- So, I think it's that time,
I was gonna originally announced this on the final episode,
but then I thought maybe that's kinda wrong
to just shock you and surprise you.
But there are only six episodes left
of the "Philip DeFranco Show" for the year 2021.
Somehow, it's about to be 2022.
Tomorrow is my birthday, I turn 36,
I feel like I've lost six to 18 months
from the past two and a half years.
See, how you get me today, six more episodes,
I think it comes to the December 10th,
I don't know, does time exist anymore?
After that I'm gonna fuck off for three weeks,
spend some time with a wife and kids,
try that outside thing,
I've heard hit or miss things about it.
And then I'll come back early January,
we're gonna fuck up 2022 together, baby.
I'm your bringer of sadness,
I am the news commentary curator version of herpes,
you ain't getting rid of me.
You can try, but my face is always around the corner.
And so on that happy note,
I say welcome back to the "Phillip DeFranco Show."
Also to exploit my birthday tomorrow,
wish me a happy birthday with that like button.
Yeah, you beautiful bastards, let's just jump into it.
The first thing we're jumping into,
the first thing we should talk about today
is Republican Representative Nancy Mace
and her Fox News versus CNN controversy,
where a lot of people on both sides recently pointing out
that she speaks very, very differently,
depending on who her target audience is.
This is Mace on Fox news.
- In some studies that I've read,
natural immunity gives you 27 times more protection
against future COVID infection than a vaccination.
And so we need to take all of the science into account
and not selectively choosing what science to follow
when we are making policy decisions.
- And then this is Mace on CNN.
- I've been a proponent of vaccinations
and wearing masks when we need to.
When we had the Delta variant raging in South Carolina,
I wrote an op-ed to my community
and I've worked with our state department of health,
I've run ads encouraging my district to go
and get vaccinated, and when we have these variants
and we have these spikes to take every precaution
from washing our hands to wearing the N95
or KN95 masks more than the medical masks,
there is a significant, statistically significant number
of people that are protected from COVID
when they wear those masks.
- And that video comparison garnered a lot of traction.
A lot of people mocking her, but also a lot of people saying
this is horrible, like she is doing this on purpose,
and this is harmful.
Which is something that was echoed
by Washington Post columnist, Paul Waldman,
who argued that this is part of a bigger issue
with Republicans that is actively dangerous.
Writing that when Republicans like Mace
were considered sensible and literally support vaccination
when not addressing their bases
present these sort of, I support vaccines,
but arguments to their supporters,
it just gives legitimacy to these ideas.
Those ideas then spread in Conservative echo chambers
to keep the issue politicized and discourage people
from getting vaccinated
which literally prolongs the pandemic.
With Waldman adding, role of politicians like Mace
is to maintain the idea that when having discussions
about the pandemic, we should continue to treat Republicans
as legitimate speakers who have something worthwhile
to contribute, rather than as representatives
of a party that is actively working to undermine
our ability to defeat the pandemic.
But I'm also going on to argue that it's irresponsible
for mainstream outlets to allow these people on,
unless they press them on these contradictions.
But ultimately with all that,
I do want to know your thoughts on this.
Like you see what Mace is doing is like trying
to see both sides or do you just see it
as blatantly harmful, that it should be moderated
and called out by the media,
or no, do you think that's just kind of the 2021 version
of getting caught pandering to different audiences?
Or do you think this is getting all blown out of proportion?
Any and all thoughts that you have here, I'd love to know
in those comments down below.
Then let's keep up with the Cuomos,
'cause I don't know if you saw this,
but documents that were released yesterday
by the New York Attorney General
showed that CNN anchor, Chris Cuomo
was far, far more extensively involved than previously known
in helping defend his brother,
former governor, Andrew Cuomo
against sexual misconduct allegations.
According to the documents,
Chris Cuomo actively push take on a larger role
in creating his brother's defense
and influencing PR strategy and offer to draft statements
for the then governor denying misconduct
and even looked into potential news coverage and accusers.
This including by using his media sources
and other journalists to look into women
who accused his brother of sexual misconduct
and keep tabs on other reporters pursuing stories
about the matter, for example, at one point,
it said that Chris Cuomo spoke to a friend
about allegations made by a woman
who accused the then governor
of inappropriately touching her at a wedding
and ran down a tip that she was lying,
with them, also said to a field request
from a top aide to his brother,
Melissa DeRosa asking him for intel
on an investigative piece, Ronan Farrow was working on
and to leverage his sources to find out if more women
were going to come forward.
With other text between DeRosa and Chris Cuomo
also showing the extent of his involvement
and efforts to be even more involved,
including one message he sent her where he wrote,
"Please let me help with the prep,"
as well as another where he said,
"I have a lead on the wedding girl."
Well, the records show that Chris Cuomo told investigators
that he never manipulated his coverage of his brother
or spun other journalists to benefit him,
these new revelations are still incredibly significant.
Where Chris Cuomo has previously downplayed his role
in helping the former governor telling viewers
back in August that he was not an advisor, but a brother,
well, he acknowledged that he talked to his brother's aides
until CNN told them to stop doing so in May,
which he did say was a mistake,
he still claimed, "I was there to listen and offer my take."
Even saying, I never made calls to the press
about my brother's situation.
But obviously these newly released transcripts, texts
and interviews indicate otherwise.
Now, Chris Cuomo, for his part has not commented
on the records and hosted a show last night as usual
with no mention of the information.
As far as CNN's response, they say they will conduct
a thorough review of the documents and adding,
we will be having conversations
and seeking additional clarity about their significance
as they relate to CNN over the next several days.
And with this new as well, you ended up seeing
the usual cast of characters responding to this,
what I really thought was interesting
was other journalists speaking out on this.
People like Gene Park of the Washington Post responding
to this news saying Chris Cuomo still working at CNN
is a mockery of journalism.
Libs defending him say there are more important things
to worry about and then complain about why media coverage
is so poor and lopsided.
I've seen friends and colleagues lose their jobs
and blacklisted from the industry for doing so much less.
So, it's genuinely insulting to see CNN
and Chris Cuomo flout standard.
It's infuriating and I won't stop talking about it.
David Weigel of the Post also hitting on that note,
saying if some news channel intern did what Chris Cuomo did,
they'd have been fired one second
after these docs were published.
Then in massive online entertainment news,
and a further confirmation that the best way
to get a massive jack from YouTube
is to get big somewhere else.
Let's talk about Ludwig,
one of the biggest streamers in the world now,
exclusively streaming here on YouTube.
But the news as far as breaking,
thanks to the head of Gaming at YouTube
and the guy who hasn't set his lineup
in our Fantasy Football League for five weeks,
Ryan Wyatt tweeting, I'm excited to announce Ludwig
will now be streaming exclusively on YouTube Gaming.
Our focus is building world class VOD,
short form and live platform.
I have to reiterate, we still aren't done yet.
Welcome to the family Ludwig.
Ludwig then confirming the move
with this purple car, red car video.
Personally, what I found really interesting
was Ludwig explaining his reasoning
for why he went to YouTube,
posting a video called "Why I left Twitch"
and he hit on a few notes.
- Even though I've been with Twitch for three plus years,
even though people call me the golden boy of Twitch,
I've never felt like the golden boy of Twitch,
I've never felt particularly loved by Twitch.
- With creators like Valkyrie responding to this news,
and really adding on to that point.
- One of the reasons why I was very happy
to move from Twitch to YouTube
was because the people behind the scenes
legitimately value my opinion.
And there is a sense of huge representation
and also importance.
- Also, Ludwig in his video going on to explain
that he actually picked Twitch,
like that was where he was going to go.
And then YouTube fought for him,
offering him more money than Twitch,
also saying you can stream less hours,
you can focus on all the other cool cons
that you want to make.
And then saying that when he went back to Twitch
and he was like, hey, they offered me this,
I just wanted to let you know,
they didn't fight for him, and they essentially said,
we just wish you the best.
With all of that, I'm kind of just in this place
of this is going to be a very fascinating space
to continue to watch over the next year.
What other talent will YouTube snipe
from Twitch moving forward?
Do we continue to see YouTube gaining more and more
of the online streaming market share,
especially because it's a lot easier to make new features,
make the UI look different
than make actual homegrown talent.
But also, I think with Ludwig specifically,
Twitch is getting hit with a bigger blow
than maybe they even realize,
'cause in my eyes, he's not just a streamer,
he is a very smart businessman
and he's just at the beginning of his career,
I think he's going to do amazing, amazing things.
Unless he's hit with a massive controversy,
in which case I take back all those nice things.
Anyway, moving on, but from that,
I want to take a second to thank the sponsor
of today's show, Audible.
If you didn't know, Audible is an amazing platform
that has the largest selection of audio books on the planet.
Members get a credit every month, good for any title
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And actually on that note, I'm currently in the middle
of "Lullaby" by Chuck Palahniuk.
And like a lot of people, I got introduced to him
via "Fight Club" then I loved "Survivor,"
now, I'm like, okay, I got to go through "Choke,"
"Invisible Monsters," now "Lullaby,"
it's really like how like weird and dark,
but at the same time funny,
but also maybe it shouldn't be funny, all of it is,
and so far with "Lullaby,"
like, I don't want to give anything away,
but like, if you want to be shocked
or think of like the darkness that could be inside of you,
it's a great one.
Oh, probably not for everyone,
so, you could also use your free credit on something else,
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think of Audible as a gift to give yourself.
And right now, for a limited time,
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It's only 5.95 a month,
so for more go to audible.com/deFranco
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and then let's about drugs and specifically overdoses.
So, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention
released provisional data earlier this month
and that data showed an estimated 100,306 people
in the US dying from a drug overdose in a 12 month period,
ending in April of 2021.
But actually, it was noting, New York city alone
reported over 2,000 drug overdose deaths,
Fentanyl reportedly being present in 77% of those deaths.
And especially over the last year,
we've seen efforts made to try and lower
the number of overdose deaths,
awareness campaigns, distributing fentanyl test strips
and needle exchange programs.
And now, in addition to all of that and a major move,
a very likely divisive decision,
you heard Mayor Bill de Blasio announcing
that New York City will authorize
two supervised injection sites.
According to the Times, the sites which already operate
as needle exchange centers will be located
in East Harlem and Washington Heights.
And New York is now the first us city
to start operating overdose prevention centers,
the trained staff, they'll provide clean needles,
reverse overdoses with Naloxone
and help people find addiction treatment services.
And as far as part of the reason why they're doing this,
there was a study back in 2018
released by the city's Health Department
that estimated that establishing
four supervised consumption centers
would save up to 130 lives a year
while reducing public drug use and syringe litter.
This mindset about being open and transparent and honest
about drugs is not a uniquely New York thing,
we're seeing things internationally
in countries like New Zealand,
where they tried a program at music festivals
over the last year, where they're essentially like,
okay, we don't want you to do drugs,
but if you're going to do drugs,
let's at least make sure they're safe.
So, they're now set to become the first country
to permanently legalized drug checking services,
the law pass its third reading last week,
which means that officially goes into effect December 7th,
and that means that users can now test the safety
of their substances at certain locations
without fear of legal problems.
And actually one of the biggest changes to the law
is that this most recent version is no longer restricted
to just music venue, right?
And so this move and a lot of these types of moves,
they've been praised by many saying
this is going to prevent deaths,
but of course it's not universal,
you have others, including a New Zealand,
the National Party saying that they think
that it encourages the use of drugs,
with them even opposing the law completely,
all 33 members voting against it.
Ultimately, for now, we're gonna have to wait to see
what actually happens from here.
Will things stay the same, will things get worse
with the increased knowledge about them
and safety curb their use.
But what we do know is that according
to some very early reports,
the law might be successful here.
For example, many users during this trial found out
that their drugs ended up unsurprisingly being cut
with other substances,
including plenty of extremely dangerous ones.
Based on a February report,
which looked at the trial of this program,
68% of those surveyed said they changed their behavior
after using a testing service
and 87% saying that knowing what was in their drugs
gave them a better idea of how to reduce harms
associated with its use.
Yeah, ultimately time will tell
and with all of this, I'd love to know your thoughts.
Then in international news,
we should talk about Queen Elizabeth II
becoming a little less Royal today
after getting the boot,
today, officially removed as the head of state
from the Caribbean Island of Barbados,
following its decision to become a Republic,
with the queen being replaced by President Sandra Mason,
a former Royal Governor of Barbados
who was elected to the presidency on October 20th.
Also, I said she got the boot,
but it wasn't a particularly contentious decision
with even Queen Elizabeth II praising the move
and offering her support and saying in a letter,
on the significant occasion and your assumption of office
as the first president of Barbados,
I extend my congratulations to you and all Barbadians.
Additionally, Charles Prince of Wales
was in Barbados per taking a transition ceremony
where he acknowledged the Island's history with slavery
and how it shaped the nation
while also hailing the country's next chapter.
On top of that at the same ceremony,
singer Rihanna was hailed as a national hero of Barbados
by the president, right?
For those that don't know Rihanna is actually since 2018,
been the ambassador for culture and youth in Barbados
with the prime minister of Barbados
going on to say to Rihanna,
may you continue to shine like a diamond, oh my God,
call back, and bring honor to your nation by your works,
by your actions, right?
And so all of this, a very big deal,
but also at the same time, not a lot is going to change.
Barbados has actually been an independent country since 1966
and like many nations with the president, prime minister,
government model, President Mason
will mostly be a figurehead leader,
regarding international relations,
Barbados will continue to remain in the Commonwealth,
which is a powerful coalition of countries
that are mostly former British colonies
that promote trade and democracy among fellow members.
Though, Barbados' move may have a ripple effect
in other countries that still have Queen Elizabeth
as the head of state, serious politicians in places
like Jamaica now, suggesting to the country also remove her
and become a Republic.
And while we're on the subject, this is my plea,
I know we have a lot of beautiful bastards in Canada,
kick out the queen and elect me president.
I already know I can't be your PM
'cause I've never done black face, that's fine.
But like me as powerless figure head,
what's the worst that could happen?
But ultimately, that is where that story
and today's show ends.
Of course, with that, whether it be this final story,
the first one, anything in between,
I'd love to know your thoughts in those comments down below.
Then of course, as always, my name's Philip DeFranco,
you've just been filled in,
I love your faces and I'll see you tomorrow.