← The Find Out Podcast
The Find Out Podcast
Brian Tyler Cohen joins us to announce a major new project
00:50:06
This week on the Find Out Podcast, we sit down with one of the most influential progressive voices in the country — Brian Tyler Cohen. If you follow politics online, you know Brian as a powerhouse on YouTube and beyond, trusted by millions for his sharp analysis and unapologetic progressive voice.
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- [00:00]
A
Foreign. Hey, everybody, welcome back to the Find out podcast. We got a full crew here today, and we've got a very, very special guest. And we're going to be talking about a new exciting project that we're working on that just came out today. So I'm going to introduce the of the YouTube's biggest progressive stars, Brian Tyler Cohen is with us today. Brian, it's great to have you here.
- [00:38]
B
Tim. Thanks for having me. Thank you guys for having me. I appreciate it.
- [00:41]
A
Cool. Well, it's great for you to be here and I want to hear from you, what is this big announcement that we just made today?
- [00:48]
B
Yes, I'm super excited about this. This is. This is our big yes on 50 event. It's called FAFO 50. Fuck around, find out. 50. So there's an amendment that's going to be, well, that. So there's a referendum that's going to be on the California ballot, and, and that's going to be there on November 4th. I think it's going to be the only thing on the ballot as far as I'm concerned. And it's our effort to temporarily amend the California Constitution to disband or put aside the independent redistricting commission. This is our answer to push back against what Republicans in Texas are doing by redrawing their maps mid cycle because Donald Trump felt entitled to five seats. And so I think this is the first time I've ever seen a Democratic governor or Democratic state actually fight back with something other than a strongly worded letter. And so, look, Republicans wanted five seats in Texas. California's like, great. We got five seats in California. And there are, of course, other states that are looking to heed Trump's call. But hopefully what's happening in California serves as, I guess, a permission structure for these other governors in these other Democratic states to say, hey, hey, Missouri, Indiana, Florida, you guys want to add seats, too? Like, this is what it looks like when Democrats don't just sit idly by and allow you to run roughshod over the country.
- [02:07]
C
You know, I was. I was watching Fallout, the first season of Fallout last night, and there was a quote in Fallout that was like, I feel like this show was made for me at this exact moment in time because one of the protagonists said to another guy, she said, if hypocrisy is a lot like. She said, hypocrisy is a lot like violence. If we only let the bad guys use it, then we lose. And I started thinking about it in the context of the political environment is like, you know, what we've done a lot of things, we've said a lot of things about gerrymandering, and we've been just taking it and taking it, fucking taking it. It's absolutely mind numbing. And I know how angry our viewers and our listeners are about it. And so to see us just say, you know what? We found a way to pause our values or pause what we would like to see for the country so that we can win this battle, it's like, thank God.
- [02:59]
B
Yeah, I mean, I mean, like, look, I don't think, I don't think it means that you, that you leave your values on the table. I think it just, you understand that unilaterally disarming is not going to be the avenue to get you anywhere. Like, you, you can, you can do that. You can say, we're never going to gerrymander, even though the other side is. And you can kind of enjoy your moral high ground from the permanent minority.
- [03:19]
C
All the way to where you can.
- [03:20]
A
Lose the whole time.
- [03:21]
B
Right. But that's not going to get you anywhere. Like, like, if you're in politics, if you're interested in politics because you want to, you want to see some end come out of it, you care about climate change, you care about Gaza, you care about health care, you care about abortion, you care about unions or a livable wage, whatever it may be. All of that relies on actually being in power to see something done. And if, and if get, and if figuring out some fucking way to get into power is not at top of mind every day, all day, then then really you're just, you know, content to be a, you know, be a person who tweets about stuff angrily on Twitter and like, that's, that might be good enough for some people. It's not good enough for me.
- [03:59]
D
What's important to note here, though, is that California is doing an if then kind of kind of law, right? They're saying if Texas gerrymanders their state to hell, then we will do the same. If they don't, then California doesn't. And I think that we're going to, as, as creators across all these apps, we're gonna have to do a lot to educate people on this because the Republicans are going out leafleting neighborhoods throughout California trying to convince people that California is out to take away your rights. And people don't understand, like, no, this is to balance the power the way that our Constitution was designed to do.
- [04:44]
B
Yeah. There's a guy named Charles Munger Jr. Who is leading this effort. That's his father was the longtime business partner of.
- [04:56]
A
Warren Buffett.
- [04:57]
B
Warren Buffett. Yeah. And starting day one of the announcement by Newsom, he started sending these mailers out to everybody in the entire state. Exactly to your point, kind of framing it as like a Democratic power grab. It's so interesting how all of this, as far as the Republican talking points are concerned, it's like it's happening in a vacuum. It's like Texas doesn't exist. Like this is their first day being born and they're like, they're like just discovering gerrymandering for the very first time because it's happening in California. So it's good to do it in context. It's good to say this has always been a response to what's happening in Texas. And, and I think anybody who's not acknowledging that is, is acting in pretty bad faith.
- [05:39]
A
Yeah, well, and I think that, that the way California and Governor Newsom are doing it too, it's like you're giving it the, the people are going to decide where in Texas. You know, I think that Governor Abbott got a phone call from Donald Trump and said, find me five seats. And that's exactly what he did. They didn't ask the people in the, in the state and from the people I've spoken to, they're, they're quite angry about this power grab. But the other thing I want to make sure I point out is that what we announced today on top of just the campaign, The yes on 50 campaign, is that we're actually going to do a big online event next week, on next Wednesday, the 10th, it will be a, it'll be sort of like, if you watched any of those calls last year, those affinity groups like White Dudes for Harris of which I was a part of and we were all a part of, but it's gonna be a little bit different because we're gonna have influencers and politicians going. And Brian, I just like to hear, you know, talk a little bit about what that's gonna look like and, and how people can get involved.
- [06:34]
B
Yeah. So it's, it's gonna be an hours long video stream. We're gonna have a ton of, of guests. I'm not sure if we've announced who the guests are. I'm going to hold my, I'm going to keep my powder dry on that one. But Newsom will be there. I think we can, we can, we can, you know, say with, with some certainty here, Newsom's going to be there. We'll have elected officials, we'll have some celebrities we'll have lots of influencers and, and content creators. And this is just our effort to try and, and get this into the zeitgeist as much as we can so that people know what's happening. Again, this is an off year referendum. Like this is this kind of stuff that's really difficult to get through to people, especially people who value their mental health and don't pay attention to politics on a daily basis. So it's our effort to get this in front of as many people as possible and also raise as much money as we can. I'd mentioned before that Charles Munger Jr. Is already starting this campaign. This guy is worth more than God and so already has begun this campaign where he's sending leaflets and mailers to every single voter in California. You know, we don't have these mega billion billionaires by, by the hundreds or by the thousands like they do on the Republican side. This, this stuff is, money is pouring into California from every corner of the country because Republicans know that if they can defeat this thing in California, then they're good. Like they don't. This is the weapon to neutralize the power grab by the Democrats. And so, and so if they can beat this in California, then, then it doesn't really matter if, if, you know, Westmore is able to eke out one more seat in Maryland. It doesn't really matter if JB Pritzker is able to eat one more, eke out one more seat in Illinois because this is really where it matters most. This is where we're going to be able to neutralize what, what the Republicans are doing. So they've got their billionaires in South Dakota and Florida and Texas and Missouri and wherever it may be, all pouring their money into this state. And so we have to push back. It costs money to make sure that we can get on the airwaves. It costs money to make sure that we can build up these campaigns to make sure people know what's on the ballot on November 4th. And so, you know, while the political class, while the commentator class is, is obviously aware of what's happening, most people aren't. And so this is going to be our, our effort, you know, in our little corner of the ecosystem to try and get this thing in front of as many people as, as we can.
- [08:55]
E
How does the public polling look at this point? That's like, what baseline are we starting from? I'm sure a huge percentage of it is, I don't know, but I would hope that we have like a, at least a subtle advantage jumping in since it's California. But do we have like any like, reliable public polling on this right now?
- [09:10]
B
We do. We have. We have I poll came out a few days ago. And, and obviously the, the Democrats in Newsom have a slight edge, but you know, that's, we also haven't ever contended with anything like this. So we don't know, we don't really have a good sense of, of how people are going to, how people are going to go on this. There's also the usual uncertainty about polling. I know I'm staring at you in full and seltzer here. So, so there's that. There's always that caveat.
- [09:39]
A
Yep.
- [09:41]
B
And also we haven't yet contended with the financial onslaught by Republicans. I mean, there's going to be hundreds of millions of dollars poured into this state with very undiscerning disinformation campaigns trying to convince people about all of the bad things that are going to come out of neutralizing Texas's power grab. So all of that is kind of a big unknown. But as of right now, I mean, luckily this is happening in California. This is the country's big blue lib bastion. And so we have, we have, you know, we have an advantage here. But, but it can easily slip away.
- [10:19]
C
I think the other thing is this is a chance for them to hamstring Newsom coming into 2028. And right now, I mean, he is, he is the whole Democratic Party. If you're just a regular person off the street and you're saying like, who's the leader of the Democratic Party? I mean, Newsom is 100% going to be at the top of that list and it'll still only be 27% of respondents. But he's leading all of the early primary pol and that speaks to how important it is to Republicans to win this because if they can score a symbolic victory over Newsom in his home state, they will have saved well, not saved. They will have prevented additional losses in the House while also doing maybe irreparable damage at a critical time in momentum for the leading voice for Democrats.
- [11:09]
B
Yeah, could I could not have said that better. They can really kill two birds with one stone here. They can entrench permanent minority rule in the House and they can also really, really cripple the I mean, I think according to Poland right now he's the top contender and granted, you know, we're three years out and anything can happen. But, but triple the top Democratic contender. I mean, they, they really, they live to vilify or boogeyman popular Democrats. I mean, we've, we've spent decades watching them do it to Hillary Clinton and Nancy Pelosi and any popular Democrat who, who they view as like, you know, the boogeyman for the left. They've, you know, are able to kind of pin all of the, all of the, I guess, worse aspects of the party onto them as far as their Republican base is concerned. Newsom is, is the next iteration of that. And so, yeah, if they can, if they can cripple him now while also preserving their advantage in the House, man, why wouldn't they?
- [12:08]
A
Yeah. And I think it's, it's really great what, what I would say. And first of all, we should say if you want to RSVP for this event, which is really, really important for you to do, please go to FAFO 50. So it's at around find out. So F A F O and then the number 50. We're.com right? Or we.org I think we're.com so fafo50.com we'll also put it in the show notes and, and everything. But I think one thing, Brian, I want to get your perspective on this too. What I, what I really like about this redistricting thing is how Democrats seem to be coming together and finally fighting back. I mean, Newsom obviously took the first salvo and I think, you know, you know, did a really great job of saying, like, I'm going to give this to the voters, but we're not going to just sit idly by. But I think we're seeing action from other Democrats as well. And I, you know, I'm assuming you're seeing similar things as well.
- [12:57]
B
Yeah. So I've spoken, I think I've spoken with almost every governor. There are still a few Democratic governors who are skirting my emails because clearly they want to talk about redistricting. But I've spoken to Pritzker, I've spoken to Wes Moore. I've spoken to Kathy Hochul, Mikey Sherrill and Abigail Spanberger, both of whom are running for governor of New Jersey and Virginia. And I've spoken with Jared Polis, Kotech and Ferguson in Oregon and Washington refused to answer my email. So I'm just gonna keep, keep hammering away at that. But look, I can say that Wes Moore and J.B. pritzker very clearly understand the urgency of the moment that we're in right now. We haven't yet had an announcement about any map redraws from their perspective, but I'm hoping that we get that soon. Kathy Hochul another one who's saying the right things at this point. But now we gotta see some action. So it's gonna take two legislative cycles where they, where the state legislature votes for this and then eventually gets this thing out. So maybe we could see it in the aftermath of 2020. Well for 2028 there are a couple governors who are not interested. Jared Polis who by the way is term limited so it's okay out of Colorado. Hopefully the next governor will have a more forward leaning posture. So. So we'll see. I mean we've got, we've got some people who get it, some people who don't. I think the point about Newsom is, is an important one because all of these governors, like all these politicians are self interested, right? They, they and largely they're risk averse as well. And so if, if they see that A Newsom is getting a big polling bump but B, that Newsom is actually going to win this thing at the end of the day I think that that will, I think that will be much more helpful in terms of giving them the kick in the ass that's necessary to actually go from words to action.
- [14:47]
C
I think something that's really important to call out in this debate as we look at like the limited number of states where we can compete with, with redistricting. It's the importance of local politics and down ballot elections. Because I think Brian, I know you've spoken about the over reliance on cable news across the left like CNN and MSNBC are just are going to save us from all, from misinformation or something. And it, I see it across everything where we want Obama to save us, we want Kamala to save us, we want Biden to save us, we want Beyonce's endorsement or Oprah's endorsement to save us. All of those things are great. But what really matters is fighting Republicans where they've been fighting us without any resistance for decades my entire life, which is state legislatures. There are so many solid red like super majority red state legislatures. And I think part of it is because we're thinking, well we have Obama and Beyonce and Oprah on our side so maybe I don't have to pay attention to the down ballot stuff. How do you see grassroots in the media and what we're all trying to do, grassroots in elections, what do we need to do there?
- [16:05]
B
Yeah, I think, I think this is such a great point and I was actually just having a conversation with some folks about the Pennsylvania legislature a few days ago. There is like a very top down approach that Democrats take to their politics and, and that is completely backwards, literally and figuratively. Like, we need to take a, we need to take a bottom up approach. And that starts at like, that starts at like these state legislatures and understanding, and understanding the significance they have in terms of being able to redraw, to redraw their maps, which then in turn impacts how we can, you know, how things go in terms of the maps and the congressional delegations. Republicans understood that 15, 20 years ago, Democrats didn't. To your point, like, we're like, oh, we've got Obama, we've got Oprah, we've got Beyonce, how could we possibly go wrong? But if this last election cycle was a testament to anything, it's that that approach just, that approach isn't going to cut it anymore. And so like, you know, I know that people will get mad at like, you know, our Democratic, like the leadership and the dnc like, the idea that we are pinning all of our hopes on Democratic leadership and the DNC already unto itself is so misguided. Like, we should spend no amount of time thinking about Democratic leadership in the dnc. Like, that's not where people are looking for any of their answers. This is going to be at like, we need, we need, like, we need people, we need content creators, we need candidates, like grassroots folks. That's where all of the energy and enthusiasm in the party is. And, and like, that's where we should be focusing our attention. That's where we have the biggest input. That's where we can actually do something. The DNC is a fundraising arm of the Democratic Party. If we are relying on the fucking DNC to like swoop in and save us, then we are, then we are so fucked, basically, because that cannot be the answer. Like, leadership cannot be the answer. It has to be where we can have some impact. It has to be, you know, people like you guys who have the ability to just talk to people and people trust you a hell of a lot more than they trust politicians or certainly Democratic leadership. And so that's how I've been thinking about this a lot more. We have candidates now who are able to excite the base a lot more. I think that we need a 2010 style tea party wave in the Democratic Party when we kind of have this meta conversation on the left about the Democratic brand being bad and how we can fix it. The brand is a reflection on the people. And so until we get better people, people who understand the urgency of the moment that we're in, people who are not looking to like, like who are not looking to rely on this, this strategy of writing strongly worded letters, people who don't think that the way to do politics in 2025 with this MAGA Republican Party is, is to like, defer to our friends on the other side of the aisle and offer them goodwill in hopes that it'll be reciprocated. Like, that is such, that is such a Democratic Party from a bygone era. And it's not only, it's not only unproductive, it not only gets us nowhere, but it actually pushes, it actually pushes pro democracy folks away because it's such an impotent, feckless way to go about doing politics. And so the way to fix the brand is to replace those people with a whole swath of new people who get it, A, who get like, the fight that we're in right now, and B, actually stand for something affirmatively. That's not just kind of deference to people on the other side of the aisle who will never reciprocate any goodwill being handed over by Republicans. And we've got a lot of really, really exciting candidates. You know, Graham Platner out of Maine is a great one. Like, I interviewed him right after he announced and man, I mean, you know, that's where it's at. Like, that's where the energy is. We've got a couple of really great candidates out of Michigan. We've got Abdul and Mallory. You know, so Texas is an exciting place to watch. James Talarico is like a young, new, exciting candidate. And so we've got people all across the country that I'm really stoked to see. And also at the same time, I think it's also worth mentioning, like, Jerry Nadler announced that he's stepping down because he's like 75 years old. You know, Gerry Connolly is obviously, you know, died, but, like, he's not gonna be running again. But, like, there's a whole wave of, there's a whole wave of, like, of, I think, Democrats who are recognizing, whether inadvertently or not, that generational change is desperately needed in the Democratic Party. And so, and so, you know, between these exciting candidates who are running and the, the candidates of a bygone era who've decided to step down, I, I, I, I think that that's some, something worth, you know, having some hope over as we head toward 26.
- [21:20]
D
Yeah, I think what's been made clear here is that Democrats are finally figuring out that the attention economy exists and we have to play in this battle space. That is what has made Gavin Newsom, as goofy as, as everything he's doing online may seem to someone who's not on social media, like, it does seem objectively goofy. He is playing in the same battle space that Donald Trump has been dominating in for 10 plus years. And this is the value, I think, of bringing together people for, for this FAFO 50 fight. Like, it is showing that we who are just regular people, the five of us didn't even use TikTok a year ago. Like, we're all brand new to this. Right. We just felt like it's time to fucking step up because we realized it. Like, if we don't get on these fucking social media apps and start pushing the right kind of fight, then no one's going to fucking do it for us.
- [22:21]
B
Yeah. I think the Newsom thing is so important to point out because there are two ways he could have gone about doing this. He could have just done the tweets and gotten a lot of attention and banked them for some, you know, impending presidential announcement, or he could do the tweets, get a lot of attention and actually, and actually point that towards something that's, that's, that's virtuous and noble, which is this fight. And like, good on him. Because so often it's like you get a lot of attention and all of a sudden you start sending out fundraising emails that you'll bank for some get those texts. Yeah, yeah, the fucking texts that everybody gets. But like, you know, he, he did the goofy thing, got a lot of attention, figured out how to optimize and exploit this media environment, but then put it towards something that's actually useful and didn't just like, bank it for some, for some run, you know, 18 months from now. So I think, I think there's a way to do it that like. Yes, it is. It's kind of like, you know, taking advantage of, of like an unserious way to, to go about, like, you know, dealing with the online space, but then very much leveraging that for something that's important.
- [23:33]
A
Yeah. And I, I just, I. One thing that I thought was really good in the, in the Jerry Nadler, you know, retirement announcement, which I give him real kudos for, for kind of reading the room and realizing that it's time to pass. But, but what was actually a great line was so Scott Stringer lives in his district, he used to be the comptroller in New York City. And they asked him if he was going to run and he had this great line. He said, I think we should have people in Congress who are fighting for Social Security, not on Social Security, which I thought was a great line. And of course it's not 100% across the board. But I think the tide is, is turning. And you know, I think as Chris mentioned, the rise of people, you know, not, not just like we're one of many, but like people who are standing up and basically saying like, this is affecting me at home. This isn't about D.C. this isn't, you know, any, this is something that we all can stand up and have a voice for. And I think, Brian, you have also led the charge on getting a lot of people to stand up and use their voice and helping them. And I think that has been a tremendous value. And I think that's why the fafo50.com please RSVP is, is going to be so successful because we're all working together and Democrats have never done that before. And I think that people are realizing it and it's a lot of work that you've done, both in the long term, but also this year as well. And I think that it is going to pay dividends and I think we are going to win this ballot initiative if we get enough people, we raise enough money, we raise enough hell. And that's going to be such a great momentum push for us going into 2026 when it's time to take back the House and the Senate.
- [25:05]
B
Yeah, I mean, I appreciate that. I appreciate you saying that. The beauty of this moment right now is that there's not that much going on. Like when we get close to an election, there's going to be a million things going on. And so, you know, success relies on, the stakes are so much in terms of being able to win. And this moment right here where we head Toward November of 2025, there is, you know, there are races in Virginia and New Jersey. Both of them are polling really well right now. But then there's this California referendum. And so we have the advantage right now, like this rare opportunity where not a lot is going on. We can focus a lot of our effort on just winning here. And so much relies on this. Like I don't even know how to convey if we're able to win in California. Not only do we neutralize not just Texas because we're also shoring up a bunch of seats that are really, really tight Democratic like pickup opportunities. So it could be as many as a nine point flip in California. This is the only thing protecting Democrats ability to win the House in the future. So so much relies on this right now. And we have the advantage of only having to really focus on this. Like, we don't have to at 33 Senate seats in this cycle. We don't have to look at hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of House races this cycle. We don't have to worry about Trump blocking the certification because he's running for a third term. Like, we don't have. We can worry about. And I'm sure we'll have plenty of opportunity to worry about that as we move forward. But this is an opportunity right now where everybody can give all of their energy to this. So if anybody watching, anybody listening right now, if you're not signed up for FAFO 50, go to fafo50.com, it's going to be on September 10th. The more people we can get involved, the better it'll be. Please rsvp, please show up. Please share it on your own socials. This is going to be a really big deal. And like I said, everything relies on us being able to or everything hinges on us being able to win here in California. So this is our effort to try and get some attention on this thing, raise some money so that the rest of the folks in California who may not be as plugged in as everybody watching and listening right now, so that those folks can get a better understanding of what's going on.
- [27:23]
A
Great. Well, Brian, we've kept you longer than we promised, so thank you very much. And also just thank you for all the work that you're doing for democracy, for the country, and really for the world. I mean, it sounds a little flippant, but it's true. Like, we are in a tough spot right now, and, you know, we're seeing the people standing up to be held accountable and fight back. And you are at the top of the list. So we want to thank you for all of that. We are honored to be part of FAFO 50 as well. We'll be there. All right, we're back. Brian is such a great dude. I am. I'm so happy to have gotten to know him a little bit over the last few months. And if there is somebody that cares more about this country than Brian, I don't know them.
- [28:07]
B
Not even gonna lie.
- [28:08]
A
I was, like, a lot. A bit starstruck.
- [28:10]
B
I started, like, learning on politics, watching his videos.
- [28:14]
A
Oh, really? Yeah. So he was your entry into politics? Some of it, yeah. Like, especially, like, learning about them with him. I mean, it just shows. Like, Brian is. He was really one of the first political YouTube stars. I mean, he's got, like, 5 million subscribers on YouTube and, like, 10 million across platforms. And, you know, it's funny, like. And we know this world a little bit. Like, a lot of times when people get super, super big, their heads also get super, super big. And he's the opposite of that. And, you know, after we. You guys didn't hear it, but after we got off, he was just very, like, appreciative of us coming on and, like, all of this. So, you know, it's. It's great that we're seeing in this time of complete. That there are people rising and standing up, and it's outside of D.C. and I think that's a really powerful thing. And I think that we are on the cusp of really turning the page on this horrible Trump administration and really putting them back on their heels.
- [29:09]
C
Yeah, I think something that. That. That started to come into my head as we were chatting with Brian was the idea of reluctant leadership. And the reluctant leader we've had. I mean, we have had what, two, three generations of very willing leaders. And, I mean, Republican leaders, Democratic leaders, the people who are in Congress who are collecting Social Security while governing Social Security, as we were joking about, they are willing leaders. They're people who sought out power. They, you know, they were the class president, and they. And then they ran for office, and it's just been this.
- [29:49]
A
I knew it. I wasn't class president. Wait, are you saying I'm a.
- [29:54]
C
No, you're a class factotum.
- [29:56]
A
I was. I was the class treasurer. Still elected.
- [30:02]
C
I was a season.
- [30:04]
A
I didn't think that went away.
- [30:06]
B
I think you're just lifetime class treasurer, right?
- [30:08]
A
No, I am, but our class. Our class president, who is now the city manager of our hometown, is handling all the finances because I'm so far away. He's like, oh, it. I'll do it. Tim's not gonna, like, pay attention.
- [30:20]
B
What kind of finances. They're still involved without class. I mean, what.
- [30:24]
A
It was, like, 50 years ago. I grew up in a town called Bath. No.
- [30:27]
C
They're gonna go to Chuck E. Cheese for.
- [30:29]
A
Here we.
- [30:29]
C
Their 60th anniversary.
- [30:30]
A
No, no, no, no, no. So Bath Main, which is Morse High School, the home of the ship builders. We have the oldest continuous. No, no, hold on. The oldest continuous alumni association in the country, so.
- [30:43]
B
Really?
- [30:44]
A
Yeah. So what do you do?
- [30:45]
C
Sounds like something treasurer would know.
- [30:47]
A
We raise money. We raise money for scholarships for.
- [30:50]
B
Oh, that's cool.
- [30:51]
A
That's the kids at Morse. I rescind my criticism. Yeah, yeah. See, you guys were ready to pile on, and then I told you A good thing that we're doing. And also, shipbuilders is not a bad nickname. It's an awesome nickname. We've actually won some awards. Like your town mascot, like your team name.
- [31:07]
B
The Shipbuilders. Please say no.
- [31:09]
A
No. My high school's mascot.
- [31:10]
B
Yeah.
- [31:11]
A
But I grew up. But like, is that the mascot? Yeah.
- [31:14]
B
What is it?
- [31:15]
E
It's just like a guy with a hammer.
- [31:17]
A
Now we're going to educate everybody.
- [31:19]
C
Wooden ships. When Tim was in college.
- [31:21]
A
No, no. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
- [31:23]
B
With.
- [31:24]
A
Yeah. We build. Bath Ironworks is the largest employer in Maine. Private employer in Maine. And they build Aegis class DEST destroyers for the Navy. And. And we have built. And we have built ships for 200 years. So you all could shut the up about Batman. If you ever come at. At us, I will bring back.
- [31:48]
D
Bring my friends outside of New England know, like, the role of. Of New England in World War II. Like, I. I just learned when I went to Rhode island last month, there was. Yeah, last month. That like, they're the submarine capital of the world.
- [32:03]
A
Yeah.
- [32:03]
C
Oh, yeah.
- [32:04]
D
And they like, sunk a Nazi submarine. Yeah, like a mile offshore. Wow. I think after the war actually ended, it was that the one they've got.
- [32:13]
B
On display in Chicago.
- [32:14]
D
Whether this. This submarine had like, received orders to like, hey, the war's over, go, Right?
- [32:21]
C
Yeah.
- [32:21]
D
They started shooting at people in the harbor. And like, I think they were the last American sailors to. To sink a Nazi submarine.
- [32:30]
A
So also, BIW, Bath Ironworks in World War II was building from scratch and launching a destroyer every two weeks.
- [32:41]
C
Wow.
- [32:42]
E
That's pretty cool.
- [32:43]
A
And now they make. It's like three or four per four years or something like that. Anyways, Bath is the best. Don't shit on it. If you hate Bath, you hate freedom.
- [32:52]
C
Okay, so you hate America. Like all school class treasurers can still do. Do cool stuff. But the point being, because we started this with a. There was a point somewhere back there.
- [33:03]
A
Like, we lost the plot big time.
- [33:08]
C
The people who are. I found it. The people who always want power, they find they find a way to. To chase power and to usually get power when everything's fine. But when. But when we get ourselves into a time like this and the people who do. Never wanted to be in front of a camera. Zach, you and I were talking about this the other day. People who don't want to be in front of a camera, you have to pee 17 times. You get a fucking panic attack. But you're looking around, you're going. Everyone else is fucking terrible. Nobody is saying what has to be said. Nobody. Nobody is doing what has to be said. I guess I have to fucking do it. And I hate it. I hate that we got to this point where I have to do the thing that is terrifying and that I think I'm shit at, but I'm going crazy. So I got to leave my fucking house and I got to do something. That's what made every single one of us pick up our cameras a year ago. Not to take this on us, but this is the conversation, you know, where. Where I was going in my head with, with Brian is like, a new thing is happening because it has to. And. And that's the only reason why a new thing is happening. We have to trust that that will yield results and it will yield durable leaders. Like, I think we're going to have generational leaders come out of what's happening. Right? For sure. And those people are, you know, they're running for little offices right now. They're raising money. Their friends are telling them, like, dude, you need to do something with this. Because, I mean, we hear this with our content, with what we're trying to do here. You know that Gavin Newsom was being told that somebody was saying, like, dude, this is an opportunity. You gotta do it. And he was the most prominent person to jump at it. But that's happening a thousand places all at once across the country. And I'm here for it.
- [34:45]
A
I mean, we've said it.
- [34:46]
D
I think you've just, like, put your thumb on the reason why I am a perpetually fucking angry person. Like, since I was little, like, fucking Boy Scouts. I was a Boy Scout when I was a kid. I guess 12 or 13, you go from Cub Scout to Boy Scout. Like, I ended up being the leader of my fucking troop because no one else would fucking do it. I was like, Jesus fucking cr. Like, we all like camping. If we want to go camping, someone needs to, like, make some plans. So at 13, I'm like, all right, whatever. Like, let's do this. And that's. I feel like I've repeatedly found myself in this founding non profits. Like, I've. I've founded three non profits in the last 10 years. I never wanted to do any of this.
- [35:32]
C
That is thankless work. It is thankless.
- [35:35]
A
Yeah.
- [35:37]
C
Overworked, hard to prove results. It's very difficult. But you. But that has to happen. Yeah.
- [35:44]
D
And. And the truth is, is like, I feel like every time there's. There's like a friend there who's like, just do it, do it. Get in there.
- [35:53]
C
No one else is gonna do it.
- [35:56]
D
Sorry, that's a lot of cursing.
- [35:58]
C
I'm just very angry about several things.
- [36:02]
A
You're channeling your. Your inner Luke. But I think I want to go back to something rich. You were saying about leaders stepping up. I mean, Graham Platner is a great example of this. I'm going to stay with Maine. God, I want to talk to him. The way life should be. The way life should be. Vacation land. So Bram Platner and Bernie Sanders did a rally in Bangor, which is where Stephen King lives, kind of up in the north of Maine, and they were in a 4 or 5,000 seat stadium this weekend and they filled it and there's really something happening there. And I have to think that Susan Collins is terrified and I think she was worried about Janet Mills, the governor, jumping in. But I think Graham is the guy that you should be afraid of. An oyster farmer, who also speaks like a progressive should speak, but looks like an oyster farmer, which looks very similar to a lobsterman, which is very appealing in Maine. And if you go watch his speech from this weekend, that's the roadmap, I think, to win. To win. Not necessarily to win in places like New York, but. Oh, sorry, Brian's texting me, but sorry, I'm getting distracted. Not necessarily in liberal places, but like, this is, I think for red areas, this is like these people, people are standing up because they're like it. Like this is. No one else is going to do it. Brian did this with like we, everyone after the comma lost influencers, podcasters, no one stood up. You know who stood up? Brian stood up. We stood up and a couple other folks stood up too. But like, it didn't come from the inside, it came from the outside. And I think that's way more powerful as well.
- [37:34]
E
Yeah, I'm with you there. I think like this we're seeing. One of the actual rare benefits of social media is like you go back and look at like Obama, right? The only reason he became big was because he had a platform to get up on a stage and give an incredible speech. And all of a sudden people knew his name. We have that stage right in front of us with this phone all the time. That's why you get people like Grant Platter to come out there. Because like, that dude wouldn't exist if it weren't for social media. Wouldn't happen if it were.
- [37:58]
C
You're waiting for the DNC to pick the guy and to run and give the money. And it's Janet Mills. And I think, though, that Whole second tier, like the. The perennial candidates who are kind of, like, always right at the cusp, but they. Maybe they were a thing and they're trying to be a thing again, or they're like, I hate to say it, but a lot of those individuals, they're still. They still feel like they're part of the status quo. They feel like they're part of the old system. A lot of those individuals are going to either have to lose or they're going to have to just take one for the team and just allow this next wave of these. These reluctant leaders to step up. Because this. This wave of people, they are fucking furious. They are frothing and they are chomping to get in there and not just get elected and get on the payroll and get a career, but to break things and fix things.
- [38:46]
A
Right. And to be clear, I think. I think Governor Mills has been a great governor, but she's 77 years old and, And. And. And she's a very bipartisan governor. You know, I think of all of the states, Maine was one of the. She led us. Led Maine. I don't live there anymore, but led the state very, very well. But she's also not a strict partisan that's really ready to really throw a punch. And I think, like, we are looking for people more platners, I think, right now.
- [39:12]
C
Right.
- [39:12]
B
For sure.
- [39:13]
A
And you're right, because they're furious because Donald Trump and the Republicans have been screwing them for decades. And it is. And these guys have had it.
- [39:21]
D
It.
- [39:21]
A
And I think it's great. And I think. I think it bodes very well for next year, unquestionably.
- [39:26]
E
And I do think it's like, the tail end of that is important, where it's like, it's not only they want to get elected, it's that, you know, they're going to do something with that power. And I think that's the critical difference in how people are looking at these candidates now. It's like, all right, you all can say the same, but I trust you more than you because you have a mission. You're not just coming out to get elected and go, that was fun. Let me just sit around for two years and do, Jack, you're coming out there like, I'm gonna. The day one, I'm gonna attack everything I want to attack. That's why people like him are resident. And I think, like, you see that everywhere. It's like, mom, Donnie is another example that, like, you see every single chance you see a person who's like, I'm gonna use my power to do different things that you want to have done. That's the key.
- [40:04]
D
I think what I like about Platner so much as. And saying this as a veteran who has seen the DNC every fucking two years be like, veterans are gonna get.
- [40:13]
B
Us out of this.
- [40:13]
D
We just need to elect veterans. Grant Platner is a veteran, but everyone knows him for the oyster farmer shit, right? And like that, I think, actually speaks to people like this. This is a guy who didn't do his fucking four or six years, like J.D. vance, just so he could use it as a fucking bullet on his resume, right? Like, Platner is a dude who's like, in the community. He's doing the fucking work. He knows what it's like to be blue collar, to be, you know, paying fucking bills. That is, that is not the solution that has been put forward by the dnc. This guy is, is different. He's authentic.
- [40:51]
A
And he is, I mean, again, on the main stuff, but, like, he is Maine. Like, there is no if, ands or buts about it. Susan Collins has lived in, essentially lived in D.C. for the last 30 years. She goes home on the weekends. She lives in D.C. and you know her shtick, which is this, like, I'm a moderate, which is the biggest crock of shit that any politician other than Donald Trump has said to their constituents because she is a right wing ideologue and Mitch McConnell lets her vote against the party when he knows he has the votes. And that's the key here, folks. If you're in Maine, ask yourself, when was Susan Collins the deciding vote to vote down something on the Republican side? And you can't do it.
- [41:31]
B
Never.
- [41:31]
A
You cannot do it. And that's the myth that she has perpetrated. And I think he has been hitting her on that so hard because it's true. And I don't know why. Six years ago, this, the. The speaker of the House, Sarah Gideon ran. She didn't do that stuff. And she got. And she lost by eight points when Joe Biden carried Maine. This guy is not going to step down. He's not going to back down. And this is. And Mandani's the same way. They've been throwing at him. Like, all these billionaires have been funding oppo research on him and then leaking it to the New York Post. And it's the dumbest shit you could ever see. He just laughs at it. And like, these guys are showing the path forward.
- [42:09]
E
Yeah, 100%. They're scared of them. I mean, that's that's the bottom line. They're scared of what? Because it's going to change the structure of the entire system if they start winning en masse. Like, it's one thing for a couple of them to win here and there. It's like, yeah, whatever, I can just ignore this because at least the most of the infrastructure we like is still there. But now it's like, oh, okay, this is happening all over the place. Oh, and then, yeah, I'm in trouble. I don't like that I'm in danger.
- [42:30]
C
Yeah, I very much see the Tea Party wave, but the opposite, and I mean the opposite in every sense, because the Tea Party did come from a genuine energy. I don't. It was unfounded and ridiculous, but it was a genuine energy. They really did believe that they were like, you know, taking their country back or whatever they thought they were doing. Of course, the hilarious thing is that, like, there was no leader of the Tea Party movement. The Tea Party Party politicians were just like, we're angry and they all had pitchforks. And then they looked around like, who the fuck is writing legislation? Like, we don't know what we're actually here to do. Whereas I think the, the Grant Platners and the, and the Zoran Mamdanis, they know very specifically what they want to do and they will find a way to either get it done with the system or get it done against the system. And I think that's what is so much more exciting about this, where it's not just momentum for momentum's sake, but it's momentum that I think, think if we get behind it, because these are smart people, they're intelligent, hard working smart people, not just angry people, they will get actual stuff done. They will actually change things. And they haven't been built by the system. They haven't been built and curated carefully by the system. That's why they look and feel and sound different. And as long as we protect that and support them for that, I think it'll generate different results rather than just trying to do the same fucking thing that we always do.
- [43:54]
A
100. Yeah. I mean, he had a great. I'm going to butcher this line, but Graham, at a line in his rally that's been circulating online that was something like, we should be building, we should be building schools at home and not cutting them instead of, you know, using our money to bomb schools in Gaza, which is. It's like imagine a Democrat saying that a year ago or two years ago that there's no way. But I think people have had it with. And yes, those. You know, Taylor Lorenz and others. Yes, the genocide in Gaza that everybody agrees is happening. Sorry, I gotta keep my digs in there on that. Still annoyed by that whole thing. But, you know, like. And making sure that everybody else. We talk about it. But, you know, I. I think that the tide is turning on a lot of, like, establishment sort of things. These are just the way things are. Right. And I think people are excited about it. And I guarantee you that that Platner will be the strongest candidate against Susan Collins compared to the others. And there's some. There are some other very good candidates in the race, but that's the style people want. Authenticity. And I think that's also why our show does well, because we talk like this offline as well. Like, actually, Chris talking about the boy scout is always yelling at us to hit record because we're like basically doing bits of content.
- [45:11]
D
You guys, our audience has missed so much gold that these guys are just shoveling into a black hol every day. And it drives me insane every. Every single time I'm like, guys, stop. We're here for a show. Please hit record. And then they stand there and stare at the camera. Don't say any of the good. I think, I think I love you guys.
- [45:34]
E
We just gotta press record from the gym.
- [45:36]
C
We keep the best parts for ourselves.
- [45:39]
A
I think, I think. Chris, I think. I think you've graduated to. Yeah, I think you've graduated to scoutmaster with us.
- [45:47]
D
I hate you guys.
- [45:49]
B
Go to your youth protection training.
- [45:53]
A
Well, guys, I think we have. We have come to the end. Unless Luke wants to give up. Oh, wait, wait, wait, wait. Before we do that, Luke, do we have any. Do we have anyone that you want to. I have nobody that was sponsored for a get today. Okay, you know what? That's fine. You know what we should. You know what we should talk about instead? That our merch and how beautiful it is. Chris. Chris is modeling one of our more classic looks. I have our find out Tim.
- [46:26]
B
Are matching Quinn's.
- [46:27]
A
Oh, you've got it on too. Well, why aren't you. Wait a minute. Luke and Rich, why the hell are you not wearing merch?
- [46:33]
B
I watched mine yesterday. Or wore mine yesterday.
- [46:36]
A
It's in the Washington, Rich. What's your excuse? Yeah, okay, okay. You know what? More. More for our audience to buy more.
- [46:45]
D
For so that you guys know. And I'm still learning how to use Shopify. It's. It's kind of a pain in the ass. But the Five Faces tea, which has received like some really interesting comments regarding Tim Space is, is now the most popular and therefore really we are obligated, as we promised our listeners last week, to also put it on a hoodie. So.
- [47:12]
C
Oh, okay.
- [47:13]
E
Okay.
- [47:14]
D
The audience has spoken. We are, we are going to put.
- [47:17]
A
Can I make some, can I make some tweaks before we do that?
- [47:21]
C
No.
- [47:23]
D
What they like.
- [47:24]
A
I'm joking. I think it's fine.
- [47:26]
C
My wife was shopping on our, on our site last night and this is why I don't have anything yet. Is like decision paralysis. But. Oh, we just lost Luke. He just hates our merch that much.
- [47:38]
A
I was going to put it on.
- [47:42]
C
He's gonna get it out of the laundry. We were, we were scrolling and, and she looked at the five faces one and she started laughing out loud and she goes, I think I have to get, get this one. So I think that's, I think that's what the whole, you know, what country is experiencing.
- [47:56]
A
Everybody do it. You know what? That's fine.
- [47:58]
E
I'm looking at it right now. I mean, I'm the best being on.
- [48:01]
A
Camera, you know, I can't wait until I see someone on the street and I get to say, who's that really good looking dude on the far left?
- [48:09]
C
I'm just me. I'm, I'm just like your mom. We both think you're beautiful.
- [48:13]
A
Oh, thank you. She actually bought a shirt last night. Speaking of that. I don't know if she actually, I don't know which one she. She probably got the faces because you.
- [48:21]
E
Know what it is? It's the frilly thing around your neck. That's. It makes you look like an 1800s clown or something. That's just the outfit. The face is fine. It's the frilly neck thing.
- [48:31]
C
I kind of think the whole picture is not fine. Like, I think there's like several layers of awfulness. It's like a layer cake of.
- [48:40]
E
Well, mine doesn't even look like me. I wish I looked like the guy that is supposed to be me.
- [48:45]
A
I think Chris is the best.
- [48:46]
D
There are almost 40 of Tim's faces out there in existence, by the way. I finally figured out how to, how to get the. So there's almost 40 of Tim's faces walking around this, this beautiful country of ours.
- [49:00]
C
Well, I think they're, they're gonna be at least like 42, 43 by the time I'm done with my shopping.
- [49:06]
A
Look, I was, I was guessing that you were going to get your merch because that's why you dropped off, but I guess no, my Internet shout out. I am Mediacom can get.
- [49:16]
B
There's my get.
- [49:18]
E
There you go.
- [49:19]
A
There we go. There we go. Well, so, folks, if you want to add to those numbers, which I'm perfectly happy with you doing, you can go purchase our merchandise@findoutpodcast.com there's a merch button if you're on desktop. If you're on your mobile, just click on the three little lines that will pull it up. Also, if you want to subscribe to the pod on substack, we're a findout podcast.substack.com don't forget that our merch is all union made and made in America as well. So please go check that out. Otherwise, please go sign up for fafo50.com to reserve your spot today for the call next Wednesday, the 10th. And until then, thank you all for listening, and we'll be back soon.