The Michael Moore Podcast

In recent episodes of Rumble, Michael Moore has shared his ideas for an alternative to the American way of policing: The Department of Public Safety & Compassion. He's also shared his ideas for an alternative to our brutal and racist system of mass incarceration: The Department of Restorative Justice & Redemption. In this episode, Mike is joined by Desmond Cole, an award-winning journalist and activist who recently published his first book called “The Skin We’re In: A Year of Black Resistance & Power.” They discuss the intellectual underpinnings of the movement to defund the police and abolish the prison system, why white liberals should not fear these ideas, and how our society will be better off when we decide to treat each other differently. Plus, Mike shares an update on Darnella Frazier, the courageous teenager who filmed the execution of George Floyd. On Tuesday night her uncle was killed by Minneapolis police who were in the middle of a reckless car chase. Madness. Tragic. Episode 194: Welcome To The Department of Public Safety & Compassion https://apple.co/2TlCjYs Episode 197: Welcome To The Department of Restorative Justice & Redemption (w/ Dan Berger) https://apple.co/3xsAVSx A one-stop-shop for organizers and advocates looking for tools, resources, trainings, legislation and policies: DefundPolice.org Read Desmond Cole's book: The Skin We're in: A Year of Black Resistance and Power https://bookshop.org/a/1381/9780385686341 Yes, Everything! https://www.yeseverything.ca/ GoFundMe: The Official Peace and Healing for Darnella Fund https://www.gofundme.com/f/peace-and-healing-for-darnella Music in Episode: "Redemption Song" - Johnny Cash & Joe Strummer https://open.spotify.com/track/6ArficY3dtVMWYkyTYkAJP?si=4439c84c22b74c64 3 Special offers for Rumble listeners! You can get 25% off when you go to LiquidIV.com and use code RUMBLE at checkout. Get 3 extra months of ExpressVPN for free. Visit ExpressVPN.com/rumble Get 15% off Raycon Earbuds! BuyRaycon.com/rumble

Larry Charles is one of the great comedic writers, producers and directors of our time. His credits include his pivotal role during the first seasons of Seinfeld, along with Curb Your Enthusiasm, Mad About You, The Arsenio Hall Show, among many others. He directed the original "Borat," one of the great works of satire of all time. He directed "Religulous," a bold, genius broadside against organized religion. His 2019 Netflix series, "Larry Charles' Dangerous World of Comedy," is an epic journey across the world where comedians live actual dangerous lives. He joins Mike to discuss the state of non-fiction and political satire, the meaning of cancel culture and political correctness, entertainment and propaganda, and how advertisers, censors and an insurance company must sign off on everything we see on TV. They also share some personal stories, including how they created a sitcom pilot together that was greenlit by a major network, but then never made it to air due to advertisers’ objections. Follow Larry on Instagram & Twitter: https://www.instagram.com/larrycharles/ https://twitter.com/larrycharlesism Larry Charles' Dangerous World of Comedy https://www.netflix.com/title/80188051 The scene from Seinfeld that Larry mentioned: Jerry and Naked Guy Chat on the Train https://youtu.be/oZ4xoEpYOp0 Music in the episode: "Like A Rolling Stone" - Bob Dylan https://open.spotify.com/track/1Vj1gTe7KzFaSw9n5pK4We?si=59dc31cbda8740c7

Michael is joined by The Intercept's Jon Schwarz to discuss the shockingly unshocking report this week that the Saudi operatives who murdered Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi had received State Department-approved paramilitary training. They also discuss the recent foolish attacks on Rep. Ilhan Omar, the meaning and background of the phrase "moral equivalence," the AP's cowardly firing of Emily Wilder over her college advocacy for Palestinian human rights, and lies we are being told about "worker shortages." Schwarz is a friend and former colleague of Mike’s, having worked on “Capitalism: A Love Story” and as the editor of MichaelMoore.com. Saudi Operatives Who Killed Khashoggi Received Paramilitary Training in U.S. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/22/us/politics/khashoggi-saudi-kill-team-us-training.html Read Jon's recent articles: Ilhan Omar And “Moral Equivalence,” A Term Of Propaganda Invented In The 1980s https://theintercept.com/2021/06/24/ilhan-omar-moral-equivalence-reagan/ Emily Wilder’s Firing Is No Surprise: AP Has Always Been Right-Wing https://theintercept.com/2021/05/25/emily-wilder-firing-ap-right-wing/ The Business Class Has Been Fearmongering About Worker Shortages for Centuries https://theintercept.com/2021/05/07/worker-shortage-slavery-capitalism/ The “For The People Act” Would Make The U.S. A Democracy https://theintercept.com/2021/02/14/democracy-voting-campaign-finance-hr1/ The book Jon mentioned: The Brass Check by Upton Sinclair https://bookshop.org/a/1381/9789353866303 Free PDF https://ia800203.us.archive.org/7/items/cu31924026364251/cu31924026364251.pdf The Neftlix Doc Series Michael mentioned: High On The Hog https://www.netflix.com/title/81034518

America's prison system is brutal, stupid and inhumane. It makes us all less safe and has a terrible impact on other parts of our society such as health care, education, and even how we treat one another. "Reform" or band-aids will not make it better - it must be uprooted, abolished and replaced. Michael Moore recently proposed a "Department of Public Safety & Compassion" to replace the existing way we do policing. In this episode, he proposes a "Department of Restorative Justice & Redemption" to replace our existing Prison Industrial Complex. He is joined by Dan Berger, a scholar who has studied prison abolition for several years. They talk about the never-discussed constituency in America called "the criminalized majority," how cruel behavior in society is often taught by cruel institutions (like prisons) themselves, and what they would do if Kitty Dukakis were raped and murdered. WHOA! Listen to the RUMBLE episode on Mike’s Department of Public Safety & Compassion here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ep-194-welcome-to-department-public-safety-compassion/id1490354763?i=1000524305491 The Organizations Dan mentioned: Common Justice Critical Resistance Survived & Punished Detention Watch Network Prison Policy Initiative Read Dan's Books: Captive Nation: Black Prison Organizing in the Civil Rights Era https://bookshop.org/a/1381/9781469629797 The Struggle Within: Prisons, Political Prisoners, and Mass Movements in the United States https://bookshop.org/a/1381/9781604869552 Music in the episode: Folsom Prison Blues - Johnny Cash https://youtu.be/AeZRYhLDLeU Watch the Martin Scorsese/Fran Leibowitz Doc Series Michael Mentioned "Pretend It's A City" https://www.netflix.com/title/81078137

The private tax returns of America's wealthiest few individuals were just leaked to the non-profit journalists at ProPublica and they reveal an American plutocracy that has completely avoided paying personal taxes. We already knew that the wealthiest corporations were able to maneuver the tax code to their benefit, but the levels at which the ultra-wealthy are able to avoid taxes is maddening. And it is all LEGAL. Michael is joined by journalist and author Anand Giridharadas to discuss how they've been able to rig the system, why this is Exhibit A for why we need a wealth tax, and why so many working class Americans have been indoctrinated into supporting the rich and being against taxing them more. Plus, Michael responds to your emails about his proposal for The Department of Public Safety and Compassion. You can reach him at: mike@michaelmoore.com Join Michael Moore's Email List! https://forms.gle/GybSsjJePrzZLaRL9 Sign up for Anand's Newsletter! https://the.ink/ ProPublica: The Secret IRS Files Inside the Tax Records of the .001% Trove of Never-Before-Seen Records Reveal How the Wealthiest Avoid Income Tax https://www.propublica.org/article/the-secret-irs-files-trove-of-never-before-seen-records-reveal-how-the-wealthiest-avoid-income-tax You May Be Paying a Higher Tax Rate Than a Billionaire https://www.propublica.org/article/you-may-be-paying-a-higher-tax-rate-than-a-billionaire Listen to Episode 194: Welcome To The Department of Public Safety & Compassion https://apple.co/2TlCjYs Music in the episode: "Money" - Pink Floyd https://youtu.be/-0kcet4aPpQ Special offer for Rumble listeners: Get 15% off Raycon Earbuds! BuyRaycon.com/rumble

In Dallas, Texas last week, 18 year-old high school valedictorian Paxton Smith decided at the last minute to throw away her school-approved graduation speech to address a new Texas law signed Republican Governor Greg Abbott that would make all abortions illegal as early as six weeks into a pregnancy. Video of her 3-minute speech has gone viral and caused a rumble - so she joins Rumble with Michael Moore to explain how she summoned the courage to deliver that speech, how positive the reaction has been, whether she defines herself as "politically active, and the best advice she's received since going viral. Finally, Michael Moore is confused as to why Joe Manchin was sitting behind the legendary Joan Baez at the Kennedy Center Honors on Sunday night singing along to "We Shall Overcome" to honor her when it is Joe Manchin's intransigence, selfishness and greed that needs to be overcome. Weirdest TV moment of the year. Special offers for Rumble listeners! You can get 25% off when you go to LiquidIV.com and use code RUMBLE at checkout. Get 3 extra months of Express VPN for free. Visit ExpressVPN.com/rumble

The billions of dollars that currently go to police departments across America are NOT contributing to the safety, health and well-being of our citizens. It's time to re-imagine how we think about "public safety" and "law and order." As police budgets continue to increase (despite calls to defund the police), Michael Moore shares a proposal for the creation of The Department of Public Safety & Compassion in every town in America. Rather than attempting to solve human problems by sending in men with badges and guns, we need to dismantle this anachronistic armed wing of the patriarchy and have a department that will serve and truly protect the public from the real dangers in our society: hunger, the lack of clean drinking water, mental health needs, insufficient healthcare, opioid addiction, inadequate public schools, etc. What if we had Public Safety officers whose sole job was to aid the homeless, the unemployed, the addicted, the mentally ill? Don’t they deserve to be protected? From us? Won’t every neighborhood be better off if those suffering in a society fueled by greed, racism and inequity were helped rather than jailed, abused and abandoned? Wouldn’t there in fact be less “crime” if we chose to attack the real crimes and the true criminals who’ve created these appalling conditions? Instead of a militarized police state, what if we built a compassionate state staffed by those with love in their hearts and the knowledge of how to provide the actual help people need when they call 911? Defund the police? De-police the police! Every neighborhood deserves better, much better. It’s the 21st century, folks. C’mon. You can share your ideas for the Department of Public Safety & Compassion with Michael at mike@michaelmoore.com or leave him a voice mail at the link below. In theaters now! Watch "All Light, Everywhere" https://superltd.com/films/all-light-everywhere

Michael is joined by writer, thinker, comedian and podcaster Baratunde Thurston for a conversation about the fragility of American democracy, the purposeful dumbing down of the citizenry, the lack of civic education in American schools and what we all must do about it. Michael also responds to listener emails about his conversation with "Exterminate All The Brutes" director Raoul Peck. Listen to Baratunde's podcast "How To Citizen with Baratunde" https://www.howtocitizen.com/ Baratunde mentioned a Nazi rally in Madison Square Garden. Watch Marshall Curry's short doc on that event, "A Night At The Garden" https://anightatthegarden.com/ Watch Raoul Peck's "Exterminate All The Brutes" https://www.hbo.com/exterminate-all-the-brutes Music in the episode: "American Idiot" - Green Day https://youtu.be/V9NFs7qPwuk Underwriters: Special offer for Rumble listeners. Get 15% off Raycon Earbuds! BuyRaycon.com/rumble Try Gabi to check if you've been overpaying for home and auto insurance. It's free! http://www.gabi.com/rumble

How is it that the richest and most powerful country in the world can't provide even the most basic of human needs for its citizens? What has been holding America back when much poorer countries are able to provide a more stable social safety net? Heather McGhee, one of our most thoughtful economic and policy thinkers has a new book out explaining that racism -- specifically the fear by white Americans that any gains by Black Americans come at their expense -- has reliably turned the majority of white Americans AGAINST government programs that would help all Americans for fear that it would be beneficial to people of color. She joins Michael to discuss what we can do to overcome this decades-long propaganda campaign that has afflicted white America, and how the idea of a "solidarity dividend" can unite a multi-racial, cross-class coalition to take on concentrated wealth and power and build a better country. Read Heather's book: The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together https://bookshop.org/a/1381/9780525509561 Watch Raoul Peck's "Exterminate All The Brutes" - Peck will be on Rumble on Friday, May 28 https://www.hbo.com/exterminate-all-the-brutes Music in episode: "If I Ruled The World" - MILCK https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NhHKRvv4JfU Special offer for Rumble listeners. Get 15% off Raycon Earbuds! BuyRaycon.com/rumble

As the decades-long ethnic cleansing of Palestinians from their homeland by Israel has intensified over the past week, Michael Moore shares his thoughts on America's culpability in funding these atrocities. He also recounts his trips to the Occupied West Bank and Gaza in the 1980's, his history of activism with Flint and Detroit's large Jewish and Arab populations, and why the U.S. government must stop funding Israeli apartheid and violence. Michael also shares his concerns with the dangerous announcement by the CDC to loosen the mask standards when only one-third of Americans have been vaccinated, plus the scary news that the conservative Supreme Court will be taking up a new abortion case that might continue to weaken a women's right to choose. B’Tselem (The largest human rights group in Israel) "A regime of Jewish supremacy from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea: This is apartheid" https://www.btselem.org/publications/fulltext/202101_this_is_apartheid Human Rights Watch "A Threshold Crossed: Israeli Authorities and the Crimes of Apartheid and Persecution" https://www.hrw.org/report/2021/04/27/threshold-crossed/israeli-authorities-and-crimes-apartheid-and-persecution# Watch: Rep. Rashida Tlaib's Speech on the House Floor on Israeli Apartheid and Ethnic Cleansing https://youtu.be/b4cCvCtOOGQ Contact the White House and Tell Them To Stop Funding Israeli Apartheid and Violence https://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/