Birthday Celebrations and Upcoming Guests

If we knew more about our sleep What would we do differently Would we go to bed at a consistent time or take steps to reduce interruptions to our sleep? with Sleep score Apple Watch measures your bedtime consistency, interruptions, and sleep duration And then, every morning it combines these factors into an easy to understand score, from one to one hundred. So you'll know how to take the quality of your sleep from o to very high Know your sleep score with Apple Watch IiPhone eleven or later required. All right, it is Wednesday, june tenth and I am here with the lovely, the talented. Alyssa Faragriffin. Hello Brian. Our tables have turned. Yes we've I'm on this side. I've switched seats. People notice this. I did this a couple days ago. When we had that we had the interview with Caris Swisher Yeah. and you we switched seats for some logistical reason. and then we discovered everybody looked pretty good that way. So love that. We're just gonna do this one. You know that good lighting is the most important thing to me. I do know that. I also know that it allows the Webby to get a little bit more coverage, which is important. So I mean, well, you're not care so sure you don't have like ten noies yet. Nomebody suggested I use one of them to hold bread sticks, which That hurt a little bit. Is that joy? It might have been It feels like joy. It might have been Let's dive right into hot topics. and we talked today about Grah Platt winning this primary in Maine. There's a lot of debate around that topic, but you said something that made me think more about the big picture, which is the idea that Democrats can win the Senate without him Yes We've been talking about this for a long time, and I don't know that you were always there. So tell me how you feel? I wasn't. And honestly, maybe two or three months ago, I would have said pretty confidently that Democrats will take the House but won't take the Senate. So basically, they need to win three seats in order to take the Senate And I feel that sentiment and that tide shifting and I think there's a very strong chance Democrats take the Senate, and I do think that there are multiple paths that do not involve them having to win maine So what I would say is this, the most likely pickup, North Carolina, the Tom Tillis, the former governor is running highly popular. That's seen as a pickup. Ohio, Sherred Brown is running again, who's deeply popular in the state. Despite it being a red state. he is somebody who's served in that seat for a long time. He's seen as formidable. Alaska, this Dan Sullivancy is seen as a potential pickup And then one that I need to get Sarah Haynes hyped on this, Iowa, surprisingly. So Joni Ernsti retired and now you've got Ashley Henson running as the Republican. who's fine. She was a house member. She's involved in state politics. She's not nearly as formidable as Joni Ernst, who was a combat veteran. She had this moderate streak to her and was really beloved in the state And she's running against this guy with a really fascinating personal narrative. He' somebody who, you know was severely disabled, but has like pursued his dreams and has this great story that he tells There's those all of those seats and then there's the Texas factor. I still think Texas and Iowa are big uphill battles. but my point today is There are other ways for Democrats to do this without tying themselves to an alleged abuser of women with the Nazi tattoo affiliation who's denigated the gay community, who's denigrated wounded veterans. Like I say it as somebody who You know, held my breath and was like, I guess Trump's going to be president in twenty sixteen and have kind of lived with the guilt of supporting him despite his character failings since then. I just I don't think we have to do that. I don't believe in creating false dichotomies of I'm going to go like the lesson I learned is I don't want these false dichotomies of like, I have to sacrifice my values to get to this end find another path. And final thing I'd also say is ye, he can get off the ballot till July. So I just tend to think with these really scandalous figures, more things tend to come out And there is a way that they could replace him with another candidate. get know if it happen He would have to withdraw. So he would have to say, I'm stepping aside, whatever. And then it is the party intervening to replace him on the ticket. People don't love that because it feels like the power broker' deciding. But this guy doesn't have like ringing support in Maine. If he had gotten say ninety five percent of the Democratic vote in the primary last night. I like the people are speaking and they they definitely want Graham Platner. He got about seventy percent, which means about thirty voted for someone other than him, one of those candidates being Janet Mills, who's not who's literally said she's no longer in the race. It was just too late to take her name off the ballot. So that shows me that there is a pretty real opposition to him and enough to sway the race for Susan Susan Collins if stays in. Yeah. I mean, we've been talking about all of these allegations. and to be clear, Platner has denied all allegations about being physically intimidating towards his partner. He said he went through a very dark period and was far from a perfect boyfriend, But that was it. He acknowledged he made mistakes that he and his wife had worked through Some of the other stuff is a little murkier also.. you know, I do I do bump up on the idea that For a long time, the more liberal panel members have been saying that supporting Donald Trump with his alleged crimes makes you complicit in them. And I don't know how you reconcile feeling differently here. It's hard. I understand why it's hard. I actually got the most authentic like member of Congress, I've seen on it was AOC who seemed like genuinely morally conflicted being like, the Senate in these issues, I care about matters so much, but like that doesn't mean I'm dismissing or making light of these very real associations accusations against him I just I think if we ever want things to get better, we have to draw a line somewhere. And I'm in the position where I would say the exact same thing about someone on the right. Like I am obviously not supporting Ken Paxton in Texas. This guy's got ethical violations allegations from his ex wife. Like I won't I at this phase of my life feel absolutely zero obligation to support someone whose values I cannot defend whose values I don't support and cannot defend. At the same time, I see the side of people that say Democrats are suckers Yeah and they get hit this way over and over again. you know, they do the moral thing and then they lose. The difference though, if like because Joy would be like Al Franken, this isn' an Al Franken. This isn't, you know, a picture that didn't look right at that time and might have been a little offensive. This is some pretty real and heavy stuff. And I think it also hurts other races. This is what happens is that O candidates are going to have to answer for him. So places where they stand to pick up seats like Sherared Brown and in the Tillis seeat in North Carolina, they're going to get asked questions. Men and women who've never done anything like this are going to have to defend this guy And I just, I don't know if you want to tie yourself to that. Yeah, it's very interesting. But that said, the fact that the Senate is even in play and that the words Iowa and Texas for Democrats are coming out of my mouth says something about how unpopular Donald Trump is right now. Well, and I want to move over from that because we also talked about the election fal the false election conspiracy theories and claims going on in California right now. You said earlier this week for folks who still believe These lies, you've had six years to prove them. And going back to the twenty twenty election And we have seen no credible evidence. How do you think these claims could be combated? Because it's almost like Trump has said it over and over again to the point where people are starting to accept it on the right, on the MAGa right. sixty three percent of Republicans believe that there was the election was rigged, stolen or something in twenty twenty. I think that a lot of it is the anatomy of a lie. If you just repeat a falsehood over and over again, people start to believe it. I also think there's so many conspiracy theories. it's the kind of like Donald Trump tends to like throw things at a wall and see what sticks Nobody's even sticking to one thing. It was, you know, Venezuelan voting machines or it was Italian satellites or whatever. Nobody gives one core answer. It just the kind of vibes, It doesn't feel right is basically what they've landed on. And when I've tried to argue with people about it, and I honestly, I don't even engage that much anymore. It tends to be like, you really think Biden got that many votes. And to me, the answer to that is You probably live in a bubble. If you believe that at twenty twenty, at the height of the pandemic, at the height of the social unrest around George Floyd's murder, that this country was so roundly behind Donald Trump You weren't reading the moment. You might have been in a bubble of Trump supporters, but the country was not with him. I mean, I was literally physically with Donald Trump and knew that the country was with him Um, But I mean, the LA stuff is wild. It's just like pure like the Spencer Pratt trutherism is unbelievable. Like this is a this is a wild stat. He got like basically zero point one percent more of the vote than Donald Trump got in Los Angeles Meaning he got the most predictable outcome. He did slightly better than Donald Trump did in Los Angeles. Granted, he ran as an independent, but he was very much running as a Republican light And Trump basically endorsed him. Yeah, basically. and his biggest backers in many cases were, you know, Trump supporters. So it's this like peopleeople get really carried away that this is a lot crazier than Dems thinking they could win the Senate in Texas. Was Republicans thinking they were going to win the LA. mayayor's race. But these are people that are terminally online that are being swayed by their own bubbles to yourrect. And the idea that like a couple of you know, semiv viral political ads, like AI slop ads. Also okay, like Those ads weren't even that good. I get back to the core issue because I saw people, even some who I cons consider relatively serious on the right being like, these are unbelievable What is creative moving votes or persuasive about throwing tomatoes at like Kamala Harris and Karen Bass and like Gavin Newsom is the Joker? Like to me, it felt like very lazy. Yeah. I mean, I think initially when Spencer announced he was running and it was coming from the personal place of having lost his home in the fire. I understood the appeal of that. And I said someone who's in his words, suffered under the incumbent mayors rule's not rule. Yes. I'm looking for a better word than the rule administration. But it the tenor of it changed and it became more of a typical Exactly. Yeah. Yeah. because like anytime I talk him, I like Spener. I found him delightfully charming when we had him on the show. Never thought I'd say that because he's kind of a historic villain on reality TV. But the other thing too was like, you don't replace incompetence with incompetence. I don't think Karen Bass has been a good mayor. I also don't think she's responsible for everything that went wrong with the fires But you don't replace that with somebody who's never had a managerial job. They've never worked in state government. They've never worked at the city council level. That's not going to break through the bureaucratic grin comparing yourself to Barack Obama in those moments is insanity. That was like my absolute favorite is like Barack Obama was a United States Senator. He was a community organizer. He was a Harvard law grad. Like it's not even the same universe of comparison you know, and I'll say this about X or Twitter. I'm really barely on anymore. I think you see that. like I maybe check like Every few days to like check the vibes and see what's trending. because I do want to know what's happening in that bubble, but Twitter was a bubble five years ago before the Elon takeover. It was, you know, less than like thirty percent of the country was even on it. It's people who are a little more motivated and engaged in politics. so it tended to be somewhat more polarizing on both sides. Since the Elon takeover in the last few years It is a bubble of a bubble. It is the right wing of the right. You've got, know, you've got lefties on it, but Overall, it skews dramatically one direction. I wonder if it's all that different than tr social at this point. Correct. That's what I'm. And I'm not sure that it is. So what can happen is people who maybe five years ago were on it pretty regularly and thought it was a pretty good source of news. I used to be one of those people still might think that, but they don't realize they're reinforcing an algorithm that is so skewed against where the actual country is. Absolutely But it's astounding to me that people that I thought were pretty bright are just like being swept up in these conspiracy theories. I mean, also, Kamala Harris won LA by seventy percent. Right. There was there was the victory was going to be if Spencer Pratt made it to the runoff. Yes. Spencer Pratt was never going to be mayor of LA and the fact that that was like So people just like committed to the core that that was going to happen. And now that in the in the gubernatorial race, a Republican did make it. So then Steve Hilton you know, makes it to the runoff and it's like, but no fraud there. No fraud detected ery str Who, by the way is now distancing himself. He was on Aaron Burnett' show and Hilton is distancing himself from the election truthorism because A it's absurd and B, he has to now win a general election in the state of California. and leaning into Donald Trump conspiracy theories does not help you there. Absolutely. Today I want to tell you about our friends at Cozy Earth Can you remember the best night of sleep you've ever had For me, oh, it was last summer and the Amalfi Coast. It was unbelievable. Ocean breeze and best sleep I've ever had Good news, you can give yourself an amazing night of sleep every night by upgrading your bedding to Czy Earth Cozy Earth offers luxury bedding at an incredible price Ultra soft, bamboo sheets, blankets, and duvet covers are the perfect companion for a night of uninterrupted relaxation It's an innovative temperature regulating material designed to keep hot sleepers cool and cold sleepers warm all year round So say goodbye to multiple seasons worth of betting to make sure you stay comfortable as the seasons change. withith just one set of cozy Earth bedding, you can have five star sleep year round And best of all, with our deal, their already great prices are even better. You can get fifty percent off any cozy Eth beddting of your choice by going to our unique link. That's right, fifty percent off But hurry, this deal is only for a limited time. Get yourself the betting of your dreams. Go to ABc secret saavings d. com slash. BTT. for fifty percent off the best bedding you'll ever sleep on That's ABC secret saavings dot com slash BTT Youo there. 'is I, Queen Mortuana of the Night Realm, AKA Kate McKinnon. And her raven minion Jojo, AK Emily Lynn. If you do not download and binge my show, heads will roll air apparent on audible, I will cut off your head! Oh no. Maybe just tell them about the guest stars like Richard Kind, Gerry Koon, Jimmy Fallon at all. Vir They were in it. And if you don't listen to them, then I will cut off your tongue, then cut off your head, and then put the tongue in the head hole. A, you tried. Listen now exclusively on Audible and D of the audible after today are off with your head. I k The other thing we talked about earlier in the week was this Kristen Welker interview with President Trump. And then before that were some of Trump's harsh words towards Caitlin Collins It seems like the thing that, I mean, don't be wrong, he does, he's tough on all journalists. He is and he's happy to insult all of them. Yeah. There's something about the way he interacts with female journalists that seems different. I mean, you've worked with him. What do you attribute this to? One hundred percent, I do think that there is something about a woman asking him tough questions, not letting up and just fiercely moving forward and not you know beinging intimidated by who he is, his stature, his power, the role that he's in, that he finds deeply like offensive. It like triggers him to his core. It's true. I've seen him snap it like Peter Alexander. there is something different with women. He does it to Caitln and it to Kristen Welker. He hates being pushed by women in that way. and you you can kind of watch it happening in real time. Like the Caitlin Collins one is so ild because she didn't even ask the question. He snapped at her before she even was asking him a question. So for all he knew, it could have been, you know, how great are things going today, but made he made an assumption. he was bothered that she wasn't smiling or trying to like appear a certain way for him. And that gets under his skin. I work all of these women on the other side of the press shop in like, Th some of the finest journalists Like I think about this, Barba Walters would be so proud of Kristen, of Caitlin. like these are women who are in an unprecedented environment for press in the White House. Like this has not been like covering any other administration before. You know every day that you may get dressed down on TV, you're going to probably get denigrated by the president of the United States. half the country will then go on to attack you because he did And your job is still the same thing that it was. So it's like a job but with like the hazard pay that should come with having to cover this particular White House. It's incredibly like my hat is off to them. I don't think I would have the fortitude to do it day in and day out. But it's so important because now you have a press corps that is half stacked with loyalists. You've got like the my pillow guy Like they have press credentials now. So having like serious credible journalists asking real questions is more important than it's ever been. Have you had to deal with the smile more thing in your career? Has that been something that people have ever talked to you about? Yeah, and not from Trump actually. meembers of Congress when I worked in the House, like the number of times that men found it appropriate with me as a senior aide to just be like, I think it's more like, oh, you look nice when you smile or like make sure you smile. And I'm like we would just never it's not even that we wouldn't say it to a man. it wouldn't even cross your mind. It's this sort of like this internalized sexism that you don't even realize. I also would deal with like again, was a senior aide on Capitol Hill and people would like come up to me and give me their dinner order at like an after hours briefing. I was like, that's not my job. like get the intern. But yeah,s that's a very real thing. Yeah. the amount of misogyny in the world is shhocking to me. and I'm embarrassed to say, I didn't realize how bad it was Yeah until I worked for this show And before I saw the way that women giving strong opinions as an absolutely triggering raging effect on a certain type of man Because you know, Joyce said this at a lot of the comments and don't get me wrong, you guys make Women mad sometimes on the right and the left sometimes. but the amount of angry troll comments from men who just do not want to hear you speaking your mind in a strong way that disagrees with theirs. Yeah. It' Which by the way, that, you know what's interesting of all of like my jobs from Capitol Hill to the White House, the place I experienced the least sexism was at the Pentagon And I attribute that to the fact that I think the military force, because it's diverse, because it's inclusive with women, it's ingrained in all of them to respect each other as peers and to treat women no different than men. And I remember going into the building and being like I'm five foot two and I'm going to be next to a general who's you, six foot three and I have to appear as commanding and as you know, knowledgeable and prepared. And I would over prepare, but I don't remember a single day in the Pentagon that I was treated by someone in uniform or out a civilian out of uniform with any degree of sexism. And mean I think that's an I think that's an incredible thing. I know. I hope it is still the case. I It's a little hard to imagine under Hag Seth. but All right, well let's switch to Bravo where sexism doesn like this. The final summer House reunion episode aired last night. This is now people are saying it's eclipse S scand ofal as the big sk. I think I think it's there. The reunion episode aired last night. What was your big takeaway from the Amanda and West drama? So Kyle Cook, Amanda's ex husband or soon to be ex husband, he cooked last night. He absolutely nailed it and it hadn't quite occurred to me what was so off putting about this relationship other than the betrayal of her friend Sierra and the betrayal of her, you know soon to be ex husband It's that she was in Amanda was in the most vulnerable place in her life going through her marriage ending and this male friend of hers West used that moment to pursue her and start a romantic relationship. And in doing so isolated her from all her friends because he knew her best friend is his ex girlfriend. He knew she would lose that friendship, she would lose Kyle, her ex husband, who she'd been very amicable. Why is that on him and not her I believe it's on both of them. I think o, oh no, I think I think he's extremely calculated I think Amandon, I don't like to say this about women. I don't think she's a deep thinker. I don't think she thinks things through. I think she's driven by needing to have a man in her life And I think she egregiously betrayed her best friend, but I think he is a deeply calculated person. And so now what the whole Bravo fandom is kind of wondering is like where does the show go from here? It's been one of the highest rated Bravo shows. is like every year, year over year better. and I don't know how you put all those people back in a house together So I'm curious like, does West go? doeses Amanda go? Do they is there some kind of a, you know, a breakoff Who knows because we loveved the show and it was such a good season. And then this scandal just rocked everything. You gott to get them all back. That's I'm a producer. That That's what you do. Andy mentioned last night, so the big controversy about the leaked footage of the reunion, they said, and I believe you called this. It was Bravo Superfan and Jennifer Lawrence Detective Jennifer Lawrence. What was explained that to me? What happened? and what was your reaction? It was literally. So these audio clips from the reunion leaked and it had never happened before. It was like, I mean, a complete betrayal of the audience of the show Apparently, Jennifer Lawrence, who is also a diehard Bravo fan, was listening to them and picked up on some cues of where the audio could have come from because one of the beliefs was that a cast member was recording on their phone, but the audio made clear it couldn't have been that. It ultimately turned out to be I want to make sure I get this right. but someone like on the production side, somebody who had the second handand audio back through the feed. and she apparently like helped figure that out in like you know, isolate who it could and couldn't be. So absolutely fascinating. Is there anything she can't do? What can't she do? I mean, how about that? You won the Hunger game. Exactly. Yeah It's really amazing. All in other news, it's your birthday on Monday. and today is my son's four month birthday. Oh, happappy birthday baby, Justin.. So do you have any birthday plans? What are you gonna do? What's also father we're celebrating overlapping with Father's Day weekend too. so it will be kind of a joint four month Justie celebration, Justin's first Father's Day and my birthday. I'm all for Father's Day, but shouldn't you get your own dedicated celebration here?'m actually not bit person Really? Weirdly enough. I do like receiving a gift, so I'll be anxiously awaiting what my husband gets me. I don't know. I've never really been a huge birthday person. I just like opportunities to get friends and family together so we'll have family over and you know, hang with my little boy. I'm turning fifty this summer. Wh are you? Yes? Are you doing something big? I think you have to do for fifteen. I don't think we are. I don't know what's going on. We'll see Heather's gott to do something for you. I'm not feeling it. Again, I'm in my mind twenty eight. You and Sarah are thirty eight and like yeah, I don't I appreciate that. Yeah. And that's why I like. I like to age the entire cast down by a decade. I think that's right