Why Inflation Hits Harder Than Headlines

A five-dollar gallon doesn’t just sting—it changes your whole week. We kick off Season 3 by welcoming Wander P as the new co-host of Thirsty Topics and dive into the largest cost-of-living jump in years. From wholesale inflation and tariffs to rising fuel prices and shrinkflation, we explore how economic pressures are affecting everyday families and why your paycheck doesn't seem to go as far as it once did.

From there, we shift into the stories behind the headlines. A lawsuit involving a Matt Damon and Ben Affleck police thriller sparks a broader conversation about reputation, reality, and accountability. We also tackle the growing debate around artificial intelligence, digital footprints, privacy, and why people are often too quick to blame AI instead of the humans making the decisions.

We examine why some Gen Z graduates are pushing back against AI at commencement ceremonies, what that reveals about fears surrounding job displacement, and how technology is reshaping the future workforce. Finally, we discuss the Spirit Airlines shutdown, WARN Act claims, unpaid wages, executive bonuses, and what workers deserve when corporations fail.

If you're feeling the squeeze of rising costs, concerned about the future of work, or trying to make sense of today's headlines, this episode is for you.

Subscribe, share, and leave a review. Tell your friends and family about Thirsty Topics and help us grow the conversation. Listen on all major podcast platforms and watch this episode along with exclusive programming on Elrodtvnetwork.com. What's the biggest cost-of-living change you've noticed lately? Join the conversation and let us know.

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.

Transcript

Welcome And A New Co-Host

SPEAKER_00 0:19

Hello everyone. Welcome to this week's episode of Thirsty Topics. I have a brand new co-host with us. Unfortunately, Merle is very, very busy. So she's got a lot of stand-up comic routines and different places that she needs to be all over the country. But I do want to give a warm welcome to Wander P, our new co-host for Thirsty Topics. Hi, Wanda. Hey Lawrence, how are you, my friend? I am doing fantastic. How about you?

SPEAKER_02 0:54

I'm great. I can't complain. Well, you know what? I can't complain, but you know it's not going to do a bit of good.

SPEAKER_00 1:01

That is true. That is true.

SPEAKER_02 1:03

Well, welcome aboard. Thank you. Thank you for having me. I'm so excited. This is our first uh trial run here. So let's let's see what's happening on Thirsty Conversations.

SPEAKER_00 1:15

Actually, it's Thirsty Topics. That's okay. Thirsty topics. Okay. That's our that's our our sister station, our sister uh program though. So Wanda, tell uh everyone a little bit about yourself.

SPEAKER_02 1:27

Well, uh again, my name is Wanda Powell, and they call me Wander P. I am the host of uh a podcast called Restore Our Communities. I've worked with people from Nashville for oh more than 20 years with my television show. And what I did, I interviewed individuals and organizations that were making a difference in the city of Nashville. And now I'm back here in uh Illinois, and I'm trying to do the same thing here with my show, Rock R O C Restore Our Communities, is to bring awareness. And we're we're at a time in our life right now, we definitely need that, and we'll never run out of topic to talk about.

SPEAKER_00 2:07

That is so, so true. Well, thank you for coming on board. So tell me what what um made you decide to join us?

SPEAKER_02 2:17

Oh my God. Well, of course, you're you're such a nice guy. You're such a cool guy, and you know what you're doing. And and one of the things I'm I'm excited about things, brother. Uh, and I just love being around people of like minds. And we are in a you we're doing similar things. We're concerned about the community, we're concerned about people. Uh, you're a family man. I I love family, I love education, and I love diversity. There's so many things that we have in common, and I'm just looking forward to for us to be able to share what we're what what we're believing, what we're um, what we're about. And we want to be able to bring that to the community, man, because there's so many negativities uh uh that that's going on right now, and we just really need to stay focused and just have some fun while we talk about these current events that's going on in the world today.

SPEAKER_00 3:13

It's so true. That is so true. Well, um again, welcome aboard. Um, we're gonna have a lot of fun. We're gonna talk about a lot of great topics, and um, once we get the live stream figured out, we're gonna have a lot of people watching this live too. So don't worry, let's figure that out.

SPEAKER_02 3:32

I'm excited. I'm excited. So, what's on your mind today?

SPEAKER_00 3:37

Well, we're gonna start off with uh a very interesting topic here, okay. Um, and it's probably a hot button for a lot of different people.

SPEAKER_01 3:45

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 3:46

So we're gonna talk about the largest cost of living jump in three years. Okay. So according to CBS News, um the price index or PPI surged last month, far outpacing uh economist forecast, and suggests that President Trump's tariffs are starting to significantly drive up costs of imported goods. Wholesale inflation rose by 0.9% in July from the prior month. The labor department said Thursday, um, about a third Thursday or two that um let's see, I don't know why I said Thursday, but basically they were, you know, talking about how

Inflation Spikes And Tariffs Hit Home

SPEAKER_00 4:34

the war um with everything going on is affecting a whole lot of different things. It's affecting the gas, um, affects diesel. And a lot of people don't understand that gas and diesel prices, especially diesel, affects everything else because your food, um, materials, all these things are being brought on the truck. So when their expenses go up, everyone else's expenses goes up. So what is your take on this, Wanda? How do you feel about uh all the rising costs?

SPEAKER_02 5:07

And I know for me, um, it's very strange paying almost five bucks a gallon for gas these days, but do you do you want the the the politically correct answer or do you want the the the deep answer?

SPEAKER_00 5:21

You know what? It's up to you.

SPEAKER_02 5:23

Well, you know, it's it's really sad because I I am a news junkie, and it's really sad where uh the state of affairs are today. And for us to be uh in a situation in 2026, it's really sad. And and I I totally don't agree with it. I look at the gas prices, I look at uh like that the terrorists are with the tariffs, and it's really uh a shame that we are finding ourselves in that we we we've worked hard. You know, uh you you find people who are taxpayers, they're paying their dues uh to society, and then you have to come now, we have to say, do I want to eat? Do I want to uh pay for my medications? Or do I want to buy things for my children? So now we are forced at this stage in life that we have to make choices, that that's ridiculous. That that is totally ridiculous how we have to be we have to be in a situation like this. And where where are we going? We know a year ago we were not in this place, and here we are a year and uh well, uh maybe a little bit over a year, a year and a half, and now we're in a situation that we have to scramble uh and make a decision if we're gonna eat or pay for our medication, and that's sad for a lot of people. People have to work two and three jobs. You know, I I I just know of another one of my friends just took on another job because they have to pay child support uh and uh and things of that nature. So it's just it's just it's crazy. It's really crazy where we are.

SPEAKER_00 7:08

It is, it is, and you know, the the one thing that uh I know we don't talk about enough is um it highlights other issues that go on. Um right now there's people that are struggling to find a job. There are people working a job that are afraid to try and find another job because of what's going on in the economy. And um, excuse me, you still have to live. So one of the things that um kind of surprised me a little bit is a lot of people aren't gonna curb um their travel plans uh for the you know Memorial Day weekend holiday. And, you know, a lot of people feel that, okay, I work really hard all week, you know, I saved up for this, you know, me and the family, we want to enjoy ourselves. So they're still gonna take their week, their, their, their trips, their driving, um, uh road trips, and possibly still flying because, you know, again, the world just doesn't stop because of it. Right. But I agree with you. It's definitely a um a burden and a strain on people's households. And and you know, one thing I do want to point out is it doesn't matter what your politics are, whether you're Republican, whether you're Democrat, independent, or whatever, this affects all of us. Absolutely. And, you know, the one thing that's kind of sad is that um to me, there's just not enough uh being done to address

Gas And Diesel Drive Everything Up

SPEAKER_00 8:28

this. Um you know, I'm not gonna go too deep into that side of the picture, but I think there's a lot that could be done to um help it a little bit.

SPEAKER_02 8:39

Here's the thing, uh Lawrence. People think because we're in 2026, that the past can't come back to haunt us again. True. And so I think that's part of it, the disbelief. People still going on their trip. I don't care. I'm going on my trip. You saw the grid lock with the airports a few weeks back, right? People, I'm still going to go. You know, now you got the uh Ebola or the different diseases that are out now, but people still want to go because of their thinking. They are looking, we're in 2026. I don't they don't watch the news.

SPEAKER_00 9:21

And then print Prince said, it's not that they don't watch the news, there's a lot of people that get their news off social media and they don't verify where they're getting the news from. That yeah, yeah, yeah. That's probably a whole different conversation, but you're 100% right on that.

SPEAKER_02 9:37

Yeah, and and and that and that's the thing. Uh, when when people found and and what what's happening now, what I because I am a news junkie, I do uh watch all kinds of news. I try and I try to be well-rounded so that when I am coming into contact with people, I don't get caught up in the emotion of it, you know, because I know the temperature is real high right now with everything that's going on. But when people are realizing slowly because they weren't really paying attention, or they really just weren't believing that we could have gas prices at five, what, 15 here in Illinois? 515. Oh, Southside, yeah, yeah. Southside, oh oh yeah, it's in the city. Oh yeah, it's a really high there. And not to mention the gas prices. You mentioned something that was so profound too with the farmers. When we think about this gas price, the gas price, like the knee bone connected to the leg bone, it's just like people don't even realize the the the diesel prices for truckers to be able to get the the the goods and services from one place to another. It's ridiculous. Yes, I couldn't believe I saw those diesel prices. I'm like, what?

SPEAKER_00 10:53

Oh yeah, and and when I go to the store, I can't speak for anyone else. A hundred dollars doesn't get me very much these days.

SPEAKER_02 11:01

No, no, no. Oh, God forbid you guys were small children.

SPEAKER_00 11:07

Oh yes. Thank goodness my son is uh growing out of the house, but yeah, I I I definitely hear you on that.

SPEAKER_02 11:14

And you know, being a former, a former educator in my many things I've done, that when we when we would we would talk, we would have the the health and wellness classes, and we will open up dialogue for for the high schoolers to talk about what's happening. So it's very interesting to even see with some of our young people who are gonna be venturing off into college and places like that. That's that's gonna be affected. Everything is affected. Our food, our medicines. Man, oh my God, it's just it's it's crazy.

SPEAKER_00 11:47

Now, let me actually wonder are you going to curb anything that you're doing in your household because of uh what's going on with the prices and the economy now, or are you gonna still do whatever trips or whatever you have planned?

SPEAKER_02 12:02

Well, as far as the trips and the moving around, I'm very mindful of doing that because I was invited, uh, a friend, she was telling me you need to come uh because she's about to go celebrate her birthday, and uh she's they're going to Jamaica. I'm like, I don't know if I really want to go too far anywhere, even driving. Like I had some something planned for Nashville, and it it I couldn't even go to my girlfriend's funeral, her dad, her dad's funeral, because at that time that's when the the uh airports were all grid locked and everything, and then the prices of the tickets, oh my God. So just with that by itself, so I can find some things around you know where I'm living and and not too far if I don't have to drive too far, because it's crazy. I have a we have a couple of vehicles, right? But that that that economic vehicle, it took me almost 60 bucks. I'm going like what pay what a a few months ago, $35 filled my car up. $60. I had to fill it. So I started doing like some people do. I'm gonna pay half right now, I'll do a half a tank, you know, because I don't drive too far. I'm in the area, so I don't drive a lot. But oh my God, I

Travel Plans Versus Household Reality

SPEAKER_02 13:16

couldn't even imagine my job two or three years ago where I was driving an hour each way.

unknown 13:22

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 13:23

Actually, that $60 to fill a good tank is pretty good because um my wife did I have an SUV, so it took $50 for a half a tank. So yeah, that's pretty good.

SPEAKER_02 13:38

And they say is always somebody worse off than you. And and and that's a good question that you asked. Um, am I gonna change some things? Now, as far now, I I can I can stand to drop a few inches, right? So, as far as my food intake, that's okay. Man, let me tell you something. We I don't do the shopping pretty much. I went and when I saw what they call the family box of Frosted Flakes, the box was shrunk, and the side was so thin, this is not a gigantic box. I went to a restaurant when it first started happening, and even the pancakes were even so people are now even giving you portion size food for more money.

SPEAKER_00 14:26

Yes, they're they're catching up with the uh with the chips. You ever got a bag of chips, and you know, you're like, wow, that's a nice bag, and then you open it up, it's like that much in it.

SPEAKER_02 14:37

All in air, yeah. It's a gimmick, man. Everything is just going up. So my what I would like to say to anybody that's out there, man, this is a time now for us to really start coming together.

SPEAKER_01 14:50

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 14:50

Um, you see, because a lot of services have been cut, you know, like food. Um some of the food programs have been cut, but what I'm glad to see, a lot of uh organizations are doing food, they're giving away food and everything. So that's that kind of balances things out, I think.

SPEAKER_00 15:09

Yes, yes, it does. Yes, it does. And, you know, like I said, there is help out there because times are hard, the people are struggling, and you know, to me, don't be bashful. You know, if you need help, you know, say something because we're all struggling one way or the other. And you know, sometimes you just need a helping hand.

SPEAKER_02 15:28

And there's and I'm glad to see the churches. I'm glad to see the churches are stepping up more, especially some of these mega churches, but not just the mega churches, some of the smaller churches are doing it as well. But right now, we're in this together. And as you said earlier, color has nothing to do with gender, class. We have to

Finding Help And Pulling Together

SPEAKER_02 15:47

come together, man, because we are all in this together. When these these terrors that we as we start talking about these terrors, man, they they're just not right. They just I just don't agree with them. And a lot of people now are speaking up and speaking out about it. So the protests, you see people protesting everywhere. They're coming, they're not just uh a certain color of people, they're just people, uh average middle class people coming together, poor people coming together trying to make a difference, man, because we are in this thing together.

SPEAKER_00 16:17

Yes, we are. Yeah, well, talk about interesting things. Um, have you ever seen the movie? It's called The Rip with uh Matt Damon and Ben Affleck.

SPEAKER_02 16:31

The Rip RIP? No, I haven't seen that. No.

SPEAKER_00 16:36

Well, basically, to summarize, actually, it's a great movie. If you ever get a chance, you definitely want to see it. Okay. Um, but basically, it's about um two officers, and they come up on this big bus where it's a lot of cash. So the the thing is, you know, one officer starts to really question and not trust the other officer and thinking that maybe that they're you know stealing money, planning to steal money. So I don't want to give too much away since you haven't seen it, but uh it's a very good movie, a lot of drama, a lot of suspense, a lot of action to it. Um, but there are two real officers that are suing both Matt Damon and Ben Affleck.

A Movie Lawsuit Over Police Details

SPEAKER_00 17:20

Oh, yeah, because of the movie. So uh in Miami, two South Florida uh police officers claim Ben Affleck and Matt Damon's recent action thriller, The Rip, use too many real life details in his fictionalized narrative, causing harm to the officers' personal and professional reputations, according to a defamation lawsuit. Uh Jason Smith and Jonathan Santana, sergeants in the Miami Dave Sheriff's Office, filed the lawsuit in Miami federal court earlier this month against Artist Equity, a film production company owned by Affleck and Damon. Okay. I have a lot to say about this here. Okay, wow. Now, to me, this has been going back years. Okay. You know, in order to make a good police movie, a good action movie when you use officers and stuff, they've been, you know, uh hiring either current or former police officers and detectives for decades. This is nothing new. Right, right. I don't, I mean, again, I'm not a lawyer, I don't know, but I can't see how this lawsuit's gonna go anywhere. I mean, what's your thoughts on this, Wonder?

SPEAKER_02 18:58

I I'm I'm kind of like you. I think some people, when you are famous, or when you when people kind of know you got a little bit of money or something, you have to be careful because they look for any little thing to try to get some of your coins. So it's it's it just sounds like uh a bunch of baloney. It just sounds like a butt of I'm like you they use these actor police officers all the time, real people all the time. So yeah, that that sounds like a bunch of uh yeah, I bet that it'd be interesting to see how that goes.

SPEAKER_00 19:34

I I agree with you. Um, I mean, I guess, and I'm hoping this isn't the angle. Sometimes people, like you say, use situations to try and enrich themselves, to try and put out a lawsuit to put extra money in their pockets. Because this has been done so long, that precedence is already there that you know they've been doing this. It's nothing new. It's kind of like this thing where everyone knows this. Now, you may not be able to tell which parts are real and which parts aren't because of the way the movies are put together. But to me, I think it adds a lot of a lot of um character and a lot to the story itself by having it be somewhat realistic too, because people could kind of go, oh wow. Now, the average person that's not a criminal, we don't really care. You know, we just want to watch a good movie, okay? Right, right. I could be wrong, but I doubt very seriously there are criminals going, okay, let's watch this movie here so we can pick figure out what police taxes are. I don't think that's happening.

SPEAKER_02 20:35

No, no. Oh my god. You know, this this puts me in mind of a of a of a similar situation where you know AI is in court. Yes, there's a guy because this guy, I think what what was it uh that he tried to murder, he did murder somebody or look to murder somebody, whatever. But the bottom line is AI is in court. How are you gonna put AI in court when if you use AI, and I know this is a sensitive topic, when you use AI, you the human being, are putting your thoughts in there. So, how are you gonna sue AI because this guy decides to use AI in the wrong way? And we don't really have to go deep in that because that could be another topic that we could talk about.

SPEAKER_00 21:24

Is that the one where uh supposedly the guy used AI to figure out how to do the murder? Is that the guy? Yeah, yes, yeah. To me, the guy is kind of stupid because you know everything you type on a computer

When People Blame AI For Crime

SPEAKER_00 21:39

is not private, you know. No, even if even if you delete what's on your computer, you do a search history, even in Chat GPT, they remember what you put in there. So Oh, absolutely.

SPEAKER_02 21:55

But yeah, but has AI on on trial, AI. And do nothing. It's I'm like the devil. People want to blame the devil for everything. The devil made me do it. No, that free will you got made you do that.

SPEAKER_00 22:07

Yes, yes. That is so so true. I mean, I think this is one of those things where um, again, a lot of people don't like AI. A lot of people feel to me, it depends on how you use AI. Because I do use AI myself, yeah, but I use it as a tool. I don't use a try to choice people. Um, because I don't think AI is at that point yet. Um will it get there? We don't know. It could be because things are moving very fast.

SPEAKER_01 22:37

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 22:38

But I I just think that um the gentleman is not very smart to you know type up, you know, how to do something to someone and think that no one's gonna figure that out, you know.

SPEAKER_02 22:49

Right, right. And then likewise with the the the what we started talking about, what happened with being an athlete and the and the the guy trying to sue him. I mean, you just dig you just throwing something to see if it'll stick to the wall, you know, and because they're famous or whatever, you got your few uh minutes of fame or whatever, or five minutes of fame, as they say. So no, I I just yeah, I think that's kind of um it's really unfortunate that they have to, you know, stop what they're doing, their busy schedule to even address something like this, but you have to address it. You you have to address it, you know. Uh, and that's just it's just a world that we're living in. Everybody is looking for a handout, you know. I'm gonna say everybody, but so many people are looking for a handout, and uh and they they want to get it off the backs of other people versus going out there and getting it yourself. We all have the ability, if you're not uh even I wouldn't even say if you're handicapped, because there are even people who are disabled that are doing more than people that that don't have anything wrong with them. So it's just no excuse. If you have your right mind, go out there and get it for yourself. Don't go and try to take it from somebody else, you know.

SPEAKER_00 23:56

I have to actually wonder. Sure, are you surprised someone was kind of stupid enough to ask AI how to you know commit a crime?

SPEAKER_02 24:05

Oh no, because desperate people do desperate things. No, not at all. It'll be as you said, you would be surprised. This is how people end up going to jail. The police know how to go in and do a forensic analysis on your electronic devices. So, whatever you think that you're doing, you look in it's 12 at midnight, two o'clock in the morning, and you're up that you know, if if if if the right person could go into that computer, they're gonna find out what you're doing. You're not getting away with anything. Maybe for a little while, but you're not getting away with anything for for uh too long, no, and no, you'll be amazed what they can find with a uh with a warrant. So oh, yeah, so just be be mindful. I know some people I'm not getting, I got off of Facebook. You you get off Facebook, but guess what? Everything you had on Facebook for the time you were on there is still there, and it's so true. Even like you trying to get rid of your cell phone, switch your phone. I think they're doing something different now because I I got another, I have a couple phone, but the other phone, they had us to bring it home this time because you know how long you used to take to get the data off your phone while you're sitting there. So now it's a something right now that can just wipe it out, just wipe everything out, and you can get a brand new phone. So even when you have your phone, if you give away a computer, an old computer, or uh uh uh electronics, your stuff is still banking information, personal information. So you have to make sure all that stuff is is not on there, so yeah. So we're we're in this quick technology uh time, but you have to also be be real careful. And if you don't want it out there, don't put it out, you know. Because I I tweet a little bit, and I probably shouldn't, but you you gotta be careful because those tweets they they're in yesteryear, but they're still out there. So everything we say and do, you better be big and bad enough to stand behind it. You know, if you think you're being slick and trying to do something hiding, mm-mm, because what's in the dark will come to light.

SPEAKER_00 26:09

That is true, that is so, so true.

SPEAKER_02 26:12

For sure. So, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 26:14

Now I know we talked about AI quite a bit, which actually leads into our next topic here. Okay, and um, this is very interesting because I witnessed this myself, but uh graduates are booing AI.

SPEAKER_02 26:29

They are doing what?

SPEAKER_00 26:31

They're booing AI. Oh, yes, yes. So to kind of give you a little bit of perspective, um a spat of recent university commencement speakers was met with boos rather than the usual cheers when their remarks turned to the topic of AI. The students' vocal displeasure has brought into focus many Gen Zers, opposition to AI and anxiety around the challenging entry-level job market. Trying to land an entry-level job right now is like throwing darts to begin with, uh, says uh Sheena Robiner,

Graduates Boo AI And Job Fears

SPEAKER_00 27:12

a 21-year-old senior at Stanford University, and the founder and president of AI Policy Nonprofit ENCODE AI. Um, and that's what she told CNBC. So, like I said, I experienced this personally um in my son's graduation. He just graduated um from Berkeley College of Music.

SPEAKER_01 27:38

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 27:39

And you know, they had um the the uh commencement speech. Um, there were people that received three people that received their doctorance, honorary doctoring degree. Uh, one of them was Jill Scott. So it was one of the other speakers, and they spoke briefly about AI, and the whole graduating crowd just went boom, boo, just real, real loud. And it's actually going on around the country because you know, a lot of youngsters don't really like AI because they feel that they're taking jobs away. So, what do you think about that, Wonder?

SPEAKER_02 28:17

First of all, it the Bible says, in all thy getting, get an understanding, and we're gonna probably have opposing uh views about lots of things, AI being one of them, religion, politics. I shared a uh a similar uh explanation to someone, and when they had an issue with AI, people using AI and all this. I said, I'll tell you this much. I've never been diagnosed with dyslexia, but that at my age, where I am, if there is a tool that's been created to help me get to a place faster than me sitting back, you know, uh trying to get it on my own, taking hours because you get the brain fog and uh your brain freezes. And but if I can find something that's gonna help me with my own thoughts, because I got thoughts, I got plenty of thoughts. And if I have something that's gonna help me to guide that and make sense of it, I don't have a problem with it. I told the same person, if you don't want to deal with technology, give me your car keys and you go find Charlie the horse and you ride a horse and buggy. Because technology is gonna move whether you agree with it or not. Christopher Columbus thought the world was flat. Just because he thought the world was flat doesn't mean it's not so. There's good and bad in everything. It is unfortunate that some bad people have taken AI, chat, and all this, and and tried to say it's the devil. Remember when the computer first came out back in the 80s, the late 80s, WWW, the World Wide Web, that's 666, that's the devil. So people are gonna have their ideas about certain things. Technology is gonna move whether we want it or not. Ask our grandmothers, ask some of the elderly people when they were doing. Remember, even when you think about churches, you think about people are even in the churches, and I don't want to get too deep. I said, I don't want to get too deep, but even even in the churches, you have people that are are going and uh going to the churches. I hope you don't hear my wow uh uh puppies going crazy. Um so uh my my thing is it's gonna be a debate, and I I I love a good debate because I happen to be watching 1883. I love all of the Yellowstones. And during the time this conversation of AI came out, I was watching, and it would they would it they were coming from the 1800s into the the 1923. I think I went to that one to the two 1923. Well, in 1923, the Dutchens were heading to town to have a meeting with the mayor or whoever they were having a meeting with. And he asked the man, the the the police offer who were what what happened to all of the what you call them, the thing they tie the horses up to, the little stands. He said, Oh, well, we have to move those out for the automobiles. And an epiphany hit me. I'm like, here it is. I was just having this conversation in 2026 with someone, and we were I was giving an analogy, and here it is, watching this movie, and it showed how they were transitioning from horses to cars. And then they were in there shopping, and the guy said, Well, you need to buy one of these machines here, buy one of these machines over here, and it was a washing machine. They said, Oh, that's the devil. How long that's gonna last? That's not gonna last too long. The guy was selling the first automatic washing machines, and they were talking about that. So we have to look at evolution. We are constantly growing, and unfortunately, if you got somebody that's taking the good thing and making it bad, that doesn't make the entity itself bad. It's the individual like that guy wanting to know how to murder somebody, took AI, and now they got AI on trial versus the man, the human being that put the information in there. So you see what I'm saying?

SPEAKER_00 32:43

Yeah, but you know, the the only thing I agree with most of what you say, but I think AI is a different monster. And what I mean by that is that both could be right and both could be wrong, where AI is a great tool, and AI makes a lot of things easier, and it helps out businesses, especially small businesses and stuff like that. But AI also has that dark side to it, and the convert the and the uh controversial side is using it to replace actors, using it to replace actual musicians and actual singers. Um, you know, now you're looking at a whole different type of thing because uh I remember on a few episodes earlier on Thirsty Topics, uh, we talked about some artists, which actually weren't real artists, they were actually AI artists. Yeah, because the Billboard 100s. Okay. And um it was kind of scary because they did sound good, I have to admit it. They really didn't have a lot of people.

SPEAKER_01 33:45

Yeah, they do, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 33:47

But you know, it's kind of like I I don't really see it as real talent because you're just basically telling the computer what to do. That's just me. And then also, too, when you're looking at AI in the movies, now let's say for whatever reason an actor can't complete the movie. You know, God forbid they lose their life, they get sick.

SPEAKER_02 34:08

They get sick, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 34:09

And you've already started making the movie, so you don't want to lose tens of millions of dollars trying to re read someone in and recast it, reshoot it and everything, because that stuff is very expensive. That makes sense. I could see that. But the one thing I think where you start getting into that gray area is okay, just because someone does a movie, what you do automatically mean you have the right to use their image and something else they never even auditioned for.

SPEAKER_02 34:43

Oh, for sure. Now that now that's a now again, oh, oh yes, and that's why even on Facebook, and I'm guilty, you know, all the other things, you get the pictures, and and they they put your face on these different pictures and images. I think that that's kind of scary, and I'm I'm guilty of that myself, but I don't use my face recognition for my passwords because I'm thinking if you put your face in there, that's the danger of that. So, yeah, I I I see the danger in there, and again, it goes it. I'll tell you another one. I love red, I love blue. Don't you know there are gang members that represent red? There are gang members that represent blue. So, you mean to tell me that I'm not gonna wear blue because gang members chose to have that as part of their um organization? So we even when McDonald's is not scared of Wendy's, KFC is not scared of Popeyes, so it's really about being smart how you use it. Again, goes back to the good and the bad that's in it. Because there there are there have been projects getting back to the stars where either the person has gotten sick or you see a different that wasn't Rachel, oh that wasn't Dan. They got a whole different person in there. Now, the AI I think would be a great addition if they if a movie was not done. So again, it's a it's really about uh what you what what your motive is behind it. True. Now, I was just watching the news today, and one of those AI cars, one of the automatic cars drove into a puddle of water, bundle of Vidock. I'm like, but nobody was in the car. I was like, uh, so there it is, uh one of those things for the people that's against it right there. They just gave them something to talk about. Let's give them something to talk about. So that that gives them something to talk about. That car was under all that water, but you a human being, I I know of human beings. Oh, I can get through that and they'll drive through a puddle of water and they're stuck. So it wasn't, you see what I'm saying? So it wasn't necessarily it was an AI car because human beings have done the same thing. They say do not drive your car because you don't know how deep that water is, right?

SPEAKER_00 37:09

But I believe that an AI uh rideshare person won't do that with a passenger in the car.

SPEAKER_02 37:16

Say that one more time.

SPEAKER_00 37:18

Uh, an A uh an actual driver, like let's say for Uber or Left, they won't do that with a passenger in the car. Where, you know, and that to me, that's where the the person comes into.

SPEAKER_02 37:30

I ain't, you know, I believe in technology, but I'm not getting in no vehicle and ain't no human being driving, the visible man driving. No way. Because you're trapped, you're under the because you're under the mercy of somebody that don't even have they they don't even have a driver's license, or they have a driver's license and still can't drive. As I said, where you get that driver's license from the cracker jack box? So we we have to be careful even with people uh driving cars, human beings. So it's it's one of the things, you know, is the glass half empty, is it half full? What's your perspective on it? So I think it's a it's a it's a intelligent dialogue. Let's talk about it because it's not going anywhere. You remember the Jetsons? The Jetsons way back in the what the 80s, 70s 80s. So the Jetsons were flying around in cars, they had the TVs, they had all their stuff way before now.

SPEAKER_01 38:25

That's true.

SPEAKER_02 38:26

So very good, very good topic. And again, and for me, I can get stuff done much quicker. It's still my ideas. Let me know if I'm going to go when we go uh slow down or whatever. Go ahead. I'm sorry. Oh no, no, you're fine. Oh, yeah. So we just have to be able to understand that. And for me, if if you like chocolate cake and I like lemon cake, don't tell me I'm wrong for lacking lemon cake. And and and it's okay to talk about the the pros and the cons. And like I said, Wendy's is not scared of McDonald's.

SPEAKER_00 39:05

That is true, that is true. Well, um, our last topic um is actually a topic that probably is gonna be a little sensitive to some people right now, based on some of the other topics we talked about today. Okay, but uh ex-Spirit employees have filed a lawsuit over layoffs and pay. Okay. Now, in case someone just did not know what's going on, and you know, maybe they're off on a sabbatical, uh sabbatical and they just didn't hear what happened, but uh spirit airlines no longer exist. Uh spirit airlines shut down. Um, in fact, the employees did not get any heads up about this. They found out when the rest of the world found out, and they were people that were literally stranded, um, where they went to the counter to you know find out what was going on, yeah, and there was no one there. Uh in fact, they uh

Spirit Airlines Shutdown And Worker Fallout

SPEAKER_00 40:05

had to hire people, uh, repossession companies to fly the planes back um to their origin as far as um putting them someplace because they're literally out of business. You call customer service, there is no customer service. So, from what Spirit Airlines said, uh Spirit Airlines basically said that because of the rising fuel costs, they were already struggling financially. That was a fraud that broke the camel's back, and they did not have money to continue on. So a group of Spirit Airlines employees have filed a class action lawsuit claiming the airline violated the Warren Act by failing to provide required notice before suddenly shutting down. Um, uh NBC News has a report on this, and they say that six ex-employees seek compensation for unpaid wages, benefits, and the continuation of their medical coverage. Given that some of the 17,000 affected workers uh say that they have not received final paychecks, the lawsuit could expand, particularly since the company lobbied for a $10.7 million in retention bonuses for senior executives in bankruptcy court uh in spirit's final days. So there's a lot in that.

SPEAKER_02 41:30

It's a lot.

SPEAKER_00 41:33

Well, uh Wanda, I know that's a lot that I just I just said. What do you think about that?

SPEAKER_02 41:39

Well, again, it just goes back, it's more than just about the airline, it's about people's livelihood. We we're talking about uh mothers, we're talking about our children, we're talking about people. Um oh my god, I couldn't even think about it. I couldn't even, I couldn't even, and you asked earlier, so this goes back to what you said earlier about my plans. How in the world can you explain this to people who are stranded, bought tickets, the employees finding out just like we've I would be I would be not happy right now, I wouldn't be a happy camper to know that these big entities, because they I I get I guarantee you that the executive they the executive and they knew about this before it happened. That's totally unfair. I would be I would not be happy right about now. So what what is the consequence? I mean, what are the consequences?

SPEAKER_00 42:42

That's a great question. Um and I know that um there are laws in the books on the federal side and on the state side. Of course, it varies from state to state, and then as far as the federal law, how that works, I'm not really 100% sure. I may do some research into that, but um, most of the time, a big corporation, a big company has to give some type of notice. You know, you just can't have enough on your show to work and like doors are locked, there's nobody in there. No, that's or worst case scenario, you're on your vacation, and you're like, and it's a connecting flight, and you're like, okay, let me go to let me go uh check it out. Because if you're on vacation, you're not watching the news. No, you're like, my flight's been catching. I do and you go to the to to the to the area where Spirit Airlines is, and it's a ghost town. And you know, there were people that had to pay anywhere from hundreds to a thousand dollars more just to get to their destination because we all know how expensive it is when you buy an airline ticket last minute. Oh my god, it's very, very expensive. So I don't know because they're they were in bankruptcy. Court I don't know if they'll be able to get anything out of this. I hope so, because I agree with you. I think this was so wrong. But the other thing that bothers me, and I didn't realize it until you know I was reading the information. Uh-huh. How is it that you pay bonuses to the executives, but you say you're broken, you're going out of business? And and again, it could be me. Maybe I, you know, maybe I don't know something here, but it's kind of weird to me.

SPEAKER_02 44:28

Let me give you, I and I know I I think we share this with you at lunch. There is uh it's on Prime, a movie on uh it's a series on press, seven seasons, too, called Billions. And they talk of and this this uh and I'll send you the the link to it. This uh series really hit on corporations and uh uh uh uh the the what do you call it stock markets and all of the inside trading and the the the stuff that they keep from the little people it is amazing and I cannot and I think we're on season two now, so this was like years before. I mean, like uh for what's going on right now, but it's playing into today's society, what's going on in the world today, and it is a shame that you have a millionaires, people who are successful, and they take it out on us. The little people, it's it's not fair, and they're giving money now in another entity, uh, instance rather, uh for people who definitely don't deserve to get this money. You get people who have been working hard, not just with spirit, but we're talking about spirit right now, but just in so many other areas, like spirit, the people who are hurting uh what happened. I think it's a it's a sin and it's a shame. It's a shame.

SPEAKER_00 46:08

Yeah, and you know, I hope I'm wrong, but I just have a feeling that um there's gonna be more companies that are probably gonna succumb to what's going on. I mean, um, I mean, we've seen it unfortunately with a lot of farmers. A lot of farmers have filed bankruptcy went out of business because of everything. And at some point, something's gotta change because we can't keep going down this rabbit hole over.

SPEAKER_02 46:37

But the thing, the thing that has to change, and and and I'm seeing it more, is people coming together. Man, together we stand divided, we fall. So again, the color doesn't matter uh how much money you have, because even some of the people that's got the money, their money is gonna dwindle with the way things are going if we don't all come together. This is a time, man. If we ever needed each other, man, I need you, you need me. We're all a part of the God's body, man. And this is why we got to come together against the uh the uh the wiles of the enemy who's trying to keep us suppressed, man. It's about us really, really coming together and and being our brothers and sisters keepers.

SPEAKER_00 47:23

Seriously. That is so true. That is so, so true. Yeah, I just hope that um those those employees that were laid off. I just hope that uh they find their way and they're not harmed too much by what happened. Uh, because again, this is not a great job market right now because of everything going on.

SPEAKER_02 47:41

Because I hate to say it, man. Ooh, we I hate to say it. The crime and the desperation of the people, they're gonna be crying out so bad real soon. And we have to be real careful that people don't get so desperate that we can't even come up out of our house. And I think that's kind of what the is the way some people kind of want it to go, that the people to fold, and even through the the the the um the injustice of uh the ice agents and stuff like that, all the people came together, you don't even hear about that anymore. You barely hear about it because people came together, so people are gonna have to really come together, man, and really be informed. If you're not informed, man, you are going to perish.

SPEAKER_00 48:33

That is so true.

SPEAKER_02 48:35

God, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 48:37

So well, I tell you, it's amazing, but we're almost up for an hour here.

SPEAKER_02 48:43

Um wow, okay.

SPEAKER_00 48:44

Time is really, really flu, and I'm gonna enjoy our conversations. I'm looking forward to this every week with you.

SPEAKER_02 48:51

Oh, yes. I and thank you so much for uh because this is my element, you know. I I host uh the my the rock show. I've been doing that since 1998. So I I'm I've always been had a heart for the community and a heart for the people, and I want people in the community to know people like you, people like Laura, people like you know, so we we we have a real nice uh community that we're building, man. Everybody is standing uh tall by themselves, but together we're coming together, man. I see the I see I see the future. I see a great future when we first met and the people that we're connecting with, man. God, God is good, and no matter how bad things look, because remember how it was during

Final Thoughts And Community Projects

SPEAKER_02 49:34

COVID. Everybody thought the world had just ended, we didn't know what to expect. And now that we're coming together with the technology, even us as sitting here right now, we we we'll be we'll be in the studio sometimes, but I'm enjoying how we're just having the dialogue right now. Absolutely enjoying it. So thank you for this opportunity, my friend.

SPEAKER_00 49:55

Anytime. Now, before we get out of here, um you're starting a little bit, but tell people about the other projects you work on.

SPEAKER_02 50:02

Oh, wow. Well, I'm working on uh um my program Rock Restore Our Communities, and I'm also working as an umbrella under Rock a uh a podcast for youth called Hear Our Voices. Because young people, man, they they have value. And as a former educator in the Nashville school system for more than 20 years, I understand that young people they have things they can they can share with us too. We can't just push them in the corner. Remember back in the day that your parents say children should be seen and not heard. No, kids, young people, they they have some value, they have valuable points. So that's why I'm working on that as well. And then with my daughter, I'm working on uh RMC, uh renal medullary carcinoma. I did a documentary, I wrote a book, my grandson wrote a book about his mom and about his journey uh with her dealing with uh sicker cell trait because in the in the African-American community, there are so many people that don't realize that having uh sicker cell trait, you can end up with a very rare kidney cancer called RMC, renal medullary carcinoma, car carcinoma. So that's what I'm working on. Those are a few things that I'm working on right now.

unknown 51:14

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 51:15

Great, those are some great, great things that you're working on. Well, everyone, thank you again for watching us, for listening to us. Please, please share, tell everyone who we are, and also tell people to kind of tune in and watch us and listen to us. Um, you can catch us on all the major podcast networks. Also, you can come see us personally at lrodtvnetwork.com where you can see this, and there's also several other shows, and then also um Server Lighting, which is a documentary uh that my friend Wanda has put together, is also on the channel as well. Well, everyone, have a great day. I'm Lawrence Lrod. And I'm Wanda P. Take care, everyone. Bye bye.