Why Are We So Fascinated by the Slap?

The Commentary Magazine Podcast

Commentary Magazine

News Commentary, Politics, News

4.6 • 4.5K Ratings

🗓️ 29 March 2022

⏱️ 73 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Today's podcast wonders at the fact that 36 hours after Will Smith slapped Chris Rock, the world is still obsessed with the story; could it be that we are precisely because it's frivolous? And why is Joe Biden claiming not to have said what he said about Putin and Russia—and why did he say what he said in the first place? And what about the budget? And John Eastman? And COVID? Give a listen.

Transcript

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0:00.0	music
0:24.0	Welcome to the commentary magazine Daily Podcast today is Tuesday March 29th 2022. I am John
0:29.3	Pothore. It's the editor of commentary and you have just eight days to register and attend
0:36.0	our live podcast taping in Palm Beach, Florida next Wednesday April 6th go to commentary.org slash
0:44.8	live podcast for details. If you haven't done so already and you're in South Florida,
0:50.5	what else do you have to do next Wednesday but come here us see us listen to us meet us
0:55.5	commune with us be in fellowship with us like come on you know you go you golf enough come
1:06.0	come come be come be enlightened in Palm Beach next Wednesday and by we I mean executive editor
1:13.4	A. Greenwald high A. John senior writer Christine Rosen high Christine hi John and associate editor
1:19.6	Noah Rossman high Noah hi John so there's a lot going on but I am my mind is clouded
1:30.3	by the bread and circuses meaning the Will Smith slaps Chris Rock and the world goes insane
1:38.4	moment of you know around 11 p.m. on Sunday night and it's not just because I'm pop culture crazy
1:46.1	and pop culture obsessed and all of that I am I I am finding it very hard to pay that much attention
1:52.0	to a enormous spade of news that we will get to in a minute but I am wondering why this is like I
1:58.1	mean yes we don't ordinarily see live on television in front of you know tens of millions of people
2:05.5	one of the most famous people in the world slapping one of the other most famous people in the
2:09.3	world and it being an entirely spontaneous and unplanned event led that followed by rageful
2:15.5	yelling and you know basically everybody's jaw on the planet earth dropping and so it's it's very
2:22.9	unfamiliarity it's the fact that it's an entirely novel incident is what news is right news is
2:29.1	something new and it's it is a it is a thing that you know it's something that has happened that
2:33.8	has never happened before is by definition news and when it involves famous people it becomes
2:38.6	twice as newsworthy but I'm wondering whether this just comes as a welcome diversion from the fact
	...

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