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Independent Americans with Paul Rieckhoff

86. Chuck D. Fighting the Power (2020 Remix). Public Enemy’s Iconic Founder on Trump, Biden, Harris, Black Lives Matter, SpaceX, Getting Old, Advice from Prince, the Future of Music, the NY Knicks.

Independent Americans with Paul Rieckhoff

Righteous Media | Bleav

Daily News, Veteran, News, Politics, News Commentary, National Security

4.6907 Ratings

🗓️ 20 November 2020

⏱️ 115 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

As America faces power fights like we’ve never seen before, the legendary founder of Public Enemy joins us to explore and explain fighting the power: 2020 style. This is Chuck D--a voice of consciousness, outrage, inspiration and action for over 35 years---unplugged and uninterrupted. Just when our country needs it the most.  Chuck D (@MisterChuckD) [35:37] is one of the most iconic and important American artists of the last century. He’s an activist, organizer, inspiration, and the ultimate angry American. He’s testified before Congress, co-hosted a political radio show with The Daily Show Founder, Liz Winstead and MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow, and collaborated with artists ranging from Prince, to Anthrax, to Sonic Youth, to Rage Against the Machine, to Gary Clark Jr., to Logic, to Sheryl Crow.  Chuck is the powerful, driving force behind arguably the most disruptive hip hop group in history. Born in the intersection of culture and politics, the hip hop trailblazers have interpreted the righteous anger of millions worldwide for decades. In the late 80s and early 90s, their first four albums went gold or platinum. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and honored this year with a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.  Our host, Paul Rieckhoff (@PaulRieckhoff), and Chuck have been friends for almost two decades. And this is Chuck from inside his home, raw, candid, and without commercial interruption. Chuck and Rieckhoff know how to throw punches. And their conversation will give you advice on fighting the power (and living life) that will leave you inspired for the tough fights ahead. Chuck is a real and fascinating creative mind that breaks down the results of the election, sizes up Joe Biden and Donald Trump, and offers analysis on why New Yorkers (and Trump) are uniquely powerful right now. If you’re not angry, you’re not paying attention. And few artists in American history have been more angry than Chuck D. But more than almost anyone else, Chuck’s work and life is a demonstration in how to turn that anger into positive impact, and history-making art. Chuck is a perfect guest for these times--and this is an essential episode.  And Rieckhoff rips into the issues and headlines you need to know about--from the deepening partisan divide in America, to the chaos at the Pentagon, to Trump’s assault on the election results, to the pandemic’s hidden impact on the military and veterans. Most podcasts simply break down what happened. Angry Americans will prepare you for what happens next.  Angry Americans is your trusted, independent source for news, politics, culture and inspiration. It’s a smart, fun and no-BS perspective like nowhere else in the media. You’ll meet powerful, inspiring iconic guests in raw conversations and join a unique and powerful community.  You can join us for an exclusive Cocktail Hour Zoom if you become part of the Angry Americans Patreon community. You’ll also get unique access to our amazing guests, our dynamic host, merch discounts, and exclusive content. Angry Americans is possible thanks to these Patreon supporters and Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey.  You can also watch this conversation with Chuck D and a wide range of music, political, business and media players ranging from Jeffrey Wright to Susan Rice to Sarah Jessica Parker to Stephen Colbert to Meghan McCain to Mayor Pete Buttigieg on the Righteous Media YouTube page. It’s political, social and industry diversity like no other show in America.  Angry Americans empowers independent Americans and is powered by Righteous Media.  Get more:  Twitter: https://twitter.com/AngryAmericans Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/angryamericansus Instagram: http://instagram.com/angryamericansUSA And YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrlrGIJcmgIsJQgOR1ev-ew/featured Watch the Conversation: https://youtu.be/sliS5VjsEpw

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

Welcome to Angry Americans.

0:16.0

Welcome to episode 86.

0:18.8

I'm your host, Paul Reikoff.

0:23.1

And if you're not angry, you're not paying attention.

0:28.3

Even now, the hospital is being overrun with COVID patients.

0:32.6

They come in.

0:34.0

They're horribly ill.

0:35.6

They're gasping for breath.

0:37.4

And yet they don't believe they have COVID?

0:39.9

Yeah, I think the hardest thing to watch is that people are still looking for something else,

0:46.2

and they want a magic answer, and they don't want to believe that COVID is real. And the reason

0:51.2

I tweeted what I did is it wasn't one particular patient. It's just

0:55.3

a culmination of so many people. And their last dying words are, this can't be happening. It's not

1:03.0

real. And when they should be spending time, FaceTiming their families, they're filled with anger and

1:09.0

hatred. And it just made me really sad the other night.

1:12.1

And I just can't believe that those are going to be their last thoughts and words.

1:16.9

Anger and hatred towards you?

1:21.1

You know, I think it's just a belief that it's not real. And nursing happens to be on the

1:26.8

receiving end of that and that's okay

1:29.2

we can take that that's what you're there for it's just in the bigger picture when you try to reason

1:34.5

with people of can i call your family your kids your wife your friend your brother and they say no

1:40.8

because i'm going to be fine and you're watching their oxygen levels, you know,

...

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