VIDEO
hey what's going on everybody thank you
so much for tuning in to the 404 show
it's Friday februari 12 2016 it's always
a great pleasure when we can bring
someone on this program who has never
been on before that's right is it me if
you ladies over for the first time ever
mr. Vladimir do th thank you so much for
having me it is our pleasure it is a
long time coming you sir are a CBS News
anchor he doesn't look anything like
account we were talking about this last
week is that what I first heard your
name right I got this guy's live Impaler
yeah some not even vampire like a
general a general count yeah and that's
the first thing i said i said i didn't
know counts could World War potentially
not vampire good part you know the
account is is the highest level like of
I think account it's like count and then
King and I couldn't bug Duke I think
it's a or maybe it's King Duke count
right we're maybe not like any wrong
week I you're right up there it's up I'm
on my way up there I had no idea that
that was the hierarchy I was just like
oh I count is what they give out like a
party feed or maybe it's the lowest for
all lines important castle if you can
take a castle you gotta be pretty high
up there you that crap anyway no let's
talk about his actual accomplishments
absolutely so uh Vlad and I met what was
it may be like a year and a half yeah
when CBS n started and we were talking a
lot before we started recording about
your very interesting and diverse sort
of path to where you are right now the
outer life so right now you are a CBS n
anchor CBS CBS news correspondent and
you talk about how you also have decades
of your life that you spent in finance
before you even start doing this yeah
yeah so you told us this story right and
it led up to the two right at the point
where you're like I need to change my
life you're a captive captain of
industry you've got a yes I was Matt yet
can ship around
the world being a totally doped bad yeah
and then suddenly catharsis hits yeah
and you have I mean explain how this all
played um yeah and to that point about
like you know I was in I took a
colleague of mine to Hong Kong one year
he had never traveled with me abroad for
a business meeting and just to give you
a sense of like where I was here we fly
into Hong Kong and I'm like do we have
to go out like as soon as we land
because of the time difference and we
don't want to get sprayed up with our
internal clock so we'll just go out just
having a strategy for that alone shows
you how I have that much preparation I
like I've been doing it for a while so
we go into this something I'm gonna take
you to like one of my favorite spots in
Hong Kong and he's like okay so we walk
into this dislike club bar thing and
there's like a torch singer like on the
stage and she's doing you know fly me to
her mood nice and I come in and he's
with me and she's like you know let me
play hi Vlad oh my mom the star and he's
like double take he's like wait wait
dude what just happened she's not being
punked right now right he had no clue
like he's like that well I'm like I come
here a lot he's like what we're in Hong
Kong I'm like I know it's like it was
that kind of a life right you live in it
I was doing you know and I had I was
working for a great company and but so I
was in stockholm on this business trip
I'm with a colleague and uh I had this
epiphany that although I enjoyed finance
and I'd spent almost you know 19 years
close to 20 years of my life in finance
um it was not very fulfilling for me I
was a journalism undergrad major I wrote
for my high school newspaper had a radio
show in college wrote for my college
newspaper what college too good I went
to the University of Rhode Island go
roadie Christiane Amanpour also went
there John case I didn't know they have
like a legacy of life they kind of do
you know wasn't a huge journal as a
program but you know Christian is one of
the world's great legendary journalist
john king also went there and some
others and so um I was at URI and I was
writing for the school newspaper and
I was I watched like 60 minutes
religiously the way I still do but even
then it was like I'd watch at Bradley
and mike wallace and Morley Safer in all
these guys on and the evening news and I
was all over the place I'd watch Sam
Donaldson on ABC and I'd watch you know
Ted Koppel and broke on and John
Chancellor all these old-school guys I
knew who the Moreau boys were Eric
severide I wanted to be a reporter that
was my goal um but somehow I you know we
were talking about how I got sidetracked
from that and but then all of a sudden I
found myself going like what am i doing
and that was decade that was decades
later dude it was like it was like you
know I was 37 yeah right so I was old i
am old and I'm not old yeah I don't tell
me I mean as someone that has like gone
through that bad 32 and certainly has
gone through that period of like I'm
gonna change my career can I even do
that and you even do it right it'll add
a is it allowed and will people like
laugh at you and yet it kind of did and
it was like you know so I came back and
I made a lit I was on the flight home
and I made this list and I'm like what
can I do what are my interest and um
there were a couple of things that were
like we're running through my mind one
like I sort of have subscribed to this
like Buddhist notion that you know the
key to immortality is doing something
that is worth remembering and I didn't
feel up until that point in my life that
I had done anything worth remembering it
was all great for me share and for my
you know loved ones but it had done
nothing for the world and I think I know
people think that's likely shade or
corny but that's literally how I felt
and so I started writing down like you
know teaching and like federal law
enforcement I don't like you know doing
something you know I and so and then I
kept writing like writer reporter
journalist but I thought that's gonna be
so hard because it's such a tough
industry to break into and I'm fairly
old and or older but but it's what I
love that's what I love doing I was a
political junkie news junkie and so I
started to think about it I get back to
work and in New York and my boss who was
the CEO of our international division at
the time was a really cool guy and he
said I kind of confided in him I said
look I'm thinking about I'm going
through this thing and I you know I
she did bounce it off of you and he goes
he goes okay so you want to be you want
to go into journalism he's like that's a
dying industry dude he's like why would
you you know and I said I I don't know
this is what I really think I was meant
to be dead this is coming out of me yeah
so um so I start trying to like while
I'm still working i start like sending
out my resume to a couple of people and
I go an interview at a couple of places
which will remain a name because because
they looked at my resume and they're
like going through it and they're like
like what on your resume is indicating
reported right and also it's like three
pages long as like things that I've done
like I was in like you know when I was
in the army and I done all these things
and they're like you know you've been at
like 30 countries and f you know you're
managing director this is a production
assistant job oh sure it pays like
28,000 right here and I'm like I'll take
it and they're like no you won't like
you will well here let me draw this out
for you what's your name flat okay
that's what you made in a month but it
was literally like there's like no and
you know they're like you have a team of
people that report to you from all
around the world yeah and you're gonna
be working for somebody who's like 26
yeah and they're gonna be screaming at
you like go get me coffee and like go
print these out so what's going on in
your head you're like this sounds great
yeah I was just like I want to learn I
want to learn and I just said you know
if you give me a shot I know I can do
this and there's another there's another
kind of a Buddhist aspect to that which
is that you know um we're always
learning we're always students like in
life is about like you if your if your
life is a cup you want to empty the cup
once in a while and if you are
half-empty you can refill that vessel
with knowledge and information what's
the weight I'm into that I I can do it
right I will entertain every sort of
school of thought when you're emptying
the cup what are you empty the garbage
at this stuff you just stuff like in
your life exactly the things that you
know that you don't need any more things
that you you know it's about
decluttering okay that's right
Zuckerberg where's the hoodie every day
and and jobs were they lack because you
want to declutter your life of the
things that you don't need you don't
make a decision right right to like
changing your you know picking out an
outfit every day just wear the same
thing yeah so yeah
like I can I'm I I can do that and I can
just see an HR person going this guy
thinks like journalism or television
production is glamorous and he's gonna
find out real quick right now and it's
terrible and he has a mortgage to pay
their origin is good for them it looks
badly on them if they hire someone
that's miserable and has exactly right
there's a lot of variables that's
running against this whole thing exactly
so I had a couple of moments where I did
that and then I realized that it was not
gonna work out that you know that i
could get hired this way so i applied to
columbia journalism school and i figured
i made a deal with myself I went to URI
which is a great university i love the
University of Rhode Island but I wasn't
the best like student Karen I was there
you know is a gentleman see ya say I
like that right Jenna Bush yes like bush
and so I was like if I can get into
Columbia and that will be maybe the
universe indicating to me that that I
should move forward yes I can't then you
know I should just continued like fine
I'll fly to the four seasons in total
you have this all right um and so I
apply to columbia get in and my idea was
applying to graduate school would mean
that I would be able to get an
internship mm-hmm if I got an internship
then then your foots in the door in the
door and I'm off to the races and then
it's not that as weird it's not as we're
even though so I'm sure it's it what you
should have seen so i get i get into
Columbia and then I first march into
this uh career services up office and
Julie Hartenstein who's still there at
Columbia um says to me she's the same
thing she's like ah I wanna so if we put
you in an internship like and then you
kind of get a job offer what are your
expectations of how you're gonna get
paid I'm like I know like do we even get
paid at that level and she said okay
you're totally ready for that a lot of
people who are career changers even at
Columbia go there and they think like
I've been doing something for 10 or 15
years I should be paid commensurate with
like my riches outrageous right and so
not in journalism ok so anyway so I go
there and I start j school and I apply
for an internship at Siena
at CNN and I get the job I get this
internship and then like a week or so
before the internship we go to ache on a
class field trip true story to CNN and
I'm not have not started the internship
yet and Anderson Cooper's our guest
speaker okay and Anderson comes in and
there's like me and my like class and
you know he comes in and he does his
like you know here's how I started and
here's like you know the things that I
you know would recommend for young
budding journalist and you know I keep
raising my hand and asking questions
like I'm like mr. Cooper he's like oh
you can call me understand i'm like okay
so um this is super embarrassing he's
like super famous and I'm in awe of
Anderson Cooper like and um I asked a
couple of questions and then my
professor goes oval ads gonna be an
intern here like starting like in a week
and he goes up to come by and see me
when you start your internship and I'm
like okay I I definitely will yeah and I
start the internship and I never go by
and see him in fact like he sits Jeff if
you you've been to the CBS News room
yeah so you see where the CBS n anchor
desk is and you see like where all those
people said like I SAT like right there
and he said he'd come down every night
he would your show he's with an earshot
he's like as close as you are and I'm
just like I can't like I you know you
know what in the middle of the show yo
wait yeah hey what's up going on me like
that wondered who was like asking you
questions in the meeting and so um but
but the long story long story short is I
go into eventually a producer says well
if he said that to you he means it right
so I go into his office one day she's
like glad I Anderson member Vlad and
he's like hey what's up like you never
came by and I'm like what's up mark in
the days of life such a snob why you
won't even talk to me and so um we start
talking and this was in so I'd been in
my internship for like three months or
four months and I just gotten an offer
actually from Christian I was working
for Christiane Amanpour on her show to
be a production assistant after the
internship ended and this was in
December of 2009 and the so Anderson and
I are talking and he you know was
intrigued by my background in like the
decisions and why I was here I'm 38
years old and I'm wearing like I was
wearing like I wore my wall street
clothes as an intern that's why
like every day yeah this is such a good
time I was wearing like a three-piece
suit right and people like one day Ivan
Watson who's like a senior international
correspondent for CNN came in and he was
like on our floored me to talk to
Christianity and he runs it i mean he's
like excuse me sir I'm looking for
Christiane Amanpour his office I'm like
oh I have not take you there and he's
like so what are you like a VP I'm like
nah man in turn he's like snapping why
are you wearing that suit I'm like dress
for the job you exactly i only clothes I
feel like so so Paris is intrigued and
we are talking and like he finds out
that you know my father's family is
friend and my mother's family's from
Haiti my patient ancestry and where he's
like oh dude I'll of Haiti Haiti is like
an incredible country have done so many
reports from there and do you speak the
language and I'm like yeah and he's oh
that's so cool he's all right like you
know like good catching up like if your
internship is up like send me your
resume blah blah blah fine three weeks
later the earthquake in Haiti and that
night the night of the earthquake the
earthquake happened at about 5 p.m.
local time our time here in New York um
I get a call from his executive producer
and he says hey Anderson's on the last
flight out of JFK tonight and he wants
to know if you want to go as like his
interpreter / like production assistant
Wow whatever and I dude I had never done
anything in journalism yes except be an
intern sure and so and they're like and
we didn't know how bad it was going to
be and when we got to Haiti uh so the
the EP was like a just like Pat for like
three days like these things will like
you know we'll do a couple of days and
then we'll probably move on to another
story but when we got there obviously it
was the biggest most most devastating
most tragic incident like in decades
right um and we were there for an entire
month and change and I got hired at what
during my time in Haiti I got hired as a
staff I was a freelance of ramen pour
the CNN offered me a staff job on ac360
Cooper 360 um and yeah and that's how it
started I started as you know as a PA
and then an AP and then I would do my
own kind of reporting enterprise
reporting on the side and I would go to
Anderson and ask him to help me with my
scripts or with my video and I still
hadn't decided if i want to be a
producer or non air purse
but um he help sort of guide me and he's
been he has been and is an incredible
mentor throughout my entire career that
and the career that I've had since I
came into news he's been a sounding
board along with them his executive for
the executive producer of that show
Charlie Moore I'm who basically allowed
me to blossom from being a PA to an AP
and then eventually a reporter and so
yeah and that's how that's amazing
that's like when you hear these stories
of like battlefield commissions where
people are like in the end like crazy
stuff happened yeah and they move up the
ranks like because of all the amazing
stuff that's going on and obviously you
were very involved in that but it
literally like where it was and it's
funny I was talking to my mom about that
and you know we were talking about Haiti
and how it's such a it was such a
tragedy I mean I was talking about this
to some of our young ApS yesterday at
CBS and I was saying how you know you
you can't imagine how devastating even I
mean you you guys will remember the
coverage of Sharon your head but until
you're on the ground sure yeah and you
know you see thousands of bodies yeah in
a pit or you know hundreds of bodies
lining the street as people pull them
out yeah and um it was something that
you know I hope I'll never have to lift
through again but my mom and I were
talking and she was like you know there
were two things that we sort of had a
discussion about one that could have
been me in one of those pits where I
buried in an unmarked grave hey deke if
I had just happened to be visiting
family friend or somebody there right
because there are a lot of them Haitian
Americans who died yeah in that right in
that earthquake um and also the way life
is isn't it strange that this country
that is part of my ancestry somehow also
gave birth to my career right every now
and and and you don't want to think
about it that way I mean a lot of
journalists careers are made on like the
terrible things that happen in the world
yeah but this one was especially close
to me and yeah I was there for like a
month and and I came back and um I you
know I wasn't pressing either I wasn't
like hey I want to be a reporter I just
sort of like I'll do what I need to do
to learn and I'm not going to bother
anybody and say I should be on the air
or something it was basically Anderson
who would say can I see your video and I
see your stand-ups and he'd give me some
guidance and then and then yeah and then
CNN to CNN's credit um they they
cultivate young talent and I say young
meaning like young in the industry Ron
and they then like you know gave me a
shot to be a correspondent what's funny
about that real quick is that they
originally said we want to send you out
to London to be a business correspondent
for the names of your back because of my
background I was like I don't know like
yeah they're like what like whoa that's
what we figured that would be such a
natural fit for you hey I'm like I kind
of left business cuz I got into it and
he's like yeah I mean like I like
business stories and you but I don't
like you know it was it was sort of a I
didn't want to stand in front of a magic
wall and go here's what the market right
or even the best business story is never
going to be the emotional impact of like
a serious right which was not what you
were chasing exactly so he goes well the
only other thing we got to be frank with
you as we needa put we need a reporter
in West Africa specifically Lagos
Nigeria and I'm like okay that sounds
good he's like are you serious and I'm
like yeah I'm like you know he goes all
right he's you're not gonna have a
producer I like he's like all try to
dissuade he's basically saying don't
yeah he's like you know it's gonna be
hard like at least in London there's
writers and producers and they can help
you grow and yeah I know but that sounds
good and he goes all right so I fly back
to New York and I come into this CNN
office in New York and Anderson goes hey
come into my office he goes you're gonna
be a CNN correspondent that's incredible
yeah um first of all he wrote letters of
recommendation to the brass at CNN but
but but he goes and he goes yeah and um
he goes and you're going to Nigeria I
got what you know about that I I flew
home and I was thinking like I probably
too hasty Nigerian people get kidnapped
it's like you know they're sure that
it's enough that stuff happens and I go
I don't know if I want to do that he
goes well did you say you were
interested in that he's like because
yeah he's like I haven't heard London I
don't think lemons on the table he's
like you're going to Lagos dude and um I
was like all right
and he's like and he actually again he
was like look glad it's an incredibly
important position West Africa is an
incredibly important region a lot of
things going on there and if you can
prove that you can do the job of being
an international correspondent in one of
the toughest bureaus and it is one of
the toughest bureaus in the world for
any news organization yeah then I have
no doubt that when that assignment is up
like bigger things will come on the
verizon and he was absolutely right my
my time was up in Nigeria and I can end
up at CBS News what does that Bureau
look like it's uh it's it's my office is
smaller than this room and it's like
edit we all work out of like this
production center where the BBC guys I
kind of major organizations yeah so
we're all like looking out for each
other right kind of in it together and
it's but in terms of like the people in
your Bureau like how many people um
there were 20 or so people come from you
know different like from other African
countries my camera woman her name is
free tokoto II she's an amazing she was
from Kenya CNN camera woman on the BBC
guy was from he was a you a British guy
his girlfriend um was from Kenya she was
producer um there were you know
Nigerians some South Africans yeah so I
think I'd such an amazing story right
now everybody's talking about how you
know I know you but I don't know you
yeah and now now that's it because I
knew about Anderson Cooper and and
that's a relationship you still hold on
yeah I mean he you know um he uh has
been like I said he's a sounding board
for a lot of things and you know
Anderson is a CBS News horse- you people
asked me like what's your goal the goal
is like Anderson or yeah you know 60
minutes and things like that but
Anderson does six dozen to 60 minutes
and you know and he's obviously also CNN
correspondent but he's just you know um
there are a lot of people in my life
that have that have helped me and have
nobody gets to any place in life without
like somebody giving you a leg up more
um you know holding ladder down for you
but to me like a guy like Anderson has
had such a profound impact on my life
because he never looked at me and and
thaw like okay you know
everybody wants to do this and he
whatever it is that he saw and um I'm
thankful every day that he helped
cultivate that right you know and and
help point me in the right direction and
whether it was writing my scripts
initially I mean I was a production
assistant and a colleague of mine who
was also a PA it's it's 360 we flew to
haiti on our own dime yeah and shot a
story on along on a child molester but
when we came back we were we just done
it for like I was going to submit it as
my master's project at Columbia and for
whatever reason I didn't end up doing
that and one day I came into work and
Charlie Moore the EP said to me you know
you should send that script to like
standards and practices because we're
going to run that package tonight on see
on 360 Wow it was a five minute piece I
was a production I was in a reporter all
right my story ran with me as the
reporter crazy on CNN in prime time I
think I can't tell what I'm more
impressed with with your with your whole
story because for me it's like oh my god
the the amazing will like that's the way
so when you're talking about when you're
talking about people giving you a leg up
early artists and obviously there have
been great people helping you out but
it's clear to me at every step of this
way at least in in you describing it
that there were instances where most
people would be like that enough it's
gotta go to Nigeria all right i mean
like i am first of all it it it was a
huge hit on my income obviously because
i was i started as an intern was I that
was the last unpaid internship class I
think it's CNN um and then I had these
huge tuition bills at Columbia yeah yeah
and then I had a mortgage and like you
know and had living expenses and I
wasn't getting it no money was coming in
yeah so I had some saved but a lot of it
went to so it's like for two years
whatever i had saved went for tuition
and living and what the work I was doing
was not really any kind of compensation
that added to the pot right right and
then even when I got promoted to being a
correspondent Nigeria believe it or not
is one of the most expensive countries
to live in if you're you know not
Nigerian and dry yeah because it's an
oil-rich economy and they just squeeze
you for like if to have a
a modern and normal apart i've got no
get expensive Harry so and then yes you
are dealing with people who are much
younger than you yeah who are your
bosses and who television is a you know
a tough business where you get yelled at
a lot in the control room and you know
people freak out over things and it's
hard you know I'm sitting there one day
I was getting screamed at by somebody
i'm thinking like dude I am 38 years
yeah what would you know what's
happening yeah and this guy's like going
off on me but I was able to take a step
back and say I've only been in
television or I've only been in
journalist in journalism a year or two
years he's been in journalism five years
or six years he knows what he's talking
about I don't know what I'm going or
what I'm talking about so I may be older
I may have traveled more than he has I'm
a new may even know more about why even
the style recovering life in general
advice guys been here is what he's doing
that's amazing and and maybe it plays
into the you're sort of like you know
outlook on everything the way you were
sort of explained to us earlier but
maybe that's it to have that kind of
attitude and calms the only way to do it
amazing you got to be able to take your
ego out of it that's people say to me
how did you become an intern in like you
know because you say whatever I thought
I was before this I am NOT that yeah and
if even if I thought that I was that
nobody really gives a crap and so um I'm
not gonna let this bother me even now
when somebody gets in my ear and they
say that was stupid that you you know
why you you see me hace BSN I sometimes
say things that you know are like you
know they just really bad you know and
I'm like oops sorry yeah but that's only
because you know I've been very
successful I've had a what some people
would say is a fairly rapid ascent into
the industry i mean when i got the job
at sea at CBS and um one day Chris
licked the executive producer of CBS
this morning asked me to fill in for
Charlie Rose em for a whole week it's
pretty on CBS this morning it and my
mind was blown I actually was again I
still sometimes think like are you
serious because I'm really not you know
I called right is that a Yeti I said
really
me or you you want somebody and i
remember i texted with anderson and he
wrote again something that just made me
feel good he said you know from being
like an intern in June I think I said I
know what I was I sent them a TBT like a
throwback Thursday sure of that class
field trip with him with my J school
class and I was like throwback Thursday
and he's like when was that I'm like
June of 2009 and he goes so from being
an intern to scope ever a knot around Oh
anchoring yes this morning with Gail you
know King and Norah O'Donnell yeah in
five years is who's doing that story I
want that story because that's something
I wanna yeah but you know one thing Jeff
Andrews I'm so glad you guys have me on
this podcast because the one of the
reasons I I love journalism and one of
the things that makes it so exciting for
me why I've always wanted to be a
journalist is to talk about all the
stuff that like I've looked in your run
down that we're gonna talk about today
we've been talking about me it's all
about me no but that's a boy because i
think it's interesting yeah I mean
people don't have an insight obviously
people see people on TV reporters
anchors correspondence what have you but
the process behind it of like how people
get to where they are i think it's
personally fascinating yeah like so yeah
thanks and all good it's it's not just
hubris yeah and it's not you know and
sure you could you could sort of parlay
that into the conversation like but this
is a CBS company it's all connected
right we're learning about you know how
this sort of came to be and whence CBS
did acquire our company uh you know I
guess the the fruits of that merge have
shown up in things like interactive and
with with CBS a right stuff like that so
just for a second before we get into the
stories that we have here in our rundown
I do want to get to those I want to talk
about CBS n with you for four hot second
and get your sort of vibe as to like you
know where you see that sort of going
cuz i think you know being the first to
me when I when I first start to like
understand what some BSN was yeah well
this is really important right something
that no one else really does yeah I mean
I I know you're very intimately involved
in it and I've been super psyched to be
a part of it as well in the capacity
that I've been but this is
day to day hat how do you sort of see it
in the landscape of this evolving news
uh you know sort of app so you know um
Leslie Moonves our boss yeah during the
earnings call this week uh he talked
about CBS n that was one of the things
that he talked about and it was
interesting because when this was being
launched I was super interested in it
even though I didn't think I'd be a part
of it because I was hired at CBS to be a
correspondent and um and it was just uh
you know by happenstance that they said
to me hey do you want to be a part of
this and so um but the thing about CBS n
is Leslie has said that this looks like
this is something that is going to be
very very important to the organization
and that's because we are tapping into
we have younger viewers yeah average age
of the people who watch CBS n um is
under 40 right um the amount of time
that they spend now this is the thing
that a lot of people will say well who
wants to watch something on the internet
or more than five or ten minutes well
CBS n is proving that the average time
in some cases is you know 25 or 26
minutes in some cases close to an hour
when people will watch what's going on
you know um and so the and finally that
I guess the last component of it is when
people say what was this new for see it
is and it isn't the CBS n is CBS News
right and so what that means is you know
what edward r murrow did and David
Rhodes and I the president of CBS have
talked about this a couple times that
you know in a way I kind of liken what
we're doing to what the Merrow boys did
in that CBS radio the time existed and
they sent Murrow out to you know Europe
to record classical music and features
pieces and then all of a sudden the
looming clouds of war started to appear
and all of a sudden he figured out we'll
know there's there's something of
interest here that I can report back and
write that some people back in New York
CBSNewYork were like wait what yeah he
wants to talk about like the rise of
Hitler nobody but that's the same thing
we're the legacy of you know bringing
new
two people and doing it understanding
who we are as an organization who we
have been for the last 75 80 years but
just doing it on this platform that's
really the only difference is that we're
doing it on this platform and we're
opening it up to a new generation of
people who might not be into you know
watching television you know on a
regular basis yes and I see it as this
constant 24-7 sort of like backbone to
the coverage that the the entire sort of
bigger pictures responsible exactly and
that's the way I kind of position it to
people when they say when I go oh I'll
check out my CVS n segments i did a
little thing on that they're like oh
okay well they watchin like wait what is
this right and that's how i sort of you
know doux-doux the the elevator pitch to
what exactly i mean i'm looking here so
you know mr. Moonves said you know on
this earnings call that you know CBS n
has attracted more viewers every single
quarter since we launched in november of
24 2014 that is good and clearly that
and he says that clearly this is where
the future of news is going to be and
we're going to be there and so yeah yeah
we're there so fun that's cool it's good
stuff I love being a part of that I
haven't been on a little bit back on bro
we need you back on cornering you right
I know we're gonna do that like is this
is your way to like entice all part of
the plan glad I'm uh you know there's a
there's a method to the madness all
right we're gonna pivot into some of the
stories that we have in our rundown a
lot of stuff transpiring over the week
let's get into it on Twitter had a very
strange week yeah twitter is uh going
through some i don't know identity
crisis situations and that's not just
this week that's been going yeah they're
sort of trying to figure it out
definitely I think this week maybe
they're more self-aware other arm I read
a piece in New York Times uh you know
and this all goes back to in earnings uh
uh sorta call that they had weather like
yeah we we made a little bit of more
money than we did last quarter but our
users just not happening yeah I can't
grow they can't grow their user base
bottom line and wall street sees that as
like this major ish
yeah which is understandable right I
think you know Wall Street has this
projection of what they want Twitter to
be to be like a facebook or a Google
sort of situation and we're quickly will
not me not quickly but we're finding out
that that's probably not the case he um
so this New York Times piece was really
sort of interesting that I was a Farhad
Manjoo wrote it and he said Twitter
really needs and I I don't want to say
like this is what I've been saying the
whole time but dad talked about this is
what you've been saying the whole time
obviously he can put it a little more
eloquently than maybe perhaps I can but
you know twitter is not this
money-making you know power Silicon
Valley powerhouse right it wasn't built
people sort of have viewed it as the
quote unicorn which is like the Silicon
Valley term for these companies like
uber that you know we're built and are
valued at outrageous sums certainly
twitter is worth a ton of money but it
was never the core idea of it is
something that's very very hard to
monetize and very hard to take advantage
of and this is what they're running into
not to mention the fact that they can't
add additional people because especially
younger folks are not using twitter
they're using snapchat or they're using
whatever so you know he sort of argues
any and he says okay maybe Twitter just
got to take a step back yeah and sort of
say what the hell are we right are we
really right and to me twitter has
really always been a utility I agree
it's just you're running water right
I've just been this sort of
transcription lifeline of the world a
lot of crap on it a whole lot of ads a
whole lot of spins a whole lot of junk
to a whole lot of bots and whatnot on
there but I mean you look at news
coverage now and how often I are our
tweet cited how often yeah all the time
that that is the modern press release I
mean you when you think that
presidential candidates are using
Twitter to get their message out or to
attack other candidates or uh other
people even in some cases that's
remarkable yeah prefer it's the new wire
it's that it's a wire and that's really
what it is and you know hindsight's
twenty-twenty you look back at facebook
when it was a thing and yeah you could
say like oh they're gonna make
this like they'll figure this out this
is just like a shared interest sort of
flight Google there people are searching
for stuff we can speak in cell that
there's value in that information in
that data but with Twitter it's like oh
no this is just people sort of
expressing and and and reporting and you
know it's basically the real world real
life just get kind of getting written
down but why so Facebook has been able
like we used to sort of like maybe about
two years ago three years ago when
Facebook's was like I'm getting into
mobile people were like ha ha ha ha like
that's so hard to do and you're not that
but they have clearly proven that they
that's where they're moving here so why
is Twitter struggled then I mean a
facebook has been able to reinvent
themselves i mean i don't think that yes
we all know that like facebook is not
what it was you know five six seven
years ago but this messenger app that's
where they're making all their money
yeah I mean I think they just have an
easier path to being lucrative I just
think there's enough sort of
personalized advertising personalized
sort of messaging that they're able to
harness there's so much cruft on
facebook that that people infuriate
people like they hate it like oh why am
i seeing all the sponsors that I want my
seeing all these recommended stories and
all that stuff is obviously built on
your likes and dislikes and all that
stuff and none of that exists on Twitter
right it's much more service it's very
survivable they tried with moments but
right now it's just not have never
clicked one is like moments is just
basically like kind of the front page
right right is essentially reinforcing
their sense of utility right it was
always very tech space oh you mean like
a huffpo where there's just like so much
stuff on there that you're to me moments
is like the stuff that's trending that's
not crap right you know that not about
freaking one direction or whatever yeah
I feel like oh this is an important
moment right sometimes it's Kanye
sometimes it's whatever but you know it
I guess you obviously that's curated
damned yeah um but yeah I I that's what
I've sort of think I don't think they're
saying Oh moments is the way to you know
right really becoming this mega power
house you know money-making operation so
they think the so do they think then
that rearranging my time
line is the way to do it which is part
of the news right I think they what they
want to do you're saying there's that
you as you were saying the organized
this new news feed where these most
important tweets are at the top right
essentially they've reorganized it and I
guess the logic is that they want to
create more engagement so they want all
these people that are using it that
aren't just browsing they're not just
looking at they pick the things that
people are actually gonna like reply to
and chair and and just by you know what
we've been conditioned to understand
about how the internet makes money is
that like the beginning of the path to
be like okay well this is like much more
focused so now that's that's more
valuable and we can potentially like
intercept that and sell that right right
I guess that's the thinking uh so that
they're flirting with sort of
rearranging your timeline um there was a
story I sort of skimmed over about
verified users getting a more differ a
different sort of timeline layout than
maybe some reason which I was like okay
yeah so that would be interesting yeah
which is weird too because it's like you
know when the whole verified thing which
is still like this baffling behind
closed doors like how does that yeah
like I remember when we when we had at
cnet there was just like an email that
went around like hey somebody knows a
guy at Twitter guys won't blue checkmark
sexy name is ally cool you want that
really yeah I want that yeah sign me up
and I was it I was like so I know that
processes become a little more regular
yeah okay yeah but yeah it's it's a
weird time for this company I think uh
with that being said we uh could you get
through your day without Twitter how
many times a day twitter is the only
social network that I am constantly
because it's great yeah and you know
what there's a lot of interaction it's
the only real social network that I am
super I love to reciprocate on Twitter
that's my thing yeah maybe I feed the
trolls a little bit maybe I eat without
reservation do that but for whatever
reason you do feed Ike I don't feed them
I if that I don't say it be them but
like if someone comes and says something
directly to me yeah I'll likely have a
while
is remark I back at it because it's
effortless yeah yeah there's no time
right man I don't know yeah I mean I I
don't I you know I think for me it's a
little harder because uh were clearly
were on the air and there's an
association with that so I don't feed
the trolls I my thing is um well I have
never figured out about twitter is like
and you know you my girl friend who
works s used worker ProPublica she works
at last week tonight with John over now
she's always like you know you don't
have to thank everybody or you don't
have to like she's like that's too
spammy you're like spamming my like and
I'm like well I don't know it isn't that
what reciprocation is all about like
somebody's like hey dude I like that
piece and you're like oh thanks man
thanks dude and she would only see those
thanks if she follows as right as well
right yeah I don't know I think it's
nice to thank people on Twitter I think
that's so frequent that negativity just
spawns out of these realms right just
like trolls and awful people when people
say nice things you just want to
acknowledge it like thank you very much
totally and have your like say thank you
acknowledge something like that and then
getting gotten something backwards like
all man that's so awesome yeah not only
that that's very I've also gotten like
trollee messages and I've responded one
in like a very earnest like really
that's not cool dude and then the most
like apologetic like I don't know what
was wrong with me that day I was just
feeling weird yeah it's that epiphany
like oh did you that's it that's a great
point like cuz I on my pits the same
thing sort of like I the same concept on
my public facebook page people will like
comment to me and say hey like you know
I don't really like what you said about
this yeah and I'll say oh I'm sorry like
what like you know it's have a
conversation about right and then they
always go oh you know I didn't mean to
sound like a or something I just wanted
to you know voice my opinion I'm like
that's totally fine i'm happy to you
know understand what you're talking
about and let me tell you where you know
where our sources are what our reporting
tells us and then i just think that
that's okay i think generally it's like
when people respond like in an angry
fashion or they respond trollee back
that people then go oh and then night
then it becomes like the Twitter
moderating it's all that's that
situation our constantly describing is
like it's sort of like this does not
compute thing that happens in people's
heads where it's like oh
there's this anonymity on the internet
that I'm sort of protected by oh wait a
minute real life people on the other end
of this I they do this about fast right
and yeah it's like all month all right
my bad mother right if you're probably a
nice guy right I have like a family is a
rough day as a rough day lot of traffic
yeah like uh so yeah that is definitely
thing will continue to watch Twitter and
see just what the hell that company's
gonna do I love it though because
Twitter is not going anywhere yeah like
no one has to worry about that will they
constantly be doing like internal you
know restructuring here till two you
know the end of the session they'll wrap
to a point of like steady good
profitability it's probably not as big
as the company is right now but don't
get there yeah yeah it's an it seem like
I said it's the only one I like yeah
yeah I mean yeah I do you know I'm on
snapchat and I do you know some of the
other things but I mean yeah I find it
very useful you know when I was exactly
a good examples when I was in West
Africa a lot of the things a lot of the
tips that we would get that you know we
would obviously check out but people
would say hey Vlad you know I'm in this
village and this is what's going on you
know uh you know Boko Haram exploded a
bomb I see this I see that and we could
say wow we got to get down there and you
know it was very very useful yeah in
that sense you know I don't know that
you're talking about in the US vs like
in the in some of the emerging markets
here where they use it on a regular beer
soup er connected do you like the social
media and um uh like just in like wired
they're very wired in you know so it's
helpful it's an invaluable tool and you
know that's why I just I think it's the
most important social net back if that's
a thing you can say about social
networks um okay I want to get really
out there kind of nerdy space stuff a
real big space discovery yeah so have
you heard about this yeah dude they
discovered the gravitational waves an
Einstein's theory that was like in his
general theory of relativity is like
actually provable they've heard sound
they're like oh he was right he was
right this is confirmed yes we have
sensitive enough instruments now that
can
tect the ever pulsating gravitational
force we can measure that we can sniff
that out of the universe I am and I'm
like okay that sounds assistant awesome
on paper right I'm like what the hell
does that mean so I went right to read
it which is a perfect spot to go yes yes
a great source for stuff to kind of
explain stuff to me like I'm five years
old which is a fantastic subreddit that
we constantly frequent and the highest
voted comment sort of breaks it down and
obviously you know when you're on reddit
you got to take everything with maybe a
grain of salt and sort of say okay well
this is one explanations and this has
been the easiest thing that I've been
able to digest yeah so if you're really
sort of trying to wrap your head around
just what the hell these discovery of
gravitational waves means here is the
very new you oh you need yeah okay Russ
it's fine explain it like a live okay so
there's like Milt there's milk and then
someone pours some chocolate milk in the
center the normal milk yeah and it
creates a real big mess and then it
falls off the edge what edge the roots
edge because they were this flat okay
okay then it's pouring off the edge
hurry over down there carrying the
county or through around uh wrong Lamela
so I had so we had Derek pits who is an
astronomer on CBS any other day and we
kept hammering that we kept asking you
but explain to us like we're five would
not try it for three like we can't like
make it even picture draw that right and
at the end he said what i thought was
which made a lot of sense to me he said
um so Einstein positive that there were
these or actually knew that there were
these gravitational waves and as far as
a practical application well it is allow
it will allow scientists to know more
about how the universe was created
number one number two more about the
physical world that we live in our
planet man its solar system and what
that means and where it
is today and how these atoms came
together to create this planet and our
humanity and finally where it can be
expected to go into the future I was
like okay like that makes sense because
you know people were saying it's like
Alexander Graham Bell like and you know
Watson come here kind of a thing kind of
discovery but I I was saying it to
Derrick I think for a lot of you can
understand that you're talking to
somebody in New York and Atlanta sure
that makes sense but like what does this
mean for us right it's tough to find a
sort of practical application why it's
like and and I think a lot of this also
sort of says to the fact like oh we
we're pretty smart right it you know
obviously were the smartest we've ever
been right we think we think maybe I
don't know I shouldn't watch everything
that but yeah like we you know we've
come a real long way and you know a lot
of the world is educated to the point
where like oh that we kind of understand
what that means people want to see like
some sort of direct result likely in a
product or some right where it's like oh
man you and I can do ekadasi me well no
that's not how like there's always work
so I think that's a tough thing to
explain to somebody who doesn't
necessarily have an interest or a sort
of background in science right and and
and that sort of thing but it's
definitely important but you know it's
funny one of the things that I also
asked Derek is um why and it's gonna say
it's kind of a stupid question but it's
like again I always ask like questions
that I think our audience people like
one asking and like maybe are afraid to
ask because it's almost like you know
when your people say well wires are only
been one Mozart well there have been
people who have been as talented as
hurts our or Beethoven or you know any
one of the great classical composers but
you know the idea that there they exist
in their own realm and that they're so
above everybody else and I said the
difference between like a wiser only a
Mozart and Beethoven is that that's
musical talent which is innate and like
you know he creativity-wise who knows
what's going on there right but I sign
is math right and the thing that I've
always been told it's you're a little
kid right is like who cares how creative
you are if you don't know how to add
you can't do anything why you can you
know and so why can't why haven't there
been people that have been able to say
even 20 or 30 years after Einstein put
this out yeah I agree and because here
my own calculations coincide with his
sure and that's weird isn't it that had
taken a hundred years for people to go
yeah he was right well I don't know if
the this was proof those the devices
that they invented right we're strong
enough to determine these things it
wasn't so much math as it was the
obviously the math drives technology but
the technology got so sensitive and so
accurate that they could see these waves
and determine this data but it wasn't
like oh I pull a notepad out and just
that uh I don't think people were
necessarily uh sort of like uh fighting
Einstein on this yeah I don't think
anyone's I'm sure they're people because
on Twitter like his his official tweet
did you see that not inside dude his
official tweet like the Einstein you
know the state to state or whatever hurt
like tweeted mic drop yeah they like
literally tweeted like you know haters
boom like no I got 13 more right so
clearly they were like yeah everybody
maybe not that they didn't believe that
it was unproven right right and and and
with that unprovable ax t comes this
sort of like mysterious like well well
ya ya may that's what that's what he
said right but I would like has neil
degrasse tyson like been bad i haven't
heard his take on because i'm really
pretty opinionated he's pretty
opinionated but i'm sure i don't think
he's like oh I was wrong about like yeah
right had that exactly right which think
about the the the you know it's it
hasn't been that long in the grand
scheme of things but think about like
since he posited that like what we've
done right and it took that long for us
I know there's something that it that is
kind of mind-blowing to that we could
use
the general theory of relativity to send
to figure out how to get a man to the
moon yeah but we have Mabel to detect
these the sounds about yeah you had to
sample yeah believe it would work that's
kind of what i think is mind-blowing and
the fact that he was able to do it with
the the the technologically stunted
world that he was and not that was
stunted but compared to right now it is
is like night net yeah uh pretty that's
that's pretty that's just one is cool
it's like it's sort of like being i
guess if you're you know if you could be
galileo and say yeah you know I've never
been out there now here's what I think
right now and then like 100 years or 200
years a people go always evolution yeah
exactly yeah and he did that was like a
pro track and it's gonna telescope
that's sweet so I know we're like you're
using our smartphone right so if you
guys not heard this theory that like you
made an interesting point that we're
getting were like as smart as we've ever
been but there are some people who are
now saying that the internet is actually
because we have this wealth of
information we did a stewardess and
about ya like that we have all this info
that we're actually getting dumber
because we don't because when it when
when we were when you only had a
protractor and telescope you really had
to calculate things out to to be sure
right worse now you can just like google
it and somebody else's calculations that
you're basing your knowledge you're not
reading a book or you're not and i guess
you're not as focused as you once were
you might you know if you only were
studying this one topic and you were so
focused you didn't have read it with it
yeah you distract you from like your
goals as a scientist the and now you're
just like oh I can read about this and
write about this and you're all over the
place the the argument is that we don't
retain anything yes in the argument but
but but so like I understand that and
here's what I'll get like a little heady
with you right yes we don't retain that
but the internet is essentially like a
second brain do you understand we're
saying where it's like you don't need to
retain that because you don't that
information only needs to be accessible
when you need it
so it's so like yes if you were able to
download Wikipedia into your brain you
would just nature's animation that would
be that would be awesome sure and and
maybe we're not that far away from
something like that but it's but but
again it's like Ross you looking at me
like I'm such but with that you know
what I'm saying yeah I don't necessarily
think like because you can remember
something that makes you smarter again
like you do have to have cognitive
ability to understand the information
you're looking over and you can't just
be like all the answers 830 shut up
right there there needs to be watchin is
are people doing that it and so that I
think is you are III by that I buy that
or at least by the idea that this could
sort of be how we're evolving as a
species yeah on the other hand like if
you to me if you believe in the
all-encompassing power of the Internet
as your go-to for almost anything and
that's what it is for a lot of people
myself included but that you never ever
decide to go deeper than what it is that
you're like googling or whatever that to
me can be a problem of course is
innocent you get people like in the
future running for office who've never
studied anything about politics
political history American history world
history but all the information they
have is from Twitter and from google
families on things and they can pass off
a good game totally and and I love that
you brought that up because what was it
two weeks ago last week we were talking
about how there's a generation people
that just don't care it was mostly about
politicians but it was how people the
truth doesn't matter right and I think
that comes into that conversation about
is the internet making us stupid because
there's these all these shortcuts either
don't care about the source the emotion
source result but obviously the end
result is determined by the source
exactly you know I can actually take
that and and take that and add another
sort of metaphor to that and also plug
CBS which is we're having the Grammys on
CBS on Monday but we were talking about
music and all these artists that have
been nominated for Grammys and here's a
just the discussion that I always have I
think sometimes it feels with younger
people but so you like make
trainer okay or you like Adele and their
amazing artists and there's nothing
wrong with liking them they put out
incredible music and they're incredibly
talented but for me the way I've always
been and part of like what has fueled my
desire to be a journalist and and to
meet people and talk to people is well
if I hear a song like all about that
bass and I hear that hook and I think to
myself well that's really cool it's
really interesting where did that come
from so then I can say well you know
Benny King was doing that when he was
with the drifters and ward where did
that come from and I can so the
curiosity that takes me beyond just
what's like right in front of me yeah
Meghan Trainor or the internet whatever
it is is what drives me to then say okay
now I have a little bit of an
understanding yeah Meghan Trainor's
amazing I'm not gonna diss her and say
she's derivative all music is at some
level but but I can say I've got a
active interest in understanding like
why that music is so catchy 20 years
today sure well because it's always been
because people have been writing stuff
like this for you know 30 or 40 years I
don't know though I sometimes feel like
I'm that's the nerd part of me um that
even my sister would argue is like makes
me a nerd is that like nobody cares why
we just like Meghan Trainor and that's
what well and that's sort of the thing
and I'm sure you're aware having that
connection to John Oliver show that
conversation that he has with Edward
Snowden which is this is a very
important topic but you're exposing all
of the stuff the government spying on us
but the way it's delivered is delivered
in the form of essentially vegetables
it's like a very like stoic downer way
appetizer on offers like well say
they're sharing your dick pics yeah and
people will care right and that was like
the perfect encapsulation of this idea
which is you need to not present it as
vegetables you need to present it in a
way that's digestible and interesting
and true but also in a way that relates
to people ya know we that is a real
chance which is this inherently tragic
thing to deliberate in internally yeah
where it's like I it's almost like how
do how does all that static just lower
and just information come back to
reality because we're in a situation
right now where there's just really too
much to distract like week we're losing
we're losing cars right like we're not
allowed to drive those and
yeah because we can't be we can't be
held responsible for driver drive
they're too dangerous like we that
that's getting taken away so I don't
know I struggle a lot with that it's a
really fun conversation to have yeah
without you know but uh it's i love how
we got there from like so the acoustical
equipment that can detect these
gravitation that's a dude like the next
thing I'm Stein a positive was all about
the rise and fall of Twitter turn the
page on on gravitational ripples oh
shitty oh my god how do you know about
Jack doors that's crazy haha so we'll
put up the link to that explain it like
I'm five in in the show notes we're
gonna we're gonna shift gears just a
little bit I know you're a big comic
book added yeah um are you looking
forward to the Deadpool movie dude I'm
so looking forward to this because i was
when i first heard that they were making
a Deadpool movie I was up I was like if
it's like The Wolverine Origins Deadpool
hi which ryan reynolds actually played
that Deadpool do I was like then it's
gonna be so lame yeah um and then I was
also kinda I you know I was kind of
bummed that Ryan Reynolds cuz I i hated
the Green Lantern movie yeah like no he
so did he obvious right it's very and so
I'm like ah but everything I've seen I
haven't seen it yet i'm dying to see it
it looks good Deadpool has been one of
like you know my favorite like like
mutant characters going back to lie
xfactor back in the old days you know
her and so I think he's super
interesting i think that the idea that
even in the comic books that you know he
would he's kind of aware definitely that
he's like a comic book character and
kind of is kind of cool and so I don't
know you have you seen it I saw it so r
us has seen it it's not last week
actually mentioned another podcast last
week but I couldn't talk about it
because it under embargo until last
weekend we can talk about it now spoiler
free yeah I thought it was excellent I
really you're gonna use the word
excellent i ratted out i was trying to
think of like a cod a superhero movie i
liked more i think i had to go back to
the Dark Knight
wow that far that far we I like dark I
more I'd like dark now all right but i
would say since dark night I don't I
like I liked it more than guardians of
galaxies okay really I think see but
that's okay I'm okay with that because
guardians of the galaxy is it a
superhero movie though yeah I think just
like a space comedy it's a superior I
mean that's like they have superpowers I
understand but guardians of the galaxy
was so busy was a comic book movie yeah
that nobody knew any like I didn't know
anyway yeah for that well i would say
for Deadpool that's the case for a lot
of people as well I knew the basic but I
was not a hugely Deadpool's like a 30
year old but yet been around since I
think it's been around maybe I'm 90 91
Deadpool like no Deadpool you know I
know I know this because ninety ones
when I graduate from college and that's
when I started I mean I'm still a huge
comic book fan but I I stopped
collecting like monthly and we stopped
like the actual collecting and it became
more of like graphic novels and getting
the things but Deadpool was like one of
those last characters that was
introduced and I remember going this is
pretty cool yeah and the guy who was
like the artists on it Liefeld i think
is he went on to laugh like rob liefeld
right he went out to do image comics and
um he what's funny about like the
character is it's something that um uh
Alex Ross has not been happy with that
he created key creates characters that
have like all these weapons and all
these kind of crazy things but I always
thought that was awesome yeah yeah I
thought that was like when you're a kid
you're like what like if he could have
more katanas right that's just an
amazing it on bring it on you know so
yeah I mean I thought the movie in
general like is very true to the nature
the character which is like a very silly
very upbeat light character he breaks
the fourth wall consistently throughout
the movie that's like and I it feels
very honest even from the opening
credits which I won't won't ruin right
but it they're fantastic the first 10
minutes the movie are like perfect you
know there's some origin story stuff
that I think it gets a little more
serious and and is important from
character building standpoint it's not
as laugh-out-loud funny as you know the
cord
pool moments of which there are very
manager is there any love story well so
he his relationship with his girlfriend
is sort of the cohesive source okay of
the movie and again I don't know how
that relates to the comics and his
storyline in the comics um but she comes
off as a very good companion to him
which is to say like it's not like a
typical like romance cheesy like I love
her you know Mary Jane Piderman right
way and that's kind of a turn me off
about ant-man I know I'm late to the
Orion were turned off by I don't think
we talked about because I just saw it
like two weeks yeah and I liked it but
man I you know and my wife my wife is
not a gigantic comic book she enjoys
like the Batman self but she gets very
turned off by the Hollywood lines and
there's a lot of Hollywood lines yeah
yeah where it's less like your it's like
dude your daughter do your daughter is
in there man and if you don't become an
right coming in right now your daughter
she's just gonna realize how much you
believe you are you're never gonna
freakin see her right right and I and
it's like the cliché of like the hero's
journey crazy and I think Deadpool leans
into that and and mocks it murder great
because they're looking rue I don't know
I saw this in a review that they're
somehow there's a reference to Green
Lantern in it there will okay so I
remember seeing that like last year oh
really yeah there was maybe like a comic
on track I that and I got upset because
like man I loved to seen that
organically but as a reference to Green
Lantern there's a reference to the
Wolverine Origins Deadpool oh really
that's great but it's so clear like I
mean how unhappy they were with
Deadpool's original origin and it's
clear how much Ryan Reynolds was
involved like in making sure this
happened like campaigning for it working
for I mean it was I'm surprised he would
want to do another like superhero movie
like right like Christian Bale saying
like I want to play you know well not
quite because Christian Bale had a
successful comic book movie
where's rhinos had this awful Greenland
rocking an awful Deadpool experience
those like you had these but you could
tell like he has a passion for the
subject matter and some that might be
just like career driven but also it just
seems like he's into the character so
right and and in the big questions I
want to know is like okay when you were
x-men origins Deadpool yeah how much of
that Deadpool did you know right right
so important and I'm in look I'm not
you're an actor that's fine so like the
fact that he it was able to embrace that
yeah obviously this is all driven a lot
to you have to consider the fact that
there was this um it when that Deadpool
test footage leaked down right which is
what two years ago and the internet
reaction to that which is essentially
how and why this film got made in the
first place yeah uh you know obviously
if i'm wrong i'm like oh man you know
right and i don't take anything away
from him maybe he all along was like
pioneer and screwed up all right make
this right right you know i think it's
amazing that you know this all sort of
like came into place and and and that's
what I'm mostly fascinated by I'm
fascinated now about movies that get
made that have no right getting me out
playing in line with the regular studio
behavior like a movie like mad Mac
righteous like this amazing 200 million
dollar movie that should never buy any
standard sort of like operating
procedure that Studios usually follow
yeah what is that I was getting like a
movie like pitch perfect yeah Boise okay
sit like I do okay sure sure yes well I
and I kind of agree with that but I
wonder if there's a movement now in
Hollywood to be and it becomes like a
Hollywood thing in itself which is yeah
we're getting traction now with these
characters that nobody's ever heard of
yeah and so there isn't that built in
like um expectation because if you screw
around with Batman or Superman yeah they
were like there's this whole thing like
with Ben Affleck playing playing Batman
writer and like give the guy a chance
he's a great actor I'm all I haven't had
in the flick yet so I'm gonna say it'll
be fine unless it totally sucks and then
I'll say it's I think if it sucks at it
he'll it'll have nothing to do with Ben
Affleck
exactly so I wonder now if it's like
let's find these under the radar cat
like dr. strange dude like even when I
was in my height of like comic-book
geekdom dr. strange was not very low in
that way I was like what do you want to
trade away you'd be like I'll give you
like for dr. strange for like that one
like bad hulk comic I know but iron man
was that character to like four years he
was big but like not mainstream bait he
was a spider man it wasn't like but
Robert Downey jr. also injected
something into Tony Stark that I'm not
sure Tony Stark oh you don't think he
had that before no and I wasn't sure I
was actually an Iron Man fan and I had
like and remember that you guys are you
close to my age but not there was when I
was growing up in the early 70s it was
actually these were comic or cartoons
that were made in the 60s yeah were
these like almost like stop-motion
cartoons I'm Iron Man Thor all the
heroes that are now like the Avengers
yeah basically um and they said that it
was like Tony Stark means the Iron Man
and it was like this incredible like
awesome cartoon and I became an Iron Man
fan and does the Hulk was part of it and
so I've always been an Iron Man fan Tony
Stark was not Robert Downey okay at all
he was like it was thinking about
doesn't I could be wrong and if Stanley
were here he'd be like you're totally
lying but but I always thought that Tony
Stark was like Marvel's attempt that
like Bruce Wayne and like it's like whoa
Batman like we just report his way yeah
it's like you know it's like Batman is
all about his gadgets in the in that
version when Tony's when Iron Man came
out in the 60s Batman was in it's campy
favor and Batman had all these gadgets
so they're just like well let's just
take it to the next level and just make
the whole suit like a gadget and then
have him be a billionaire kind of a dude
and I was always thought he was a poor
man's ruse playing with a mustache yeah
I mean that I mean it's definitely the
Marvel equal of what DC was doing right
with that sort of character so I but
yeah I don't know it's it's tough it's
but see you were you not liking ant-man
it makes me wonder like is just like a
man right I just was like okay because
now it feels like they're gonna take
these characters I don't even know if I
mean I guess I'll go see a doctor
strange movie but
benedict cumberbatch come on I know I
could be a lot of fun I think I think
it's good that all these characters
these smaller characters don't have as
much baggage even though I think that
will like nails it right I think it's
good that there's more room for these
actors to work I mean that is why iron
man was such a huge thing was because of
Robert Downey jr. making it his own
image but that Hollywood line dude right
bright but I think so but I ok so so
there's a lot of that I think Robert
Downey jr. is able to sort of sometimes
transcend some of that yet his shtick
yeah uh whereas like I don't think you
can do that with Batman I don't think
you got Superman so that's the big
question is there's to have you guys
seen that documentary it's call like the
Death of Superman lives it's this like
indeed on done by this dude who wants to
wanted to know why the Kevin Smith first
penned Raph of Superman lives as
produced by john peters and with Nikolas
K oh those who prefer Burton one the
desert by the way go search youtube
right now and look at cage in a Superman
console right and they actually in the
movie in the dock they have like the
actual so you've seen the pictures but
there's video yeah him in it with tim
burton like in the room in the room yeah
so what did you think I mean what like
what he looked like like would you have
bought it would you have been like yeah
dude I timberview said this was like oh
man I can't run with him it was after
super Batman and Robin which was the
Clooney one so I would have been like at
97 98 96 right lowers we gotta get back
droppings I don't know man like it's
just cage as Superman this is Russian
sir to your point Rossi is it are there
is there too much that are the fans so
like attached to their characters that
you can't see beyond a visionary
director like Tim Burton who's always
done you may not like all his movies but
they're always like thought-provoking
and interesting and their shot
interestingly well and so or people just
like dude it's got to be the curly q
it's got it I don't think it's the fans
as much as it adds it is on the studio
side when you have such an
if expensive property like a Superman
like a Batman that exists and it has
been in the public consciousness for a
while now there are I think limits to
the amount of risks they're willing to
take have you heard the stories like
Kevin Smith talks about when he goes and
he pitches his to John Peters who
produced the first Batman you heard some
of those now so he goes so do your point
he goes on so you guys I write the
script and you know Kevin Spence much
better like talker than i am but he you
know he goes into john peters house and
the first thing he says that peter says
is dude your scripts cool one thing
right Superman lose the cape yeah he's
like what he goes yeah like he's like
you know f that became is corny like who
walks around the cave it's so stupid and
then he's like all right I got one more
note for you um he can't fly and so and
so Kevin's like well like back that's a
problem that makes some suit like it's
all those things and then he was finally
the fortress of solitude can Superman
have like guards there and he like a
know a kevin smith thousands i will but
he's like Superman wisely car yeah you
know the best and it's like so there you
see like Hollywood gerrymandering with
like a character but in a way you can
almost see what Peter's was trying to do
it's like hey let's let's take him out
of the way people expect him to be and
turn him into something that in Dark
Knight and Batman was certainly that
yeah I mean that yes why I have such an
affinity for those film ready for the
Schumacher won right no one had seen I
think the tim burton moves are great
they're still my very different really
really over the they're different yeah i
think for me than 89 Batman was the
first exposure I had although even in
and you're gonna laugh at this but this
is my generation like that live action
Ninja Turtles movie that that doctors
one the dark one is basically like
underground the right Rafael's like in a
coma-like very real and in like
surprising like for you know a
seven-year-old to see like ninja turtles
as live action yeah it was gay I was
insane uh but for Batman uh it was it
was the first sort of like this is real
yeah yeah you know whereas other sort of
superhero movies lose that I agree I
agree I was like it was
it it made you it made you you when i
was a kid super the donner Superman
commander man uh with Christopher Reeve
yeah and I remember the tagline being it
will make you believe a man can fly
right right and I felt that certainly as
a kid I was seven when that movie came
up when Batman came out I actually
thought like this dude is like lives in
the neighborhood way like I could bump
it right I did I hit me in the side yeah
yeah and you know I still watch it every
now and then and it's you know it's
lower down yeah there's a lot of like
micro modeling in that which I still
love right but it's you know its aging a
little bit I still think it holds it
holds up yeah arm but there's something
about that specific character and I
think what we're discovering is that
this phenomenon berries by character
right where you you know Batman because
Batman has no inherent superpowers
besides like unlimited money right uh
and super intelligence I guess you could
sort of say and him being trained by
fraudulent I you sort of have to just
suspend your disbelief a lil bit and say
hey okay he's still a person he still of
this earth he can be killed ya up but
did his struggles are real and I can
relate with that because he doesn't have
like special dear irony which is what
which the appeal of Batman who's my
favorite superhero character of all time
has always been right which is that like
it's just like his brain yeah he's got
money but it's his brain his brawn and
one of the things somewhere I read this
but somebody said um never forget like
he's like the world's greatest the tech
detected as like the thing he's like a
detective it's funny that's enforced in
all the video games now yeah yeah like
you have yeah like you're a detective
you need to like scope out this see I
understand Ra's al Ghul always called
them a detective right detective
detective yeah I think that's kind of
interesting I I want you to one day go
and show your kid that Ninja Turtles
movie oh yeah because because I showed
my nephew's like one day like Superman
the donner superb amazon and my nephew's
are they at the time they were like
eight and five oh my god this is come on
we gotta watch this and they're like Oh
Superman that's kind of cool right and
we're wondering and might the
eight-year-old like this is so Jesus I
got it and I'm like that it is alright
and I actually I was watching it to my
other the color chrome is wrong like
it's like yeah
like there was a point of no return in
filmmaking I think we're like stuff just
look weird you know but I'll take that
one over uh the singer version yeah yeah
yeah those are those are some good up me
personally I don't like Superman at all
like really you're one of those you
justice lane awesome he's a usually plan
what plan what he's not your you're
right you're like Bruce Wayne you think
that like I Marty right you think the
Clark like you you want to be able to be
like you know you know Clark your boy
scout planning is not interesting it's
like he needs to take a need to do but
nobody wants emo Superman like though I
do went away I want him to be kind of a
dick right he's even using in sometimes
in comic books he could be a dick sure
and I kind of like wish that the band
member Superman like played into that
maybe they might after that movie but I
you know I just think like if you just
start with the surface oh okay he's a
superhero what's his power every kid is
every pound we can you fly yeah k he
actually move at the speed of light yeah
that's his soup oh cool yeah i memorize
anything ever a problem and the problem
is they've that's exactly it is they've
never figured out a way to make at least
in the movies i'm sure in the comics
there's been really good ones i know a
red Sun is yeah great spin us but in the
movies they've never figured out a way
to give him real conflict short of
taking his power do I know and it's
right at your me that's the best movies
like and they would I think what DC's
realized one is that um that makes for
more interesting character and I can't
be the reality is it's that it's to
diminish his power but but interestingly
enough if you / man is that when he was
first created he couldn't fly the speed
of sound he could only leap tall
buildings and about or an eighth of a
mile you know and um it was a struggle
for him to like stop a train looks like
take a breather right didn't oh my gah
mean I was tough I need some Zen when it
became that he could move a planet or
and the only thing that DC has ever said
is that oh boy he's fast but he's not as
fast as the flash well
I mean like come out of course there's
limiting things with that I think going
back to Deadpool I think it's amazing
that this movie got made didn't make it
for a lot no I I don't know if i get
when you're 50 million HD which is
relatively cheap they've got no actors
like Ryan Reynolds is not asking for a
lot of money I'm sure no and um they
don't rely on a lot of CG there's like
amazingly good action scenes you know
what it felt like the action in
particular felt like dread if either of
you have seen dread the new one oh uh
excellent it's on netflix highly
recommended not the sly stallone one the
one that came out a couple years that
one is but like very one that one is for
watch Knight Rider I am the law Deadpool
just feel like the actions really good
and it's been more impressive it's a
funny comedy and those are two very
difficult things to pull off yeah and
it's a hard are like no question about
it it's an R um so and it and it I just
saw a line it made like a record amount
of money on Thursday and it's probably
gonna make over hundred million OC was
coming is equal only happening so that's
something to like work it so they're
saying uh why would reporters saying
that it potentially could make 90
million dollars yeah uh which is that's
kind of amazing crazy this for this type
of me and it has no competition like
there's no anything and that's huge to
coming out anywhere near it so what's
its competition force awakens I'm in
Zoolander which deep down I really want
to say I want to see it too because we
all have we all of us everybody and
probably everybody listening has like a
deep nostalgia for Derek and and Linus
but I reviews and Hansel and Hispanics
what I home Linus like a peanut thing
but yeah the reviews are its anchorman
over time out no film can ever be as bad
as the sequel to anchor but that's
essentially a command because even the
trailers didn't make me laugh I'm
laughing at some of the Zoolander stuff
yeah yeah uh yeah I don't know oh yeah
no no competition so it's team rules
this weekend yeah I think it'll do
really well and III think it's great
which is reading is very well and the
lesson we'll talk about it
is a video game that I want to explain
to you and sort of get your take on but
like to me what the same thing that like
indie like popular indie games what that
does for the video game industry even
though Deadpool is not an indie film by
any stretch right it is still a risk
yeah and it is still this sort of
encouraging thing to Studios say hey we
can make our rated dark yes comedy
action superhero movies right like we
can do that we can give people who
normally wouldn't have the opportunity
to direct and write stuff like this we
can maybe spend some money and take a
few more chances because we have a hit
on our hands with this Deadpool guy that
we all just learned about six months you
know so I wrote this can happen now I'm
excited I'm excited and I think if
they're not uh if they do sequels and
they're not a burden by having to do an
origin story I think it's can only get
better as it gets more and more
outlandish with this character like the
character so much fun that you could
have them do crazy it's pretty fantastic
yeah ok I want to finish off with with
one thing are you you play a lot of
games I do yeah yeah so I be heard of
the game fire why I'm not so let me lay
this on you because this is a game
unlike anything I've ever played it's
available right now for playstation 4
and pc it is made by us a small studio
based in San Francisco called Campo
Santo and its members of telltale games
who make the walking dead video games
and some other guys from other studios
so this is a game that is incredibly
narrative narrative lead rivet yeah you
are basically this guy who takes
residents in a fire Watchtower in
yosemite national park in 1989 yeah
which is right around uh those like
there was like big fires in in in that
Park writing this time in American
history and you are alone in this tower
and you're only sort of contact with the
outside world is someone else on the
other end of this walkie-talkie and it's
your boss a woman named Delilah and you
have this interaction with her and the
story that this game tells just proceeds
to happen to you as you're playing and
it is intense there's a little bit of
acid so this small indie developer
called Campo Santo
and uh yeah and I I just want to bring
it up because it is such a powerful game
is it a pc game if i don't i sees and
playstation okay see I don't have you
know I told you I don't have a
playstation 4 I know people are gonna be
like well how can he be I am still on
the Xbox one the xbox 360 and
playstation 3 so I why huge catalog do
you have soap but you have like a
powerful somewhat powerful Mac yeah I
can play that on you this game animators
I believe it is our or if it's not it's
coming very soon yeah um it's not a
difficult game and is not a game it's
not real okay I never want to say that
it's not a game it is certainly an
interactive storytelling experience but
this story that this game tells to me is
on par with some super high-end stuff
that I've seen on like FX yeah where
it's just like the UH who's the the
actor that pie which rich sommer is the
actor at the lead guy he was a character
on Mad Men if you watch Mad Men yeah oh
uh yeah played uh does he Harry Harry
Harry there is dialogue in this game
that feels so organic and so natural uh
that it just it just kind of blew me
away Stacy watched every last minute of
this game right next to me was like oh
we're gonna play fire watch tonight
right like it's a five-hour game maybe
at melia got through it in about three
sittings and you you know there's so
many times where you just like look at
each other you're like oh man you plans
with your wife she was just watching
watch me play it's fascinating it's
fascinating and beautiful like it's set
in this open-world in I don't think it's
is it you said I disseminate no really
okay so it's set in this open world and
just gorgeous vistas and so you'll just
get a radio message saying hey there's
some kids down by the lake you got to
check it out and you like go walk there
and you're just seeing like beautiful
stuff and at one point you find a camera
just like junk disposable camera and you
can take photos and apparently i found
this out the other day you can actually
order the photos that you take in the
game and they'll mail them to your house
so it's so good like a period authentic
mailer so with only cool is when they
sent out the review coats for the game
they're like
hey you know we want you to experience
we're gonna send it down every every
editors everyone that reviews the game
we're gonna send it the photos too and
it's just like man that is such a I've
never heard I've never seen that right
it is to me regardless of like the which
you think about games like this is and I
don't want to like trivialize it and
water it down to the part of like oh
you're buying the photo from the ruling
no no but yeah but it's like these are
the photos you took in the game with the
camera in the game and you get them in
this like really cool sort of booklet
when it comes in the mail and anybody
who plays the game on PC or I believe
Mac can buy them can buy your own photo
and your and your brain goes to this
weird thing while you're playing the
game when like the same thing that
happens when you're on a hike and you're
like well that's a beautiful shot I want
to take a photo then yeah and you like
you take actively take it it's just this
weird confluence it feels very like
you're there it feels very try what they
did it's and this game the stories that
Mac yeah and the in the story this game
tells keeps you guessing yeah and you're
just like what is happening there's like
a lost style mystery to it you know
there's always going on there's these
like variables and these things that
you're constantly considering that
happened to your character uh like an
hour ago uh you know and a lot of time
passes and I love how the game just sort
us is like nope you fest for like BAM
three weeks have gone by yeah Dave 50
now yes i love the transition the way
they sort of just handled the the
narrative sort of like exposition they
just they just take you along for this
ride and you know there's a payoff at
the end and and you sort of have to like
be a piece with what happened it's just
it's just great really i just i have
nothing but amazing stuff to say about
it there's a few things that are sort of
left lingering we're like well wait a
second some stuff happened yet you know
in the beginning I want to know more
about that I want to find out what
happened but uh yeah fireworks just did
it for me and I haven't felt this way
and like you you we talk about every
game we play yes one just did it for a
really yeah I thought it was excellent
definitely worth well I need to assess
the one subject I in this podcast that I
don't because I've never played it but
now I'm but that's all so that was like
my pitch to you yeah
completely now actually want to play
three hours and I think that's a huge
benefit people always used to make a big
deal how this 40 50 60 our game yeah I
don't have time to know I know and it's
and it sucks because that's like I for
whatever reason I decided to go like
after Arkham origins came out like two
years ago I decided to bike by died
already played like the first couple and
I was like you know what let me just go
play this one yeah you know you just
don't have enough time to go do
everything and like you're just like I'm
on ya every time you login it's like
only twenty-five percent done more and
more these indie games are coming out
and they're sure experiences but a
memorable and you get a coda and it's
like a real like impact after just a few
hours it is and you know we talked about
this area and the Beast cast and it's so
like this this has been happening for a
decade already independent games are
just like slowly but surely turning
everybody's head and say yeah oh man
this there's there are so many stories
to tell so many different gameplay
opportunities that no one ever thought
of or no huge studio would ever write
even investigator or take the risk of
making and it really does parallel the
film industry a lot in a lot of ways
it's just awesome awesome stuff all
right that's time for that so let this
is this been fantastic man I have had so
much fun I we probably went way over
yeah but that's fine blabbermouth you
know it just why I seen it there's no
rules man that's right no rules in
podcast no rules just right haha what do
you got going on now so you know we've
got tomorrow CBS is hosting the
Republican debate yes so that's a big
big deal for us and we're actually going
to be live you know we with this is
growing CBS n is growing so fast that um
it was there was a point in time when we
were alive just money to friday then we
added to sunday now especially now in
this political season we've added
saturday so in keyano is anchoring 127
p.m. tomorrow in anticipation of the GOP
debate and then from 7pm Nancy Cordes
who's our congressional correspondent is
going to anchor from the debate and I'm
gonna be there on set in case of shot
goes down which is kind of like if you
got to come in I just be there like if
something happened yeah you could cut to
you
you like yeah let's take a commercial
like so which is going to be incredible
and then yeah so there's a lot going on
and I'm working on a couple of pieces
for CBS this morning which one on a
guitar luthier you know which is kind of
my Alex I played I was going to say we
totally overlooked your
singer-songwriter guitar I would not
songwriter but definitely you singer
guitar player player yet playing is that
we called impaired you know and so yes
it's cool so there's a lot going on but
yeah it's um it's been great and thank
you guys so much for having me of course
it's a it's a pleasure and I know what
you do isn't easy and it's a lot of fun
watching you do what you do and and
thanks for having me on as much as yeah
we need to back now like for surely that
I'm doing the mornings again yet
definitely thank you for telling us your
story hope it wasn't born no man I
really interesting I I mean it went by
quick so I know that have you know
that's become a thing now where it's
like a stick with because people are
always interested in like how did you
get here and you know and I've got to
figure out a way to like make it like
shorter so that people are just not like
okay I get it I get it but I I think at
the end of the day the one thing I
always say to people is that um there
really is sort of a like a Zen aspect to
it which is that like I I sort of had
this mindset that anything is possible
like if you just really not if you want
it badly enough because that's not the
right thing to say it's just that if you
put in your mind that that you're
willing to take a couple of knocks hmm
you're willing to if you want to
consider this way like like lower
yourself and like put yourself in a
position that you haven't been in before
or that might be uncomfortable sure yeah
and no one's successful in the world had
a straight path yeah to that yeah you
know it's it's it's there's a shattered
past that follows ever now Trump's Trump
has no shadow that was the one thing I
wanted to correct you when you said
anything is possible yes I no no there's
one thing that can't be pop okay let's
just make sure that's not possible
anyway uh what's so when you choked so
the URL for CBS nitw cbsnews.com / lie
okay good cuz that's where I tell people
to go it was different for a while but
now that's the best one yeah
now you know we was at CBS n live on
Twitter my first and Vlad due to CBS is
my twitter handle and all the
correspondents are on Twitter all right
make sure you follow a flat check them
out on CBS n and obviously the coverage
that's going on coming up very exciting
stuff man thanks guys such a pleasure
having you here that's it for us the
phone number 866 404 cnet shoot us a
voicemail follow us on twitter at the
404 we're on the facebook and then join
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conversation it's ready calm / r / the
404 were back next week with jordan
hoffman we're going to be talking Oscar
Oscars and movies I saw like half of the
ones he type seen a bunch of them so
we're in good shape will have a lot to
talk and I'm also curious to hear what
he thought about Deadpool so there'll be
a lot of fun tune in next week until
then I'm Jeff Bakalar us fresh tech big
thanks to Vladimir do Thea's would be in
here such a party buddy all right we'll
see you next time this is the 404 show
high-tech lowbrow seems you like that
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