We’re in the midst of a weekend of multiple holidays right now, something that came up a few times on the latest Real Time With Bill Maher. The first of these occurred during Maher’s opening monologue, when he mentioned that “Monday is Presidents Day!” and heard resounding silence in return. His Valentine’s Day advice would come later in the episode.
Maher had a lot to say about the current president’s recent attacks on climate change. “He thinks it’s just some bullshit that people made up out of nothing to get rich. You know, like crypto,” Maher said. He went on to say that the EPA’s recent decision to stop regulating climate change was arguably “the biggest dick move in American history.”
Jonathan Haidt, author of The Anxious Generation, joined Maher for an interview in which Haidt cited governments worldwide regulating social media as evidence that we may be living through a moment when regulators are rethinking social media’s effects on young people. He mentioned that he had been meeting with politicians from across the political spectrum, and predicted more countries following Australia’s lead in regulating social meia.
Maher stated that he was impressed that “a book changing people’s minds can happen” in this day and age. Haidt brought up an ongoing trial in California, arguing that there was plenty of evidence that tech companies knew how addictive social media would be. “We have transcripts, we have internal reports,” he said.
“Comparing it to the tobacco industry is unfair to the tobacco industry,” he added. The addiction imagery continued, as he cited the example of people using Snapchat to buy fentanyl.
Maher pushed back a bit about whether social media had made children more toxic. “Kids were always bastards,” he said, and cited the 1954 novel Lord of the Flies as an example of this. Haidt mentioned that he was looking into other ways to encourage kids to opt out of spending too much time on social media, including co-authoring a new graphic novel, The Amazing Generation: Your Guide to Fun and Freedom in a Screen-Filled World.
For the evening’s panel discussion, MS NOW’s Stephanie Ruhle and retired Lt. General H.R. McMaster took to the stage. Maher returned to the recent news of the EPA, comparing it to saying that “the Navy can’t use ships.”
Ruhle echoes that frustration, while McMaster argued for a market-centric approach to climate change. For lack of a better description, this seemed like the politically conservative approach to acknowledging climate change and seeking a response to it. This conversation also put Maher in the unusual position of defending the Chinese government, arguing that they have not — unlike the Trump administration — adopted the policy that climate change is a hoax.
The One Thing You Should Not Do If You Cheat on Someone
Outside of the act of cheating itself, publicly humiliating yourself, and your ex, is…not a good lookLater on in the episode, Maher brought up the kidnapping of Nancy Guthrie: “I don’t want to become the kidnap country,” he said, and suggested that this is one of the reasons why this story has been so compelling for so many people. He also returned to the issue of cryptocurrency, speculating that its adoption has made it easier for kidnappers to demand untraceable ransoms.
To close out the episode, Maher returned to another of his recurring themes: that young men need to be better at life. He is not, you’ll be shocked to learn, a fan of the concept of the “hub-son.” Nor is he a fan of romantasy, describing its appeal as, “If I can’t find a man to get me off, I’ll get Dracula to do it.” The segment ended with an invocation of Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s relationship — which is probably more logical than Maher recounting the plots of various romantasy titles, but not necessarily as entertaining.
Other notable moments from this week’s episode:
- Maher on Attorney General Pam Bondi: “What is the opposite of Legally Blonde?”
- Maher on Bad Bunny’s halftime show: “I looked at it like Olympic curling. I had no idea what the fuck was going on, but everyone looks like they’re having fun. Fuck it, I’m in.”
- Maher’s description of various Winter Olympic sports: “Different ways to fall down a hill.”
More Like This
This article appeared in an InsideHook newsletter. Sign up for free to get more on travel, wellness, style, drinking, and culture.