Episode 358 · The Studio Revamp
Prigozhin Eras Tour | The Tim Dillon Show #358
Aug 27, 2023 · 1:10:57 · 459,000 views · 20 segments, 137 moments indexed
Tim examines the rise and fall of Yevgeny Prigozhin, Taylor Swift, houses getting smaller and why giving boomers immortality is ill-advised.
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- 1 min
Tim opens the show, mentions returning to Saturday night releases for the summer, and thanks fans for well wishes.
1moment
- Tim announces The Tim Dillon Show is back on Saturday nights for the foreseeable future
- 3 min
Yevgeny Prigozhin's Rise from Hot Dog Salesman to Warlord
#Tim details Prigozhin's backstory: prison time, becoming Putin's caterer nicknamed 'Putin's Chef,' founding Wagner Group, and the photo of him serving George W. Bush borscht in the Kremlin.
6moments
- Evgeni Prigozhin's death and his brief but significant impact on recent events
- Prigozhin attempted a coup that didn't work, then his plane was blown out of the air with all his Wagner commanders
- Prigozhin started as a hot dog salesman and became a warlord
- Prigozhin and Putin were buddies from when Putin was young in local government
- Prigozhin spent nine years in a Russian prison after choking a woman and stealing her pocketbook
- Prigozhin became Putin's caterer, earning the nickname Putin's Chef
Yevgeny PrigozhinWagner GroupVladimir PutinBelarusSaint PetersburgGeorge W. Bush
- 4 min
Putin's Bizarre Eulogy and the Plane 'Accident'
#Tim mocks the Kremlin's denial and Putin's odd eulogy calling Prigozhin someone who 'got the necessary results,' framing the plane crash as an obvious hit despite official cover stories.
9moments
- Prigozhin looked like a sommelier or maître d' despite being a warlord who cut people's heads off.
- Tim describes finding photos of beheaded people in Prigozhin's house, comparing him to Colonel Kurtz from Apocalypse Now.
- Prigozhin started as a chef, made money catering to the Russian military, then founded the Wagner PMC.
- African warlords benefited from Wagner's security services in exchange for giving Russia mining rights.
- Prigozhin's trajectory: hot dog salesman turned high-end caterer turned billionaire oligarch who enjoyed killing.
- Putin's statement after Prigozhin's death called him a talented businessman with a complicated fate who made serious mistakes.
- The Kremlin's response to the plane crash: you just take a chance when you fly, implying no foul play despite the convenient timing.
- Putin knew Prigozhin since the early 1990s and credited him with getting the necessary results despite his errors.
- Tim notes Putin's praise of Prigozhin as someone who did the things that needed to be done to achieve Russia's goals.
- 4 min
America's Paths to Redemption vs. Russia's Mafia Rules
#Tim contrasts America's endless redemption arcs (using Trump as an example who could pivot to entertainment despite scandal) with Russia's binary 'rich or dead' system.
8moments
- Tim questions whether Western media about Russia is fed directly from the CIA or just based on movies they've watched.
- A CNN article published 10 days before Prigozhin's death illustrates the disconnect in how Western outlets cover Russia.
- Tim contrasts how things work in Russia versus America: in Russia you don't get away with it, but America is still a fun country where you can run into the Capitol wearing horns.
- The Q Anon Shaman from January 6th is doing interviews and might be running for Congress.
- If Trump quit politics and pivoted to entertainment, billions in media money would line up behind him regardless of January 6th.
- Networks would create a fake White House set where Trump could fire people as a fake president and make money, and nobody would remember the actual events.
- America forgives anything if you're willing to get progressively crazier—Bush went from war crimes to being celebrated as a painter on Ellen.
- Tim argues America is still the greatest country in the world because as long as you keep escalating your insanity, you can figure it out.
Donald TrumpCNNGeorge W. BushYevgeny PrigozhinRussiaQAnon Shaman
- 5 min
Trump Could Have Hosted a Fake Oval Office Show
#Tim imagines Trump abandoning politics to become a media kingpin with a fake Oval Office studio in Burbank, contrasting this fantasy path with Prigozhin having zero equivalent option in Russia.
10moments
- Trump could have simply left politics and hosted a streaming show instead, similar to how Prigozhin could never restart his career in Russia.
- Netflix, Amazon, and Fox would have paid Trump enormous sums once he was out of political office, because he's a ratings magnet.
- The government buried Trump in indictments specifically to prevent him from running for president, not because they dislike him personally.
- Trump was interested in starting his own TV network before he was elected and could have stolen the entire Fox News audience.
- America is the greatest country to live in because it offers paths to redemption that don't exist anywhere else.
- Kevin Spacey could rehabilitate his career in America by releasing a successful meal plan or vitamin drink.
- In Russia, the old-world system operates like the mafia: you're either rich or dead, with no routes to redemption.
- America offers endless reinvention options—you can be rich, famous, poor, half-dead, come back with a podcast, or any combination.
- Even mobsters who became rats can now host podcasts in America and work with the people they testified against.
- Russia can't monetize second chances the way America does because their system lacks the infrastructure to profit off redemption stories.
Ron DeSantisRussiaDonald TrumpKevin SpaceyFoxVladimir PutinAmazonNetflix+2 more
- 1 min
Tim reads a CNN article about Prigozhin being 'at large and in charge' just before his death, contrasting it with Navalny's harsh sentencing, showing Western media's misunderstanding of Russian rules.
6moments
- In Russia you just gotta kill the people that bother you; in America you can kind of let them around.
- Tim notes the article about Navalny's 19-year sentence reads like it's describing America, not Russia.
- Prigozhin taking a selfie on the way out of Russia was a death sentence—he didn't understand you can't do that for the gram.
- Prigozhin fired on military helicopters and killed Russian servicemen, so Putin had to have him killed to maintain credibility.
- Press corps from the Atlantic to the New York Times didn't grasp that Prigozhin was always going to be killed no matter what.
- Tim saw the photo of Prigozhin and immediately knew he was dead.
- 3 min
The Selfie Photos That Signaled Prigozhin's Death Warrant
#Tim analyzes photos of Prigozhin smiling and taking selfies after the failed coup, arguing this delusional behavior, thinking he could get an agent or CAA representation, sealed his fate.
8moments
- Prigozhin thinks he's in America and that CAA will sign him as an agent.
- Tim notes Prigozhin delighted in his newfound fame despite being a warlord who cut off heads.
- Russian officials rejected Prigozhin's coup attempt because they're all enriched by the Putin regime and invested in it.
- Prigozhin thought oligarchs would defect to him even though their money and power depend on Putin.
- After the coup failed, Prigozhin claimed he made his point and killed some Russian servicemen, but none of it's forgivable to Putin.
- Selfies show Prigozhin arriving in Belarus smiling and happy, either delusional about his fate or hiding it perfectly.
- Tim argues Prigozhin started believing his own myth after he survived confronting Putin, thinking he'd won.
- In America, there's a path to redemption like hosting Miss Universe; in Russia, you live and die by what you've done.
RussiaPutin regimeDonaldBelarusUkraine warCIAThomas Jefferson
- 2 min
Tim reads an article noting Prigozhin's shift from tactical gear to a polo shirt and mom jeans, mocking his belief that his 'brand equity' would save him.
6moments
- Article about Prigozhin's aborted mutiny against Putin in June and Putin's televised threat of punishment for traitors.
- Tim puzzles over why Prigozhin didn't disappear after the failed coup—he came back to Russia and started taking photos.
- If Prigozhin had fled to Africa, he might have bought himself time before Putin's people killed him anyway.
- Prigozhin spotted wearing a polo shirt and mom jeans instead of his usual camouflage and tactical gear.
- Tim riffs on Prigozhin's logic: he got famous trying to overthrow the government, so now he's doing glamour shots to protect his brand equity.
- There's got to be equity in this brand—the delusional thinking of a man who nearly toppled Putin and is now posing in St. Petersburg.
- 8 min
Tim riffs on how fame makes people believe anything is possible (using an Olympic curling analogy), then compares Prigozhin's delusion of grandeur to Taylor Swift's actual untouchable power in America, with a Keeps hair loss ad woven through.
10moments
- American press articles about Putin losing control of the country require a disclaimer that you're not "bros with Vladimir" just to discuss facts objectively.
- Prigozhin was so unstable he was days away from abandoning his coup entirely and becoming a food blogger instead.
- When you become genuinely famous, people employed around you make all possibilities seem endless—even the delusional ones.
- Tim describes how a famous person's team will greenlight anything: you could make music you've never sung, act in films you can't perform in, or attempt genuinely insane ventures.
- Taylor Swift is the most powerful person in America right now because she made a billion dollars in a summer and no one will ever tell her no.
- Prigozhin was the Russian version of a mega-famous person—instead of selling nostalgia, he tried to topple the Kremlin, which is Russia's preferred outlet for its biggest stars.
- Our version of Prigozhin is Taylor Swift, who made a billion dollars selling white girl nostalgia; Russia's version tried to stage a coup.
- Kim Swazi had two songs back when Tim was doing coke in Long Island clubs, and now she's probably bartending in Montauk.
- When Prigozhin thought he was Taylor Swift—untouchable and free to do anything—Tim knew he was going to die.
- Tim pivots to Keeps hair loss treatment as a personalized plan delivered by licensed providers, with unlimited messaging support included in the year-long regimen.
- 3 min
Tim jokes about having a panic attack trying to get Taylor Swift tickets, references the song 'Ostrich,' and pivots into a Game Time app sponsor read.
5moments
- Tim had a panic attack trying to get Taylor Swift tickets and was calling all his girlfriends in distress.
- Game Time app offers fast ticket purchases for sports, music, comedy, and theater with last-minute deals and best price guarantee.
- Tim's favorite Taylor Swift song is "Ostrich," where she sings about having a long neck like an ostrich.
- Download the Game Time app and use code Tim for twenty percent off your first purchase.
- Whatever joke Tim makes about a Taylor Swift song will be edited out of the ad, so the audience should imagine what he would have said instead.
- 3 min
Tim discusses video footage of the plane losing a wing and falling, alongside the Kremlin and Lukashenko's denials of involvement.
7moments
- Media outlets have claimed Putin was dying and inoperable for seven years, yet he's still fine and visibly active.
- Tim speculates Putin uses body doubles in Russia who resemble him.
- Kremlin denied involvement and called the downing of the plane unprofessional, while Lukashenko of Belarus also had to issue a denial.
- Lukashenko came out claiming the explosion doesn't appear to be Putin's work and that many people are angry, though little happens in Russia at that level without Putin's approval.
- Plane footage shows a white puff, then the aircraft losing a wing and spiraling downward with smoke trailing behind it.
- Tim wonders if Prigozhin knew in those final seconds that he was going to die, referencing the Russian context of the situation.
- An explosion that blows a wing off leaves a plane with no chance—it can handle turbulence and other damage, but not that.
Vladimir PutinThe AtlanticLukashenkoYevgeny PrigozhinBert Kreischer
- 4 min
Tim reads through the list of Wagner officials killed on the flight and imagines the mundane horror of being a Russian flight attendant serving the doomed warlord that morning.
6moments
- Tim goes through the passenger manifest of the downed plane, listing high-level Wagner members including Prigozhin and Dmitri Utkin.
- Imagining a flight attendant in Moscow recognizing Prigozhin on the passenger list moments before the explosion.
- Tim describes the scenario: the guy who tried to overthrow the government boards the plane, then it explodes and it's forgotten quickly—this is how Russia resolves things.
- This incident exemplifies why America is clearly the better and more fun country than Russia.
- Tim notes Prigozhin and his mother would have gotten along, sharing the same ideas about Africa.
- The plane crash crystallized for Tim an interesting difference about how autocracy operates in Russia versus elsewhere.
WagnerYevgeny PrigozhinDmitry UtkinVladimir Putin
- 5 min
No Path to Redemption: Trump vs. Prigozhin Comparison Revisited
#Tim expands on why Trump could survive scandal in Hollywood's malleable culture while Prigozhin's fate in Russia's rigid system was sealed, including a riff on Trump's endless indictments and a hypothetical fake presidency show.
10moments
- American media mistook Russia for a country where there could be a path to redemption for Prigozhin, like there might have been for Trump if he'd just gone back to entertainment.
- Trump could have returned to calling women fat and ugly and building an entertainment empire, the only thing he actually knows how to do.
- Hollywood would have welcomed Trump back within a year because the town has no fixed ideas about anything and is incredibly easy to influence.
- Within five years, if Trump stayed sharp like George Burns or Don Rickles, he'd be hosting big entertainment shows and doing jokes about January 6.
- Trump's been indicted multiple times while Tim eats breakfast, four times total with countless counts, because they don't want him running for president.
- Netflix or Fox should bail Trump out, build a fake White House in Burbank, and let him play president without nuclear power as an alternative to actual politics.
- Prigozhin couldn't rebrand as an artist showing mixed media collages on Russian talk shows because Russia operates under a cold culture of final judgments from the Kremlin.
- In Russia you get shot in the face, your plane blows up, or you get poisoned—you don't get a TV show or appear on the Russian version of Chopped.
- Unlike O.J. Simpson, who killed his wife and somehow became a rational voice on Twitter that people listen to, Prigozhin never got that kind of redemption arc.
- Prigozhin realized too late that he was committing the wrong crimes under a system that doesn't allow comebacks.
Donald TrumpO.J. SimpsonRussiaKremlinHollywoodFoxNetflixBurbank
- 3 min
Prigozhin's Career Pivot: Crimes With the Government, Not Against It
#Tim reframes Prigozhin's rise as a 'shift in strategy' rather than redemption, comparing it to Goldman Sachs's similar strategy, and mentions his ex Shia calling him spiritually Russian.
5moments
- Tim outlines the optimal crime strategy: commit crimes with the government instead of against it, using Goldman Sachs as an example of the same realization.
- Prigozhin's pivot wasn't redemption but a shift in strategy, starting with hot dogs and escalating to Wagner PMC and the Internet Research Agency.
- Tim describes how Prigozhin evolved into running a troll farm, the Internet Research Agency, for which he was indicted in America supposedly over election interference.
- The irony of Americans cheering Prigozhin's march on Moscow while he was supposedly the guy who destroyed American democracy through election interference.
- Tim notes Prigozhin's fate was predictable for anyone who's read about Russian culture and politics.
Goldman SachsInternet Research AgencyWagner PMCRussiaoligarchs
- 3 min
Barry Weiss's Debate Lineup Bait-and-Switch
#Tim recounts Barry Weiss inviting him to open for what was billed as an Elon Musk/Zuckerberg debate that turned into a panel with Red Scare podcast hosts and other writers instead.
6moments
- Barry Weiss pitched Tim to open a debate between Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg as the biggest media event in the world.
- The lineup changed: instead of Elon and Zuckerberg, the debate features Louise Perry and Anna Slotsky from Red Scare podcast.
- Tim jokes about Mossad paying Barry Weiss to set up a panel about how the sexual revolution failed, with him showing up to listen to women speak.
- NATO's seizure of Russian oligarchs' assets over fertilizer sales instead of invasion seems unfair, Tim argues.
- The 'Rich Men North of Richmond' song is being over-analyzed politically when it's just a nice song people should enjoy.
- Tim imagines the song's artist eventually fighting Jake Paul after rejecting a record deal to stay independent.
Bari WeissNorth of RichmondJake PaulRed ScareElon MuskMark ZuckerbergAce HotelLouise Perry
- 3 min
Sympathy for Sanctioned Russian Oligarchs and a Richmond, North of Richmond Riff
#Tim jokingly defends oligarchs who had their yachts seized, riffs on the viral song 'Rich Men North of Richmond,' and proposes writing his own version for oligarchs losing their yachts.
4moments
- Tim on the Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg articles telling people to accept smaller homes and lower living standards as trendy.
- The game is making declining standards of living seem hip and cool so people think it's the Zeitgeist to not have a kitchen or bathtub.
- Article headline uses the word 'embracing' instead of 'settling' to manipulate perception—Americans aren't choosing smaller homes, they're being forced into them.
- Tim sends these articles to 20 people because they always make him laugh.
housing standards and living conditionsWall Street JournalBloombergCNBCDrudge Report
- 7 min
Tim breaks down a Wall Street Journal article about shrinking new homes, mocking the framing that Americans are 'embracing' smaller homes without dining rooms or bathtubs as corporate builders like DR Horton protect profit margins.
10moments
- Home builders shrink new homes by eliminating dining rooms, living rooms, and bathtubs to boost profits while appearing affordable.
- These aren't mom-and-pop builders—massive private equity companies like D.R. Horton control home construction and chase ever-larger margins.
- Seattle homes shrank 18% in five years; Charlotte and San Antonio saw 14% shrinkage as builders ax dining and living areas.
- Kitchen islands replace dining tables and shared bathrooms replace private ones, forcing families into cramped multi-use spaces.
- Kitchen islands become the only eating area in homes, replacing the Thanksgiving dinner table with parallel seating at the stove.
- Tim acknowledges McMansions waste space, but corporate builders use shrinking homes as cover to convince people dining rooms are luxuries.
- The CEO of D.R. Horton almost certainly has a dining room and living room in his own mansion while selling homes without them.
- Multiple bathrooms vanish next; builders will eventually justify outhouses as better for digestion while executives enjoy sprawling private estates.
- Builders spare bedrooms but eliminate dining rooms, forcing families to have life-changing conversations like coming out as trans at kitchen islands like animals.
- Tim questions the basic absurdity: why shrink dining rooms and living rooms but keep multiple bedrooms if affordability were the actual goal.
- 3 min
Tim reacts to a Journal article about anti-aging science, arguing extending life is a terrible idea because it would create entitled, healthy 90-year-old Boomers causing chaos indefinitely.
7moments
- Tim argues scientists working to extend human lifespan is a terrible idea for the country.
- Later in life is when people stop caring about consequences and start doing wild things like electing Trump.
- Making 110-year-olds means creating people with nothing to lose who'll embrace dangerous ideology.
- Tim opposes endless prolonged life and the prospect of youthful, fit ninety-year-olds causing problems.
- Imagine healthy Boomers in their nineties: the entitlement and complaints would be unbearable.
- Boomers are already the worst generation on Earth, and keeping them alive longer makes it worse.
- Tim's solution: give all anti-aging treatments to Taylor Swift and get the Boomers out of here.
Boomersaging and life extensionDonald TrumpTaylor Swift
- 1 min
Tim lists upcoming tour dates including Philly, LA, Charlotte, Kentucky, Ohio, Iowa, Nebraska, Australia, New Zealand, Carnegie Hall, and more, plus a Patreon plug.
3moments
- Tour dates: Los Angeles, Barry Weiss appearance, Charlotte, North Carolina, and the rest of the fall circuit.
- Wheatland, California date — Tim clarifies it's actually Sacramento.
- Pittsburgh the day after that, then Detroit and Toronto in December.
- 4 min
Closing Riff: Prigozhin's Midnight and the Cinderella Metaphor
#Tim closes by reflecting on his mother's death alongside Prigozhin's, using a Cinderella 'stroke of midnight' metaphor to describe the moment Prigozhin realized his fame was an illusion just as the bomb went off, ending the show.
10moments
- Tim's mother died the same time Prigozhin died, a weird temporal coincidence.
- Prigozhin's fatal flaw was thinking he was Taylor Swift in America, but in Russia there is no Taylor Swift.
- You could see the joy and brush with fame in Prigozhin, thinking he was going on the Eras Tour.
- Tim compares life-changing moments to David Carr smoking crack, looking at his kids, and deciding to change on a dime.
- The Cinderella metaphor: at the stroke of midnight the carriage becomes a pumpkin and everything reverts to what it was.
- Prigozhin's midnight was in the plane in Moscow when the bomb went off.
- Tim imagines Putin and the Kremlin in St. Petersburg watching this show with translators, occasionally gesturing at the screen.
- Prigozhin in the air with all his guys, still thinking he's this important figure, then the bomb goes off and he realizes nothing has changed—he's bigger than ever.
- When the bomb detonates and the wing of the plane is no longer visible, Prigozhin gets a split second before the g-forces take over to know exactly what's happening.
- At that moment he remembered what he really is, not Taylor Swift on the Eras Tour but in Russia, where the carriage becomes a missile hurtling to the ground.
Taylor SwiftYevgeny PrigozhinDavid CarrVladimir PutinCinderella