HBO Max trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RwBW3do9yqc

He’s not afraid of pissing off the Trumpers.

I gave up listening to Marc Maron’s podcast years ago. He’s talks too much and he’s too uninformed. But having listened before that, I know that he’s pissed off a lot of people. You see Marc had an edge, as if angry that everybody he knew was more successful than he was.

He tried to rectify this with the twentieth century paradigm of a sitcom. But that ship had sailed, there were too many options and no one needed another self-centered show seen as a vehicle to boost the rep and the status of its star.

But then Maron was a secondary character in “Glow” and the show was a surprise hit and he got good reviews. And in “Stick” he’s positively revelatory, all his prior anxiety is gone, he’s the curmudgeon with a heart of gold, smarter than everybody else but not constantly rubbing it in your face.

As for his standup special?

I was shocked that he dove straight into politics. Almost nobody else has the balls, because of the insane blowback. It makes an entertainer question themselves, is it worth risking their audience, to take a stand on this subject that may be near and dear to their heart but is not the essence of their work?

And then comes the kicker:

“Progressives have really got to figure out how to deal with this buzzkill problem. You do realize we annoyed the average American into fascism.”

BINGO!

I’d say that Maron is an equal opportunist offender, but that is untrue. He represents those of us who are solidly on the blue side of the line and are overwhelmed with Trump and his antics yet feel powerless. And we can see that the Democrats were, and to a great degree still are, their own worst enemy. Pronouns? Trans women in sports? Sure, we want to respect every individual, but can we use a little common sense?

You watch this special and you feel that Maron is coming from where you are. He resembles nothing so much as the guy who lives down the hall in your dorm. Who is not scraping off his rough edges to get along, but is speaking his truth, unafraid of those who disagree, yet possessing underneath a warmth and an understanding of the human condition.

Maron is not Chappelle. Sure, they both tell stories, but Chappelle is sly and builds up to an hysterical punchline. Maron is more of a storyteller, he’s got more in common with Spalding Gray than he does with most of the comics plying the boards. You only laugh out loud a few times, but you still enjoy the show.

And the exhibition of his neuroses… We all have them, but today you either hide them or build your whole carer on revealing them.

But mostly Maron is finally comfortable in his own skin. He feels like he’s made it. He knows he’s not an arena act, but he’s got his fans.

And isn’t that what it’s all about?

Entertainment is not a team sport. It is not us vs. them. But that does not mean you can’t have an identity, can’t take a position. But it’s so hard for most to make themselves vulnerable to the blowback.

But the truth is it’s all about your fans, nobody else matters. Everybody is not going to like you, but if you’re good enough, you’ll have enough followers to sustain a career.

Jokes are interesting, but real life is special, it’s what truly resonates.

Maron is on the right path here. And the funny thing is so many of his contemporaries are pulling their punches.

Then again, Bill Burr has been opining about politics recently, speaking his truth unafraid of anybody.

But Burr is in-your-face, he’s got a bigger presence, his act is more everyman, whereas Maron is an intellectual.

Maron has finally arrived. Kudos!

These two TikTok clips really need no introduction, but I’m going to give them one. If you’re time-challenged, just scroll down to the links and watch them. They’re the best explanations of the topics they concern that I’ve seen all week.

Yes, on TikTok. The dirty little secret is late night TV’s goal is virality online. That’s where you see the shows’ best work. And the standard for virality is high, which is why Jimmy Fallon so often fails. Online edgy works, bland is overlooked. In the days of three networks, bland was the standard, in the era of unlimited choice, you must cause a reaction in the consumer. You must make them laugh or get their blood to boil, to the point where they’ll tell everybody else about your work. The music business used to sell edge, it specialized in this, but now it has sacrificed the bleeding edge to TikTok. As for why your music doesn’t go viral…does it have an edge, does it say something? The audience has got no time for commerce, they want something that affects them.

Now when it comes to politics, those in authoritarian countries say the only thing that works against leaders is humor, that they can’t handle it. The following clip is not about Trump, but it is about the red/blue divide.

The clip comes from “The Daily Show.” To tell you the truth, I don’t know the host’s name, even though I could look it up. She’s got the sneer down pat. She ends up rising above the argument, which is what all cool people do. Now in truth, despite being on TV only one day a week, Jon Stewart is the king of late night virality. We keep hearing about Colbert, but online Stewart rules. His show airs on TV Monday night and for days thereafter the best clips are viewed online by a plethora of people. I don’t pull Stewart’s words, they’re pushed to me, they always come up in my feed. Stewart sometimes gets down into the trenches, but what is most appealing is when he’s separate/above it all, as if saying “look at these doofuses.”

Enough words, please watch this “Daily Show” clip about Sydney Sweeney and the jeans controversy. It nails the issues and the hypocrisy:

@thedailyshow

The Sydney Sweeney ad controversy has Megyn Kelly outraged on behalf of one of America’s most underrepresented groups: blond women #DailyShow #MegynKelly #SydneySweeney #Jeans

? original sound – The Daily Show

Now the other clip I’m going to link to is one about electric cars. It’s a slam dunk. If everyone in America viewed this also humorous clip, they’d get the message, they’d get on board.

This is a gigantic issue in America today. The entire world is moving to electric.

I know many of you hate the “New York Times,” but I point you to an article in today’s “New York Times”:

“Trump Will Slow, but May Not Stop, the Rise of Electric Vehicles – President Trump and Republicans in Congress are eliminating federal incentives to buy electric vehicles, but carmakers need to keep selling and investing in them.”

Free link: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/03/business/trump-electric-vehicles.html?unlocked_article_code=1.bk8.7xED.9N54uIc9O82S&smid=url-share

Here’s the nougat:

“U.S. electric vehicle sales rose just 1.5 percent in the first six months, according to Cox Automotive. But globally sales rose 28 percent to 9.1 million vehicles”

“Carmakers that ignore this fast-growing market may not be in business 10 years from now”

The problem is we live in a world economy, where electric is triumphing, led by the Chinese. Anway, here’s the video, please watch it: 

@thefinanceinfo

Rory Sutherland explains why petrol cars only seem normal because they came first — not because they’re better. If we’d started with electric vehicles, no one would ever approve the petrol alternative. They’re noisy, inefficient, polluting, and you can’t refuel them at home. It’s a classic case of status quo bias. Electric cars solve all the practical issues — but because petrol came first, we treat them as the standard. It shows how deeply habits and perceptions shape innovation (or block it). ?? #electriccar #psychology #Economy

? original sound – The Finance Info

Tune in Saturday August 2nd to Faction Talk, channel 103, at 4 PM East, 1 PM West.

Phone #: 844-686-5863

If you miss the episode, you can hear it on demand on the SiriusXM app. Search: Lefsetz

Long time publicist for the Grateful Dead Dennis McNally has a new book “The Last Great Dream: How Bohemians Became Hippies and Created the Sixties.” We talk about San Francisco, the Dead and more!

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/dennis-mcnally/id1316200737?i=1000720007210

https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/9ff4fb19-54d4-41ae-ae7a-8a6f8d3dafa8/episodes/6bdf3584-e777-415b-99e7-cdd632db2016/the-bob-lefsetz-podcast-dennis-mcnally