April 15, 2025 • 35 mins
Siraj Hashmi steps in from his new digs in Northern Virginia, where he's waiting to get a blown-out tire replaced at Costco, and comments on the wayward direction of the Democratic Party in the wake of Trump 2.0.
Barry Manilow's song 'Mandy,' used in reference to Siraj's habit of misnaming your loyal radio host, has Ryan quoting from 'The Breakfast Club' and waxing nostalgic for John Hughes movies and his Gen X childhood as depicted on 'Stranger Things.'
Barry Manilow's song 'Mandy,' used in reference to Siraj's habit of misnaming your loyal radio host, has Ryan quoting from 'The Breakfast Club' and waxing nostalgic for John Hughes movies and his Gen X childhood as depicted on 'Stranger Things.'
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
In times of trouble.
Speaker 2 (00:01):
When I put the bat signal out, there is one
man that comes to the rescue, and his name is
Saraj hash me babe, And I have to say it
like that because it's just a name that you know.
Dennis Miller would have a lot of fun saying he
joined us here on Ryan Schuleing Live from Parts unknown,
at least until a few moments ago. A Saraj, why
don't you tell the good people where you call us
(00:22):
from or where I called.
Speaker 3 (00:23):
You, Mandy. It's just so wonderful to hear your voice again.
I am reporting to you live outside of a Costco
in Tarafax, Ordinia, waiting to pick up my car because
the roads here in DC are just absolutely phenomenal, like
best cop knots in the world. That my wife and
I have two cars and spend the three days of
(00:45):
being up here, we blew out tires on both of them.
Speaker 1 (00:50):
Good Lord Almighty.
Speaker 2 (00:51):
Now this feels a lot like the scene from Godfather
III when Michael Corleoni, portrayed by el Pat says, just
when I thought I.
Speaker 1 (01:02):
Was out, they pull me back in.
Speaker 2 (01:05):
And you, of course, in your past, Sarah, you've worked
in Washington d C. You got out of there, you
went to the free State of Florida. You were living
the good life. You had a beautiful wife, you got
a beautiful daughter, you got beautiful sunshine there, and all
of a sudden, you're back inside the Beltway. Tell us
what happened.
Speaker 3 (01:21):
I'm back in the swamp, and you know, it's there
really is no better way to put it, though you
probably hit the nail on the head saying, you know,
with the Godfather three references, it is. It does feel
like you're.
Speaker 1 (01:36):
Being pulled back in.
Speaker 3 (01:37):
Although here's the weird thing. It feels like I never left.
And that's the weird thing about it is that I'm here. Yeah,
certain things have changed, but largely the the whole vibe
that is d C.
Speaker 1 (01:51):
D C is d C.
Speaker 3 (01:52):
It is as much as like you say, President Trump
and his second term is trying to fix things. You know,
you can't really change the culture and one presidency. This
is generational, so we'll.
Speaker 1 (02:04):
See what happened.
Speaker 3 (02:05):
But I can tell you being up here a little
bit of culture shock, realizing that like, oh now I
have to keep my head on the swivel because literally
I could say anything or wear anything that might offend someone,
whereas like in Florida, like it's more like tough titty.
If you don't like what I'm wearing, you cann't have
to deal with it. Florida went plus thirteen for Trump.
(02:26):
Not the same case here in Virginia, but or DC
or Maryland. But it's uh, you know, times have definitely changed.
You can definitely feel a different There's a different vibe though,
compared to like the last four years under Biden and
then like Trump one point zero, like one point zero
is all resist, resist resists. Biden was just depressions. Now
(02:47):
I feel at least DC has like some energy back,
and it's not the one that you kind of see
from like the resist the left with leftist socialist agenda,
Like everybody can see through the charade, and I think,
I don't think there's a single person out there who
is actually worried about, you know, where this country is
(03:08):
heading now, simply because we had such a massive, you know,
pendulum swink for the right and then I actually feel
that America is actually getting back in the right direction,
and I'm just happy to be a part of it.
Speaker 1 (03:22):
I could feel that vibe too.
Speaker 2 (03:24):
I was there on inauguration day, January twentieth, and those
that had assembled to celebrate the inauguration of Donald Trump,
there was a spirit, there was a positivity I think
that had replaced what had been four years of a
great cloud.
Speaker 1 (03:38):
And even to your points, Sarage, the four.
Speaker 2 (03:40):
Years before that, the resist, resist, resist, and do everything
they can to obstruct Trump. Now the judges and the
courts are trying to do that, as we know right
now it's the deportation efforts. But I think it speaks
to your point about we're hopefully we're turning as a
country as a culture, and the return of Saraj hashed
Me to the belt is only a step forward in
(04:01):
that direction as well. He is formerly the Washington Examiner.
You can find him on ex It's Saraj a hash Me.
That's s I R A J letter a h A
s h M I. And you are still affiliate with Rumble.
And here's the good news on multiple fronts Sarage. Hopefully
your wife is getting a new job there, which you
told me, and you are able to set up shop
(04:22):
with Rumble because they have a DC based office. So
take us through what's going to happen for you personally
and professionally.
Speaker 3 (04:29):
Well, you know, this is a I love Florida, don't
get me wrong, but this is where the action is.
And I think in terms of helping the free speech movement,
you're really never anygether a better place to do it
than in the nation's capital. And while Sara so the
Florida and Florida in general just an obviously great place
to live, you know, it's kind of off the beaten path.
(04:51):
There's not a whole lot of transient folks there, so
like you can't you can't really meet people in person,
face to face as much as you can here in
d C. Almost everybody makes a trip to the nation's
capital at some time of the year, whether for you know,
business or for pleasure. And you know, it just so
happens to be that what I'm doing right now, in
(05:12):
the time that I'm doing it, it's basically ensure that
prespeech is never under thrown again. And yeah, I'm just
a cognitive wheel. I'm not going to be the one
who says all of it, but I'm happy to do
my part and I will, you know.
Speaker 1 (05:25):
Regardless of what people have to say.
Speaker 3 (05:27):
Like sure, the list that I had the list on
Twitter that that whole thing. Plus, some people think it
might be anti free speech because all I am is
blampooning people for making bad takes. Ultimately, it's more of
a suggestion rather than I am actually censoring you and
wanting you to never be able to say anything again.
(05:49):
That's an entirely different story.
Speaker 1 (05:50):
That's the left ones. They want.
Speaker 3 (05:52):
They want to shutter any dissent, any political or social
or cultural commentsary that they don't like. They want that suppressed,
and they want it silence, whereas I, you know, I'll
make fun of you for it, but you say what
you want to say, right.
Speaker 2 (06:07):
I think the way I would categorize that, Saraj Hashmi,
our guest is.
Speaker 1 (06:10):
You're actually providing a service. Saraja.
Speaker 2 (06:12):
Maybe these people don't know it, or they don't realize it,
or they don't appreciate it, but you are providing a
service by letting these people know, Hey, maybe take a
step back away from the phone.
Speaker 1 (06:22):
You don't have to rage tweet about every little thing.
Speaker 2 (06:25):
You don't have to say everything that comes into that
skull of yours, and that maybe, just maybe you're better
off in this particular moment censoring yourself. You're not censoring them.
You're just like you got to have a little bit
better filter. I think that's the service you provide.
Speaker 3 (06:39):
And I think another thing to add to is that
I've been on a Twitter break for the last one
fifty days, ever since Ramadan began. I don't know if
I ever want to stop. You know, it's giving me
a new perspective online and honestly, I go and check
in just to make sure that the world isn't on fire.
But all I'm seeing is like ebs and uh, you know,
(07:03):
the most like like rudimentary, most like basic flop just
to get engagement. Like it's an entirely different platform from
when you and I used to use it like pretty actively.
And ultimately, I don't know if it's it's definitely not
a good like microcosm of what's happening in the world.
(07:26):
I mean, people are still based with real problems. You know,
there's war, famine, death is disease, I mean, it's poverty.
I mean people are going through it, and I think
they're looking to our leaders to actually make sure that
they're taken care of them. You know, a lot of
them are focused on fostering political postering across such some
(07:49):
left and right, But I think more by and large,
I think what you're seeing coming from this administration is
at least a concerted effort to make things better. And sure,
I might be in popular to the many, because obviously
the less is basically captured pretty much all of corporate media,
(08:10):
so that they can push whatever agenda and narrative they like,
and if they hate what you're doing, they will basically
do everything in their power to silence to basically attack
you for it. And that's what you've basically seen with
President Trump, is that anything that he does, the media
reacts in sort of a very visceral and oftentimes dramatic way,
(08:31):
and it's it stands in the way of actual progress.
Is actual change that's needed for this country. So I'm
really happy that President Trump is fulfill the you know, no,
no president is perfect, right, Like I think I look
at look at Trump two point zero with a bit
more critical lens. And even in my first and even
(08:54):
in his first term when I was a liberal, then
like I would be more reactive and more uh oh,
I would they overreact to a lot.
Speaker 1 (09:01):
Of his things.
Speaker 3 (09:01):
Now I'm just looking at it like, Okay, I think
this is good. Okay, I don't know why he did that.
That doesn't seem to be the overall you know, I
don't think that pushes us in the right direction, but
you know, that's how it should be for every president,
Like you can think. I think that's where the dividing
line has done for a lot of people, a lot
of Americans, is that they think that everything that particular
(09:25):
president does is Dad versus you know, everything that the
president does as good.
Speaker 1 (09:31):
But there's always.
Speaker 3 (09:32):
That middle ground where you're like, all right, I can
actually objectively look at this president and say I think
he's doing an overall good job. And yeah, there are
some faults here and there, but by and large, we're
getting we're going in a better direction than when we
were underbided.
Speaker 2 (09:48):
Sarah Hashmi our guest joining me from Fairfax, Virginia, where
he blew out a tire on one of the roads
there in northern Virginia around the Capitol. I'm fascinated. You're
touching on some of it. But the reaction that we're
getting from various members of the left, and it really
spans the spectrum. For instance, Bill Maher just had dinner
(10:10):
with President Trump, and he reported honestly and accurately in
the aftermath that you know what, he was actually a warm, genuine,
accommodating guy.
Speaker 1 (10:18):
And I had a good time.
Speaker 2 (10:20):
Governor Gavin Newsom is coming on with Bill Maher and
talking about no trans females should not be participating in
girls and women's sports, and he's taken a lot of
heat from his left. It seems like Newsom can handle it.
Bill Maher doesn't care. He's going to get an audience
and he's going to go wherever that leads him, and
people are going to follow him because I think he's
intellectually honest for the most part in where he stands,
(10:42):
and he's always said he doesn't care for President Trump,
and yet.
Speaker 1 (10:45):
He had that conversation.
Speaker 2 (10:46):
But what I'm seeing, Sarage, is this dangerous element of
the far left and those that might run for president,
not talking about Newsom, but that are deathly afraid of it.
For instance, Governor Josh Shapiro to be a strong candidate,
Jewish governor Democrat of Pennsylvania, just had his house firebombed
by a far leftist who was part of Black Lives Matter.
(11:08):
Then had this incident with Governor Gretchen Whitmer from Michigan.
Speaker 1 (11:13):
She didn't even want her face.
Speaker 2 (11:14):
Shown in a photo when she visited the Oval Office
to talk to Trump about tariffs and how they affected
the auto industry.
Speaker 1 (11:20):
Here was her explanation.
Speaker 4 (11:22):
You asked me what was going through your mind at
that moment, and it was, I don't want my picture taken,
That's all it was. I kind of wish I hadn't
put my folder up in front of my face, but whatever,
you know, I was there, Queen. I just wrote a
book about learning to laugh at yourself, so I'm pretty
good at it. And we all make you know, we
all have.
Speaker 2 (11:40):
Armand I'm not sure that she would have done that
in President Biden's Oval office. Therefore, why did she put
the folder in front of a face? I would contend,
Saraj that there's so many of these so called mainstream
Democrats pretending to be center left Democrats that are terrified
of those that occupy the political space to their left,
like AOC or Bernie Sanders, and even more frighteningly, the
(12:01):
radical left that's firebombing Tesla and charges stations. What do
you make of this Democratic party and where it is
right now?
Speaker 3 (12:10):
This is actually when you have you know, when you
have an animal backed into a corner, this is when
they're the most violent. And I think the same was.
I don't like to make a comparison to an actual
terrorist organization, but for example, when the fight was being
taken to Isis during the Trump Trump one point zero administration,
(12:32):
it was at it's probably at its peak like intensity
in terms of violence. So I think you're seeing those
radical elements sort of manifest itself in even more violent
and more visceral ways. And I mean, if you want
to make the argument that leftism is a terrorist ideology,
you can, because I mean, what is it really actually
(12:54):
what good is it actually done for the world? Right,
I can't really argue that it has actually done really
any gift of the world. All of a sudden, is
brainwashed its cohorts, it's adherents and followers into believing that
everyone to the right of Stalin needs to die or
submit to their will. And to me, that sounds more
like a that sounds more like a fanatical ideology and
(13:17):
than you know, radical Islamic terrorism or even the branch Davidians.
I mean, these are the types of ideologies that get
you know, people put on on government watch lists and
I think it's actually interesting that we are actually treating
the scourge of these radical leftist ideologies with such disdain.
(13:39):
And I think a lot of Americans are waking up
to it because they realize, Hey, this isn't actually all
of America. This is a very small, niche group of
people that are poisoning the well of political discourse and
civil society and making people, what is, worse off instead
of better off. So, yeah, what good has leftism done?
Speaker 1 (13:58):
I haven't seen it.
Speaker 3 (13:59):
At a point point example.
Speaker 1 (14:01):
I would love to see that example.
Speaker 3 (14:02):
Sure round radio, maybe someone will take this out and
make it viral, But I love, I would love to
be challenged to the whether leftism is actually good for
this country or good for anyone. You can't, You can't
con It's very hard to convince me as someone who
is a former leftist and realizing that this is how
to manipulate the well the people. You know, it's it's
(14:23):
good that we're taking the fight to them.
Speaker 2 (14:25):
Sarraj Hashman you can find him on X and he's
joining me from Northern Virginia and extending on that point
a little bit more. You have these radical elements that
aren't even being rejected by high profile figures in the left.
For instance, a guy that I really like and he's
really disappointed me lately is comedian Bill Burr, who said
(14:46):
free Luigi during one of his media appearances. Jimmy Kimmel's
making jokes about a guy that murdered a healthcare ceo.
And then there's the likes of Taylor Lorenz saying this
about Luigi Angoni, who is on trial for murder and
maybe given the death penalty.
Speaker 1 (15:04):
The women who got her outside coorsh New York.
Speaker 5 (15:08):
So you're going to see women especially that you're like,
oh my god, right, Like, here's this man who who's
the revolutionary, who's famous, who's handsome, who's young, who's smart,
He's a person that seems as like this morally good man,
which is hard to.
Speaker 1 (15:24):
Find morally good man.
Speaker 2 (15:28):
The rest of that description, Saraj, I'm a little bit
older than you, but I can recall media coverage at
a time of a certain individual who was representing himself
in court as his own attorney, and that was serial
killer Ted Bundy, that many women were saying these same
things about what gives here?
Speaker 3 (15:47):
You know, the horniness is off the charts here. I mean,
it's honestly as simple as that. Tell people what not
think these things about Luigi MANNGIONI if they were not
horny for him. And I don't know what the deal
is with Bill Burr. Maybe maybe he's been compromised for
some time. I mean I used to be a big fan.
(16:07):
You know, I don't really listen to this stuff much anymore.
But also, you know, I don't like go after like
every single comedian for everything they say, because let's be honest,
they're kind of designed to shock and create sort of
you know, be a be provocative and and but like
with Taylor Lorenz, like that's this classic that's just a
(16:29):
classic case of horniness and she needs to get that
thick immediately.
Speaker 2 (16:34):
Saraj, final couple of minutes we have left here? Where
can the people go to find what you're working on?
You mentioned rumble. I know that the Habibi Brothers podcast,
which we so dearly love, has been on hiatus with
Jay and so forth.
Speaker 1 (16:46):
But what does the future hold for you? And how
can the people follow you?
Speaker 3 (16:49):
Yeah, you know, I haven't really told really anyone, but
Jay and I made the decision that we're just going
to end the show just because we don't have the
time for it. And you know what I'm working. I'm
working on me, I'm working on my family. I'm working
on my on raising my daughter. And you know, I'm
just trying to live the best life I can. And honestly,
I have never been happier than I am right now.
(17:11):
And there are so many things that I'm blessed with.
Speaker 1 (17:14):
You know.
Speaker 3 (17:14):
I can't really like broadcast because I don't think people
will understand, nor would they care. But you know what,
that's okay. I think there's a lot of things I'm
working on in the behind the scenes. I love to
reveal shortly, but in the meantime you just have to
wait in suspense.
Speaker 2 (17:28):
Man, oh, you always do that to me. But you
got to promise me this. When you're ready to break
that news, you'll do it right here.
Speaker 1 (17:34):
I got you.
Speaker 3 (17:35):
Don't worry, Mandy. I always got you. You're my number one.
Speaker 2 (17:39):
Mandy. Oh, Mandy, you came and you gave without taking.
Saraj Hashmi joining us from Nova, Northern Virginia and Fairfax.
Good luck to him getting that tire fixed at a Costco.
You can follow him on X It's saraj A Hashmi.
He truly is one of the most important footprints out
there on the X platform.
Speaker 1 (17:59):
I mentioned and also Stephen L.
Speaker 2 (18:01):
Miller who comes on this program and he unfortunately had
an emergency veterinary visit in addition to being ill and himself.
So we appreciate Saraj stepping up in a big way.
He is the creator of the list which comes for all.
It's not unlike when you look at the Friday Fool
of the Week and we've just got to call this
stuff out for what it is. You have fun with it.
(18:22):
You know, you're not trying to censor anybody. That's the
last thing that either Saraj or I want to do
when it comes to Rashida to leeb or aoc or
Taylor Lorenz, who you just heard that's going to be
a strong nominee for Fool of the Week her fan
girling over Luigi MANNGIONI, my goodness, gracious, I don't know
where it ends, but I guess we'll find out soon enough. Well,
(18:44):
take this time out, we come back. Get to your
tax five seven, seven, three nine. Anything that you've heard
on today's program that you want to react to the
direction of the Democratic Party, including right here in Colorado,
the run for Governor Phil Wiser, Michael Bennett, and which
Republican might be standing in the way. That is TBD
as well here on Ryan Schuling.
Speaker 1 (19:04):
Live, Oh a soothing.
Speaker 2 (19:10):
Dulcit tones of Barry Manilow. Does Barry Manilo know that
you will rate his wardrobe? I guess the crew of
the Breakfast Club, the four starring teenagers were cast in
those roles icind of roles that they were just reunited
for the first time in over forty years, and.
Speaker 1 (19:32):
That was nice to see.
Speaker 2 (19:32):
I know that Anthony Michael Hall was there, Melly Ringwold,
Ali Sheety, Joe Nelson, Emilio Estevez. I got them all.
I named them all. It was Andy McCarthy, not that one.
Speaker 1 (19:45):
Not the legal.
Speaker 2 (19:47):
Expert, the former prosecuting attorney for the Southern District of
New York, wholl often goes on with Dan Caplis not
that Andy McCarthy.
Speaker 1 (19:54):
The actor. Andy McCarthy did a.
Speaker 2 (19:59):
Document general for Hulu, and I find it very fascinating
because he met up.
Speaker 1 (20:04):
With all the so called brat packers.
Speaker 2 (20:08):
From the eighties and those angst field filled teenage movies.
John Hughes was the director of many of those and
what John Hughes was able to do, and if you recall,
he was a baby boomer born in Lansing, Michigan on
my dad grew up in suburban Chicago, though, and that's
where most of his films are set.
Speaker 1 (20:25):
And what he was able to do as a baby.
Speaker 2 (20:27):
Boomer was tap into that generational feeling those of us
who were in Gen X were going through at that time.
We felt overlooked in many ways. We were we were
the latch key kid generation. We were the MTV generation.
Television raised us in many ways, and we were our
own babysitters. I was a babysitter at age like eleven
(20:51):
twelve for all my three younger siblings. At times my
mom had to go to the store, my dad was
at work.
Speaker 1 (20:57):
What are you can I do?
Speaker 2 (20:59):
And I was trusted with a lot of responsibility at
a very early age. I'd been grow up pretty fast.
And many of you that are of Gen X know
what I'm talking about. But the way that John Hughes
did it was he presented these young people as just that,
as people. They weren't cartoon cutouts, you know how kids
were kind of traditionally presented in films or even television
(21:21):
going back to the nineteen fifties.
Speaker 1 (21:23):
Or they weren't.
Speaker 2 (21:24):
They weren't serious individuals, hopes, dreams, fears. How do you
portray those on the silver screen?
Speaker 1 (21:31):
What is the music that's used?
Speaker 2 (21:32):
And that's where I got my affinity for the music
that Kelly hates so much and the synth pop new
wave kind of era music that was not it by
the way, Barry Manilow. The reason I was playing that
was the song Mandy, in reference to the great Mandy Connell.
Speaker 1 (21:49):
Sometimes I fill in for her over on KOA.
Speaker 2 (21:52):
Not anymore because our show's overlap now that I've gotten
this gig here at six thirty K, but I used to.
And when I would do that, we kind of bounce
around and he follow me onto whatever show I was
filling in for that day. And it became a running
bit that if I was filling for Mandy, he would
call me Mandy.
Speaker 1 (22:08):
If I was filling it for Ross, he would call
me Ross.
Speaker 2 (22:11):
If I was filling it for Leland on this program
and this time slot, he would call me Leland. And
even a couple of times I think he's come on
with me when I filled in for Dan, and yes,
he would call me Dan. So that's just kind of
stood the test of time, and I enjoy it because,
you know, keeps us all in check here, you know,
knowing that at any moment, this time slot, it could
(22:31):
be somebody else's and I'm just gonna steward it the
best that I can while I can.
Speaker 1 (22:35):
And I appreciate you joining me along for the ride.
Speaker 2 (22:38):
But to put a fine point on the documentary, which
if you haven't watched, I would invite you to do
so against Andanny McCarthy, it's about the brat pack and
the results and the responses that he got for that
were wide ranging. He was wanting to talk to everybody,
but neither Molly Ringwold nor Judd Nelson were able to
(23:00):
appear on it. Now, I don't know if that's because
they didn't want to or they had scheduling conflicts. Let's
be frank here, I'm not sure at this point the
stage of their careers if they couldn't have made some
time for Andy McCarthy and their former fellow brat packer.
And at first Andy was really hurt by that label
(23:21):
and he viewed it as a putdown. When Rob Lowe
was also included in this movie, so was Demi Moore.
I thought Rob Lowe's attitude was just great. Now it
might be easier for him, and I've talked about this
with Christian Toto. Easier for Rob Loow, who enjoyed a
tremendous career after his brat Pack days, as well for
him to look back with nostalgia. You know what, that
(23:42):
was a fun time. But he really put it in
perspective by he didn't even acknowledge it as a slant
against them.
Speaker 1 (23:49):
He goes, what are you talking about? He goes, it's
an homage.
Speaker 2 (23:52):
I thought to the rat Pack, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin,
Sammy Davis Junior, and he loved it and braced to
me more also didn't seem as affected by it. But
of course, like Rob low she enjoyed a tremendous career afterward.
Andy McCarthy's job opportunities pretty much dried up with the
(24:14):
Weekend at Bernie's and Weekend at Bernie's Too, one of
the most prolific sequels of all time. And then there
was Ali Sheety, who I just adored then and now,
and she just seems so down to earth and kind
of in the middle on it understood why Andy might
have been upset.
Speaker 1 (24:31):
By it, but just told him, don't let it get
to you.
Speaker 2 (24:33):
The other one that he interviewed about it, and Emilio
Estevez appeared with him kind of reluctantly, but he did
it because it was Andy. He was doing it as
a personal favor to him, and he was not a
fan of the tabloid coverage of the Brat Pack and
how they were portrayed, and he thought it it did
(24:54):
kind of diminish maybe the art they were trying to create.
But I think this goes into the realm of how
syrbviously do you take yourself. I think you have to
take in their shoes what they did seriously, the work,
the acting. You know, put your time in deliver a
great product and performance. But that's your work, you know,
and it defines you to a certain degree. It certainly does,
(25:17):
But you're still a person separate from that, and you
don't have to take every sling and arrow and slight
and criticism to heart and personally, and you can always
consider the source. And one of the great things about
the documentary was he was able to get the writer
who had coined the term the Brat Pack to appear
on with him, and he was kind of the same
(25:37):
guy now that he was then disdainful little bit of celebrities,
honest about that and told him straight up, told Andy
straight up exactly why he coined the term, what it
meant to him, and that it was to him at
that moment kind of a throwaway term, and it surprised
him that it caught fire and it really did. I
mean People Magazine, all of the teeny by opper magazines
(26:00):
at that time, it really did stick. And I looked
back at it with affection and endearment and nostalgia, just
the same way that Rob loaded. I mean, that's an era,
right That's a time in our lives, growing up as
gen xers in the eighties when life was quite different
than it is right now, and you went to the
movies and you went to the mall and those were
things that you did. And that's why I love the
(26:21):
show Stranger Things so much because of that true to
life replication of what it was like to grow up
back then. And they really promote the use of these
CB radios, which I got to say.
Speaker 1 (26:32):
I did not have. I mean I had one, but it.
Speaker 2 (26:34):
Wasn't as sophisticated as a lot of these young science
nerds had on Stranger Things. But I think it's cool,
But there was otherwise. There was no email, no text messaging,
no cell phones. You could try to call, but the
parents might answer. You don't want them in on your conversation.
Maybe you have a teen line, maybe you're really lucky
in that way, but maybe you don't. So you had
to get together, you had to plan a time, and
(26:56):
once you were out, you were out. And what I
find remarkable is it's a pair of twin brothers that
created Stranger Things.
Speaker 1 (27:02):
And I'm sitting there watching them going.
Speaker 2 (27:04):
These guys are pretty young, like I don't know that
they actually remember growing up in the time period they
are portraying, which is like early to mid eighties on
the show Stranger Things.
Speaker 1 (27:15):
So I'm just I would really liked it.
Speaker 2 (27:17):
Maybe I'll get that chance to interview them sometime and go,
where did you come up with this idea and the
fact that it predates your youth experience by a few years.
I want to say they were born early eighties, if
I have that right, and just why they were so
committed to portraying that period in time. I know that
one of the first nostalgic pieces that I watched with
(27:39):
my parents when I was a kid. This was in
the mid to late eighties, late eighties, the Wonder Years, and.
Speaker 1 (27:43):
They loved it.
Speaker 2 (27:44):
They loved the nesult, they loved the music, They love
the wardrobes, you know, they loved how things were portrayed
for those days gone by where they had grown up.
And now, of course I look back with that same
fondness on growing up in the eighties. Five seven, seven
thirty nine the number two ten in We'll take this
final time out, wrap it up for this Tuesday edition
of Ryan Shuling Live.
Speaker 1 (28:05):
After this, if they.
Speaker 2 (28:09):
Are a more iconic eighties song than this one, I
would say the answer is nay. This is it from
the Breakfast Club Judd Nelson fist in the air freeze
frame cut to dark at the very end of that
film as he walks across the football field. I mean,
that's it, right. Can you think of one a song
(28:30):
for those of you especially grew up during the area,
or even if you didn't, that is.
Speaker 1 (28:34):
More iconically Eighties than Simple Minds? Don't you Forget about Me?
Speaker 2 (28:39):
And now that I've played that, I realize I have
to clarify something because Amy poor thing messages me, Hi, Ryan,
did I hear you correctly?
Speaker 1 (28:47):
This is your last show? No?
Speaker 2 (28:49):
No, no, I mean I was just kind of waxing, nostalgic.
No for those halcionic days when I would fill in
on everybody else's show, including.
Speaker 1 (28:57):
Mandy Connell, who is in our listening audience. And I
appreciate that.
Speaker 2 (29:01):
And she said stop talking bad about Barry meaning man
a law. I didn't start it. And the whole scene
where the teacher who was running the detention on Saturday.
Do they still even do that detention on Saturdays? First
of all, it's terrible for the kids, But never mind
that you got a teacher who's gonna all go ahead
(29:22):
and run detention on Saturday morning and give up my weekend.
That's punishment for the teacher. I never understood that. I mean, yeah,
they used to do that. But anyway, he was the
one being mocked by John Bender, you know, because he
bends the rules. Bender portrayed by John Nelson for rating
Barry Manilow's war trope and the other kids laugh, And
(29:44):
of course a teacher doesn't appreciate that whatsoever. But no,
I'm not going anywhere at least as far as I know.
I mean, anything could change. I'm just telling you, I
gotta get a head on a swivel. You just never know,
so I'm always prepared, and I always I would say this,
I always try to treat this show like could be
the last, because I don't want to go out on
a sour note. So you're getting the best that I've got,
(30:05):
although they can't all be winners, and I understand that
and I acknowledge it, and all I ask for is
a little bit of patience and leeway from all of you.
And you've been so kind, so kind to me since
I started hosting this time slot, and I appreciate you endlessly.
This from a text, he picks up what I'm putting down.
I'm assuming it's a heat. Maybe it's not.
Speaker 1 (30:25):
Ryan.
Speaker 2 (30:25):
I'm feeling old, but only because those John Hughes days
were roughly forty years ago.
Speaker 1 (30:30):
I'm fifty five, but otherwise feel thirty five.
Speaker 2 (30:33):
Texter. I have those days, so I'm fifty, And I
would say overall, yeah, I'm fifty because there are days
where I fool myself or my body fools myself. I
go out, maybe play tennis, maybe be okay, but maybe not.
And then suddenly you hurt something, you pull something, you
(30:54):
strain something, you don't know how, you have no idea,
and then you're needing massage therapy or a chiropractor or
or potentially an acupuncture, which I strongly recommend. Oh, this
is a good, good suggestion five seven to seven three nine, Ryan,
I think the song Footloose could give that song a
run for its money as the iconic song of the
(31:15):
eighties at Kenny Loggins Footloose, great theme movie. Kevin Bacon.
I mean, everybody's got six degrees of Kevin Bacon. You
know somebody that is within five degrees of Kevin Bacon.
That person that you know is within four degrees. You're
in no more than six degrees away from Kevin Bacon
at any one time on this planet.
Speaker 1 (31:33):
That's what I've been told.
Speaker 2 (31:34):
Anyway, as far as John Hughes, it's hard to believe,
but he has now been gone for almost sixteen years.
He died at a relatively young age fifty nine in
two thousand and nine. I believe he had a heart
attack after jogging, and it was really I remember that
a sad and unexpected death. And for all the joy
(31:56):
that he brought with his movies in the eighties, and
what a run he had. He certainly did box office
gold in so many ways. And I was talking about
the Duffer brothers earlier. These are the two, Matt and
Ross Duffer. They're geniuses. They're really smart guys, really well
conceived and delivered Show Stranger Things. And there will be
(32:16):
another season coming out this fall, I believe October, if
I'm not mistaken. But again, it is set. It starts
I think in either nineteen eighty two or eighty three,
and then each season is one year forward from that one,
and I think the last one's going to be eighty
seven if I'm not mistaken. But the thing is, these
two are twin brothers and they were born February of
(32:39):
nineteen eighty four. If they have memories of the eighties,
they are akin to Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen's memories
of the eighties on Full House on that show, which
I have to believe are very limited. But there's I'm
telling you, there is something about that era of music,
of pop culture, of art of movies that stands the
(33:05):
test of time. Is harder to say, because a lot
of it does appear, I agree, kind of dated and
kitchee and so, but there's a certain charm in that,
and I don't think there's been a decade maybe outside
of the fifties. You know where you had Elvis Presley
and you know the original rock and roll, and there
were a lot of fifties themed restaurants, as I recall
when I was growing up in the eighties to appeal
(33:26):
to that previous generation. But I'll tell you when I
was driving Uber and Lyft, I would try to because
I have a Spotify subscription. What that allows me to
do is I can create a station. Many of you
already know this, but you can overlap used to be
able to do up to ten artists and it'll like
create a station for you with no advertisement interruption because
(33:49):
you pay for the subscription and without fail. A lot
of times I would pick up I would say gen Z's,
they're downtown, maybe going out to the bar or a
sporting event, something like that.
Speaker 1 (34:00):
I always got rave reviews for the music. It was dialed.
Speaker 2 (34:05):
In to an eighties type station, eighties pop, eighties new wave,
just eighties oriented music in general.
Speaker 1 (34:14):
Oh I love this.
Speaker 2 (34:15):
And then but the part of that make me feel
old to the Texter's point of ah, this is why
my parents listened to like, Oh, I guess that would be.
Speaker 1 (34:23):
I'm glad that you enjoy it, though, So.
Speaker 2 (34:25):
I get a certain sense of satisfaction that that my
pop culture experience, while dated, and I acknowledge that it's
still kind of cool with the younger crowd. And I'm
not gonna I'm not gonna turn that in. I'm gonna
hold on to that one, and you can't take it
from me another one. This is also Kenny Loggins. How
about danger Zone the theme to Top Gun. I don't
(34:46):
only convinced an entire generation of high school graduates to
join the military. That that alone was recruitment video enough.
You're right Top Gun for the Navy, et cetera. And
then think about the repri You're talking about the younger
kids coming through and now they see their younger movie
stars in Maverick and there's still Tom Cruise, there's still
(35:09):
Vale Kilmer. But it made it cool again, and it
made going into the movies cool again, and it made
the military cool again, and it came full circle in
a lot of really good ways. I'm glad we ended
the show on that note. I'll talk to you tomorrow.
Here I'm Ryan, schuling life.
In times of trouble.
Speaker 2 (00:01):
When I put the bat signal out, there is one
man that comes to the rescue, and his name is
Saraj hash me babe, And I have to say it
like that because it's just a name that you know.
Dennis Miller would have a lot of fun saying he
joined us here on Ryan Schuleing Live from Parts unknown,
at least until a few moments ago. A Saraj, why
don't you tell the good people where you call us
(00:22):
from or where I called.
Speaker 3 (00:23):
You, Mandy. It's just so wonderful to hear your voice again.
I am reporting to you live outside of a Costco
in Tarafax, Ordinia, waiting to pick up my car because
the roads here in DC are just absolutely phenomenal, like
best cop knots in the world. That my wife and
I have two cars and spend the three days of
(00:45):
being up here, we blew out tires on both of them.
Speaker 1 (00:50):
Good Lord Almighty.
Speaker 2 (00:51):
Now this feels a lot like the scene from Godfather
III when Michael Corleoni, portrayed by el Pat says, just
when I thought I.
Speaker 1 (01:02):
Was out, they pull me back in.
Speaker 2 (01:05):
And you, of course, in your past, Sarah, you've worked
in Washington d C. You got out of there, you
went to the free State of Florida. You were living
the good life. You had a beautiful wife, you got
a beautiful daughter, you got beautiful sunshine there, and all
of a sudden, you're back inside the Beltway. Tell us
what happened.
Speaker 3 (01:21):
I'm back in the swamp, and you know, it's there
really is no better way to put it, though you
probably hit the nail on the head saying, you know,
with the Godfather three references, it is. It does feel
like you're.
Speaker 1 (01:36):
Being pulled back in.
Speaker 3 (01:37):
Although here's the weird thing. It feels like I never left.
And that's the weird thing about it is that I'm here. Yeah,
certain things have changed, but largely the the whole vibe
that is d C.
Speaker 1 (01:51):
D C is d C.
Speaker 3 (01:52):
It is as much as like you say, President Trump
and his second term is trying to fix things. You know,
you can't really change the culture and one presidency. This
is generational, so we'll.
Speaker 1 (02:04):
See what happened.
Speaker 3 (02:05):
But I can tell you being up here a little
bit of culture shock, realizing that like, oh now I
have to keep my head on the swivel because literally
I could say anything or wear anything that might offend someone,
whereas like in Florida, like it's more like tough titty.
If you don't like what I'm wearing, you cann't have
to deal with it. Florida went plus thirteen for Trump.
(02:26):
Not the same case here in Virginia, but or DC
or Maryland. But it's uh, you know, times have definitely changed.
You can definitely feel a different There's a different vibe though,
compared to like the last four years under Biden and
then like Trump one point zero, like one point zero
is all resist, resist resists. Biden was just depressions. Now
(02:47):
I feel at least DC has like some energy back,
and it's not the one that you kind of see
from like the resist the left with leftist socialist agenda,
Like everybody can see through the charade, and I think,
I don't think there's a single person out there who
is actually worried about, you know, where this country is
(03:08):
heading now, simply because we had such a massive, you know,
pendulum swink for the right and then I actually feel
that America is actually getting back in the right direction,
and I'm just happy to be a part of it.
Speaker 1 (03:22):
I could feel that vibe too.
Speaker 2 (03:24):
I was there on inauguration day, January twentieth, and those
that had assembled to celebrate the inauguration of Donald Trump,
there was a spirit, there was a positivity I think
that had replaced what had been four years of a
great cloud.
Speaker 1 (03:38):
And even to your points, Sarage, the four.
Speaker 2 (03:40):
Years before that, the resist, resist, resist, and do everything
they can to obstruct Trump. Now the judges and the
courts are trying to do that, as we know right
now it's the deportation efforts. But I think it speaks
to your point about we're hopefully we're turning as a
country as a culture, and the return of Saraj hashed
Me to the belt is only a step forward in
(04:01):
that direction as well. He is formerly the Washington Examiner.
You can find him on ex It's Saraj a hash Me.
That's s I R A J letter a h A
s h M I. And you are still affiliate with Rumble.
And here's the good news on multiple fronts Sarage. Hopefully
your wife is getting a new job there, which you
told me, and you are able to set up shop
(04:22):
with Rumble because they have a DC based office. So
take us through what's going to happen for you personally
and professionally.
Speaker 3 (04:29):
Well, you know, this is a I love Florida, don't
get me wrong, but this is where the action is.
And I think in terms of helping the free speech movement,
you're really never anygether a better place to do it
than in the nation's capital. And while Sara so the
Florida and Florida in general just an obviously great place
to live, you know, it's kind of off the beaten path.
(04:51):
There's not a whole lot of transient folks there, so
like you can't you can't really meet people in person,
face to face as much as you can here in
d C. Almost everybody makes a trip to the nation's
capital at some time of the year, whether for you know,
business or for pleasure. And you know, it just so
happens to be that what I'm doing right now, in
(05:12):
the time that I'm doing it, it's basically ensure that
prespeech is never under thrown again. And yeah, I'm just
a cognitive wheel. I'm not going to be the one
who says all of it, but I'm happy to do
my part and I will, you know.
Speaker 1 (05:25):
Regardless of what people have to say.
Speaker 3 (05:27):
Like sure, the list that I had the list on
Twitter that that whole thing. Plus, some people think it
might be anti free speech because all I am is
blampooning people for making bad takes. Ultimately, it's more of
a suggestion rather than I am actually censoring you and
wanting you to never be able to say anything again.
(05:49):
That's an entirely different story.
Speaker 1 (05:50):
That's the left ones. They want.
Speaker 3 (05:52):
They want to shutter any dissent, any political or social
or cultural commentsary that they don't like. They want that suppressed,
and they want it silence, whereas I, you know, I'll
make fun of you for it, but you say what
you want to say, right.
Speaker 2 (06:07):
I think the way I would categorize that, Saraj Hashmi,
our guest is.
Speaker 1 (06:10):
You're actually providing a service. Saraja.
Speaker 2 (06:12):
Maybe these people don't know it, or they don't realize it,
or they don't appreciate it, but you are providing a
service by letting these people know, Hey, maybe take a
step back away from the phone.
Speaker 1 (06:22):
You don't have to rage tweet about every little thing.
Speaker 2 (06:25):
You don't have to say everything that comes into that
skull of yours, and that maybe, just maybe you're better
off in this particular moment censoring yourself. You're not censoring them.
You're just like you got to have a little bit
better filter. I think that's the service you provide.
Speaker 3 (06:39):
And I think another thing to add to is that
I've been on a Twitter break for the last one
fifty days, ever since Ramadan began. I don't know if
I ever want to stop. You know, it's giving me
a new perspective online and honestly, I go and check
in just to make sure that the world isn't on fire.
But all I'm seeing is like ebs and uh, you know,
(07:03):
the most like like rudimentary, most like basic flop just
to get engagement. Like it's an entirely different platform from
when you and I used to use it like pretty actively.
And ultimately, I don't know if it's it's definitely not
a good like microcosm of what's happening in the world.
(07:26):
I mean, people are still based with real problems. You know,
there's war, famine, death is disease, I mean, it's poverty.
I mean people are going through it, and I think
they're looking to our leaders to actually make sure that
they're taken care of them. You know, a lot of
them are focused on fostering political postering across such some
(07:49):
left and right, But I think more by and large,
I think what you're seeing coming from this administration is
at least a concerted effort to make things better. And sure,
I might be in popular to the many, because obviously
the less is basically captured pretty much all of corporate media,
(08:10):
so that they can push whatever agenda and narrative they like,
and if they hate what you're doing, they will basically
do everything in their power to silence to basically attack
you for it. And that's what you've basically seen with
President Trump, is that anything that he does, the media
reacts in sort of a very visceral and oftentimes dramatic way,
(08:31):
and it's it stands in the way of actual progress.
Is actual change that's needed for this country. So I'm
really happy that President Trump is fulfill the you know, no,
no president is perfect, right, Like I think I look
at look at Trump two point zero with a bit
more critical lens. And even in my first and even
(08:54):
in his first term when I was a liberal, then
like I would be more reactive and more uh oh,
I would they overreact to a lot.
Speaker 1 (09:01):
Of his things.
Speaker 3 (09:01):
Now I'm just looking at it like, Okay, I think
this is good. Okay, I don't know why he did that.
That doesn't seem to be the overall you know, I
don't think that pushes us in the right direction, but
you know, that's how it should be for every president,
Like you can think. I think that's where the dividing
line has done for a lot of people, a lot
of Americans, is that they think that everything that particular
(09:25):
president does is Dad versus you know, everything that the
president does as good.
Speaker 1 (09:31):
But there's always.
Speaker 3 (09:32):
That middle ground where you're like, all right, I can
actually objectively look at this president and say I think
he's doing an overall good job. And yeah, there are
some faults here and there, but by and large, we're
getting we're going in a better direction than when we
were underbided.
Speaker 2 (09:48):
Sarah Hashmi our guest joining me from Fairfax, Virginia, where
he blew out a tire on one of the roads
there in northern Virginia around the Capitol. I'm fascinated. You're
touching on some of it. But the reaction that we're
getting from various members of the left, and it really
spans the spectrum. For instance, Bill Maher just had dinner
(10:10):
with President Trump, and he reported honestly and accurately in
the aftermath that you know what, he was actually a warm, genuine,
accommodating guy.
Speaker 1 (10:18):
And I had a good time.
Speaker 2 (10:20):
Governor Gavin Newsom is coming on with Bill Maher and
talking about no trans females should not be participating in
girls and women's sports, and he's taken a lot of
heat from his left. It seems like Newsom can handle it.
Bill Maher doesn't care. He's going to get an audience
and he's going to go wherever that leads him, and
people are going to follow him because I think he's
intellectually honest for the most part in where he stands,
(10:42):
and he's always said he doesn't care for President Trump,
and yet.
Speaker 1 (10:45):
He had that conversation.
Speaker 2 (10:46):
But what I'm seeing, Sarage, is this dangerous element of
the far left and those that might run for president,
not talking about Newsom, but that are deathly afraid of it.
For instance, Governor Josh Shapiro to be a strong candidate,
Jewish governor Democrat of Pennsylvania, just had his house firebombed
by a far leftist who was part of Black Lives Matter.
(11:08):
Then had this incident with Governor Gretchen Whitmer from Michigan.
Speaker 1 (11:13):
She didn't even want her face.
Speaker 2 (11:14):
Shown in a photo when she visited the Oval Office
to talk to Trump about tariffs and how they affected
the auto industry.
Speaker 1 (11:20):
Here was her explanation.
Speaker 4 (11:22):
You asked me what was going through your mind at
that moment, and it was, I don't want my picture taken,
That's all it was. I kind of wish I hadn't
put my folder up in front of my face, but whatever,
you know, I was there, Queen. I just wrote a
book about learning to laugh at yourself, so I'm pretty
good at it. And we all make you know, we
all have.
Speaker 2 (11:40):
Armand I'm not sure that she would have done that
in President Biden's Oval office. Therefore, why did she put
the folder in front of a face? I would contend,
Saraj that there's so many of these so called mainstream
Democrats pretending to be center left Democrats that are terrified
of those that occupy the political space to their left,
like AOC or Bernie Sanders, and even more frighteningly, the
(12:01):
radical left that's firebombing Tesla and charges stations. What do
you make of this Democratic party and where it is
right now?
Speaker 3 (12:10):
This is actually when you have you know, when you
have an animal backed into a corner, this is when
they're the most violent. And I think the same was.
I don't like to make a comparison to an actual
terrorist organization, but for example, when the fight was being
taken to Isis during the Trump Trump one point zero administration,
(12:32):
it was at it's probably at its peak like intensity
in terms of violence. So I think you're seeing those
radical elements sort of manifest itself in even more violent
and more visceral ways. And I mean, if you want
to make the argument that leftism is a terrorist ideology,
you can, because I mean, what is it really actually
(12:54):
what good is it actually done for the world? Right,
I can't really argue that it has actually done really
any gift of the world. All of a sudden, is
brainwashed its cohorts, it's adherents and followers into believing that
everyone to the right of Stalin needs to die or
submit to their will. And to me, that sounds more
like a that sounds more like a fanatical ideology and
(13:17):
than you know, radical Islamic terrorism or even the branch Davidians.
I mean, these are the types of ideologies that get
you know, people put on on government watch lists and
I think it's actually interesting that we are actually treating
the scourge of these radical leftist ideologies with such disdain.
(13:39):
And I think a lot of Americans are waking up
to it because they realize, Hey, this isn't actually all
of America. This is a very small, niche group of
people that are poisoning the well of political discourse and
civil society and making people, what is, worse off instead
of better off. So, yeah, what good has leftism done?
Speaker 1 (13:58):
I haven't seen it.
Speaker 3 (13:59):
At a point point example.
Speaker 1 (14:01):
I would love to see that example.
Speaker 3 (14:02):
Sure round radio, maybe someone will take this out and
make it viral, But I love, I would love to
be challenged to the whether leftism is actually good for
this country or good for anyone. You can't, You can't
con It's very hard to convince me as someone who
is a former leftist and realizing that this is how
to manipulate the well the people. You know, it's it's
(14:23):
good that we're taking the fight to them.
Speaker 2 (14:25):
Sarraj Hashman you can find him on X and he's
joining me from Northern Virginia and extending on that point
a little bit more. You have these radical elements that
aren't even being rejected by high profile figures in the left.
For instance, a guy that I really like and he's
really disappointed me lately is comedian Bill Burr, who said
(14:46):
free Luigi during one of his media appearances. Jimmy Kimmel's
making jokes about a guy that murdered a healthcare ceo.
And then there's the likes of Taylor Lorenz saying this
about Luigi Angoni, who is on trial for murder and
maybe given the death penalty.
Speaker 1 (15:04):
The women who got her outside coorsh New York.
Speaker 5 (15:08):
So you're going to see women especially that you're like,
oh my god, right, Like, here's this man who who's
the revolutionary, who's famous, who's handsome, who's young, who's smart,
He's a person that seems as like this morally good man,
which is hard to.
Speaker 1 (15:24):
Find morally good man.
Speaker 2 (15:28):
The rest of that description, Saraj, I'm a little bit
older than you, but I can recall media coverage at
a time of a certain individual who was representing himself
in court as his own attorney, and that was serial
killer Ted Bundy, that many women were saying these same
things about what gives here?
Speaker 3 (15:47):
You know, the horniness is off the charts here. I mean,
it's honestly as simple as that. Tell people what not
think these things about Luigi MANNGIONI if they were not
horny for him. And I don't know what the deal
is with Bill Burr. Maybe maybe he's been compromised for
some time. I mean I used to be a big fan.
(16:07):
You know, I don't really listen to this stuff much anymore.
But also, you know, I don't like go after like
every single comedian for everything they say, because let's be honest,
they're kind of designed to shock and create sort of
you know, be a be provocative and and but like
with Taylor Lorenz, like that's this classic that's just a
(16:29):
classic case of horniness and she needs to get that
thick immediately.
Speaker 2 (16:34):
Saraj, final couple of minutes we have left here? Where
can the people go to find what you're working on?
You mentioned rumble. I know that the Habibi Brothers podcast,
which we so dearly love, has been on hiatus with
Jay and so forth.
Speaker 1 (16:46):
But what does the future hold for you? And how
can the people follow you?
Speaker 3 (16:49):
Yeah, you know, I haven't really told really anyone, but
Jay and I made the decision that we're just going
to end the show just because we don't have the
time for it. And you know what I'm working. I'm
working on me, I'm working on my family. I'm working
on my on raising my daughter. And you know, I'm
just trying to live the best life I can. And honestly,
I have never been happier than I am right now.
(17:11):
And there are so many things that I'm blessed with.
Speaker 1 (17:14):
You know.
Speaker 3 (17:14):
I can't really like broadcast because I don't think people
will understand, nor would they care. But you know what,
that's okay. I think there's a lot of things I'm
working on in the behind the scenes. I love to
reveal shortly, but in the meantime you just have to
wait in suspense.
Speaker 2 (17:28):
Man, oh, you always do that to me. But you
got to promise me this. When you're ready to break
that news, you'll do it right here.
Speaker 1 (17:34):
I got you.
Speaker 3 (17:35):
Don't worry, Mandy. I always got you. You're my number one.
Speaker 2 (17:39):
Mandy. Oh, Mandy, you came and you gave without taking.
Saraj Hashmi joining us from Nova, Northern Virginia and Fairfax.
Good luck to him getting that tire fixed at a Costco.
You can follow him on X It's saraj A Hashmi.
He truly is one of the most important footprints out
there on the X platform.
Speaker 1 (17:59):
I mentioned and also Stephen L.
Speaker 2 (18:01):
Miller who comes on this program and he unfortunately had
an emergency veterinary visit in addition to being ill and himself.
So we appreciate Saraj stepping up in a big way.
He is the creator of the list which comes for all.
It's not unlike when you look at the Friday Fool
of the Week and we've just got to call this
stuff out for what it is. You have fun with it.
(18:22):
You know, you're not trying to censor anybody. That's the
last thing that either Saraj or I want to do
when it comes to Rashida to leeb or aoc or
Taylor Lorenz, who you just heard that's going to be
a strong nominee for Fool of the Week her fan
girling over Luigi MANNGIONI, my goodness, gracious, I don't know
where it ends, but I guess we'll find out soon enough. Well,
(18:44):
take this time out, we come back. Get to your
tax five seven, seven, three nine. Anything that you've heard
on today's program that you want to react to the
direction of the Democratic Party, including right here in Colorado,
the run for Governor Phil Wiser, Michael Bennett, and which
Republican might be standing in the way. That is TBD
as well here on Ryan Schuling.
Speaker 1 (19:04):
Live, Oh a soothing.
Speaker 2 (19:10):
Dulcit tones of Barry Manilow. Does Barry Manilo know that
you will rate his wardrobe? I guess the crew of
the Breakfast Club, the four starring teenagers were cast in
those roles icind of roles that they were just reunited
for the first time in over forty years, and.
Speaker 1 (19:32):
That was nice to see.
Speaker 2 (19:32):
I know that Anthony Michael Hall was there, Melly Ringwold,
Ali Sheety, Joe Nelson, Emilio Estevez. I got them all.
I named them all. It was Andy McCarthy, not that one.
Speaker 1 (19:45):
Not the legal.
Speaker 2 (19:47):
Expert, the former prosecuting attorney for the Southern District of
New York, wholl often goes on with Dan Caplis not
that Andy McCarthy.
Speaker 1 (19:54):
The actor. Andy McCarthy did a.
Speaker 2 (19:59):
Document general for Hulu, and I find it very fascinating
because he met up.
Speaker 1 (20:04):
With all the so called brat packers.
Speaker 2 (20:08):
From the eighties and those angst field filled teenage movies.
John Hughes was the director of many of those and
what John Hughes was able to do, and if you recall,
he was a baby boomer born in Lansing, Michigan on
my dad grew up in suburban Chicago, though, and that's
where most of his films are set.
Speaker 1 (20:25):
And what he was able to do as a baby.
Speaker 2 (20:27):
Boomer was tap into that generational feeling those of us
who were in Gen X were going through at that time.
We felt overlooked in many ways. We were we were
the latch key kid generation. We were the MTV generation.
Television raised us in many ways, and we were our
own babysitters. I was a babysitter at age like eleven
(20:51):
twelve for all my three younger siblings. At times my
mom had to go to the store, my dad was
at work.
Speaker 1 (20:57):
What are you can I do?
Speaker 2 (20:59):
And I was trusted with a lot of responsibility at
a very early age. I'd been grow up pretty fast.
And many of you that are of Gen X know
what I'm talking about. But the way that John Hughes
did it was he presented these young people as just that,
as people. They weren't cartoon cutouts, you know how kids
were kind of traditionally presented in films or even television
(21:21):
going back to the nineteen fifties.
Speaker 1 (21:23):
Or they weren't.
Speaker 2 (21:24):
They weren't serious individuals, hopes, dreams, fears. How do you
portray those on the silver screen?
Speaker 1 (21:31):
What is the music that's used?
Speaker 2 (21:32):
And that's where I got my affinity for the music
that Kelly hates so much and the synth pop new
wave kind of era music that was not it by
the way, Barry Manilow. The reason I was playing that
was the song Mandy, in reference to the great Mandy Connell.
Speaker 1 (21:49):
Sometimes I fill in for her over on KOA.
Speaker 2 (21:52):
Not anymore because our show's overlap now that I've gotten
this gig here at six thirty K, but I used to.
And when I would do that, we kind of bounce
around and he follow me onto whatever show I was
filling in for that day. And it became a running
bit that if I was filling for Mandy, he would
call me Mandy.
Speaker 1 (22:08):
If I was filling it for Ross, he would call
me Ross.
Speaker 2 (22:11):
If I was filling it for Leland on this program
and this time slot, he would call me Leland. And
even a couple of times I think he's come on
with me when I filled in for Dan, and yes,
he would call me Dan. So that's just kind of
stood the test of time, and I enjoy it because,
you know, keeps us all in check here, you know,
knowing that at any moment, this time slot, it could
(22:31):
be somebody else's and I'm just gonna steward it the
best that I can while I can.
Speaker 1 (22:35):
And I appreciate you joining me along for the ride.
Speaker 2 (22:38):
But to put a fine point on the documentary, which
if you haven't watched, I would invite you to do
so against Andanny McCarthy, it's about the brat pack and
the results and the responses that he got for that
were wide ranging. He was wanting to talk to everybody,
but neither Molly Ringwold nor Judd Nelson were able to
(23:00):
appear on it. Now, I don't know if that's because
they didn't want to or they had scheduling conflicts. Let's
be frank here, I'm not sure at this point the
stage of their careers if they couldn't have made some
time for Andy McCarthy and their former fellow brat packer.
And at first Andy was really hurt by that label
(23:21):
and he viewed it as a putdown. When Rob Lowe
was also included in this movie, so was Demi Moore.
I thought Rob Lowe's attitude was just great. Now it
might be easier for him, and I've talked about this
with Christian Toto. Easier for Rob Loow, who enjoyed a
tremendous career after his brat Pack days, as well for
him to look back with nostalgia. You know what, that
(23:42):
was a fun time. But he really put it in
perspective by he didn't even acknowledge it as a slant
against them.
Speaker 1 (23:49):
He goes, what are you talking about? He goes, it's
an homage.
Speaker 2 (23:52):
I thought to the rat Pack, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin,
Sammy Davis Junior, and he loved it and braced to
me more also didn't seem as affected by it. But
of course, like Rob low she enjoyed a tremendous career afterward.
Andy McCarthy's job opportunities pretty much dried up with the
(24:14):
Weekend at Bernie's and Weekend at Bernie's Too, one of
the most prolific sequels of all time. And then there
was Ali Sheety, who I just adored then and now,
and she just seems so down to earth and kind
of in the middle on it understood why Andy might
have been upset.
Speaker 1 (24:31):
By it, but just told him, don't let it get
to you.
Speaker 2 (24:33):
The other one that he interviewed about it, and Emilio
Estevez appeared with him kind of reluctantly, but he did
it because it was Andy. He was doing it as
a personal favor to him, and he was not a
fan of the tabloid coverage of the Brat Pack and
how they were portrayed, and he thought it it did
(24:54):
kind of diminish maybe the art they were trying to create.
But I think this goes into the realm of how
syrbviously do you take yourself. I think you have to
take in their shoes what they did seriously, the work,
the acting. You know, put your time in deliver a
great product and performance. But that's your work, you know,
and it defines you to a certain degree. It certainly does,
(25:17):
But you're still a person separate from that, and you
don't have to take every sling and arrow and slight
and criticism to heart and personally, and you can always
consider the source. And one of the great things about
the documentary was he was able to get the writer
who had coined the term the Brat Pack to appear
on with him, and he was kind of the same
(25:37):
guy now that he was then disdainful little bit of celebrities,
honest about that and told him straight up, told Andy
straight up exactly why he coined the term, what it
meant to him, and that it was to him at
that moment kind of a throwaway term, and it surprised
him that it caught fire and it really did. I
mean People Magazine, all of the teeny by opper magazines
(26:00):
at that time, it really did stick. And I looked
back at it with affection and endearment and nostalgia, just
the same way that Rob loaded. I mean, that's an era,
right That's a time in our lives, growing up as
gen xers in the eighties when life was quite different
than it is right now, and you went to the
movies and you went to the mall and those were
things that you did. And that's why I love the
(26:21):
show Stranger Things so much because of that true to
life replication of what it was like to grow up
back then. And they really promote the use of these
CB radios, which I got to say.
Speaker 1 (26:32):
I did not have. I mean I had one, but it.
Speaker 2 (26:34):
Wasn't as sophisticated as a lot of these young science
nerds had on Stranger Things. But I think it's cool,
But there was otherwise. There was no email, no text messaging,
no cell phones. You could try to call, but the
parents might answer. You don't want them in on your conversation.
Maybe you have a teen line, maybe you're really lucky
in that way, but maybe you don't. So you had
to get together, you had to plan a time, and
(26:56):
once you were out, you were out. And what I
find remarkable is it's a pair of twin brothers that
created Stranger Things.
Speaker 1 (27:02):
And I'm sitting there watching them going.
Speaker 2 (27:04):
These guys are pretty young, like I don't know that
they actually remember growing up in the time period they
are portraying, which is like early to mid eighties on
the show Stranger Things.
Speaker 1 (27:15):
So I'm just I would really liked it.
Speaker 2 (27:17):
Maybe I'll get that chance to interview them sometime and go,
where did you come up with this idea and the
fact that it predates your youth experience by a few years.
I want to say they were born early eighties, if
I have that right, and just why they were so
committed to portraying that period in time. I know that
one of the first nostalgic pieces that I watched with
(27:39):
my parents when I was a kid. This was in
the mid to late eighties, late eighties, the Wonder Years, and.
Speaker 1 (27:43):
They loved it.
Speaker 2 (27:44):
They loved the nesult, they loved the music, They love
the wardrobes, you know, they loved how things were portrayed
for those days gone by where they had grown up.
And now, of course I look back with that same
fondness on growing up in the eighties. Five seven, seven
thirty nine the number two ten in We'll take this
final time out, wrap it up for this Tuesday edition
of Ryan Shuling Live.
Speaker 1 (28:05):
After this, if they.
Speaker 2 (28:09):
Are a more iconic eighties song than this one, I
would say the answer is nay. This is it from
the Breakfast Club Judd Nelson fist in the air freeze
frame cut to dark at the very end of that
film as he walks across the football field. I mean,
that's it, right. Can you think of one a song
(28:30):
for those of you especially grew up during the area,
or even if you didn't, that is.
Speaker 1 (28:34):
More iconically Eighties than Simple Minds? Don't you Forget about Me?
Speaker 2 (28:39):
And now that I've played that, I realize I have
to clarify something because Amy poor thing messages me, Hi, Ryan,
did I hear you correctly?
Speaker 1 (28:47):
This is your last show? No?
Speaker 2 (28:49):
No, no, I mean I was just kind of waxing, nostalgic.
No for those halcionic days when I would fill in
on everybody else's show, including.
Speaker 1 (28:57):
Mandy Connell, who is in our listening audience. And I
appreciate that.
Speaker 2 (29:01):
And she said stop talking bad about Barry meaning man
a law. I didn't start it. And the whole scene
where the teacher who was running the detention on Saturday.
Do they still even do that detention on Saturdays? First
of all, it's terrible for the kids, But never mind
that you got a teacher who's gonna all go ahead
(29:22):
and run detention on Saturday morning and give up my weekend.
That's punishment for the teacher. I never understood that. I mean, yeah,
they used to do that. But anyway, he was the
one being mocked by John Bender, you know, because he
bends the rules. Bender portrayed by John Nelson for rating
Barry Manilow's war trope and the other kids laugh, And
(29:44):
of course a teacher doesn't appreciate that whatsoever. But no,
I'm not going anywhere at least as far as I know.
I mean, anything could change. I'm just telling you, I
gotta get a head on a swivel. You just never know,
so I'm always prepared, and I always I would say this,
I always try to treat this show like could be
the last, because I don't want to go out on
a sour note. So you're getting the best that I've got,
(30:05):
although they can't all be winners, and I understand that
and I acknowledge it, and all I ask for is
a little bit of patience and leeway from all of you.
And you've been so kind, so kind to me since
I started hosting this time slot, and I appreciate you endlessly.
This from a text, he picks up what I'm putting down.
I'm assuming it's a heat. Maybe it's not.
Speaker 1 (30:25):
Ryan.
Speaker 2 (30:25):
I'm feeling old, but only because those John Hughes days
were roughly forty years ago.
Speaker 1 (30:30):
I'm fifty five, but otherwise feel thirty five.
Speaker 2 (30:33):
Texter. I have those days, so I'm fifty, And I
would say overall, yeah, I'm fifty because there are days
where I fool myself or my body fools myself. I
go out, maybe play tennis, maybe be okay, but maybe not.
And then suddenly you hurt something, you pull something, you
(30:54):
strain something, you don't know how, you have no idea,
and then you're needing massage therapy or a chiropractor or
or potentially an acupuncture, which I strongly recommend. Oh, this
is a good, good suggestion five seven to seven three nine, Ryan,
I think the song Footloose could give that song a
run for its money as the iconic song of the
(31:15):
eighties at Kenny Loggins Footloose, great theme movie. Kevin Bacon.
I mean, everybody's got six degrees of Kevin Bacon. You
know somebody that is within five degrees of Kevin Bacon.
That person that you know is within four degrees. You're
in no more than six degrees away from Kevin Bacon
at any one time on this planet.
Speaker 1 (31:33):
That's what I've been told.
Speaker 2 (31:34):
Anyway, as far as John Hughes, it's hard to believe,
but he has now been gone for almost sixteen years.
He died at a relatively young age fifty nine in
two thousand and nine. I believe he had a heart
attack after jogging, and it was really I remember that
a sad and unexpected death. And for all the joy
(31:56):
that he brought with his movies in the eighties, and
what a run he had. He certainly did box office
gold in so many ways. And I was talking about
the Duffer brothers earlier. These are the two, Matt and
Ross Duffer. They're geniuses. They're really smart guys, really well
conceived and delivered Show Stranger Things. And there will be
(32:16):
another season coming out this fall, I believe October, if
I'm not mistaken. But again, it is set. It starts
I think in either nineteen eighty two or eighty three,
and then each season is one year forward from that one,
and I think the last one's going to be eighty
seven if I'm not mistaken. But the thing is, these
two are twin brothers and they were born February of
(32:39):
nineteen eighty four. If they have memories of the eighties,
they are akin to Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen's memories
of the eighties on Full House on that show, which
I have to believe are very limited. But there's I'm
telling you, there is something about that era of music,
of pop culture, of art of movies that stands the
(33:05):
test of time. Is harder to say, because a lot
of it does appear, I agree, kind of dated and
kitchee and so, but there's a certain charm in that,
and I don't think there's been a decade maybe outside
of the fifties. You know where you had Elvis Presley
and you know the original rock and roll, and there
were a lot of fifties themed restaurants, as I recall
when I was growing up in the eighties to appeal
(33:26):
to that previous generation. But I'll tell you when I
was driving Uber and Lyft, I would try to because
I have a Spotify subscription. What that allows me to
do is I can create a station. Many of you
already know this, but you can overlap used to be
able to do up to ten artists and it'll like
create a station for you with no advertisement interruption because
(33:49):
you pay for the subscription and without fail. A lot
of times I would pick up I would say gen Z's,
they're downtown, maybe going out to the bar or a
sporting event, something like that.
Speaker 1 (34:00):
I always got rave reviews for the music. It was dialed.
Speaker 2 (34:05):
In to an eighties type station, eighties pop, eighties new wave,
just eighties oriented music in general.
Speaker 1 (34:14):
Oh I love this.
Speaker 2 (34:15):
And then but the part of that make me feel
old to the Texter's point of ah, this is why
my parents listened to like, Oh, I guess that would be.
Speaker 1 (34:23):
I'm glad that you enjoy it, though, So.
Speaker 2 (34:25):
I get a certain sense of satisfaction that that my
pop culture experience, while dated, and I acknowledge that it's
still kind of cool with the younger crowd. And I'm
not gonna I'm not gonna turn that in. I'm gonna
hold on to that one, and you can't take it
from me another one. This is also Kenny Loggins. How
about danger Zone the theme to Top Gun. I don't
(34:46):
only convinced an entire generation of high school graduates to
join the military. That that alone was recruitment video enough.
You're right Top Gun for the Navy, et cetera. And
then think about the repri You're talking about the younger
kids coming through and now they see their younger movie
stars in Maverick and there's still Tom Cruise, there's still
(35:09):
Vale Kilmer. But it made it cool again, and it
made going into the movies cool again, and it made
the military cool again, and it came full circle in
a lot of really good ways. I'm glad we ended
the show on that note. I'll talk to you tomorrow.
Here I'm Ryan, schuling life.
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