0:09

We'll pour yourself a glass,

0:11

sit for a spell, it's

0:13

time to have some fun.

0:16

Let's do a little thinking,

0:18

some picking and a drinking.

0:20

This is what we're drinking

0:22

with and done. Hey

0:40

friends, how are ya? This

0:42

episode was originally supposed to

0:44

be about Cristolino Tequila. Don't

0:47

worry Tequila lovers, it's still coming, but given

0:50

everything happening in LA right now, we've decided

0:52

to push that back a week. Just

0:55

didn't feel right to dive into

0:57

the nuances of age to Tequila

0:59

when the city is dealing with something

1:01

so catastrophic. So

1:03

about the fires. First off, I want

1:05

to assure everyone that I'm safe. I

1:07

live in Venice and thankfully this area has

1:09

been spared from the flames. That

1:11

said, air quality

1:14

is awful. Every breath feels like

1:16

it comes with a sigh of charcoal.

1:18

But compared to what some people

1:20

are going through, I certainly

1:22

can't complain. The truth

1:24

is these fires have been

1:26

absolutely devastating. Entire neighborhoods

1:28

reduced to ash, families

1:31

displaced, their homes and memories gone in

1:33

the blink of an eye. And

1:35

it's not just homes. Thousands of

1:38

acres of wildlife habitat have been

1:40

destroyed, countless animals

1:42

displaced or killed. You can

1:44

feel the heaviness in this

1:46

city, the collective grief

1:49

that's hard to put into

1:51

words. It's like everyone is

1:53

holding their breath, waiting for the

1:55

worst to pass. And

1:57

then there are the people on the front

1:59

lines, the firefighters. first responders, volunteers. I

2:01

don't even have the words to

2:04

express my gratitude for what

2:06

they're doing. While most of us

2:08

are trying to stay inside, away

2:10

from the smoke, away from the

2:12

fire, they're out there risking their

2:14

lives, working 24-hour shifts to contain

2:16

this beast. They're the real heroes. I

2:18

know a lot of you who listen to this

2:20

show or spread out all over the country,

2:22

even the world. And maybe you've never

2:25

experienced something like this.

2:27

Let me tell you, it's surreal. You

2:29

wake up to an orange sky, the

2:31

sun looks like it's been dipped

2:33

in blood, and everything smells like

2:36

a campfire. Not the fun kind,

2:38

where you're roasting marshmels.

2:41

It's this haunting reminder that

2:43

nature doesn't fuck around. If

2:45

you're looking for ways to

2:47

help, there are plenty of

2:50

organizations taking donations. Everything from

2:52

the Red Cross to local

2:54

animal shelters that are overwhelmed

2:57

with pets rescued from the

2:59

fire zones. And even if you're

3:01

not in LA, just keeping the

3:03

people affected in your thoughts means

3:05

something. We'll get through this. LA

3:07

always does. But for now, let's take

3:10

a beat to acknowledge what's happening and

3:12

show a little love to the people

3:14

who need it most. Next week,

3:16

I promise. We'll be back with

3:18

a deep dive into Crystalina tequila.

3:21

Until then, stay safe out there. And

3:23

if you're in LA, maybe crack open

3:25

a bottle of something good tonight.

3:27

It has been a hell of a past

3:29

seven days. And I do want to take

3:31

a moment to talk about how

3:33

people have reacted to the fires

3:35

on social media. Now, I'll admit,

3:38

I've been trying to limit the

3:40

amount of time I spend scrolling

3:42

through the chaos. It's a conscious choice,

3:44

by the way, because doom

3:46

scrolling does nothing for anyone's

3:49

mental health except harm it. But

3:51

in the limited time I've spent online

3:53

I've actually seen some truly uplifting

3:55

things that remind me of the

3:57

good social media can do even

3:59

in the worst of times. For

4:01

all the noise and negativity, the

4:03

internet can generate, and trust me,

4:05

it can generate a lot. There

4:07

are moments like this that cut

4:09

through the clutter. I've seen videos

4:11

of people rallying to help their

4:13

neighbors, strangers offering rooms or couches

4:15

to evacuees who've lost everything, posts

4:18

about where to send donations or

4:20

how to volunteer at food banks.

4:22

It's proof that when it really

4:24

counts, people are capable of incredible

4:26

compassion and generosity. One post that

4:28

really stuck with me was a

4:30

group of firefighters returning from a

4:32

grueling shift. They looked completely drained,

4:34

covered in soot, sweat, soaking through

4:36

their gear, but they were met

4:38

with a line of people cheering

4:40

and clapping and handing out water

4:42

bottles. Someone filmed it and put

4:44

it online and within hours it

4:46

had hundreds of thousands of shares.

4:48

It's almost like that. Moments of

4:50

humanity that show how social media

4:52

can amplify the good in the

4:54

world. Then there are the donation

4:56

drives that win viral. One post

4:58

I saw raised tens of thousands

5:00

of dollars in just a few

5:02

hours for a local animal shelter

5:04

here in L.A. that's taking in

5:06

pets displaced by the fires. People

5:08

from all over the country were

5:10

pitching in. I even saw the

5:12

guy, the doggist, I follow on

5:14

on Instagram. I love that guy.

5:16

He's out here helping out. But

5:18

again, a lot of these people

5:20

that are pitching and most of

5:22

them will never even set foot

5:24

in L.A. But they saw a

5:26

need and they stepped. That's the

5:28

kind of collective action that makes

5:30

you realize social media isn't just

5:32

cat videos and endless arguments in

5:34

the comment section It it can

5:36

be a force for good and

5:38

let's not forget the power of

5:40

information sharing Social media has been

5:42

essential to shul so far for

5:44

spreading the word about evacuation orders

5:46

and safe zones and air quality

5:48

updates people are using it to

5:50

organize supply drive share resources and

5:52

make sure no one gets left

5:54

behind like a digital lifeline. And

5:56

that can be something when everything

5:58

else feels overwhelming. Sure, it has

6:00

its dark side, it always

6:02

will. But in moments like

6:05

this, you see it's potential

6:07

to bring people together, to

6:09

rally around a common cause,

6:11

to remind us that we're all

6:13

in this together. Okay, but now

6:15

let's talk about that dark side

6:18

of all this. I know I'm not

6:20

talking about the fires themselves,

6:22

that's the nature's wrath and

6:25

our collective reality to deal

6:27

with. I'm talking about... the bad

6:29

noise on social media. You got

6:32

way too many people

6:34

out there sharing misinformation,

6:36

spreading lies, making ignorant

6:38

assumptions, and pretending to

6:40

be experts on things

6:42

they know absolutely

6:44

jack shit about. It's like a

6:46

competition, so you can yell the

6:49

loudest while knowing the least. News

6:51

Flash, it's not helping. It

6:53

needs to stop. Seriously,

6:55

shut the hell up. And they're

6:58

the professional potsterers.

7:00

Ones who show up to every

7:02

crisis, not to help, not to

7:04

offer any kind of meaningful support,

7:06

but just to rile people up,

7:08

to point fingers, play the blame

7:10

game, to make it all about

7:13

political affiliation or their own

7:15

agenda. And here's the thing. The

7:17

fires don't give a shit about

7:20

your politics. They didn't flare up

7:22

because Joe Biden is president or

7:24

because of Gavin Newsom or Karen

7:27

Bass, the mayor of LA, or

7:29

whoever else you've decided to

7:31

scapegoat this hour. Wildfires

7:34

don't check voter registration.

7:36

They just fucking burn. Now

7:38

is there a blame to go around? Sure.

7:40

Were mistakes made? Almost

7:42

certainly. Do we need

7:45

to reevaluate how we

7:47

handle fire prevention? Climate

7:49

policy. and resource management.

7:51

Hell yeah! We do. We

7:54

definitely do. But how about?

7:56

How about? We put a pin

7:58

in the outrage and... Wait until

8:00

the flames are out. Until

8:02

people have had a chance

8:05

to pick through the ashes

8:07

of their lives and start

8:09

figuring out how to rebuild.

8:11

Maybe hold off on the

8:13

finger pointing until, I don't

8:15

know, the literal smoke clears.

8:18

Because right now, all that

8:20

noise on social media isn't

8:22

helping. It's making things worse.

8:24

It's adding stress and confusion

8:26

to a situation that's already

8:28

unbearable for the people living

8:31

through it. If you're not

8:33

sharing verified information or offering

8:35

support, maybe just sit this

8:37

one out. Or better yet,

8:39

use that energy to do

8:41

something constructive. Donate. Volunteer. Send

8:44

a kind message to someone

8:46

who needs it. But don't

8:48

be the digital equivalent of

8:50

someone standing outside a burning

8:52

house shouting insults and conspiracy

8:54

theories. Nobody needs that. There

8:57

will be a time to

8:59

analyze what went wrong and

9:01

what needs to change. That

9:03

time is coming, but it's

9:05

not now. Right now, it's

9:07

about survival. It's about helping

9:10

the people who've lost everything.

9:12

If you're out there tweeting,

9:14

posting, or running, maybe ask

9:16

yourself. Is this helping? Or

9:18

am I just throwing gasoline

9:20

on an already raging fire?

9:23

If it's the letter? Maybe

9:25

log off for a bit.

9:27

How about we try to

9:29

inject some humanity into social

9:31

media, or at least stop

9:33

using it as a fucking

9:36

tool to spread chaos? You

9:38

just realized your business needed

9:40

to hire someone yesterday. How

9:42

can you find amazing candidates

9:44

fast? Easy. Just use indeed.

9:46

Stop struggling to get your

9:49

job post seen on other

9:51

job sites. With indeed sponsored

9:53

jobs, your post jumps to

9:55

the top of the page

9:57

for your relevant candidates, so

9:59

you can reach the... you

10:02

want faster. According to Indeed

10:04

Data, sponsored jobs posted directly

10:06

on Indeed have 45% more

10:08

applications than non-sponsored jobs. Don't

10:10

wait any longer. Speed up

10:12

your hiring right now with

10:15

Indeed and listeners of this

10:17

show will get a 100

10:19

pound sponsored job credit to

10:21

get your jobs more visibility

10:24

at Indeed.com/P-O-D-K-A-T-Z-9. Just go to

10:26

indeed.com/P-O-D-K-A-T-Z-9 right now and support

10:28

our show by saying you

10:31

heard about indeed on this

10:33

podcast. Terms and Condition Supply.

10:36

Hiring, indeed, is all you

10:38

need. Since this is a fairly

10:40

somber affair we've got going

10:43

on today on the podcast,

10:45

I figured I'll share something else

10:47

with you that happened recently.

10:50

Just shy of 13 years ago,

10:52

my... Then girlfriend and I welcomed

10:55

a puppy into our lives. A

10:57

sprightly mix of pit bull and

10:59

chocolate lab that the folks from

11:02

the rescue had dubbed Chloe.

11:04

Both of us were in love at

11:06

first wag, though the name wasn't

11:08

quite hitting the mark for us.

11:10

We knew a change was in order.

11:12

One evening with the little

11:14

fur ball curled up beside me

11:16

like a question mark on the couch,

11:19

we mulled over names. None stuck.

11:22

I was fresh from a jaunt across

11:24

the misty moors of Scotland

11:26

and I happen to be

11:28

cradling a sniffter of boona-hobbin

11:30

25-year-old. This is a whiskey

11:32

so divine that the distillers

11:34

themselves insist that I ferry

11:36

a bottle back to the states.

11:39

At one point I've started

11:41

babbling sweet nothings to the Scotch.

11:43

Oh, boona, boona, boona. Playfully Nick

11:45

in the name. Jess, that was

11:48

my girlfriend at the time. Bless her.

11:50

Bless her. She... cast a glance

11:52

that suggested I'd lost my freaking

11:55

mind. And that was fair. I am

11:57

at to do that from time to time.

11:59

Yet... from this bit of

12:01

whimsy there was a spark.

12:04

How about Buna? She proposed

12:06

painting the name of New.

12:08

Buna. Right? Yeah. So I

12:10

turned to the dog. She

12:12

was laying next to me

12:14

in the couch and I

12:16

whispered, hey, Buna. And she

12:19

immediately perked up. Looked right

12:21

at me. And just like

12:23

that, she was Buna. It

12:25

was a name as new

12:27

and fresh as she was.

12:29

When Jess and I... When

12:32

our separate ways a few

12:34

years later, she let me

12:36

keep Buna. I guess she

12:38

figured taking care of that

12:40

dog was what kept me

12:42

somewhat grounded. It was like

12:44

my ticket into the world

12:47

of adulting. Since 2012, Buna

12:49

has been my ride or

12:51

die, not just a paragon

12:53

of doghood. She's loyal as

12:55

a shadow on a sunny

12:57

day, but also a best

13:00

friend of the highest order.

13:02

She was an avid swimmer,

13:04

passionate hiker, chased anything that

13:06

rolled, and a lover of

13:08

road trips and peanut butter.

13:10

Oh, did she love peanut

13:12

butter? Oh, and she'd watched

13:15

dog videos on the dog

13:17

TV on YouTube with the

13:19

intensity of a film critic.

13:21

Loved dog videos. But above

13:23

all, Buna loved darts. Yeah,

13:25

darts. Was she any

13:28

good? Well, she never threw

13:30

on herself, so we'll never

13:32

know. She was more of

13:34

a zestful observer, planning herself

13:36

in front of each player,

13:38

and twirling and bolting towards

13:40

the board with each throw,

13:42

tracking each dart's arc like

13:44

a hawk, I mean back

13:46

and forth, back and forth.

13:48

This was our thing, through

13:50

countless games and... the long

13:52

nights of lockdown. I can't

13:54

even tell you how much

13:56

dark sweetplate during COVID and

13:58

she just her passion never

14:00

faded, even as time caught

14:03

up with her. It's been

14:05

about two weeks since

14:07

my beloved Buena trotted

14:09

off to the Elysian fields

14:12

of endless treats and

14:14

tireless tales. Towards the

14:17

end, her spirit remained

14:19

a wild flag, snapping

14:22

bravely in the wind,

14:24

never wavering.