What is the variance of the fake moon landing stories? Are you saying we got there but didn't have video? Are you saying we circled it? This is the

crazy meter.

Okay.

If he fully thinks we for sure did not go through the radiation belt, we for sure did not land on the moon, it was all set up on a soundstage that all those people held that secret, and the moon landing did not happen, I feel like that's a little insane.

Okay.

All right.

All right.

do? Is he one of the inductees? Yeah, I wrote

Mm.

And I think there has been a shift in how I approach this now because, again, I had such a chip on my shoulder for so long because I couldn't get in a room with anyone.

I had to create basically my, my own, like, infrastructure of, of books and comedy and radio and podcasting and all my own people and, you know, we were a lot of, like, rag tags that no one wanted to hire.

I had to start my own syndication company because no one wanted to invest in me.

So all of that happened, and I just wanted to prove people wrong.

Uh, now though, I think in the past five to seven years or so, I've, I've, between, you know, all the therapy that I go to and, and getting a few decent night's sleep, I just wanna prove people right now.

Like, the people that consume the content, but the people that believed in me way early on and did give me a, a second and third look.

[laughs]

That's fair.

It doesn't have to be that you're the greatest guitar player or you're the greatest speaker.

I don't feel like I am a technically a wonderful speaker, but I can sell out theaters.

I can do a national...

I do a national radio show.

I do the show on Netfl- Netflix.

I'm not a great speaker, but I can say things that people find compelling, or I can tell my story that I find compelling.

I, I just would not underestimate the human being.

Mm-hmm.

Like, just talking to folks.

'Cause a little bit I can just turn on the, "Hey, I'm curious.

Just gonna ask some questions." And, um, I find the, like, the thing we have in common, it works.

Like, if I'm being, let's say, interviewed for a, not even interviewed, but, like, I'm doing a job interview for a TV show, I'm doing a, I'm in, auditioning for something.

I can just find, like, a sports team they like, a shoe they're wearing, uh, something with their kid that I understand.

Man, that is the real key to any sort of relaxed conversation, is to find what you have in common with that person.

That's hard.

Still an active addiction.

And I thought if I could make it easier, she doesn't have rent, she doesn't have to pay for food, she could fight her addiction.

What I did and I learned later was I enabled her a lot.

And it took that happening to really learn what enabling even is.

Yeah.

Because I just thought I can just pay for stuff.

We've never had money.

I had them on.

Mm-hmm.

I think everybody, it doesn't, it doesn't even have to be in radio, but everybody should be aware of technology all the time, even with artists.

When, you know, CDs were big when I was a kid, and then it went to streaming, and I was like, "Oh my God.

It's over." It wasn't over.

It got better.

You know, you could create more music.

Da- But that's what's happening right now, and if people are, you know, if they're on the radio now and they're like, "What's happening?" Uh, you have to happen or you're gonna get left behind.

Mm-hmm.

Really?

Yeah.

And I really resented people that did it until I did it.

And I did it at first with insurance and it was like a $10 copay.

So if anybody's listening, and I always feel sensitive even talking about it because I never want to be the guy that's just doing rich people things.

But it's changed my life.

And I was going before I had money.

And both can be

[laughs]

And so there was stuff that she was like, "I feel good but not so good that I wanna go do anything active, so let's find something to do where I don't have to be active at all." And so we would go to the movies.

And we watched, like, Fantastic Four.

We did, like, seven weeks out of nine.

I think five weeks in a row and seven out of nine.

That probably matched my total movie intake ever in the history of my life, and also was the first time I'd been in, in forever.

So I don't like the theater very much because people get on their phones.

Like, some of the dialogue he said where he's like, "I've never really lived, but I never really died."

We're exploring the power of audio.

Yeah, I don't fit into one specific hole.

I think that is what endeared me to listeners.

That's why I'm here now, because I talk to people that grew up like me, have sensibilities like me, and have loyalties like me.

We're exploring the power of audio.

Yeah, I don't fit into one specific hole.

I think that i- is what endeared me to listeners.

That's why I'm here now, because I talk to people that grew up like me, have sensibilities like me, and have loyalties like me.

We're exploring the power of audio.

Yeah, I don't fit into one specific hole.

I think that is what endeared me to listeners.

That's why I'm here now, because I talk to people that grew up like me, have sensibilities like me, and have loyalties like me.

We're exploring the power of audio.

The word on the street then was, he's too country for pop, but then once I got to country, it was, he's too pop for country.

So, I kind of never really had a place to fit in, but that's exactly how and why I fit.

I just embraced that.

We're exploring the power of audio.

Yeah, I don't fit into one specific hole.

I think that i- is what endeared me to listeners.

That's why I'm here now, because I talk to people that grew up like me, have sensibilities like me, and have loyalties like me.

We're exploring the power of audio.

The word on the street then was, he's too country for pop.

But then once I got to country, it was, he's too pop for country.

So, I kinda never really had a place to fit in, but that's exactly how and why I fit.

We're exploring the power of audio.

Yeah, I don't fit into one specific hole.

I think that i- is what endeared me to listeners.

That's why I'm here now, because I talk to people that grew up like me, have sensibilities like me, and have loyalties like me.

We're exploring the power of audio.

Yeah, I don't fit into one specific hole.

I think that i- is what endeared me to listeners.

That's why I'm here now, because I talk to people that grew up like me, have sensibilities like me, and have loyalties like me.

We're exploring the power of audio.

Yeah, I don't fit into one specific hole.

I think that i- is what endeared me to listeners.

That's why I'm here now, because I talk to people that grew up like me, have sensibilities like me, and have loyalties like me.

We're exploring the power of audio.

The word on the street then was he's too country for pop, but then once I got to country it was he's too pop for country.

So, I kinda never really had a place to fit in, but that's exactly how and why I fit.

I just embraced that.

And it seems that poverty dominated your early life.

Can you share that story? I was born to a mom who got pregnant at 15.

She had me right after her 16th birthday.

And having a mom that got pregnant at 15, it was very difficult for her because she also didn't come from money.

So she's, again, in a situation where she didn't have advantage and now we're all at a big disadvantage.

And so my biological dad was 17 when she was 15.

He left when I was four or five years old.

How did you get on American Idol, and what did you both contribute and learn from that?

And it seems that poverty dominated your early life.

Can you share that story? I was born to a mom who got pregnant at 15.

She had me right after her 16th birthday.

And having a mom that got pregnant at 15, it was very difficult for her because she also didn't come from money.

So she's, again, in a situation where she didn't have advantage and now we're all at a big disadvantage.

And so my biological dad was 17 when she was 15.

He left when I was four or five years old.

How did you get on American Idol, and what did you both contribute and learn from that?

We're exploring the power of audio.

Yeah, I don't fit into one specific hole.

I think that i- is what endeared me to listeners.

That's why I'm here now, because I talk to people that grew up like me, have sensibilities like me, and have loyalties like me.

We're exploring the power of audio.

The word on the street then was, he's too country for pop.

But then once I got to country, it was, he's too pop for country.

So, I kinda never really had a place to fit in, but that's exactly how and why I fit.

We're exploring the power of audio.

The word on the street then was, he's too country for pop.

But then once I got to country, it was, he's too pop for country.

So, I kinda never really had a place to fit in, but that's exactly how and why I fit.

I just embraced that.

Like, yeah, I don't fit into one specific hole.

I think that i- is what endeared me to listeners.

We're exploring the power of audio.

We're exploring the power of audio.

The word on the street then was, he's too country for pop.

But then once I got to country, it was, he's too pop for country.

So, I kinda never really had a place to fit in, but that's exactly how and why I fit.

I just embraced that.

Like, yeah, I don't fit into one specific hole.

I think that i- is what endeared me to listeners.

We're exploring the power of audio.