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COMMENTARY THE COFFEE KLATCH ... JULY 19TH 2025 with Robert Reich and Heather Lofthouse Trump is The Deep State PLAY YOUTUBE VIDEO Original article: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lFixgNBUymA
Trump is The Deep State \| The Coffee Klatch with Robert Reich Robert Reich 1.27M subscribers ... 71,696 views ... 7.5K likes Premiered July 19th 2025 The Coffee Klatch with Robert Reich Trump and Epstein's 'wonderful secret.' SCOTUS greenlights the repeal of the Department of Education. The GOP Congress passes more big ugly bills. Let's break it all down on this week's Klatch. How this content was made Auto-dubbed Audio tracks for some languages were automatically generated. Peter Burgess COMMENTARY Peter Burgess Transcript 0:00 And it is the Saturday coffee clutch with Robert Rich and uh Heather Loft House. Heather, it's good to see you. Good to see you. This is actually the real coffee clutch, right? This is This is not This is legit. This is our This is where we got This is where we started our coffee clutch. This is our We just had breakfast. I probably have some of it in my teeth. There are teeth. There's a lot of You know, there are things in your teeth. I hate to I don't want to make you self-conscious, but No, this is this is This is what we do. This is what we do. We have stuff in our teeth. So, what are we going to talk about today? What are we not going to talk about today? So many things, but mainly the unbelievable resurrection of Jeffrey Epstein. Resurrection. Yeah. I mean, you're missing, you know, it's a little mixed metaphor there. It is a little I know. Sorry. But um but but this is actually this has dominated the news this week. And I have to confess to you, Heather, I don't understand it because Jeffrey Epstein died in what was it 2019? Yeah. 6 years ago. And why I mean with all the things that are going on in the Trump world in Trump administration in 1:00 uh you know the Supreme Court in in America in the world why has the Jeffrey Epstein issue bubbled up this week? Let's get into it because there's so many reasons. I mean first of all there's the fact that Americans love a scandal, right? I mean Yes. But there are other scandals, believe me. I mean we've been talking about scandals every week. Yeah, I know. I mean, why the Epstein? Okay, well, let's So, first of all, I mean, let's get into it, but think about it. Pam Bondi said, 'We have all the all the paperwork. It's all just here on my desk back in February. Now, it's no, we have nothing.' So, so it was built up. I mean, this whole thing Well, exactly. It has been Trumpers was built up as anticipation. JD Vance, I remember in 2021, he said, 'If you're a journalist, you ought to get on this story. This if you're not, you should be ashamed of yourself.' ashamed if you're not focusing on this is what JD Vance said. So, so the the Trumpers right starting in, you know, 2019, 2020 are already 2:02 anticipating that there is a cover up and that something is being held back and uh that this is going to be exposed. Right. Exactly. So, there is this big I mean, they're just talking about it and it's and you know, it's been a conspiracy theory for a while. you know who killed Epstein and then Elon comes in and says there's more to be revealed on this. Yes, I think I think Elon Elon Musk's I mean his parting shot with regard to Trump was Ebstein the Epstein files. Uh but what I what I really don't fully understand. I mean uh going back to 2016 pizza gate. I mean there was already in the Republican party in the kind of bottomfeeding regions of the Republican party and Trump followers there was this notion of a conspiracy having to do with very wealthy people uh mostly Democrats 3:00 in fact it was all the Democratic party who were involved in sex trafficking of young women. Yes. and and pedophilia more I mean it was pedophilia the elites it was this elite connection yes okay so it's all about elites it's all about distrust of elites which is interesting because because Trump built on that right I mean this was all Trump's basic theory that from when he entered politics in 2015 2016 what he says is I'm a trutht teller I'm going to tell you about what's happening I'm not going to do this politically correct stuff. I'm really going to be the person who lets you in on what the he when did he start using the term deep state? I don't know. That's a good question. We are deeper and deeper into it now. Or is it the shallow state? I think it's a shallow state. Where are we now? But but he uses the deep state. But he started you I think he started using the deep state uh in you know when he was uh being prosecuted. Oh yeah. 4:02 Um because that was his explanation for the prosecution. uh his why federal prosecutors were going after him. Uh but the when he talked about the deep state, I think people just naturally assumed that part of the deep state was covering up all kinds of things for the wealthy and powerful, but not Donald. I mean, he was an outsider. He was going to lower prices. He was going to He was the outsider. Exactly. Exactly. And so he played this game and woof, it is interesting to watch now. But in in terms of him being the outsider, I mean, that was the game he played in 2016. Uh Bernie Sanders was the outsider in the Democratic primaries in 2016 and also in 2020. So today in politics, if you are an outsider and you are going to be authentic and you're going to tell it like it is and you're going to expose what the what these terrible elites are doing, um the public really responds because the public is so distrustful. 5:04 Yes. So you're suggesting that Trump brought this all on himself. I mean Yeah. But also why are they so distrustful? I mean can we talk the public? Can we talk about this? Yeah. Well, this I I think for some reasons, but I want your I think the distrust actually begins before Trump. The distrust begins uh very very early but the big distrust starts in the financial crisis of 2008 because that's when you have uh you know the whole banking system the whole Wall Street almost almost uh implodes and the what Obama kept saying to the public is that we've got to George W. Bush said this too. We've got to rescue the financial sector otherwise it'll take down everything and everybody. But all the public understood is that the banks were getting bailed out, right? The rich bankers, you know, the people 6:03 with a lot of power were getting bailed out and the tarp. Do you remember TARP? Oh, I've used a tarp in my but uh the trouble troubled act troubled assets relief program. Okay. TARP. That was that was what the bankers and Obama and the Obama administration used to bail out the banks. Yep. And to keep these CEOs in their pen houses. Now, think of a metaphor tarp that that better exemplifies secretive something that is behind the tarp. It's good. Heather, I think that a lot of the public still hasn't got over that degree of and this is not just obviously Trump Republicans and Trump followers. I think this is a very deep in the American public conscious. I think the course but I think that the real distrust of government can be dated from this period of time because the bankers got bailed 7:04 out. Uh not a single CEO of any major bank went to jail. Yep. Uh but millions of Americans lost their homes. They lost their savings. They lost their jobs, right? Uh and nobody was ever held account accountable, right? And then Trump and Bernie Sanders both entered the political frey as outsiders who are saying, 'We are going to tell you what's really going on.' And now this letter has come out which we haven't seen but it's been described right that Trump sent to Jeffrey Epstein as part of a lovely package that was given to him for his 50th birthday. Now tell me this I want to understand something. This letter is reported by the Wall Street Journal. The Wall Street Journal who you think they did their research. I mean they know Trump is going to come after them. So you tell me that they don't have some backup for this. So they have to have backup. Their lawyers said you if you're gonna publish this come on. So the he's gone after them. The Wall Street Journal. Now I have I have to confess something to you. I am 8:03 not a rigorous reader of the Wall Street Journal every day. So tell me in this in this expose of the wall by the Wall Street Journal this week the the Wall Street Journal says there is this letter that in that Trump wrote when? So he wrote it for Epstein's 50th birthday. So if Epstein died at 66 in 2019, so it was 16 years before that was 2003ish. Yeah. And that's that was quick math. That's very good math. Thank you. But that's 2003ish is when Epstein is doing Oh, yeah. I mean, his worst. Yeah. And in this letter, Donald Trump says, well, so we don't we haven't seen the letter, but we've heard what it says. And it's all very coded language and it's we we have secrets together and aren't we amazing and every day is a new day to remember that we have secrets and you're wonderful and it's supposedly a cartoon. I haven't seen it and I don't think anyone's seen it. Well, the Wall Street Journal maybe it's an outline of a woman and then you'll excuse me for saying this but the understanding is he 9:05 signed his name Trump near the nether regions of this woman as though it's pubic hair. Curly Trump signature. this is what they say and then and he says you know kudos and birthday and aren't we aren't we on the inside together and then now he's saying I mean I'm not a cartoon guy I don't draw cartoons they have found cartoons he says I don't use the term enigma they have found him using the term enigma including as coded language around Ben Carson but wait one thing I don't understand how can he be threatened by even suggesting that there is uh you know he and is doing something with the nether regions. I mean, I don't want to get too indecent about this, but remember the Access Hollywood tape? Oh, of course. And you know, if you're rich enough, Yes. So, why would anybody having survived that and and the Trump followers not worrying about that? Why would they be 10:03 worried about this? I mean, because it look at the approval ratings. The approval ratings say people want the Epstein files out, largely over 70%. They say, including 50% of Republicans say we need to know the truth about Epstein. Um, this is a problem for us. And so, and is Fox News covering it? Not much. This is Trump on the defensive, but he's on the defensive. Let's let's be clear. I mean because because we have talked uh for since before he was inaugurated about Trump's craziness. I mean his going off the deep end, his illegalities, his unconstitutional this, unconstitutional that. Uh and we are now ironically at a point where his followers having endured him and stayed loyal to him through everything are now shaken up. and they're shaken up because 11:02 that's it. It's the It's what you said. It's the peak of the QAnon deep state and now he's at the center of it. I mean the very the very tiny nucleus of the deeper the deepest state the pedophilia the inappropriateness the lying the elite I mean to the Epstein island. I mean it is so the and it's also a cover up or that's the yes that's the essence of it right. So then when Trump says as he did on I guess it was yesterday, he said to the attorney general Pam Bondi, you've got to release as much as we can that is that going to is that going to get what's going to happen? Well, I don't know. And is there more? Is what she has one thing, but then there's more behind it. Uh you see I I think did you ever read there was a historian, one of my favorite historians, Richard Hoffetter. I know of him. I haven't read. He wrote a it was originally an article during the Joe McCarthy era uh that became a book called the paranoid style in 12:07 American politics. I am reading it. I'm going to have read it by next week, professor. Well, I'm going to give you a test. Oh, I thought you were going to give me a copy. Well, I'll give you a copy, too. And then anam exam. But the paranoid style in American politics. So what Hoffsteader did is he looks at first of all the McCarthy period uh and why people were so readily persuaded that there was a communist conspiracy uh among the elites these the intellectual elites the elites of the state department the elites in Hollywood and then he moves forward and publishes this book kind of right after the Goldwater takeover of the Republican party in 1964. before and it's the same theme. Uh and what what he actually says as a historian is that America has always always had a paranoid underbelly. Uh that that that people are deeply 13:04 suspicious of centralized power. Number one, they're deeply suspicious of the wealthy. Number two, they're deeply suspicious of the wealthy and the powerful getting together and plotting against average people. This is old. I love that it's paranoia when it's actually just reality. Well, that you took you took the words right out of my mouth because because this is this is actually what's happening. It's not Jeffrey Estee. Uh it's not the deep state. What it is is as inequality has increased. When when Hopstatter wrote this, inequality was nowhere near what it is today. But now you have a a concentrated wealth at the top. You have extraordinary income at the top. And you have extraordinary secretive power used in ways that nobody can understand and nobody sees. I mean, I don't know if you I mean, 14:02 okay, I'm so excited about this. Hold on. I need more coffee. But but Trump is now going after or threatening to go after Rupert Murdoch. I know because of the Wall Street Journal piece. I mean I mean you know he says uh you know I went after CBS and I went after uh the U ABC and I went after this and that but now you're next. So Murdoch I know. Rupert Murdoch. I know. Rupert Murdoch. Uh I mean it's it's really fascinating. And also did you do you know that um uh that a no what is it CBS uh has canled um Colbear oh the whole late show the whole late show I know and Colbear has been on Donald Trump's you know yeah and on his parent company for capitulating for capitulating and it's but it's not about that it's a financial decision well I think when people look at all of 15:02 Um and what I mean iron the big irony here is that there is a deep state. Donald Trump is kind of running this deep state uh in terms of very hidden maneuvers uh having to do with the rich and powerful uh but and people maybe at some subconscious level that's what people are responding to. Could it be? Of course. But it gives me hope. I mean we're constantly looking for seeds of hope right with our fine tooth comb. Yeah. And it's it's interesting this con man who's created you know this is part of his circus right the deep state and now he's the ring master of the deep state. Well he is I mean look at look at also his tariffs. Nobody knows what's happening next. Nobody knows what payoffs are being made. It's so it feels so arbitrary and like you say behind a curtain. It's all behind the curtain. I mean, he's going after uh, you know, Lula uh in Brazil um because of the you know, he doesn't like what Lula did to Lula's predecessor 16:05 in Brazil. Uh, it has nothing to do with American interest with America, the American economy. It's all of this. But describe more. Why does he not like what he did? His predecessor is Bolsinaro. Um, Lula's predecessor. And uh Lula's administration is going after Bolsner for essentially denying the results of the last election in Brazil. Sounds familiar. And also unleashing his followers on the government in in some violent ways. U and yes, of course, Trump says, 'Well, this is this is what they did to me.' I know. And they're putting an ankle bracelet on him. And Trump says, 'This is disgusting what they're doing to this So Trump is using tariffs against Brazil to get even with a an administration that he feels is doing what the Biden administration did. 50% tariffs and and you know talk about our coffee. 17:01 You know how how much co how much coffee is going to cost. Drink it while you can. I know. Yes. Well, but I but but it's not just it's also the big ugly bill. People don't know what's in it. I mean they still don't know what's in it. And there's a sense that even the Congress people are still finding. I mean, they're still reading it. All the aids are still going through and members of Congress are still coming up with, oh, did you know that this was in it? Talk about a deep state. Talk about deals being made. Uh, you know, a jumbo jet from uh Qatar goes to Donald Trump and Trump says, 'Fine, I'd love this.' all of his uh meme coins and his real estate and his shoes. Okay. So, so again, isn't this a fundamental irony? I mean, you have Donald Trump creating the deepest of deep states. Uh and the Supreme Court is helping because the Supreme Court is using its shadow dockets. Another word, 18:03 a shadow a shadow dock. behind the actually means it's an emergency docket and we all are now calling it the shadow docket because nobody knows why the court is making decisions secretive. It just it just made a decision that Trump can do whatever he wants in terms of firing federal workers at the education department uh and essentially getting rid of the Department of Education. Um because well this is only a preliminary injunction but you can't bring these people back. You can't recreate the Department of Education. It's going to take you know a year or two on the merits to have a a court decision by the which time it's all over. So this is all the recisions. I mean everything that's going on. Let's talk about that. What Donald Trump is doing is he's saying, 'Look, I've already essentially impounded money or stopped the payments on money for public broadcasting and also uh for foreign aid. And I'd like 19:00 you, Congress, to rubber stamp this.' Uh and he's gonna This is the beginning. I mean, he's gonna everything that he's basically cut. He wants the he wants the Congress to rubber stamp, right? And Corporation for Public Broadcasting. And we're talking nine billion bucks. And this is a trial balloon. Let's be clear. Everything's a trial balloon with this guy. Yeah. What can I do next that's worse higher and he'll do it for NIH and CDC. He's already I mean the thing is that he's and this goes back to the theme of the deep state. He's already done all of this. He's already cut these jobs. He's already basically said close down a lot of these department. USA ID is a shadow of what it was before. Uh and I can't really function. Uh but what he wants is actually an official congressional stamp of approval or authority on all of these cuts. Uh which is interesting because he's trying to set up a Supreme Court case that he hopes will justify him 20:00 impounding everything. He wants to get rid of the Empoundment Control Act. That's what this is all about. Okay. So, I mean, Reagan did some of this, right? He was a little sneaky. He took money away. But why? So, is this all to Do you remember the Iran Contra? Of course. Yes. You were only 5 years old. How can you remember that? No. It was in the ' 80s. I was like 11. Oh. Um, so but I do feel what So, he's doing this to secure his power, to create more walls. Tell me. Well, this is very important. You say secure his power. Yes. create more walls. Yes. And this is again the theme. Uh what he's doing is he's he is creating the deeper deeper state. He's creating a state that is only he controls and nobody knows what is happening inside the state. If you're a lobbyist today, you don't go to Congress. You don't try to lobby Congress. You try to get into the Louis the 14th court of Donald Trump and have influence in that court because that's 21:03 where decisions are being made. It's all subrosa. So it's so grim. Well, it's well it's grim but the public is reacting. Did you know I was going to say did you see that um New York Times which half the time makes me mad and the other half I'm grateful for it. They did there was this great video and it basically showed how the Corporation for Public Broadcasting works and the money goes through them and then from then it goes to NPR, but the biggest chunk goes to local radio and TV in red states in red states. And it was this great graphic where you saw all these little dots all over the country and that is where emergency information is conveyed. These are news deserts. These are people who don't necessarily have cable. These are I mean this is critically important for Americans all over the place to get all kinds of news including to save their lives around emergencies. Well, it's it's it's really part of a of 22:02 a very deep state. I'm going to keep on using this because again Trump is creating the deeper state of attempt to hurt red America, rural red America. I mean look the Medicaid cuts, the medic Medicaid cuts in the big ugly bill. Those are not going to hurt. I mean, they they hurt to some extent, you know, other Democratic states, but the real real ones that they hurt the most are Republican. No, but what are these Republican senators and representatives going back to their constituents and saying, and what are the constituents saying to them? Because they don't know. This is why it's a deep state, Heather. This is why this is so important. This is why Jeffrey Epstein is kind of the tip of an iceberg. Because if people begin to say to themselves, I'm talking about Trumpers, they begin to say, 'I we can't trust this guy. There is a cover up. There's a big cover up. We don't even know what he's doing to us. That's the beginning of the end.' I love it. I mean, 23:03 is more going to come out? What is Trump going to do? I mean, is he Well, he's he's you know, again, he's trying to minimize the damage, right? But what we learned and what we've learned, you know, since Watergate is there if there's a cover up, you can't minimize the damage by just allowing a little bit of information out and shouting on on social media. I mean, we didn't learn that from Watergate, but well, and and Trump says, you know, um, I don't care if you if you don't want to support me, I don't want you. You can tell how rattled he is by all of this. Uh, so it's a big big deal. Can I ask a question? So strategically feels like the Democrats maybe have an opportunity right now to be shouting from the mountain tops. Uh have you noticed where are the Dems? I mean as this recisions package and the act is moving 24:00 through and getting passed as this Epstein letter I mean isn't this an opportunity to seize as well as everything else? I think it's a huge opportunity for the Democrats because the basic theme here is goes back to Franklin D. Roosevelt before that is you have an elite, a powerful wealthy elite that is basically making life difficult for everybody else and plotting against everybody else. Whether it's a conspiracy or not, forget the word conspiracy. You have in this country right now a two-tiered economy, two-tiered society, and a few people at the top are again CEOs and financiers and others. Why aren't the Democrats? Now, I have been saying this, Heather, for years. I know how long it is because we got fact checks recently. They were like, 'Is is it over 30 years or over 40 years?' And Michael on our team went into the archives, looked at your books, found news article. You've been saying it. we can confirm for at least 42 years. Okay. So the the question is why aren't 25:02 the Democrats taking up the cudgel of you know if there is such a ground swell of anger against this elite. Well the elite that is really shafting people is an elite that is big corporations and CEOs uh and the and Wall Street the elites of Wall Street. It's the It's big big money and big big power united and abusing that power against everybody else. Have you Yeah. these new polls that have come out. I mean, I'm constantly watching the polls for seeds of hope and how where Trump's approvals are going. Um, including around his immigration, thank God, but also Mumani. So, the polls that have come out saying the positions that Mandani put out there. So when you talked about taxing and going after corporations and millionaires plus 46% approval. Wow. When he went when so free prek um excuse me under five you know any kind of 26:06 preschool on up and before preschool people oh you know over 20 points approval for that grow government owned grocery stores big approval for that. I mean all of these progressive there was freezing the rent for tenants noted that it's in buildings they're old buildings this is not going to affect new construction right exactly but so that through the roof these approval ratings I mean why if that is what's capturing people and he has almost won over Cuomo I mean why aren't we seizing looking at the polls looking at this messaging looking at how did you say why aren't we? You just used the pronoun. Well, I do want to think of us as a No, but but that's the problem because because the Democrats also have these people called corporate Democrats, you know, Jamie Diamond and and all of the people that used to be the business people that call themselves Democrats that really don't believe in what the 27:03 Democrats, the FDR Democrats, the people we're talking about now in terms of going after the wealth and the power and the abuse of power. It's not just wealth. It's the abuse of power that goes with big wealth. You know, it's uh I mean, look at Elon Musk. I mean, can you imagine? He purchases a presidency for Donald Trump with a quarter of a billion dollars. I mean, what isn't this fodder? Shouldn't this be fodder for a Democratic capital D resurgence? I mean, and also, and then the Wisconsin example is so important. So after he purchases this and he's high and he's writing and he's dozing and Trump is adab boying him and then he goes to Wisconsin and they say no thank you we don't like it we don't want the big money we don't want your big money in our supreme court election. So back to Mdani. Mandani is in many ways attractive because he is doing what Trump used to do that is going after the 28:02 elites, going after the power, going after those who are putting everybody else down. Uh but we have a very ironic point in America politics right now because you have Money who's who's doing this uh in the FDR tradition. what Democrats really need to do, the economic populism. Economic populism. Uh but but the Democrats, the corporate Democrats are going nuts, you know, they are seething. They're they're angry. They they uh they they just, you know, Jamie Diamond, as I said before, he said his Democratic friends are idiots. Uh I mean, this is strong language for the president of Chase, JP Morgan, Chase. I I think what we're seeing and hearing are the is the death rattle of corporate Democrats. And when this happens, when corporate Democrats really abandon the Democratic party, I think it will free the Democratic party up to to have a message 29:05 that is clear to people. You know, the reason the reason you average people, the reason you are being shafted, you're not getting ahead is because big corporations and very wealthy people have rigged the game against you. I mean, this is what Bernie Sanders has been saying for years. And Bernie is absolutely right. The Democratic Party didn't want did not want Bernie. Why? Because the big funders in the Democratic party, the corporate Democrats didn't want Bernie. But with the corporate Democrats basically being pushed out, right, and Musk's guy, Epstein's guy, who's Trump, I mean, he's distancing, distancing himself from all of this. Well, this gets this gets us back to Epstein. And I think it's very interesting because uh by the way, did you hear that um the the person who introduced Trump to Melania? Oh, I didn't hear this. 30:00 Was Jeffrey Epstein? No. Yes. Now, this is what I read. He introduced Trump to Melania. Trump has a long history with Jeffrey. I mean, that we knew. I mean, yes, but but it's a history that confirms the worst aspects of the deep state and all of the fears uh about uh not literally pizza gate, but that kind of fears about the exploitation of women. So hideous. I'm still reading Not My Type by Carol. Are you like it? She's a fantastic writer. Good. Good. Oh, it's great. You know, I'm going to have very shortly a book that I'm going to recommend to you. Is it your book called Coming Up Short? A memoir of my America. Yes. Do you want me to recommend it to you? I would I would like. Are you reading it? I'm so excited to read it. I am actually. Bob just gave me a copy today. Michael, I haven't even shown you. Yeah. Well, get yours. We'll see. We'll see. But h tell us how 31:02 your movie is going. My movie it is so great. So this is why I'm tired. I'm drinking so much coffee. So the last class about Professor Rich's last semester of teaching is in 46 theaters across 20 states. Wait a minute. 46 theaters. There only 50 theaters left. 26 theater. Wait, what did I Oh, 46 theaters. No, we are in every last standing theater. No, there were a few more than that, but it is grim. We've been at the Rialto Elmwood extending for another week. The Quad in New York extending for another week. The New Art in LA extending for another week. Whatever the name of the fabulous theater is in Salem, Oregon extending for another week. I mean, it's all over the place. And that's cuz people are showing up. It's coming up to the Strand Theater. I have friends in Maine, including Senator Angus King, who told me that it's coming to the Strand. That's true. Is it Camden? Camden? No, it's not. It's close to Camden. I think it's something with an S. Yeah, it's on the lastclassfilm.com the website. So, what's great is you can see it in a theater now. Thank you to the 32:01 lastclass.com. The lastclassfilm.com. Okay, let's make that the last film.com. Right. If I want to know where it is playing, I go there. But not only that, if you want it to play near you, you go there. And we'll be talking more about this, but you can host a screening and you can try and get it in your local theater and you say, 'I'm going to buy tickets.' and you find people to buy tickets and their credit card is not charged until you tip the theater and they're enough to have it happen. Heather, I'm going to ask you an embarrassing question. Oh, great. No, embarrassing for me. Oh, good. Um, why I mean I I am the subject of this film. I did not make the film. I'm not the director. You're the producer. Um, I had very little to do, you know, I was interviewed. What is Why is this film doing so well? multiple reasons and so I'm going to not embarrass you with some of them but I'll talk to them about you about that but one thing is it inspires hope but it is not an on then nose and now we need to have hope it's not that it's I think people are looking for how 33:07 do we continue to not have cynicism and themes of the movie are the long game themes of the movie are we can rise up against bullies themes of the movie are the students of today are active, are participating, are hungry, are not giving up. And you get to see all these students faces. I I love the students faces. The topography, I mean, the 33:30 cinematographers, incredible. Elliot Kersner, the director, Josh Melrod, the editor, incredible. But so you're seeing 33:36 all these students and then you you just it's a frank side of you. Someone at the Q&A yesterday said, you know, a typical 33:44 um biography would have more personal stuff, you know, family and people saying, 'I 33:50 worked with him in the Clinton administration.' That's not what this is. This is you discussing when is it 33:56 time to retire, discussing what's happening with the world at large and 34:02 pondering what aging is and where we are. And it's this candid look and it's 34:07 a conversation and it's so intimate. So, it's not a personal, it's not the traditional biopic. Doesn't start with 34:14 B-roll and you know all of that. Um, so I I mean, but I'm completely biased. 34:20 Also, we meant to do a short video. That was what originally it was going to 34:25 be. Can I just tell you originally it was going to be a video a short video 34:30 and Heather came to me and Elliot Persner came and said, 'Can we do a very short video about your last, you know, 34:36 your last semester?' And I said, 'Yeah, sure. Why not?' That is that is classic bait and switch, Heather. 34:42 Yeah, but it's also your fault because the percentage Ellie says this, the percentage of what you the usable 34:48 material after an interview with you and after going to UC Berkeley and watching students, what were we going to leave it 34:54 on the cutting room floor? But but watching students, can I just say the thing about the movie and I've 34:59 seen it now twice. thing about the movie that really gets to me is the pictures 35:06 of the students because when I taught before I I did leave teaching 35:13 you left the I'm just interrupting you left the big class I when I left the you're teaching on Substack you're 35:19 teaching on video and you're going to do a tiny course I heard yes and with with I mean 20 people but 35:24 anyway so the big class is a big undertaking but but what I used to love to do and what gave me inspiration when 35:31 I teaching. What actually to told me what to talk about next was the faces of 35:38 these, you know, 19, 20, 21, 22 year olds who were so eager and so excited 35:46 and so totally there. They just fill me with energy and and and excitement and 35:52 optimism. They really do. And when I feel in these days uh most 36:00 stressed honestly what I do is I think back on those students and I think they're out in the world now right and you know they're struggling many of them but they are making the world better most of them and the interaction and getting to see that and they are the Q&A questions are fantastic so it's where are the students today I mean I saw one woman at the Elmwood in Berkeley and she said my daughter was going to come here but instead she took Bob's class and now she is a public defender in Sacramento and she couldn't get off work so I'm seeing it and we're going to go over the weekend. I mean you see hear where these students are. The other thing they said is why did you allow all the students to have laptops? And I loved your answer to this which was basically if they're inside their laptops I can see that they're not paying attention to me. When I see their faces with their laptops you know you're getting through. So it's a tool. It it was a tool. I love that. I mean, but it's it's absolutely true. I the laptops were a signal to me. If they were in their laptops, I was doing so I 37:00 wasn't doing my job and I was doing my job when they were out of their laptops when they were looking. But that's the livveness of a classroom, which is what this captures. And it's and people are liking to go to the movies, finding solidarity. We got this great comment from someone who said, 'I couldn't find any of my friends to go and I had this thought. should I invite that friend of my colleague of mine who doesn't agree with me and we drove an hour and a half to the theater and we watched it together and our conversation on the way home was incredible because we found we realized we agree on more than we disagree. So it was this sense of the common good and I love that example of why people are going to the theater and what they're getting from it. That's fabulous. I mean, in a way, and we have to end this, unfortunately, um, but in a way, what you're describing is the opposite of Trump and Epstein and the deep state and the conspiracy theories. Um, and the opposite is people coming together, uh, optimistically, uh, seeing the future, thinking about, 38:02 uh, the next generation, thinking about what we can do together, being vulnerable. and being vulnerable, not hiding everything. Yeah, exactly. Thank you for your patience. I mean, have you heard any of this? I've kind of heard you. Have you heard me here in Sals? Yes, of course. This is loud. Sals is this is this is my place. I don't have a See, I don't have an office any longer. They took away my office at the university when I was Can we get the cabinet chair back? I don't even know where the cabinet chair is. We're going to find it and take it on a tour. But so salsa is sort of my office away from my office. But it's a lot of orange juice. It's a lot of people talking. So let us know if our coffee clot on the road. We people liked us when we were in what's it called? Central Park. Yes. This is sort of another version of Central Park. Listen, thank you all for joining us. Heather, thank you. Michael Lahannes Calderon behind the 39:01 camera. Thank you. Uh, and I just want to say that it continues to be, I know, for all of you, a stressful time and a stressful experience. And I'm hoping that our once a week get together gives you a little bit of encouragement, a little bit of relief from the stress. But I hope most importantly at all and Heather you mentioned this word uh I hope that people do not and you do not become cynical. Cynicism is the enemy. You can be pessimistic, you can be worried, you can be everything else but you should not be cynical because cynicism is essentially the end. U they win. Um, I want to thank all of you for 40:02 continuing the fight. I want to thank all of you for not succumbing to cynicism at a difficult time in our nation's world's history. Thank you all. See you next week. [Music] All right.

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