Swift Bonuses, Drone Drops, Early Dinners, And Waymo Woes for 12/18/25

We move from Taylor Swift’s record-setting crew bonuses and the ethics of public generosity to the rise of drone contraband in prisons, early-bird dining trends, rising return fees, a chilling Hollywood tragedy, and a Waymo stowaway that spotlights AV safety gaps. Sharp takes, real data, and a few laughs carry a fast, thoughtful hour.

• public bonuses as pressure on industry norms
• drones delivering contraband and policy gaps
• Gen Z and Millennial shift to 5 p.m. dinners
• holiday return fees reshaping online shopping
• family turmoil and the limits of prevention
• autonomous vehicles and physical security risks
• upcoming comedy show at Plan B Gentlemen’s Club

Thank you again for watching and listening to us. We really appreciate your support and we appreciate you sharing and tell everybody who we are, and definitely you don't want to miss this show that's coming up here
So, you know, whatever your your opinions are on the things we talked about, definitely go to our social media pages and let us know what you think

Tired of surface-level inspiration? This raw, transformative documentary digs deep into turning pain into purpose. Mainstream platforms wouldn't touch these powerful stories of resilience, but you can access them now on elrodvnetwork.com.

Tired of surface-level inspiration? This raw, transformative documentary digs deep into turning pain into purpose. Mainstream platforms wouldn't touch these powerful stories of resilience, but you can access them now on elrodvnetwork.com.

Tired of surface-level inspiration? This raw, transformative documentary digs deep into turning pain into purpose. Mainstream platforms wouldn't touch these powerful stories of resilience, but you can access them now on elrodvnetwork.com.

Chapters

• 0:00 Warm-Up And Banter
• 4:34 Taylor Swift’s Tour Bonuses Debate
• 13:17 Drones Dropping Contraband Into Prisons
• 22:45 Why Young People Eat Dinner At 5
• 29:10 Hollywood Tragedy And Family Struggles
• 37:05 Holiday Return Fees And Shopping Habits

Transcript

SPEAKER_01: 2:10

Hello everyone. Welcome to this week's episode of Thirsty Topics. I'm Lawrence Elrod.

SPEAKER_00: 2:15

And I'm Meryl Climo. Hey Meryl, how are you? I'm good. I love your shirt. Oh, well, thank you. Thank you.

SPEAKER_02: 2:23

It looks simple side with the kids. It looks cool. For for those just listening, you should check out the YouTube too. And the all the ways to see Lawrence's shirt. It looks cool.

SPEAKER_00: 2:34

Why thank you?

SPEAKER_01: 2:35

Thank you. I appreciate that. I gotta switch it up every now and then, right?

SPEAKER_02: 2:39

Yeah, for sure. I feel like in a world of like boring outfits, it's nice to like when people are wearing outfits that are actually cool and like have some personality to them.

SPEAKER_01: 2:49

Absolutely, I agree. Well, I'm trying to keep up with you, Meryl, because you always dress very nicely.

SPEAKER_02: 2:56

Thank you. My my JC Penny outfits really come in handy. I love JC Penny. I will always talk about them because I'm like, I just feel like that's where I get all my clothes, but people are I do get complimented on like my nice like when I wear nice dresses and stuff, and I'm always like quick within 10 seconds to tell people like JC Penny clearance.

SPEAKER_01: 3:16

Hey, maybe they'll uh endorse one of your shows, right?

SPEAKER_02: 3:19

Honestly, it was at one point I almost thought I was blocked by JCPenney because I was content I was posting myself too much and like hashtag JCPenney and then that I didn't hear from them in a while, but yeah, I hope so.

SPEAKER_01: 3:30

There you go. Well, Meryl, why don't you start off with this conversation today?

SPEAKER_02: 3:36

Okay, great. I'm very excited to talk to you about this one. Um, now we know I'm not quite a Swifty, but I'm definitely like maybe three steps away from Swiftyhood. So it's so funny because at one point I'm like, for someone that doesn't care about Taylor Swift, I sure do like a lot of her songs and think about her a lot and stuff. But um, there's many different Taylor Swift things these days. But the what I wanted to focus on is her bonuses. You know, we knew a couple months back that she gave a hundred thousand dollars to her truckers because we knew that because obviously they had like shared the notes, and it wasn't Taylor herself really trumpeting that. It was more the truckers saying that they were grateful, and then that caught news. Um, and then now we see on the Erastour documentary that's just out on Disney, it showed her um the crew breaking down in tears as they find out that together all she gave uh$197 million in bonuses. Now, I don't know if you saw this clip, but basically she had her dancer stand around and then she handed the envelope to one of them and just said, Can you read this to the group? And like everyone got an envelope. And in it, they bleep out the amount, but it's pretty apparent that it says uh everyone gets like$750,000 as a bonus for the, you know, for your tour. Because it was pretty much like I wasn't expecting the heiress tour to go this well, and kind of as a token of my appreciation, you know, this is your well-earned bonus. And then you can see the dancers like falling to the ground and basically crying and you know how much it means to people. Now, of course, just because like Taylor can't do anything without people hating on it or whatever, a lot of people say it's tacky that she chose to show this on her TV show because it shows they think it's like performative and basically like why couldn't she hand it out in private and like not have to make a show of it? But to me, I'm like, like, I'm sorry, but I like seeing like that's a nice moment. I'm glad I got to witness that. And even if she is being showy, like to me, who cares? Because a lot of other CEOs aren't doing this, and like as if like we like I feel like I show myself like doing good deeds, or like we all perform a little bit online anyway. So to me, if like, yes, maybe she is human and wants to like show herself giving this insane amount, but like to me, that's such a magical, crazy thing that I'm not I don't hate on someone doing that. Like, I don't think it's in really poor taste.

SPEAKER_01: 6:01

What what do you think? I I agree. I mean, I could actually see both sides of the coin. I could see one hand some people saying, Well, you know, if you're doing this out the goodness of your heart, why even show it in in front of the camera? You know, let it be something intimate between you and your worker. I I get that, and that does make a lot of sense, but playing devil's advocate, maybe this is a way for her to shame other artists and other people.

SPEAKER_02: 6:25

Yeah, honestly, because it's yeah, it yeah, it's really got the conversation going where I saw TikTok about a guy saying um that he was part of like the dance artist union, and he was like, You don't understand how rare this is. Like, like, who cares if she's showing herself doing it? Just the fact that she's paying people a good wage to begin with, like a good industry, which, and then on top of that, they get a bonus because of how well the tour does. Like, he was like, This is such a good thing for the industry that she's showing it because this is gonna like shame the other people that don't even give like 1% of you know, a bonus.

SPEAKER_01: 6:59

Oh, yeah, and and the thing is too, is that there's a lot of money to be made in entertainment, and you know, when you're blessed enough to make the kind of wealth that she makes, I think it's a it's a shame that it's not a standard, but I'm just glad that she is doing what she's doing. And you know, whatever that amount is, whether it's 700,000, heck, even if it's a hundred thousand, this is life-changing money.

SPEAKER_02: 7:25

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01: 7:27

Okay, so you know, whether they show it on TV or not, it doesn't matter. I don't think that's gonna change them from taking that check because hey, it's something that, you know, unfortunately, no one else would probably ever do for them.

SPEAKER_02: 7:42

Exactly. And I think like both things can be true at all times. Like, I don't like when she stands up and dances at the award show. Like, I actually think that takes attention away from other people. And to me, sometimes like that, that's like her number one cringe behavior to me, when it's like it doesn't, it's like should be the spotlight on the person, and instead sometimes Taylor is like the only person dancing, and I know sometimes people are like, but she's so showing support. And but to me, I'm like, okay, but you you you know if you're the only person standing, then they're gonna people are gonna be focused on you. But like to me, this isn't part, this doesn't seem as cringy as like that, where this just seems like that they were filming a documentary, and that was like a big part of it. So why not show something that happened, which is like kind of an all-hands meeting and her giving the dancers that money? And like I think that's so cool to see a group of really talented, hardworking people get like a really big life-changing amount. Like, I I'm not a hater in that way. I love to see that.

SPEAKER_01: 8:37

Well, absolutely, and you know, there's a time and a place for everything. Um, you know, like I went to go see my son uh a few years ago do his first live concert, and you know, I met some of his fans, and nothing came out about my productions because that's his time, you know. Yeah, yeah, you know what I mean? Because if I'm going to see him and support him, no, I'm not gonna talk about my production company or shows I'm doing because that's his stage, that's his moment, that's his spotlight. Um, some people may think I'm crazy, but you know what? If I'm supporting my son, I'm supporting my son. And obviously, if I'm in a different venue or whatever, that's totally different. I'm gonna tell a whole world about my about my uh my show and what I'm doing and stuff like that. And it's just a matter of timing. Um, again, I think I I think she's doing a great thing by by you know giving out these bonuses and stuff. And like I said, I can see both sides of the coin because on one hand, you know, you don't really have to make a spectacle of it. Um but on the other hand, you know, it could be a shaming thing for other people. So I guess it all depends on what view you have.

SPEAKER_02: 9:45

Exactly. I don't mind, and to me, like even if she is making a spectacle out of it and needing attention, the main thing is she's giving like truck drivers a hundred thousand dollars, and you know what I mean? Like, uh it would be one thing if she's filming herself saying like thank you and hugging them, but she's putting her money where her mouth is and donating so much, you know. And I think that's like really cool. Um, there was one more thing I was gonna say, I forget what it was, but yeah, definitely. I think it's um very interesting, and I just I love to see it.

SPEAKER_01: 10:16

That's true, that's true. Uh, I commend her for it. Yeah, this is a very, very crazy uh subject here. Um drone prisons uh drops drone prison drops fuel scams around the country. Oh no, and no, this isn't an error. Apparently, um drones are dropping contraband into prisons, and as a result, fueling a growing national security threat with cell phones delivered by these drones being used by inmates to run sophisticated financially uh fraud schemes, including scams targeting American citizens. Um, one, what are the the guards doing? Because I know there's guards in towers and stuff like this. Like, yeah, how do you fly a drone into a prison and just drop it? I mean, maybe I don't know anything.

SPEAKER_02: 11:15

Uh again, this is one of these stories, Merle, where I thought it was fake until I did some research and I it's almost like a mad libs of like drone, prison, crashing, flying, you know, like just making up words.

SPEAKER_01: 11:28

I it it's amazing. And I'm just shocked that they can't stop this. I I'm really shocked. But um basically they're saying it's a big phenomenon where organized crime rings are using drones to smuggle dangerous contraband, such as drugs, weapons, cell phones, and correctional intercorrectional facilities around the US at an unprecedented rate. Authorities in states like Georgia and South Carolina report that drone drops are daily or frequently uh a frequent occurrence. This is even shocking that I'm reading this. Uh recent examples of item seized from drone drops include a package containing steak, crab legs, marijuana, and cigarettes at a South Carolina prison. Sounds like a great idea.

SPEAKER_02: 12:27

I don't care about the cigarettes, but the crab legs drop it my way.

SPEAKER_01: 12:31

This is amazing. And how can they not stop this? Or am I looking at am I being a little bit too simplistic?

SPEAKER_02: 12:38

No, I think you're being right. And I think that's like a crazy thing to think about. Whether it's, I mean, if they're dropping crab legs, like can't they drop keys to get out of prison or you know, like web, like little weapons for nail files, or you know, things for people to like break their way out. So I think I think you're not wrong. Um, the only thing I may think is maybe like, you know, there's outside people will have um, whether it's like a basketball court or they'll have a lot of like prison things will be outside. Maybe there's like a specific corner that they knew that could they could fly into or something like that.

SPEAKER_01: 13:11

Yeah, that's true. It's just amazing that um one they thought about doing this and executing it, but that they can't do anything about that part. Is really puzzling to me.

SPEAKER_02: 13:25

Yeah, yeah, I think so too. And I do think that maybe now they're gonna be on the lookout more because also on the flip side, it's like a prisoner could also get money from a drone and then trade with other people for things and you know start to bribe people. Sounds like an interesting plot of a movie.

SPEAKER_01: 13:43

Yes, it does. Now it says here, um, taking a look, challenges for authorities. A major hurdle for law enforcement is the current federal regulation. The Federal Aviation Administration, FAA, classifies drones as registered aircraft, meaning most local and state authorities cannot legally shoot them down. This has forced officials to largely stand by and watch as the drops occur. Legislation is reportedly in the works in Congress to grant correctional facilities the authority needed to counter these drones effectively. In the meantime, prisons are exploring detection technologies such as a radar, acoustic, and RF sensors to combat the threat. Again, this is amazing.

SPEAKER_02: 14:34

Sounds it does sound pretty crazy.

SPEAKER_01: 14:37

I don't know. What do you think, Meryl?

SPEAKER_02: 14:39

What do you think about this? It doesn't. I know you said you were surprised at first. To me, this doesn't this doesn't surprise me because I feel like drones are just so like remember in New Jersey, people there were just like all these weird, mysterious drones flying and everything. Yeah, so I feel like I'm surprised we don't see more of them, and we just don't see more like spying drones and everything.

SPEAKER_01: 15:03

Yeah, and you know what's amazing is that with all the things that cannot go through, you know, Congress or the Senate, I would think that's things like this they can easily push through because this has no political ties. This is just common sense.

SPEAKER_02: 15:19

Yeah, but I mean, that does, I mean, the way that I door dash and everything, now that really, if they want to uh drone me some crab legs anytime soon.

SPEAKER_01: 15:32

Well, I guess as we're driving down, if we get near prison and we see stuff buzzing around the air, we know what that is, right?

SPEAKER_02: 15:38

Yeah, I could just see like a pair of like handcuffs and keys or something. Wow. Well, I thought this was really interesting. Uh, there's an article about the five o'clock dinner crowd. Why are young Americans eating so early? So Gen Z and Millennials dinner reservations are reportedly inching earlier as they take advantage of happy hour deals. There's been a trend in early bird specials. Um, they're saying that five o'clock dinner time could be one of most 2025's most surprising comebacks as younger generations seem willing to finish meals before the sun goes down. According to data collected by Open Table, 53% of Gen Z and 51% of millennials in the United States are interested in snagging an early seat. Um, so they're finding that even in New York, like 5 p.m. dining is up 20%. So what do you think? Like I think when we were growing up, our like our normal time maybe for like our age generations is maybe like 6 or 6.30. You know what I mean? If you're gonna meet someone at like a dinner, like to me, dinner kind of means 6 or 6.30. But I do love a good like 5 p.m. meeting because then you can have a nice dinner with a friend and then you can still be home by like seven. And especially with like you know, wanting to spend time with your partner at night and everything, I feel like you sometimes you get to do both. Because I hate I hate like meeting a friend for dinner and then like not hanging out with my with Jack all night, you know, like that then that makes me feel like a wasted night. So I feel like if you get to do both, that's really nice.

SPEAKER_01: 17:13

Oh, absolutely. And you know, with everyone trying to, you know, think about health and stuff like that, um, you know, by having an earlier meal, it could help you potentially go to sleep or even lay down earlier so you can get closer to those hours that you need for sleep every night. Yep. Yeah, I I I I I um I I think it's a great thing. I mean, if you're able to get off early enough to do that 5 p.m. dinner, I think that's a good thing. And then, you know, if you get hungry a little later, maybe you have some kind of a little light snack.

SPEAKER_02: 17:48

Exactly.

SPEAKER_01: 17:48

Two dinners. But at least this way you're not eating a heavy meal and then laying down too.

SPEAKER_02: 17:54

Exactly. And I love too, especially at like the fancy restaurants that may be harder to get to, chances are if you sometimes if you get there at 4:30 or 5, like you can easily get in. And so I think instead of having to wait for three months, and it is like a good hack to try places that normally you wouldn't try. Now, I also feel on the other end of things that when I go to visit, like, I mean, I know I live in the LA, but when I go to visit New York, I feel like it's so cool every now and then to go to like a really late dinner. Like, I I think that's to me, it's to me, and now it's becoming the two ends of things where I either want to be eating at like five or ten, because I think it's so cool and it feels like very big city to me to go out and meet and like eat dinner at 9:30 or 10. Like that that seems like so luxurious.

SPEAKER_01: 18:40

Oh, yeah, you know, you're having a nice little meal, you're watching the skylights and everything. Yeah, that's yeah.

SPEAKER_02: 18:48

I I don't do it often, but like it when I do, I it feels like I'm so fancy.

SPEAKER_01: 18:54

Hey, there's nothing wrong with that at all. You know, whatever floats your boat. And you know, the beautiful thing about it is, you know, as long as you're between, you know, generally five and eight, you know, you still be able to get to bed at a decent hour.

SPEAKER_02: 19:07

Exactly. I just met two of my like cooler, younger friends for dinner at like 9 30 somewhere, and I was so excited, and they were like, you need to calm down and act like you do this a little bit more because I was like, oh my god, we're so big city. They were like, We're doing we do this once a week, like stop embarrassing us.

SPEAKER_01: 19:23

They're like, uh, hey, you don't get out much, do you?

SPEAKER_02: 19:26

Exactly. But yeah, but leaving the house at like nine to go eat dinner was so crazy to me. But I I think people should shake it up and like do whatever the opposite is that you're used to doing. Like if you eat a really late dinner, maybe try to go out for like a happy hour and vice versa. Because I think it's fun and exciting to like change it up.

SPEAKER_01: 19:44

I agree. I think we all should do that every so often.

SPEAKER_02: 19:47

Yep.

SPEAKER_01: 19:49

Um, well, um, of course, this has been all over the news. This is a very, very, very sad topic that I'm gonna bring up right now. Um, this is um Rob Reiner, along with his wife, dies in an apparent homicide. Um, for people who don't recognize the name Rob Reiner, um, if you're from our generation, you know, with Archie Bunker, he played Michael, and then you know, he left that to start doing uh producing and directing. Um of the things that um that you may may have heard or even seen um would be when uh when Harry met Sally, uh political force. Um he also um I believe directed misery.

SPEAKER_02: 21:44

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01: 21:45

He was also um uh an integral part of an officer and a gentleman. Uh so as you can see, he's he's definitely had his hands on a lot of great pictures from behind this from behind the lens. But um basically what happened was um authorities came out to his home. Um, him and his wife were stabbed to death. And the updated news on this situation is that Rob Reiner's son was arrested on suspicion of homicide um after the director and his wife were found dead. So um Los Angeles police chief Michael McDonald said that officers responded to the Reiner home at about 3:40 p.m. Uh, this happened over the weekend. Detectives from the elite robbery homicide division worked throughout the night and took Nick Reiner, age 32, into custody. Um they say that our hard squat to the family and friends of the Reiners. McDowell said during a news conference Monday, a tragic incident. Authorities have issued a search warrant for the Reiner household. McDonald said calling it a critical piece for our investigation. The director was 78 and his wife was 70. Wow.

SPEAKER_02: 23:07

Yeah, I mean I've seen like a bunch of old videos now of his son talking about addiction issues and homeless issues and coming back to the family. Like I do not get a very good vibe from even watching this. And like to be quite honest, he seems like really arrogant and spoiled and bratty, and like I understand addiction is sad and all that kind of stuff. But when you do something like this and it's just like I have a hard time finding empathy for this for the son, you know, he seems really just not like he just seems evil, kind of point blank to me.

SPEAKER_01: 23:41

Yeah, from uh per the LAPD, uh Nick Reiner, I'm sorry, Nick Reiner, had cycled in and out of rehab centers and experienced bounce of homeliness, homelessness as a teenager. Um, family, friends, uh Rob and Nick got into an argument on Saturday evening at a Christmas party at Conan O'Brien's home. In addition to being a Hollywood legend, Rob Reiner also uh was a political force and also an outspoken supporter of progressive causes and a Democratic Party activist. Um you know it kind of highlights issues uh that goes on with families because no one saw this coming. And you don't know what's going on in a person's household. Um honestly, I did not know this myself. So I was actually kind of surprised at uh the troubles that their son was going through. So who knows what the argument was about if that did happen. And I don't know, Meryl. I mean, why do you think this happens from time to time where you have these very successful people and you know they have the children that go off on this deep dark path?

SPEAKER_02: 24:57

Yeah, I know it's tough because it's one of those like nature nurture things where it's like they could have given him, I don't know, they they could be having bad parents and this person's just inherently evil, or they could be great parents and this person is also, you know, like really ungrateful. Um, this is a situation where like I feel I feel bad, but it's like when I hear homelessness and addiction and all this kind of stuff, like I'm not saying I don't care, but there's a part of me that doesn't have as much, like I just don't really have empathy. Like, I don't know. Maybe that's really bad to say, but like I just feel like if I don't know, then like stay away or go lock yourself in rehab or something. I just kind of like I think I'm kind of at my wit's end with a lot of this stuff. Um, because even if you have a disgruntled parent, then like just cut them off, don't kill them, or you know, like don't uh ruin your life and their life too.

SPEAKER_01: 25:48

Yeah, I agree. I mean, obviously it's really hard to go into a lot of details without knowing the backstory about what's been going on.

SPEAKER_02: 25:56

Exactly. The sound like just kind of looks like soulless and lifeless too, but I don't know.

SPEAKER_01: 26:02

I mean, here's the thing we've all had our our moments with our parents, okay, and we don't always agree with them. You know, that's normal, that's life. But to to to butcher your your parents, that I mean, how could that even come across your mind? Or maybe I'm just being a little bit too simple-minded about the issue, but it just really shocks me to even read this type of a story.

SPEAKER_02: 26:29

Yeah, I think so too. And I mean, like, it yeah, it just seems crazy. And I think the fact that the daughter found them or like the masseuse found them or something, but um very tragic, and he seemed like they still had a lot of life in him, and it's just yeah, very, very tragic.

SPEAKER_01: 26:47

Yeah, I would say to people, you know, when you you're around friends and you know, maybe you notice something going on between family members or whatever. I'm not saying get involved, but you know, just kind of watch. Just watch. Um, you know, like for example, if someone's at your house and you see that the father and son are going at it or whatever, you know, without getting into the issue of why they're going at it, maybe kind of calm it down, like, hey y'all, you know, let's have some eggnog, let's sit back, let's exactly, you know, especially if the son is someone that has a history of like a lot of abuse and homelessness and stuff.

SPEAKER_02: 27:26

But I don't know, like I said, I watched like some interviews this morning, and like I I don't get a good vibe at all from the son. Like he to me, he seems like really entitled and arrogant, and along with his other standing issues. And it's to me, it's also like if you're gonna kind of fight your parents and like be ashamed or whatever of where you came from, then okay, then like go away and like don't use the Reiner name and don't attach yourself to any projects, or like don't uh like have any of the success have any help you at all, you know. Like that's to me.

SPEAKER_01: 27:56

Yeah, that's true. Like I said, we'll definitely pray on this, and um, I'm quite sure we're gonna get more updates on this as um information comes out.

SPEAKER_02: 28:05

Yeah, I agree. Maybe people feel differently, but I don't know. But um cool. Okay, well, this is a weird one to go to, but we'll we'll at least my last one will leave my part on a somewhat happy note. Um, well, not really happy note, but so there's you know, return fees. We've all had to deal with ordering something, and then for whatever reason, you're like, it doesn't fit right, I don't want it, or I have a double of this, or just like I didn't ask for this. Well, now retailers are going to have some more fees for some returns on holiday gifts. Um, the National Retail Federation says that nearly three-quarters of all stores now charge some sort of return fee, which obviously it's money that we don't get back when ordering a package online and then you return it by mail. Uh, currently Marshall's and TJ Maxx will now charge$11.99 per package, which will be taken out of the total refund. Uh, Macy's charges$9.99, JCPenney$8, and Jake Crew$7.50, which is so funny because Jake Crew is probably like the fanciest one on the list. Um, and then they have, you know, this is obviously just for holiday returns. They're saying some ways to avoid it is example at Macy's, if you join their loyalty program, there is no return fee, which I think is so silly. It's kind of like brib, it's kind of bribing. But I don't know, what do you think about this? Like, having$11 come out of your refund, what if the item is like$17 or something? Now you're out just$12. Like$12 seems pretty high for me to return it.

SPEAKER_01: 29:43

Yeah, and and I get it that there's a cost to returning stuff and restocking fees. I get all that, but some of the fees are a little bit on an extravagant side. I mean,$11,$12 to return something. Yeah. Here's the thing about it, and you made a great point. If my return fee is like$12 for an item that I bought for$17, 9 times out of 10, I'm not gonna return it for five bucks.

SPEAKER_02: 30:07

It's just like no.

SPEAKER_01: 30:09

And if it's less than that, then obviously you're not gonna pay for them to take it back. So uh I I kind of understand the fees and I get it. Why the numbers it uh kind of makes you wonder how they come up with those numbers.

SPEAKER_02: 30:28

Exactly. I would have to think that this this it won't drop the orders immensely, but I have to imagine that this would make people like a little bit more cautious whether they're when they're ordering stuff online. Because like I have a lot of friends that will just go crazy and order like 10 pants, 10 dresses, and then they just try it on and they return what they don't want. And it's almost like they shop, like that's the way that they shop. But now if they're if you're thinking, okay, I have to pay for this and I have to pay a lot of this, then I could see that like causing people to think before they order a little bit more.

SPEAKER_01: 31:00

Oh, yeah. I think where it's really gonna hurt is the person getting the gift because uh a lot of money trying to return it.

SPEAKER_02: 31:09

Exactly, because then you you get something you don't want, and then now you're out twelve dollars. I'm like, no way. I feel like the person that bought the gift should have to pay the return price.

SPEAKER_01: 31:21

I I get your point on that. They people may not agree with you, but yeah, I can definitely see your point on that.

SPEAKER_02: 31:26

Yeah, I had a friend who randomly his mom and his husband randomly have to send him the exact same shirt in the exact same color, and like it wasn't something he wanted and stuff, and then now, so it's like now he has to pay$12 because everyone got him the same shirt, you know.

SPEAKER_01: 31:43

That's not a gift, that's a punishment, isn't it?

SPEAKER_02: 31:46

Exactly.

SPEAKER_01: 31:47

Yeah, well, talk about interesting situations. My last topic is a man was caught riding in the back of a Waymo.

SPEAKER_02: 31:59

Oh, I yeah, I saw that. Freaky.

SPEAKER_01: 32:04

Very freaky. Um, again, kind of to me, kind of comes up with some of the issues with these Waymo's going around. Yeah, they can't detect someone jumping in the back of the vehicle and riding with them.

SPEAKER_02: 32:17

Exactly, yeah.

SPEAKER_01: 32:20

But uh, yes, um, so a video that's gotten thousands of views on social media shows the moment a woman discovered a stranger in the back of a Waymo car. The incident happened on Monday in Los Angeles. A woman uh says she ordered the driverless rifle, her daughter, and when it arrived, they noticed that the man was in the back trunk. Why the blank are you in the trunk? The woman heard uh is her acting a stranger. I'm trying to figure out the man's response. This blank won't let me out. Okay. Why were you in the truck again?

SPEAKER_02: 33:04

It's like, how did you get in the truck? The trunk, like, yeah, you're you're stuck in the truck.

SPEAKER_01: 33:09

Apparently, the man had entered the Waymo after a previous ride, left the trunk open at a drop-off. Our sister station, uh, the sister station here, KABC TV, reached out to Waymo and a spokesman issued the following statement. We're committed to keeping our writers safe and earning the trust of the communities where we operate. This experience was unacceptable, and we are actively implementing changes to address this. Waymo said their writer support team assisted the writer during the incident who told them they were okay. I don't know if I feel in that situation, but no, me neither.

SPEAKER_02: 33:50

But I love it that the woman went right after him and like filmed it and was screaming like she wasn't like, oh no, so sorry. You know, like she went after it. And hey, why not get your viral moment?

SPEAKER_01: 34:01

Yeah, that's true. But you know, I think it it it and I know we've talked about this over and over again, but it to me, yes, there's there's room for technology, you know, things are gonna get better, and there's always gonna be movements going on. But the thing that's amazing to me is that I don't know, I don't know if the right word is nonchalant, but it just almost seems like when these issues are brought up to the companies that implement these things, it's kind of like, yeah, okay, you know, we'll look into this, we'll, you know, we'll take care of it, blah, blah, blah. But the dangerous thing, Meryl, is that um, you know, this could be a lot worse. You know, what if that person jumped out?

SPEAKER_02: 34:44

Yeah, absolutely.

SPEAKER_01: 34:46

Thank God nothing happened, but I think it just addresses the issue of, you know, sometimes we need to not stop the movement of technology, but maybe slow down a little bit so we could probably monitor it a little bit better.

SPEAKER_02: 34:59

Exactly. Because, like you said, it's scary enough if it's any car and there's someone in there, but if you're like in a Waymo and then you don't have control of it, or if someone just got in and they didn't see someone, and it's like you can't stop the car, you can't turn off to the highway, you know, it's like really freaky.

SPEAKER_01: 35:15

Yeah, that's true. I'm just glad that everyone was okay in that situation.

SPEAKER_02: 35:19

I do too. And that person like exemplified what you should do if someone's creeping you out, which is be loud and film it and just like make you know, even if it sounds ridiculous, like make a scene because I just think it's never good to just be quiet and scared.

SPEAKER_01: 35:33

I agree with that. Well, that was interesting. That was a lot of stuff.

SPEAKER_02: 35:40

I know. Up and down and all around it.

SPEAKER_01: 35:44

Well, Merrill, give us something good to smile about. What do you have coming up?

SPEAKER_02: 35:48

Oh my gosh, I have a really good thing. Okay, this is gonna be silly. Um, my next show coming up is January 7th, and I'm doing comedy at a gentleman's club. So, yep. So it's really funny. A lot of like it's funny because a lot of like burlesque and stripper and stuff like that and comedy seem to go a lot together where it seems like we as the comedians always like dream of being that, and it's so funny how many like strippers and porn stars want to be a comedian, and I'm like, no, no, no, you don't want to do it. Like, go stick with what you're doing and stuff. So, anyway, they do uh in LA, they do a lot of shows where like comedians it's you know, it's comedians and then dancers and then all that kind of we're not combined, but like I'm just standing on the stage being a comedian. I'm sorry, everyone. But then you gotta go be on stage together. No, no, definitely I I would love that. I would like all I want is for someone to be dancing behind me and like you know, to my set. That would be amazing. Um, but that is it's so funny. It's at plan, it's called Plan B Gentlemen's Club, and it's in Los Angeles, and it's January 7th. And I'm making like a lot of my friends that are moms come, and it's just gonna be a really funny time.

SPEAKER_01: 36:56

Oh, that sounds like it's gonna be a great time, right?

SPEAKER_02: 36:59

And I I think of it so funny because I think of my friends from like growing up or just people that don't know me, and if they're scrolling through, they're like, Man, she's really fallen, like, or you know, she's performing at a strip club, like that's kind of sad. And then to me, if they only knew, I'm like, this is my vision board dream. Like, like I get more excited for this than the thought of like doing Letterman or something. So to me, this is like the pinnacle of what I can be doing.

SPEAKER_01: 37:24

Well, I tell you, if you're an air, you definitely don't want to miss this show.

SPEAKER_02: 37:28

I know, exactly. Yeah, it will be a really funny show, and so you know, we'll see no matter what. But I love doing stuff like this, like it's so silly.

SPEAKER_01: 37:36

Oh, that's gonna be a lot of fun, a lot of fun.

SPEAKER_02: 37:40

Yeah, I think it's literally called like ha's and ta-tas.

SPEAKER_01: 37:45

That's a nice, nice, nice little thing. So I'm quite sure you'll be putting some some posts out there with ha ha ta-ta.

SPEAKER_02: 37:51

Yeah, exactly.

SPEAKER_01: 37:54

So ridiculous. Well, everyone, thank you again for watching and listening to us. Uh, we really appreciate your support and we appreciate you sharing and tell everybody who we are, and definitely you don't want to miss this show that's coming up here.

SPEAKER_02: 38:09

No, like we said, I know we had a lot of controversial topics this week and the week before. So, like I always love to talk to people and hear different viewpoints. So, yeah.

SPEAKER_01: 38:19

Absolutely. So, you know, whatever your your opinions are on the things we talked about, definitely go to our social media pages and let us know what you think.

SPEAKER_02: 38:28

Most definitely.

SPEAKER_01: 38:30

Thank you, everyone. I'm Lawrence Elrod.

SPEAKER_02: 38:32

And I'm Merrill Climo.

SPEAKER_01: 38:34

Take care, everyone.