Interview · moment 12 of 14
Is Twitter Activism an Addiction, and the Iraq War Origin Story
from Torching Bridges (with David Angelo) · #31
Audio-only archive episode — no video to seek.
7 minGuest
They discuss whether tweeting political opinions is compulsive like a cigarette habit, and David explains his Iraq War-era disillusionment with media propaganda as the root of his need to be provably right.
- 49:04Tim asks if posting about politics feels like an addiction, comparing it to compulsively smoking cigarettes.
- 49:48Tim describes his nervous breakdown during the Iraq War, working near CNN's Crossfire studio while watching propaganda about weapons of mass destruction unfold.
- 50:26His motivation for posting online: proving he wasn't a lunatic at the time by documenting the obvious bullshit nobody else would acknowledge.
- 51:19Social media has impaired meaningful conversations, reducing everything to character limits while people with no historical knowledge make Holocaust comparisons.
- 52:30Tim criticizes Hollywood for refusing to say that justifying violence against political opponents isn't smart, even if you think someone is a fascist.
- 53:21Younger comedians face career risk for taking contrarian positions, unlike established comics like Rogan, Carolla, and DePaulo.
- 53:52Tim stopped writing long-winded political posts because he realized they weren't funny and his voice only matters when it makes people laugh.
- 54:56Hollywood actors get away with unfunny garbage as long as it promotes the right political agenda, but comedians face consequences for the opposite.
- 55:34Tim says he has to criticize the double standard because it's bullshit, even though it costs him money and keeps him from becoming a millionaire.
Iraq WarJoe RoganNothing's EasyCNNJim NortonAdam CarollaNick DePauloNew York TimesObama twins