Well, if you know how much I love wine, you know, how excited I am to talk to Damien from my favorite. Oh, my God, this is my favorite new rosé. Chateau August grand rosé. Hi, Damien. Hi, Stephanie. I thought I was a Chardonnay girl. You have won me over entirely. And I read a tweet. Janine said the good news is I my six bottles of Chateau August rosé arrived yesterday. The bad news is I may drink them all today. Can you get more offer codes, maybe the other varietals? I think I may go through a lot of them by November. You make a lot of great wines. You know, I'm excited to get into the reds as we get into fall. But I mean, this rosé is just a perfect summer wine, isn't it? Sure, no, it's a perfect summer wine. It's made with Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot grapes. So it's not usual for rosé because it's normally more for red grapes, for red wines. And no, that's why we tried to change the techniques few few years ago, because we just want you to make something different. We get the right fruit. Yeah, right color and right taste. One of the things I love is that you play music to the vines twice a day. This is a scientific process. Tell us about that. We work with, with genetics with the company who made the box for the music on the vineyards. It's more frequencies and vibrations. So, and we played two times per day when the sunrise and the size. Yeah, and it adds the vines to have a better immunity. So it's good for the health of the vines. I cannot recommend this grand rosé highly enough. Again, my Sirius XM listeners get over 50% off go to vs.wine six bottles for 98 bucks and free delivery. Best wine by varietal gold metal best in show by quality. That six bottles for 98 bucks and free delivery. Just use the promo code Stephanie 50% off with the promo code Stephanie vs.wine promo code is Stephanie. Have you ever covered a carpet stain with a rug ignored a leaky faucet pretended your half painted living room is supposed to look like that? Well, you're not alone. We've all got unfinished home projects, but there is an easier way. Thumbtack is the app that makes it easier to care for your home. Pull out your phone and in just a few taps search, chat and book highly rated pros right in your neighborhood. Download Thumbtack and start caring for your home the easier way. This is the John Fubil saying podcast. I was so hoping amidst all of this cacophony here at the Democratic National Super spreader event that I could maybe pin down one of the best politics writers in the world Esquire zone. Charlie Pierce, a man who along with Pete Townsend was our guest at the first our first show when we transitioned over to Sirius XM. And I may never get over that. That Pete was on and you didn't hold him over to say hello to me. Pete was on Pete was on tape. You were in between between between Pete and you and and Jody Hamilton and Roger Daltry. I am jealous of all my companions on the Stephanie Miller. Yeah, we had Roger on the show too. Yeah, we Roger Roger will go anywhere. There's a microphone. That's a deal. Yeah, you can tell if he's on this show, he's a guy from Hunger. Mr. Pierce, you've been to a number of these things. I have. Mostly not always working. I've been working since 2012 and I went when I was at the Boston Phoenix. I went to the convention in 1980. They're the Democratic convention in 1980 in New York. I remember that one. That was the first one I would now the first one I went to was in 1976. I'd spent a year and a half doing field organizing for Mo Udall. And a bunch of us got in a car in the spur of the moment and drove down in New York to watch Mo. He you know, I gave his, you know, thanks for voting for me speech at the convention. And we tried to hustle our way in. We couldn't do it. So we went down to McCann's on 34th Street. We had there were like three people in the bar besides us. So we got the bartender to turn off the Yankee game for 20 minutes so we could watch Mo. That was the first time I was ever near a convention. But 1980 was the Jimmy Carter Ted Kennedy I remember that one. And there was all kinds of bad things. First one I ever watched as a kid. You think you think there's there was a possible ill feeling here? Oh, man. I mean, Ted Kennedy. Do you think they're still ill feeling here? No, I don't. But there was, you know, a lot of people were trying to gin some up. Yeah. Oh, please. They didn't have to gin it up in New York. They were. They were seriously. I mean, Ted Kennedy showed up for the big w let's all get, you know, the scene we're going to have tonight. Let's all get together. Yeah. And but he looked like he was, you know, having a boric acid enema. I mean, he, he did not want to be. He did not want when I heard heard people criticizing Biden for having left the convention after his speech. I said to myself, look, I saw Ted Kennedy do the opposite. And it was awful. I mean, what do you want? I mean, what do you want? I mean, he gave his speech. Everybody said, you know, people have been chanting his name for four days and he went to a vineyard in California. He did his job. Biden came here. He did what was expected of him. It was the hardest thing I've ever seen a man do. I mean, Joe Biden wanted to beat Donald Trump again. Oh, yeah. Not want to get out of this race. Yeah. But I, you know, given what we've seen over the last five weeks, it's unimaginable to me that it would have gone any other way. I mean, it's just everything has gone so very well. And things have deteriorated so badly on the other side that, you know, between, and I got a, I got to steal it from Jamie and Raskin, the pet Camille and vice presidential. Can we talk about we talk about a baby man, but the, yeah, but the, the, you know, the presidential candidate seems to be deteriorating, right? Be like one of those Star Trek villains who melt right before your eyes. It's a good thing. The mainstream media is covering from as best as they can. I mean, I don't, yes, you're exactly right. But this media wants a horse race. And this media, I think Mr. Pierce misses their Trump size 2016 ratings. I don't know about the ratings, but I do think that there's a bias toward competition. And I think that's been, I mean, hey, Tim Krauss wrote the definitive book on campaign press on how the press covers a campaign called The Boys on the Bus. And he wrote it in 1974. And none, none of the problems he's pointed out, he pointed out in that book, have gotten better. In fact, they've gotten worse because of the technology, the acceleration provided by technology. And, you know, all it takes is like a publication with enough clout to run, you know, put his people in a room. The governor Shapiro, there he goes. There he goes. There he goes. He's got one in basketball, Coach Tans. Yeah, really, fast, man. This is what it's like sitting here. I've known Elizabeth Warren for 10 years. She got hustled past me with barely a handshake last night. She was on what you were eating. No, we got to go to, you know, shed some, you know, 12 year old minder dragon. But anyway, grumpy old guy. Oh, yeah, Tim Krauss. All it takes is is for a major. Well, you know, it's been watching both to call all of its media people in in September of the year ending in a three and say, we're not going to do it this way this time. This is how we're going to do it. And anybody who doesn't want to do it this way, or anybody who doesn't do it this way can go cover the police shack in Maryland. I mean, once, you know, as Gene McCarthy said, once one bird flies off the wire, they all well. Yeah, let me ask you a question that I have not asked too many of our Democratic Party faithful here. Are our friends at this convention a little too confident that this is in the bag? You know, I don't know. I think, I think the country is I think the Democrats and I would venture to guess the country are still in the middle of this giant exhale, you know, and you know, let them have their fun till the end of the week. And then, you know, as or Michelle Obama, by the way, is going to come get you if you don't go to work. Yeah. No, I, you know, let them have the week. You know, if they want to be cocky, let them be cocky. I haven't heard that coming from anybody of any influence. So, you know, if the delegates, if the delegates want to be cocky, you know, let them. But it's it's it's not going to be easy. No, it's it's still going to be a long pull up a dirt road. There are parts of the country where you know, I just, you know, spent a lot of time with Jane Club, the chairman from Nebraska, and Ben Wickler, the ground breaking chairman from Wisconsin, talking about how hard it was to get the Democrats, the Democratic Party, to take a rural issue seriously. And there's still a deficit there. I mean, you know, they've got they've got they're still ground to be regained there. And I think they do it. How do they do it? You do it one door, one door at a time. One leaflet at the pill Tim waltz Tim waltz was right last night. One courage Camille. One, you do it one door door knock at time, one phone call at a time, one message at a time, one conversation with your neighbor or the person down the block at a time. It's long hard painstaking work. But Wickler proved in Wisconsin, you can do it. We've had our friends on the left safer years and some friends on the right say, Hey, you know, what this this 18 months of presidential campaigning is is nowhere. Why can't we be like the Europeans and do it all in three months? Are we getting sort of a model and how that might play out? Well, I mean, yes, but I wouldn't take. I mean, this is I wouldn't count on this being the, the, the template for going forward. I mean, you never seen anything like this. No, no, no, this is this is unprecedented. And that's why, you know, I keep none of the rules apply. Nobody cares that people are running late on television, except television people. Yeah, you know, nobody in the hall cares. Nobody in all was leaving. Well, a lot of folks thought that they were burying the president by putting them on after folks on East Coast went to bed. I mean, the 11 o'clock news, you know, is now but this week, there's YouTube and there are and people are not going. I mean, having, yeah, having said what I just said, they had 57 million people. Yeah, so I don't think they I don't think it was too bad. Yeah, I mean, I don't know how many people watch to see if you know, Joe Biden would emulate himself on the stage or to see a, you know, a delegate fight breakout or something. But nonetheless, no, but again, you know, what people have their fund is that there's a reason why they call them political parties. So let them have their party. And then tomorrow at nine a.m. flood the local headquarters, you know, everywhere, even places where you know, you're not going to win, scare the hell out of them. What is surprised you this week? What's the rest of you this week? Well, the bench strength, obviously, the number of young Trump era Democrats, my God, 2032 is going to be crazy. Oh, I mean, I mean, once again, as I think I told Stephanie this error this week, watching AOC is like watching Steffy graph in 1986, all the talent in the world and just coming into it. You know, there's a lot of that here. Wes Moore, Wes Moore, who I knew not Tim Walts, who I knew nothing about Shapiro. Yeah. And you know, the one the speaker who really surprised me was Mallory Morrell. Yeah, the Michigan State Senator. Great. Who brought the book out. Where did she come from? If I if I had told you 10 years ago that we'd be at one of these things and we would see Hillary Clinton and Michelle Obama giving better speeches than their husbands. The two men praised as the greatest orders of the last 50 years. Yeah. And both of their wives. Top them. Yeah. Yeah. Although I have to admit, I'm getting kind of I'm kind of enjoying folksy old Cracker Barrel bill. Yeah, me too. You know, who's like slipping back into the Arkansas a little bit. Right back. Setting on setting on the porch. Trying to remind you all why you like me in the first place. And Michelle, I mean, we were talking before I came on with you. Now I know why the Republicans were so terrified of Michelle Obama running because she would have already finished their lunch and would have started on dinner by now. Uh, you know, it was funny because they kept, they kept throwing her up as, you know, the dark presence behind all the lightweights running on the Democratic side. And I thought to myself, it's like the, it's like people saying Beetlejuice, you know, they're trying to keep her away. Charlie, what do we, what do we tell the children when they ask us to explain Robert Kennedy, Jr.? What do we tell the young people? What do you tell me? I mean, I'm a Bobby, you know, a Bobby senior from way back. I know. That's why I'm asking. I mean, and I've admired RFK, Jr. Most of my life. He's been, I've had him on TV shows, had him on this radio show. I loved him on Ring of Fire with Papantonio. I love the environmental work. Well, I was, I hung out with him at a Falcon one time in Jersey. Like I've admired the guy. This I, this is not, I mean, it's crazy. And it's, and I think every time his family lines up against him, he gets crazier. Oh, he just lost the hiatus board primary for good. Yeah. Uh, you know, I, I, I feel bad for him. I know he doesn't need the money. I mean, he, let's face facts. And this is an open secret to a lot of people in Massachusetts and even more people in Washington. After Bobby died, Ethel lost control of that family. I mean, she just went into Irish morning, you know, Mary Todd Lincoln, except she went skiing a lot. And the kids were in wild. And they've all had, and all of the boy, Junior made a lot of headlines when I was young. Well, not just that, but you know, David was a junkie who skied into a tree. Joe the third or Junior. Yeah. He kept going back and forth. You know, he was a congressman, but he was, you know, uh, you know, a Roy Stewart, Bobby Junior. My wife, now my wife actually worked with him in 76 in Alabama for Carter. And he was crazy then. And, you know, then he got his life together and he could have died, you know, an environmental hero like, you know, Lincoln Steffens or John Muir or, you know, Pete Seager. Yeah. And then he got down the whole vaccination thing and I don't, you know, the mercury first and then thimerosol. And he couldn't let it go. And now you know us. Yeah. Who knows? I mean, I mean, when Kennedy's go bad, I don't think Democrats are worried yet. I think if they were worried, we'd hear more talk about his darker past, but they were not doing it. So I guess I'm not worried about him. Uh, I think by, uh, by September or October, you know, he's not going to look as with everyone else who tries to make nice to Donald Trump in hopes of getting something from it. There you go. There you go. They're not, he's not going to get anything. You know, this is the guy who, this is the guy who smith, who stiff small town mayors in Idaho, you know, for the security bill. Are you scared of Donald Trump this year? No, not right now. This fall. Are you scared? Let's see. Let's see what events. I mean, there'll be missteps by this ticket. Well, not just that. If the Middle East blows up, you know, yeah, that, that controversy has been papered over here, but it still exists within the party. Okay. So let me ask you then, the fact that Putin made this deal right now with Biden told me that he maybe doesn't think that Donald Trump is going to be there. Well, it also makes me think that he doesn't think he's going to be there very long either. And he needs friends in high places. Uh, is he going to fall out of window, Charlie? No, I don't think he's going to fall out of window. I think he's going to load up a C 47 with all the golden rubles he can carry and fly to, you know, you see that you see, you see, uprising against Putin? No, no, uprising. I just think, well, I don't know. I mean, I, I could see your Kremlin uprising against him. Okay. Yeah. And I could see him, you know, taking the money and run rather than fight it. Right. But, you know, it's, you know, how long did we wait for the Russian people to get their act together? Did it once it got, it went terribly wrong. They tried it against Gorbachev. Yeah. And it, and it failed because Boris Johnson got drunk and jumped on a tank and blew it in and blew the hell out of the parliament building. Uh, you know, it was funny. I remember the, the TV coverage of that. And they were describing the guys hiding under their desks in the, in the, in the parliament building as the hardliners. Yeah, I know. Meanwhile, y'all sit outside with that tank, blowing up the building. So let me bring it back to the Middle East. I think that Biden and Blinken are going to be working furiously for the next 75 days, trying as hard as they can to get something going. Yeah. But it all comes down to the fact that Netanyahu is going to face the music with his own people as soon as this conflict is over. I don't think he can afford to end this conflict. I don't, I don't, he's got a rap sheet of his own. He's got a face. I know. I don't pretend to understand how Israeli elective politics works. I mean, I understand sort of how the British ones were, but these parliamentary democracy in Israel is weird. I mean, this guy had 150,000 people in the streets every night for two years. And somehow he's still the prime minister. Yeah. How does that happen? I mean, to me, are there that many religious cranks in the, in the nesset? I mean, well, yeah, I mean, look, it's the ultra orthodox, right? It's the fundamental, we've talked about this as the fundamentalist of all the religions causing all the problems. So you're ultra conservative Jews, you're ultra conservative Christians and you're ultra conservative Muslims and Hamas are wartime consularies. And so are the nesset. And so I don't think these guys would be useless in peace. I don't see how we can get to a piece when the two players lose their jobs. Yeah, essentially. Yeah, this happens. Yeah. And I think the, you know, and the other thing about Hamas is that it's leadership isn't anywhere near the fighting. Exactly. Leadership because it's feet up in a luxury hotel in Qatar. And I've been to Qatar, by the way, and there were no luxury hotels when I was there. But anyway, they're in a rich Carlton now. And meanwhile, their people are getting, you know, their kids, the ones that survive are all getting polio. I mean, it's a catastrophe. And I'm, I'm beyond the point where I'm where I would say, look, you got enough of our bombs to do the job. Come back when you lose this prime minister and when the ceasefire happens, and we'll talk. They got 40,000 dead civilians and no one can get out of the country. I mean, they're starving them. They don't have more weapons from us. Yeah, no, and they've got plenty. And we just sent them what? What? Yeah. What a Trump bomb. F-32s. Oh, God. You know, when I figured I understood F-32s are those stealth fighters that he thought were actually invisible. Remember that? You couldn't see them. They were out there on the tarmac. Oh, my God. Oh, my God. I don't, I will never understand how this many people can overlook stupid, Charlie. I can understand overlooking evil because you want power, but overlooking stupid blows my mind. So let me wrap it up with you. What is giving you hope? Well, just being here this week has, you know, talking to people, talking to a lot of people who are organizing on the ground. Your friend from North Carolina over there who I just spent a lot. Yeah, a lot of time talking. A lot of time talking to while you were over here with Attorney General Benson. You know, all those, those kind of people, Jane Kleb, Ben Wickler, the people who work for Jane Kleb and Ben Wickler, you know, who are out there doing the hard dirt road work. You know, I kind of stayed away from, you know, celebrity Paul's, although I had to, I had to talk to my cut to my hometown Congressman Jim McGovern, just to get his, his comments on the oversight committee reported to the impeachment of Joe Biden, which he called the with fine, fine Worcester inside the biggest pile of shit that ever came out of the Congress. You know, I think about all of the racists who just blown their life savings on Let's Go Brandon merchandise. And I couldn't be happier. Charlie Pearson, you are the best at what you do. And I am so happy we managed to get together here because it's been such a hassle. Hard to find anybody here. It's crazy. It's very hard to find people. Is this fun? Although I can find Stephanie Miller. She's right over there. I know. Well, you know, you can always tell where she is. Usually law enforcement too. Mr. Pierce, what's the best way for our listeners to follow you and keep your work on the on the X winner machine at Charles P. Pierce, capital C, capital P, capital P, and on my Instagram somewhere. And I have a Facebook page. I haven't been there in a while. So whatever. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. My social media skills are, are, are limited, are limited, but I'm easily found. Charlie Pierce, you keep getting younger in his route. One tries, so great to see you. Take care, man. Is it just me or as TV gotten really complicated lately? Thankfully, Fylo can change all of that for you. One service, all the stuff you need. Fylos got current seasons of the shows you can't miss live on networks like A&E, MTV, Discovery, and TLC. Best of all, with Fylo, you get all this for just $28 a month. No contracts, no hassles, just one subscription and a world of entertainment. So go to Fylo.tv and check it out for a free seven day trial. That's P H I L O dot TV to start watching. Okay, it's time to commit. 2024 is the year for prioritizing yourself. Begin your new smile journey with bite and you could start seeing results in just two to three weeks. Just order your at home impression kit today for only 1495 at bite.com. Bite clear liners are doctor directed and delivered to your door. Treatment costs thousands less than braces, plus they offer financing options except eligible insurance and you could pay with your HSA FSA. Get 80% off your impression kit when you use code Wondery at bite.com. That's B Y T E dot com. Start your confidence journey today with bite. Someone who needs no introduction. The pride of Chicago representative Jan Shikowski and someone who has debased herself. I think three times at sexy liberal shows and yet you're still welcome in the halls of Congress. It is such a joy to see you Congresswoman. Thank you. I don't necessarily share everything is said on us. Yes, but I love being on that and being in Congress. I have to say watching you on stage, you are a natural. You were up there with Pritzker who can talk and Mark Hamill who's a pro and Harrison, you got the biggest laugh lines of our entire office. Well, thank you very much. I had a wonderful time. Stephanie is fantastic. So are you. So it's great. You've been to a few of these. Yes. How does this one feel different? You know, it is very different. The kind of anticipation of really good things to come. A promise of better days. It's just the energy is different right now. And I think the commitment by a lot of people to make the changes that we need in our country are stronger than I've seen before. And it's interesting because in a way it's a shorter time than usual to think about winning or losing an election, right? You know, it's what 70 some days all of our European friends always say, why do you do this over two years? We do it in three months. Now we're having heart crash course. No, exactly. So I think there's a additional excitement and a change. People are ready to participate. It's just been fantastic. I mean, if she and Tim Walz are sworn in on January 20th, Joe Biden will have figured out a way to have beaten Donald Trump again. I mean, Joe Biden will have had an impact with this choice of his that might be more historically significant than anything a second term could have been. And not only that, it will be the launching point of what Joe Biden has done over those. I mean, it has been the most successful term. A lifetime certainly. Exactly. So I think he has a lot to be proud of. And I think that we will take advantage of moving forward now on that. Do you think that the Harris Wall's ticket is going to be able to make inroads into our conservative brothers and sisters? Because we know a lot of these folks do not like Donald Trump. Why this man didn't pick Nikki Haley as a running mate is beyond me. She was getting a third of the primary vote in some Republican cities. He didn't choose to unify the ticket. We know there are Republicans who are disaffected. What would you say to conservative brothers and sisters who don't like Donald Trump, but aren't ready to make the leap to a Democratic vote yet? You know, I think they'll be looking at some of the particulars. Take women talking about reproductive rights, even in the ruby red states when it was on the ballot. Kansas Congress won Kansas. Yeah, exactly. And it is on the ballot, literally, in eight states around the country. Let's watch Florida because they've got that on the ballot. That's right. But I think every day Donald Trump is also revealing more terrible things. He also seems more incoherent. His running mate is an imbecile. I mean, the idea, I'm sorry, of saying to families that women should must have children or not. They don't have enough value to vote if they haven't reproduced. Exactly. My mother was a Catholic nun, Congresswoman. I've never seen a Republican with an eyeliner fixation, insult all the nuns of America. I mean, it's so different. You know, and even those who are demonstrating right now, you know, Donald Trump, you may recall, had a ban on Muslims coming into the United States of America has promised because deportation ever to take place has said the first day he wants to be a dictator. That's right. This is really a decision between fascism and freedom in this country. But also, you know, what does that mean, exactly? It comes down to particulars. No more tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans that, you know, yes, women will have rights. You'll be safe if you're gay or my like my grandson. I'm proud of my transgender grandson. I got a cousin in Texas. There you go. Yeah. In Texas. That's yeah. Yeah. So I just think there's so much to say to each individual person how your life can be better. And that's what I think they're going to do as a campaign. But in the meantime, when this wonderful convention is over, that's when the work really starts. And I think, you know, invite everybody to join in. And I think more and more people, I see that. You know, we have operation, let me look at my, I think here, operation swingstate.com. And if people go to that website, they can go to Michigan and to Wisconsin. And if those two states win, we have a really good chance of making sure that we win the election, because they are swing states. From your lips, Congresswoman, you mentioned the protesters. And you know, I don't really understand the logic in thinking that somehow a Donald Trump presidency will help the civilians of Palestine more than a Harris walls administration. What are your hopes for peace in the region, for the hostages to come home, for the future of Palestinian civilians with the caveat that Joe Biden's trying very hard to have a resolution before he leaves to. So I want to tell you, as a proud Jewish woman, and someone who has been a friend of Israel for a long time, I did not go to here, Beebe Netanyahu, Prime Minister Netanyahu, because of my feelings for Israel. I think this man is a menace. He is the worst thing for the state of Israel. He creates anti-Semitism around the whole world. He propped up Hamas. He needed a bad guy and had them money. He funded Hamas because he needed to stay in power and needed a bad guy worse than him. And to also weaken the Palestinian Authority. And right now, as someone has always supported a two-state solution, but also said this occupation in the West Bank has to end. So we have to end this war. And that's what the protesters really want to. We have to end the war. And we'll see. This is my great fear, Congresswoman, that we've got a lot of wartime consul juries. I don't know how Netanyahu or Hamas could function in peacetime. They don't seem to know how to lead in peace and fellowship. They need to have a villain because they're both authoritarian. They're both religious fundamentalists. They both view compromise as weakness and failure. I agree that both are. I mean, I'm certainly not a supporter of Hamas. Oh, I know that. I know. I'm not. But the thing is, if we can get the Arab community and the worldwide community to all step up and say no, baby, no Hamas, but we can do better and start moving towards some permanency where there is rights for Palestinians, a state for Palestinians. And Israelis can be safe. I want to see that too. That's right. That's right. Which speakers have inspired you the most this week? Who stayed with you? Well, you know, I think it was it was really great. I love Joe Biden. I think I think that could have been done better in the sense of earlier. Thank you. And, you know, that that would have been good. I do love him whilst I was with him when he was in the house of representatives. And I met his wife today at a meeting and she is great. They are an absolutely great, great couple. So there was a lot of real great stuff. I agree. It's my first one. I've never been to a DNC before. And I think I picked the right one. I mean, Zhukakis and Benson was pretty sexy, but this has just been magical. It's been it really has been. How significant is it that this was held in Chicago this year? Oh, as a Chicagoan, this was absolutely the right thing to do. And Chicago showed off so beautifully. I mean, the weather was perfect. I told Hakeem Jeffery is our leader. I said, I ordered up four great days, you know, just the right temperature. The lake, we spooked up the city. That's right. Somewhat. It looks great. So many people came to me. My colleagues and just others saying, this is Chicago. Yeah, it's fabulous. But as a New Yorker, it grieves my heart to see so many in right-wing media smear this great city just the way they always smeared New York until 9/11. They pretended to like New York ever since then. But the way that they don't want to do a thing to keep guns out of the hands of criminals, they don't want to do a thing to make it harder to pick up a gun in Indiana and bring it back here. Oh, worse than that. You know, it is the number one killer of children in the United States of America. They don't want to solve it. They want to smear Chicago and talk about gun violence because they're really trying to talk about, you know who. You know, we have the best gun legislation around, but we're also surrounded. That's right. Unlike New York, surrounded by every state that they just go across the border. They open up the trunk of their car and they can, you know, just come in and it's a problem. But, you know, the violence is down. Murder is down. And the other side doesn't want to recognize that. They don't really care, do they? I mean, they just are interested in smearing their opponents, smearing the great cities and having coded racist talk. I mean, they're not looking for solutions, Congresswoman. You must have some colleagues on the Republican side who confide in you. And I'm sure I ask this of every Congressperson. You must have some colleagues on the GOP side who are exasperated and sad. I know, but you know what? So at the beginning, when they were in the majority, I thought they're just cowards. They don't want to lose their elections. And then I found out that their lives are in danger in some ways. This is like the mafia. People call their families, say, I know the names of your children and I know where they go to school. I mean, they are literally afraid for their lives. And so if they want to stay in the Congress and several are leaving, and God only knows what those people are, that's why we have to win. We have to win. We have to win the House and the Senate and, you know, the trifecta and the White House. And then the sky is the limit. There's so much that we can do. How do you feel about filibuster reform? Let's just say. Yeah, I know. But we could restore abortion rights. That's right. There are a number of things that we could do legislatively. A ACA was done by a reconciliation. Yeah, exactly. So I think there are a number of things that could I'm forgetting rid of the damn filibuster. God bless you. Oh, come on. It began for racism. It was originated in racism. You know, and this well, they can then do that to us. They are doing it to us. So come on, let's end it. If we win, let's take full advantage of that. You know, and now, I also think we should expand the Supreme Court. Thank you. I mean, there's a lot of things that could be done. I mean, the number nine is not a sacred number. Mitch McConnell changed it to eight for a whole year because he felt like it. It's not sacred. I mean, why shouldn't it be 13? No, exactly. It has been a different number through the years, for the, you know, decades. So let's do that. You know, and we have to move quickly. Let's start right out. Let's not hesitate to, you know, put out the legislation that has changed people's lives. A child tax credit. Thank you. You know, we were able in one year to reduce child poverty in half. Correct. And then, of course, they wanted to get rid of that. And we could do that. We could, and Kamala is talking about, $25,000 for first-home buyers. Amazing. I mean, you know, things that people really care about, the tangibles, they could change their lives. We could do more for organized labor. I'm a labor union member myself. I pay dues every week, every month, you know, and make workers. And I just want to say to women out there, you want equal pay for equal work to a union. Thank you. Thank you. I mean, I have to believe that we're on the cusp of a great time. These messaging that the Republicans have done my whole lifetime is not working anymore. Congresswoman, they're calling people Marxist and communist. I'm like, what are you in the 70s? I mean, I don't see any young people are swayed by that as an insult. Call names. I mean, and that's the difference right now. Now, it's all positive. People are, you know, cheering each other on. We're celebrating Kamala. We're celebrating Tim and his family yesterday. People are feeling hopeful instead of fearful. It's so good right now. I was telling a friend earlier, you know, the vibe in this center for the past four days, I was trying to think what it reminds me of, because I keep saying to everyone, I want to I want to live in this America. I want to live on this planet, the diversity and yet the warmth and the unity and everyone's together. I've been hugged by so many people of so many different cultures and backgrounds. It's beautiful. Isn't it? You know what it reminds me of? It reminds me of when I was very young and worked as a volunteer on the welcoming committee for Nelson Mendela and I worked the Yankee Stadium rally. I realized this is the same feeling in this room of hope, of unity, of love that I felt in Yankee Stadium that night long ago. And it's real. You know, people feel that and they're gut right now. And now we just have to execute. We have to get the vote out. We have to be fearless, fighters, and we can do this. One last question that if you were advising the Harris Walls campaign, what issues would you tell them the American people need to hear about? Oh, I mean, I think they are laying out this agenda about a better life, that they're going to be talking to people. What do you want? We can deliver that, but you have to help us. We have to win this election. We can take away the fear, the hatred, the discrimination that you feel and have felt through your through your lives. You know, come on, let's work together. We can get it done. Commencement, Jan Schakowski, it is always a joy to be in your presence. Thank you so much for talking to us. Vice versa. Thank you. Thank you. I got nothing but love for you, lady. And I can't wait to see what happens this fall. Please come back and join us as the campaign trail gets deeper. Thank you. Love you, too. Thank you. Hey, prime members, have you heard you can listen to your favorite podcasts ad-free? Good news. With Amazon music, you have access to the largest catalog of ad-free top podcasts included with your prime membership. To start listening, download the Amazon music app for free or go to amazon.com/adfreepodcast. That's amazon.com/adfreepodcast to catch up on the latest episodes without the ads. What makes a life a good one? Is it the adventure you have? Or the friends you find along the way? Maybe it's pursuing your passion while striving to protect, defend, and save what you believe in every single day. So what makes a life a good one? In the Coast Guard, we think it's all of the above and more. You'll have to find out for yourself. Visit gocoastguard.com to learn more. Eric Swell, how's your convention going? You know what? You're feeling the energy and you're seeing everything take shape and 75 days is going to go like that. And so I feel like we're going to leave this convention with the foundation of what's at stake, who our Canada is, what her vision is, and what we all can do to make sure she wins. How has the last 35 days been for you emotionally? Well, it's refreshing to find joy in doing this work. It's been a dark nine years since this monster, this madman, has come into our lives and just turned everything upside down. And now I think people see there's an opportunity to take Trump to the trash. And it's not too far away. Yeah, I don't see his appeal expanding at all. And I don't see her appeal doing anything but expanding from tonight onward. I'm a little concerned, sir, that Donald Trump is not really trying to expand his appeal. It almost seems like these guys don't think they need the votes to win elections. Yeah, he's acting like somebody who's in self destruction mode, but also, you know, is trying to sabotage, I think, faith in the electoral system, you know, continues to stoke and support people who would threaten violence. And so it does feel like he's trying to bully his way, you know, to the ballot box rather than earn his way. I'm more terrified about like the Georgia state legislature and the fact that these guys are just planning to do whatever they have to do to make sure that will the people is not realized. But I'm confident, though, and you're seeing that in the Serena. And by the way, you saw two arenas, you know, two nights ago, 90 miles apart, both had, you know, 15 to 20,000 people raising them. People in those arenas, they're they're we're not going back. We're not this guy's not going to bully us. He's not going to intimidate us. And he's not going to win, you know, with any of these like legal terrorist tactics that he thinks he can use, you know, to overturn an election. He's going to lose, not going to happen. You have been one of the most effective, if not the most effective members of Congress in dealing with all of this Michigan, online hate and these roles. What advice do you give Americans who are discouraged when they see that Twitter has become a Nazi chatroom that the hate seems to be so overpowering because I wish everyone who's discouraged, I think despair is privilege at this point. And I wish they could all be here in this room to to feel what I have done always. Well, don't be intimidated. And don't let don't confuse the signal from the noise, because there's a lot of noise on on Twitter. But that's not where most Americans are. Most Americans are optimistic. They're excited about the future. They're a little bit anxious about, you know, just the costs of what they consume and how far their paychecks go. But when they see someone who has a vision in Kamala Harris, composed compared to someone who has chaos, they're going to know where to go. And by the way, what's the difference between the RNC and the DNC at the RNC, a 70 year old wrestler nominated an 80 year old felon. Here, you're seeing the opposite of a free show. You're seeing a plan for the future. Oh, you didn't like all the white beaters who say the N word. That's right. That's right. Eric Swell. Always a pleasure. All right. Thanks so much. Yep. So I've been looking forward to talking with our next guest for a while. 41 million members of Gen Z will be eligible to vote in the 2024 election. That's the generation with the youngest eligible voters between 18 and 27. 8.3 million of Gen Z have become eligible to vote since the 2022 midterms. Now, young voters is what the media describes to make them sound like a monolithic group, but it's a highly diverse generation. Their identities and experiences shape very different political attitudes and very different levels of engagement about about 45% of the 40 million Gen Z are eligible to vote this year are young people of color, 8.8 million Latinos, 5.7 million young black youth, 1.7 million Asian Americans. But Gen Z voted at a higher rate in 2022 than previous generations voted in their first midterm election. Looking at you, Gen X. Now historical data from the past half a century of midterm shows young people are engaged, but there's still profound unevenness in participation. So I've been excited to hear that Dylan Douglas was going to be doing a show for progress. He's an emerging voice in Gen Z politics. He's worked with a lot of nonprofits as a deputy campaign manager for a congressional campaign. The show, I'm sure you've heard about it, is young American with Dylan Douglas. And it's a very rare thing. It's a Gen Z powered political talk show that's not a blog. And in it, he's talking about the issues that would drive young voters to the polls. His guest list already includes Senator Ed Markey, our friend David Hogg, young American with Dylan Douglas will air every Saturday at 11 a.m. beginning September 14th here on progress with replays through the weekend. Dylan Douglas, so nice to have you with us. John, thank you so much for taking the time. What a wonderful introduction. You're so right about Gen Z. It's sort of funny. When I came on board with progress with this show, a lot of what they had in mind were these ideas of activism. And they're like, go do have a TikTok. I'm like, no, I don't have a TikTok. Oh, Instagram, Twitter. And I sort of come from the Gen Z political space, from the opposite of a lot of my peers, where I come from civic engagement side, rather than political activism, if that be on online and otherwise. And to your point, I think it's so important is that our generation, I think, is by far the most politically active, but maybe in a lot of ways, the least civically engaged. So to thread the needle between activism, promoting the cause of its online infographics, but actually translating that in to being able to move the levers of power, knowing how to affect change through our political system, our democracy is just as important and something I definitely want to bring light to with the show. Absolutely. And I'm glad you're addressing it. And I think you're going to get a wide array of audience demographics and ages listening, because we were just in Chicago for the Democratic Convention. And we were talking to our friend, Danora, get at you of do something. And after President Biden announced he was stepping aside and endorsed the vice president, do something saw a 3,700% spike in youth voter registrations in the first 10 days. So clearly, voters of your demographic are very fired up. I'm curious, what is it that's actually, do you think, is driving them to register and is driving them to the polls this year? What are the issues that political parties, if they care, should lean into and be mindful of that this significant 40 million strong voting block cares about? Sure. Well, I think there's three things that kind of happened simultaneously. I don't know when the show airs, but we're recording this on September 11th. Yes. We're both New Yorkers. And I think that day, I don't remember it. I was a baby. But that sort of sets a tone of this 20 year period that's defined my generation, Gen Z financial crisis, the beginning of the climate crisis, political chaos, the beginning of the Tea Party movement, leading into Trump is capital insurrection. And here we are with a second chance of a possible first female president. So all this turmoil, but also transformative moments, not to mention the first black president, the first president that I remember in my lifetime, I think gives this sort of lived experience that drives us to be aware of our surroundings, not to mention being aware of these existential threats that we're burdened with. And as a result, engage, wanting to be a part of something bigger than ourselves, something else aside of that, that I think is just as important is, I think, and I don't necessarily believe in this, that there's a lot of boomer hating out there. And I think that there's a generation above us that that's scared and quite possibly feels guilty for some of the problems, all of which I don't necessarily think are entirely their fault. And I think we were inherently raised with this self-imposed hope that we would be a generation to bring change. And I think a lot of us is taking that pressure and is rising to the occasion. So I think it's those two things sort of playing out simultaneously that makes Gen Z that much more engaged. And social media and our sort of growing up in mastery makes it that much easier to connect to organize and to fight for what we believe in, you know? Yeah, I think I love how you express that, you know, it's like Wall Street and Madison Avenue have figured this out. They know how to go after the Gen Z advertising dollar, but how are political machines beginning to realize the value of feeling to the Gen Z voter? And that's what I like about the concept of your show, because it's about how to get the Gen Z vote. But it's also, I think, Dylan about what Gen Z should expect and deserves to expect in exchange for their vote, right? Totally, John. And I think just one more thing I'll add, and just between you and I, I'm a history major in school and I've done a lot of political work, but history is also my passion. And when people throw out history, everyone wants to go to sleep. And I think something that's remiss our generation, because we're so young, is a sense of history. And in this world of online and just quick, sort of fast coverage in the media with no real outward perspective, I think understanding our past, why we're here today, and understanding the past, we can help, you know, understand a future, understand where we're going, is remissed on a lot of our generation. And that's something that not just covering the news of the day, that's something I'm going to give a larger context to the issues that are defining our generation. That's what I want to do on my show. I love it. And by the way, I'm so glad your generation got to miss the Clinton impeachment, because that was a drag so good you came in after that, believe it, you didn't want to see it. I feel like Gen Z is in a way like every other generation, not a monolith. Some people are very politically engaged, some a little bit, many are indifferent. How do we convince people of all ages, convince less engaged people that they've got something on the line in 2024? You know, it's a great, great question, John. And I think we're seeing right now that in a lot of ways Gen Z was a monolith up until very recently. And this election, particularly, for example, my generation, Gen Z, we still overwhelmingly vote Democrat, vote, we're still more left to center. But if you break that down by gender, women still vote almost always on the left, my generation, men, it's about 50/50. And Trump is making serious inroads with men. And I've had some conversations with people that I'm going to have on the show, people of my age. And not even by asking the question just comes up magically. There's this collective understanding of this epidemic of loneliness, of having all these friends on Facebook, having all these friends online, and being politically active, but it just feels like you're in a black hole and avoid. And I think that loneliness is the driver of radicalism on either side of the spectrum, feeling that you're forgotten, feeling that you're lost, that you've been left behind. And so finding inroads with kids to get them more engaged politically off their phones, and not just doing, again, not doing the work that they want to do and fighting for what they want to do, but doing so where they can actually make friends and make real connection, I think, is so, so important in this day and age where everything's on cyberspace, cyberspace, we're becoming a lonely generation in a lot of ways. And I think that's driving a lot of our politics in the wrong direction. I know what you should just drive people into insane religious cults. Now it's into insane political ideologies, in fact. I always say that the canary in the coal mine with society is that there's no cults God forbid drinking the Kool-Aid and winding up dead anymore. We don't read about that anymore because all the cults are online. It's not that they've gone away, they've manifested in a way, then they've become mainstreamed. It's so you're so right on that. Oh, absolutely. Yeah. And it does. And neither of them have anything to do with Jesus or Lincoln, but that's a whole other matter. I mean, let me ask you, just in terms of the people you know your own age, just take a guess. Like, what percentage of the people your own age that you know still watch cable news? Very little. And not just my own age. I mean, I think we're living in a world that's because there's a paywall for information that's been that way for a while. You go to the paper stand, you've been nickel, you'd buy a newspaper, you pay for cable, and now I think information has become truly democratized, which is phenomenal. You can get your news online for free anytime. There's a caveat to that. Fake news can trickle into that. Exactly. That's not embedded. So it's a double-edged sword. But in terms of my generation that gets their news from cable news or from print journalism, zero. I mean, I have a few policy you want. How many friends do you know? How many friends do you know who read newspapers, paper newspapers in your in your age group? I have a few policy wonk political friends that do, but I think there's an exception, not a rule. Right on, right on. Myself included. Myself included. Oh, listen, I love newspapers. I will always love newspapers. I'm sorry. It reminds me of my dad, my grandpa. I will always love them. And that kind of dead media, you know, it's a connection to another kind of way we got information. And when it was in print, it was a lot harder to get away with bullshit and double talk and jive. In many ways, Gen Z, while they're becoming more politically engaged, they are the most susceptible to disinformation generation in history because we have no standards in the online world. I would say that there's unfortunately now there's four branches of government in the U.S. Of course, executive, judicial, legislator, the media, and the one. And Russian bots. Don't leave out the Russian bots. There's a fifth. Correct. Maybe the fifth, but that one, the media is the most far out of whack and doesn't have any checks and balances right now. So if it's from, you know, legislator, finding ways to re appropriate media to be more biased, I don't know, but it's a big problem right now in this country and the world. Yeah. Earlier this year, you co-introduced, along with your dad, President Biden as a fundraiser. And I was curious. I did. What was that experience for you of being in Joe Biden's presence? I often wonder about Gen Z voters and President Biden, whereas so many of his policies seemed definitely favored to help Gen Z voters, but the message never seemed to get communicated. I wonder what your thoughts were on that. I have nothing but the utmost respect for President Biden. I was never a Biden fan in 2020. I think I seriously considered every other Democratic candidate before Biden. And of course, he became the nominee. And of course, I'm going to support him. But we were promised a transitional leader. And really what we got was a transformational one. Someone who even in a divided Congress divided Senate was able to do generational change that literally no one thought was possible. He was far more progressive than anyone could have imagined. And I think a lot of his legacy is only going to be realized now and in the next few years. But in terms of our generation, yeah, he's not cool, right? He's not a necessarily a silver tongue devil. He's older, quite frankly. And I think maybe I'm in the minority of my generation when it comes to this. I'm sort of done with performance artists. And I want real policy, real leadership. And I think Joe Biden provided that. I must say, quite honestly, and I feel I'm as hesitant to say that. But when I did meet him, I was taken back by his age. I was. And I think the presidency is so much more than just debates and speeches. But the bully pulpit is such a part of the American presidency. And so I do think him passing the torch and having Kamala now run was the right decision, but I'll always be very grateful for his legacy and what he's done for this country. I think you said it beautifully. Yeah, the man I saw at the DNC was not the same man I saw at the White House Correspondents Dinner in 2022. I mean, the job ages you. And I know his mental acuity is totally there. But it's undeniable. The surge in enthusiasm since the great switch since Joe Biden did the toughest thing I've ever seen a politician do. For me, Dylan, the audiences at our shows we do on the road just have been insane with the joy and the exuberance over this shift. What is it? What is this nomination of VP Harris now as president mean to you and to your friends that you've spoken with? How, how is this experience unique to your experience? Well, so it's very funny going back to 2020. Kamala Harris was my first choice for presidency. I knew very little about her, her, her Senate career and his career as a prosecutor in California. But what I saw from her campaign won me over and inspired me. And I liked her. I liked her message. And so now to see her four years later, four years as my vice president to be running for president again, I think it's phenomenal. I think it's amazing to have a woman, a person of color who's a prosecutor prosecuting Donald Trump, I think is the most beautiful irony that we could possibly have in our politics of this country. And I think she's going to do amazing things. I think she's going to carry on the best of Biden's legacy and expand upon it. In terms of my friends and the people I see online, I really believe this Kamala Harris moment is a second Obama, oh, oh, oh, wait, I'm seeing people that are not great, that do not that do not tweet. They're not post political things. They just live their lives. I see them at Kamala Harris rallies. She is hit a nerve that quite honestly, and I was a fan, I was surprised by. So I think we're in really good hands, not only as her as our next president, but her as a nominee going into November. I'm excited and optimistic. Yeah, it's insane. Let me ask you this. Let me ask about the other end of the political spectrum with Gen Z, because a person, a person turning voting age this year has had Donald Trump in politics for half their lifetime. If you're 18, nine of those years you've spent with Donald Trump being on the front page of the political section. People don't remember when Donald Trump was just this vulgar tourist attraction racist clown we had for the year in New York City. I'm fascinated by what Gen Z folks think about Donald Trump. I mean, whether it's the Hush Money trial or just his general demeanor. Watching the debate we both saw this week, I couldn't help but wonder what people under the age of 25 think about this capering loon. That's me being as fair and biased as I can be. Well, David, if it's Gen Z or 50% of America, I scratch my head. I'm like, what do you see? Because the thing I don't understand about Trump is that you look at the great tyrants of history, evil, terrible, terrible people. I watch a speech of theirs if it's Mussolini or whomever. And I'm like, I get it. I can see their eyes. I can see how how a population could be captured by that. And then you see Trump and he goes out and he's like, there's nothing to be worried about radical left. You know, he's saying all this crazy stuff. None of it really makes sense. Now it's coherent. So I don't know that, of course, like I said, my generation is still left. He's making inroads with men. And I see, and this is sort of a strange thing to go into, but something that really interests me, which is sort of not talked about, is this rising, I think, lonely man who, yeah, let's talk about it. Let's talk about it. Yeah. They throw out names like Inselly, a voluntary celibate. And I think this is a larger spectrum of modern society, of these men. There's lonely married men out there too. Yeah, being drawn in by the same propaganda. That I've just trouble connecting with society. And they see Trump as this, this revenge, revenge for everything going on in their own life. And that's really what this election is about. It's hope and love and progress and hate and retribution. Those are the two sides of the coin. So I think in terms of what my generation believes in, it comes down to how they're feeling individualistically. Are they hopeful? Are they excited? Do they feel recognized in society? Or do they feel left behind and scared and sort of bitter because of that? And I think that affects our politics often more times than anything else. Do you feel that the Israel Hamas war will be driving young people to the polls one way or the other this fall? Good question. Of course. I mean, it's a very complicated, complicated issue. And something that I don't attend, tend to solve right now. But of course, and I think that it's one of those defining youth issues that really took hold on college campus. And I do believe, especially on the pro Palestine side, as writers are wrong, maybe it's a loud minority of people, of voices. But of course that and a plethora of other issues. I'm sure we'll be energizing the youth base. One last question. How are you enjoying this so far? How is the experience of doing a show for progress been for you? It's exciting. It's exciting to do something that's my own and do it my way and not just do let's just talk to young kids and say, cool slang, but really talk about issues that not are just defining to us, but defined us and defined us in ways that we'd maybe don't fully understand. Like I go back to like 2008, and I vaguely understood there was a financial crisis. I remember watching the inauguration of Barack Obama, and my parents took me out of school, which I was so pumped about. And they sat me down and they said, this is an important moment, never forget it. And I don't. It's so clear in my mind. But at the time, I don't think it's like those kids as this guy who's president, you know, I was a kid. I don't understand racial politics in America. I didn't know how historic this day was. And it's all these things in the retrospect that build character to your point, how it builds a political ideology, it builds, it builds who you are as a person. And so sort of reflecting on that, I think is so important because the last 20 years, I'm 24, last 24 years 2000, it's my lifetime, and maybe I'm biased, but I think it's a fundamentally unique start of a new century, a new millennium, and one which defines every aspect of our society. You go back to, like you were saying, the Clinton impeachment, and you can go a bit further with like, you know, Newkin Gridge and burning down the House in the end of the forever democratic Congress and leading the hanging Chad and Bush v. Gore, and then you got 9/11, started forever wars, and it just starts to pick up and snowball, snowball, snowball. And here we are, and at least me, from my generation, I don't think we understand those. We know those events happened, but we don't necessarily understand the context in which to find where we are, what this world is, and as we grow into voters, and now as we start getting jobs and grow into young leaders, how that's going to define our viewpoint, as we slowly begin to take over the helm of this country as a voter base, how we're going to sell the ship. Right on. Well, I can't wait for the show. Young American with Dylan Douglas airing every Saturday at 11 a.m. Eastern time, beginning September 14th, right here on Progress 127, with replays throughout the weekend, as well as on demand and on the app. Dylan, I can't wait for the show, and thank you so much for joining us. I really look forward to learning more about your experience. Go back anytime. John, such a pleasure. Big fan years. Be well, peace.
