Latest / Culture Brief - Christian perspectives on the week's biggest news, sports & pop-culture stories / Bad Bunny, the Grammys, Super Bowl outrage, Don Lemon arrest & Epstein update | Ep. 55

Transcript

Bad Bunny, the Grammys, Super Bowl outrage, Don Lemon arrest & Epstein update | Ep. 55 · Culture Brief - Christian perspectives on the week's biggest news, sports & pop-culture stories

0:02
[SPEAKER_03]: Hi, I'm Connor Jones.
0:04
[SPEAKER_03]: I'm Mike Atama-Sella.
0:05
[SPEAKER_03]: And this is Culture Brief, a Denison Form podcast where we navigate the constant top stream of news, stories, politics, sports, pop culture, we're doing it all from a Christian perspective and Mike, the government shut down and reopened between our recordings.
0:19
[SPEAKER_03]: It's a miracle, right?
0:21
[SPEAKER_01]: That's true.
0:22
[SPEAKER_01]: It's a miracle.
0:23
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, I had a partial shutdown.
0:24
[SPEAKER_01]: Now the government's back open, but it could shut down on the again two weeks into weeks.
0:30
[SPEAKER_01]: So we'll see what happens.
0:30
[SPEAKER_01]: So we have a loaded show as always.
0:32
[SPEAKER_01]: We're going to talk about the Grammys and what happened there, the cultural implications of that, the Super Bowl to Super Bowl is kind of becoming less about the actual game and more about everything else.
0:41
[SPEAKER_01]: But I guess that's kind of normal.
0:44
[SPEAKER_01]: And then going to kind of just do a geopolitical political and cultural roundup happening to do with the Epstein files, what the Clintons have to do with it.
0:52
[SPEAKER_01]: I ran what's going on there, Don Lemon, what's happening there with his arrest, and a whole lot more.
0:59
[SPEAKER_01]: So let's jump into the brief.
1:01
[SPEAKER_01]: The brief.
1:06
[SPEAKER_03]: Yeah, you're right.
1:06
[SPEAKER_03]: The surreal is kind of like all about
1:08
[SPEAKER_03]: the game to an extent, at least for a big portion of America for the rest of America man.
1:13
[SPEAKER_03]: It's about the people that are there.
1:14
[SPEAKER_03]: It's the performances.
1:15
[SPEAKER_03]: It's the halftime show, pre game, post game, everything that happens on social media with it.
1:20
[SPEAKER_03]: I would say this week, specifically Micah, I've really been thinking about this, it's kind of like a big monocultural week.
1:26
[SPEAKER_03]: A lot of people say the monoculture is dying, you know, 50 million people used to watch every episode of Mash Together in America and then talk about the next day at the office.
1:38
[SPEAKER_03]: These Grammys features that we're going to break down here in a minute that have just been all of a social media and in the Olympics.
1:44
[SPEAKER_03]: This is a moment where all of America comes together and talks about the same things.
1:49
[SPEAKER_03]: I'm excited to see how that delves into the cultural conversation, and there were faith plays of Roland in each of those things, but specifically we can start with the Grammys.
1:56
[SPEAKER_03]: Because that that happened this past Sunday.
1:58
[SPEAKER_03]: I mean, it's caused a stir.
2:00
[SPEAKER_03]: There's been some positive things out of it.
2:03
[SPEAKER_03]: There's been some negative things out of it.
2:04
[SPEAKER_03]: But everybody has opinions.
2:05
[SPEAKER_03]: That's for sure.
2:06
[SPEAKER_03]: And every celebrity has their opinions.
2:08
[SPEAKER_03]: And they made a way to make their opinions known on the stage.
2:12
[SPEAKER_03]: And they're just, I don't know.
2:13
[SPEAKER_03]: Mike, did you watch any of the Grammys?
2:14
[SPEAKER_03]: I'm going to go and guess.
2:16
[SPEAKER_01]: I figured you didn't know.
2:17
[SPEAKER_01]: Absolutely not.
2:18
[SPEAKER_01]: No.
2:19
[SPEAKER_01]: I mean, I didn't even know what's happening.
2:20
[SPEAKER_01]: I mean, yes, I didn't know what's happening.
2:22
[SPEAKER_01]: But I kind of make it a point to not support it because it has just become about everything else within the art form, you know, being actually recognized.
2:32
[SPEAKER_01]: It's been so politicized and I know exactly how celebrities feel about their politics and they like to tell me and I have no interest for the most part in what their opinions are about it.
2:43
[SPEAKER_01]: And that's just my personal opinion.
2:45
[SPEAKER_03]: No, I feel that.
2:47
[SPEAKER_03]: I think a lot of people feel that way too.
2:48
[SPEAKER_03]: They're like, I don't need to see all this.
2:50
[SPEAKER_03]: They may like to perform.
2:50
[SPEAKER_03]: It's just some of the performances our guy like Justin Bieber performed.
2:53
[SPEAKER_03]: It was great.
2:54
[SPEAKER_03]: Alex Warren was there.
2:55
[SPEAKER_03]: he needs to put some clothes on but it was a great performance.
2:57
[SPEAKER_03]: I would like just to be going to have a shirt on.
2:59
[SPEAKER_03]: That would be nice.
3:00
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, or where pants.
3:01
[SPEAKER_01]: I mean, with some pants.
3:02
[SPEAKER_03]: I mean, he has shorts, but yeah, that would be helpful.
3:05
[SPEAKER_03]: Yeah.
3:06
[SPEAKER_03]: Yeah.
3:06
[SPEAKER_03]: And then Bruno, like, there's great performances.
3:08
[SPEAKER_03]: There are really talented people there.
3:10
[SPEAKER_03]: But you're right.
3:10
[SPEAKER_03]: It doesn't end up, you know, when things about who's winning the award, you think about all the controversial moments.
3:15
[SPEAKER_03]: You think about the, the big spectacles.
3:17
[SPEAKER_03]: I will say one cool performance that happened was post Malone,
3:20
[SPEAKER_03]: and Chad Smith from the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Slash on the guitar.
3:24
[SPEAKER_03]: They perform Warpigs in a tribute to Aussie Osborne.
3:28
[SPEAKER_03]: Just an incredible performance.
3:29
[SPEAKER_03]: I really enjoyed that one.
3:31
[SPEAKER_01]: Okay.
3:31
[SPEAKER_01]: That one.
3:31
[SPEAKER_01]: I want to go back and watch some of these performances.
3:33
[SPEAKER_01]: I've seen a few, but I didn't see that one.
3:35
[SPEAKER_03]: No, that one's really good to do post-account.
3:37
[SPEAKER_03]: The way he transforms his voice to sound like Aussie, so cool.
3:40
[SPEAKER_03]: I'm going to link the guy.
3:41
[SPEAKER_03]: I'm going to link video all of these things, speeches, and performances I'm going to mention here in our show notes.
3:45
[SPEAKER_03]: So you can find them if you have not seen them.
3:47
[SPEAKER_03]: a couple of wars at war one, Billie Eilish, and Phineas that's her brother, they won Song of the Year for Wildflower, which is pretty popular, obviously.
3:55
[SPEAKER_03]: Yeah, that's why they won.
3:57
[SPEAKER_03]: And then last year Super Bowl halftime performer was Kendrick Lamar.
4:00
[SPEAKER_03]: He came away with five Grammys on Sunday night, including record of the year for the Song Luther, which one of the viral moments was Share.
4:06
[SPEAKER_03]: Legend in her own right coming out and flipping that announcement and saying the wrong winner there She said Luther I can't remember the full name, but it was a guy who actually died in 2005 that the song is about
4:19
[SPEAKER_03]: Yeah, she was a little meandering.
4:21
[SPEAKER_03]: She seemed a little lost days and confused, but she's a legend, so she gets away with it, you know?
4:26
[SPEAKER_02]: Sure.
4:26
[SPEAKER_03]: And then this year, Superb will have to perform her who is at the center of every conversation this week is obviously bad bunny.
4:31
[SPEAKER_03]: He did win album of the year.
4:33
[SPEAKER_03]: And he, yeah, he used to speech to go on a pro immigration and anti-rice tangent.
4:37
[SPEAKER_03]: We're gonna hit on that here just a minute.
4:38
[SPEAKER_03]: But he wasn't the only one.
4:39
[SPEAKER_03]: The night was just a mess in political and social signaling from these celebrities a lot of them showed up with pins on their chest that say ice out and black and white.
4:47
[SPEAKER_03]: A lot of people did that and they're just making their statement though.
4:50
[SPEAKER_03]: That you know, it's their right.
4:51
[SPEAKER_03]: They can do it.
4:52
[SPEAKER_03]: They've got the plowdory They're all with you.
4:54
[SPEAKER_03]: And I'm allowed not to care about what you say Exactly.
4:57
[SPEAKER_03]: I think that's how people can feel by at the same time.
4:59
[SPEAKER_03]: They have a platform and so they're like, you know, they can do that.
5:02
[SPEAKER_03]: Sure
5:03
[SPEAKER_03]: They can absolutely do it.
5:04
[SPEAKER_03]: Billy Eilish and her accepted speech for winning best song said that no one is illegal on stolen land and then cussed out ice that was centered on the TV broadcast it bleeps.
5:14
[SPEAKER_03]: Yeah, that that was a statement that caused a lot of uproar and some people even started pointing out that Billy Eilish herself has a multi-million dollar home in Los Angeles that sits on land historically belonging to the Tongue of a tribe, the Native American tribe there and LA.
5:29
[SPEAKER_03]: And the people of the team should give it back to that is they're like, that's our land technically We're grateful she's bringing attention to it.
5:39
[SPEAKER_03]: They're like not gonna pursue anything with this, but just kind of of one of those double standards that can be mistaken I don't even know if the phrase no one is illegal on stolen land makes a lot of sense and what she's trying to say
5:52
[SPEAKER_03]: if you're saying that ice is just kicking out people in a land that was taking away from Native Americans all that I just don't understand how that applies fully to the conversation around ice and yeah Alex predies death and everything because ultimately this is about enforcing laws that are American this is America at this point like that no matter who had the land originally we're now in a new it's an emotional argument
6:18
[SPEAKER_01]: logic in facts, but you know this this is such a lightning rod story like like we've talked about that you know of course there's strong emotional reaction yes you are absolutely correct.
6:30
[SPEAKER_03]: Well she wasn't the only one bad bunny as I said man this this guy is the center of everything this week between winning all these grimmies and his speech and then all the talk about him leading up to the super will have time performance.
6:40
[SPEAKER_03]: He is right at the center of every conversation with football and music and all that and he took his moment man He won awards good for him.
6:48
[SPEAKER_03]: He's got good music.
6:49
[SPEAKER_03]: I don't dislike his music I don't know what any of it says because I don't share Spanish right but it's music that you know you're out on the boat Yeah, throw some bad bunny on he's got a good beat.
6:58
[SPEAKER_03]: You know and he's gonna be introduced to much of the American public this week
7:01
[SPEAKER_03]: But as a central figure, whose audience is largely Latin American, he is Puerto Rican himself.
7:08
[SPEAKER_03]: He knew that everyone was going to be looking to him to see what he says in the speech.
7:12
[SPEAKER_03]: He knew he was going to win, so he had it ready to go.
7:15
[SPEAKER_03]: He kept it short, but he kept it punchy.
7:16
[SPEAKER_03]: He said, before I say thanks to God, I'm going to say ice out.
7:22
[SPEAKER_03]: That let's do about 30 seconds of applause, standing ovation, and he just stood there and took it, and then he continued saying, we're not savage, we're not animals, we're not aliens, we are humans, and we are Americans.
7:33
[SPEAKER_03]: The hate gets more powerful with more hate.
7:36
[SPEAKER_03]: The only thing that is more powerful than hate is love.
7:39
[SPEAKER_03]: So please, we need to be different.
7:41
[SPEAKER_03]: If we fight, we have to do it with love.
7:43
[SPEAKER_03]: Micah thought on his comments.
7:46
[SPEAKER_01]: I think I don't have a big problem with his comments, actually.
7:49
[SPEAKER_01]: I think there has been such strong rhetoric on both sides about this that leads to more hate kind of like bad bunny talked about here and actually kind of calling upon hey, the only force more powerful is love.
8:03
[SPEAKER_01]: Now, I mean, again, I would say like, what is your love grounded in?
8:05
[SPEAKER_01]: He did say he was going to thank God.
8:06
[SPEAKER_01]: So, you know, I don't know what his relationship with Jesus is.
8:09
[SPEAKER_01]: But
8:09
[SPEAKER_01]: I don't I don't have a huge problem with with these comments.
8:12
[SPEAKER_01]: I expected him to say something and he definitely could have been more decisive in what he said.
8:17
[SPEAKER_01]: I definitely like what he said better than what Billy Eilers said personally.
8:20
[SPEAKER_03]: Yeah, I did too and obviously coming from somebody of heritage where he's speaking on behalf of really the Southern Hemisphere here.
8:28
[SPEAKER_01]: And everybody, he feels like he represents this group of people who feel voiceless.
8:34
[SPEAKER_01]: I mean, you could argue, what's the right platform for that?
8:37
[SPEAKER_01]: You know, is virtue signaling in that environment really the best way to get it, you know?
8:42
[SPEAKER_01]: But these people are given a captive audience and they want to make a difference, you know?
8:46
[SPEAKER_01]: So, okay.
8:47
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
8:47
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, exactly right.
8:48
[SPEAKER_03]: I do wish he said at the beginning he said before I say thanks to God.
8:51
[SPEAKER_03]: I'm going to say I say I would say man if you're going to present to measures like that think God first always that is your first thing don't don't hold up because then he didn't get around to it by the time he got through his
9:02
[SPEAKER_03]: I speech.
9:03
[SPEAKER_03]: It was time for him to get off the stage.
9:05
[SPEAKER_03]: They rush him off so he didn't get around to it.
9:07
[SPEAKER_03]: But yeah, you're right.
9:08
[SPEAKER_03]: I think he struck a fine line.
9:10
[SPEAKER_03]: He was like, I want to say my piece without being super offensive.
9:13
[SPEAKER_03]: People are going to be offended either way.
9:15
[SPEAKER_03]: Like, that's just the nature of it.
9:17
[SPEAKER_03]: But man, he's he knows what he's doing.
9:18
[SPEAKER_03]: And he didn't even host an American.
9:21
[SPEAKER_03]: I should say he didn't host a concert on Mainland America last year.
9:24
[SPEAKER_03]: He's not doing it this year either.
9:26
[SPEAKER_03]: He did 30 performances in his home territory of Puerto Rico, which is the U.S.
9:30
[SPEAKER_03]: So a lot of people travel to Puerto Rico to go see his shows, but he knows what he's doing here.
9:34
[SPEAKER_03]: And that's why he's got the Super Bowl because he's the biggest artist in the world right now besides Taylor Swift.
9:39
[SPEAKER_03]: And that's why the NFL wanted to bring him in.
9:41
[SPEAKER_03]: I mean, people are going to be upset about it because he doesn't sing in English.
9:44
[SPEAKER_03]: He may not have any English performances, but
9:47
[SPEAKER_03]: at the end of the day.
9:48
[SPEAKER_03]: This is a business decision for the NFL.
9:50
[SPEAKER_03]: Yes, we move into talking about the Super Bowl.
9:51
[SPEAKER_03]: That's just a point.
9:52
[SPEAKER_03]: I want to make.
9:53
[SPEAKER_03]: Now, is it a good business decision?
9:55
[SPEAKER_03]: We will find out, because we'll see if the ratings go up or down because of this.
9:58
[SPEAKER_03]: We'll see.
9:59
[SPEAKER_03]: I don't think it's going to be a bad one.
10:01
[SPEAKER_03]: I think that they're going to be just fine.
10:03
[SPEAKER_01]: The NFL is in the Super Bowl is, and there's been there have been some terrible Super Bowl performances in the past.
10:07
[SPEAKER_01]: I doubt his will be terrible.
10:09
[SPEAKER_03]: Yeah, I think it'll be good.
10:10
[SPEAKER_03]: The other things with the Superwall that people are upset about I'm just presenting this I'm not saying I'm upset about it.
10:15
[SPEAKER_03]: This is just what we're seeing in culture right now is green days doing the pregame performance They have been very Anti-Republican and their speech in previous years and anti-Trumpet all that so so people who are upset about that and that's fine They can be Trump himself talking about green day
10:33
[SPEAKER_03]: and bad bunny said he's not going to the game he went to the super last year he's not going this year because talking about these musical performers he said I'm anti-their I think it's a terrible choice all it does is so hatred terrible so he's making his opinion very loud and clear to the terrible but you know what he's also been complaining about the kickoff rules this year and nothing's changed there so I'm not sure the president has that much anyway over with the NFL does the national anthem being sung by Charlie Pooth that's gonna be great that man is a talent beyond talent
11:01
[SPEAKER_03]: Watch his Instagram to go watch Charlie Puths Instagram videos and then bad bunnies just one of the things that As we've discussed people are upset about it's the fact that the music's gonna be in Spanish They're also upset because he may he's alluded to the idea and it's been reported that he might show up in a dress
11:18
[SPEAKER_03]: that would not be in quite like a female dress.
11:21
[SPEAKER_03]: This is something he's done performances in the past.
11:22
[SPEAKER_03]: It's kind of like support the LGBTQ community.
11:26
[SPEAKER_03]: That may not be received all that well.
11:29
[SPEAKER_03]: And then ICE is apparently going to be there.
11:31
[SPEAKER_03]: Kristi Nome, Secretary of Homeland Security, has said that they would be all over the Super Bowl.
11:34
[SPEAKER_03]: Her right hand man, Corey Lewandowski, has even scolded the NFL for selecting Bad Bunny saying that he is somebody who seems to
11:42
[SPEAKER_03]: So, I don't know, Roger Gaddell, he's the NFL commissioner, he's kind of heard a lot of this backlash, he says, I understand, and he said that Bad Bunny understood that the platform he was on in this platform is huge, should be used to unite people and be able to bring people together with their creativity.
11:56
[SPEAKER_03]: I think Bad Bunny understands that, and I think they'll have a great performance.
12:00
[SPEAKER_03]: So, Roger Gaddell kind of putting out there in the media like, I think he's going to be great.
12:04
[SPEAKER_03]: I really hope he doesn't do anything overtly political, because that could be bad.
12:09
[SPEAKER_03]: Micah that we saw last year that came out of the decision for bad Bunny was a lot of people saying, okay, we need to do an alternative half time show because this guy is anti-american all of that.
12:17
[SPEAKER_03]: And that turned into the turning point USA, Charlie Kirk's organization saying, we're going to host one, became the whole thing of like maybe we'll bring in some faith-based musicians like Force Frank.
12:27
[SPEAKER_03]: and Cory Asbury and all of that to come in and do almost a worship service.
12:31
[SPEAKER_03]: That idea really fizzled out.
12:32
[SPEAKER_03]: It's now really becoming just a big right wing thing.
12:36
[SPEAKER_03]: And they're just going to be a performance.
12:37
[SPEAKER_03]: So doing an alternative programming, it's going to be on their streaming service with turning point USA.
12:42
[SPEAKER_03]: It's going to be on like daily wire plus and real America's voice all these places.
12:46
[SPEAKER_03]: It's featuring Kid Rock.
12:47
[SPEAKER_03]: and Brantley Gilbert, Lee Bryson, Gabby Barrett.
12:49
[SPEAKER_03]: So if you're interested in that, you can go watch that.
12:52
[SPEAKER_03]: If you think you may see some people too now and go over there, just for this halftime performance and then come back to the game, but we'll see, but my good, just general thoughts.
13:00
[SPEAKER_03]: Is it wrong for Americans to be upset about bad bunny as a performer at the Super Bowl?
13:05
[SPEAKER_01]: kind of a loaded question, Connor, uh, is it wrong?
13:09
[SPEAKER_01]: I don't know if it's wrong.
13:10
[SPEAKER_01]: I would just say let's all take a step back, examine our priorities.
13:15
[SPEAKER_01]: I don't know personally.
13:17
[SPEAKER_01]: I've got a lot of work to do the rest of the day.
13:19
[SPEAKER_01]: I've got a family that I get to lead and love and take care of.
13:23
[SPEAKER_01]: So I am absolutely not going to get that set about whoever that halftime performer is.
13:28
[SPEAKER_01]: There's just other things that take priority over that.
13:31
[SPEAKER_01]: Maybe you can be miffed about it and you can be frustrated, but I would say it might be crossing a line if you're really letting it upset you who's performing at the halftime show or not.
13:39
[SPEAKER_01]: I do understand the concept of I'd like to watch the halftime show with my family.
13:43
[SPEAKER_01]: And I'd like to not worry about crazy stuff flashing on the scene.
13:48
[SPEAKER_01]: But I think that's kind of been an issue with the Super Bowl as a whole of how family friendly is it.
13:52
[SPEAKER_01]: And now it's becoming more political being mixed with how family friendly it is.
13:57
[SPEAKER_01]: But all of that to say, I don't know if it's wrong to be upset about it.
14:00
[SPEAKER_01]: I think we should all just kind of take a step back and examine our priorities and what we have going on.
14:05
[SPEAKER_01]: And hopefully we don't let it get to us too much.
14:08
[SPEAKER_03]: Yeah, I'm right there with you.
14:09
[SPEAKER_03]: I don't know.
14:09
[SPEAKER_03]: It's wrong.
14:10
[SPEAKER_03]: Everybody's can have their opinion.
14:11
[SPEAKER_03]: I just don't think we need to like throw a hooplaw about the whole thing if you want to tune out to know.
14:16
[SPEAKER_03]: If you want to boycott the entire Super Bowl, boycott, I don't think it's going to make a massive difference.
14:22
[SPEAKER_03]: Maybe it will.
14:23
[SPEAKER_03]: I would say I think America is just kind of split on this in different ways.
14:26
[SPEAKER_03]: Like a small portion is like, yeah, we're going to boycott a small portion is like if you boycott your a bigot and your a hater and all of that.
14:32
[SPEAKER_03]: And then the
14:35
[SPEAKER_03]: The just mind the majority of America feels like I think like 90% of the fry, you know what I mean?
14:42
[SPEAKER_03]: 97% of America is like I just want to watch the game.
14:45
[SPEAKER_03]: I want to watch the commercials.
14:46
[SPEAKER_03]: The halftime show is going to be on my TV.
14:48
[SPEAKER_03]: Like even if I'm up and getting food or something.
14:51
[SPEAKER_01]: It's an American holiday.
14:52
[SPEAKER_01]: Can we just get along?
14:53
[SPEAKER_01]: Can we just stop getting so frustrated?
14:56
[SPEAKER_01]: Can we just enjoy the Super Bowl?
14:57
[SPEAKER_01]: You know, most Americans enjoy the Super Bowl, but Connor.
15:00
[SPEAKER_01]: Can we talk about Jelly Roll's speech?
15:03
[SPEAKER_01]: Yes, the Grammy's.
15:03
[SPEAKER_03]: Absolutely.
15:04
[SPEAKER_03]: Because this was the best moment of the Grammys and I agree.
15:09
[SPEAKER_03]: Super powerful.
15:09
[SPEAKER_03]: So I want to play a clip of Jelly Roll, the country singer coming up and accepting his award for best contemporary country album for his album beautifully broken.
15:19
[SPEAKER_03]: Here we go.
15:20
[SPEAKER_02]: I know they're going to try to kick me off here.
15:22
[SPEAKER_02]: So just let me try to get this out.
15:24
[SPEAKER_02]: First of all, Jesus, I hear you and I'm listening to Lord.
15:26
[SPEAKER_02]: I am listening to Lord.
15:29
[SPEAKER_02]: Second of all, I want to thank my beautiful wife.
15:31
[SPEAKER_02]: I would have never changed my life without you.
15:33
[SPEAKER_02]: I ended up dead or in jail.
15:34
[SPEAKER_02]: I had killed myself, but it wasn't for you and Jesus.
15:36
[SPEAKER_02]: I thank you for that.
15:38
[SPEAKER_02]: It was a time in my life, y'all.
15:40
[SPEAKER_02]: that I was broken.
15:42
[SPEAKER_02]: That's why I wrote this album.
15:43
[SPEAKER_02]: I didn't think I had a change.
15:44
[SPEAKER_02]: All there was days that I thought the darkest things, I was a horrible human.
15:48
[SPEAKER_02]: There was a moment in my life that all I had was a Bible this big and a radio, the same size and a six by eight-foot sale.
15:53
[SPEAKER_02]: And I believe that those two things could change my life.
15:56
[SPEAKER_02]: I believe that music had the power to change my life.
15:59
[SPEAKER_02]: And God had the power to change my life.
16:01
[SPEAKER_02]: And I want to tell y'all right now, Jesus is for everybody.
16:04
[SPEAKER_02]: Jesus is not owned by one political party.
16:10
[SPEAKER_02]: Jesus is Jesus and anybody can have a relationship with Him.
16:14
[SPEAKER_02]: I love you, Lord.
16:17
[SPEAKER_03]: Hmm, my credible.
16:19
[SPEAKER_03]: That was powerful.
16:20
[SPEAKER_03]: And he's not wrong about any of it.
16:22
[SPEAKER_03]: Jesus is not owned by a political party.
16:24
[SPEAKER_03]: Jesus is not owned by a record label.
16:26
[SPEAKER_03]: Jesus is all powerful.
16:29
[SPEAKER_03]: Jesus gave Jelly Roll that moment.
16:31
[SPEAKER_03]: The talents that he has to go up there and glorify him.
16:35
[SPEAKER_03]: And that I just loved.
16:37
[SPEAKER_03]: I thought it was incredible.
16:39
[SPEAKER_01]: you want to unite people in love in something lasting, something with a foundation, you tell them that.
16:47
[SPEAKER_01]: Repentant turned to Jesus.
16:48
[SPEAKER_01]: That's where change comes.
16:50
[SPEAKER_01]: There are a lot of people on the right side of the aisle and a lot of people on the left side of the aisle that need to repent and turn to Jesus has nothing to do with what the political party is.
17:00
[SPEAKER_01]: And I really love what he had to say.
17:02
[SPEAKER_01]: I just think his story is powerful.
17:04
[SPEAKER_01]: I think it pulls us all in when you have kind of that.
17:07
[SPEAKER_01]: Drugs and rock and roll story, you hit the bottom, you're in prison, and Jesus changes your life.
17:12
[SPEAKER_01]: I mean, it's just something that I think a lot of people are drawn to.
17:16
[SPEAKER_01]: Myself included, I mean, I just think it's really inspiring.
17:18
[SPEAKER_01]: I'm really grateful that he's using his platform to make a difference.
17:21
[SPEAKER_01]: His music has changed, his life has changed.
17:24
[SPEAKER_01]: I just think it's wonderful.
17:25
[SPEAKER_03]: his physique has changed.
17:26
[SPEAKER_03]: I mean, he's lost hundreds of pounds.
17:28
[SPEAKER_03]: Like he got his movement in his heart.
17:30
[SPEAKER_03]: And I don't know how strong his faith is at this point.
17:32
[SPEAKER_03]: He's talked openly about like how we just trying to learn the Bible and grow it because he was basically faceless of just a few years ago.
17:39
[SPEAKER_01]: And yeah, but being vulnerable about that is encouraging to people too.
17:41
[SPEAKER_01]: It doesn't have all the answers.
17:43
[SPEAKER_01]: I don't have all of the answers.
17:45
[SPEAKER_01]: No, you know, but it's cool.
17:48
[SPEAKER_03]: It's cool to see him kind of walk through that journey with all of us all that to say that is a redeeming moment for the Grammys in my opinion Like if you look at all the the negative things that came out of all the things that are very of the world very fleshly in the Grammys Yeah, you go to that and you're like
18:04
[SPEAKER_03]: that might have been the best and most viral part of the whole show because it was different and it was in god glorifying and then zooming in on Reba McIntyre just smiling from ear to ear because she's like this is just truth and his life has changed.
18:16
[SPEAKER_03]: She's known him since the beginning of his career when he was not like this.
18:20
[SPEAKER_03]: We are seeing a redeemed man and hopefully hopefully the prayer would be that impacts many lives and I just want to leave y'all with this verse right here.
18:28
[SPEAKER_03]: First Peter 14 in 11 says I'm speaking about this because this is it's making me think of jelly roll.
18:33
[SPEAKER_03]: As each has received a gift, use it to serve on another as good stewards of God's varied grace.
18:38
[SPEAKER_03]: Whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God, whoever serves as one who serves by the strength that God supplies in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ.
18:49
[SPEAKER_03]: To him belongs the glory in dominion forever and ever.
18:53
[SPEAKER_01]: Amen.
18:53
[SPEAKER_01]: Amen.
18:54
[SPEAKER_01]: Thank you for that.
18:55
[SPEAKER_01]: That was a really good discussion.
18:57
[SPEAKER_01]: It's just so interesting how we're talking about a Grammy's award show and the Super Bowl, but the cultural implications just in this time where everything just feels so heated.
19:07
[SPEAKER_01]: Jelly roll kind of gave us gave the entire culture just a different perspective.
19:12
[SPEAKER_01]: And you're not here in it very much because the path is narrow.
19:16
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
19:17
[SPEAKER_01]: The way is narrow that leads to life.
19:19
[SPEAKER_01]: Most people are going to choose a different path.
19:21
[SPEAKER_01]: And jelly rolls choosing the unique one.
19:23
[SPEAKER_01]: And that's why it stands out.
19:24
[SPEAKER_01]: And so it's beautiful to see.
19:25
[SPEAKER_01]: Thanks for taking us through all of that.
19:26
[SPEAKER_01]: And I for one no matter what happened.
19:29
[SPEAKER_01]: I for one.
19:30
[SPEAKER_01]: And very much looking forward to the Super Bowl no matter what all the controversy.
19:34
[SPEAKER_01]: Oh yeah.
19:37
[SPEAKER_01]: So I'm going to do a geopolitical political and cultural roundup here.
19:42
[SPEAKER_01]: All right, let's talk about the Epstein files.
19:44
[SPEAKER_01]: So the Epstein files, the Epstein document releases are still getting a lot of attention because they just released a whole lot more millions, actually.
19:52
[SPEAKER_01]: They include references to a wide range of well-known people from politics and business and entertainment.
19:59
[SPEAKER_01]: Names that have publicly been talked about for years,
20:07
[SPEAKER_01]: Photos of Bill Clinton with Jeffrey Epstein, you got Donald Trump in some correspondence, Prince Andrew, a lot of things happening in Great Britain right now over this leak.
20:17
[SPEAKER_01]: Elon Musk is in there and other billionaires in media figures show up in different record logs and
20:22
[SPEAKER_01]: different contact records, emails, and text, and things like that.
20:25
[SPEAKER_01]: So the Justice Department says millions of pages have now been released, and some professional and political file out of starting to surface because more and more names are popping out names that we did expect, names that we did not expect, but the big clarification that I want to give, and that we've given every time that we talk about the Epstein files.
20:43
[SPEAKER_01]: is that political experts or legal experts specifically, they keep repeating this, that being named is not the same thing as being charged.
20:51
[SPEAKER_01]: Being named in them is not necessarily guilt, okay?
20:55
[SPEAKER_01]: Jeffrey Epstein was very connected.
20:57
[SPEAKER_01]: He was not a good guy, but I think one thing we have to do is people are complicated, so just because Jeffrey Epstein had a friend and a correspondence with somebody doesn't necessarily mean that it had to do with what he actually did that was wrong and evil, right?
21:13
[SPEAKER_01]: we have to remember that people are complex.
21:14
[SPEAKER_01]: I'm not defending anybody that's popped up.
21:17
[SPEAKER_01]: I think it's not a good look if your name isn't any of this, and I think that you've got to reinvision who you have in your life.
21:22
[SPEAKER_01]: But at the same time, just because your mention doesn't mean that you're guilty.
21:26
[SPEAKER_01]: Connor, how have you taken all this?
21:27
[SPEAKER_01]: And what have you seen as all of these?
21:29
[SPEAKER_01]: All this information has been released recently.
21:31
[SPEAKER_03]: He's been interesting to see some of the names like you mentioned the names that a lot of people already know.
21:35
[SPEAKER_03]: We're kind of associated, but there's there's other ones like Kacey Wasserman who is literally in charge of the 2028 Olympics.
21:41
[SPEAKER_03]: He's a big guy, big agent in Hollywood.
21:43
[SPEAKER_03]: He's supposed to be planning the LA Olympics and now they're about to kick him off the board of the laser light.
21:48
[SPEAKER_03]: Yeah, he's all he's not he's not just in the emails.
21:50
[SPEAKER_03]: He's like flirting with girls in the email like it depends on the content of the emails and people like Howard Letnik who said that they had cut off communications with Epstein and then a few years later Turns out they were actually emailing him and trying to find out if they could party with him or or get a business relationship with him or when These people who really who you're right.
22:08
[SPEAKER_03]: They're not guilty necessarily anything.
22:09
[SPEAKER_03]: They're not being found guilty But they were talking to a guy who had been found as a child predator
22:14
[SPEAKER_03]: Yeah, 2008 and this is years afterwards and they're communicating with it's yes, it's it's man if you step in the of a puddle of mud and you come out a little bit muddy You're kind of dirty in that sense, so and at least in some people's eyes.
22:28
[SPEAKER_03]: So it's it's guilt by association and a social totally circumstance I mean CBS is about to fire Peter a T. It's like five days into his new contract with them because he had emails was obscene.
22:37
[SPEAKER_03]: It's just not great
22:39
[SPEAKER_01]: Yep.
22:39
[SPEAKER_01]: Yep.
22:40
[SPEAKER_01]: So let's talk about the Clintons, Bill and Hillary.
22:43
[SPEAKER_01]: So on the Clinton side, the tone is shifted towards cooperation, kind of all of the sudden, right?
22:47
[SPEAKER_01]: They were going to be held in contempt by Congress because they were refusing to show up and testify.
22:51
[SPEAKER_01]: Now that has changed, because some of their,
22:54
[SPEAKER_01]: Some of what they wanted, the standards they were met, it's going to be public.
22:58
[SPEAKER_01]: There's going to be certain people there, certain people not there, but they are going to show up and testify.
23:03
[SPEAKER_01]: So, more recent updates show movement towards cooperating to avoid dragging things out.
23:07
[SPEAKER_01]: Legally, the questions surrounding them around the Clintons involvement here, mostly relate to past associations, travel records, and what level of knowledge that they actually had of what Epstein was doing.
23:18
[SPEAKER_01]: So, at this point, it's largely procedural.
23:20
[SPEAKER_01]: It's not, you know,
23:23
[SPEAKER_01]: But Republicans want to make an example of them into a certain extent.
23:28
[SPEAKER_01]: I'm not saying that that's right or wrong.
23:29
[SPEAKER_01]: I'm just saying if the shoe was on the other foot, I know exactly what the other party would do, too.
23:33
[SPEAKER_01]: It's just one of those things, you know, I was just reading Politico this morning.
23:36
[SPEAKER_01]: I mean, in Politico's, they definitely have a bias, but they are the most connected new source in DC.
23:41
[SPEAKER_01]: really kind of by far and there's a lot of Democrats publicly and privately like can we just be done with the Clintons they bring I mean I just read this morning just so many people saying like they bring so much baggage whenever their names come up bill had his series of controversies whenever he was president to write and so there are a lot of things coming out of that.
24:02
[SPEAKER_01]: So, the Clinton's is one thing, let's talk about Iran.
24:05
[SPEAKER_01]: So, Iran, negotiations, military developments, I'm gonna run through this real quick.
24:09
[SPEAKER_01]: Iran is still one of the biggest pressure points right now internationally.
24:12
[SPEAKER_01]: There are negotiations happening behind the scenes around specifically Iran's nuclear program, again, America bombed that and set them way back.
24:21
[SPEAKER_01]: last year, but at the same time, there's some real military tension right now.
24:25
[SPEAKER_01]: Earlier this week, US forces shot down an Iranian drone that was moving towards a US aircraft carrier after warnings were ignored.
24:32
[SPEAKER_01]: I was reading this morning about the specific type of drone it was.
24:36
[SPEAKER_01]: It's a one way attack drone.
24:38
[SPEAKER_01]: So you don't see those drones unless something's going to happen, right?
24:41
[SPEAKER_01]: It's not like an observation drone or whatever it might be.
24:44
[SPEAKER_01]: It's a drone that flies into and detonates like it's supposed to explode.
24:48
[SPEAKER_01]: They're not trying to
24:51
[SPEAKER_01]: Right.
24:51
[SPEAKER_00]: You can't see that.
24:52
[SPEAKER_01]: And you know exactly what kind of drone that is.
24:54
[SPEAKER_01]: So that was headed towards a US aircraft carrier.
24:57
[SPEAKER_01]: And around the same time, Iranian gunboats approached a US flagged oil tanker in the straight of almost and a US Navy destroyer escorted it safely away.
25:07
[SPEAKER_01]: But that stretch of water really matters.
25:08
[SPEAKER_01]: And this is kind of what we, you know, hey, if something happens with Iran, if that straight gets cut off.
25:13
[SPEAKER_01]: Well, it's a huge percentage of the world's oil passes through there and even small encounters could shut that down and like cut off a lot of the world's oil supply, so you're not trying to see a lot of conflict in that area.
25:26
[SPEAKER_01]: So there are scheduled talks coming up on Friday, but now I ran as like, well, we want to change venues, we want certain countries there, not certain countries there, but from the American side, you know, this seems to be protective and defensive, focus on keeping the
25:43
[SPEAKER_01]: talks have not completely stopped either.
25:45
[SPEAKER_01]: So we'll see what happens.
25:47
[SPEAKER_01]: Trump has been reluctant, seemingly even though I mean, even like leaders in Saudi Arabia have been like Trump just needs to bomb Iran, like if we're actually going to see like regime change.
25:57
[SPEAKER_01]: Like there are significant countries in that region, basically begging the US to do something more.
26:02
[SPEAKER_01]: And for some reason, Trump has been reluctant to do more.
26:05
[SPEAKER_01]: So we'll we'll see how all
26:08
[SPEAKER_03]: Yeah, I'm very curious to see what his decision is going to be these talks on Friday are huge.
26:12
[SPEAKER_03]: Yes, it will basically determine if we're going to move forward in negotiations or if Trump's going to bomb him.
26:16
[SPEAKER_03]: It's going to come down to that if they agree to what the U.S. is saying they need to agree to the pressures on there is literally in our modest sitting off the coast of Iran just like there was sitting off the coast of Venezuela earlier this month with Trump just being like I will take you out essentially to the leadership of Iran.
26:31
[SPEAKER_03]: anybody who killed protesters, I'm going to take you out specifically and we're going to top all your regime.
26:36
[SPEAKER_03]: But Trump's trying to avoid that.
26:38
[SPEAKER_03]: He wants talks to go through.
26:39
[SPEAKER_03]: He wants to help their Iranian people, but he also wants to protect American interests.
26:43
[SPEAKER_03]: I know that's the case and he doesn't want to send troops into harm's way if he doesn't have to.
26:47
[SPEAKER_01]: No, yeah, I think no matter what your political affiliation is, the vast majority of Americans would agree that
26:54
[SPEAKER_01]: Iran's not great, and they don't treat their people super well, but at the same time, we don't want more war, more innocent bloodshed.
27:01
[SPEAKER_01]: So, prayerfully, this can be solved through diplomacy.
27:04
[SPEAKER_01]: Okay, let's talk about Don Lemon real quick and the face added, specifically, I want to talk about that.
27:08
[SPEAKER_01]: So, Don Lemon, that situation is turning to a debate about the difference between journalism and protests.
27:13
[SPEAKER_01]: And if you're a journalist, are you immune to maybe what these protesters?
27:18
[SPEAKER_01]: There's less argument, there's less bipartisan argument right now over, you know, okay.
27:23
[SPEAKER_01]: This church was stormed in Minneapolis a couple weeks ago.
27:27
[SPEAKER_01]: Don Lemon was a part of it rushed on stage, interviewed the pastor, the pastor apparently has some sort of ties with ICE.
27:32
[SPEAKER_01]: Anyway, they were just doing their normal Sunday church service.
27:34
[SPEAKER_01]: All these videos and pictures surface of these protesters running in, shouting vulgarities, and basically disrupting the church service, right?
27:42
[SPEAKER_01]: And so Don Lemon was a part of that.
27:44
[SPEAKER_01]: So, Limin was arrested by federal agents and faces civil rights charges related to his ties to the protest.
27:51
[SPEAKER_01]: He says he was there strictly as a journalist and he's going to plead not guilty.
27:55
[SPEAKER_01]: You know, Connor, you and I are already talking about this.
27:57
[SPEAKER_01]: This is just going to grow his platform significantly, like him getting arrested.
28:01
[SPEAKER_01]: only helps him as far as like his audience and his growth.
28:04
[SPEAKER_01]: But part of the legal backdrop that I want to talk about is the face act, which stands for freedom of access to clinic entrances act.
28:10
[SPEAKER_01]: Okay.
28:11
[SPEAKER_01]: So it's a federal law from the 90s that makes it illegal to force to use force to threats or use threats or physical obstruction to interfere with people who are entering places like.
28:21
[SPEAKER_01]: like a planned parenthood, but it also applies to houses of worship, to any house of worship, a mosque, a synagogue, a church, so supporters of the arrest say if someone crosses from reporting into interference, the law should apply the same to everybody.
28:34
[SPEAKER_01]: Fearing that if it's allowed, more places of worship can be rated in the name of protest.
28:38
[SPEAKER_01]: I think that that's my personal concern of like, if you just let this go.
28:43
[SPEAKER_01]: then I think that we're going to see more of that happening that you could just be in church and protesters can just rush in and try to ruin it, right?
28:50
[SPEAKER_01]: Like, there should be a way to stop that, right?
28:53
[SPEAKER_01]: But then critics say that, you know, applying a law like this to journalists, risk blurring the line between covering an event and participating it, and I think that that's what the trial is going to come down to, because the face act is the face act, right?
29:04
[SPEAKER_01]: So like, they have something to charge him on.
29:06
[SPEAKER_01]: Was he premeditating this?
29:08
[SPEAKER_01]: Was he truly a part of the protest or did he just kind of join in as a journalist?
29:12
[SPEAKER_01]: That's what the trial is going to come down to.
29:15
[SPEAKER_03]: Yeah, it is.
29:15
[SPEAKER_03]: And obviously, he's just a, he's always been kind of polarizing because one of the faces of seeing in back in the day in the, in the first Trump era and very liberal in his ideologies and so a lot of people were like, ah, yeah, he's getting what he deserves.
29:29
[SPEAKER_03]: But ultimately, yeah, there's some constitutional law that comes into here.
29:31
[SPEAKER_01]: There's been a lot here, you know, because we want journalistic freedom, but we want freedom to worship, too.
29:38
[SPEAKER_01]: I think most people are going to agree with both of those things.
29:44
[SPEAKER_01]: see what happens.
29:45
[SPEAKER_01]: But again, there's there's just been less argument by partisan wise about the actual protesters that got arrested because OK, they clearly violated this act, right, but done lemon as a journalist does he get different treatment.
29:59
[SPEAKER_01]: That's that's what they're going to decide.
30:01
[SPEAKER_03]: Yeah, it's an interesting concept.
30:02
[SPEAKER_03]: I'm interested to see how it goes.
30:04
[SPEAKER_01]: Alright, so let me give a wrap up in just a general spiritual application here as I was tying all of these stories together.
30:09
[SPEAKER_01]: So when you zoom out of all of this corner, Connor Jones, the common thread is how fast we're pushed to react.
30:17
[SPEAKER_01]: I'm thinking about this even with the shooting of Alex Pretty and the Renee Good in Minnesota and all the protests and immigration and deportation.
30:25
[SPEAKER_01]: We're pushed to react quickly from one video, from one headline, social media just explodes and then people lock into this strong opinion before all the facts are released.
30:38
[SPEAKER_01]: We released that episode last week, and there was more about Alex Pretty that came out after we released the episode after we recorded it.
30:45
[SPEAKER_01]: We are doing our absolute best to report on what we know, but there's more that's even going to come out on that story that we don't know yet.
30:51
[SPEAKER_01]: And there's definitely more to every single thing that we've discussed.
30:55
[SPEAKER_01]: that's going to come out.
30:56
[SPEAKER_01]: But there is this thing in culture right now that we've got to rush to conclusions and anger being against being for from just watching a video or two, right?
31:08
[SPEAKER_01]: There's just more to the story than that, right?
31:09
[SPEAKER_01]: And that's just the social media age that we're living in.
31:13
[SPEAKER_01]: But Scripture calls us to a steady or pace and to not rush to judgment, I think.
31:18
[SPEAKER_01]: James 119 says, let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger.
31:22
[SPEAKER_01]: Proverbs 1813 says, if one gives an answer before he hears, it's his folly, and it's his shame.
31:30
[SPEAKER_01]: The takeaway this week is simple for me that I want to share with all of you, before reposting something.
31:36
[SPEAKER_01]: arguing online or forming a hard stance, just pause for a second, just take a beat.
31:44
[SPEAKER_01]: Say a prayer, right?
31:46
[SPEAKER_01]: And ask if you actually know the full story and if your tone reflects Christ as much as your opinion does.
31:51
[SPEAKER_01]: Maybe ask, does my opinion need to be shared right now?
31:56
[SPEAKER_01]: Is this going to contribute positively to the discussion and conversation?
31:59
[SPEAKER_01]: I also want to just say this on a personal level.
32:02
[SPEAKER_01]: I do not subscribe to the idea that silence is violence.
32:06
[SPEAKER_01]: Okay, or that watching one short video online, suddenly gives us full context and perfect understanding of what happens, or perfect understanding.
32:16
[SPEAKER_01]: That just isn't true most of the time.
32:18
[SPEAKER_01]: So wisdom sometimes looks like slowing down, listening, learning, and admitting that we do not have every detail yet.
32:25
[SPEAKER_01]: So we can stay informed without letting outrage control us and we can care about truth, without losing our humility or without losing our cool and allowed cultural and political moment like right now.
32:38
[SPEAKER_01]: We just seem to be in a really loud climate right now.
32:41
[SPEAKER_01]: Sometimes the strongest witness is not shouting louder than everybody else or being the first to share your opinion.
32:48
[SPEAKER_01]: It's wisdom, it's patience and it's grace.
32:51
[SPEAKER_03]: Yeah, that's so true.
32:52
[SPEAKER_03]: There's so much we can take from that just slowing down like we say a lot of the times just pause slow down don't post immediately Don't say something immediately think it through pray it through all of that.
33:00
[SPEAKER_03]: It made me think speaking of jelly roll from earlier after the Grammys He was asked about the ice stuff and all the political why did he say anything?
33:07
[SPEAKER_03]: Yeah, yeah, he he was like honestly I don't know enough.
33:10
[SPEAKER_03]: I don't really sit on my phone.
33:12
[SPEAKER_03]: I don't sit on social media I'm just a dumb redneck and I was like you know what props to that.
33:15
[SPEAKER_03]: He's probably enjoying his life more than most of us
33:18
[SPEAKER_03]: Yeah, well, and just the self awareness to be like, why does anybody care what I think?
33:22
[SPEAKER_03]: Like, that's what Ricky Jervais said a few years ago at the Golden Globes.
33:25
[SPEAKER_03]: Remember when he called out all the celebrities?
33:27
[SPEAKER_03]: He's like, nobody cares what you all think.
33:29
[SPEAKER_03]: Stop doing it.
33:30
[SPEAKER_03]: So, it's, I applaud it.
33:33
[SPEAKER_03]: Okay.
33:33
[SPEAKER_03]: Michael, thank you for that.
33:34
[SPEAKER_03]: Let's answer a quick mailback question we got this past week.
33:39
[SPEAKER_03]: Bond wrote in and he said, when you pick certain words and you repeat multiple times with quite a bit of vocal intensity, you take sides rather than play the middle and report the news.
33:49
[SPEAKER_03]: So are you news or are you commentary?
33:51
[SPEAKER_03]: And I think you speak it specifically about our conversation last week with Dr. Ryan Dinnison on Alex Pretty on last week's episode.
33:57
[SPEAKER_03]: So Mike, are we news or are we commentary?
34:00
[SPEAKER_01]: Oh, you're going to make me go first.
34:02
[SPEAKER_01]: I appreciate Vaughn's email here because I think it's actually something that we should continue to call out and kind of quantify and explain.
34:12
[SPEAKER_01]: There are people who tune in every week who listen for the first time.
34:15
[SPEAKER_01]: There's been people who have listened every week and have grown with us as we process through the news, as we question our own biases, as we process through exactly what we're telling you all the process through,
34:29
[SPEAKER_01]: and be willing to be challenged in what it is that you believe and listen to somebody who believes differently than you, right?
34:35
[SPEAKER_01]: And how do we invite God into news consumption?
34:37
[SPEAKER_01]: Like those are the main kind of key points that we keep drawing back to.
34:42
[SPEAKER_01]: I would say this, yes, we're news and commentary.
34:46
[SPEAKER_01]: You guys would get kind of bored listening to our show if we just said, hey, here's what happened.
34:50
[SPEAKER_01]: on to the next thing, right?
34:52
[SPEAKER_01]: But our commentary is we truly seek to have our commentary rooted in Scripture and not one political affiliation or belief over other Connor and our have our own biases and lens that we look through things every single person does, but we do lay it at the feet of Jesus consistently and we're very prayerful and
35:12
[SPEAKER_01]: to view each story as it comes, try to take in all the facts and try to equip our audience with the details and with the facts, but ultimately we just want to point people back to Jesus and say there is another way between getting mad or between bearing your head in the sand.
35:28
[SPEAKER_01]: There's somewhere in the middle of that and we can figure that out together.
35:31
[SPEAKER_03]: Yeah, I just would reiterate that too.
35:33
[SPEAKER_03]: I think it's a great question.
35:34
[SPEAKER_03]: And I'm happy to always talk about it, too.
35:36
[SPEAKER_03]: Good luck.
35:36
[SPEAKER_03]: Commentary is truth-based is what I would say.
35:39
[SPEAKER_03]: Truth with the capital T. It's going to always point back to the word of God.
35:43
[SPEAKER_03]: And that's what we're trying to do.
35:45
[SPEAKER_03]: We're not trying to pivot for one political party or the other.
35:49
[SPEAKER_03]: Always go after one.
35:50
[SPEAKER_03]: No, we call that both sides.
35:52
[SPEAKER_03]: And we're not just a political thing either.
35:54
[SPEAKER_03]: Obviously, we love talking about music and movies and TV and all of that.
35:57
[SPEAKER_01]: And provides us a don't claim to be experts.
36:00
[SPEAKER_01]: Like we've never, we've never claimed, I mean, Connor and I don't have our PhDs.
36:05
[SPEAKER_01]: We have a lot of, you know, a lot of our audiences older and more wise than us has lived more life than we have and we acknowledge that.
36:11
[SPEAKER_01]: We don't claim to be experts.
36:13
[SPEAKER_01]: But we're thankful that God's given us this platform that we can grow together.
36:16
[SPEAKER_01]: Absolutely.
36:18
[SPEAKER_03]: Yeah, great question, Vaughn.
36:18
[SPEAKER_03]: Thank you for that.
36:19
[SPEAKER_03]: You guys can always send us questions at coltubreefeddinisonform.org or shoot us in a message on Instagram at coltubreef podcast.
36:25
[SPEAKER_03]: Go follow us over there, catch some clips of us as well.
36:29
[SPEAKER_03]: Okay, Micah, let's jump into the check-in section.
36:31
[SPEAKER_03]: Let's do it.
36:32
[SPEAKER_01]: Let's roll.
36:35
[SPEAKER_01]: And so Trump and India's prime minister Modi each announced on their social media platforms on the same day that they had reached an agreement between the two countries, the two largest democracies in the world is what people call them.
36:47
[SPEAKER_01]: India and the USA have entered a trade agreement to lower American tariffs on Indian goods from 50% to 18% that's a big dip.
36:55
[SPEAKER_01]: Trump said that India would drop its tariffs on some US goods by 500 million in American
37:04
[SPEAKER_01]: the last part, Modi mentioned.
37:06
[SPEAKER_01]: I think that's all being worked out on the back end.
37:08
[SPEAKER_01]: That's been Trump's biggest thing.
37:10
[SPEAKER_01]: He's trying to cut off Russia in order to stop the war.
37:13
[SPEAKER_01]: And so a big part is India purchases a lot of Russian oil.
37:15
[SPEAKER_01]: That keeps them going.
37:17
[SPEAKER_01]: That's what this trade deal I think Trump is trying to accomplish in that.
37:20
[SPEAKER_01]: Okay, also the government shutdown has ended.
37:23
[SPEAKER_01]: We mentioned that at the beginning, but lawmakers did reach a last minute agreement that brought the government shutdown.
37:28
[SPEAKER_01]: It was a partial government shutdown to an end, reopening all the federal agencies and restoring pay for fur load workers who were just not even really fur load like Duffer.
37:37
[SPEAKER_01]: Dan Haft, the deals temporary though, which means bigger debates and budget debates are still ahead, specifically around DHS and Ice Agents.
37:46
[SPEAKER_01]: So it's going to be a lot of negotiating on Capitol Hill between Republicans and Democrats and Trump over the next two weeks, hopefully they can come to an agreement, and we can fully fund the government for the rest of the year and stop talking about government shutdowns, which is, again, we will say it over and over again until the cows come home.
38:03
[SPEAKER_01]: government shows are a travesty and only hurt people.
38:07
[SPEAKER_01]: They don't really help people.
38:08
[SPEAKER_01]: All right.
38:09
[SPEAKER_01]: Finally, Catherine, oh, Hera.
38:11
[SPEAKER_01]: She passed away at 71.
38:12
[SPEAKER_01]: She was best known for her roles as the mom and home alone.
38:16
[SPEAKER_01]: She was in beetle juice and especially she was known recently for kind of a career resurgence as Moira Rose and Shits Creek.
38:22
[SPEAKER_01]: It's interesting because she plays a character in that show.
38:26
[SPEAKER_01]: that is in the last phases of her career and she's trying to resurrect her career kind of and in the same way that show did the same thing for her and it's probably what she's going to be most known for.
38:37
[SPEAKER_01]: She was hilarious in that show tributes from fellow actors and fans of poured in just remembering her sharp comedic timing and her versatility and really she was just she seemed to be really well-liked and loved and left a great legacy.
38:49
[SPEAKER_03]: So and rest on controversial uncontroversial Hollywood star
38:53
[SPEAKER_01]: who's just booked and yeah I mean she had her opinions and beliefs but like she she did her job and she impacted a lot of people and she was she was great I mean just across the board people were sad to see her go yeah I was sad when I she was so funny man I'm gonna I'm gonna I'm gonna missing her she was she's in two of the studio one of my favorite shows and now she won't be on that so that's that's really sad.
39:13
[SPEAKER_03]: Something else, Disney.
39:14
[SPEAKER_03]: New CEO over there, Josh Demaro has been named as the successor to Bob Eiger to take over one of the most influential and biggest companies in the world.
39:22
[SPEAKER_03]: This is a massive deal because of how just how much Disney impacts.
39:27
[SPEAKER_03]: Not just American culture, but world, world culture, and generate younger generations coming up.
39:31
[SPEAKER_03]: This is a big deal.
39:32
[SPEAKER_03]: I agree.
39:33
[SPEAKER_03]: I mean, he's known as one of the best CEOs in history.
39:36
[SPEAKER_03]: He's written books about it.
39:37
[SPEAKER_03]: Of course, his biggest setback was he did not appoint a good successor back in 2020.
39:43
[SPEAKER_03]: And that's when Bob Shapet came in only lasted two years because it is a tough, tough job in Shapet kind of dealt with the political woes of 2020.
39:50
[SPEAKER_03]: And the don't say gay Bill and Florida.
39:53
[SPEAKER_03]: And it just didn't go well.
39:55
[SPEAKER_03]: So now,
39:56
[SPEAKER_03]: Iger was brought back in by the board.
39:57
[SPEAKER_03]: He's been there for the last three, four years.
39:59
[SPEAKER_03]: And was told, you got to find a successor.
40:02
[SPEAKER_03]: It seems he found two potential candidates Dana Walden in Justin Meryl.
40:05
[SPEAKER_03]: They've been pitting at each other for the last two years.
40:08
[SPEAKER_03]: It's been kind of a big saga in the Disney world.
40:10
[SPEAKER_03]: Yeah, probably going to get to its own TV show or book and Justin Meryl went out.
40:14
[SPEAKER_03]: Man, he's got a control, a movie studio, TV studio, theme parks, ESPN, ABC, all this stuff.
40:20
[SPEAKER_03]: And it's a big deal, but just because of how...
40:23
[SPEAKER_03]: how much is going to impact our kids in the content that comes out of there?
40:26
[SPEAKER_03]: Is he going to lean more progressive?
40:27
[SPEAKER_03]: Is he going to try to go back to traditional family values?
40:30
[SPEAKER_03]: The way that Disney used to be, I hope he does that and goes back to the more conservative values there and kind of pulls away from what Disney was headed towards and that they've pulled that out.
40:38
[SPEAKER_01]: It doesn't necessarily have to be conservative values.
40:40
[SPEAKER_01]: It just doesn't need to be like overtly one way or another.
40:43
[SPEAKER_01]: You know what I mean?
40:44
[SPEAKER_01]: I think that's probably the most logical path for it.
40:46
[SPEAKER_01]: I was reading this morning on not this morning.
40:48
[SPEAKER_01]: I think maybe a couple days ago on the morning brew, which is a really interesting email newsletter you can send it for.
40:54
[SPEAKER_01]: They write up the news and kind of a fun way to consume.
40:56
[SPEAKER_01]: I think it's like a good way to put it.
40:57
[SPEAKER_01]: But they were talking about how the Disney theme parks have since Josh Demarrow has been over them have consistently outperformed any projections and has kind of been the anchor of Disney's funding.
41:08
[SPEAKER_01]: has like a lot of their budget has come from parks when other parts of Disney's business has been struggling.
41:14
[SPEAKER_01]: It's been there.
41:15
[SPEAKER_01]: And so it makes sense that he took over because he's doing a good job.
41:18
[SPEAKER_01]: So good for him.
41:19
[SPEAKER_03]: Yeah, it's been so profitable even with economic woes.
41:22
[SPEAKER_03]: He's still managed to get people to come to the parks and pay more and pay more for fast passes and stuff.
41:26
[SPEAKER_03]: They're still coming and it's it's it was just kind of it was clear to the board.
41:30
[SPEAKER_00]: I think let's do
41:35
[SPEAKER_03]: Connor.
41:36
[SPEAKER_01]: What's going on?
41:37
[SPEAKER_01]: Tell us.
41:37
[SPEAKER_03]: I love, I love when the drum start playing.
41:40
[SPEAKER_03]: And you hear that Olympic theme music start to play.
41:42
[SPEAKER_03]: Yeah, that John Williams theme come in because the Olympics start actually, I think they start on Wednesday or Thursday of this week with like some preliminary sports, but the opening ceremonies for the Milano Cortino winter Olympics will be on Friday.
41:54
[SPEAKER_03]: The broadcasting live at 140 PM Eastern on NBC and P.Cock, they'll play again that night.
41:59
[SPEAKER_03]: But dude, it's going to be awesome.
42:01
[SPEAKER_03]: I love the Olympics.
42:03
[SPEAKER_03]: I love the winter lipics.
42:04
[SPEAKER_03]: Why could you have a favorite winter lipics sport?
42:07
[SPEAKER_03]: U.S.A. may be.
42:08
[SPEAKER_01]: Just USA knows just USA whatever it is.
42:11
[SPEAKER_01]: If an American's competing, I'm rooting for them.
42:14
[SPEAKER_01]: We also have the Super Bowl coming up tune in Seattle Seahawks versus New England Patriots at 530 central time on NBC enjoy the Super Bowl with your friends and family.
42:26
[SPEAKER_01]: It's a beautiful American past time.
42:28
[SPEAKER_01]: Eat a lot of junk food if it makes you happy just enjoy the day.
42:32
[SPEAKER_01]: People always say that American should have Monday off because the Super Bowl Sunday is always so great.
42:36
[SPEAKER_01]: and it should be a national holiday, a federal holiday.
42:39
[SPEAKER_01]: Maybe one day it will be, but thank you for joining us.
42:42
[SPEAKER_03]: This is your message to our bosses right here.
42:44
[SPEAKER_03]: Hey guys, would you all, would you all give us Monday off so we can enjoy this?
42:49
[SPEAKER_01]: I love it, guys.
42:49
[SPEAKER_01]: Thank you so much for joining us for this week's episode of Culture Brief Adinison Forum podcast.
42:53
[SPEAKER_01]: Our all articles and videos mentioned will be linked in the show notes.
42:56
[SPEAKER_01]: And if you enjoyed today's episode, would you please like, please subscribe, and rate and review the show, and share it with a friend, why don't you, and we'll see you next Thursday.
43:05
[SPEAKER_03]: See y'all.