Beyond Diddy: More Sexual Abuse in Entertainment Exposed, 77% of Young People CAN'T Serve in the Military, Avoiding Beyonce?! Artist Withdraws from 2025 Grammys (The Five for 10/11/24)
Plus, Reacher gets a spinoff. Walk the Line Director's Bob Dylan Biopic looks epic. This comedian's interview could be consequential to the election.
Hey, welcome to The Five, a publication about the stories that matter.
It’s Friday, so let’s dive into Culture & Commentary.
[one]
Joe Rogan lit the internet aflame with an interview with Dr. Casey Means, a former top surgeon who left her job, because the modern medical system doesn’t address the holistic solutions to address the incredible health challenges facing America.
A summary of the most troubling stats from the episode:
• “74% of Americans are overweight or obese.”
• “Young adult cancers are going up 79% in the last 10 years.”
• “25% of men, now, under 40 have erectile dysfunction.” •
“Alzheimer's and dementia are going through the roof.”
• “Young adult dementias have increased, like, three times since 2012. So early onset dementias.”
• “One in two Americans are expected to have cancer in their lifetime now, one in two.”
• “One in 36 children has autism now, in the United States. That was one in 150 in the year 2000.”
• “Infertility going up 1% per year.”
• “77% of young Americans can't serve in the military because of obesity or drug abuse.”
• “Autoimmune diseases. Some studies are saying they're going up 13% per year.”
• “Heart disease, which is almost totally preventable, is the leading cause of death in the United States, killing around 800,000 people per year.” “It's basically like all of us are a little bit dead while we're alive,”
Means gets into several solutions, which we don’t have the space to unpack here…but the whole episode is worth the 2+ hour time investment (if nothing else, save it for your next road trip).
RFK Jr. may have dropped out of the Presidential race, but his platform around facing the health crisis head on still has momentum.
Health is now, oddly enough, a political issue. And it’s not going away.
[two]
As details about what other celebrities are allegedly paying off victims before the Diddy sexual abuse scandal details break wide open, another horrific story of sexual abuse in the music industry came to light this weekend.
Mega-popular pop-punk frontman Derek Whibley of Sum 41 was allegedly repeatedly raped by his manager while still a minor.
From People:
Deryck Whibley, frontman of Sum 41, claims his former manager "groomed" him and "pressured" him to be in a sexual relationship.
In his new memoir Walking Disaster: My Life Through Heaven and Hell (out Tuesday, Oct. 8), the punk musician claims Greig Nori, frontman of the Canadian band Treble Charger, sexually and verbally abused him over the years. The pair, who shared a "special connection" on a creative level, met when Whibley was 16 and Nori was 34, per The Los Angeles Times.
According to Whibley, he met Nori backstage at a Treble Charger show where Nori gave Whibley his phone number and the "Fat Lip" singer invited him to one of his band's performances. Nori allegedly became a mentor to Whibley and would talk for hours on the phone to him. According to Whibley, Nori gave him and his bandmate Steveo their first drinks, "which were Goldschläger shots."
Eventually, Nori became Sum 41's manager, producing their music, helping them form industry connections and inviting them to parties and raves. "Greig had one requirement to be our manager — he wanted total control,” the "In Too Deep" artist writes in the book. “We couldn’t talk to anyone but him, because the music business is ‘full of snakes and liars’ and he was the only person we could trust.”
However deep you thought the rot went…apparently the corruption in the music industry goes deeper still.
Sum 41 called it quits this year, but if you were ever a fan, their final album is worth a spin.
[three]
So journalists can get in trouble for…asking questions now?
CBS news is tearing itself apart over two issues this week. The more publicized controversy comes from a deceptive edit on a Kamala Harris interview (more on that in the [read & learn] section).
The second controversy to hit “The Big Eye” network has been less covered, but is likely more important, when a journalist was punished for…simply asking tough questions of a guest.
Last week, CBS journalist Tony Dokoupil conducted an interview with the writer Ta-Nehisi Coates whose new book, The Message, includes a one-sided polemic against Israel. Coates himself describes his book as an effort to debunk the complexities journalists invoke to obscure Israel’s occupation. He complained in an interview with New York magazine that the argument that the conflict was “complicated” was “horseshit,” that was how defenders of slavery and segregation described these plagues a century ago. “It’s complicated,” he said, “when you want to take something from somebody.”
So Dokoupil asked him about it.
“Why leave out that Israel is surrounded by countries that want to eliminate it?”
“Why leave out that Israel deals with terror groups that want to eliminate it?”
“Why not detail anything of the first and second intifada. . . the cafe bombings, the bus bombings, the little kids blown to bits?”
In other words, Tony Dokoupil did his job.
That’s when his troubles began.
One might think that respectfully challenging a source that presents misinformation or a picture so limited that it obscures the truth is what journalism’s all about. That’s exactly what CBS does in the aftermath of school shootings or when covering bans on critical race theory in local school districts.
But on this subject—or perhaps it’s this particular author—honesty and integrity are now an unforgivable act of editorial malpractice. At least that is what CBS News is telling its own staff when it comes to Dokoupil’s interview of Coates on September 30.
During its editorial meeting on Monday at 9 a.m.—the morning of October 7—the network’s top brass all but apologized for the interview to staff, saying that it did not meet the company’s “editorial standards.” After being introduced by Wendy McMahon, the head of CBS News, Adrienne Roark, who is in charge of news gathering at the network, began her remarks by saying covering a story like October 7 “requires empathy, respect, and a commitment to truth.”
To add insult to injury, CBS anchor Gail King, who was also a part of the segment, allegedly leaked the questions to Coates ahead of time.
In 2024, only 32% of American express a “great deal” or a “fair amount” of trust in the traditional corporate press (study here, if you want to see it).
Based CBS violating nearly every journalistic standard in a single interview…that level of trust is still far too high.
[four]
Well, I’d love to know who this appeals to, exactly. In the EXTREMELY tight swing state of Michigan (where Trump currently leads Harris by three points), the sitting Governor decided a good way to win swing voters would be to…mock Catholics.
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer raised eyebrows Thursday over a bizarre video in which she fed Doritos into the mouth of a liberal podcaster — in which some said was a stunt that imitated the Catholic sacrament of Holy Communion.
In the short clip, posted on podcaster Liz Plank’s Instagram account, the lefty influencer was seen on her knees opening her mouth for Whitmer to place Doritos on her tongue.
Plank was then seen eating it as the camera panned to reveal Whitmer, in a camouflage Harris-Walz hat.
The video is an apparent takeoff on a TikTok meme in which friends feed each other food and stare uncomfortably into the camera.
Plank, the face of an influencer group that calls itself “Hotties For Harris,” tried to shoe-horn the vid into a statement on industrial policy — specifically about the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022, which gave billions in funding to boost the semiconductor industry.
“If he won’t, Gretchen Whitmer will. Chips aren’t just delicious, the CHIPS Act is a game-changer for U.S. tech and manufacturing, boosting domestic production of semiconductors to reduce reliance on foreign suppliers! Donald Trump would put that at risk,” Plank captioned the Instagram video.
But most users couldn’t get past the sacrilegious overtones of the clip. It quickly set social media ablaze with puzzlement, intrigue and criticism.
The slang term for this behavior in 2024 is “chronically online,” referring to people who live so much of life through their screens they can no longer recognize when something is out of bounds of social norms.
Harris is currently trailing significantly with blue collar men, a voting demographic Joe Biden did well with. Some of those men are Catholic, some aren’t. But nearly ALL of them are going to see stuff like this as very cringe and alienating.
As this election draws closer to election day, Dems are embodying the exact attack they threw at J.D. Vance all summer—they are, in fact, weird.
[five]
As always, let’s head into the weekend with a pop culture roundup:
GRAMMY AWARDS: Country music is the most popular genre of 2024, but the artist most popular in that genre…won’t be up for any hardware this year. Zach Bryan has withdrawn his latest album, The Great American Bar Scene, from consideration…possibly to avoid being attacked by Beyonce’s fans, who are rabid over the fact that the R&B singer has never won “Album of the Year,” a trophy Zach may have been up against her for. It’s reasonable to assume Bryan didn’t want to take a negative hit to his career by generating a lot of press if he beat Beyonce…so he just pulled his album. Saving Country Music has a deep dive on this story.
GAMING: “Multiple” new HALO games are on the way, and they look amazing. The famed Microsoft exclusive may also be jumping from an XBOX/PC exclusive to also be available on PlayStation. Red Dead Redemption, one of the most lauded games of all time, has never come to PC since it’s 2010 release. That changes at the end of the month, when the original game, and it’s spinoff Undead Nightmare, will finally be available on Windows-based machines.
MOVIES: Am I Racist? from the Daily Wire just surpassed Supersize Me to become the top grossing documentary of the last decade. The Predator franchise is getting two more sequels, with the next one titled Badlands, releasing in 2025. Netflix is turning the acclaimed novel 100 Years of Solitude into a TV show, split across two seasons. Set in 19th century Columbia, the trailer looks beautiful and sweeping, if you’re into foreign language projects.
TV: Even though Reacher season 3 doesn’t drop until early next year, it’s already been renewed for season 4. A spinoff is also on the way, focused on Jack Reacher’s fellow special investigator Neagley from season 2. If you’re an Android user who wants to watch Apple TV+, you can now subscribe via Amazon Prime Video. Aaron Pierre of the unexpected Netflix hit Rebel Ridge (seriously, go watch it) will co-star with Kyle Chandler of Friday Night Lights fame in DC’s Lanterns TV series. Netflix is launching a live weekly talk show with John Mulaney hosting.
MUSIC Punk pioneers NOFX are packing it in after 40 years together. Money is pouring in for North Carolina victims thanks to country artists, including $7 million Jason Aldean raised. The legendary James Taylor, along with Eric Church, Luke Combs and Billy strings are hosting a benefit concert at the Carolina Panthers stadium on 10/26.
THRILLER: The current king of the mililtary/thriller/spy genre is Jack Carr, who’s The Terminal List novel series was a hit TV show for Prime Video starring Chris Pratt (which is getting a second season, as well as a spinoff show). Early this morning, Carr announced his next novel, Cry Havoc, set in Vietnam in a battle between the CIA and Russian KBG.
AWESOME: Mr. John Wick himself, Keanu Reeves, made his racing debut at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway over the weekend.
Wow. I’ve never been much of a fan of Timothee Chalamet (Dune, Little Women) but that may just change with A Complete Unknown, as the Gen Z star is a dead ringer for Bob Dylan in this biopic.
I wouldn’t have guessed that Boyd Hollbrook (Logan, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny) would be cast as Johnny Cash, but that seems to work as well.
See it Christmas Day.
I didn’t catch Keri Russell (Felicity, Mission Impossible III) in the first season of The Diplomat, in which the U.S. Ambassador to the U.K. (typically a political favor position with no real responsibilities) is embroiled in a very real international crisis.
But, it might be worth catching up on. Season 2 looks pretty intriguing. Streaming 10/31.
Fresh off season 2 of his unlikely mafia show Tulsa King, Sylvester Stallone (Rocky, First Blood) stars in a heist movie with a fascinating hook…it takes place exclusively on a rural bridge. In theaters 11/22.
[new music]
Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube Music
Leon Bridges is clearly pulling from classic Marvin Gaye on his new self-titled album. The first single, “Peaceful Place,” mixes 60’s era Motown with just a bit of Latin rhythm.
Nina Nesbitt has a 90’s Lilith Fair vibe to her latest album, Mountain Music. The Scottish singer crafted the perfect soundtrack to crisp fall days.
[read & learn]
Kamala Harris may have pulled more (negative) headlines over her “media blitz” her mis-steps on The View (this moment), Stephen Colbert (choking down Miller beer) and flubbed 60 Minutes so badly that CBS got caught editing down her answers (check it out here).
But the most fascinating interview of the week belongs to comedian Andrew Schultz & Co, who asked Donald Trump some pretty compelling questions on the Flagrant Podcast, including DJT speaking up on who he believes keeps trying to kill him.
Schultz and his podcast crew have been fairly critical of Trump in the past, and Andrew pulls no punches on a handful of interview questions around abortion and migrant deportation.
*No, that is not my dog…
My friend Craig Dunham did a great job summing up one of the most controversial books of the year, Bad Therapy, over at the Second Drafts Substack.
Speaking of people at risk, here’s a book that does a good job analyzing and identifying a problem at hand (bad therapy and over-prescribed medication for kids), but that would benefit from less snark and a little more heart for people in doing so.
I first heard journalist Abigail Shirer talk about her book, Bad Therapy: Why the Kids Aren’t Growing Up, in this 15-minute Joe Rogan Experience clip, and while I found myself agreeing with the findings of much of her research and writing, the latter was as grating (particularly as the book went on) as it was good. Here’s an example:
“Parents today might be forgiven for not remembering what humor is. Of all the rotten traits of our parenting books, they are almost uniformly dour and humorless. Sweet Lord Above, these lousy books made every moment with our kids heavy and serious. Techniques to practice, situations to monitor, problems to recognize, apologies to offer when we failed to do all the above. They paint a world of severity, where the stakes are high and dourness reigns.” (p. 229)
Having read more than my fair share of parenting books (as well as education theory books, some of which are even worse), she’s not wrong. But Shirer can say things in ways that come off more over-the-top than a desperate parent needing help and investigating her claims may be willing to persevere through. This isn’t to say she hasn’t done her homework (she has; see the 40 pages of end notes), but Bad Therapy could have benefited from an editor culling 30 pages of redundant sass and dead horses beaten along the way.
That said, as a former teacher and headmaster, if there was a book I could recommend to document and challenge much of the parental outsourcing and outcomes of the past 35 years, this might be it. Why? Because Shirer pulls no punches in pushing back against the terrible parenting goal of raising perpetually happy kids.
Bad Therapy, alongside Jonathan Haight’s Anxious Generation are the two must-read 2024 releases to understand what’s going on with the kids in your life.
Until the next one,
-sth