Between the Steins
A father and daughter walk into a podcast, from opposite sides of the pond and aisle.
Between the Steins
Q&A with my dad - Happy Birthday Larry!
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In this episode, it is Larry’s birthday, and that means he is the one in the hot seat. Patty has curated a brand new set of questions (many inspired by the NPR podcast Wild Card!). You'll learn things about Larry you probably didn't expect.
Then we head into our one-day-sponsored-by Ground News segment, where we continue to follow the evolving situation in Iran and keep each other journalistically honest!
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Between the Steins is a father-daughter podcast; real talk across the ocean and the aisle.
Find us on all social media platforms @betweenthesteins. Drop us an email at betweenthesteins@gmail.com. We'd love to hear from you!
Hello, welcome back everybody. Today's the day. It's the best day of the year. Is it? It's the day that we get to ask Larry Stein questions.
SPEAKER_01Awesome.
SPEAKER_02So today is the birthday edition of QA.
SPEAKER_01And this is the same birthday as Steve McQueen, by the way, Mr. Cool.
SPEAKER_02Ooh, the the the man.
SPEAKER_01The famous actor who died young and left a legacy of coolness and cool and and really just a great guy.
SPEAKER_02So wait, why why is it his birthday?
SPEAKER_01It's his birthday on the 24th.
SPEAKER_02Oh, you have the same birthday.
SPEAKER_01Yes, we do.
SPEAKER_02Wow. That's crazy.
SPEAKER_01And the same kind of style if you don't mind.
SPEAKER_02Oh, really? Wow. Uh we both died young.
SPEAKER_01It was a good step queen. Yeah.
SPEAKER_02Of course. Of course. Wonderful. Uh let me start with. I think I might win this week. How's the weather?
SPEAKER_01The weather? We are having record temperatures. It is going to get up into the 90s, and it's going to get up even higher this weekend. And then we'll probably have another. I always tell everybody, I said, you know, all the trees are starting to bloom and bud. And as soon as we hit that cold spell in about a week, they're all going to freeze their buds off. Nice.
SPEAKER_02Okay, well, you don't have to one-up me. It's fine. Um, it's actually sunny right now, and it is a it is 15 degrees. Celsius. Let me give that to you in yards because you got minutes and seconds. Can you give that to me in yards? So it is 57 right now.
SPEAKER_01Great. Which you know. Perfect.
SPEAKER_02So it's 65 where you are, apparently.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, currently.
SPEAKER_02So you're just we're we're not too far behind you.
SPEAKER_01But we're gonna get up, we're gonna get up to 95 today. It it is gonna be it is gonna be a temperature that is that has not been matched since 19, I think, 1917.
SPEAKER_02Whatever.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. Okay. But it and whatever. Here's the problem. Now people will start wearing flip-flops and shorts and will be blinded by the white of their legs. It'll look like 50 pounds of chicken fat, and we'll say, come on, put something on. I'm tired of looking that looks horrible. Put a little tanning stuff on or something. Or don't expose the legs. Have you ever prepped your legs? Let's transition into something, okay? We'll go from maybe from pants to plus fours with long socks. Praise. Get out there, get a little tan on the legs privately so we don't have to look at this. Yes. It's gonna be terrible.
SPEAKER_02Have you prepped your legs for this?
SPEAKER_01Or are you just you bet. Got leg day all day.
SPEAKER_02Leg day all day.
SPEAKER_01All day.
SPEAKER_02God for that. Okay, well, great. Perfect. Okay. Let's hit it. So today we are gonna set the timer as per usually, but today I get to ask you whatever I want.
SPEAKER_03Oh boy.
SPEAKER_02And uh I've compiled some questions that are specifically for you.
SPEAKER_03Okay.
SPEAKER_02Uh as we approach your 70th birthday.
SPEAKER_01I know, it's hard to believe, isn't it? I feel like I've actually done my my research on this, and according to Apple and my my my powerful, incredible computer watch, I'm actually only about 52.
SPEAKER_02Well then in that case Happy birthday. Happy birthday. That's not actually your, is it?
SPEAKER_01What?
SPEAKER_02Is that your uh is that your your watch's fitness age for you?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I try to try to. Well, it could be.
SPEAKER_02Mine's 32. And really that's only one year below where I am.
SPEAKER_01So well, you know the the guy the I love the story of the guy that goes to the doctor and he gives him a physical, he comes back and he says, you know, you're in great shape for a man who's 78. He says, I'm only 50.
SPEAKER_02That's good. Maybe next week they'll count your rings.
SPEAKER_01You know, they're gonna have to cut me in half first.
SPEAKER_02That's that's a tough one. That's a tough one. Anyway, so I have a few that and I also I started listening to this new podcast called Wildcard, and it's a podcast, shout out to Wildcard, and it's a podcast by MPR, and they have these decks of cards, and the the person answering who's on the podcast gets to choose, and they have some of the coolest questions. And so I've been listening to that podcast the past week or so, pulling the questions that I really like from that podcast. And then there's a few questions I've collected from myself for you. So here we go. Okay, fantastic. The rules are you can you can turn down one question.
SPEAKER_03Okay.
SPEAKER_02So you can say, I don't want to answer that. And then there's you can uh you can skip one and you can flip one.
SPEAKER_03Okay.
SPEAKER_02So you can skip one completely, and then the other is you can flip it back on to me after you've answered it.
SPEAKER_00Okay.
SPEAKER_02No problem, you don't have to. Okay, good. Here we go. Question number one. I want one Okay. I want one word, please, to describe all the decades of your life up to this point, starting with your twenties. So what's one word you would use to describe your 20s?
SPEAKER_01Awesome.
SPEAKER_02Okay, your 30s.
SPEAKER_03Pretty good.
SPEAKER_01That's two words. It's uh it's kind of like Jason Strytham. They were trying to figure out whatever. They were trying to figure out one word to be able to describe. There's a guy, uh Pollock, the the com the comedian and actor, it was in uh uh a few good men and everything. He they they they get around with their friends and they try to do impressions with one word. One word to try and and then the person has to get it. You know what the word is for straithum? Statham straight them? You know what it is? Statham. Yeah, you know what the word is?
SPEAKER_02Uh right.
SPEAKER_01Nomane. Nomane? No main. One word. Okay. Okay, what were you talking about? Squirrel! Squirrel. One word to describe your thirties. Thirties. Yeah, pretty good.
SPEAKER_02That's it. I know. It's pretty good. Good. So awesome, good. Uh your forties.
SPEAKER_01Better. Your fifties. Challenging.
SPEAKER_02There you go. Like this. And your sixties. If you hadn't studied and picked journalism, broadcast journalism, politics, what would you be doing for a job?
SPEAKER_01Homeless. It's not a job. One word?
SPEAKER_02No, no more one words. You can just answer.
SPEAKER_01I I don't know. I I I I really you know, I I I thought about so many different things when I was a kid. I wanted to be a jet pilot, I wanted to be an army man, I wanted to be a fireman, I wanted to be all these different things, and uh because I thought that I'd be getting into the military. I that that was the eventually the possibility. But after I would think I was twelve, thirteen years old, after they the guy that ran me over with a motorcycle, that I didn't realize until later that that was going to keep me out of the thing that I probably would want to do. And if I'd have joined the military, I'd I'd you know, I'd I'd I didn't want to I didn't want to sit in a desk anywhere. I would have wanted to do the same thing my brother did, which was, you know, he was he was in he was a veteran of combat. I mean the that I've read more and more and and learned more and more about what he did when he was in Vietnam and uh and doing four tours of Vietnam. I mean, it's just incredible. And then the long-range reconnaissance patrols of what they went through and what they did to to save lives. It's it's it's incredible. And I and I if I would have gotten involved in those, I'd there are there are different types of personalities. I'm not the kind of personality that follows well. It's it's not that I don't follow people that I like. I do that, but but at the same time, I I wanna I want to do something different. I want to do something where you know they always talk about uh dog sleds. And and if you're not the lead dog, all the views are the same. But all you get to see is a bunch of rear ends. So I'd rather I'd rather have the open space and see in front of me than be looking at another rear end.
SPEAKER_02Would you um so for for the listeners, you got into uh you were hit by yeah, to can you just explain the motorcycle?
SPEAKER_01Well, yeah, we were we were playing in the streets and and and someone uh a neighbor kid tried to get between me and the curb to spook me, and instead of spooking me, he hit my right kidney with the handlebar and threw me up into the air about 20 feet, and I was in the emergency room and ICU for about a week with with injuries, internal injuries.
SPEAKER_02So pretty much cut you in half, essentially.
SPEAKER_01I mean, it really interrupted school and and learning and a whole lot of things that really were a problem for me for a long time.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_01So But but I can tell you that the military doesn't take defective units. I mean, if you've got if you've got one third less kidney on the right side, then you're not whole and they won't take you because they're looking at the risk and the liability, and I understand that completely. I'm just upset that I couldn't get into the the military like my family members had.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. Yeah. So if it weren't military, can you think of anything else that you right now would see yourself enjoying doing?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, it it would have been it would have been nice to to have a to get into a larger sphere of journalism rather than just around here. But I and I I enjoyed that part of my life. It was just it was just too much. I didn't want to be a gypsy. I didn't want to leave from city to city to city. And you know, the other thing is I've uh uh there really weren't any of these sightings and and cases of mass killers until these journalists started going from city to city to city to different jobs.
SPEAKER_02Coincidence So you would have been a serial killer, is that what we're saying?
SPEAKER_01No, I'm thinking they could have been. That's because they're always the they're they're always there. We're at the scene of a kill what appears to be a mass killer. Wait a minute. Are you the f you're the only one there? Wait a minute. Yeah, there's a there's a is there a connection? We don't know. We can only speculate. Back to you in the studio. Okay, wait a minute. I'm being told that no an update. There's five more bodies. Oh, yeah. Five more bodies. Where do those come from? Oh, so wait, I'll be here. Oh, don't forget to roll the tape so we can turn this into the journalism competition. Yeah.
SPEAKER_02Would you have always seen yourself like on the radio broadcasting, or do you think you would have ever been in front of the TV? Like in front of the camera exactly.
SPEAKER_01I I did both of that. I mean, you know, I I did the TV shows and I did the the the radio shows, the but it it was always fun. I enjoyed it because it was I always like to know things. I would I I like to be asking people questions that they may not ever get. And that was the that was the fun part of that. I mean, I yeah, Bella Shaw was was uh uh anchor here in Oklahoma City, and she went on to do other things and national and uh things, and and I remember distinctly when we were talking about we were both interviewing Fred Jordan, who is the state uh the the the mortician for the state, the uh the gentleman who handled all the all the autopsies and everything. And we were sitting there and Bella was asking questions and I was asking questions, and then she said, You got anything else? I said, No, not really. So she started breaking down all of her equipment, and it and I I said to Fred, I said, Fred, I said, We're talking about a disaster where uh 20 people, approximately 20 people died tragically in a huge fireworks explosion. Have you ever seen anything like this? And he said, Larry, that's it's it's the most spectacular thing I've ever seen. I I I the you know, he starts getting emotional, he starts talking about all these things, and Bella's got all of her equipment, they're done. They're not getting the best video, and that's what I liked about journalism. You know, you could sit around and you could get your own stuff, and and you know, she was just getting the numbers and da da da. I was getting the emotion of this guy who was seeing something that was just tragic. He could the first time he'd seen anything like this, and it was it was it was really good tape, it was good stuff. It was emotional, it was evoking, evoking emotion, and it was making people understand that he's just he's the doctor, he's the medical examiner, he's a doctor, but this hit him like he had never been hit before. And that's the kind of thing that I always wanted to do in journalism. I didn't, you know, if you wanted to read what was on the front page of the newspaper, I don't care. I want to do a story that nobody else has because you can read that story, but what you're gonna get from me is something that you don't know, and you may not know or ever heard of, but you're gonna have and I and that's the stuff that I'd that I've tried to do all along. So that's that I would have liked to have been more of a I don't know, an investigative reporter kind of thing. That would have been fun. But yeah, but I'd have to be a gypsy and get involved in all those mass killings and serial murders. So I don't want to do that. It's a lot, it's a lot to carry. It's a lot, it's a lot of coordination and then a lot of covering up of DNA evidence.
SPEAKER_02All it's it's a well and you were raising a family at the time, so it's like what is you know, who wins?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, push them around, put them into apartments all over the country, and then hope you get a cheap with CNN or NBC or you know, I I didn't I don't know. That's that's me.
SPEAKER_02So they say that um they say, who say? Uh apparently uh I can okay. Let me just ask you the question straight up. How often do you think about the Roman Empire?
SPEAKER_01Ironically, uh sometimes I do. And I think about the the order of the Roman Empire. I think the violence, the deaths, the the the the crushing mechanics of of how they would defeat their enemies and they didn't have to worry about any EPA guidelines. They could just destroy a mountain, they could build a new ramp, they could do all sorts of things. It's it's a it's fascinating. Uh and I the the uniforms, the the regulations, the the terror. It is a it is a phenomenal time of history. It really is. And it's tied it's tied to the great religion, too, I mean, of Christianity. I mean, how else could you have anything so intertwined with the history of the world than the Roman Empire, which created or helped create the the fascination and the the great one of the greatest, perhaps the greatest religion in the world of uh Christianity. I mean so but other than that, I know strong feelings.
SPEAKER_02So, like, are we talking like once a month, once a week?
SPEAKER_01No, I I think about it often. And I know I I've seen the I've seen the videos on on Saturday Night Live about these things, and I and and and it's true. I do people are thinking about the same thing I'm thinking about. I'm a perfect demographic. I mean, it it really is, it it but it it is a fast. There are so many wonderful movies that are about this. I mean, Gladiator, uh, you know, the the uh the Spartacus, and and almost every great movie classic is tied to events that happened during the Roman Empire, during the beginning of Christendom, and after Christendom, and after the Roman Empire got involved. I it it's it's really when you think about society and civilization, Rome really is the foundation. Before that, we were just sitting around killing rats and eating them on a barbecue. I mean, nobody had a plan to bring bring water 500 miles through an aqueduct that they created. I mean, it is it is you you're talking about pre-Columbian and post-Columbian America. I mean, you you you we we designate it with Jesus' birth, BC and AD, and and that whole thing happened around the beginning and and after Roman, the Roman Empire began. It's it's phenomenal. I mean, you're and I I think about it. Yes, I do a lot.
SPEAKER_02Good um when you end up coming here so that we could do a live version of the podcast. We will hop over to Rome and I will take you on this bike tour that I've been on that takes you just outside the city where you can see the aqueducts.
SPEAKER_03Right.
SPEAKER_02And it's insane. You like you are seeing these things that have been there for. I mean, Rome is just Rome, but it's everything is that way. But the aqueducts specifically are insane to see in person.
SPEAKER_01Uh-huh.
SPEAKER_02It's very, very crazy.
SPEAKER_01And and the the Latin words, the the the foundation of so many romance languages, and and the ability of transferring water, getting rid of waste, creating the plumbing systems, the and the you know, I'm certain people may have died because of dysentery and other things, but there was an incredible effort to be able to, and the the engineering alone is phenomenal. It truly is. I mean, what other society? And and and it's interesting because in Oklahoma, we have the Gilcrease Museum in Tulsa, which has a lot of of art from the Middle Ages. And in in those renditions, when they were when they were hearing the stories about what happened in America when someone came and discovered this new land, post-Columbia. The pictures that were written that were drawn, the images, the paintings that were drawn in Europe, had Native Americans sitting on what appeared to be the ruins of Rome. They anticipated somewhere in our history we had these this incredible building of Rome, and it somehow just decomposed. Like Rome disappeared, and then different governments, different countries started being their own. They had the images of Native Americans lounging on Roman-styled brick buildings, the edifices of those buildings. And it was it was their rendition because you had to have a Rome somewhere, didn't you? First, you can't just be a bunch of land that's that's covered with trees and grasses, and you got a few mounds, because they've they saw the pictures of what happened in in Central America and Mexico with those huge temples, and they expected that it was that way all across the continent. And you know, there were some some fascinating stone uh uh effigies, there are some fascinating um uh mounds that that seek that point to the sun at the vernal and the summer and then the equinox, and and it's all done somehow. No one knows, but these people were a whole lot smarter and they knew a lot more about the sun and the moon and the stars than we do. All we do is say, oh, it's gonna get up to 92 degrees.
SPEAKER_02Well, it's just like the um the it's the mound at the the fam museum. Um right, very similar, yeah.
SPEAKER_01That fam that we got to go to. And this is and the this stuff, and I I'm fascinated by history, you know that, and and these things that happen where you can you can look at the end of the snake's tongue on this mound in Ohio and it points towards the summer solstice. And then the tail comes around and it points to the winter solstice. And then in cultures all across the world, these things happened independent of each other. And you look, you say, how? Tell me tell me how. And it all has to do with some strong king or individual that appeared from nowhere, imparted all this information, maybe left an heir to be there, to be able to control afterwards. But then it happened here and there. And Oko, I think it's Okelbeki over in Turkey and in Central America. It happened in North America, it happened in China, it happened in Bulgaria, it happened all around the world. Stonehenge, all of these different structures and mounds that all do the same thing. So the answer is a lot. Got it.
SPEAKER_02What's a disappointing experience that now feels like a blessing?
SPEAKER_01Next question. What's the quality of I think I think Thessalonians Thessalonians talks about this. Be thankful, and that's easy, but the rest of it is for all things. And that's the point that people don't get. I mean, I've had people that have had terrible health experiences and they can't understand, they blame God, they don't like it, they're mad, they're angry, and then eventually something happens that they realize if that hadn't happened to me, then this wonderful thing would never have occurred. Exactly. And that's why, you know, if if people are if you're gonna focus on something that happened 30 years ago or 20 years ago, and that's gonna be the thing you want to focus on, get over it. Look if you're gonna if you're gonna look backwards, why that's done. You know, if you're gonna focus on on the thing, and sometimes you obsess on these things, don't do that. Go go think about tomorrow. Think about the future, think about the wonderful things that are gonna happen or could happen. Uh you you're you're thinking about what will happen, and he's always talking about where love is either in your heart or on its way. That's the kind of thing you I'd like to focus on. And and the the small little things that happen that that or the big things that happen that may have appeared to be problems don't really turn into problems. You just have to be thankful for all things and go on to the next one.
SPEAKER_02Okay. The philosophy of Franks and I What's a quality that you are drawn to that you don't possess I don't I don't know.
SPEAKER_01I don't know. I I I I engage with all sorts of people and I'm I can you give me an uh can I call a friend?
SPEAKER_02Call me.
SPEAKER_01Can you give me an example of what we're talking about? Sure. Okay, so just simple give me some ideas.
SPEAKER_02I think so. When this was asked to someone on the podcast, they said it was people's ability to be really blunt with people. He felt like he didn't have that and he's very drawn to people that are like that. He really admires people like that.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_02Um, something I uh my answer would probably be people who it's kind of funny, it's what you said about the dog sledding. People who are a bit better at following. I'm I'm I really admire people that can take direction really well and not let their egos get in the way. I have a hard time, I'm working on it and I'm getting much better at it. But I feel I really admire that in other people, and I don't think that I possess it as much as they do.
SPEAKER_01Um You know, I I think that you're thanks for clarifying, because I think that the the dilemma what I'm attracted to are people that lead. And and I I admire that in other people, and I hope that I can be that person too. And what I want is I want to have other people that are as bold and can be as bold, and oftentimes they're the dog, the third dog back, and they've never been at the front. They don't they don't get to see everything, and and they're they're reluctant to be part of a team that will lead because they feel uncomfortable being out there in front. And it's afraid of failure, it's afraid of criticism, it's afraid of being you know lambasted by somebody, and the you know, because everybody wants to get along with everybody. And it's that it's a combination of all those things. You have to be able to say things that may be uncomfortable, but you don't have to be disrespectful to someone when you're saying them. You just have to explain them. And that's what we're talking about right now in Oklahoma. I've got this, I've I'm part of the the uh a group that's trying to express to the legislature these minor things they think are minor changes in the advalorm system, which is the foundation of funding for schools and counties and everything, technology centers, state colleges, cities, towns, all of that is paid for through advalorm property taxes, police, fire, water, sewage, garbage, everything. And and these the legislature is attempting to change things. I'm providing the information that shows, okay, here's what will happen to your county schools. You're gonna be losing about $170 million, $300 million total. What are you gonna do to replace that? And the answer is I don't care. If that's your answer, that's fine. But I care because I have to help run a county. And the way we run a county is based on those little nine cents, a little bit more than nine cents per dollar that comes in to operate the county. We do all the work for all of the different entities, including all of the assessments on the voter-approved bonds that they've voted on themselves, but they only get one bill. And the legislature is trying to blame us for this bill when it's the cities and towns that created this debt. We're only making sure that the that the only people that voted for it are the ones that are paying it back based on their school district, their their uh cities, their towns, everything else. And I and I I'm just disappointed that the legislature doesn't understand how important this is because they don't know. And and and that's fine. I do know. And I and whenever I go and there's legislators that want to talk about this, they rarely ever mention it when I'm in the room because I'm the expert. I know this stuff, and sadly they don't, but they think they do, and that's the worst part. And that's that's what I'm not attracted to. I'm not attracted to people who think they know something and they don't, and they start making public policy based on things they don't know. And that's the that's the most frustrating part about this whole thing this year.
SPEAKER_02That's something I've been working on a lot this year so far, is like just being way more comfortable saying I don't know, and being way more comfortable turning to someone else and being like, Yeah, I actually I don't know what that is. Do you know what that is? Because I I'm in and and what's funny is the more I'm doing it, the more I'm realizing that like nobody knows what they're doing. Like nobody, everybody's just trying to figure it out. And the more that you can like be open with other people around it, and the more collaborative a space feels.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_02The better like life can be.
SPEAKER_01I it sounds really stupid, but it's and and and and gets back to Thessalonians, be thankful for all things. Okay, somebody says, I don't know what a what a blessing that is. You know, you know, and and I I'm I'm the guy that's that's the turd in the punch pole guy because I'm sitting in meetings like this with other folks, and they'll bring up somebody say, Well, the the uh let's talk about the PF5. And I say, Okay, uh, what's PF5? And I they said, What? I said, I live in an acronym free zone. Oh God. You need to tell me what this is because I'm not gonna be the guy that's sitting around nodding and you say an acronym, and then everybody says, and they're all sitting there and said, What the heck is the acronym you just use? I don't know. But uh, but if I don't nod, everybody's gonna be mad because I'm gonna ask a question. I'm the guy that's asking the questions.
SPEAKER_02That's so funny you say this. I was talking to my housemate about this last week. We were talking about emails we both got from people in our organization just like using acronyms. And she was like, Don't use an acronym with me if you haven't introduced it in the email. Don't do that. I don't do my first time you mentioned it.
SPEAKER_01You want to talk about FBI? I know what that one is. CIA, I know what that one is. You want to talk about IRS? I know what that one is. But if I don't know what it is, and even in when I do know it, if I'm if I'm writing a memo about the Oklahoma Tax Commission, then I put parentheses, OTC, end parenthesis, and then I can just refer to it OTC or homestead exemption, parenthesis, H E, because I'm not going to write out homestead exemption 50 times in a memo, but then it's H E and everybody gets it. But people don't do that. I mean, I'm I'm I'm and I've got a bunch of nerds too that I deal with with all the technology we've got. They'll come in with these different things, AP5 and and and cloud-based technology. And I'm saying, okay, how explain that to me so everybody in the room knows.
SPEAKER_02Exactly. And I think of spe sorry, I'll move on to the next question, but especially like government and lawyer talk, like contracts and stuff. It's like they make it complicated because they don't want it to be accessible for everyone, and it's by design. And I get very frustrated with that. So I I'm the same way.
SPEAKER_01I just well, and and the other thing that we that I deal with is that there are financial acronyms that are used, the same acronym is used in the technology that we work with through the GIS geographic information systems, and they're and they don't even care to explain it. So it's it's important to be able to make sure that we can get people on the same page.
SPEAKER_02Sorry, my my landlord's here. Yes, and they're checking our water, okay, our water boiler.
SPEAKER_01Good, good, good, good.
SPEAKER_02Make an appearance on the podcast. Um, okay, next question. What is something that you wish I understood better about you?
SPEAKER_01Uh I'm just a guy.
SPEAKER_02I'm just a guy.
SPEAKER_01I mean, you know, there's no I yeah, I I just did do the best I can. There's no there's no workbook on being the best dad ever, but I think I pretty well nailed it. So you're an idiot. Sure. It's hard. It's hard being a parent. And and it's hard being a kid. Life's tough, then you die.
SPEAKER_02Sometimes I worry that I'm never gonna have kids, and then I'll never actually understand anything about you and mom. Uh, what time in your life do you regularly daydream about?
SPEAKER_01You know, I I've it's kind of like a kaleidoscope. I mean, you you're just you're turning and you get to see all sorts of things. I remember uh when I was a kid, uh just a little little kid over in Germany, and then and then in England, and and in in and I think a lot of the the stuff having to do with California, which was really idyllic when we lived out there, and then you know, being just just growing up and being able to be with friends and and all of the the experiences that that have evolved in here in Oklahoma and other places, uh it's it's it's like a random access memory that just gets pulled up like you're uh occasionally get get says, Hey, this is for March 5th, 2004. Uh remember? Yeah, yeah, I do. Yeah, I remember that. And and and life is like, you know, the phone, the phone is trans uh transmitting that to you, and it kind of it makes you think about, well, gee, I remember that. Well, let's go check a look at those pictures. Oh, wait a minute, what did I do in June of that year? Oh, that was fun. You know, there's all sorts of different things that I that you can you can randomly think about. And it's it's always a lot of it it it's lots of lots of great fun things. And I and I don't and it's not it's not limited, it's uh it's all the time.
SPEAKER_02All different times that is our time, but I just have a few rapid fire ones for you. And then I have some other ones, which I'll just add to the next time I do a QA with you, because they are good ones. Um okay, my rapid fire. Which tattoo of yours do you think people would be most surprised by?
SPEAKER_01Which of my tattoos would they be most surprised by? They may be surprised to know that I don't have any tattoos.
SPEAKER_02Uh nuts.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. Who in the White House do you trust?
SPEAKER_02They're not true. Uh who in the White House do you trust the least?
SPEAKER_01The least? Yeah. In the White House? I don't know anybody in the White House. Uh and and I would I would not I and with all of the staff that's up there, I'm sure there's a couple of people. I think the latest guy is the one that left the Department of Homeland Security after he apparently was leaking to the press. So that's a that's a real problem because that's that's kind of treasonous stuff.
SPEAKER_02I don't think that's why he left.
SPEAKER_01No, that's probably why he left. He says that he was opposed to the war in Iran, but uh and the execution of the war in Iran. But I think that was to cover up the leaking because if you throw enough mud when you leave, and then all of a sudden happens that there's some information that was being leaked to the media and you're the source, then that's well, no way. That they're they're fabricating that with all their AI technology so they can make me the person that they think that did that. I didn't do that. I I I was only protesting the execution of the work.
SPEAKER_02Okay, okay. I was wondering how you were gonna flip that, and here you did. Well done.
SPEAKER_01There you go. There you go.
SPEAKER_02Uh, which animal skin is best for boots?
SPEAKER_01Ooh. I think the best animal skin is is elephant because it it re it rejects, it's so tough.
SPEAKER_02Are you serious?
SPEAKER_01Yes, and it and it it rarely, it rarely ever has any scars or anything else. Elephant is really good.
SPEAKER_03Do you have elephant boots?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I do. I do. I have turtle, I have elephant, I have all sorts of things. Where did you buy them new? I bought them at that at antique stores.
SPEAKER_02Okay.
SPEAKER_01I killed the elephant myself, though, but that no, no, yeah, I've got I've got everything. I got stingray, I've got uh I've got all sorts of different boots.
SPEAKER_02So so elephant is your answer.
SPEAKER_01I think it is, yeah.
SPEAKER_02I thought you were gonna say snake.
SPEAKER_01No, no, snake is not is not that that durable. Uh elephant is is a is a pig is also good, and and pig and elephant are kind of similar. The elephant, though, is a really, really tough hide. It is really tough.
SPEAKER_02I had no idea people were making boots like that. Oh, yeah. Well, you know, hey, listen, elephants die naturally that's those aren't the elephant elephants they're making boots out of. You know that. You want to bet? Uh I would love to.
SPEAKER_01The zoo is sitting around saying, hey, um, we got this elephant. Anybody want to butcher? Because we need the meat for our lions. You know that's not true. We need the meat for our lions and our and our jaguars and all our carnivores. And then if you if you butcher it for us, we might be able to work out a deal with the skin. I'm just saying. Making this up.
SPEAKER_02That's insane. Um, okay. Chili.
SPEAKER_00Yes.
SPEAKER_02Without beans, is it just slop?
SPEAKER_01Without beans, is it just slop? No. If chili has beans in it, it's not chili, according to some people. Well, according to you, what's correct? Correct. I I I like it both ways. Uh and I I ch the thing about it is I'm I've I've seen the videos, I've seen the the memes about people that go to a chili competition and it's hot as heck. They cannot stand the heat, and they have to drink 25 beers to be able to cool down their throat and and stomach. I I I just want to make sure that you can eat it. Don't don't make it so spicy that somebody says, Oh boy, that's spicy. No. You know, I've I've dealt with people all the time. They sit around and say, Well, gosh, you're gonna make gumbo, huh? I said, Yeah. I said, uh, I've never had any gumbo. I said, What? You've never eaten gumbo? No, I've eaten it. But it's so hot whenever I eat it because people think kind of like when church have have musicians, they think the louder they play, the better the music, the better the circuit. No, the louder they play, the more hearing loss you have. A lot of people don't know that. So if you're gonna make it chili, make it so you can eat it. If you're making gumbo, make it so people can eat it. You can always add spice, but don't make it so so blistering hot that they can't even eat it. That's just that's rude, isn't it?
SPEAKER_02This is the second time you brought this up onto the podcast, and I'm really proud. I I'm with you. So you believe there is a world, there is space in the world for both chili with beans and chili without beans.
SPEAKER_01Definitely, especially around the holidays. Wow, because you can have you can have black beans, which are blue, you can have white beans, which are white, and then you can have red beans, which you're kidding. So you got the red, white, and blue Ronald Reagan GOP chili right there. Uh wow. See how I circled that all the way around?
SPEAKER_02I what which which chili should I be eating?
SPEAKER_01Well, if you're gonna if you're if you're on a limited amount of diet, what I do is you know, people No, I mean as a registered Democrat.
SPEAKER_02What should I be eating?
SPEAKER_01As a registered Democrat? Well, it would be a vegan chili. So it would not really have enough nutrients to be able to sustain you, you'd have to eat a lot of it. So but I I like to chop up the beans so they appear to be like pieces of of protein. So that then when you make it, you it stretches your chili out, but it doesn't look like beans. It it makes it nice and thick, and if you add enough meat to it, it's nice and beefy. Gotta add the beef broth and and all that other stuff to make it really taste good. But uh, you know, I I and I use anchoas, dried peppers, I'll hydrate them and grind them up in a in a grinder and add it. And you just gotta be careful to not make too much spice. And and that that's just the way. You know, yeah, I I don't I don't I don't think it's fair to make things that people can't eat.
SPEAKER_02I agree. Um next, um, how do you whistle so loud?
SPEAKER_01Well, the the dilemma is learning how to whistle and and having you know, you people start out with the two fingers and that way and then and then you can you put it under your tongue and you create that little whistle effect if you know no no no You're not doing very well you gotta make a little place for the where with for the place to put the window. That's good. Gotta uh give this away.
SPEAKER_02You've got this ability. You could just do one.
SPEAKER_01You could put anything, and you'd yeah, yeah, that's about it.
SPEAKER_02Anyway, I'll never know how to do that. Uh another thing, um, how how do you juggle?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, it's just lots of practice. I mean, when I was I had a I was I had a terrible cold once, and my mother was bringing me oranges, and she brought me several oranges, so I sat in bed and I loved I taught myself how to juggle.
SPEAKER_02Is that a true story?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, yeah. Are you serious? Yeah, I felt like crap, and I I said, okay, gotta do something. So I started learning to juggle by juggling oranges because my mom's a lot of vitamin C. She said you'll get better, have to have some fruit. So that's the way it worked. Okay. Um, why do you eat apple cores? Because an apple is 60 calories, and if you eat the whole thing, that's only 60 calories, and it's a good source of nutrition. You know, other people don't do that. Just like baked potatoes. I mean, baked potatoes, the nutrients are on the skin and the inside, so you gotta eat the whole thing.
SPEAKER_02Okay. Umly three more questions. Uh who's your best friend?
SPEAKER_01My best friend? Who gosh. My best friend probably is Mike Morrison, my chief deputy. He's he's terrific and I can do any you know, we don't get to socialize a lot, but when we do we always have fun. And I get to see him every day, and we talk about all things. And it's it's uh it's it's important to have somebody that you can talk to personally. I got I I got three or four people in the office that I can talk to outside the office. Um most of the people that I'm that I'm friends with are involved in all sorts of different things. I you know, I I I get bankers and lawyers and things like that. I I don't really know of any of them being my best friend, they're all friends.
SPEAKER_02What about your girlfriend? I thought she would be your best friend.
SPEAKER_01Best friend? Next friend. I I don't know, best friend. I don't know. Okay. She's fun to talk to, yeah.
SPEAKER_02Um, if you could give Larry at my age any advice, what would you say to him?
SPEAKER_01It's too late. You're too old now. I could it it really wouldn't work. It wouldn't work now.
SPEAKER_02Why? You were too set in your ways by 33?
SPEAKER_01No. No, I I it just it be that the mistakes had already been made.
SPEAKER_02Okay, what age? Oh my god, what age then would you talk about it?
SPEAKER_01I wouldn't have listened then either. Fair.
unknownYeah.
SPEAKER_01Because you'd sit around and say, ah, that's right. No, that's not true.
SPEAKER_02I don't know what mistakes you're talking about, but I'm worried.
SPEAKER_01No. No, yeah, the the the different the different things that that happened in my life, they you know, I I I wouldn't want to change any of them. They've been blessings, and just like, you know, they've been blessings, they've been they've hurt, they've they've gotten better, and things like that. So you know the you know the loss of the loss of jobs really those those are the things that that jump out at me. The and and that the the lack of getting you know, most of the opportunities that I ever wanted, I got to have them because I worked hard and and did whatever I d needed to do to make those happen. And that was fun.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_01And and I I yeah, it it's it's been a so far, it's been a pretty wonderful life. One of my favorite movies.
SPEAKER_02You know, you could have told 33-year-old Larry, hey, the best kids yet to come. Or something along those lines. Um, and then your last question, your last question, what word do you want to describe your seventies of dollars. Millions of dollars. Wonderful news. Well, that's all that's all the questions I have for you. That was fun. That was fun. I I wrote those. I'm glad I stole them, but well, that's good.
SPEAKER_01That's good. Yeah. Well, I stole the stuff that we did previously. I mean, that was that was good stuff.
SPEAKER_02See, true. Yeah, inspired me. All right. Well, uh, do we have time to dive into uh a news story or do we not?
SPEAKER_01Um I I find it uh yeah, I'd love to. I'd love to. The one story that I that I heard and I was trying to resurrect is the one about the uh championship wrestler in Iran. Yes. Who was murdered, yes, executed. And that makes, I expect, probably close to 40,000 people who have been killed in Iran by by their own government, which is sad. And I and I and I I hate I hate the thought of people losing their lives, and I hate the thought that that uh that the world was not more interested in trying to prevent that and and I and and stop that regime from doing those things over the last 47 or 48 years. I mean it's it's uh it has been a stain on civilization. And I'm I'm I'm very happy that things are hopefully changing for the better. That's the plan. But I was I was stunned at the at the story. I mean, they're world champion wrestler executed because he said something against the government. This isn't we don't live in one world. It's it is a it is a huge problem for society.
SPEAKER_02Weren't there uh I I thought there were I haven't I well I've got my thing pulled up. I didn't pull up yours. Um but I thought were there more than one?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, there were more. There were others that were that were also executed.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. Okay. Uh do you want to tell me what your headline was?
SPEAKER_01I didn't have it. I'm sorry.
SPEAKER_02That's okay.
SPEAKER_01I I was trying to find it and I couldn't find it. But the the latest headline, uh I I think I think what what what we're seeing in the United States is that uh there are huge lines at the TSA because of the Senate president or the Senate minority leader, Chuck Schumer. And these these delays, the they're talking about Atlanta airport is having a a snaking line all the way around the airport for TSA. There are going to be hundreds, perhaps thousands of people or more that are having their vacations, their spring breaks, all of those things. And uh, and and they uh uh and this is the biggest headline today. I don't know if you've seen it.
SPEAKER_02Go on.
SPEAKER_01American icon and legendary actor known for Roland Walker, Texas Ranger, Chuck Norris, dead at 86. Oh boy. But the one that I have is Schumer and Warnock, two United States Senators, Democrats both, mistakenly make their case for the very bill they're trying to kill. And I and I, you know, they they talk about the security of the nation. We've had four terrorist attacks over the last few weeks, while they have shut, they have voted to keep the national security agency closed and the TSA agents not paid. This is this is interst this is interfering with interstate commerce, and that's the pro that's the headline I have.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_01What's the solution then? The solution is pass those bills. I mean, they they're you're there we are in a situation where there the United States is in grave danger, especially because of what's happening in the Middle East. And we need to have the National Security Agency, and if you don't want to pass a particular part of that, then they then we we'll we'll continue the negotiations, but f cla vote for the other parts because that's what we need for our national security. So that's my that's the plan, I would hope.
SPEAKER_02Well, why can't the majority Republicans get it over the line then?
SPEAKER_01There aren't enough. You have to have 60 votes to be able to make that stuff go away, and they're talking about ending the filibuster, and I think that's a great idea. Uh I I don't think they've got a choice. They're gonna they have to do that and and do the uh Mr. Smith goes to Washington routine, and after you stop talking and you give you give every time you have to we have an we have a vote and 51 votes gets it. The the system where one senator can stop everything uh is probably not gonna last much longer. But that is what we've had for since 1972, I think. Where that can happen.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_01They talk about a filibuster, but that's not really what happens. Somebody just stands up and says, we're not gonna approve that because I don't have to do anything. I just have to tell you that I'll I'll I'll have a filibuster, so you can't you can't, so it means so it means we have to get 60 votes to be able to discuss the issue. And that's a little bit archaic. And you know, it's been 50 years, 60 years since the since that that happened, and we need to we probably need to address it because it's a different it's a different world now, and and it's a it's a very divided Congress, and we need to fix those things.
SPEAKER_02Yep. Yeah, I think uh it's good if we have systems that change as the world changes and as the government changes and the way that the kinds of things we're talking about change.
SPEAKER_01It's yeah, and these are these are just Senate rules. I mean, they were they were decided back in the 70s where it was decided that that's the way you keep the other side at bay, and we need to figure out a better way of doing it. And I I think the Congress is gonna come up with a better way, but we're have to wait and see.
SPEAKER_02Yep.
SPEAKER_01What's yours?
SPEAKER_02Um Well, I I wanted to talk to you about what we talked about last week. Um because you had mentioned it's about the the school in Iran. Um you had mentioned that the intelligence agencies are saying they're investigating. Well, I just like in the in the spirit of what you and I talk about, which is checking journalism, checking integrity of journalists, and uh, you know, keeping on track of our sources. I couldn't find even going through, I went through Fox News, I went threitbart, I went through everything on the right and couldn't find anything that agreed with what you had said. And so I just wanted to push you on it because you would do the same with me. And um I was hoping that, you know, it because it sounds like now you're saying it's being investigated, which I appreciate, and it is being investigated. But um it just felt like you were really convicted about that last week, and I started to dig into it and not to try to catch you out. Again, I was just like, where is he getting that information? Because I'm not finding it anywhere. Um, so it just made me worry that maybe you were being fed something that isn't verified.
SPEAKER_00Well, and and the the I bel the information that I had was that, and I'm surprised you hadn't You're very far away from the microphone.
SPEAKER_01Sorry, I'm surprised you hadn't been able to find anything about that. Uh I was that the last that I'd seen was that there was going to be an investigation about that.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, but you what what you said to me was it was Iran, it wasn't a mistake.
SPEAKER_01That's what that's that's what they'd said, yeah. And that's why the United States government had said that those those that was a a that was not a mistake on our part. It was a bomb that was exploded at that area that we didn't send out. We didn't have any malfunctions, they uh they alleged. So if that's if that's the key, if that if that's the case, then hopefully they'll be able to have a have a a decision on it. And you know, the worst part is this is war. This is this is when bombs happen and and and things get blown up, and if children die, yeah. Yeah, with the with the precision that we have on our uh rockets and missiles, yeah, unless there was there was a deliberate attack that was designed to hit that particular place, if they had a if they had a military installation underneath it.
SPEAKER_02Underneath the school.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, and that's something that they have they've done in the past. But you know, not have innocent kids. But I'll look, I'll I'll do more research on that because I know that they're investigating it, trying to find out what I'm saying.
SPEAKER_02I'm just I'm I'm again, it wasn't a thing.
SPEAKER_01Let's put it this way, the Iranian government wouldn't do that, would they?
SPEAKER_02Well, why would the Iranian government do it if if the US and Israel do it for them?
SPEAKER_01No, no, no. If something happened in the other country where where Iran sent over a drone and it blew up a school with 50 people in it, would anybody be investigating whether it was a mistake? No, because that's the way terrorist regimes behave.
SPEAKER_02I don't understand your point.
SPEAKER_01If they hit a school, they don't care.
SPEAKER_02Okay. If the US and Israel hit a school, I care.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I understand.
SPEAKER_02I care about who hit it.
SPEAKER_01If if they hit the school. Sure. If that's the case. And that's where it needs to be determined.
SPEAKER_02And I'm I'm I'm happy to hear that you are hearing that there's an investigation. I was just concerned that you were saying things that even the president wasn't saying, and that's where I was like concerned about what information you were you were getting, because even the president of the United States was saying it's under investigation.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. So I was concerned. The initial reports from both sides were indicating that that, or at least our side was saying that doesn't look like it's it doesn't profile to be our missile, because we would not be having something that unless there was a terrible flagrant abuse in the tracking system and the the uh missiling designation of targeting, those things rarely happen. You've you may have seen the videos. I mean, those things are targeted, they are very precise. So if that was if that was a precision destruction of a school, there's there, let's find out more, because I can't imagine that our government would target a school, although when those entities have their military facilities underneath hospitals or underneath schools, we usually send out a warning and say, We know that your facility is underneath, please evacuate the school, please evacuate the hospital by a certain time. Correct. So there's always the warning. Anyway.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. Okay. Um uh well, I I need I need to read our credits.
SPEAKER_03Okay.
SPEAKER_02So anyway, thank you for being here uh for this special uh birthday edition of the pod. Dad, happy birthday.
SPEAKER_01Thank you, Patty.
SPEAKER_02You're you're welcome, Dad. I hope you have a lovely time.
SPEAKER_01I'm sure I will.
SPEAKER_02I'll probably come again on the day.
SPEAKER_01I'm going to the chicken ranch tonight for dinner, so there.
SPEAKER_02Oh, well, how about that? Okay. Let's play us out. Play us out. Between the Steins is a transatlantic podcast recorded between London, England and the great state of Oklahoma.
SPEAKER_01It is hosted by Patty Stein.
SPEAKER_02And Larry Stein. It is produced by Patty.
SPEAKER_01And Patty was produced by me.
SPEAKER_02And my mom. Our editor-in-chief is Brooks Sherman. Hi, Brooks. Our designer is the incredibly talented Ben Azuga. Hi, Ben, you're great. You're yellow.
SPEAKER_01I know. Oh, yeah, you can find us on all social media platforms.
SPEAKER_02And if you like what you just heard, tell a friend, drop us an email, or I don't know, tell your dad.
SPEAKER_01And we'll see you next time from across the pond.
unknownOkay.
SPEAKER_02Bye, bye everyone.