Reena Friedman Watts - Today's America, Media, and Fear

0:00 okay so i have the wonderful reina friedman watts um i knew at some point i'd be talking to you but i didn't really know when especially given the nature of my show being mostly politics um not something you're usually um commenting on i'm not saying that you don't pay attention but not usually part of what you do in terms of your show and whatnot. So I wanted you here because I wanted a voice that is known. Because honestly, in the podcast world, just about everybody knows you from what I can tell. And you're extremely known as far as independent podcasters too, who are trying to come up and make things happen.

0:44 They look up to you. Aw, thank you. Yeah. And so with that, you know, all that out of the way and what being said, I had the discussion with you a little bit the other day, right? And what I wanted to do was get from your perspective, someone who's not engrossed 24-7 in politics. You know, I see you as someone who's like, look, you got your thing going. You're paying the bills. You're doing the job, taking care of the kids. You're doing everything you got to do, holding the house down. And I don't think, I think like you're like most people. You're not waking up everyday politics top of mind. It's like if something's in a headline, you'll go, oh shit, what happened? Let me look into that. Yeah, totally. Given the climate, given everything that's going on, I wanted to understand where someone like you would come from because I think you might speak more towards the everyday person rather than the person who's engrossed in politics 24-7, has an opinion and is always commenting.

1:37 It's someone like me, basically. So given everything going on, and especially what just happened with the Charlie Kirk assassination, I wanted to know what you think of the climate right now in America. How does it make you feel? what about that's going on? I mean, do you have any fears, concerns? Yeah, dude, I'm scared. You know? Yeah, exactly. So I wanted to see what you thought. I want to see what you thought and see where this goes. I mean, I went to a concert last night. I'm like, I hope the security is good. That's my thought. I'm like, oh my God, if you get too close to the stage, you could maybe get shot if you're the one that gets hugged or who knows. I mean, that's my thought as a mother. I'm like, I'm going, yeah, it's like anywhere I go with my kids, I'm feeling like I need to be on the lookout. And I don't know. I mean, it's good to be situationally aware, but now I feel like it's like on steroids, you know, like I'm becoming paranoid, like looking out my windows at my neighbors. I'm like, are there any people I need to be concerned about?

2:41 Yeah, really. Is this something that you felt for a while or is it something you're feeling Over the last couple of years, yeah. It's weird. But yeah, everything happening in the news is scary and divisive. And I really feel like, kind of like the theme of the show that I do with my dad, Better Call Daddy, we need to get back to family values. We need to get back to being good role models for our kids and kind of insulate a little bit in our families. Teach them good habits, good principles, good morals. Although, yeah, I know you wanted to talk about the Charlie Kirk thing. I mean, that has been painted two different ways, right?

3:23 One side, from my understanding, is straight A student and conservative parents and good upbringing. And then the other side is like trans boyfriend and extremist and look what he wrote on the rifle. And this is planned. Yeah, a lot of assumptions. That's kind of my interpretation. I don't know. Yeah, it's been a lot of assumptions and finger pointing for the most part in America these days. Everyone wants to compartmentalize and put everybody in a box to make them feel comfortable about how they feel. but the thing I've seen is, you know, we're too often being told how to feel and how we're supposed to approach things and we're supposed to be careful in what we say. And as you said, you know, getting back to family value seems to be taboo. Like you're not supposed to want to raise your children the way you used to be able to raise them years ago.

4:14 And so what do you think was the trigger for you in terms of where you, or at least where you thought things were starting to take a change? I know you said it was about a couple of years ago, from your perspective as a mother, because I'm sure that there's a lot that maybe children also bring home from being in schools. Like what they hear is also a good way to get a pulse on what's going on as far as, you know, once you drop your kids off, they come back and it's like, wait a minute, you said what, who said, like, where'd you hear this? Is any of that a factor in what you're picking up on and what's happening? For me, it was October 7th. For you, it was October 7th? made me feel unsafe. And I could not believe the social media response to that. And even some of it's confusing. Some of it, you don't know what to believe. And a lot of it seems like propaganda on both sides. And I went to go get a facial this week to relax and just do something for myself.

5:10 and the girl who was giving me a facial was giving me her take on Charlie Kirk and Israel. And I'm like, this is crazy. It's everywhere. Like, I can't even go relax and put some red light on myself. Yeah, yeah. What the hell? And then she's using language like genocide. I'm like, stop using that word. Yeah, like that word is inaccurate. it. So even for someone who's not looking to engage in political speak, it's like you can't escape it these days. You cannot escape it. And even I was standing next to another mommy at the concert last night. She's a math teacher. She's divorced, single mom. And she's got a son my son's age and a daughter at the Benson Boone contest with my daughter or concert with my daughter.

6:00 And they're pushing their way to the barricade together. And we're like, we want to be close to our daughters, excuse me. You know, like we want to make sure they're fine. And yeah, we got on the subject of Charlie Kirk at two in the morning. I'm like, what in the world? And we were both talking about how our teenage kids watched a murder on a screen and how they don't even know how to process that. Like, you know, whether they were fans of him or not, watching that for a child with a developing brain, a teenager, it's, when I watched that, when my son passed me his cell phone and I watched that, it literally took my breath away. I was like, I gasped.

6:40 I was like, I wasn't even like, I'm like, are you okay from watching that? Please don't watch that again. And immediately I was like, I don't think he can recover from that. And my son was like, oh no, no, no. You know, like, and then we were both just in shock. And then after that, it was kind of like, oh my God, are my other children going to see this? This is like everywhere. This is on social media. Like, why are we drawn and mesmerized by watching that? Like, I'm like, can someone take that down? Like, that is horrible. And then finding out that the daughter like heard the shot and went to run to him. Like, I've interviewed people on my own show that have watched their father being murdered. And it's something that they've never, I mean, it's a young child, but like never been able to get over. Like that is the hardest thing. And hearing that desensitized to this horrific thing? And why is this on social media? And then you're like, how can I get my kids off social media? How can I get them to play the piano?

7:47 Right. You know, you made a good point though, being desensitized because it's not just desensitization. It seems like it's normalization really in general. It's gotten to the point that, you know, we also as adults, like if we're talking about social media, no matter what, it seems like violence is not looked down upon. It's looked at as entertainment. And in my opinion, a lot of this started with our wars in Iraq, Desert Storm and the Iraq War, where that was the first time you would see all of this widespread, you know, violence on mainstream television, on the news 24 seven without ever giving you a chance to like shut it off. Like every time you're on a channel, the war was on and they were showing the atrocities of it.

8:30 People getting blown up shot. They're showing what was happening with the drones and how they were using them when they were introduced back then. And ever since then, it just never shut off. It's like- And even 9-11, I was thinking about that. I'm like, what would 9-11 look like now? I mean, there would be so much more coverage of it. I mean, it'd be so much more traumatic. I mean, even seeing the plane was traumatic enough and like the people jumping, but it wasn't up close. It wasn't like people like saying, oh my God, I'm getting ready to jump. Like, I feel like if that happened today, it would be so much more. Yeah, honestly, that's a great point because it would have been way more. I think they handled that carefully. I mean, they tried to show what happened while not exposing too much of all the footage.

9:17 It was very curated. Yeah. But I think today, if that happened, like you said, it would definitely be a whole different story. I think the US would be way more enraged. And I think that's a problem that we're seeing. You were talking about how your kids were watching the footage of Charlie getting shot. And it's not like they could look away because everywhere you go, it was like, that's what was going on. It doesn't matter if you're on Instagram, if you're on TikTok, if you're on X, like it, that's what popped up. It was like top, top of mind, top of list. That's all you saw. And it's not like they could, they could willingly shut it off, even if they wanted to, unless you physically took the phone away and said, hey, kids, you're done. You know, you can't have this. Did, did not put your kids on the spot, but did they express any concern any way they felt about that in general, how that affected them?

9:59 yeah my oldest who's 17 was saying like it was hard for him to connect like the shooting video to the guy actually being gone like it almost seemed like hard to imagine that that was really the guy who made all of these other videos who's he's been watching so it just almost seemed and and it almost seemed like a horror movie like that's basically what he said it seemed it looked like a horror movie. And what is our obsession with all these horror movies that came out during the pandemic? My God, it's like the only freaking thing you can see at the movies. And I'm like trying to bond with my kids and they want to go like, you know, I'm thinking about that movie Thanksgiving where they cook the lady like a turkey.

10:47 I'm like, well, it's, you know, good point. I mean, we're obsessed with horror movies and we're obsessed with murderers. And so, you know. Yeah. I mean, it's a little eerie. But the real fear for me is like going to concerts or going to sporting events. Like every time I'm at a big event now, I feel scared. Even, you know, going to a basketball game with my son or going to a concert with my daughter. I'm always like... Hold on. So are you scared for yourself or are you scared for your family when you're out? Both. Yeah. Like I've even said to my kids, like going to the gym at the Jewish Community Center, I'm like, do you know where all the exits are?

11:29 Like, what would you do if somebody came in here and started shooting? Like, would you pick up a plate and try to attack them, cover your head, run for the exit? Like, what would we do? I was like, how many people in here do you think are armed? You know what I mean? You know what? It's not. So that's something that, unfortunately, in today's America, we do have to consider, though. Yeah. These days. I'm like, you wouldn't just freeze, right? You know? I'm like, your taekwondo isn't going to work. Yeah. And it's not just what happened to Charlie Kirk, right? It's everything that we've been seeing on the news with these unnecessary violent crimes or murders, you know, like the Ukrainian refugee that was stabbed to death on the train.

12:10 Before that, you know, we had the shooting in Minneapolis at the Catholic school. And before that, we had other shootings. And then there was an active shooter sighted at another university not that long ago. It's ridiculous that it's kind of that point. And what you're saying, the conversations you have to have with your children is literally, you know, walking in as if you were part of the police SWAT force or whatnot. Like, hey, know your exits. You can be used as a weapon, right? What's your escape plan? And it sounds ridiculous, but not really. I mean, I think these are constant things that we should teach people regardless. And it's sad that that is top of mind now. Like, you can't go to a large gathering without thinking, well, what could happen?

12:52 because if anything, if we're looking at Charlie Kirk, which I not gonna talk about him just because he was Charlie Kirk It just it was such a big event that affected many people Because after that it further divided us as Americans I thought it would bring us together I thought everybody would go, wow, that was wrong. What's going on? Let's look into this. But it didn't happen that way. All I did was put on my Facebook, like, Charlie Kirk sad face. I did not say anything else. And just from putting a sad face and, like, being so sad about something like that happening in our country and the fear, I felt around it. Like I received hateful comments for that. Crazy. One being check your whiteness. And I was like, I need to sit with that for a minute.

13:34 That's a whole nother conversation. And even think about what that means. That's a whole nother episode. That was a little shocking. I was like, wow, that's a hell of a reaction. You know, that, yeah, that honestly, that's a whole nother conversation. We can go down at another time if you'd like. But the thing that happened with Charlie Kirk and led people to feel like how you're feeling, you know, like how do I have to watch out for myself and my family is we didn't think the level of breakdown in security. He was very well known. He was a prominent figure. And it's not like he hasn't had threats before. Like even Steven Crowder brought that up. He said the reason he stopped doing these events is because of all the threats he would get.

14:16 And so he stopped doing these as well a long time ago. He said he was surprised Charlie kept doing them. And so with all that, it's like, where was the security team? Where was the breakdown? And if that could happen to someone as prominent as him, it does make you wonder, like, how safe are you really? How safe are you? Like, where are the police? Where's the security people at a large event like a concert? Are they going to react? Because when we saw what happened to Charlie Kirk, there wasn't much reaction. In fact, there was no campus security, no campus police. Where's the reports of what happened? You saw people walking up to the tent, which is technically a crime scene, taking memorabilia, taking cameras down that would have caught additional footage. And so it's like the breakdown is ridiculous.

14:57 And if that's how he was treated and how that was handled, imagine you or I. If there was an active shooter that happened to be in a public place, they're not looking out for us. So yeah, you do have to take your own well-being into your own hands, just as you were saying earlier. yeah it definitely makes me want to take a self-defense class maybe bad idea no my son's like just run just run run fast but that's crazy too like I was even talking with my 13 year old and he was like you know if a school shooter came into our school he's like I'm not gonna follow the rules like I'm getting the hell out of dodge like but and then he was like but what about our youngest?

15:44 Like he's six, like he would be completely helpless. And a lot of times kids that are rule followers are completely helpless. I have a couple that are rule followers and a couple that are like, oh, hell no. You know? Yeah. You know, that's- And then you're like, would you go back for the little guy? That's scary though, to think that kids have to have those discussions these days, right? It really is. I'm laughing about it, but it's horrible. And when I talk to other mothers, too. They're like, oh my God, we need prayer. We need family unit. A lot of my middle-aged friends are feeling this. How do you feel about how the flames have been fanned by social media in and of itself? Right. How much of it is even real? Well, there's that. Of course, we've talked about that. I think there's a lot of bots going, a lot of bots and outside organizations that are potentially probably getting into social media and trying to spread rumors and conspiracies.

16:47 Twitter's a mess for that. Like, Roseanne Barr even talks about it. She was just like, I don't even pay attention to the hateful comments because it's like, once one happens, then it's just like an army of them. And she's like, it's like the freaking bot mafia. It is. It is. Yeah, you're right. But, you know, here's the other side to that. So bots are written to respond based on an algorithm. So they're picking up on this rhetoric already. and then they're just amplifying it. So the fact that that's happening says a lot about how people really feel on social media. Like they're using it to express their feelings and use it as a free speech platform. Although we can argue that. And if they're able to express these opinions, these bots are picking up on it and they're going, oh, this is what's hot.

17:31 Let me take this and let me just keep perpetuating this and jumping on it. And we got to address how America feels or how they're acting in using social media. So this kind of is going to lead us to what happened to Jimmy Kimmel recently from your perspective. Was it justified? Is that a free speech violation? I think it is. I do. It's honestly the First Amendment, right? And I don't think it's good to cancel either side. I think it's better to know what you're working with. I agree.

18:11 I have another side to that, but I'm not, this isn't a disagreement, by the way. I'm going to play, I like to play devil's advocate sometimes. Yeah. So, here's the other side to that. Jimmy Kimmel was employed. Under employment law, you don't necessarily have freedom of speech. Also, he was on a public broadcast channel that's under FCC regulation. I'm not saying this is the way it is. He could have been making a joke, whatever, but technically what he said, if you wanted to really narrow in on what he said in terms of the killer being, you know, a right extremist, MAGA, whatever, is a blatant lie based on information that was released prior to his statement. So that being said, the FCC rules, and I'm sure you know this way more than I do, because that's what you did for a living when you were in TV years ago.

19:00 They can hold him accountable, and the company can hold him accountable for that, for telling a blatant lie to the public, which is exactly what they did to Tucker Carlson and how they got him fired from Fox. So there's that argument as well. Compliance is a BITC. Yeah, right. And I don't, look, I think everybody should be able to express their opinion. I believe in the freedom of speech, but we also, I think a lot of people don't realize that once you punch that clock and you're working for that employer, you don't have as much freedom as you think. Yeah. That is definitely a good point. Yeah. There are lawyers involved. Right. Oh, absolutely. yeah you better have a good lawyer friend but is this is this going to set the precedent for um not just other entertainers or people in television but even like us i thought about this because you know even what happened to charlie right uh he was he was really a podcaster yes and he went out and and he he did his debates open debates and we can walk and walk up to him and talk and try to prove him wrong or whatever whatever the case is you know they were open to discussion, which is to me, what is great, like having discourses where we're able to really hash out our problems and issues and hopefully walk away with each of us learning something.

20:14 So when that happened, it looked like there's a targeting of certain personalities or people within our space, for example. I was kind of concerned because it's like, well, what's that going to do for other people in the podcasting space or independence or in independent media? Are they going to shrivel up and shrink away and be afraid to speak their mind? Are they going to try to stay within a certain, within certain guardrails, for example, because they're afraid that if they go down this path, that they're in danger of themselves being killed or targeted. How do you feel about that? Did that ever cross your mind or do you have anything to say about that? Yeah, that definitely crossed my mind. I mean, I listened to Megyn Kelly say that she was going to go on tour and that Charlie was actually part of her tour.

20:57 And she's like, I won't be canceling my tour. You know, she was like... I am more of a private person and Charlie was gifted at doing these in-person gatherings, but she's like, now I'm definitely not going to cancel. And Ben Shapiro was talking about how he has 24-hour security and how he's going to continue to not be afraid. And it was interesting. I saw Roseanne Barr say like, hey, I was canceled. So I think people that have been canceled are kind of like, yeah, let's talk about being canceled. Look at other radio hosts that have been canceled. But I was thinking kind of what you're talking about, like, are comedians going to stop being as, you know, racist or... Edgy, I guess, pushing the envelope.

21:43 Yeah. I had to take a break, to be honest, even from going to comedy clubs because there's been so much anti-Semitism where it's been too much. I'm like, it's okay to make fun of like every group, but like, don't just make fun of one group. Like, that's not fun to listen to. Right. Yeah. A little bit of everybody's funny, but not when it's all one. That's not right. That's not right. It really isn't. So when you were, so did you have any concern at all about people being scared to speak their mind though? In general? Yeah. I think that there's even things I don't talk about. Like you said, I don't normally even talk about this because I'm like, what if I say the wrong thing?

22:24 And then somebody tells me to check my whiteness again. you know gosh no um you just don't want to sound stupid or uninformed but i'm like since when to like have we all had to be historians and know every single thing you know that's right yeah you're right and that's part of why i wanted you here rain is because you you have a good following people recognize you but since you're not in on the other side of things like you're not doing what i do you're not you're not talking about it every day right and and so i wanted your opinion because I think it's important to get the opinions of people like you who, like I said, you're not walking around focused on the screen every day going Trump, Trump, Trump, Democrat, Congress, whatever, you know, and just losing your mind over shit.

23:10 I don't see you as that person, but you definitely have an opinion because all this scared your children, for example. They know how to process it. You're concerned about your safety now, given everything that's going on the last few years. October 7th for you, and you're Jewish, right? So as a Jew, you're absolutely concerned. And then now we have the increase of anti-Semitism, which people say isn't there, but I mean, come on, you can't even get away from it. It's all over the place. So I wanted your opinion. I needed another voice outside of everybody I keep talking to you because everybody, let's just be honest, and I know you've experienced this. A lot of people, they already have their whole thing put together. I'll ask a question and they give me their, you know, predisposed, basically their stick.

23:52 It's like, they already have their thing. I feel like their talking points are baked. Yeah. I've talked to a radio broadcast for all of a sudden. I'm just sitting here, you know, you know, don't, don't tell me what, what you think I want to hear. I want to hear what you have to say, you know? And so that's why I appreciate having you here is I want to get that out of you. So let's go back to October 7th since we did, I didn't, I didn't push that because I wanted to get through a few things. We can talk about it. But I do want to talk about that because it obviously changed your perspective as a Jewish American. And from what I recall when you told me yesterday on the phone is you do have people who live in Israel right now. Yeah. My two sisters both live there. What else is crazy is my birthday is October 8th.

24:34 Really? And yeah. So I had my phone off. It was like a Jewish holiday. And, you know, I keep the Sabbath and I disconnect from electronics. I've been keeping the Sabbath for like 18 years. I didn't grow up doing that, but me and my husband have taken on that practice. And it's really healthy, actually. We have family dinner every Friday night, and we are with our children and turn off the world for 24 hours. And it's great. My kids don't so much love the turning off the electronics thing. But yeah, we read books, we go to the park, we get outside, we go to synagogue. and so my phone was off.

25:15 And then when I turned it back on, I'm glad I celebrated like my birthday the week before because I was just in, you know, like everyone else, just utter shock and horrified at what was being said. I remember they were saying there was like babies in cages and decapitations and rape and murder and the stuff is like on social media. Yeah. Yeah, the videos of it actually happening, like atrocities of it all. Atrocities, like it seemed unreal. And yeah, like just trying to get a hold of my sisters and what is it like there? And like knowing people that were being called up to serve like my son getting ready to actually have a bar mitzvah and like his teacher is a reservist and just seeing too like all of these young babies that like are going to war and some of them look like they could be my kid. They're just beautiful boys, beautiful babies.

26:17 Anyone fighting at that age to me is just sad and horrible. Yeah. What did your sisters have to say? I mean, one of my sisters is a teacher and she was having to teach and manage her children like out of a bomb shelter. Like she doesn't have a bomb shelter in her home. One of my other sisters does have like a room. But I mean, if you can imagine like having to share a bomb shelter, like they're hot, the kids are antsy, they're hungry, there's nothing to entertain them with and their hearing missiles. I mean, that seems bad. Well, yeah, it is bad.

27:00 So when that all happened, how did you feel yourself? Because you're living here. Yeah, I was like, are you sure you don't want to come back to America? Yeah, I definitely said that. And they're like, how can you feel safe in America? It's going to happen there too. I'm like, uh, yeah. They may not be too far off on that. And I have, yeah, I have definitely things to say about that. So it's interesting their perspective on that. Like, they feel like they're in the safest place. They're like, at least we have an army. But, you know, that Iron Dome has failed. Okay. So on October 7th, the way they came in really didn't have much to do with Iron Dome because now we got to look at the altitude of how they were coming in, what they're flying in on.

27:45 They weren't, you know, they were just small personal craft. but when they were getting bombarded by Iran, Israel's Iron Dome couldn't keep up with the volley of all the missiles and rockets that were fired at them. And so it did show that there are holes in their defenses. Now, I'm not advocating for Israel to fall. You and I discussed that. So when I'm asking these questions, it's not because I'm anti-Israel or anything. I just want to get your actual perspective and you have family members there. but how do you feel about how the state of Israel has been handling things now? You know, it's been a few years. I think it was such a large scale attack that something like that had never happened.

28:29 And there were, you know, it's definitely beyond my pay grade, but probably other ways that I'm sure, I think that they didn't know how to respond to that amount of people being taken. I mean, that's, it's just such a massive, horrific tragedy. Like, how do you even respond to that militarily? I mean, my God, like. I don't know. I mean, it's. And you're being judged by the whole world by how you respond. And I feel like, you know, they try to pass out leaflets and, you know, avoid civilian casualties.

29:09 casualties, but at the same time, they crossed a border and they murdered and they did what they did. So, I mean, how do I feel about how it's been handled? I wish that it all just wouldn't have happened. And it's still happening. There's still hostages that we can't get to. I question then how come, why not? It's been a long time, almost two years. My God, I can't even believe there are still people that are alive from that. Like some of these hostages that have been released, they look like Holocaust victims. It makes you question as to whether or not hostages are actually even alive.

29:51 Right. And the one thing that really got to me too is like the Bebas kids, those two redhead kids and the mom, and then reading that they were like stoned to death. Like when I hear my kid, throwing a fit that he doesn't want to go to bed. Imagine these kids that were taken by terrorists and how were they fed? Were they fed? And they were choked, they were stoned, they were murdered. I mean, babies. There've been so many moments or when it was six hostages were being held together and then they were all shot on top of each other. I mean, they had made it so far and they had struggled so much and then just shot point blank. I mean, there have been some moments through this war of just like reading this stuff.

30:34 And I'm like, so inhumane. Like, where did we lose our humanity? Has your family living over there, have you gotten any more information in terms of what's happening now? Because like you said, it's been almost two years, right? And with the constant fighting, is it really a case of from their perspective, maybe? and maybe from what you've heard that Israel wants this to end, but Hamas will not let it end. Because the crazy thing is, and I've said this many times, people are trying to criticize Israel, but every time they turn around, they're being attacked by someone else.

31:14 I mean, they were just... Yeah. Yeah, they just had missiles fired at them from... The Houthis, Iran. I mean, my God, it's endless. And there's still terrorist attacks happening weekly. If you read Israel National News, like every week. It just doesn't stop. Why do you think, well, first off, I'm sorry, I interrupted you. Do you have any information that you know from your family who lives there and how they feel about how the government of Israel is handling this? I mean, does Israel really want us to end and let everybody live in peace and they just can't because the fighting just won't stop? Is that something that you've heard? I mean, I think the people that were attacked on 10-7 were peaceniks. They believed in having good relations. That's why they were having a dance party of peace right on the border. And I think them being murdered has probably changed their perspective on whether there can actually be peace. This is biblical.

32:17 This has been going on for so long. And with all the destruction on both sides, how can there be? I mean, that's going to take some probably outside help of like, smooth and things over. I mean, it's going to take a lot of help. A lot of help. I don't know how things can go back to normal. I don't even know how people are like, going to work as usual. And I have friends that are living there that are like, I don't even want to say that I'm like an Israeli company because of the judgments against Israel. Like if they're doing business with America, they're like, don't say that I live here. I mean, that's hard. Like how are people able to live everyday lives in either place? I don't see how. Yeah. I'm not disagreeing with you there. I wouldn't imagine it. It's been an area full of strife for, I mean, thousands of years, period. There's never been a real agreement there between tribes, regardless if they were Jewish or whatever you want to call them. Well, it's either going to be that or Arabs, Muslims, et cetera. But there's never been real peace. There's always been conflict.

33:32 When I went there, I think I was like 19 or something. I went on a trip and I hitchhiked all the way from Tel Aviv to Egypt. And I didn't feel scared then. Like I actually felt like Jews and Muslims were getting along at the time. Like I knew Arabs that worked on kibbutzes and wanted to drink and party and jump in pools with their clothes on. And I didn't feel scared. Although I had gotten in a cab once with a girlfriend of mine and I didn't realize that the guy was an Arab and not an Israeli because I didn't read the license plate well enough. Yeah, like you even have to know like the differences between the cabs you get in or you could get kidnapped or taken into an area or, you know, get taken advantage of.

34:18 Yeah. And I was like, stop this vehicle right now or we're going to jump out. Like he started talking to us in a sketchy way and I was like, oh my God. So, but I do feel like times were better than they are right now. There is no way I would ever walk across the border from Israel to Egypt now or want my children to do that. Right. But I did it and felt safe and slept on a beach in Nueva for a week and played beach volleyball. And it was beautiful and fun and didn't feel scary at all, although it probably couldn't have been. Could have been, yeah. It's interesting. I just see that, you know, for the most part with Israel, and this is my perspective, I'm not Jewish.

35:02 I just know what I read and what I research, but it seems like most nations there do not want Israel to exist for whatever reason. And I'm not sure if it's just because it's the Jewish people who reclaim their own state or if it's the relationship between Israel and the USA that really causes people to hate so much. Because, I mean, the USA has been blamed for much of what's happened in the Middle East as well. I mean, we've done our things. We're not innocent either. but I wonder if some of it has to do with that. I'm not, I don't know what your thoughts are on that or if it's just literally too much of a difference between cultures and religions that, that keep that area in constant, constant strife.

35:45 But there are so many Arabs and Christians and it's like a melting pot. Like there are Arabs and Israelis that get along and form businesses and our neighbors and work together. and that has worked in some regard. Okay, so then that is, that might take me down this road. I don't know. You'll want to go down. So is it true then that, from your perspective, that there is an extreme side to Islam? Yeah. Okay. Because a lot of people say there isn't any such thing as extreme Islam, but a lot of that is what's fueling these conflicts. It's not necessarily, and I've always asked a question and you know better than I, I can't not, I can't believe that everybody who's a Muslim is a bad person.

36:33 Yeah. I mean, either. I don't want to believe that. I just, I just don't know that that's the truth because you're born into what you're born into. You know, like I was born in the USA into a certain culture. And if I wasn't, I could have been born a Muslim and, and I wouldn't have known any different. It doesn't make you a bad person automatically. And from what you're saying and what I've heard from other people is like Israel itself. Yeah. There was Arabs that live there and there's Muslims over There's many different people and they all respect each other and live together. So what's really behind all this? But there's tension there. I mean, even going to the old city. I'm sure there is. There's tension here too. I have walked into the Arab quarter and been spit on, to be honest. If you're not dressed the right way, if you're pointing your camera and taking video of something that they don't want to be in, you'll be yelled at, spit on, harassed.

37:25 going to be cultural division, but yeah, yeah. There's definitely some of that. Is it to the point of where we see like ISIS, for example, who would go out and just want to destroy and level a place like that's the thing, like where take it over and run it. And then, you know, they want to enforce their own brand of extreme Islam and Sharia and whatnot. I think there's a difference between that and people who are trying to live a good life where, you know, their extreme view of the religion, which is really a political ideology at that point, they're not trying to live their life based on this extreme political ideology and subjugate everybody else.

38:06 Because when it comes down to it, it really becomes about whether or not, you know, it has less to do with the religious aspect when you get to become an extremist like that and more to do with, you just want power and you want to rule over people. That's really what it is. It has nothing to do with the religion at that point. You're just using that as a tool to subjugate people and to try to twist people's minds to get behind you in this group to support you so that you have soldiers to take things over and rule it. That's as basic as I can put it. But from my perspective, that's what's really going on with these extreme Islamists. I don't really believe it's just the average everyday Muslim trying to live their life. Right. I don't think so either.

38:48 So what's the danger you think in the USA? We kind of touched on that earlier. when I guess I think you said your sister said that it could be coming to the US next. Yeah I mean she has been telling me for years and other family members too They like it hard for me to leave I mean I was born and raised here and I don speak Hebrew fluently And as much as I love Israel and have visited there, it's a different culture. And my kids are ingrained in American society. I'm 45, my husband's 50. It's not so easy to just pick up and start somewhere else. I guess if I had to, I do think that I need to get my passport renewed just in case I need to run. But what's the perceived danger though?

39:39 What is that perceived danger? I mean, Jews are being murdered. There was one that was murdered at a protest by one of those speaker things. And there was even somebody murdered in DC outside the Israeli embassy and look, I've gone to the Jewish community center here and there's been protesters yelling baby killers while I'm taking in my six-year-old and my old people are going to work out or what the heck? Like, yeah, that's real. College campuses are a mess where my kid doesn't even want to like go to a big university. Like that's crazy. That's been going on now for years.

40:23 do you think do you think these protesters are literally just a bunch of uninformed idiots just to put it bluntly um because it's it seems like what i've noticed with i think some of them are paid i mean we know some of them are paid right and yeah they have their slogans right so paid actors yeah right i mean more more literally than than we probably realize yeah is it but do you think it may be people who feel like, hey, this is the thing. This is what I need to get behind because there's a perception that the world is behind it. And they just join these protests, not even realizing what it really means.

41:06 These protests... Oh, yeah. Kids are so easily influenced. Yeah, I think they don't even realize that they're literally supporting a terrorist organization in Hamas by half the stuff that they are saying and what they're doing and how they present themselves. and they feel that they're on the right side of things. They don't even know from what river to what sea. Like there's been plenty of videos showing that. No, they don't. Well, they don't even realize what that statement means. They really don't. And that's the other sad thing. It's like they're claiming genocide, but they have no problem genocide in Jews if it came down to it. It's what they're saying. It's literally what they're standing behind.

41:46 or, you know, with the Charlie Kirk thing, like calling him a fascist, but yet. These people do not know what fascism is. You know, there isn't one instance in America where you can say there was ever, we had our Joseph Stalin, for example, right? It just hasn't happened. I think a lot of the problem comes from how the youth are being educated, especially when you're getting into the university level, right? When you're getting into higher ed, there's plenty of videos out there of professors being caught saying how we need to tear America down, anti-capitalism, rhetoric and speeches.

42:29 They're literally molding young minds. And I don't know why they're intentionally doing this. You know what's funny with their arguments is they hate capitalism, but have no problem collecting their $200,000 a year plus salary as a professor. Exactly. and enjoying all the benefits that capitalism has to offer and all the safety and freedom that they're afforded as a U.S. citizen or even just someone who resides in the U.S. as a permanent resident. They have no problem with any of that. So why would you want to tear down what is a benefit to you? I'm not understanding that. It doesn't make sense to me. No, not me either. It doesn't make any sense to anybody. It's so easy to tear these arguments apart if you just look at it logically.

43:12 I've had friends reach out to me that are like, why are these protests happening? Why is there so much hatred for Jewish people? And I'm like, that's like a question I'd like to know too. Yeah. But it's funny that my friends reach out to me and say that. I think, I think though, you know, a lot of this was, I think October 7th, the reaction to that because now we're two years in and Israel is still fighting this war. I think this is just an excuse. I think this antisemitism has always been bubbling and has just, it just never went away.

43:52 But they're using this as an excuse to just ramp it up and try to get- I had no idea how prevalent it was there, to be honest. Like, I honestly feel like we're back to like World War II times. I don't understand how in America today that we're still perpetuating and we're still pushing the narrative of racism. And it could even be discrimination against an ethnic group. It could be literally against a skin color, which we see a lot of times. There's even arguments of what's happening with these mass shootings and this violence saying, well, you know, statistically, a white guy with a gun, a white this, a white that. And they're trying to further throw this wedge. Not even when it just comes to Jewish people, for example, or Mexicans or Chinese.

44:37 It's just now that combined with white versus all other colors in America, which is ridiculous. And what I find is the people that don't let this go are the older generations who basically make their money race hustling. I could say a few names, but I'll stay quiet on it. And they're not letting it go. But I don't think the younger, the youth of today are really buying into it. It seems like it's a narrative being pushed by the older politicians or people within these positions of power that don't want to let it go because they know it's a great tool to try to keep people in disarray, keep them separated. And when you have people that are separated, it's easier to control those people.

45:20 Unfortunately, I think there's a lot of truth to that. Very unfortunate. I mean, I saw memes that said this is war after the Charlie Kirk thing too. Ridiculous. Ridiculous. That's a pretty strong statement. Yeah, but war against who? Right? Like, seriously, against what? Someone who doesn't agree with you politically? Like, oh, that's a Democrat. Let's kill that person. Or that's a Republican. Let's kill that person. Like, that is so stupid. Is that what it means? I mean, really? I know. It's dumb because, and then you have this idea of trying to push us into a civil war.

46:01 And it comes up. You see those posts, those memes about a civil war. I don't think anybody actually realizes what that means. Most people haven't even been in a real fight or even seen the other end of a gun. I'll tell you, nope, these people aren't ready. These keyboard warriors have no idea what they're asking for because one day you're going to be forced to make a decision to look at your neighbor and stab them in the throat or shoot them in the head because they're just on the other side. Someone you probably lived next to for 20 years. It's funny my husband thinks about that. He was like, how many of our neighbors would actually help us if we needed it? Isn't that crazy, though, that these are the things we have to think of now? I just wish that everyone could meditate or something.

46:42 We could all just go out. I just, yeah, I like that. I like that meme where it's going around. It looks like it's Charlie Brown and Snoopy. It's like, you know, I long for the days. you're basically saying, I miss the times when I didn't really know anything. Yeah, that's a good one. Because the oversaturation of everything with media and social media, I mean, you name it. To me, it is psychological conditioning to make us feel a certain way and push us to group together and be able to basically further have us buy into the narrative that they want us to so that we act exactly how they want us to act.

47:25 And that's what I, what I'm seeing. It's, it's, it's been this long, slow, steady psychological conditioning of the people. And it's been effective because we've been divided for how many years now? So as a mother, how do we get out of this? Like, how do we change things? Because it's going to only change if we can get our kids right to buy in, if we can get the children to buy in the next generation. As a mother, what do you think? How can we move forward and change the direction of this country? It's a good question. I mean, I try to draw from the wisdom of the generations that came before me. I try to show them that I still speak with my 96, almost 97-year-old grandmother and go visit her and hold her hand and show her that she's still loved and valued.

48:17 They see me talking to my dad almost every day. I think teaching your kids to honor and do things that they might not want to do, but then also supporting their creativity. My daughter said she wanted to play piano. My daughter wanted to go to a concert with me. Try to just support your kids' interests and good habits and not distract, but just get them away from the negativity. show them what really matters, like family and creativity and good habits and good sleep and good food and the basics. I think if more people tried to focus on good habits, that could make a big difference. Yeah. And I like the idea of where you're saying you observe the Sabbath and you have on Saturdays, I believe, is that correct? Where you just show off electronic. Okay.

49:19 I like that idea. I don't think you have to be Jewish to buy into that. I think that's just a good thing for every family to do. Like one day. Oh, yeah. It's just us. We're hanging out. We're turning off all the noise. And we're just going to live as actual human beings. Forced to interact with each other and the environment around us. It's so healthy. It's funny because I started doing it when I was on the third season of Nanny 911. And the first two seasons, I was working 14 days straight. and working around the clock. And sometimes I'd work from seven at night till four in the morning. And then I stopped being available for one day a week. And I realized that the world did not come out of orbit when I was unreachable for 24 hours, a lot of problems fixed themselves.

50:05 And then I started adding things to it where I was like, okay, I'm going to have all the dishes done by Friday night. So I don't have anything in my sink. And then it was like, what can I buy to cook that I would not cook during the rest of the week. Like, let me buy something like a pot roast or some, you know, nice salmon. So you're talking about a complete disconnect, like a complete, like break from all of it. Yeah. Yeah. That's a good idea. I think a lot of people need to adopt that. They really do. Elevate the day, like make one day a week special where like during the week, it's like chicken nuggets and fish sticks and fast meals. And, you know, you're lucky to get a workout, but like take one day where you're like, I'm going to cook something delicious and hearty and like, you know, like a three course meal for my kids. Like, and it's not even just, it's not even just that disconnecting from, from media and electronics and everything. And, and, and, and as, as we're talking about with family, but even I heard you on, I forgot what episode it was. I was listening, but you brought up and your guest did as well, where even, even in marriage, it's like, you take that one day, like a date night sort of thing, which a lot of people do, but nobody's consistent with it or not a lot of people are.

51:19 I think that's a great idea too, that more people should adopt. I mean, these things that we're talking about will keep families and people rooted and just maybe, I don't know, help us turn back into reasonable human beings again. Yeah. Yeah. It's crazy. Me and my husband did date night for seven years and then I had another kid. So it worked? Yeah. It's even something that I need to like re-implement because yeah we did second city like improv classes together for a couple years that was great and i feel like as a software engineer he kind of like came out of his shell a little bit and did something creative and i think that was so much fun and the kids in there were like half our age so it was interesting to just interact with a different generation and then another year we did like CrossFit together for a couple of years and got in like really good shape.

52:11 And before that we were like eating at different restaurants. So that's why we needed to do CrossFit. But yeah, we were checking out different restaurants all over Chicago. It's like, okay, now we need to do a healthy habit. I mean, I like, I like food and good drink myself. Let's, let's, since we've already started, let's, do you have anything else you want to say about the anti-Semitism in America and whatnot, because I want to get a final word in so we can steer this. I want to talk about your show. I want to try to go into a lighter topic now because everything we talk about is so heavy. Yeah. What was really eye-opening to me was actually a conversation that I had with Scott Payne. He wrote a book about going undercover to expose American Nazi groups.

52:55 And he was talking about like, I guess this isn't really lighter, but you know, these acceleration groups here in America. And he just like released this book over the last year. I am glad that there are people like putting their lives on the line to try to do better for humanity and protect families and things like that. But also it's like, even if you take some of these groups down, like they just keep replenishing themselves. and I even asked him I was like where is it safe for a Jew to live in America he was like the south southeast really but I think just continuing to have open dialogue like this and try not to be judgmental towards people and I haven't had that many conversations on my podcast that actually scare me. I did talk to a former KKK guy who, it's interesting, has now had a conservative Jewish conversion. He was saying even no matter how hateful he was, the Jewish people were always nice to him. I mean, imagine if you hated someone and then you decided to actually sit down and put the hate aside and like try to hear their story or their perspective and relate to them as a human.

54:16 I mean, that's kind of cool. I think we need more of that. Yeah, I think we all need to do that. I mean, too many people, like you said, they want to, well, too quick to judge basically. Yes. They want to prejudge people and not engage people in conversation because they already assume what they're going to say or what that person. And, you know, it's easy to always judge a book by its cover. Let's just, you can't, I mean, that saying is just ring so true. And we got to get past the cover and actually start reading the pages, right? You know, and that's just what discourse is about. And I think you're right. We need to have more conversations like this.

54:56 Definitely. We need to be able to talk about things, whether we agree with them or not. You know we need to know how the other person feeling what you going through because we don know it all We assume we don but we don we just don So here where we going to turn it lighter I want to talk about your show a bit. I want to talk about your show. Okay, yeah, Better Call Daddy, who he is always who I call. I am like my father's daughter and my dad, God bless him, has listened to over 450 hours of me interviewing people. and then he weighs in at the end of every episode. My idea behind that was really kind of modeled after the Jerry Springer show where I was like casting these wild and crazy stories and then Jerry would weigh in with his final thought.

55:44 So I was like, oh, my dad could do the final thought piece. He's a total character. And it's turned into being like my gift to my guests. It's really cool. Like when a guest afterwards is like, wow, I really appreciate your time in the interview and your dad's time and his perspective and how he related to my story and how he answered my question. They look forward to like, is my dad going to like them? Right. That's a cool concept though. I like that because from what I heard, the episodes I have heard from you is like, you just bring out natural, honest conversation. And that's what I like to try to do.

56:26 Sometimes that doesn't happen, depending on who the guest is. But I like that you're able to talk to people. They get comfortable and they just start being themselves. And then you have these interesting stories about their journey and where they've been and where they've gone and maybe what the future holds. And then your dad's just like, they either have a question for him or he just assesses it. And it's like, you know, based on my experience. And it's really cool. It's a cool concept. I'm sure I'm going to want you to take this episode and give it to him and see what he says. Oh, yeah, for sure. Because I've definitely not done an episode like this. So I would love to do that. Well, you know, and honestly, I appreciate you answering the questions. And I hope you don't feel I was trying to put you on the spot on anything.

57:06 I just wanted your perspective. That's all. Just something from somebody who's not, you know, totally ingrained in this political freaking shitstorm. Let's just put it honest. But yeah, I'd like to get your father's opinion. I'd like to know what he thinks of the whole thing. Yeah, I'm going to send it to him for sure. And you know, here's the thing. I haven't even really unfriended people through October 7th or through these hateful comments that I've gotten after the Charlie Kirk sad face post. I want to continue to have conversations and I leave an open door for that. But just don't like personally attack me. Right.

57:46 Are you going to, I mean, in light of what's been happening lately and how you yourself have been treated on social media, are you inclined to have these tougher conversations like the type we're having on your show as well? Or is it something that you would like to still have separately Not run from because you not It just I think I would depending on the person Depending on the person As long as it wasn like a troll type of conversation Exactly. Where they're trying to honestly have an agenda. If they were really wanting to just understand where I'm coming from and me try to understand where they're coming from, I would be open to that. But I'm not into the gotcha.

58:28 Yeah. How do you filter the trolls? sometimes probably a pre-interviewer too yeah right you would have to and also looking what they're posting on social media like i mean i've had people on my podcast that when the war broke out i was like oh my god maybe i should have asked how they felt about israel that's true that's true well missed that one i had i had one guest i i won't name him i mean people go back to the episodes where i think i think he thought that okay the reason i had him on is because he wrote a book and he had a theory based on the root of evil, basically, and the root of evil in society and how it starts, how it gets into society and how people buy into the messaging.

59:13 It was a theory that he became known for. He's published. And I wanted to talk about that. But instead of us being able to discuss that, which is originally what I wanted him on the show for, he wanted to turn the whole show into a political conversation. It was like, well, I have enough of those. I wanted to understand how, from his perspective, based on what he's done, how our society has been driven to where it is now. But instead, it was literally, I think he had the assumption, I'm a hardcore MAGA right guy. And he was a hardcore Democrat. He's a psychologist too. And look, I'm not patting myself on the back, but I can read stuff pretty well.

59:55 And I knew what was starting to happen. I didn't let it get there. but we actually ended up in my mind. I was like, cool, I'll go down this road. And we ended actually, actually ended up having a good conversation. And by the end of it, we're both like, you make some great points. You make some great points. And it ended up very amicably and we were good and we didn't really cuss each other out or anything. It's just, we started listening to each other. And I think the problem is like, if you were to have these conversations on your show, you know, more often is you will run into people like that, that like they're very good at hiding their intentions. So sometimes you're going to run into that. And maybe it's better to have it offline. Yeah. I think, but I think you're smart enough to see it coming too, though, while you're, while you're discussing it. Yeah. Wow. Well, I'm glad that worked out well.

1:00:47 It was just an example of how if somebody really, really wants to be that person, they will, They'll find a way. Yeah. And I didn't expect it coming from that person. So here's what I want to do. I don't want to keep too much more every time if we don't have to, because I know you busy and you got another another recording to go to right I have to ask your dad a question right Is that how that works Oh yeah do it I going to ask him a question based kind of on what we were talking about from his perspective, because he's old enough to have had parents who lived through a lot of anti-Semitism from his parents' side, I'm sure. Oh yeah. And he's lived through a period where it kind of went away and then now it's coming back like in a really big way not that we've seen in years so I'm wondering I just want to know how he feels about this anti-semitism that's starting to resurface of all things in America by the way which I didn't I didn't think that we would see it in the USA as it has been lately and where he thinks the future is in terms of us repairing that relationship and educating people as to why we need to respect each other more because Israel has offered a lot. The Jewish people have offered a lot to America and in turn, we have supported the Jewish people in Israel. So from his perspective, what does he think is

1:02:17 causing this and how do we repair it? Oh, great question. Yeah. I am excited to hear what my dad has to say about that. Thank you. That's a very thoughtful question. Yeah, I would love his perspective. Someone who's lived through different eras of having to deal with this anti-Semitism and watching the wave of it go up, down, up, down. And then now here we are and it seems like the world is against you guys again. It's like, what? Like, how do we get back here? How did this happen? Oh, yeah, he's definitely lived it. All right. So I want to thank you and I'm not trying to rush you off. I'm just trying to be respectful of the time. I definitely would talk to you more, but I want to thank you for coming on and I appreciate your insight.

1:03:01 And again, I know this is not stuff you usually talk about, but I liked your honest response and I liked your perspective because I think a lot of people will be able to relate to everything you had to say as a Jewish American, as a mother, as someone who's not 24 seven, waking up thinking politics top of mind, but it's gotten to the point where you just can't ignore what's happening. So appreciate everything that you had to say. and hey hopefully you know maybe down the road we'll have you back or maybe I'll be on your show who knows but we'll see what happens thank you so much appreciate it Reina Bye.