Allison Gill (2:40)

And I just. My heart goes out to everybody in Toronto, Canada, writ large. What an incredible series to take the Dodgers, very rich team with all of the, you know, contract power in the universe to game seven to extra innings. I mean, just well fought, an incredible series. And although this week is a bye week for the Cleveland Browns. So I only have to be disappointed by one sports team this weekend.

Dana Goldberg (3:07)

You're still hanging in there. I'm so proud of you. I mean, Cleveland Browns fans, that's the one thing I could say. Y' all are loyal. You're loyal. No matter what, up or down, you're not going anywhere.

Allison Gill (3:15)

Yeah, yeah, it's. It's a. It's a curse. But anyway, I just wanted to send my love out to Canada and Toronto. I thought the Blue Jays did an incredible job. And today, later in the show, I'm so excited about this, I got to speak with the incredible Martin Sheen about his new podcast, the Martin Sheen Podcast, which is available.

Dana Goldberg (3:34)

That is amazing. That's amazing.

Allison Gill (3:36)

My friend on MSW Media, which, by the way, he's got. He's decided that MSW Media stands for something else now, not Mueller, She Wrote. So you can find out what that is until you can probably guess. But we talk about that. We talk about his life, his family. He's going to be having on upcoming episodes, interviews with family members, including Emilio and, you know, Estevez and Renee, but also Charlie. He anticipates that he will be interviewing Charlie Sheen in a forthcoming episode. And I just want to thank everybody for subscribing and listening to the Martin Sheen Podcast. It's so great, and I look forward to you getting to hear our discussion later on in this show. Also, Dana, our first video pod goes out to patrons today.

Dana Goldberg (4:22)

I know. I'm so excited. And again, if you're listening to this after the video podcast, you'll understand. But regardless, I'm sorry about my voice and a little bit disheveled on the first video podcast, but you'll see it. You'll see it. And our patrons get a say. And some of the changes, some of the tweaks, some of the making it better. That's what we're doing. This is an exercise.

Allison Gill (4:43)

Yeah. And it's almost like everything that kind of ends up on the cutting room floor that we don't get to talk about on the audio podcast here. And so it's a totally different show. It's not that we don't just rip the, you know, the video from the audio or the audio from the video and make an identical show. It's a totally new show. If you're a patron at the $5 level or higher, you're going to get it, and we're going to ask for your feedback over the next month before we release it to the public December 1st. So I'm excited about that. And yeah, we aren't glam tax people. You're not going to see us in full makeup and full hair unless we're doing something else that requires it that day.

Dana Goldberg (5:17)

Yeah, absolutely. And just a reminder, Allison's got a studio. I am on the road a lot. I don't like to miss podcasts when I can with you all, so my background's going to change. You're going to a lot of hotel rooms in a lot of different places. But also hopefully we'll get some consistency when I'm in LA or New York. But just bear with me, I'm on the road.

Allison Gill (5:38)

Think about it like getting to go on the road with Dana for that ride tour. That's right.

Dana Goldberg (5:42)

That's right.

Allison Gill (5:43)

Also, there's a new episode of unjustified with Andy McCabe that just came out yesterday. And also a new episode of the Breakdown, my video podcast over on the Midas Network. I think I'm up to 15 shows a week, Dana, and I don't know when I sleep. If you have that question.

Dana Goldberg (5:56)

I have no idea. I ask myself daily, actually.

Allison Gill (6:02)

But you know, I think I got an extra hour yesterday, so maybe that'll just make up for all of it. But I appreciate everybody's support. If again, if you want to become a patron and get those video pods and put your input in on the ground floor, it's patreon.com thedailybeans and you can join $5 a month and you'll also get ad free early unjustified ad free early the Beans and this new podcast which we haven't really named yet. I'm calling it the Beans Talk, but it could end up being anything. It might not even have a title that has to do with the Daily Beans. We'll see. We don't know. But we thank you for supporting us. All right, we have so much news to get to today before we get to the good news and before we get to that interview with Mr. Martin Sheen. But first, we have some quick hits.

Martin Sheen (6:44)

And to make a long story short.

Allison Gill (6:45)

First up from the Guardian, the US Military has carried out another lethal strike on alleged drug smugglers in the Caribbean Sea, according to kegseth. He said on Saturday the vessel was operated by a US Designated terrorist organization, but didn't name which group was targeted. He said three people were killed in the strike. It's at least the 15th such strike carried out by the US military in the Caribbean or Eastern Pacific since early September. The US now so far has murdered 64 people in these boat strikes, they're calling them lethal kinetic strikes or whatever. It's terrifying and illegal. And I think it came up a little bit in the UN General Council this week as well. But they just don't have any legal basis to do it.

Dana Goldberg (7:28)

And if these are more crimes, if these are, you know, treasonous crimes, you know, he may be protected, but these other people are not. And that's what's going to come out later. That's why I like to think you said military as well as ice. They're, they're having a hard time with people staying. They don't want to be the one that follows orders in the end. This is a related story. Amid a buildup of American forces in the Caribbean, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, he's reaching out to Russia, China and Iran to enhance its WARN military capabilities and solicit assistance, requesting defense radars, aircraft repairs and potentially missiles. That's According to internal U.S. government documents obtained by the Washington Post. Maduro, according to the documents, also composed a letter to Chinese President Xi Jinping seeking, and I quote, expanded military cooperation between their two countries to counter the escalation between the US And Venezuela.

Allison Gill (8:25)

My God.

Dana Goldberg (8:26)

Yep.

Allison Gill (8:26)

And we got a whole big strike group out there now. And I, I think he just wants to start a, a war without Congress. It's frightening. And the Department of War and this warrior ethos, it's, it's a bunch of. We'll keep an eye on it for you. From the Associated Press. A U. S. Senate investigation has uncovered dozens of credible reports of medical neglect and poor conditions in immigration detention centers nationwide, with detainees denied insulin, left without medical attention for days and forced to compete for clean water, raising scrutiny about how the government oversees its vast detention system. The report, which was released by Senator Jon Ossoff, a Democrat from Georgia, is the second in a series of inquiries examining alleged human rights abuses in the immigration detention system. These are our concentration camps, everyone. It builds on an August review that detailed mistreatment of children and pregnant women and draws from more than 500 reports of abuse and neglect collected between January and August. It's bad. It's really bad. And it's privatized. And yeah, that, you know, we have to, we have to get the House back and possibly the Senate so that we can provide some oversight with teeth.

Dana Goldberg (9:35)

That would be incredible. Incredible. This one's from Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers on Friday declared a state of emergency due to the effects of the month long federal government shutdown, directing state officials to police price gouging and to suspend state rules that he says would hinder the state's response. The order focuses on the shutdown's effects on food assistance programs. Nearly 700,000 Wisconsin residents receive benefits through a program known as Food Share, which is federally funded and administered by state officials. Around 270,000 of Foodshare recipients are children.

Allison Gill (10:15)

And that's something we have to remember and talk to our neighbors about. It's not called SNAP everywhere.

Dana Goldberg (10:21)

Very good point.

Allison Gill (10:22)

It might be called Calfresh, or like you said in Wisconsin, it's Food Share, but they're all the federally funded programs. So, you know, we want to make sure, you know, how people were like, I hate that Obamacare, but I love the Affordable Care Act. It's, you know, it's the same thing. Uncle Frank.

Dana Goldberg (10:39)

Great, great example.

Allison Gill (10:42)

Next up, from the Times of San Diego, representatives Darrell Issa, the richest man in Congress and known for his voice as the Viper car alarm. He's from here, from San Diego. And Ronny Jackson, of course, the pill guy from Texas, the pill mill guy, Candyman. They filed a lawsuit in the Northern District of Texas, of course, because that's super Republican, saying they're being harmed by Prop 50. But within hours, Trump appointed Judge Matthew Kaczmarek, probably one of the Trumpiest judges in the Northern District, threw their lawsuit out, saying that they can't sue in their representative capacity. When they assert harm, it amounts only to a loss of political power, not a loss of any private. Right. So get the fuck out and everybody vote tomorrow. By the way, Tuesday, I think there are what, roughly 52,000 elections across America.

Dana Goldberg (11:33)

Yep. All the way down to the school board. So many people. So many people. And from NBC, Nancy Mace was involved in a heated confrontation with airport police and TSA agents at the Charleston International Airport on Thursday morning.

Allison Gill (11:47)

Karen alert. No offense.

Dana Goldberg (11:48)

I know. I'm surprised she didn't scream bigoted phrases. She may have, actually. Officers found Mace trying to use an entrance typically used for crew personnel at a TSA security checkpoint. Mace began cursing at them and calling the department incompetent, saying, this is no way to treat a U.S. representative. I think it's the perfect way to treat this one.

Allison Gill (12:10)

Oh, my God. If you're so dignified as a representative.

Dana Goldberg (12:14)

Why are you also, that's literally the. Don't you know who I am? Yeah. The tsa.

Allison Gill (12:20)

Yeah.

Dana Goldberg (12:21)

How embarrassing. On Twitter, the congresswoman said TSA wouldn't let me through and dismissed a post from the independent site Fitz News about the incident being under investigation as a silly rumor. And False.

Allison Gill (12:33)

They let her through.

Dana Goldberg (12:34)

Oh, she's in a set through the line she was supposed to go through. In a separate post on Twitter, she said all lawmakers use those crew entrances. Not true. And she said all federally elected officials, including Senator Scott and Graham, use the same crew member access points at airports. That's what she said. She continued to swear loudly and berate workers all the way to the gate.

Allison Gill (12:58)

God, the privilege.

Dana Goldberg (13:02)

I mean, that one fell far. I don't know if she was ever a good person, but she definitely wasn't this person. Mm. That fall from grace was a big one.

Allison Gill (13:12)

She's awful. She's just awful. All right, everybody, we've got more news that we have to get to, plus an interview with Martin Sheen and the good news. But we have to take a quick break, so stick around. We'll be right back after these messages.

Martin Sheen (13:26)

We'll be right back.

Allison Gill (13:28)

Hey, everybody. Deleteme makes it easy, quick, and safe to remove your personal data online at a time when surveillance and data breaches are common enough to make everyone nervous and vulnerable. We want to thank our sponsor for today's episode, Delete Me. With Deleteme, I protect both my personal privacy and the privacy of my business. Because Deleteme is dedicated to protecting your privacy, they do the hard work of wiping you and your family's personal information from the big data broker websites that buy and sell your private information. All you have to do is sign up and tell them what information you want deleted, and their crack team of experts takes it from there. They even send you personalized privacy reports showing what they found, where they found it, what was removed, and how much time it saved you. I have an actual digital footprint, and that makes privacy a top priority for me. Every time I read about a new breach, I wonder if my information is sitting in some list being passed around. Hackers and data brokers can collect everything from phone numbers to fragments of Social Security data. Deleteme helps shut that down. They scan the web, find those exposed records, and get them deleted before the wrong people can use them. And they keep doing it. They continuously monitor the Internet for your information and remove it whenever it pops up. So take control of your data and keep your private life private by signing up for Deleteme now at a special discount for listeners. Get 20% off your DeleteMe plan when you go to the website joindeleteme.com dailybeans and use promo code dailybeans at checkout. Again, the only way to get 20% off is to go to JoinDeleteMe.com DailyBeans and enter code DailyBeans at checkout. One more time, that's join delete me.com DailyBeans code DailyBeans everybody. Welcome back. It's time for the hot notes. Hot notes. Notes. All right, first up from abc. President Trump said Friday that his administration's lawyers are not sure they have the legal authority to pay SNAP benefits during the government shutdown. And said he's asked for clarity from the courts in the wake of two recent decisions telling him he has to pay the SNAP benefits. Quote, our government lawyers don't think we have the legal authority to pay SNAP with certain monies we have available. Dude circumvents Congress every second of every fucking day to do the things he wants to pay for, like ICE and, you know, military pay or to, you know, cut research and development funding for. To pay the military or whatever. But for this, for the snap benefits for 42 million hungry people, he's like, well, not sure we can do it. It's just so frustrating. Quote, if we're given the appropriate legal direction by the court, it will be my honor to provide the funding, just like I did with military law enforcement pay. That's what Trump said, referring to him shifting funds without Congress's permission to do so.

Dana Goldberg (16:03)

I thought that was an anonymous donor that donated 130 million to pay the military.

Allison Gill (16:07)

Yeah, it turns out 100 bucks per military member doesn't cover their paychecks.

Dana Goldberg (16:10)

Oh, really? Imagine that.

Allison Gill (16:11)

Yeah. Weird. Must have been a bribe. The U.S. department of Agriculture, which runs the SNAP program, is scheduled to freeze Snap payments starting November 1st, as we know, which was two days ago due to the ongoing government shutdown. SNAP generally requires 8.6 billion in funding every month to provide 41 million Americans benefits and administer the program. Trump's post came hours after a federal judge in Rhode island temporarily ordered the Trump administration to pay the SNAP funding.

Dana Goldberg (16:37)

And they're like, not that court.

Allison Gill (16:39)

Not the Rhode island is too small. It's. The state isn't large enough.

Dana Goldberg (16:44)

I didn't mean that, judge.

Allison Gill (16:46)

Courts to count. Quote, the court is orally at this time ordering that USDA must distribute the contingency money timely or as soon as possible for their November 1st payments to be made. That's what the US District Judge John McConnell Jr said after an hour long emergency hearing. McConnell ruled that the suspension of SNAP funding is arbitrary and capricious and likely to cause irreparable harm, calling the terror felt by Americans who are scrambling to meet their basic nutritional needs. Quote, there is no doubt and it is beyond argument that irreparable harm will begin to occur if it hasn't already occurred in the terror it has caused some people about the availability of funding for food for their family. In a filing after the judge's oral order, the Trump administration said it was expeditiously attempting to comply with the order, citing the lack of public recording or transcript of Friday's emergency hearing. DOJ lawmakers asked McConnell, the judge, to confirm the parameters of his decision to ensure they comply. You only said it with your words, and we don't have a transcript or an order. Please put it in writing. Ruling that stopping SNAP funding violated the Administrative Procedure act because the funding decision was arbitrary and capricious, Jud McConnell said. There's been no explanation, legitimate or otherwise, that's consistent with the APA as to why the contingency fund should not be used now. That ruling came as a federal judge in Boston in a separate case ruled that the Trump administration's attempt to suspend SNAP is unlawful, but declined to order the program be funded. That was US District Judge Indira Talwani. She reserved judgment about whether to issue a temporary restraining order, instead asking the Trump administration to advise the court whether they would authorize reduced SNAP benefits for November. She ordered the Trump administration to answer her question about reduced SNAP funding by today. We'll let you know what happens.

Dana Goldberg (18:33)

Thanks so much, Alison. This next one's from npr, and this just boils my blood. Access to gender affirming care for the transgender youth will be dramatically restricted by the Trump administration under new proposals by the Department of Health and Human Services. NPR has obtained the draft text of a proposed rule that would prohibit federal Medicaid reimbursement for medi cal care provided to transgender patients younger than 18 years of age. It also prohibits reimbursement through the Children's Health insurance program, or CHIP, for patients under 19. An additional proposed rule would go even further, blocking all Medicaid and Medicare funding for any services at hospitals that provide pediatric gender affirming care. The rules are being prepared for public release in early November. This is according to an employee at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. The employee asked that NPR not use their names, obviously because of fear of retribution. And yeah, an HHS spokesperson didn't respond to a request for comment about the planned timing of the proposed rule release. Both supporters and opponents of transgender rights agree that, taken together, the forthcoming rules could make access to pediatric gender affirming care across the country extremely difficult, if not impossible. The care is already banned by the way in 27 states. And I quote, these rules would be a significant escalation in the Trump administration's attack on access to transgender health care. This is from Katie Keith. Katie is the director of the center for Health Policy and the Law at Georgetown University. Said, I think it's really, really important to note that nothing is changing immediately. This is from Katie. And she went on to say, these would be proposals that would go out for public comment. It would take months for the Trump administration to issue a final rule, and then if passed as prologue, we would see litigation over whatever the final rules are. Law professor Katie Iyer of Rutgers University questions whether such a rule would survive a court challenge. She said, but if it were successful, I shudder to think what this administration would do with such a tool in their hands. It could open the door for any White House to withhold all federal funding from hospitals over the provision of medical care that it disfavors Said the writing has been on the wall that this has been coming. This is from Lindsey Dawson. Lindsey's the director of the LGBTQ health policy at kff. That's a nonpartisan health research organization. So this is all in Project 2025. They had spelled all of this out and they are dismantling it one step at a time, unfortunately.

Allison Gill (21:03)

Yeah. And when those public comments become available, we'll share them with you as a good trouble.

Dana Goldberg (21:07)

Yeah.

Allison Gill (21:08)

Next up from the Times, former President Barack Obama called New York City mayoral candidate Zoran Mamdani on Saturday, praising his campaign and offering to be a sounding board into the future. And I absolutely love this, even though he didn't endorse him officially, and we'll talk about that in a minute. But I love that President Obama has a lot of sway in the Democratic establishment and to call him up and say he loves what he's doing and wants to be a sounding board I think is important. The private roughly 30 minute phone call, which has not been previously reported, was described by two people who participated, who were briefed immediately on what had been said, and they spoke on the condition of anonymity. Obama said he was invested in Mamdani's success beyond the election on Tuesday, and they talked about the challenges of staffing a new administration and building an apparatus capable of delivering on Mamdani's agenda of affordability. Now, the former president's outreach on the eve of what has been a contentious election is notable in given how divided the Democratic establishment has been over Mamdani and the role that Mr. Obama still plays in the party. Obama spoke admiringly about how Mamdani has run his campaign, making light of his own past political missteps and noting how few Mr. Mamdani has made under such a bright spotlight. I love that. Like, I fucked up a lot. You run a pretty clean one, my man. That's so cool. Your campaign has been impressive to watch, Obama said. Now. Obama offered to be a sounding board if Mamdani wins the election. And the two discussed preliminary plans to meet in person at some point in Washington, though they haven't set a date yet. Obama didn't officially endorse Mamdani. But since leaving office, Obama has only endorsed a single candidate for mayor since 2016.

Dana Goldberg (22:48)

Wow.

Allison Gill (22:49)

He's only endorsed one, and that was Mayor Karen Bass. And that came because it was so close because, you know, billionaire former Republican Rick Caruso was running and he had been a Democrat. And so that's kind of why he stepped in there. Mamdani, it's not really a close race, so. But you know, Obama talks a lot about how he does. He withholds his endorsements a lot. He's more of a coach than an endorser, I guess. I'm not sure why, but that's what he says. Whether you agree with that or not, up to you. But I thought it was great that he called him and, and talked about how, you know, his admiration for his campaign and how it has been run because I think it's a model for how Democrats should be running campaigns in the future.

Dana Goldberg (23:28)

It is definitely saying something. All right, this one is from Al Jazeera. Dutch centrist leader Rob Jeddon has claimed victory in a cliffhanger election dominated by immigration and housing after seeing off far right contender Geert Wilders, saying his win proved populism can be beaten. The 38 year old head of the D66 party, which won the most votes in the week's general election, is now set to become the youngest and first openly gay prime minister of the European Union's fifth largest economy. And may I not. He's also adorbs.

Allison Gill (24:03)

They are. Oh my gosh, they're. And I. And I want to just let everybody know, in the Netherlands, a centrist is like really progressive.

Dana Goldberg (24:12)

Yeah, yeah. Yep, yep, yep.

Allison Gill (24:14)

For us in America.

Dana Goldberg (24:15)

Yeah. This is a quote from the story. I think we've now shown the rest of Europe and the world that it is possible to beat the populist movements if you campaign with a positive message for your country. That's what he said on Friday. As tallying from news agencies, ANP showed he was on course to win.

Allison Gill (24:31)

Amazing. All right, we, we have some good trouble for you.

Martin Sheen (24:35)

What are you guys doing?

Allison Gill (24:40)

All right, so get this, Dana. The Trump administration, Department of Homeland Security, which is in charge of ICE and the, you know, Customs and Border Protection and all that, sent out a request for information, which isn't like a request for quote, but he sent it out to private businesses saying, hey, we're, we're thinking about having you guys help us inform and snitch on immigrants. And we'll give you 10,000 to a million names at a time. You verify their addresses. If they're wrong, send us their real addresses, tell us where they are, tell us where they work, tell us what their car is, what their license plate number is, and then tell us how much it would cost you to do that per person or per 10,000 people and how you would sort of go about doing this. This is literally the Naziest shit. They, I mean, they've done a lot of Nazi stuff. I would hate to try to rank it, but they're building a network of informants of private citizens on our taxpayer dime. And I talked about it a lot on the breakdown which came out yesterday on the Midas Touch. There's a link in the show Notes for you to watch that episode so you can get more information. But something I didn't mention in that particular show that I want to mention here is that anyone who has questions about this program, this informant program, this snitch program shall be directed to the contracting officer Shayla Ray via email at Shayla B. Rayce.dhs.gov or contract specialist Jason Bordeaux via email at jason.bordeauxce.dhs gov. Questions must be received no later than November 3, 2025 by 2:00pm Eastern Time. That's in a public document and I'm just giving you those email addresses for no reason whatsoever other than for your informational awareness. That's your good trouble for today. We'll be right back with Martin Sheen. Hey everybody, it's ag. Wild Grain is the first bake from frozen subscription box that delivers artisanal breads, pastries and fresh pastas right to your door. Everything bakes in 25 minutes or less. You get that fresh from the oven flavor. It makes your house smell amazing. There's no hassle. They use simple real ingredients and a slow fermentation process that's easier on digestion and richer in nutrients. You can even customize your box with options like classic gluten free or plant based varieties that change seasonally thanks to Wildgrain for supporting our show. Check this deal out For a limited time, Wildgrain is offering you $30 off your first box, plus free croissants in every box when you go to wildgrain.comdailybeans to start your subscription. Or you can use promo code DailyBeans at checkout. My Wild Grain box arrived just in time for holiday baking season. Inside there were Fresh Pastas, Rustic Sourdough, the new Tear and Share Cranberry pecan rolls that instantly became my favorite. Dana's Gluten Free. She said her gluten free delivery was amazing. Flaky, flavorful and baked perfectly in less than 25 minutes. That convenience makes a huge difference when things get busy, especially at the holidays. I'm planning to use Wild Grain for holiday gatherings this year since it makes me look like I baked everything from scratch. The Parmesan herb biscuits and apple pie bites are ready to go on my holiday menu. Wildgreen even lets you buy certain items in bulk, which is perfect for hosting. It's also an easy, thoughtful gift. You can send a box or an E gift card straight to someone's inbox. And between cozy brunches and warm dinners, Wild Grain keeps my home smelling and feeling festive. So for a limited time, Wild Grain is offering you $30 off your first box, plus free croissants in every box when you go to wildgrain.comdailybeans to start your subscription. You heard me. Free croissants in every box and $30 off your first box. Just go to wildgrain.com dailybeans. You'll be glad you did. Hey everybody, welcome back. I'm very excited and honored today to be speaking to someone I've looked up to for a really long time. Actor, writer, poet, really needs no introduction. And the host of a new MSW Media podcast, Season one Episode one just dropped last week and the new episode is out yesterday. Please welcome Martin Sheen.

Martin Sheen (28:38)

Thank you very much. I'm delighted to be here.

Allison Gill (28:41)

It's truly an honor to meet you. It's so funny the way this podcast in my world came about. I'm about to ask you how it came about in your world, but I had just finished watching rewatching, I should say the West Wing because I was longing to watch some functional government and I wonder why. I had truly missed it. And as soon as I wrapped up the final episode, I got an email from our good friend Jody Hamilton and Renee and they said, you'll never believe this. Martin Sheen is working on this incredible new podcast and we would Love for you to hear it and consider it. And we're gonna be talking about it with Nicole Wallace. And I was absolutely immediately excited about this and I got some samples and I fell in love with it immediately. So talk a little bit. It was like, I think I described it to my best friend as it felt like I had been cornered in the Mural Room by President Bartlett, who wanted to tell me about all these important poems and stories. And I was just riveted. And I think it's absolutely wonderful. Talk a little bit about what inspired you to create this podcast, especially in the times we're in right now.

Martin Sheen (30:05)

Well, I wish I could take full credit for its inception, but that's not the case. In fact, for many months, my daughter Renee, along with my wife Janet, was insisting that I at least give doing a podcast a try. And I don't own a computer. I, I, I don't even know how to turn one on, frankly. I'm not bragging. I'm just saying that I, I, I, I took a couple of courses and failed them. And I decided, well, okay, I'm going to leave that go, and, and it's okay. I, I have a cell phone that I keep in the car for emergency, but I'm not connected to the, the Internet world, as it were. But both these two ladies in my life convinced me that I had something to offer, particularly now, later in my life, that I, you know, the, the time was getting short to offer anything, frankly. So I decided to do the kind of program, programming, I should say that, that I grew up with, and that was radio. I was a big fan of radio. I grew up in the 40s and 50s, so I go way back when radio was what TV and the Internet is now. But then it was all audio only, and we had to imagine the features of the people we were hearing about and identifying with and look forward to every year with the mini series that were on radio. And so I was a huge fan of radio. And I thought, particularly now when so much of our, our entertainment, should I say, is fleeting. You know, we're looking for the next popular thing, the next new flavor and so forth, that if I just slowed down and, and considered what maybe is the only thing that I could offer, and that would be reflections on stories that, that I've experienced in my own life, in my career, in my family, and in my imagination. And I started writing some of these stories and Renee thought they were right on. And so we would, you know, edit them and record them and make sure that the audience knew that. That they were listening to a. A prepared program, that there were. There was no hesitation like I'm doing right now. There was no M. And all of that. That it was a middle, a beginning, a middle and an end, and it was a theme. And that each program, which all of our podcasts last about 20, 25 minutes, some a little longer, some a bit shorter, but that the audience would know that they were on this adventure with me and that Renee was clever enough to kind of shake it up each program so that the audience, you know, may have been looking forward to what they heard. Something similar to last week's. This week. No, you're totally. I'm totally off the rail or on a new rail. And so. But it was always personal. The stories were written very specifically, mostly from my memory. But as I was writing them, I began to realize my memory was not always accurate, so I would have to look. Look up specific incidents and dates and people. And I. And I. And I. And I've continued to do that. So it's. It's still a work in progress, but it's very, very satisfying because I, in a sense, I'm transporting the audience back to where I started as a child, listening to those voices and those stories and. And using my imagination to try to see what these people look like. I remember as a child, when everybody would go to bed, I'd sneak downstairs and look behind the radio to see if those people were sleeping that I listened to earlier in the evening. You know, that kind of still goes on in my head. I want to know, you know, well, you know, how did those people do it? You know, it was the magic and the imagination that was very much a part of my being an artist, being an actor. So, as I've often said, I don't know myself ever not being an actor. I couldn't explain it when I was a child, but. But I had that feeling. I think all children have a sense of themselves, who they are that they can't express to anyone else because they don't understand it themselves. But something possesses them that makes them really happy and glad that they can preserve something so deeply personal that's all theirs. And then as they grow and they begin to, you know, share that mystery with others, then others relate and say, oh, I've been there. I know that story, you know, and we begin to share stories. So basically, long story short, that's what I'm doing with this podcast. I'm sharing stories of my life that are all personal, all pretty. Pretty accurate. And I hope that the audience is enjoying them as much as I'm enjoying presenting them.

Allison Gill (35:31)

Well, we are, I can assure you. And I think that that concept of helping others not feel alone is such a powerful thing, especially in times when folks are trying to divide us and isolate us. The fact that these kinds of stories bring us together is really important. And the audio aspect of it, you know, when you talk about a child's sense of itself, like every time I see a baby laugh, I'm just, just in awe. Like, what? How do they know how to laugh? What do they laugh like? That's incredible to me. But it's in there. It's all, it's innate and it's no.

Martin Sheen (36:05)

Barrier to their, to their spirituality. You know, we don't think of a child as having a spirituality, but they are 100 spiritual. They don't know any other form of life.

Allison Gill (36:17)

Yeah. And when I listen to your audio. So like you said, so much of our media today is fleeting and it also forces you to think about things in a certain way. But when you listen to these audio stories, I can have my own pictures in my head. When you read the poem about the Statue of Liberty, I can see it in my head and it's kind of dark and her torch is lit up and the waves are hitting the bottom of the statue and the people are coming on boats for a better life. Or when you read the poem about Chicago, I see the big shouldered men and industry and conveyor belts and, you know, like, I can see it in my mind and I'm allowed to see it the way that I experience it or the way that I feel like it should be experienced. And that's what is so fascinating about this particular medium and your evolution into it, because I think it's perfect. And I wanted to talk, you mentioned your life and your career. You've always been an actor. Talk a little bit about how your life as a family of immigrants and your career as an actor, sort of how it lends to this specific medium and this type of podcast.

Martin Sheen (37:28)

Well, in fact, I was the first member of our family to be born in the United States that survived. And My mother had 12 pregnancies, 10 survived, nine boys, one girl. But I was the first one. I was called the first Yank in our family. As I say, my mother lost two children, one in the United States and one in Bogota, Colombia, where my father was working for a time. And then she went home, she was pregnant again and was afraid she might lose another child, so she went home to spend some time with her mother. Who was in. In poor health in Ireland in a little village called Barsicane, County Tipperary. And while she was there, my oldest brother, her first child to survive. My brother Manuel was born in Ireland above the pub the family owned on Tower Hill, Borsicane, County Tipperary. So we had Manuel Noel Estevez, born in that tiny little village on the banks of the Belfin boy, as he used to often say. And then my father got reassigned to a company in Bermuda. He was working for the NCR at that time. And then my mother joined him in Bermuda and the next five boys were born there. And then the war broke out in Europe and Bermuda, being a British colony, was in jeopardy. So they moved back to the United States. They were both naturalized citizens. They moved back to Dayton, Ohio, and my dad started working again in the factory, which is headquartered in Dayton, Ohio. And so I was born, the first survivor in the United States. And then my sister Carmen, my brothers John and Joe rounded out the 10 of us. So the family were separated by the upper echelon and the lower echelon, which I was the first member of the Yanks, so called. And unfortunately there are only three of us left. My sister Carmen, who is a retired school teacher in Spain, and my brother Joe is a fellow actor who lives here in Los Angeles. And so, you know, I talk a lot about the family, and particularly our parents, and for good reason, because they had a very powerful influence on us. And even though my mother died when I was very young, I was just shy of 11 years old, still, that Irish energy and magic still lives in my imagination. And. And the Spaniard part, as she used to call my dad, the Spaniard, the fire that kind of balances these two great energies. And so I'm very proud of my heritage and I'm very conscious of what's going on with our immigration policies, which are nil basically now, and how dangerous it is for undocumented folks. And we need to be reminded that it's not a crime to be undocumented.

Allison Gill (40:41)

Right. And that our non citizen neighbors are also still protected by the Constitution, by the very fact that they are here in this country. Yeah, a lot of people forget that.

Martin Sheen (40:51)

And that makes it one of the reasons that they come here is they can expect to be protected.

Allison Gill (40:59)

Yeah. And your activism. I was recently on a call that you were on with Sherrod Brown. I'm from Akron. You're from Dayton.

Martin Sheen (41:06)

Oh, you are? I didn't know that. Oh, that's great.

Allison Gill (41:10)

That's what that was. My ticket to that call is that right.

Martin Sheen (41:13)

Okay.

Allison Gill (41:14)

I was born in Akron, Irish Catholic family. Family of immigrants.

Dana Goldberg (41:18)

Yeah.

Martin Sheen (41:18)

I spoke at the University of Akron once.

Allison Gill (41:20)

Yeah, yeah. But your activism, it goes way back. It's a lifelong pursuit of yours. And I think that, that although this podcast is not political, I think anything that talks about humanity these days is political. And I feel like it seeps in there just by the nature of who you are and where you come from.

Martin Sheen (41:41)

Well, all of us, you know, people say, well, I'm not political, or this or I, people don't want to identify as being political or non political, but the fact is that if the air you breathe has been fouled up, the act of breathing is a political act because you're entitled to fresh, clean air. So, you know, I don't separate any issue, whether it's nuclear testing, which we're going to have to deal with again. Evidently, with this crowd in the White House or homelessness, there's no issue that's really separate from another because they're all part and parcel to our humanity. And if our humanity is being subjected to the kind of torture that we're going through right now with this chaos, then every act is a political act. And that's, that's just a title for it. But our, our humanity's at stake. Our spirituality and the fact that we can, we can ascend to grace with each other and draw each other up is one of the, the most satisfying kind of activities that I feel I'm doing in the podcast is that I, I, I want to, I want to assure people of the presence of grace in our lives just by being alive. Because basically we are all broken. That's what it means to be human. You're broken. And, and some of my favorite quotes are from people that have suffered the most, like Viktor Frankl in his book A Man's Search For Meaning, who is a man who survived years in Auschwitz, you know, and he came away with a new philosophy on how to be human. And it was based in the theory that we must become worthy of our suffering. It's, that's really a very difficult mystery. And Dostoevsky says also, my greatest fear is that I will be worthy of my suffering. So what that basically means is that our basic humanity, which is broken by virtue of it being human, but that brokenness is what allows us to let the spirit in. Sometimes the spirit, whether you believe in God, the one, the other, you know, the higher power, that, that, that energy, that grace needs an entree, and it is our brokenness that welcomes it in and then we reflect that light in others, and we are drawn to others. That. That. That reflect that light. And. And that's. That's basically what I'm just trying to share. Yeah, we're broken. We're beautifully and blessedly broken. The whole package, you know, it's the bbb, I guess, the Better Business Bureau, if you will. But that's. That's a reflection of our humanity, and that's the thing that energizes me and that I'm focused on primarily during these times. And I'm trying to reflect that energy and that concern and that joy and that grace with the podcast. Basically. That's why I'm doing it. It's certainly not for the dough, as.

Allison Gill (45:09)

You will know, as you well know. Right, yeah. As my friend Wajahar Ali and I like to joke, we're terrible capitalists in.

Dana Goldberg (45:17)

Doing what we're doing.

Allison Gill (45:20)

But you're right. It's the cracks in the glass that allow the light to shine through. And I really, truly believe that you're seeing a coming together of humanity right now because of what's going on in the government and that feeling of community and our humanness, which is just highlighted so beautifully in these stories that you share, whether they're poems or your own personal stories, I think are kind of the glue that holds the glass together. Do you know what I mean? I think that that's why it's so important and why I'm so immediately drawn on to what you're doing with this podcast. And episode two just dropped. You can find the Martin Sheen Podcast wherever you get your podcasts. As we are terrible capitalists, it's free to listen to wherever you get them. There are no paywalls to listen to this amazing work. I'm having all these big dreams of it, going live and doing all these incredible things with it. But is there anything else before I let you go that you want to share about this journey? Anything? Any insights that I get so excited when I learn something new, either about myself or humanity when I'm working on a project. And have you run into any of those kinds of insights, working with your family to create this podcast that you'd like to share with us?

Martin Sheen (46:46)

Well, I've had great support, as you well know, from my family. I wouldn't be doing this if it wasn't for my family. The only ones that. That I managed to get to come on the podcast to be interviewed are family members. I think that today's episode was a interview with my son Ramon, which was a Very dear time, grace filled moment that we had. And in the coming weeks, I think you're going to hear interviews with Emilio, my daughter Renee, and eventually Charlie. All of them are going to share their, their own journeys of spiritual awakeness and their humanity and their careers and what, what it was like growing up in this, this chaotic bunch of roving artists. Through the years. We talk a lot about being on the road and they're growing up and their stories are of course very much a part of my own. So we're all reflecting each other and it's a very joy filled, grace filled time. And I can't wait to share more and more stories. I think we've completed 20 shows, which is they're calling two seasons and I'm already working on season three with some personal stories. And so the more I go, the more I want to keep going. And I'm very grateful to you and to my family and all of our listeners who have shown their support and their gratitude for what we're doing. So I hope we will continue to nourish and inspire them.

Allison Gill (48:27)

Wow. It's an absolutely fantastic show. Thank you for trusting MSW Media with hosting this incredible work that you're doing. And I look forward to greatly to all these new interviews and all these stories. It's just, it really gives me like I just pop it in, I go for a walk, I breathe in deep and I just kind of escape for a moment. But I don't escape everything. I escape into something.

Martin Sheen (48:55)

Yeah. Okay.

Allison Gill (48:57)

And it's just wonderful. So thank you so much for doing it. Thank you to your family for supporting you and doing it. And thanks for trusting us. Thank you to put it out for you.

Martin Sheen (49:08)

We wouldn't be there if it wasn't for you and for msw, which I'm assuming it stands for. Martin Sheen. Wow.

Allison Gill (49:15)

Yes. We've just updated all of our art.

Martin Sheen (49:19)

That's what attracts to you in the first place.

Allison Gill (49:22)

Martin Sheen. Wow. Media. Yes, that's exactly, that's exactly what it stands for.

Martin Sheen (49:29)

Thanks so much.

Allison Gill (49:31)

It's truly been an honor to speak to you and I look forward to the episodes. Everyone, you can find the Martin Sheen Podcast wherever you you get your podcasts, download it and subscribe for free. You will not be sorry. It is seriously so good. And I look forward to these incredible new episodes as they drop each week. Thank you so much for taking the time. Martin Sheen.

Martin Sheen (49:49)

Thank you, Alison. I appreciate it.

Allison Gill (49:51)

Everybody, stick around. We'll be right back with the good news. Everybody, welcome back. It's time for the good news. Who likes good news?

Dana Goldberg (49:58)

Everyone.

Allison Gill (49:59)

Then good news everyone. And if you have any little bit of good news, small or giant, it could have happened yesterday or 25 years ago, we would love to hear your good news. We want to share in your joy. So send that to us. Maybe you have a joke you'd like to tell us. Your favorite dad joke. We love dad jokes here on the Daily Beans. You can send that to us if you have a shout out you want to give to a non profit or a food bank that could use some light shone on it, especially with SNAP benefits being suspended. Or perhaps a small business in your area that's doing great stuff to help feed people or anything in these times, we would love to hear about that so we can give that small business a boost. If you'd like to give a self shout out, talk about yourself and what you're doing or your spouse or a government program that's helped you or a loved one, send it all to us dailybeanspod.com click on contact and all you got to do to get your good news read on the air and share your awesomeness with everyone is pay your pod pet tariff, which means either attach a photo of your pet. If you want us to guess the breeds in your shelter pups we can try but we're not very good at it. But it's fun anyway. If you don't have a pet, send an adoptable pet in your area. We'll see if we can help find him a home. If you don't have that, really just grab a photo of an animal off the Internet. Especially baby animals. We love those. There's a couple of litters of capybaras that have been born around different zoos.

Dana Goldberg (51:29)

Stop.

Allison Gill (51:29)

Send those if you have photos of you at a rally. Some of your favorite signs. Some of the dogs with signs at rallies are absolutely fantastic. Like I saw a dog that said I'm smarter than the President. It was just fantastic. Maybe you have a hobby that's helping you pass the time in these dark times and you want to share it with us. Maybe you're crocheting, knitting, painting, writing, growing something in your garden. We would love to see all of that. A picture of your happy place and of course bird watching photos which can be an actual bird or you and your family and friends flipping the bird to trump buildings. That's one of our favorite things to share. Send it all to us dailybeanspod.com and click on Contact. First up from Jared pronouns he and him on the unjustified podcast, released Sunday, 2nd November, 2025. Adrie referred to Judge Jeanine Pirro by an incorrect exonym. You referred to her as Judge Juice Box and not the more accurate Judge Wine Box. Oh, yeah, no, I. Juice is wine. If you're. Jared, I don't know if you know this, but if you're a 50 year old ish lady, give me some juice. That means wine.

Dana Goldberg (52:34)

Juice and cookies.

Allison Gill (52:35)

Juice and cookies. Shelby, drink your juice. Yeah, that's. Sorry about that. I assume that you regret that error. Wink, wink. Love the show. Been listening since the Kitchen Table days. The current format of the Unjustified podcast is great as you two break down the big things happening in the Justice Department. Jared, thank you so much for those kind words. And yes, Judge Box of Wine. I remember when we called Matthew Whitaker Big Toilet Wine because he created a patent. He's like a Trump guy. He's in the Justice Department now. He created a patent for a toilet for men with big junk so that if you sit on the toilet, it doesn't hang in the water. So we joked about his Big Dick Toilet patent and then I thought, man, if he goes to jail, think about how much hooch he could make in a giant toilet. So we ended up calling him Big Dick Toilet Wine. If you ever hear that, that's where that comes from. Jared, thank you for that submission and that walk down memory lane.

Dana Goldberg (53:32)

Okay, okay. This one's from Anonymous Pronoun. She and her micro dose of good news. In the red state of Ohio, in a small, red suburb, a tiny group of mostly retired, indivisible democracy defenders pulled this off. The largest protest ever in our community. That means there's hope. The biggest protest ever held in Pinkerington, Ohio, had an estimated attendance of more than a thousand people.

Allison Gill (54:00)

Wow. And if you. If you're familiar with Pickerington, it or Pickerington, it's got. Yeah, I don't know how you say it.

Dana Goldberg (54:06)

Pickerington.

Allison Gill (54:07)

Pickerington. Pickerington Pickerton. Probably Pickerington. Probably.

Dana Goldberg (54:11)

The ing is just silent. Just Pickerton.

Allison Gill (54:13)

Pickton. That's an amazing turnout, P Town, right? What's up, P Town?

Dana Goldberg (54:20)

What's up, P Town, Ohio?

Allison Gill (54:22)

Incredible turnout. Well done. Thank you for that bit of good news. You want to take the next one too, since that one was short.

Dana Goldberg (54:26)

This is from Mary Beth Pronoun. She and her hello, AG and dg. My good news is I have paid off my student loans. The only degree I had to pay for was my PhD in nursing education. My initial nursing degree was paid for with Pell grants. My bachelor's and master's degrees were paid by the hospital that I work at with tuition reimbursement. So I felt that paying for my terminal degree with loans was a good idea since I have an extra $700 a month to spend. I increased my Patreon membership for the daily beans and unjustified. I so appreciate starting my day with you each week. My pot pet tariff is a picture of my granddaughter Argo on our last boat ride of the season in southwest Michigan. I don't think we'll have any problem guessing his breed. He's a very good boy and he's a German shepherd.

Allison Gill (55:13)

Look at that baby, Mary Beth. Is he named after Argo? The thing with the removing the hostages from Iran, is it that Argo or is it like Jason and the Argonauts? Like the boat that Jason and the Argonauts were on? I'm curious. Let me know. I love that name. All right, next up from Buzz Grambo. I've always been someone who tries to find big creative solutions to small problems. It's basically a way I keep myself entertained. You may remember seamus, my now 3 year old chocolate lab. He's now 95 pounds and routinely earns his nickname, Wrecking Ball. He's an English lab, though, which tends to be calmer and gentler. I've always liked being around people who like being around my dogs. And I've always wanted my dogs to not be crazy around those people. I got him and trained him when I retired with that in mind, While my pet tax has now turned into my good trouble, last week he passed his test to become a certified therapy dog. Dog.

Dana Goldberg (56:12)

Nice.

Allison Gill (56:12)

We'll be working at Johns Hopkins with Trauma Survivors Network. What small problem did that solve? I don't like walking my dog in the cold. We used to go to Home Depot and everyone would pet him. But now I can go to Hopkins and not be cold. Imagine if we lived in a world where people operated like that. Thanks for all you do, Admiral. Gil and Dana. Keep leading while laughing. Look at this beautiful Choco baby.

Dana Goldberg (56:35)

So sweet.

Allison Gill (56:38)

Congratulations, Buzz. Admiral. Not quite sure about that one. I was enlisted. But thank you so much for this.

Martin Sheen (56:47)

Yeah.

Dana Goldberg (56:48)

All right, we've got Nancy from Virginia. No pronouns given. I attended the rally for Abigail Spamberger on Saturday in Norfolk, Virginia. I was there with about 7,000 of my closest friends. The arena was full and the mood was exciting and positive. Barack Obama spoke. It was so refreshing to listen to a true leader speaking complete sentences. Not the best picture, but the experience was so uplifting.

Allison Gill (57:12)

Nancy.

Dana Goldberg (57:12)

That's amazing.

Allison Gill (57:13)

I've seen so many clips. I really like the one where some woman in the audience was like, I love you, President Obama. He's like, I love you too, girl. You look good, but I'm married. Michelle's fine too. I love you too. It's so, so fucking great. Yeah, I do miss competent leadership. In fact, you said that to Martin Sheen is one of the reasons I rewatched the West Wing is like, I long for competent government. All right, next up from Brenda Pronoun. She and her good people alert. A person with a huge heart has started a program to match people in need due to the shutdown with people who are able to pay for their instacart of groceries. SNAP recipients who are not getting benefits, federal workers who aren't getting paid, those with a demonstrated able need to help get help through the rough patch. A person in need makes a grocery list and it's listed on the website. And a helpful donor chooses the cart they wish to pay for. I started this this weekend. Could use some love to get the word out and get people matched up. It's all anonymous. The website is findagrosarybuddy.com this is so cool. I'm totally doing this today. Brenda. She says I'm paying my tax with a photo of my beloved Gunner. He's a little 14 pound floof who's almost 17. Tuesday he has a double enucleation surgery. Both eyes will be removed. They don't work anymore and they're painful. He's still a wiggle butt of happy tail and gives me so many kisses. Pure love. Mama is a mess worried about the surgery. And yes, I have a cart in the program. I'm hoping someone picks up because I lost my SNAP benefits because of the shutdown. And I feed my dogs from the ingredients I buy for the both of us. I'm their sole provider. Gunner is a mini poodle mix, I think poodle Pomeranian. Thanks for all you do. You're wonderful, Brenda. Thank you for that, for sharing that. Look at this beautiful baby. And we'll be thinking about. We'll be thinking about him.

Dana Goldberg (59:09)

Yeah.

Allison Gill (59:09)

During that surgery, Everybody go to findagrosrybuddy.com and find a grocery buddy.

Dana Goldberg (59:16)

Love this so much. All right, we've got John. Pronouns, they, them. Passive aggressive protests. Musical tools. Dear Leguminati, you know when you get an idea in your head that just won't go away? Well, I got one of those. Listening to you reporting on the guy who was detained for playing The Imperial March. When some agents passed by, my thought was, wouldn't it be great if a group of people could all play the March from their own devices and the audio would all sync up? You could even have a hundred people playing at the same time. Or a thousand. Well, I tried my best and created a web app. It uses your device time to sync the audio, so sometimes some tweaking is necessary if the time is off a bit. Even so, I think it's easy to use and we're going to have a link to that. It's free for all and web apps are great as you can install them on your phone without having to use the app store. I've also included a suggestion form if people have any ideas of other audio loops that could be used in such a passive aggressive protest way. Keep up the amazing work. I've been a listener since the Kitchen Table days and your journey creating your podcast empire has been truly fascinating and inspiring.

Allison Gill (60:24)

The. Oh my gosh, the Imperial March synced up on everyone's phone. All right, so if you're out and you're chasing ice around or just trying to, you know, be in the streets and go up to some, you know, I don't know, national guard in D.C. that are mowing the lawn or whatever the fuck they're doing, you can download this web app and all of your devices will sink the Imperial March. So it's coming from everyone, all at once. I love this so much.

Dana Goldberg (60:50)

Much.

Allison Gill (60:52)

What a great idea. Thank you so much, John. And thanks to everybody for your good news today. Thanks to Mr. Martin Sheen for talking to me. That was truly an honor. What a life. What an incredible family they are, truly. And thanks for all your good news. Send it to us dailybeanspod.com click on contact. And if you're a patron, look for that new video pod in your inbox. I'm excited about it and I'm excited to hear what you have to say. And you can sign up to be a patron@patreon.com thedailybeans any final thoughts before we get out of here today, Dana?

Dana Goldberg (61:25)

Not today, all right?

Allison Gill (61:27)

We'll be back in your ears tomorrow. Until then, please everyone take care of yourselves, take care of each other, take care of the planet, take care of your mental health, and take care of your family.

Dana Goldberg (61:33)

I've been ag, I've been dg.

Allison Gill (61:36)

And them's the Beans. The Daily Beans is written and executive produced by Allison Gill with additional research and reporting by Dana Goldberg. Sound design and editing is by Desiree McFarlane with art and web design by Joelle Reader with Moxie Design Studios. Music for the Daily Beans is written and performed by they Might Be Giants and the show is a proud member of the MSW Media Network, a collection of creator owned podcasts dedicated to news, politics and justice. For more information please visit mswmedia.com msw media.