and stuffed it down a veteran's throat. And you're like, how could you think this is real? It's just, it's crazy.

[Al Franken]

That's the thing that I have to like, conscientiously remind myself of sometimes where it's like, I'll see something, have something with ICE or whatever, and I'll be like, how can any living human being be all right with this? This is so insane to me. It feels like beyond politics. Right? And then I have to think like, well, they're A lot of them are not, they are not seeing the same thing that I just.

[Jeffrey Atkins (Comedian Guest)]

They're not being shown that. Yeah. Right.

[Al Franken]

At all. And they're like, they think that ICE is literally just rounding up like drug dealing, rapist criminals. And they're like, why would anyone want those people not to be rounded? And no one does. No one does want drug addicted rapists.

[Jeffrey Atkins (Comedian Guest)]

Exactly.

[Al Franken]

To be, you know, allowed to run free. But they, that's what they genuinely think. And I have to remind myself of that.

[Jeffrey Atkins (Comedian Guest)]

They're not, they're not showing the video of the mother and child. Child getting hog tied on the late evening news or whatever. Like, I actually, I blame, like, the local news. I think the local news is one of the most heavily propagandized parts of our lives. Like, you know, like your local, whatever, your local channel is.

[Al Franken]

Funny you say that because I just, I feel just the other day in a hotel room, it randomly came on and I was like, dude, this is the first time I have seen a local news broadcast. And I don't.

[Jeffrey Atkins (Comedian Guest)]

Yeah, like, we don't watch it, but people 50 and older, like, that's their like, Bible. But like, that news, it's not like left or right really. It's just like scary. It's not real. It's just. It's only crime, right? And it's all pro cop. It's pro America no matter what, really. It's pro war. It's just like this bizarre, like, centrist bubble. And like my parents think I'd like, dodge bullets every day in New York. And I. They just can't wrap their heads around, well, I heard there was a murder in New York. It's like there's 13 million people. You. This is not affecting me, but the local news just scares them. It's. They're so scared.

[Al Franken]

Well, you know, if it bleeds, it leads and all that stuff.

[Jeffrey Atkins (Comedian Guest)]

Exactly.

[Al Franken]

It's more effective either like, you know, scary or if it. Local news, throw in a. Whatever, you know, the water skiing squirrel or whatever.

[Jeffrey Atkins (Comedian Guest)]

Yeah, it's either. It's either scary or it's nothing in between, though.

[Al Franken]

Right.

[Jeffrey Atkins (Comedian Guest)]

So.

[Al Franken]

All right. Since we've already gotten into politics, I want to do at least a little bit of inside baseball, which I normally probably wouldn't do, but I feel like if there's anywhere you should be able to talk about the intersection of comedy and politics, I feel like it should be the Al Franken podcast.

[Jeffrey Atkins (Comedian Guest)]

Absolutely.

[Al Franken]

Legend of both games.

[Jeffrey Atkins (Comedian Guest)]

Legend.

[Al Franken]

So I don't want to make this weird because I know how I am and how all comedians are, but, like, one thing. So I've. I've. I've done shows with you and I've watched. I've always. I've been a fan for a long time and like, I. But I was just purposely going out of my way to watch a bunch of your stuff earlier because I'm doing this today. I want to take it somewhat seriously. One thing that I've. I already thought, but was just like, sort of, you know, reiterated to me today is like, I feel like you have this really good ability to talk about. You don't. I feel like you don't really shy away from politics when you do stand up and that you also, you'll say on stage, you know, you're like, us liberals, we never win anything, and here's why. Or whatever. Like you. You don't hide affiliation or nothing like that either. You manage to do it in such a way. And I think, you know, it could be just as simple as it's just how funny your jokes are, but you do it in such a way that it's like, I feel like you can do it in front of basically any audience.

[Jeffrey Atkins (Comedian Guest)]

Right.

[Al Franken]

In a way that I. I don't. I might. I think about that all the time, like, for my own stuff, you know, I've got some stuff that I think that I. That is like that. But I've got some bits that's like, no, certain audiences would not be gone.

[Jeffrey Atkins (Comedian Guest)]

I mean, I have a decent amount of Trump fan. I don't know. I. I wouldn't Say, I still, like, 70% of my fans are liberal or left, but it's like 20, 30% that are still maybe Republican in some way because they. Well, I don't mean to trash these parts of my fandom. I respect them and I love the ticket sales. But I'm doing. I think I'm making fun of them, but they don't quite know that I'm making fun of them sometimes.

[Al Franken]

Right.

[Jeffrey Atkins (Comedian Guest)]

And if I use like, if I use like, sexism and racism in a satirical way, they just hear the sexism and racism. They don't really hear that, like, oh, he's saying that to make fun of a bigot. He's not being a bigot. There's like a little jump that maybe they know it and they don't want to make it or they just don't make.

[Al Franken]

They're right. I just wondered, like, how much of that is just the way you think and the way you write or do you think about that type of thing?

[Jeffrey Atkins (Comedian Guest)]

I don't think about that, but I know what is happening. I do know that if you say certain words, it's like bees to honey. They're just like, we don't care. Or I'll get on comments all the time like, he's the only funny liberal or like, right, only liberal I can trust. Because I, I think what I've been realizing touring the country last, like, year or so is that a lot of people who are Republican aren't really conservative. They're actually leftists. There just isn't an option. There isn't a. Democrats aren't leftists either. They're just.

[Al Franken]

No, they're not. But please, go on. What do you mean?

[Jeffrey Atkins (Comedian Guest)]

You mean like, like, you talk to these people and you're like, you're like, we should have universal. Everyone should have health care. They're like, yeah, of course. They're like, they're like, workers should get paid more. They're like, yeah, of course. They're like, billionaires should be taxed more. They're like, yeah, of course. But. But there's no party doing that, so they just revert to this dumb racist party because at least the Republicans will give them a bone and be like, you can say the N word.

[Al Franken]

Yeah.

[Jeffrey Atkins (Comedian Guest)]

They're like, they're like, we're not going to get paid more. At least we can say the N word. So I think, I think that there's like, there's a, like a Zoran of the middle, Middle, middle America is a. Could go crazy. I think there's a huge Market for that.

[Al Franken]

I totally agree with you. I feel the same way. I mean, yeah, I think most people agree on most things, and most people do just want things to be better.

[Jeffrey Atkins (Comedian Guest)]

They just want to be better. They don't actually. They. They care about racism and sexism because that's the only thing they have power over is to hurt this black guy or this immigrant because they. They feel so powerless of the billionaires. So they take out their hatred on these small groups. They're not. I'm not saying they're good people, but I think we. I think we could herd them to the right direction.

[Al Franken]

Right?

[Jeffrey Atkins (Comedian Guest)]

Yeah, yeah, we could get them there.

[Al Franken]

And just the Democrat brand or whatever is just so, like, just toxic, you know, it's like they're just not gonna. It's so. It's so gay and woke and all this stuff that they.

[Jeffrey Atkins (Comedian Guest)]

They just like, concentrate on this. The Republicans are like this endless culture war about, like, we're talking about trans athletes. It's like, yes, I do think trans people should play sports, but, like, it's not an issue. It's literally in terms of numbers. You know what I mean? Like, there's like 20 trans athletes. This isn't an important issue. This is not a top 50 issue, but yet it's the most talked about issue in America. The Democrats refuse to talk about things that actually affect people's lives. They're like, wasting all this political capital on trans athletes, which is like, it. I'm not against it, but that can't be your big thing, right? That can't be the big thing. It makes no sense.

[Al Franken]

Yeah, no, I'm. I mean, I'm with you a hundred percent, but on the. On the comedy front, yeah, it's like,

[Jeffrey Atkins (Comedian Guest)]

yeah, none of that was funny. I wasn't. I'm sorry, I'm not funny on this.

[Al Franken]

No, I like. And I mean, I even. I mean, like, the philosophy of it all or whatever, because, like I said, like, I have a lot. I have some material that's like. Do you know Caleb Simon, the comedian?

[Jeffrey Atkins (Comedian Guest)]

Yeah, yeah, I love Caleb.

[Al Franken]

Yeah, well, so Caleb's like one of my best friends, and he was doing shows with me in San Diego once, and I just, like, I had had a special. Come outside, like a new hour or whatever. Caleb's from rural Georgia and his dad is a MAGA preacher at the church and his.

[Jeffrey Atkins (Comedian Guest)]

Wow.

[Al Franken]

We were in San Diego together and Caleb was watching my new hour and he said the next day he was like, dude, I was watching the new act or whatever, and he was like, And I was thinking, it's like, I feel like my dad would really like and laugh at 85 to 90% of this or whatever.

[Jeffrey Atkins (Comedian Guest)]

Yeah, right.

[Al Franken]

But like that other 10 or 15 though, he ain't.

[Jeffrey Atkins (Comedian Guest)]

It might ruin it.

[Al Franken]

Yeah, like, I think it would ruin it. And I was thinking, I was like, dude, I feel like, I feel like if I watch, me personally, if I watch a movie and it's like 90 great, you know, I still think that was a pretty good movie overall. It. Yeah, right. But like, but people don't, it don't work like that anymore. Like one thing, they get one sniff and like they're out.

[Jeffrey Atkins (Comedian Guest)]

Yeah.

[Al Franken]

That's why I think it. A lot of the rest of us, myself included, I feel like you, the way you handle it and sort of, I don't know, toe that line or whatever is just kind of interesting. And I'm like, kind of jealous of it, you know?

[Jeffrey Atkins (Comedian Guest)]

Like, I think the thing is that helps my comedy is that I'm not actually a liberal, I'm a leftist. They don't know if your audience, your audience knows the difference. I don't really like 95% of Democrats, I think they kind of suck. So when I make fun of liberals, I actually don't like liberals. I actually think, I think they're annoying. So I'm making fun of them. And I'm not really being facetious. I'm not like self deprecating. I actually think Hillary Clinton's annoying. So I think my, I think my right wing fans are like, they like that. They're like, oh, shit, he's. Yeah, they don't know what he is. They don't know what he is. But I like it.

[Al Franken]

Right? Yeah, I don't, you know, I still think, because like, I mean, I. So in the, the intro they're saying, you know about me. You know, he's known for his liberal redneck videos and that's always going to be a thing, which is fine. But I went on all my pages a few months ago now and I took that out. Like, that's not on there anymore. And I was on, I was on another podcast right after that and I told the guy, the guy asked me about it and I was like, I was like, yeah, I just didn't really want to go by that. And this dude was. I was from like New York or somewhere. And he was like, you just, you weren't comfortable being called, like you're calling yourself a redneck anymore. And I was like, no, I mean liberal. Like the liberal part is the part. Yeah, I was like redneck, I'm fine with still. I just. If I had said progressive or lefty redneck or something all those years ago, I don't think I would have changed it.

[Jeffrey Atkins (Comedian Guest)]

Me, liberals. Embarrassing. It's kind of embarrassing.

[Al Franken]

And it's like it's not it. Also, where I'm from and when I picked that moniker and all that stuff, those terms, people didn't know the difference, myself included. And you know, 10 years ago and in Tennessee, all those things meant the same thing.

[Jeffrey Atkins (Comedian Guest)]

Liberal, lefty, communists, they're all the same.

[Al Franken]

All the same thing in Tennessee 10 years ago or whatever. But I feel like people are more like aware of it and I'll still use them interchangeably sometimes. But I'm with you. I'm sure the leftist too.

[Jeffrey Atkins (Comedian Guest)]

Yeah.

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[Al Franken]

As far as in, like, political comedy and stuff. Another thing that I'm, like, sensitive about that I know you don't do at all because again, I want to reiterate to everybody, like, you got jokes, man. You're very prolific.

[Jeffrey Atkins (Comedian Guest)]

You got.

[Al Franken]

You're quick. Like, you pack a lot of jokes into a certain amount of time and try. So what you don't do at all, despite trafficking in politics a little bit, is, you know, Claptor. Right. And for, like, the people.

[Jeffrey Atkins (Comedian Guest)]

I try not to.

[Al Franken]

And for people listening, if you don't know, I've heard Seth Meyers be credited as the person that came up with the term, but I don't know if that's true. But it basically just means when you just say something on stage that, you know, your audience agrees with and so they clap, but no one's laughing. Right.

[Jeffrey Atkins (Comedian Guest)]

Yeah, I hate. So.

[Al Franken]

I hate that too.

[Jeffrey Atkins (Comedian Guest)]

I do it sometimes, but I really try not to. I really try. It does happen sometimes, though. It's gonna happen.

[Al Franken]

Yeah, but you. Yeah, I mean, well, but I feel. I bet, though, even when it happens to you, I bet you've got a joke like chambered that's coming.

[Jeffrey Atkins (Comedian Guest)]

I do. I do try to cut under it.

[Al Franken]

I try to cut under different, in my opinion, because sometimes I agree. Right. But, like, I don't know what you think about just that in general. I mean, you say you try not to do it.

[Jeffrey Atkins (Comedian Guest)]

I don't think it's. I, I used to, like five years ago, if you had asked me that, I would have been like, that's hack. No one should ever clap at a show unless they're giving you a standing ovation at the end. That's for losers. But now, as the world descends into fascist madness, I think. I think you can have. You can have a two or three clapters. I've said I'm. I'm okay with that. I. I hold. I. I hold a little. A little space now for it. I certainly don't. It's not my goal. But if it happens In a joke. I'm okay. I'm not gonna. I used to, like, get really mad at them. Like I was. It would like, make me feel like a fraud, honestly. But now I. I don't really feel. You could do it a couple times. I'm okay with it. Yeah, you almost want to. I want to plant my flag a little bit. Just so even if you're a right wing person in the crowd, just so you know I'm not with you. Just a little bit. Just a little bit.

[Al Franken]

Right. And. But it's part of this larger discussion and everything that's happening right now. The last time I saw you at the Improv, we talked about.

[Jeffrey Atkins (Comedian Guest)]

Yeah, when was that? When was that? Like a year ago, probably.

[Al Franken]

I want to say it was like the fall.

[Jeffrey Atkins (Comedian Guest)]

Yeah, that's like September.

[Al Franken]

But we were talking about this a little bit because that YouTube video from the elephant graveyard or whatever had just come out. The audience doesn't know. Look that up. Elephant. Elephant graveyard. And I guess you could type in simulacrum and that would find. I don't remember the. The title of.

[Jeffrey Atkins (Comedian Guest)]

Yeah, actually I remember that it's a big Joe Rogan. I think it' about Joe Rogan. It's amazing.

[Al Franken]

So just basically. And then. I don't remember right around then, before or after? I can't remember, but Mark Marin had a special came out and he was. He went on a whole thing publicly about it and it's. There's this weird sort of like comedy civil war is probably too strong.

[Jeffrey Atkins (Comedian Guest)]

It's a schism. A schism in the ring, in the

[Al Franken]

world of comedy right now. And it's like for the first time that I can ever remember or, you know, objectively, a lot of the biggest and most successful comedians on earth, you know, lately have been like, at least right wing adjacent, you know, a lot of them.

[Jeffrey Atkins (Comedian Guest)]

Yeah, it's crazy.

[Al Franken]

And that's the thing that I never in my life and because I was a comedy nerd for years as a kid and everything before I ever started doing stand up and I. It was like, it was always a question of like, is it possible to be a funny, conservative comedian?

[Jeffrey Atkins (Comedian Guest)]

Yeah, exactly. Well, the. We found out it's not possible, but we have found they might be famous, but they're not funny. Yeah, unfortunately. Yeah, some of them are. There are.

[SpinQuest Advertiser]

Some of them are.

[Al Franken]

But. Yeah, yeah. No, but it's like. And that's. I feel like a lot of those guys are the types of ones that would bitch hard about the idea of clapter and stuff. But if you watch their clips and sets.

[Jeffrey Atkins (Comedian Guest)]

It feels Joe Rogan specials. A lot of clapter. They do a lot of clapter. It's, they're, they're pandering. It's really a clapter is, is pandering. You're just like, you're not, you're not challenging the audience in any way. And I mean if you watch a lot of Austin based, Austin, Texas based comedy, it's, it's not really going against the grain of the world we're living in at all. It's just, it's a fascist sweat dream, honestly.

[Al Franken]

Yeah, but it's like, what do you think that is? Like just an overcorrection to that sort of woke scold perception that happened towards the end of the Obama era where you can't say these words, you can't joke about these things and you know,

[Jeffrey Atkins (Comedian Guest)]

well, we're going to say do it all.

[Al Franken]

And people like, you know, they rallied behind.

[Jeffrey Atkins (Comedian Guest)]

The thing is that I say the same words they do. I don't say them with the same frequency or anything. I drop, drop them like once or twice for a very important reason. But like you can do these things that I think it, this is, I don't know if I should say this, but I just think a lot of them are incredibly stupid. And the audience or the comics? The comics. Well, unfortunately America has a education problem, so the crowd too. But a lot of these right wing comics are just not very intelligent and in order to have any subtlety or layers, you do have to, you may have to read a book a couple times a year. You might have to learn a thing past age 21. And unfortunately these, even Joe Rogan's like the learning guy, but he's extremely stupid. I don't know if I should be saying this on here, but I made the decision, it doesn't matter a couple years ago. Right. But it's just, I just think they're, they're not very curious about the world. They're very like, this is, they're just like eat up the America propaganda and don't really look beyond it all that much.

[Al Franken]

Well, I think what theory that I've had for some, like Joe Rogan in particular, and I've thought maybe Dave Chappelle or whatever who's like one of my

[Jeffrey Atkins (Comedian Guest)]

absolute heroes, you know, I know he was. And then he just like, who knows what's going on.

[Al Franken]

I don't know how much this is, but I always felt like guys like that were just, we're like not used to. I almost feel like it started with the whole, hey, you shouldn't, you know, you shouldn't do that. That one thing. Like, with Dave, it was the trans thing or whatever, like, Chappelle. No one had ever said anything to or about Dave Chappelle other than, like, you're a genius and one of the greatest of all time, which he was. And then he does this trans stuff, and for the first time ever, people are like, dude, what the is that? Don't do that. And it's like, you know, he just pushed back so hard against that that it, like, you know, it's just like

[Jeffrey Atkins (Comedian Guest)]

a little kid reaction. It's like, nuh, I'm gonna do it. It's just, like, really infantile. It's like, no one's. You could say this stuff, but maybe have a little heart in it. Or the. The. His trans stuff is just so. There's just no empathy already. It's just, like, kind of heartless, honestly. Yeah. Well, also, I feel like a lot

[Al Franken]

of the later specials and stuff that Chappelle has done is like. There's a lot of, like. I don't even know if it's clapped or a lot of it, but it's like. It's just like pontificating or something. He's a philosopher. He thinks.

[Jeffrey Atkins (Comedian Guest)]

Right.

[Al Franken]

You know, instead of a comedian.

[Jeffrey Atkins (Comedian Guest)]

There's very few jokes in his last couple specials. It's kind of insane.

[Al Franken]

What I think is weird about that. Again, I don't know how many people outside the comedy world or even remember or know what I mean, but, like, there's a lot of dudes who, like, will defend Dave for doing that because. And then treat it like, oh, he's like, gone beyond comedy or what, that type of thing. Who, like, those same guys, like, absolutely raped Hannah Gadsby for doing a version of that when she did it. It's like, yeah, it's the same. They have different perspectives, but it's the same thing. And when Hannah Gadsby's thing came out, I was like, I mean, that's. I don't. It's whatever. I don't, like, not like it, but I do think it's a different thing. So, you know, I'm fine with criticizing it, but if. But criticize Chappelle, too, because, yeah, you

[Jeffrey Atkins (Comedian Guest)]

can't give him $20 million for doing the same thing. And in. In the rest of the world, what Hannah Gadsby did is more normal, too, I will say. Like, the one woman show thing, one man show, you have, like, an arc and a lesson that's That's a not.

[Al Franken]

That's like a European.

[Jeffrey Atkins (Comedian Guest)]

Yeah, yeah, That's. That's like, not an American thing. But a lot of the world does love that. It is. Yeah. The whole. I don't. I mean, and obviously, I'm sure the Riyadh. Have you guys talked about the Riyadh Festival on here ever? I just like a lot of, like, that whole thing with, like, I don't want to say any names, but, like, you can't really say you're a rebellious, edgy comedian after you were like, the dancing clown for a oil dictator. Like, you're not really. How you can't really claim to be edgy when you were, like, the entertainment for, like, a genocidal dictatorship. Like, you're kind of like the exact opposite of edgy, actually. They're like, they're not. They don't even know what edgy is anymore. You're not edgy. Making fun of women in a country that doesn't give women rights. Like, that's not edgy. That's exactly what I mean.

[Al Franken]

You. You alluded to it earlier, but, like, so much of that stuff doing it here, it's like, it's not, it's not punching up or pushing back or whatever. It's like, you know, it's boot licking.

[Jeffrey Atkins (Comedian Guest)]

Yeah.

[Al Franken]

You're just fine with.

[Jeffrey Atkins (Comedian Guest)]

Right.

[Al Franken]

Authoritarian regime. Like, I don't know. I don't see how that's supposed to be rebellious or cool.

[Jeffrey Atkins (Comedian Guest)]

I know. Like, and also, like, if the guys will be like, they'll say something racist or whatever, and they're like, it's just a joke. And it's like. But if you support the right wing white nationalists, it's not a joke. It's literally what you want to happen. It's what's happening in the world. You can't say racist jokes. If you actually are racist, it's not funny. Then there's no. There's no twist. There's no twist. If you actually believe black people are violent criminals. That's not a twist.

[Al Franken]

Right. Well, do you think that that part of comedy is. Is a bubble versus, like, the whole, like, do you think the pendulum is going to swing back on that? Do you know about all these YouTube channels and stuff that are dedicated entirely to just basically on those dudes all the time. We mentioned elephant graveyard, but it's a whole, like, genre.

[Jeffrey Atkins (Comedian Guest)]

There's a few. Yeah. Beige Frequency is one. There's a couple. I think it's turning. I think that their heyday was maybe like a year ago. It's Maybe plateaued now. I think it's gonna fall. It's just so obvious that the, the Trump thing that they supported fairly openly is bad for the majority of us. You can't, you can't openly platform Donald Trump and then be like, I'm a genius anymore. Like, you clearly either are evil or got taken advantage of or are just plain stupid. I don't think they're going to grow in fans much longer if they are even anymore. Yeah, I mean, the last Joe Rogan special was so bad. It's. You can't really pay to see that guy do stand up anymore. It was, it was one of the worst things that's ever been produced. It's great.

[Al Franken]

Yeah, but. And it's, you know, it's adjacent to it. It's not exactly the same thing. But you brought up the Austin comedy scene. But like I Kill Tony was just at WrestleMania this past.

[Jeffrey Atkins (Comedian Guest)]

They are huge. I don't.

[Al Franken]

Absolutely massive.

[Jeffrey Atkins (Comedian Guest)]

I can't wrap my head around that. I see the clips all the time and I'm like, I have no. What's. I have no idea what's happening here.

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[Al Franken]

[e-mail] SpinQuest is a free to play social casino void where prohibited. Visit spinquest.com for more details. Okay, well let me throw a theory your way on that. Do you think the appeal of that, at least part of it is like, remember when American Idol first came out and it was like a cultural phenomenon and it was like a lot of people just. I was one of these people. I never cared about the people that could sing good because I don't know about good singing. But like the first few episodes like William Hung. William Hung and they would show the people that would. That sucked really bad.

[Jeffrey Atkins (Comedian Guest)]

People do like that and it's like

[Al Franken]

the comedy version of that maybe because a lot of those people are. They're. They're open micr. They're like brand new. So it's. They should suck, you know.

[Jeffrey Atkins (Comedian Guest)]

But like. Yeah, it's based.

[Al Franken]

It's like a comedy show based around that. But for standup I feel like they.

[Jeffrey Atkins (Comedian Guest)]

Yeah. That I, I get the appeal of watching the open micros but then the people they have do it every week that are just not regular and Then and then the most. Not some. There are some great comics who do the panel, but yeah, a lot of it's just like. It's just like, shallow, like, stuff that I would have said when I was 17 years old. That's really what it is. It's like open mic comedy throughout. The whole thing is like. Yeah, Roasting someone is like the lowest form of comedy. It's very easy to be like, you look like a pedophile from Whoville, or like, it's not. It's a very shallow comedy. My whole thesis is that it's just stupid. It's just. It just boils down to people being stupid. Stupid.

[Al Franken]

No, I know. I hear you. Yeah.

[Jeffrey Atkins (Comedian Guest)]

It kind of annoys me that there's just no intelligence involved in it at all.

[Al Franken]

Well, what do you think, though, about the whole. Because I think a huge chunk of Kill Tony's audience is, like, bros. You know, like, young. Like, I would. Like college age. Ish.

[Jeffrey Atkins (Comedian Guest)]

I know dudes.

[Al Franken]

And it's that whole whatever. Andrew Tate clavicular and all that type of. And that whole thing about how do we reach the white guy? Young white guys.

[Jeffrey Atkins (Comedian Guest)]

Yeah.

[Al Franken]

And that whole thing, like, you know,

[Jeffrey Atkins (Comedian Guest)]

I try to think about, like, what I was like in college, and I think, like, I probably would have liked Kill Tony. Like, it's. It's. It is just like, it's. It preys on, like, undeveloped minds, really. Like, guys who, like, they don't know what actual standup is. They've never watched Davitel. They've never listened to Skanks for the memories or they don't know what actual good stand up is. So they get easily. And the algorithm fuels it. The algorithm caters to the lowest common denominator. I do think that's something we didn't have to deal with when we were younger. The feed. I didn't have a feed. That was like feeding me just garbage all day. The. The feed. The feed absolutely promotes low information stuff. That's what they want. They want idiots. They want you to be stupid. Right. It's unfortunate because they're more lucrative.

[Al Franken]

Right? Idiots. You know what I mean?

[Jeffrey Atkins (Comedian Guest)]

I think you're not gonna rebel. An idiot's not gonna join a. A strike, a general strike or what? Do you know what I mean? They're not gonna. They're not. Clavicular's followers are not gonna picket an Israeli defense plant or something.

[Al Franken]

Well, they're more useful.

[Jeffrey Atkins (Comedian Guest)]

They're useful. They're used. They're useful idiots term. Yeah, exactly.

[Al Franken]

Yeah. I don't know. And Then the. So. But do you think that they get, they get down those rabbit holes like you said? You're like, when I was in college, I probably would have with a lot of that. And I've thought that too. I've said that because like my, I got, you know, not a great relationship with my mom. She was in and out of jail and all that type of stuff. So like when I was like 19, 20, I had, you know, issues with winter anger.

[Jeffrey Atkins (Comedian Guest)]

Right.

[Al Franken]

You know what I mean? Like, because of distrust of my mom or whatever. And I've said before, I feel like if, like, if Andrew Tate was a huge thing when I was that age, it's like, I don't know, he might have, he might have gotten me.

[Jeffrey Atkins (Comedian Guest)]

Yeah.

[Al Franken]

Maybe like he. I'm. I'm way beyond that now. But I, you know, I just wonder like, are they the phase. You know what I'm saying?

[Jeffrey Atkins (Comedian Guest)]

Is hating women a phase? Yeah. Like, is it just ever gonna go away? Right.

[Al Franken]

Well, they become a 30 year old and be like, cringe at the. Them hitting them, their jawlines with hammers.

[Jeffrey Atkins (Comedian Guest)]

I would. I hope so. Yeah. I don't, I don't know. I. I think, I mean, I was like, I wasn't an incel, but I was like a. Oh, women are friend zoning me.

[Al Franken]

Yeah.

[Jeffrey Atkins (Comedian Guest)]

Yeah.

[Al Franken]

Like a nice guy.

[Jeffrey Atkins (Comedian Guest)]

Yeah. Like, then why don't nice guys ever get laid? And so. Which is like incel adjacent. So I didn't really. It wasn't because of Instagram, it was just because I was a bad person. It's just like I was a young kid who didn't know any better. I do just think that until you're 25, you don't really know what's going on. And these guys like Andrew Tate just take advantage of that. They're just like, they're. These guys are young, they don't have a direction in life yet. And he gives them a direction. It's not a good one, but he gives them this academy. You can become a man. Or what are they called, Bro academy or G Academy or whatever. Like, he gives them something. It's not good. But just like with Trump, they'd rather get something than nothing.

[Al Franken]

Yeah.

[Jeffrey Atkins (Comedian Guest)]

Unfortunately, there's no left wing version of that. Really. In the same way, what do you think for the.

[Al Franken]

I'm asking you to, you know, give your advice for the future of the entire American left. I don't know, is there we're gonna do. We need a revolution as the rise of the proletariat gonna have to happen. You have to get like Luigi Ish out here. Like, I don't want to avoid.

[Jeffrey Atkins (Comedian Guest)]

I don't want to say anything pro Luigi on a platforms, but yes, no, but I don't want to say that out loud too much. But I do. I mean, I will. I don't want. I'm on. I'm a doom and gloom guy. But I'm going to try to be positive here. I do think what happened in New York City, very positive. Like Zo Ron's candidacy showed that and he was supported by people of all demographics, all income disparities except for like the super wealthy, but they don't matter. But it is. There is a hunger for change and progress and there aren't enough Democrats. There's like that Graham Platner guy, he's cool. The Nazi thing was a an L. But you know, we got to. We got. No one's perfect. No one's perfect. You know, we got Ilan Omar, we got. There's some cool people coming down the pipeline. It's one of those. I don't. Is this like, is that like accelerationist or whatever? I do think, unfortunately the world's gonna have to get terrible before people really open their eyes. Like once AI starts taking away like middle class jobs, like that's when people are gonna.

[Al Franken]

Yeah.

[Jeffrey Atkins (Comedian Guest)]

Really have to have their back against the wall, bro.

[Al Franken]

We haven't even brought up AI and the tech and all that.

[Jeffrey Atkins (Comedian Guest)]

AI is crazy. AI is AI like blows my mind, right? I can't believe people use it. I'm shocked.

[Al Franken]

Yeah, no, me too.

[Jeffrey Atkins (Comedian Guest)]

The second I was like three or four years ago, my friend comic named John Kennedy showed me ChatGPT. He's like, look, it'll write a five paragraph essay about anything you say. And then it did it. And I was like, this is so obviously evil like this. How could this be good? There's no way this could end well. I just don't know why people. I see comics like using AI to make like tour videos or like them fighting Spider man to promote a show in Miami. And it's like, what are you doing, man? What is going on here?

[Al Franken]

Everybody? I feel like to me, every single type of creative in any field, we should all be like, there should be a tacit understanding that we all have right now that we don't traffic in any of that.

[Jeffrey Atkins (Comedian Guest)]

We don't. Yeah, we don't use it.

[Al Franken]

You don't draw the line right now. You know, there's Doug Lyman, I think, who's like a big Hollywood director. He just announced like a Big studio project with a bunch of big names in it that is going to be heavily AI produced. They're still going to spend like, he's like, this movie's gonna cost 75 million dollars. But because we're using AI, we're gonna make a 300 million dollar movie with only a million dollars. Because they're just like all the backgrounds, all the environments, everything. They're gonna. They the actors in their contracts. I think it was something like they could. They won't have to do reshoots because they'll just use AI to make the actor.

[Jeffrey Atkins (Comedian Guest)]

Oh yeah, that's like. But I gotta look that guy up because I hate that guy. I know, that's what I'm saying.

[Al Franken]

It's like, dude, you can't be doing like that.

[Jeffrey Atkins (Comedian Guest)]

Like, doesn't he remember like the joy he felt from creating something? Like, like, you work hard. Yes, yes, it's harder. But like the best part about comedy is like writing a joke. It doesn't work. You try to get like the hard work you put in and then when it succeeds it's like, oh my God, what a feeling of right, I completed something. And you don't feel that with AI it can't feel good to create an AI movie.

[Al Franken]

I don't know. It's so early. It's in. It's so much in its infancy. Who. God only knows. But like, I feel like a lot of the clips I see where people be like, this is entirely AI, this action movie sequence. And you like watch it and you're like, yeah, I don't like, it's not good. Like it's like, no, it's not. It's photo realistic. And that's wild. The computer generated that out of nowhere. But it's like it's not well made. I don't know, it just doesn't. This is heck. So it doesn't have a soul. It doesn't have a soul.

[Jeffrey Atkins (Comedian Guest)]

It doesn't. You see like those old, like the old movies with like stuntmen, like doing the choreographed scenes. Like it's so much better because there is a little juze they just can't do yet and hopefully never will. But I don't know. But I think that back to the right wing comedy is connected to AI because like Joe Rogan is fairly obviously being paid by AI companies

[Al Franken]

that he thinks AI could become Jesus Christ. Yeah, you heard him saying that. Yeah, like the second coming of Jesus Christ. He's like, that, that's AI.

[Jeffrey Atkins (Comedian Guest)]

It could be AI. Well, he's had a weird religious thing. He's like religious now again, which is a whole thing. But like, he's, he like talks constantly about how his favorite music is AI music. Like he loves these AI covers. And it's like, how can you be a guy who like champions like creativity and comedy and not understand that that's not music? Like, that's not that, that's, that's, that's a guy who's never actually cared about art. Like, he never actually cared about the idea of art or anything. If you, if I hear AI music, I'm like, that's, it's like disgusting. It's like, it's. I love music so much. It's like my favorite thing in the world. To create that with a robot is just so beyond evil. I don't even know. Right? And then for him to be like the center of comedy and art, it's crazy to me. It's upsetting. Absolutely crazy.

[Al Franken]

You said you thought, and you know, we'll wrap it up here pretty soon. But you said, you know, I think things like to get worse before they get better, to open people's eyes. But we kind of started this out, your dad and gas prices and everything, right?

[Jeffrey Atkins (Comedian Guest)]

Right. Oh, yeah.

[Al Franken]

Maybe it, maybe that is currently happening and things do suck, but it will, like, it won't have to get like full blown, you know?

[Jeffrey Atkins (Comedian Guest)]

Yeah, hopefully not. Right? I mean, like my parents live, they live in a suburb of Minneapolis, but they've seen the ice shit. Like, if you live in Minneapolis, you're in the Twin Cities area. You're, you, you, you know what's going on. And I think they see that and it's fairly obvious that this is not. Once you see ice in action, it's fairly obviously evil. Like, you can sit in your small town in Illinois and not see it, but if you actually see them on the street picking up a guy who's your neighbor, it's a little tough to, to walk around that anymore. So even that, that's, unfortunately, it sucks that these people are getting kidnapped. But like, everyone who's no. 1 who sees that supports it. Not no one, but like, most people don't. Even my parents are against it.

[Al Franken]

The war, the Iran situation.

[Jeffrey Atkins (Comedian Guest)]

The Iran is crazy.

[Al Franken]

So hard to defend in any real way. You know what I mean? Yeah, it's like most people are not on board and won't be. Like, it's getting so wild and so bad that it's like it finally. They do seem to be actually losing people in numbers.

[Jeffrey Atkins (Comedian Guest)]

They definitely are. The Iran thing lost a lot because his whole thing was peace and right. I don't know. I don't know how. I don't. My mom believed that. She's like, he's gonna stop wars. Lord knows. I don't know how she believed that, but she did. But now it's very clear that that was a lie. Even to my mom. She's like, this is disgusting. Iran's not bad. Like, it's. It is. They. I don't know if there's like the right wing people are like the, the powers that be are stupid and they didn't know that people would get mad or do they just not care because they're going to take over? I don't quite know yet.

[Al Franken]

That's a good question. In my.

[Jeffrey Atkins (Comedian Guest)]

I don't know.

[Al Franken]

Like, they just took it for granted that they'll. They'll go along with whatever.

[Jeffrey Atkins (Comedian Guest)]

I feel like. I think they might have been just a little ego. They're a little high on their horse after winning the election.

[Al Franken]

So I hope it's that and not the other thing.

[Jeffrey Atkins (Comedian Guest)]

Obviously. Obviously the other thing is terrible. Yeah.

[Al Franken]

Thanks for doing this, buddy. But before we go, like, tell everybody, you know, plug your stuff. You on tour right now.

[Jeffrey Atkins (Comedian Guest)]

Whatever. Tell them I am on tour. Yes. Al Franken Nation. I'm a Minnesota native. You know, folks, I have a. I've tour all over. I like to think I'm a pretty good stand up comedian. You should come to a show. We got I my Instagram is jeffrey atm g e o f f r e y atm I bought the website white comedian.com before it was in like 2012. It wasn't fascist related.

[Al Franken]

Right.

[Jeffrey Atkins (Comedian Guest)]

And now I could probably sell it for a lot of money to like Ben Bankus or one of these Austin people. So I might, I might have to do that one day. But that's my website for now, folks. Come to a show. You'll have a good time.

[Al Franken]

I pro. If you like comedy at all, you will like this guy, I promise you. I'm not just saying that.

[Jeffrey Atkins (Comedian Guest)]

He's like, I love to hear razor

[Al Franken]

sharp, super fast and incredibly funny. So please check him out. And if you have time, check me out too.

[Jeffrey Atkins (Comedian Guest)]

By the way, go to Trey shows. Trey's amazing too.

[Al Franken]

I'm also on tour, like, you know, perpetually and everything all [e-mail] T R S GO.

[Jeffrey Atkins (Comedian Guest)]

Two of the only people in comedy with integrity, folks. That's right. Right here. There we go. Holding the line. Just us too. Let's go. We're bad in our own way, but we're still. We're trying. We're trying.

[Al Franken]

To the best white guys you can find.

[Jeffrey Atkins (Comedian Guest)]

Yeah, exactly.

[Al Franken]

All right. Thank you guys for listening. Jeffrey, thanks watching for so much for doing this.

[Jeffrey Atkins (Comedian Guest)]

Thank you for having me. Thank you.

[Al Franken]

That's it for my edition of the Al Franken Podcast. Love you and goodbye.

[Podcast Producer/Host Intro]

Well, I. I hope you enjoyed listening. That beautiful music is by Leo Kotke, the great Leo Kotke. I want to thank Peter Ogburn for producing this podcast. We'll talk again next.

[Al Franken]

A vacation rental shouldn't come with surprises. It should come with verbo Care and 24. 7 Life Support. If the hot tub's broken, that's a verbo care thing.

[Alexandra Fedisoff (Chief of Staff/Advertiser)]

If my teenager starts calling me Leslie,

[Al Franken]

that's a family thing. Leslie. Verbo Care and 24. 7 Live Support. If you know you verbo terms apply. Seeverbo.com trust for details.

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[Al Franken]

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