The Karol Markowicz Show: James Hasson on Afghanistan, Family, and Escaping the Social Media Trap

Summary

The Karol Markowicz Show: James Hasson on Afghanistan, Family, and Escaping the Social Media Trap

The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show | iHeartPodcasts | January 30, 2026

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Episode Overview

In this engaging episode, Karol Markowicz welcomes James Hasson—former Army officer, attorney, and co-author of Kabul: The Untold Story of Biden's Fiasco and the American Warriors Who Fought to the End. The conversation explores Hasson’s unconventional path into public writing, the personal costs and rewards of documenting the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, reflections on family life, and candid thoughts on the impact of social media on happiness and society. The episode blends humor, hard truths, and optimism with practical advice for listeners seeking both meaning and sanity in today’s world.

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Key Topics & Insights

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1. James Hasson’s Unexpected Path to the Public Eye

• Becoming a Writer and Public Figure

  • James discusses stumbling into writing after leaving the Army, notably when he leaked a “transgender training” PowerPoint to The Federalist, which led to a Fox News appearance.

    “I just cold emailed an article to the Federalist... and then like two days later ended up like being on Fox to talk about it because some producer picked it up and then it just kind of—yeah.” (05:04)

• Family Dynamics & Humor

  • Reveals the chaos and camaraderie of a family with five brothers, evoking relatable sibling banter.

    “They just got this idea that they’re going to like, run a marathon together... I’m very self aware of, like, the stage of life that I’m in. You guys knock yourselves out.” (03:33)

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2. Documenting the Afghanistan Withdrawal

• Motivation to Tell the Story

  • Hasson explains feeling compelled to document the withdrawal, fearing the reality would be “swept under the rug.”

    “I ended up just thinking: this thing’s going to be—swept under the rug. Like, completely... and ended up talking to dozens—hundreds—of people about the worst days of their lives.” (06:49, 07:00)

• A Glimmer of Light

  • Despite the harrowing events, James recalls successfully assisting an interpreter and his family to safety—a testament to individual and collective heroism.

    “If it weren’t for all of the, you know, 18, 19 year old kids at the gates... there would have been a lot more really good people that got hurt or that didn’t make it.” (07:43)

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3. Writing Process, Careers & Family

• Book Collaboration & Process

  • James describes the collaborative and often chaotic process of co-writing with Jerry Dunleavy.

    “It’s kind of similarly [alternating chapters], but we then swapped chapters and edited them. And like, we just have very, very different writing styles. Jerry will be the first to tell you.” (09:26)

• Career Path: Lawyer or Author?

  • Hasson jokes about writing as his “Plan B,” even while practicing law.

    “Being a writer is the current plan B. And the long-term Plan A?” (10:32)

• Family Pride & Joy

  • Deep appreciation for his family, especially his wife and children.

    “My family. And by that I mean my kids and my wife.” (12:23)

    • Announces a third child is on the way: “I don’t know if I’m allowed to announce that, but I just did.” (12:29)

• Meaning in Fatherhood

  • Expresses the unexpected emotional fulfillment fatherhood brings:

    “Sometimes I walk down in the morning and like, I play with my kids... I just kind of look around and think, like, man, like, I made it.” (13:11)

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4. Marriage, Parenthood & Social Narrative

• Refuting Anti-Family Narratives

  • Karol and James discuss the cultural shift discouraging marriage and fatherhood in young men, criticizing online personalities like Andrew Tate.

    “Andrew Tate’s just a sociopath... But he’s also a loser.” (18:38)
    “It’s just such a, like, defense mechanism.” (19:01)

• Celebrating Traditional Family Life

  • James advocates being open about the joys of family and marriage, pushing back against negative stereotypes.

    “Just being open and joyful about—everyone’s like, oh, yeah, it’s so hard. It’s like, yeah, it’s hard, but it’s also... pretty freaking cool.” (19:39)

• Social Media's Distortion

  • Both note the unfair double-standard around public celebration of family versus single life on social media. Karol observes:

    “You can talk about how incredible single life is... But if I start making videos about—I am so happy with my husband... [it’s not allowed].” (20:34)

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5. Social Media, Contentment & Advice

• Escaping the Social Media Trap

  • James shares his struggle and strategies with social media, advocating for muting negativity and deleting platforms:

    "I try to mute all the insanity... but I got rid of Facebook and Instagram and all of that." (25:44)

  • Warns of Instagram’s impact—“really responsible for so much... all we're doing is encouraging everyone to look at themselves and videotape themselves.” (26:18)

• Advice for Listeners

  • On contentment:

    “The less that you can kind of compare yourself to—compare to others or care about what people think then. Yeah, exactly.” (27:12)

    • “If you look at it and everyone goes on vacation once a year, you follow 65 people, it’s going to look to you like everyone is on vacation all the time except you.” (27:31)

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6. Big-Picture Predictions & Closing Thoughts

• Optimistic Five-Year Prediction

  • James forecasts a swing back toward marriage and family life:

    “I think that there’s gonna be a really strong trend towards... basically a return to really traditionalism.” (21:47)

    • Karol calls it, “the most optimistic one I’ve ever gotten.” (23:01)

• Reflection on World Change

  • Both hosts express hope regarding global freedom movements and skepticism over the prospect of dramatic regime change in places like China, while acknowledging progress. (24:02–25:07)

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Notable Quotes

• On the sorrow and meaning of chronicling failure:

  “It was also... probably one of the most gratifying things I’ve ever done professionally.” — James Hasson (07:00)

• On anti-family voices online:

  “Andrew Tate’s just a sociopath... But he’s also a loser.” — James Hasson (18:38)

• On the best thing in life:

  “My family. And by that I mean my kids and my wife.” — James Hasson (12:23)

• On escaping social media comparison traps:

  “If you look at it and everyone goes on vacation once a year... it’s going to look like everyone is on vacation all the time except you.” — James Hasson (27:31)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• James Hasson’s writing journey & public persona: 03:01–05:28
• Getting involved in evacuation efforts, writing the Kabul book: 05:32–07:43
• Family life, pride, and fatherhood: 12:13–13:44
• Marriage, masculinity, and media narratives: 17:55–19:59
• Optimism about social trends & types of family life: 21:47–23:12
• The social media trap & final advice: 25:44–28:01

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Tone & Style

Warm, self-deprecating humor paired with frank acknowledgments of pain, struggle, and cultural tension. The conversation is rooted in lived experience and a deep sense of gratitude for family and meaning.

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Summary Takeaway

This episode is a mix of candid storytelling and practical wisdom. James Hasson and Karol Markowicz tackle heavy subjects—war, personal loss, cultural decline—balanced by optimism, humor, and a commitment to family. Their advice to listeners: reject toxic online narratives, celebrate the real joys of committed relationships, and limit the influence of social media on your sense of self-worth. A must-listen for those seeking perspective, hope, and actionable life strategies.

Transcript

[Carol Markowitz]

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[James Hassan]

Who's a good boy? Who's a good boy? You're a good boy. That's right, dude.

[Carol Markowitz]

You're a good.

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[James Hassan]

Yeah, they do.

[Chelsea Handler]

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[Discover Card Advertiser]

With the times.

[Chelsea Handler]

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[Discover Card Advertiser]

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[James Hassan]

Discover is accepted at 99% of places that take credit cards nationwide. Based on the February 2025 Nielsen.

[Carol Markowitz]

Hi, and welcome back to the Harold Markovitz show on iheartradio. My guest today is James Hassan. James is a former army officer, an attorney, and the author of the national best selling book, Kabul the Untold Story of Biden's Fiasco and the American warriors who Fought to the End. Hi, James. So nice to have you on.

[James Hassan]

Hey, Carol, thanks a lot for having me. I really appreciate it.

[Carol Markowitz]

I've been following you for a long time. You're one of my favorite accounts. The Hasson family in general. Fantastic. Really big fans of all of you. How did you get into being a writer or just being kind of a public person like you are?

[James Hassan]

Yeah, I mean, a little bit by accident. My little brother. And emphasize little brother Peter is.

[Carol Markowitz]

How many are there? How many Hassan brothers are there?

[James Hassan]

There are five of us.

[Carol Markowitz]

Ooh, wow.

[James Hassan]

I know. And we're in a group chat and they were like, the rest of them just got this idea that they're going to like, run a marathon together. And I just straight up told them, like, hey, I'm very self aware of like the stage of life that I'm in. You guys knock yourselves out.

[Carol Markowitz]

But, oh, this is new. They just. All right.

[James Hassan]

Yeah. And Peter was like, it's the flattest marathon in America. And I was like, it's still a marathon.

[Carol Markowitz]

We had Peter on the show. He was fantastic. You know, you have a kind of a high bar to clear, but, you know, no pressure.

[James Hassan]

You know, he's, he's the fun size version. But, yeah, I didn't think that I would kind of have anything public facing whatsoever to the extent that I am. But the way it all kind of kicked off is I, I had just gotten out of the army and I was, I was in law school and I was like interning at a firm in D.C. and reconnected with a friend who was still in. And she sent me this PowerPoint of the transgender training. It was back in, like 2015 when the Obama administration was, you know, doing that. Nobody hadn't been talked about. It wasn't like, there wasn't this whole concept of wokeness in the military, which is now like a, you know, huge topic of conversation. And she just said, hey, like, I, I think you're, you know, you probably know some people in D.C. can you get it out? And I just cold emailed an article to the Federalist because I just was like, what's a conservative place? All right. And they took it and then like two days later ended up like being on Fox to talk about it because some, some producer picked it up and then it just kind of. Yeah.

[Carol Markowitz]

I'm famous now.

[James Hassan]

Yeah, I'm gonna fly that flag, I guess. Yeah.

[Carol Markowitz]

But so how do you go from that to writing the book about the disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan?

[James Hassan]

That. Yeah, also a little bit by accident. I. When everything kind of fell apart, I had, you know, like everybody that was, that served overseas either knew an interpreter wanted to get out or that they were trying to get out or had a friend who was in that spot. And in my case it was, it was a friend who just said, hey, do you know anybody that can get this guy and his seven kids out? And you know, I like made some phone calls and some people that are much savvier than I, you know, I was. We're able to eventually get them out. They're living in Houston, they're doing great. But after that I was kind of already talking to people who were really plugged in and I happen to know a couple people who were there. And so I was hearing from them in bits and pieces. I ended up just, just thinking this thing's going to be like, swept under the rug. Like completely swept under the rug. So I ended up just kind of talking to like, I mean, Jerry and I like.

[Carol Markowitz]

Yeah, your co author, Jerry Dunleavy.

[James Hassan]

Dunleavy.

[Carol Markowitz]

Great guy.

[James Hassan]

Great, great guy. Ginger. But, but great.

[Carol Markowitz]

Hey.

[James Hassan]

Yeah. I mean, it seems a bit of a, a bit of a, like a stressful book to write in or a, a draining book to write because you're right, you're talking to just dozens, I mean, hundreds of people about the worst days of their lives over and over. But it was also the most. Probably one of the most gratifying things I've, I've ever done professionally.

[Carol Markowitz]

I, I could imagine that to be true. Like you feel like you have to do it, but it's a hard thing to do, obviously, to take down the story of an American disaster that things, everything went wr. Do you have a bright spot out of that moment?

[James Hassan]

That's hard.

[Carol Markowitz]

I mean, I guess getting the guy and his seven kids out.

[Discover Card Advertiser]

Yeah.

[James Hassan]

I mean, you know what, like every, every if it, if it weren't for all of the, you know, like 18, 19 year old kids at the gates.

[Carol Markowitz]

Yeah.

[James Hassan]

Pulling people through and looking out for some interpreter who was holding up a call sign on a right, you know, like, broken piece of cardboard. There would have been a lot more really good people that got hurt or that didn't make it. And so I think in some ways, for, for me and probably for plenty of other people who are in Afghanistan, it was kind of, at least you felt like you were trying to do something because you're just watching the whole thing on CNN just fall apart, and you just want to feel like, well, yeah, I got a laptop and Google Earth and let's see what we can do here. So, yeah, I think that's a really long winded answer to your very first question, but.

[Carol Markowitz]

All right. Do you have another book in you? I wrote one book, and I'm never doing it again.

[James Hassan]

There are days when I'm like, man, that'd be so much fun. And then.

[Carol Markowitz]

Which part?

[James Hassan]

Which part is fun? Oh, yeah. Having it done, having it complete, even that.

[Carol Markowitz]

I don't know.

[James Hassan]

Yeah, I know. And then you're, you know, like, I mean, you guys were everywhere.

[Carol Markowitz]

For a solid, having a co author is. It was actually, I think, a very big positive.

[James Hassan]

Yeah. Okay, so how did, how did you and Bethany.

[Carol Markowitz]

Well, we each wrote a chapter. Like, you know, we switched off on chapters, and we kind of. It was naturally what was most interesting to each of us. How did you guys do it?

[James Hassan]

It's kind of similarly, but we then swapped chapters and edited them. And like, we just have very, very different writing styles. It's like Jerry will be the first to tell you. Like, he will throw everything in a word doc and then he just, he, like, everything. All. Everything is from.

[Carol Markowitz]

That's how I do it.

[James Hassan]

Different chapters.

[Carol Markowitz]

Yeah, that's how I do it. Totally. I, I, sometimes I'll have, like, individual words in my word doc that I want to use in my piece. Amazing. It's not even in a sentence. It's just by itself, you know.

[James Hassan]

Got you.

[Carol Markowitz]

This AI can't replace me. Yeah, right.

[James Hassan]

Can't replicate that. Oh, man. Now I'm too ADD for that. Like, I have to focus. Or else, like, I'll just know there's 18 word docs open and just click between them the whole time. I wonder, actually.

[Carol Markowitz]

Yeah, well, so you have more than one job. I mean, you're also an attorney. Because the question that I normally ask on here is, like, what if this hadn't worked out? Like, what would you. Did you have a plan B? Which one is the plan B? Is it being an attorney or being a writer?

[James Hassan]

Being a writer is the current plan B. And the long term. Plan A. I don't know. People talk about.

[Carol Markowitz]

So you have to write another book. There's your answer.

[James Hassan]

Well, I don't know about a book. I was. You know. But people who. Imagine if you had, like, a lot of. A lot of time. I mean, maybe a lot of times.

[Carol Markowitz]

Imagine if you had time.

[James Hassan]

Yeah. Like, just. That would be interesting.

[Carol Markowitz]

Would you run a marathon with your brothers?

[James Hassan]

Still no. Still no.

[Carol Markowitz]

No matter how much time, Right?

[James Hassan]

Yeah, actually. So, pj. Peter, we go on pj, Funny story about him. He actually. He ran one once before, so, like a brag about him and then dunk on him. But he did it without. Without training.

[Carol Markowitz]

Because my sister really just like, couch to marathon.

[TSA Representative]

Yeah.

[James Hassan]

Just literally. But he wasn't like a senior in high school. He was running. He was going to run like.

[Carol Markowitz]

Yeah, a senior in high school could do that. Yeah.

[James Hassan]

And then she gotta go. Well, she got a cramp and had to stop. And he was like, well, I'm running, so, like, I'll just keep going. And he. He finished it. But by the end, he was. I mean, he was like, just limping across. And there were these two, like, ladies in their, like, late 70s, early 80s, just running together. And we just watched them slowly. Yeah. And they're encouraging him.

[Carol Markowitz]

Go, young man.

[James Hassan]

And so then after that, when he was like, yeah, have you run a marathon?

[Carol Markowitz]

Right.

[James Hassan]

Come on, man. You placed third in the 85 and older cat.

[Carol Markowitz]

So do you remind him of that when he suggests running another marathon?

[James Hassan]

Yep. Yep.

[Carol Markowitz]

I mean, brothers are merciless.

[James Hassan]

It's. It's the best relationship.

[Carol Markowitz]

Yeah. What would you say you're most proud of in your life?

[James Hassan]

My family. And by that I mean my. My kids and. And my wife.

[Carol Markowitz]

How many you got?

[James Hassan]

Two. And then a third on the way, which I don't know if I'm allowed to announce that, but I just did.

[Carol Markowitz]

So we can edit it out if you need it.

[James Hassan]

No, no, no, no. But amazing. It's. Yeah. You know, like that not to get, like. Not just. Not to sound really sappy about it, but.

[Carol Markowitz]

Sound sappy.

[James Hassan]

Do it.

[Odoo Representative]

Yeah.

[James Hassan]

Well, I'm gonna, like. I'm gonna do it. There's just sometimes, like, I walk down in the morning and, like, I play with my kids because they get up like goblins of, like, 5, 45, 6. I play with them before work and, you know, I just kind of look around and think, like, man, like, I made it.

[iHeartRadio Business Representative]

Here I am.

[James Hassan]

And there are plenty of mornings that I don't have that. But. But you're too busy like wiping yogurt off my.

[Carol Markowitz]

You know, as you do.

[James Hassan]

But I never understood, you know when people would say that until like about their, their own kids.

[Carol Markowitz]

Until right until you don't know what you don't know.

[Odoo Representative]

Yeah.

[James Hassan]

Yeah. It's just you can't, you know, like if you can't really, you can't really explain it, but you also don't need to if someone else is talking about the same spot.

[Carol Markowitz]

We're going to take a quick break and be right back on the Carol Markowitz Show.

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[Public Investing Representative]

Support for the show comes from Public, the investing platform for those who take it seriously. On public you can build a multi asset portfolio of stocks, bonds, options, CR and now generated assets which allow you to turn any idea into an investable index. With AI. It all starts with your prompt. From renewable energy companies with high free cash flow to semiconductor suppliers growing revenue over 20% year over year, you can literally type any prompt and put the AI to work. It screens thousands of stocks, builds a one of a kind index and lets you back test it against the S&P 500. Then you can invest in a few clicks. Generated assets are like ETFs with infinite possibilities, completely customizable and based on your thesis, not someone else's. Go to public.com podcast and earn an uncapped 1% bonus when you transfer your portfolio. That's public.com podcast paid for by Public Investing Brokerage Services by Open to the Public Investing Inc. Member FINRA and SIPC Advisory services by Public Advisors llc SEC Registered Advisor. Generated Assets is an interactive analysis tool. Output is for informational purposes only and is not an investment recommendation or Advice Complete Disclosures available at public.comDisclosures running a.

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[Carol Markowitz]

So for a long time there was this discourse about having kids where women were told it's like the worst. It's so bad, it's, you know, it destroys your whole life. You have no personality. Afterwards, you as an independent person cease to exist. And now that is aimed at at boys and men. And I find that so scary because I think that it's taking. You could see it working. The people are falling for it. The Andrew Tates of the world who are like, you know, being married is stupid. And, you know, yeah, you could have kids, but make sure you have it with, like, 10 different people. It's scary to watch.

[James Hassan]

You know what it is? Well, first of all, it really is, you know, like, Andrew States is just a sociopath, but. But he's also a loser. And.

[Carol Markowitz]

Yeah. Both. Yeah.

[James Hassan]

And so, so many of those guys who are shouting that out like that.

[Carol Markowitz]

Yeah.

[James Hassan]

Fuentes. The world is like, oh, getting married's gay.

[Carol Markowitz]

And, like, getting married is gay to a woman.

[James Hassan]

Great boy. Like.

[Carol Markowitz]

Right, right.

[James Hassan]

Doesn't want to.

[Carol Markowitz]

Yeah. Cooties.

[James Hassan]

I think it's just such a, like, defense mechanism.

[Carol Markowitz]

Yeah.

[James Hassan]

Oh, well, of course. Like, I'm not married and have no idea to do it.

[Carol Markowitz]

Right. Right.

[James Hassan]

I don't know. It just seems like it.

[Carol Markowitz]

How do we get the message out that it's like, the greatest thing ever? And, you know, when I ask you what you're most proud of in your life, it's your family.

[James Hassan]

Yeah. Yeah. It's funny because actually, like, I. I talked to my wife Katie, about that sometimes, and just because plenty of women that she knows, like, kind of, you know, like, bought the same lie for at least.

[Carol Markowitz]

Yeah.

[James Hassan]

And. And they're. Or just seen on social media and, you know, plenty guys, like, you know, and I think in a way, like, just kind of being. Just being open and joyful about everyone's like, oh, yeah, it's so hard. It's like, yeah, it's hard, but it's also, like, the best. Pretty freaking cool. Yeah.

[Carol Markowitz]

Yeah.

[James Hassan]

You know, and social media does this kind of has this, like, perverse incentive where everyone wants to, you know, play into the stereotype and, like, that's whatever it is that they're.

[Carol Markowitz]

Yeah. Say the edgy thing.

[James Hassan]

Yeah. Yeah. Oh, so. And also, people probably don't want to, like, be posting pictures of their kids on X for reason.

[Carol Markowitz]

Understandable. Yeah. I don't.

[iHeartRadio Business Representative]

Yeah.

[Carol Markowitz]

Yeah.

[James Hassan]

So then, like, it kind of creates this just utterly skewed perspective, but.

[Carol Markowitz]

Right.

[James Hassan]

I think people should just be.

[Carol Markowitz]

Yeah. You're also not supposed to, like, not brag, but it's like, you can talk about how incredible single life is. Like, there's so many videos about, like, women who are like, I woke up at 10:00am today. You know, just all this, like, being single is the best. I took up the whole bed. Chelsea Handler does a lot of these kinds of videos. But if I start making videos about, like, I am so happy with my husband, I, like, you know, like.

[James Hassan]

Yeah, we.

[Carol Markowitz]

It just.

[James Hassan]

It. Everyone everyone's just like, okay, well yeah.

[Carol Markowitz]

You'Re not allowed to do that.

[James Hassan]

You're like bragging and you're kind of.

[Carol Markowitz]

Right, you're totally not allowed to do that because we, we know that one is better than the other and that's why one is bragging and one is not and.

[James Hassan]

Right, right. No, exactly. It like definitely has like an error of just trying too hard.

[Chelsea Handler]

Yeah.

[James Hassan]

If you're, if you're really thrilled with what you're doing.

[Carol Markowitz]

Right. Why do you need.

[James Hassan]

Why do you have to like get up and set up the camera for.

[Carol Markowitz]

25 minutes, get your lighting going and then. And then roll around in your bed?

[James Hassan]

Yeah. Like, why not just go about your day? Is that awesome? Just go enjoy it.

[Carol Markowitz]

I don't know. James, give us a five year out prediction can be about anything at all, man.

[James Hassan]

Go one of two ways on that. Okay, so I think, I think that there's gonna be a really strong trend towards basically people doing exactly the kinds of things you and I were just talking about in terms of leaning into getting married, having a family, basically. Almost like a return to really traditionalism.

[Carol Markowitz]

I love it. Very optimistic. Yeah, that is a hot take. I don't get a lot of that but.

[James Hassan]

But like, yeah, you just think the pendulum is gonna. People now kind of coming back because it seems like it's the only thing that to them it's like subjective. It's true. It's. It's time tested and, And I think, I don't know, you could only like Gen X did pretty well after the boomers, right?

[Carol Markowitz]

I think so. I'm Gen X. I mean, yeah.

[James Hassan]

Like you guys, you guys like to too your horn, but we do like to tune our home, like did pretty well. Yeah.

[Carol Markowitz]

Yeah.

[James Hassan]

So I don't know, I think it'd be like a snapback and.

[Carol Markowitz]

So in the next five years, you think we're going to see us?

[James Hassan]

I think, I think you'll start, I think you'll start to see some of it. I think you'll start to see like the beginnings of it.

[Carol Markowitz]

Because the most optimistic one I've ever.

[James Hassan]

Gotten, I think, you know, I was trying to think of something that wasn't like AI is going to make us.

[Carol Markowitz]

But yeah, I got a lot of predictions. Yeah.

[James Hassan]

All right. I know like a really bold, optimistic one would be China somehow collapses, but that's not happening.

[Carol Markowitz]

So I don't know. Not happening. The way things are going right now, like, we're on a little bit of a roll.

[James Hassan]

I know. Awesome, isn't it?

[Carol Markowitz]

We're recording this. I mean, these always come out a few weeks later. But we're recording this right when the protests are going on in Iran, but we haven't decided or it looks like we may have a strike as soon as tonight, but who knows? Anything could happen. You know, trying to get into the mind of Donald Trump is never that easy to do. But I feel like the Western world and the freedom loving world is really on a bit of a roll right now.

[James Hassan]

Yeah, it's kind of, it is kind of amazing what happens when you act like you're the.

[Carol Markowitz]

Yeah.

[James Hassan]

Strongest country in the history of humanity instead of.

[Carol Markowitz]

That's exactly it.

[James Hassan]

It's not.

[Carol Markowitz]

Yeah, yeah. Not giving them pallets of cash. Like things change. Yeah.

[James Hassan]

Believe it or not, people respond to incentives. I, it, yeah. I mean, it is, it is kind of, it's fun to watch.

[Carol Markowitz]

Yeah.

[James Hassan]

In that way.

[Carol Markowitz]

I was just in Singapore over the break. It was my second time there. Loved it. And you know, it's ethnically Chinese. Like, it's, there's nothing about Chinese people that says that they don't want to have some level of freedom that the Singaporeans have. I mean, they, they have a really strict society. There's no porn, there's no, you know, chewing gum, there's no drugs. But in general, they still have a kind of freedom that Chinese people simply don't have. And you know, I, I, I think it's, you know, that, that, that one's more of a stretch, actually. They're both kind of a stretch.

[James Hassan]

I think they're both a little bit.

[Carol Markowitz]

Of a stretch things around and people.

[James Hassan]

Are going to start maybe the five traditional families. Fifteen.

[Carol Markowitz]

Yeah, that's probably, we'll let you have.

[James Hassan]

You see, what I'm saying is like, this is kind of a little bit of a shift, right?

[Carol Markowitz]

If, if the Carol Markowitz show is still around in 2041, we'll have you.

[James Hassan]

Back on it, you know, and you're like, you'll be interviewing people with like babies in the background everywhere. It'll be crazy.

[Carol Markowitz]

Exactly. Just kids, kids all over the place. Well, James, I have loved this conversation, loved getting to know you a little bit more. Leave us here with best tip for my listeners on how they can improve their lives.

[James Hassan]

This sounds weird because I'm on, you know, I'm on Twitter of all places, but I try to mute all the, the insanity as much as I can, but I got rid of Facebook and, and Instagram and all of that, but Instagram's the happy one years ago. Ah, see, I, that's that's my hot take is. I think Instagram is, like, really responsible for so much. I mean, think about it. Like, all we're doing is encouraging everyone to kind of look at themselves and videotape themselves.

[Carol Markowitz]

I guess. I don't. I just. I don't really post stuff like that. I mean, on Instagram, but also, like, I don't.

[James Hassan]

I don't have the boomer vision of Instagram now.

[Carol Markowitz]

Yeah, I think things have changed a little. People are, like, no longer taking pictures of their lunch. But Instagram, like X to me, is still the most negative one. It's the one that I take off of my phone for several weeks at a time, like, when I'm trying to take a break. And it's such a negative. And I'm addicted to it. I love it so much, and it is such a negative. Horrible place. But Instagram, it's like pretty pictures and, like, handbags and vacations and I guess.

[James Hassan]

The thing with an algorithm, Right.

[Carol Markowitz]

Yeah. Well, maybe I definitely try to curate. I guess if I. As soon as I get any political anything, I scroll right quickly, scroll right past it. I can't. You know, it's not. Instagram's not for politics. No, but as long as you're not comparing yourself or thinking like, oh, this person has.

[James Hassan]

That's what I was.

[Carol Markowitz]

Oh, this person's on a yacht. And I'm, you know, in my office recording this podcast.

[James Hassan]

Yeah, that's. That was. The second half of it was basically, you know, like, the less that you can kind of compare yourself to.

[Carol Markowitz]

Yeah.

[James Hassan]

Compare to others or care about what people think then. Yeah, exactly.

[Carol Markowitz]

Yeah. All right, so your. Your advice is stay off the Internet or stay off the social media.

[James Hassan]

Stay off the Internet Explorer. I would just say, if I were giving advice to me, you know, five years before that, I would have said, stop. Stop scrolling and thinking that everyone else has this, like, perfect life. Because if you look at it and everyone goes on vacation once a year, you follow 65 people, it's going to look to you like everyone is on vacation all the time except you.

[Carol Markowitz]

Such a good point.

[James Hassan]

Yeah.

[Carol Markowitz]

Thank you so much for coming on. We'll follow your advice to stay off the socials as much as possible. He is James Hassan. Check out his book, the Untold Story of Biden's Fiasco and the American warriors who Fought to the End. Thank you so much, James.

[James Hassan]

Hey, thanks a lot, Carol. Well, the holidays have come and gone once again, but if you've forgotten to get that special someone in your life, a gift. Well, Mint Mobile is extending their holiday offer of half off unlimited wireless. So here's the idea. You get it now. You call it an early present for next year. What do you have to lose? Give it a [e-mail] Switch limited time, 50% off regular price for new customers. Upfront payment required $45 for three months, $90 for six months or $180 for 12 month plan taxes and fees. Extra speeds may slow after 50 gigabytes per month when network is busy.

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[James Hassan]

Customers out the door.

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[Carol Markowitz]

Hi.

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[Carol Markowitz]

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[Carol Markowitz]

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