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SLAP the Power
SLAP the Power - a dynamic new show from SLAP the Network that aims to weave artistry into advocacy through the raw power of music, comedy, movies, visual arts, and beyond.
Hosted by world touring musicians Rick Barrio Dill (@rickbarriodill @vintagetrouble) and Aja Nikiya (@compassioncurator), join them as team with musicians, comedians, actors and artists of all angles and try to chop up some of todays most troubling topics, but with a fat side of chocolate cake and incredible silliness.
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slapthepower.com
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SLAP the Power
Firefront Heroes, Community Compassion, and Generational Reflections
Standing in the midst of the Los Angeles fires, a scene of both chaos and heroism, one can't help but feel the overwhelming emotional weight of destruction. We walk you through the heart of the Palisades and Eaton fires, sharing firsthand accounts that capture the devastation—the loss of homes, cherished memories, and beloved pets. Listen to the voices of the brave firefighters battling unpredictable flames and learn about the extraordinary efforts made to protect what they can, as these fires, driven by volatile conditions, carve an indiscriminate path through the community.
Communities find strength in unity as they rise to support each other during these catastrophic times. We shine a light on the tireless dedication of local and international firefighters, volunteers, and organizations who are stepping in to offer aid, shelter, and hope. This episode celebrates the incredible resilience and compassion displayed by people rallying together to provide food, water, and shelter, and the unexpected joy of shelter animals finding new homes. Despite the challenges posed by misinformation and political finger-pointing, acts of kindness prevail, and we emphasize the importance of supporting volunteer centers and fostering displaced animals.
Beyond the immediate crisis, we explore the intricate tapestry of political undercurrents that accompany these disasters. From the uneven aid distribution between states to the creative defiance found in art, we discuss how these fires highlight broader national issues. As the nation reflects on its past and future, the gathering of past presidents at Jimmy Carter's funeral, with all its awkwardness and irony, offers a moment of levity amidst serious discourse. The episode also touches on the adaptability of Gen Z in the face of technological challenges, such as potential TikTok bans, showing how different generations respond to crisis and change. Come listen to how we weave through these themes, offering insights and encouraging continued support for affected communities.
AMAZON
Compassion Kind
PATREON
SLAP the Power is written and produced by Rick Barrio Dill (@rickbarriodill) and Aja Nikiya (@compassioncurator). Associate Producer Bri Coorey (@bri_beats). Audio and Video engineering and studio facilities provided by SLAP Studios LA (@SLAPStudiosLA) with distribution through our collective home for progress in art and media, SLAP the Network (@SLAPtheNetwork).
If you have ideas for a show you want to hear or see, or you would like to be a featured guest artist on our show, please email us at info@slapthepower.com
On January 7th the Los Angeles fires broke out and causing unimaginable damage to people's homes, lives and the environment. To date, the Palisades fire has burned over 24,000 acres, over 12,000 structures. That number is surely going to go up. So now is not the time necessarily for the blame, but just getting all the facts, all the facts. It gets me to the kind of broader issue, which is how painful it is that this is so quickly used as a political football. Yo hey, won't we go slap today? All right, the world may not need another podcast, but it can definitely use a slap. Welcome to Slap the Power, the show where we bring together artists who use their powers for progress. I am Rick Biodill.
Speaker 2:And I'm Asia Nakia.
Speaker 1:That's right On the show today the Los Angeles fires. We have Compassion Kinds update literally from the ground and literally an hour fresh from being at ground zero in the Palisades.
Speaker 2:It is also the last week of the Biden administration and also the first week of a convicted felon with access to nuclear codes.
Speaker 1:We talk TikTok ban and how we're saving the ship here at Slap the Power.
Speaker 2:And then we've got our Pause for Progress, where we are going to give some specific updates on some of our fur friends that you may already know, and also some of our new fur kids from the fire lines.
Speaker 1:And a little later Make this Ish. Make Sense discussing the Gen Z views on the LA fires and a lot of just online ridiculousness related to Los Angeles and the fires, but first, great conversations. They deserve the perfect parent, like this new adult beverage that has 5 milligrams of Delta-9-THC and only 30 calories. Discover Hippie Water at hippiewatercom or find it at Total Wine in Florida, texas, arizona and a bunch more about to come online. Make sure to use the code hippieslaps for 15% off and everybody could use a little hippie water in their life.
Speaker 2:Rick, have you heard about Women in the Nude?
Speaker 1:Say what.
Speaker 2:That's right. I said Women in the Nude. Tell me more With Sasha Pierca.
Speaker 1:Oh, the Women in the Nude podcast.
Speaker 2:The podcast.
Speaker 1:Yes, yes, you mean the breakout hit season two podcast Women in the Nude Tell me about it.
Speaker 2:These women are literally bearing all. We have so many cool artists, celebrities, guest appearances. I love it. I love the women empowerment. I love everything Sasha's Vibe is about. It's just a really great podcast. Make sure you tune in to Women in the Nude, anywhere you get your podcasts. On January 7th, the Los Angeles fires broke out great podcast. Make sure you tune in to women in the nude anywhere you get your podcasts.
Speaker 1:Uh, on january 7th, the los angeles fires broke out and causing unimaginable damage to people's homes, lives, in the environment. There have been uh fires all over the city and to date, the palisades fire has burned over 24 000 acres, over 12 000 structures. That number is surely going to go up. Um, I've seen, uh, the death toll. I believe. I believe 21. Somebody will have to double check it, but that number is sure to go up. And uh, the eaton fire over 14 000 acres burned. Only 27 percent contained asia. You are just literally in the door from spending not only the last couple of days in the Palisades but the weekend in Pasadena and dealing with the Eaton fire and things. And what can you tell us from your perspective on the ground and especially coming at it from all of the animals and animal rescue standpoint?
Speaker 2:It's been really tough. You know we're doing a lot of like search and rescue. We've got identified addresses where we have animals that were known to be in the homes during the fires that could not be evacuated. Unfortunately, a lot of people couldn't find their cats. Some people had to run, you know, they didn't expect the fire to be coming their way. They didn't find their cats. Some people had to run. They didn't expect the fire to be coming their way. They didn't have a lot of time to plan. But it's just, you know it's really hard to walk by people's personal belongings just thrown everywhere. You see kids' games, you see photographs, you see someone's filing cabinet. I mean, it's just, it's been really rough and it's just completely demolished. It's been really rough and it's just completely demolished. But also, in the same time it's been really odd because you'll be at one house with green grass in perfect condition and walk 10 feet across the street to a completely burned down building and it's like so hard to wrap your head around.
Speaker 1:Why do you think there is Now? You've been talking to some of the firefighters there, obviously. Why do you think there is Now? You've been talking to some of the firefighters there, why do you think that is so?
Speaker 2:I know. So. One of the things is the fire lines, and obviously they're actively trying to put out fires, you know, while they're happening. But also building materials make a huge difference. A lot of people stay behind and we're like hosing and wetting their houses. I think that that's a huge factor in it too. Um, and really you can see the, the, I would say the main divider is really street to street, like, yeah, you can walk down one street and all the houses on the left are burnt down, but then all the houses on the right are fine.
Speaker 2:It's just really bizarre yeah um, but yeah, i's you know. Nobody has a clear cut answer. It's just like you know multiple, you know either that you know a spark, you know flew and then caught a line of houses in a row but then didn't catch the ones next to it.
Speaker 2:Just still, you can tell me all the logic and all the reasons, but when you're standing in the middle of it and you're literally looking to the right and it's complete destruction, everything burnt to the ground. And you're looking to the left and there's like a bird feeder and green grass and every fence post intact, it's just, it's really wild, it's been really crazy to see.
Speaker 1:I saw and listened to Gavin on PSA and it was amazing and I felt like that's everything you want out of a leader in a situation like that, with respect to there's so much that's still unknown, so now is not the time necessarily for the blame, but just getting all the facts. Broader issue, which is you know, which is how painful it is that this is so quickly used as a political football right and how this is going to be the world that we're dealing with. It's absurd, because what it is is the minions are already out there in congress saying, oh well, this aid is going to have to come with conditions on it. It's like um, conditions for right now, for what? And the thing is they can't answer it. No, they're not interested in governing. When covet hit, they weren't interested in governing.
Speaker 1:Let me remind you, in in december of 2019, trump knew about covet. Take yourself back to march and april of 2020. But in December of 19, he on Bob Woodward tapes, he knew about COVID. What do you think these people are going to do when these things happen in the future? The heartlessness of it and cruelty is about to be the point they're showing us. They want California to be treated as a different country. Shout out to Norm Chad. He had a great bit this morning. That was just brilliant where it was like we got to keep the number at 50 on 50 states, but let's make the Dakotas one and let's make the Carolinas one, and then that means we get two states to pick from and we could go Puerto Rico, how you feel?
Speaker 2:about that. All right, giving them voting rights.
Speaker 1:Puerto Rico voting rights. How about Canada? Sure, sure Right. Why not Mexico?
Speaker 2:I mean, I'm about all of it.
Speaker 1:And speaking of Canada and Mexico, the first ones to show up and have our back Speaking of this amazing resilient city, yeah, what have you seen on that?
Speaker 2:side. I mean, yes, they are here, they are here, they are helping, and it is just one of those things like that I'm like and here we are, you know, facing mass deportation and throwing Mexico under the you know table all the time A blank check to build as many makeshift prisons as you want Right, I mean camps, I mean sorry.
Speaker 2:But it just shows their resilience and it shows their heart and it shows how their leader chooses to lead. She is a total badass. I'm. I'm just always gonna praise the mexican president this woman is, oh my I just love her so much and she, she's just, she's not scared of trump and she's not, she's not gonna, not let her people help when she wants to do the right thing. And I mean we've been seeing the firefighters out there.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's amazing. What's the coolest thing you've seen so far, done so far with respect to chalking up a W in this horrific scenario?
Speaker 2:I mean we've had some pretty intense like evacuations that were a little scary, you know know sirens going off and police coming in and um just trying to evacuate animals as quickly as possible. We we did have a case with 25 cats, um, we had to literally catch every single one of them. It was quite intense.
Speaker 2:Um, they definitely kicked my butt yeah I'm still recovering, but, um, you know, then we've also had like interesting rescues, like getting 17 koi fish, you know, like there's just so many interesting animals left behind. But also I've what I've sort of enjoyed is just hearing a bird chirp every once in a while and we saw an owl, you know.
Speaker 2:The other night there was a family of rabbits and you're just like, okay, some of you guys made it you know yeah and we're just like trying to leave like bird seed and things out, um, but they all seem so like eager for, for help and for food, and it's just a time for everybody to come together and that's. I think that's really what I've been seeing, like everyone's been helping. Hey, do you need a water? Like everyone's checking in on you, the firefighters are making sure you if you need a sandwich when they pass you in the field.
Speaker 1:You know everybody's just it's good, it's good vibes, and that's what I felt. I know from the volunteer centers and stuff like that that we've seen. They've just been so a lot of our dear friends and family members have lost everything that they have. It's it's. It's it's hard to process for your family members and friends. And then it's when it's on this kind of level I I heard today in a meeting that we had earlier where it was.
Speaker 1:Uh, I'm sure this isn't private information or anything like that, but um, caa alone, the agency just alone, 27 of their employees lost their homes just from CAA. So now put that across the industry and uh, yeah, I'm just I, you know I've seen nothing. But but uh, the city be what the city is, which is bad-ass. Everybody's been rallying where they're maxed out on on clothing and basic, you know, housing, utensils and stuff, and that's just it's. It's killer when you see the city rally like that in such a tough situation. And then you look at the rest of the country, or even here, if you're on the fox news side of the aisle, and things like that, where you have everybody pointing a finger, causing a blame game on things that they don't know anything about, misinformation and really dunking on California in a way that it really just shows them. It's really just showing how bad this stuff isn't good faith arguments, because when it happens to South Carolina, you know the Democrats control the weather. When it happens to California, you know it's wokeism.
Speaker 3:Right and we deserved it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and so just incredible love and props to the firefighters, to our Canadian firefighter friends and Mexican firefighter friends, everybody that's helping on the volunteer side and saving animals like compassion kind friends and Mexican firefighter friends, everybody that's helping on the volunteer side and saving animals like compassion kind.
Speaker 2:When I was coming out today, honestly, to get here. You know we don't always think about all the tasks that firemen have to do. We always think about saving fires and saving people in, you know, in these situations. But like today, they were like clearing. They were up like halfway up the mountain, clearing uh debris and clearing out like trees and branches that I guess can catch fire easily.
Speaker 2:Is what I'm I'm assuming yeah, but you know, like you just see them carrying like tons of branches up and down, up and down the mountain, like they're doing a lot of work.
Speaker 2:I mean a lot, a lot yeah and a lot of them have been super helpful with animal rescue stuff. There's been some houses we haven't been able to access and they'll go and they've been sending me updates and photos and doing full walkarounds and I mean just really, really cool stuff happening. What needs the most help right now? You know it's one of those things where there's so many individual cases. Right, there's a ton of GoFundMes up. Obviously, my heart goes to those families, so if you can support some of the GoFundMes that are going on there are, of course, a lot of organizations collecting donations, but really really do your research and I think it just does better if you can go to the actual volunteer sites like the donation centers you know, instead of just clicking online and sending in a donation, if you can actually physically go, then you can really see what's going on.
Speaker 2:I mean meals, opening your home to foster, you know, an animal from evacuees. That's a really, really good way to help. There's just so many, so many things going on.
Speaker 1:Do you have? I'm sure there's a list of foster animals that you're adding to the Compassion Kind site which you can get through from our show notes, the links in our show notes, as well as at Compassion Kind, which is dope. That's a great way to you know, adopt a little foster. Yeah, because we're getting an influx of animals.
Speaker 2:Unfortunately, some people are going to surrender.
Speaker 2:We're going to see more of that over the next coming weeks. But on the flip side, it's also been sort of a good thing for some of the shelter animals that have been up on euthanasial lists and things, because a lot of orgs come in during these disasters and take animals from the shelters so new animals can come in and because we're in a disaster situation, they have to uphold the standard. You know. Usually it's 30 days. It may differ it differs from state to state but to reunify animals with their you know fur family or with their family members. So I'm really hoping they uphold that and we slow down on some of the euthanasias, you know, during this time, because a lot of people are going to be looking for their animals.
Speaker 2:Not everyone is microchipped, you know they end up with this rescue or they end up at this shelter, you just don't know. So I'm hoping it's like a time for the animals to get a little reprieve at least out of the shelter systems, because everyone is eager to help, everyone's eager to come down with a van and take dogs out, but we really can't take animals out that are found during the fire because we have to be able to try and reunify them. So it's only if it's an owner surrender and only if they're coming from a shelter where they were already identified as an animal pre-fire. Wow yeah, so so you know there's a, there's a lot of stuff going on, but then there's some good things that come out of these situations, sure, and I like to try and focus on them, not to take away from the bad, but if you can find one or two little shining lights in these moments no 100%, that's one of them 100% yeah.
Speaker 2:And just seeing people come together and give each other meals and yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, yeah. And LA, you know LA is so resilient and it's I've been actually hopeful for the first time in a long time, just by just seeing so much of this that's around. So, yeah, you know, kind of pivoting, but not, you know, at the time of the recording, at the time of our recording right now. Now we're in the final week of, uh, you know, sleepy joe biden administration and the you know. But, uh, you know, say what. You will accomplish a lot, you know, accomplishment well, there'll be plenty of time to talk about that, but um and uh, which means we're entering in the second and I'm telling you it won't be the last, but second Trump term.
Speaker 1:We'll say hopeful Trump administration and DREAMers, members of the LGBTQIA community, communities of color and so many more people. They're just on edge on what this new administration is going to bring. There's going to apparently be a shock and awe flurry of executive orders on on day one. The rally on the 19th. Um, which is what, for it's the first time in the same way of conditioning aid is the first time that that's ever been done. I just feel like we're going to make a show out of first times coming up over the next X amount of time, but you know when, what do you expect? I mean, it was funny because I everybody's kind of got a different understanding, do?
Speaker 2:you believe Trump when he says he's? Going to pardon all the insurrectionists. I, I, I have to like. It's like I don't believe anything he says, but then I believe everything he says you know, I'm in this weird place with everything that comes out of his mouth.
Speaker 1:He keeps us in this zone of like stupid and insanely important. You know, ridiculously stupid and insanely important and you know things like.
Speaker 2:You know, we're changing the Gulf of Mexico and we're renaming.
Speaker 2:You know, there's just so much hoopla going on right now that I don't know what is going to be true, what's going to be not, but what I do know is that my friends that are in you know partnerships where they're scared that they may not, they may take away marriage rights. I mean, I have friends literally that have gotten married in the last three months, sure, just to try and protect themselves. So there is a lot of thought and a lot of people definitely living in fear.
Speaker 4:Yeah.
Speaker 2:And definitely trying to like set themselves up. I've been talking to some friends that are working on their dual citizenships. I mean it's it's heavy yeah. Yeah, I mean I'm definitely working on my dual citizenship.
Speaker 1:You can find me in Kalimnos, codename GTFO.
Speaker 2:You can find me in Kalimnos operating a little dog sanctuary on the island.
Speaker 1:We're a worldwide pod anyway, so we're going to be doing our pod from wherever we need to. But it is interesting how they're already signaling the same thing that he did in his first term, which was treating the blue states differently than he treats the red states and withholding aid and things like that, which is just mob boss shit. It's just awful. It's not United States of America and we're just going to have to deal with this bullshit, or, I'm sorry I've got to restate it we're just going to have to re-deal with this BS. Until we don't. Now, the thing to hope for is that they're really just ridiculously dumb, and anytime you put that many dumb people Actually, scratch that, scratch that. I'm going to take that. The thing that we have to, I think, be hopeful for is they're not there to govern as we've determined right.
Speaker 1:And so they kind of run into each other a lot. They kind of you know that quest for power.
Speaker 1:It's like the ring the ring you know, they just kind of get that thing going. I do want to give a shout out, though, to uh ice cube putting it out there in a new joint that you know arrest the president, go ahead. You got the evidence. He's russian intelligence, you know, and so I, you know, I do think. Think art in any way, shape and form, whether it's podcasts, whether it's songs, whether it's TikToks, whatever it is is going to be. You know, it's, there's, there's a lot, there's a lot of material out there.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, I think it's like our survival, you know, yeah, Like we're going to have to use art to make it through this. Yeah Well, I mean on a lighter note. Presidents old and new gathered to pay respects to Jimmy Carter and his funeral. I didn't get to see this.
Speaker 1:Rest in power, king, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2:Past presidents, vice presidents first, ladies were mingling and somehow Trump was not excluded from this. So tell me I mean, because this is sort of new knowledge to me. I've been so deep in fires, sure, actually saving lives and animals from real fires, yeah that and so news headlines, and you know, I'm just sort of out of it this week, yeah.
Speaker 1:So enlighten me. Yeah, no, and this is great too's. One of the things we love about the show here is chopping up things that most people probably haven't heard and definitely haven't. Uh, you know, kind of, because a lot of people have heard about, obviously, jimmy Carter's funeral, but it's overshadowed by, understandably, so many things that are going on. Um, but of particular note at the funeral was that it was five generations of presidents that were there.
Speaker 1:So mike pence's was there, um, trump's vice president with his wife, and you know trump tried to have him killed. Trump, trump was like I'm a, you know trump was. When they were hang mike pence, he said in, you know, on the grand jury indictment, now you can go find yourself. He said good, right and so, but yet it's standing. Can you imagine no to saying I, just I, you know I tried to have you killed or I was cool with having you killed, and then we got to go there and shake hands. Well, pence being I don't know, he's stuck in this like generation of, like when there was like Reagan, you know there's just this long gone generation Right, and they like preserve you know the kind of dignity of the office. Meanwhile he's taking a dump on the, you know, on the Resolute desk and you know tick talking about it, tweeting about it, at two in the morning. I, you know, and so, but what's funny is the, his wife would not, mike pence's wife would not shake trump's hand, shout out to karen pence because, um, you know, uh, mad respect.
Speaker 1:And then the thing that kind of bothered, I think, a lot of people, myself included, is it was just a little, it's a little hard, because I, I think the problem with trump is you, you hit it on the. You have to take him seriously and can't take him seriously at the same time, and it's asking us to juggle this cognitive dissonance as as as a society, that does not work. It. It can't work and I, so barack obama and everybody that you know, and kamala harris and you know we love everybody that you know and Kamala Harris, and you know we love Kamala. We, you know, worked with the campaign and everything, rightfully so they said.
Speaker 1:You know, you explain what you think this man is going to do to democracy, that he's authoritarian and waiting, that it's fascism. All of these things the majority of everybody on our side know to be true and believe, and yet, at the same time, now that it's post-election, barack obama's sitting there next to donald trump and they're just kind of having sitting there talking and laughing. I respect the fact that. You know, I saw west wing. You know, as the president, you have to deal with dictators. You have to humor people that do atrocities to their, to their people. I understand diplomacy and things like that and I understand being taken the higher ground and and. But it's a little tough to see because you run a campaign saying that this man is the end of democracy, this man which we believe right, but he is, and you know, let's bear this whole thing out, right, but it's hard. It was hard to see and I think that bothered a lot of people.
Speaker 1:And then there was another situation where, um, uh, there was another situation where george w bush in the aisle, trump was to the left, barack was just to the right of him, and then george bush.
Speaker 1:George w bush was to the left, barack was just to the right of him, and then George Bush.
Speaker 1:George W Bush was to the right of him. So when George W Bush was coming back from the casket, he had to cross in front of Trump and he kind of didn't do anything to Trump, but he gave Barack Obama a little belly tap in a way. That was kind of like I think now I've heard we could be wrong, we could be wrong, but I believe this is to be true which is there's a seating chart and there's kind of a way that they just set up that. It's just a tradition where the presidents go, and so you want to put them all in one close area so you can get a shot, and it's also something that never happens and things like that. Um, and it's also something that never happens and things like that. So the proximity to each other was particularly electric, considering all the things that even Trump has said to about Joe Biden you know, and Joe Biden and things like that, and they have to sit right next to him.
Speaker 1:So we're balancing this sort of decorum kind of thing and out of respect, and so you know I'll respect Trump, showed up with Melania, you know, to pay respects to the longest living, you know, president, and so cool, you know, I think.
Speaker 2:Cool that everyone can be in the room together. I mean, at least that's great and props to.
Speaker 1:Trump for being on good behavior and all that. And let's see how long that sort of decorum lasts and how much that gets given back to the other person. But all right, so now really cleansing the palate. Please give us some good news. We bring our segment Pause for Progress.
Speaker 2:I mean, you know, we've been kind of rocking and rolling lately with Finding Fosters which has been amazing.
Speaker 5:How's.
Speaker 2:Rachel. Rachel is so good. The only thing is that I really need to boot her out of the house at some point, because she's becoming very integrated in my household and follows me everywhere and is a little obsessed with me, and she's now been yelling at my son, nico, every time he gets close to me when we are going to bed. So if anyone would like to foster rachel, I would appreciate that, because little home girl is uh getting too attached to me now yeah, well, yeah, she's adorable.
Speaker 1:I know right, when you brought her in the first time with her, with her little kind of like wheelie setup, I know Like she was like just glued to you.
Speaker 2:She really is. But yeah, you know, Mr Wiggles, Noah, all the pups. Mr Wiggles is so good oh my goodness, yeah, I mean everybody is great. We've moved so many into Fosters to make room for some of the fire kids that are coming in, some of the owner surrenders that are coming in, and everyone's really kind of been stepping up in the midst of, you know, the chaos.
Speaker 2:So it's been a good foster week for us, which sounds rare, it sounds weird, but yeah. And then we've had some really good rescues on the ground, lots of animals moving. We've had a lot of sad moments too. You know, not everyone has been alive that we have found, so that's been really hard. So we're really trying to balance you know, the winds this week and we still have a bunch of animals that we're looking for, you know. So we're setting traps. The good news from today is that a few of our feeding stations all the food was missing.
Speaker 3:So the good news from today is that a few of our feeding stations all the food was missing, so that means somebody's coming around.
Speaker 2:Yeah, sure, and you can kind of tell when it's like birds or squirrels taking the food.
Speaker 1:Sure.
Speaker 2:This was, you know, the dog or the cat came and took the food, so there's hope. They're just hiding. They're scared, you know. So we're just going to keep trying until you know, at least a few more weeks, until we find all these dogs and cats that are missing.
Speaker 1:I love that as an update. You know, make sure to check our website for all the constant updates, both from Paws for Progress as well as Compassion Kind's work out in the field. And thank you you know if I don't say it enough thank you for all the stuff that you and your team and everything is doing. It is, it's the real work, you know, along with all the first responders and firefighters and volunteers and everything, and just you know God love all you and your families and, yeah, props to Los Angeles again.
Speaker 2:Yeah, the Angelenos are stepping up.
Speaker 1:Yeah, when we come back from break, you're gonna get some more insights from the ground.
Speaker 4:yeah join me, sasha Peters, on women in the nude, season 2, where we bear it all except for our bodies. Leave that to your imagination. My wish for women is that we strip away the fear of judgment and really embrace the full spectrum of who we are.
Speaker 4:I don't know if you were coming to terms with being pregnant on the show. Yeah, I think she was a little depressed. Let's live boldly and openly and change the narratives that define us. I called my doctor. I'm like I want to drive my car through a brick wall. We deserve it and there's no better time than now. Let's get out of our comfort zone and get down to the bottom of who we are.
Speaker 1:All right, tiktok is about to be banned, or is it On the 19th? We've known this for a long time. They're trying to ban TikTok, which is funny because I've never had a virus on TikTok, but I've had viruses all the time on Facebook and I've had viruses all the time on Twitter. I know Norm has viruses all the time on Twitter, elon. So we're going to pivot here. Where are the kids? The kids we? Asher, our Gen Z correspondent, hipped us to lemonade. We might set up some lemonade stand.
Speaker 2:Make some lemonade. We're going to set up a lemonade stand.
Speaker 1:Also, I love this one. This one's really funny. So the company, I don't know. Do you know? This is a company that makes tiktok is by dance, right, and I guess they're trying to say this is a security threat, blah, blah, blah.
Speaker 1:And it probably is, but I'm sure that is yeah, but um, uh, they're the bite dance is the company, and so as, and and I think asher might be able to even expand on this a little bit more but so gen z kids are moving to an app that's also owned by ByteDance and it's made it the number one social app on all of iTunes and it's called Red Note and I could be wrong.
Speaker 1:If I'm wrong, hit us in the comments and tell me, but I think this is it, and so it only had a Chinese version, which is really, really funny. So people were going on there with Google Translate and doing English and it'll translate it to Mandarin, and then they were making like Chinese TikToks on it, because it's basically the Chinese version of TikTok, and the thing is, you want the algorithm, you want the shit. And then they were like, oh well, there wasn't an English version necessarily of it, because even when I saw it and I downloaded it, it was a Chinese. I had Chinese writing and not English writing on it. But what they did is the Chinese being the Chinese, like, in a matter of like three hours, they engineered it, they cooked up an American version. So, red note, there's an English version as well. That, I think, could you know who knows who knows? But the Gen Z kids are jumping on there to piss our government off because it's like we'll just go to another Chinese app.
Speaker 2:Okay, like take this away from us and watch what we do.
Speaker 1:Take this away from us, I mean, I kind of like that you know what I like about that is that's Gen Z saying take that app away from us and we'll go to the worst boyfriend, the one that you know the boyfriend we'll go to the really really awful guy yeah like the delinquent like three charges boyfriend that your mom doesn't like right, I'm gonna go down to county and find my next boyfriend speaking of, does uh, what's his name?
Speaker 2:have a new wife? Yet who? Who?
Speaker 1:luigi, luigi uh, does luigi I don't know.
Speaker 2:Is Luigi married yet?
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's true, we'll have to get an update on Luigi yeah, is he getting mail in, commissary? I don't know but I feel like homies got to be getting engagements.
Speaker 1:Make sure you're not going to lose any Slap the Power or anything from Slap the Network, because we'll be there upping your grill promise. But unfortunately the app will be banned in US this Sunday if it isn't sold. Kevin O'Leary from Shark Tank fame has said he'd like to purchase the TikTok assets. Unfortunately, bytedance claims it's not for sale and as of now, things are not looking great for TikTok. It's millions of users, you know.
Speaker 1:I think it's going to splinter into a lot of things. It could go back to Instagram, facebook and all that stuff, but also Red Note hey, shout out to Red Note Lemonade. Who knows? We'll see where it goes. I also think this could get kicked down the field and if it does go, I think I've heard that it goes dark on the app. It goes dark on the App Store, but we're going to be able to continue to use it for the foreseeable future until there's an update that gets updated on the App Store and then, if you update, it will, I think, shut it down. And then there's also things where you can use a VPN and say you're living in a not oppressed country like Canada or Mexico, yeah, somewhere like that.
Speaker 2:Just use your VPN to say you're coming from there.
Speaker 1:I'll just TikTok from Puerto Rico. Call it a Mexico, yeah, somewhere like there. Just use your VPN to say you're coming from there.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I'll just TikTok from Puerto Rico. Call it a day.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, it's going to be interesting. If you are on TikTok and you're scared, let us know where you're going, hit us up in the comments and things like that and let us know what's happening to your TikTok journey, because they've got a great algorithm. It really is good. It really is. My For you page pretty much knows me pretty well, I know I know All right, so before we get out of here, another edition of Make this, ish Make.
Speaker 5:Sense Asher.
Speaker 1:Our own Gen Z correspondent, asher Freidberg, brings issues of the day and explains from a Gen Z perspective how this makes sense. So this time we have to summon him, though right. Is that the deal?
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, because we never know where he is.
Speaker 1:Right, sure, that's true, all right. So I guess, what do we do?
Speaker 2:I'm going to click my heels under the desk three times Okay do it?
Speaker 1:Yeah, okay, one, two, three, we're live. You can't, actually, you can be on this show.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you actually could drink a hippie water. Yeah, you could drink this hippie water, probably could.
Speaker 5:We'll allow it.
Speaker 1:All right. Maybe after we're done, it's still fires based.
Speaker 5:Yeah, no, it's been a tough. It's been officially a week as of the day we're shooting this about a week and a half when this is out. But yeah, I mean, gen Z has had a very unique perspective on the fires. There's been a combination of a lot of empathy and a lot of people putting efforts to help out. There's been a lot of lack of empathy. I would say it depends on who you are. It's very much going to be based on who you are. A lot of it's going to be celebrity-based. People are. I mean, look, if you're a politician, some people are less sympathetic towards politicians they don't like, or people who share political views they don't like. People are talking about James Woods, mel Gibson, but then there's celebrities that it's not necessarily a political thing and more of a perceived idea of wealth thing, whether or not it's true or not, the idea that there seems to be no sympathy for celebrities who have lost their homes, possibly pets and maybe more. It's been a really interesting dual perspective where, again, we are clearly not a monolith.
Speaker 1:No, no, and you know, from Altadena to the Palisades, it's all stretches of the economic spectrum, and what is it that you think is the Gen Z standout? As far as I only know Gen Z to be. Really, in these situations, what comes across my algorithm is a lot of really really awesome, awesome energy and people. What's been the worst thing that you've seen?
Speaker 5:Oh man.
Speaker 2:Well, I do want to just quickly highlight what you were saying, because, yes, a lot of Gen Z has been very, just, very sympathetic, you know, empathetic, wanting to help people, donating their food, their clothing. We all know that. But the assumption is that they are and that it's all celebrities and it's not. It's not, and especially in Altadena, I mean, I'm going to houses where, yes, they're nice houses, but they've had them in their families for decades.
Speaker 2:Yeah decades, decades, decades, and it is complete devastation for them because, even though the value of the home reached you know 50 times more than what it was when they got it. Now they have nothing and they're not going to be able to get a house that can compare to the home that they had.
Speaker 1:That's the problem. So that's the problem. The market has moved on.
Speaker 2:They're going to go from their nice three-bedroom house in Altadena to maybe a one bedroom apartment that they can afford.
Speaker 2:I mean, that's not so people aren't factoring in those. You know those pieces and it is a little spotty and a lot of people did inherit these homes. So not only that part, but then on the celebrity side, of course, we can all take away the guilt and you know feeling bad because we know that they have funds to renew and get. But, to your point, memories are lost. That is your home, where you've raised your children. I mean, people have lost their animals. You know their loved ones. So there's different ways to feel bad, you know. Yeah, there's just different ways to approach it. It's not always about money. We're so focused on money and and I get it if you're the person on the other end that doesn't have the funds to get a new house, I get it, yeah, but we can still all agree and relate on the fact that memories being lost, the home that you share your dinners with your family every night and the home that's been in your home, you know, in your family for generations.
Speaker 2:Like it's terrible and and for the fur babies. On my end I mean, I don't care how, I don't care what house you're in. Yeah, it's devastating to lose a family member.
Speaker 1:So and the love you put into these houses and things like that. Yeah, you know, and things like that. Yeah, you know it's, yeah, it's a lot Well, gen Z, boomer X, millennial Y, it doesn't matter. If you need help and don't have it, make sure to reach out and you know. I think you know again. I think, like you said, you're proud of Gen Z. I am too. I'm proud of everybody that's been around, as far as all the people that are kind of in our thread, of all generations. Yes, yeah.
Speaker 4:Well, we're not going to forget it here in.
Speaker 1:California. All right, well, somber show, but that will do it for us. Thank you guys for listening. Thank you guys. Thank you for all the work that you're doing. Thank you firefighters, thank you all the volunteers. Again, uh, thank you to asher, our gen z correspondent, and, uh, everybody, stay tough, love each other and someone else and make sure to like, subscribe, share, uh, and if you want to hear something on the show, email us. We might even do that too. So, all right, till next week, sonics.
Speaker 2:Love.
Speaker 1:Action, progress and power and power. See you guys next week. Slap the Power is a Slap Network production. It's written and produced by Rick Barriodil and Asia Nakia. Our senior producer is Brie Corey, audio and video editing by Asher Freidberg and Brie Corey and studio facilities provided by Slap Studios LA and 360 Pod Studios. Provided by Slap Studios LA and 360Pod Studios. If you're into online power scrolling, like we are, don't forget to follow Slap the Power on Instagram, twitter, tiktok, youtube and probably Pinterest soon for access to full episodes, bonus content and more. And if you're as full of hot takes and crazy ideas as we are, please think about dropping us a review to help boost this episode. And you can help blow up the group chat by sharing with friends, family or random shit posters on the internet. You want in on the conversation. And if you're interested in being a guest on the show, please email info at slapthepowercom.
Speaker 3:Gambling is part of the culture of America Since even before we were America. I'm Norman Chad. I know gambling. I've played blackjack and poker. I've bet sports and horse races. I've even hit the slot machines at a Pahrump Nevada 7-Eleven. You say gambling, I say Gambling Mad. So join me on Gambling Mad with Norman Chad wherever you find your podcasts. Follow us on socials at Gambling Mad Show or at Gambling Mad Norman Chad at YouTube.
