>>> IT’S TIME TO FALL BACK. IT’S THE END OF THE WORLD AS WE
KNOW IT BECAUSE THE GRAMMY
WINNING FOUNDING MEMBERS OF THE
BAND REM.
BAND REM. THEY’VE SOLD OVER 85 MILLION
RECORDS WORLDWIDE AND CARNEGIE
SCHOLAR AND IS THE AUTHOR OF
"NATIONAL INSECURITY AMERICAN
LEADERSHIP IN AN AGE OF FEAR."
WHAT AN HONOR TO HAVE ALL OF YOU
HERE.
HERE. I LOVE IT.
DAVID, YOU’RE THE REPEAT
CUSTOMER HERE SO I’M GOING TO
START WITH YOU.
WHAT’S ON YOUR FALL BACK LIST?
>> I THINK MAYBE WE COULD START
WITH HAVING PG&E AND THE
GOVERNMENT OF CALIFORNIA FALL
BACK.
BACK. BECAUSE YOU’D THINK CALIFORNIA
IS THE FIFTH LARGEST STATE, OUR
FIFTH LARGEST ECONOMY IN THE
WORLD.
WORLD. AND MAYBE THEY COULD LEARN HOW
TO GENERATE ELECTRICITY FOR
EVERYBODY AND DO SO WITHOUT
BURNING THE STATE DOWN.
AND, YOU KNOW, IF YOU’RE GOING
TO HAVE FIRES THAT DESTROY
COMMUNITIES EVERY COUPLE OF
MONTHS MAYBE THE STATE COULD DO
MORE ABOUT IT, BECAUSE THIS IS
STARTING TO BE A REGULAR THING.
AND IT SEEMS IN A CIVILIZED RICH
COUNTRY WE SHOULDN’T HAVE CITIES
BURNING DOWN ALL THE TIME.
>> MICHAEL, WHAT OR WHO ON YOUR
LIST NEEDS TO FALL BACK?
>> I FEEL LIKE I’M STANDING ON
TOP OF A BUNCH OF TEETERING
BOXES WHEN I SAY MEDIA IN
GENERAL, SPECIFICALLY SOCIAL
MEDIA.
MEDIA. I READ THE BOOK "10 ARGUMENTS
FOR DELETING YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA
ACCOUNTS NOW."
ACCOUNTS NOW." AND IT CONFIRMED FOR ME HOW
DESTRUCTIVE SOCIAL MEDIA HAS
BECOME, AND I WOULD LIKE TO SEE
THAT FALL BACK.
>> THAT’S A GREAT ONE.
>> PARTICULARLY FACEBOOK.
IT’S A GOOD WEEK FOR THAT.
PARTICULARLY TWITTER.
PARTICULARLY TWITTER. I FEEL LIKE WE’D BE LIVING IN A
VERY DIFFERENT UNIVERSE TODAY
HAD JACK DORSEY ON TWITTER TOLD
TRUMP YEARS AGO WHAT YOU’RE
PUTTING ON OUR SITE IS HATE
SPEECH.
SPEECH. I WONDER WHERE WE’D BE NOW.
>> IN A BETTER PLACE.
>> I THINK WE NEED TO FOCUS ON
PEOPLE WHO HAVE ALLOWED HIM TO
HAVE THIS PLATFORM AND BARK OUT
THE KIND OF CRAP HE BARKS OUT ON
A DAILY BASIS AND YOU GUYS COVER
AND WE TALK ABOUT AND RAMBLE ON
ABOUT -- THERE’S NO AGGRESSION
THERE.
THERE. >> NO, I’M SENSING SOME
TRADITIONAL MEDIA CRITICISM.
>> IT’S KIND OF INTERESTING
WHAT’S HAPPENED TO "THE
WASHINGTON POST," A PAPER THAT
IS OWNED BY SOMEONE WHO I DO NOT
LIKE, BUT THERE’S A LOT OF GREAT
PEOPLE WORKING THERE.
THERE’S A LOT OF GREAT PEOPLE
WORKING AT "THE NEW YORK TIMES."
I JUST DON’T THINK THEY HAVE THE
SAME PLATFORM THEY’D HAVE UNDER
DIFFERENT LEADERSHIP.
DIFFERENT LEADERSHIP. >> AND YOU’RE WORRIED ABOUT THE
CORPORATE CONTROL OF THE PAPERS.
>> I THINK IT COULD BE ADDRESSED
IN A MUCH DIFFERENT WAY.
>> WHAT ELSE IS ON YOUR MIND?
>> YOU SORT OF LEAPT ON MINE A
LITTLE BIT.
LITTLE BIT. I THINK SCIENCE DENIAL HAS TO
FALL BACK BECAUSE SCIENCE
TEACHES EVERYTHING WE KNOW.
BECAUSE IF YOU CONTINUE TO DENY
SCIENCE YOU’RE GOING TO GO
BACKWARDS AND PEOPLE ARE GOING
TO DIE.
TO DIE. AND IT’S LITERALLY KILLING
PEOPLE TO THINK SCIENCE DOES NOT
TRUMP EVERYTHING ELSE.
PEOPLE ARE GETTING AWAY WITH
DEFUNDING GOVERNMENT RESEARCH
ORGANIZATIONS.
ORGANIZATIONS. IT’S A CRIME AND PEOPLE ARE
SUFFERING FOR IT.
>> I’D BE INTERESTED IN YOUR
REACTIONS -- ONE OF THE THINGS
THAT STRIKES ME IS WE HAVE THE
PROBLEMS WITH TRUMP, WE HAVE THE
PROBLEMS WITH DENYING SCIENCE,
RAMPANT CORRUPTION.
RAMPANT CORRUPTION. WE’VE GOT A LOT OF PROBLEMS
RIGHT NOW.
RIGHT NOW. WHAT WE DON’T HAVE IS A LOT OF
ARTS ACTIVISM.
ARTS ACTIVISM. I DON’T SEE THE PROTEST SONGS.
I DON’T SEE THE PARODYING
MOVIES.
MOVIES. >> I JUST PUT OUT MY FIRST
PROTEST SONG.
PROTEST SONG. >> I DIDN’T KNOW THAT.
>> THAT’S OKAY.
>> BUT ALL THE PROCEEDS FROM THE
FIRST YEAR, EVERY SINGLE PENNY
OF PROFIT GOES TO A GROUP
THAT --
THAT -- >> I THINK THAT’S WONDERFUL.
AND WE DON’T WANT TO JUST DO THE
GENERATIONAL THING, BUT IT IT
DOES SEEM SOMETIME SAID LIKE
WHEN YOU WANT THE BIG
ADVANCEMENT OF EQUALITY, SOCIAL
CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENTS, THERE
WAS MORE OF THAT IT FELT LIKE
EARLIER THAN NOW.
>> OEVERYONE SEEMS INTERESTED IN
BUILDING THEIR BRAND, AND I
DON’T KNOW IF THAT’S JUST THE
GREED THAT SEEMS TO HAVE
FILTERED ALL THROUGH SOCIETY AND
CULTURE IN GENERAL, BUT IT’S A
REAL STHAM THAT MORE PIPE AREN’T
SPEAKING OUT.
SPEAKING OUT. I GUESS THEY’RE AFRAID BECAUSE
THINGS LIKE TWITTER ARMIES WILL
COME AFTER OR SOCIAL MEDIA WILL
TEAR THEM DOWN IF THEY TAKE A
STAND, BUT I THINK THAT’S
EXACTLY WHAT ARTISTS SHOULD DO.
>> WE DIDN’T KNOW WHAT WOULD
HAPPEN WHEN WE BROUGHT YOU GUYS