Dennis Prager Show - Living Life Authentically with Adam Carolla
Aired: 2026-05-14
Duration: 38:35


=== Mexico's Sugar Cactus Dessert (01:32) ===

[00:00:00]  On today's episode of Timeless Wisdom, Adam Carol is my guest.
[00:00:05]  Mexico screwed up dessert because I go, What's the difference between a bagel and a Danish?
[00:00:10]  And somebody said, Sugar.
[00:00:12]  And they said, Okay, well, when we make our desserts, let's just make it all sugar.
[00:00:16]  That'll be the best dessert in the world.
[00:00:18]  And so they melted down, they shaped it in the form of a cactus.
[00:00:21]  They said, This is the greatest dessert ever.
[00:00:23]  And everyone went, Fa, as your people would say, because you need things in the dessert.
[00:00:28]  Your people.
[00:00:29]  That's coming up on Timeless Wisdom with Dennis Prager.
[00:00:33]  We live in a time where the moment you question the narrative, you're told to stop thinking and start complying.
[00:00:38]  That's why what Angel is doing matters.
[00:00:40]  With eye-opening documentaries like Thank You, Dr. Fauci, and RFK Legacy, Angel is willing to explore the issues others avoid.
[00:00:48]  In a culture shaped by gatekeepers, Angel offers something rare, a platform for truth-seeking storytelling that isn't constrained by fear or conformity.
[00:00:57]  Go to angel.comslash Prager, join the Angel Guild, and watch these films today.
[00:01:03]  Welcome to Timeless Wisdom with Dennis Prager.
[00:01:06]  Hear thousands of hours of Dennis's lectures, courses, and classic radio programs.
[00:01:10]  And to purchase Dennis Prager's Rational Bibles, go to DennisPrager.com.
[00:01:20]  Hi, everybody.
[00:01:21]  This is Dennis Prager, and I have a certain motto in life.
[00:01:25]  What is it?
[00:01:26]  The absurdity keeps you sane, keeps us sane.

=== Truth-Seeking Storytelling Platform (08:46) ===

[00:01:32]  And in light of that, and this is a compliment, sir, I just want you to understand that, I have.
[00:01:37]  The 17th funniest man in human history in the studio with me.
[00:01:44]  And the funniest living, but 17th.
[00:01:47]  There are 16 that were funnier in all of history.
[00:01:50]  You don't take that in any negative way.
[00:01:52]  Well, the fact that you have Gallagher as number three and Carrot Top as number 11, yes, does hurt my feelings.
[00:01:59]  Alan will tell you who those popular names are after the show.
[00:02:01]  That is entirely accurate.
[00:02:03]  Adam Carol is my guest.
[00:02:05]  Adam Carol is the most downloaded.
[00:02:08]  Podcast.
[00:02:09]  I know that.
[00:02:10]  Just a funny thing to say, though.
[00:02:12]  The most downloaded.
[00:02:15]  It sounds funny.
[00:02:16]  You're the most downloaded human on earth.
[00:02:19]  It also sounds like a horrible syndrome, you know.
[00:02:22]  Doesn't it?
[00:02:22]  It doesn't sound like a compliment.
[00:02:24]  When you find out that one of your friends' newborn has downloaded syndrome, and you just think, oh, well, we'll get him fitted with a corrective helmet and we'll do the best we can that won't stop us from loving him.
[00:02:37]  Adam Carolla is this is true.
[00:02:40]  He.
[00:02:41]  Is the most downloaded podcast in the world, and he does it every day.
[00:02:47]  He was born with a gift.
[00:02:49]  The gift, however, was not a perfect home.
[00:02:53]  The gifts were internal.
[00:02:56]  Is that fair to say?
[00:02:57]  Yes.
[00:02:59]  Absolutely.
[00:03:00]  You could read about his family life.
[00:03:03]  What is that book?
[00:03:04]  It's hilarious.
[00:03:06]  Not Taco Bell Material is the last book.
[00:03:08]  Yes, that's the one.
[00:03:09]  The one before that.
[00:03:10]  Wait, wait, wait.
[00:03:10]  Not Taco Bell Material.
[00:03:12]  I don't think everybody got that.
[00:03:14]  Not.
[00:03:14]  Taco Bell.
[00:03:15]  Because the way he said it, it sounded like one word.
[00:03:17]  Yes.
[00:03:17]  Taco Bell material.
[00:03:19]  What is an Attack of Bell?
[00:03:21]  Yes, understood.
[00:03:22]  Yeah.
[00:03:23]  It's a German instrument.
[00:03:24]  I visited Adam in his home, first time I had been at your new place, and I met your kids.
[00:03:30]  I had met your wife previously.
[00:03:32]  I told Adam how lucky he was.
[00:03:33]  He agreed.
[00:03:35]  But she's very lucky, too.
[00:03:36]  I just want to say it on both.
[00:03:37]  You're a wonderful couple.
[00:03:39]  You really are.
[00:03:40]  Why not?
[00:03:41]  You're a sort of, it seems, on a simple visit.
[00:03:45]  You almost have like a fairly idyllic family.
[00:03:47]  You know, you got a boy and a girl.
[00:03:50]  You're married to a wonderful, beautiful woman who is calm, down to earth.
[00:03:55]  I mean, you got a good situation.
[00:03:58]  I do.
[00:03:59]  And I try to stop myself and appreciate it.
[00:04:04]  And there's that balance that I'm constantly sort of an internal struggle, which is sit back, relax, take it in, and enjoy, versus go out and conquer the next frontier.
[00:04:17]  And it's an interesting sort of internal thing, which is there's so many things I want to do, and that's great.
[00:04:25]  And it's why you sell books, and it's why you have a popular podcast, and so on and so forth.
[00:04:30]  But There's that other part that makes you want to stop the world and appreciate what you have.
[00:04:36]  And I find it's a tough balance because the ones who do the most hanging back and appreciating don't get on the New York Times bestseller list.
[00:04:44]  That's right.
[00:04:45]  And so there's a balance.
[00:04:47]  For the man.
[00:04:48]  Yes.
[00:04:49]  That's the point.
[00:04:51]  We men, no matter how wonderful our domestic situation, we still need to be fulfilled in work.
[00:04:59]  Right.
[00:04:59]  So you have a great wife, great kids, great home.
[00:05:03]  And your answer to that is.
[00:05:04]  I'll see you.
[00:05:05]  I'm going to Chicago.
[00:05:08]  No, that's right.
[00:05:10]  This is such honest talk that people are hearing that every man I know is conflicted in that way.
[00:05:18]  Yes, and the better the home, the better the kids, the better the marriage, the tougher it is to get on that plane to Chicago.
[00:05:24]  That's right.
[00:05:26]  But then you realize by getting on that plane to Chicago, that's what enables you to afford the home that you missed so much.
[00:05:33]  For my Chicago listeners, you just Randomly pick Chicago.
[00:05:37]  It's not more difficult to go to Chicago.
[00:05:39]  I think we should say that, lest the Chicago listeners be.
[00:05:42]  Well, it's more difficult than Phoenix because of distance.
[00:05:46]  Another two and a half hours on the flight.
[00:05:48]  But yeah, I love Chicago and I would never single that.
[00:05:51]  And I heard you speaking about Oprah in the car when I was driving here, and I had a thought about it if you wanted to hear it.
[00:05:59]  Absolutely.
[00:06:00]  I've come across this in my life a lot, and I suspect this is what's going on.
[00:06:07]  Women, especially, but people more and more now, because men and women are just sort of becoming, you know, it's like an X. In the 50s, guys were over at the bottom to the left and women were over to the right.
[00:06:21]  And now we're just heading to the point where we're going to cross in a couple of years, sadly.
[00:06:27]  Very sadly.
[00:06:28]  People pay more attention to how you make them feel than what actually comes out of their mouth.
[00:06:36]  And women, especially.
[00:06:38]  I have, you know, if you say to a woman, that dress is a little tight on you, maybe you want to get something else, they hear fat.
[00:06:47]  You didn't call them fat, but they heard fat.
[00:06:50]  And when they talk to somebody else, they will say, Dennis called me fat.
[00:06:54]  They tell you how they feel, not what they hear.
[00:06:58]  Oprah felt something, and she's probably walking around with a chip on her shoulder, primed to feel that way.
[00:07:06]  I just spoke to a woman.
[00:07:08]  Who used to be my co host on a television show?
[00:07:11]  And she said, You made me cry the first day we met.
[00:07:14]  This is 10 years ago.
[00:07:16]  And I said, Why?
[00:07:17]  She said, During the audition, you leaned over to me and you said, Don't be funnier than me.
[00:07:24]  And that freaked me out.
[00:07:25]  And I said, I would never say that to anyone.
[00:07:27]  First off, it's mathematically impossible.
[00:07:30]  Secondly, I say to everyone, Don't worry about trying to be funny.
[00:07:35]  Just be natural, present an answer.
[00:07:38]  You don't have to get up in your head.
[00:07:39]  That's what I was trying to make you loose and comfortable, but you've Felt and heard a sort of threatening, menacing, don't be funnier than me.
[00:07:47]  I never said me.
[00:07:47]  I would never say that to somebody.
[00:07:50]  And that's what she felt, not what she heard.
[00:07:53]  That's excellent.
[00:07:55]  And I didn't put it that way, but I did feel, as I said, if both were given a lie detector test, the saleswoman and Oprah, I think they would both pass.
[00:08:06]  Yes, because they both felt Oprah.
[00:08:10]  Right.
[00:08:11]  She did not say the words that Oprah is quoting, but she felt the words that she's quoting.
[00:08:17]  Right.
[00:08:18]  And sadly, and we have to keep getting back to race, but sadly, there's a large segment of this society who are.
[00:08:28]  Anything but white males who are preloaded for that.
[00:08:32]  So, meaning you know, I mean, so if you're a nerdy guy in high school and you're going to go ask the blonde to go to the prom with you and you're preloaded with the fact, the notion that she's just never going to do it, and you walk up and you go, Would you go to the prom with me?
[00:08:48]  And she goes, Well, I'd like to.
[00:08:51]  And you go, Oh, yeah, okay, fine.
[00:08:52]  I heard you.
[00:08:53]  And you just walk away.
[00:08:54]  You never hear the rest of the answer.
[00:08:57]  Right.
[00:08:57]  You, as a white male, We're able just to walk around and hear things exactly as they are.
[00:09:05]  If you're part of any group, and now there are more and more groups starting every day in this country, you go into every one of these encounters with a pre existing, if it's not a chip on your shoulder, it's at least a little bit of a direction that you're pre leaning in.
[00:09:25]  And that's the way Oprah goes through her life.
[00:09:27]  So, thus, what would sound to you like nothing sounds to her like racism or some form of discrimination.
[00:09:34]  I've told people this all the time.
[00:09:37]  There are more ass wipes out there.
[00:09:41]  I don't know if we're allowed to say that.
[00:09:42]  Than there are racists, but I'm white, so I know who they are.
[00:09:46]  Meaning, I've had neighbors that were horribly rude to me, and cops that were rude to me, and people behind counters that were rude.
[00:09:53]  And if I was something other than white, I would think they were being racist.
[00:09:56]  Or something other than white male.
[00:09:57]  Yeah, they're not.
[00:09:59]  That's just who they are.
[00:10:01]  I've been treated like crap at the airport, just like you.
[00:10:06]  I've had neighbors that have been insane and had wild requests and done things that seemed almost cruel for no reason, but I never chalk it up to anything other than them being an ass.
[00:10:16]  We're the freest people in that sense.

=== Race and Personal Experience (11:12) ===

[00:10:18]  We can really accept reality for what it is.
[00:10:22]  It's very bad to walk through life fitting what happens into a pre existing picture.
[00:10:27]  Right.
[00:10:28]  That's the worry here.
[00:10:30]  And women, especially, I've dealt with it, you've dealt with it.
[00:10:34]  I've been in the room where.
[00:10:36]  A woman has said, This person said this.
[00:10:38]  No, that's how you feel.
[00:10:41]  That's not what they said.
[00:10:42]  That's right.
[00:10:43]  Adam and I, by the way, will be in San Bernardino, California at the California Theater for Performing Arts, September 21st evening.
[00:10:53]  Saturday night, September 21st.
[00:10:56]  When we're together, I'm self conscious in saying this, but would you say we're a good team together?
[00:11:04]  Yes.
[00:11:05]  Okay.
[00:11:06]  See that?
[00:11:07]  I would not want to undermine our attempt to sell tickets by saying we have a horrible chemistry.
[00:11:11]  That's true.
[00:11:12]  So it was a pretty stupid question when you said that.
[00:11:14]  On the air, yes.
[00:11:14]  I'll give you a different answer off the air.
[00:11:16]  He's extremely funny.
[00:11:19]  What am I?
[00:11:21]  If you're funny, what am I?
[00:11:22]  What does it leave you as a traitor?
[00:11:25]  You are a BOTA bag filled with wisdom.
[00:11:28]  A bottomless BOTA bag filled with wisdom.
[00:11:31]  I love it.
[00:11:33]  This episode of Timeless Wisdom will continue right after this.
[00:11:40]  We live in a time where the moment you question the narrative, you're told to stop thinking and start complying.
[00:11:45]  That's why what Angel is doing matters.
[00:11:47]  With eye opening documentaries like Thank You, Dr. Fauci, and RFK Legacy, Angel is willing to explore the issues others avoid.
[00:11:55]  In a culture shaped by gatekeepers, Angel offers something rare, a platform for truth seeking storytelling that isn't constrained by fear or conformity.
[00:12:04]  Go to angel.comslash Prager, join the Angel Guild, and watch these films today.
[00:12:12]  Now, back to more of Dennis Prager's Timeless Wisdom.
[00:12:16]  Hi, everybody.
[00:12:16]  Dennis Prager here, and in studio with me is.
[00:12:20]  Adam Carolla, and if you watch Fox News, you'll see Adam Carolla regularly on The O'Reilly Show.
[00:12:28]  Is it called The O'Reilly Show?
[00:12:30]  The Factor, yes, The Factor, that's right.
[00:12:33]  And of course, he has his own podcast, which is the most downloaded in the world of any single individual.
[00:12:40]  One of the nice things from my perspective, aside from the sheer joy of being with Adam Carolla, and it is a joy, is that there will be young people who know of him who will come to the event.
[00:12:53]  And then get to hear me and go, oh, maybe I'll listen to this guy.
[00:12:58]  Because the demographic of talk radio is overwhelmingly over 40.
[00:13:04]  And your audience is very many under 40.
[00:13:08]  And so we swap audiences, as it were.
[00:13:11]  Yeah, I love that salt and sugar kind of.
[00:13:18]  Literally in life, if you want to really bring out a dessert, you sprinkle a little salt in there and it.
[00:13:26]  Brings out the flavor.
[00:13:27]  I love the serious talk and then the comedy and the fact that we never know exactly where the night is going to go.
[00:13:36]  And that you can take different generations and sort of bring them together.
[00:13:40]  Because I always feel like people respond to the truth and they'll know it when they hear it.
[00:13:45]  It's not the age of the person or the religion of the person that the truth is coming out of or emanating from, but the truth will.
[00:13:54]  I feel that way about quality.
[00:13:57]  I feel like.
[00:13:59]  The Simpsons is a very funny TV show that nine year olds enjoy and 49 year olds enjoy for different reasons.
[00:14:07]  But they still both respond to the quality, and that's what you will have up on stage in San Bernardino, my friends.
[00:14:15]  Well, that's very nice of you to say.
[00:14:16]  I agree with that.
[00:14:17]  By the way, talking about salt on dessert, my wife will put salt on fruit.
[00:14:25]  Yes.
[00:14:26]  So your yes is the yes of so do I?
[00:14:30]  No, but I understand it.
[00:14:32]  I've always said this is why Mexico doesn't do a good dessert because they figured out there's certain countries that just don't do a good dessert.
[00:14:42]  Mexico's one of them.
[00:14:43]  They have flan, and I don't know what else they have.
[00:14:45]  But we need to take, by the way, our dessert and just bring it in.
[00:14:51]  I told my favorite Mexican restaurant exactly that.
[00:14:54]  I said, Why don't you just have some American desserts?
[00:14:57]  You're losing money.
[00:14:58]  I said apple pie.
[00:15:00]  That's exactly what I said to them.
[00:15:02]  Yes, because this flan, this yogurt with the honey on it or whatever you're calling it, is not cutting it.
[00:15:08]  But I've always used this as an example where they go, Mexico screwed up dessert because I go, what's the difference between a bagel and a Danish?
[00:15:18]  And somebody said, sugar.
[00:15:20]  And they said, okay, well, when we make our desserts, let's just make it all sugar.
[00:15:24]  That'll be the best dessert in the world.
[00:15:26]  And so they melted down, they shaped it in the form of a cactus.
[00:15:29]  And I said, this is the greatest dessert ever.
[00:15:31]  And everyone went, fah.
[00:15:32]  As your people would say, because you need things in the dessert.
[00:15:36]  Your people.
[00:15:37]  Like yeast, brewer, you know, yeast and salt and other things that don't taste like dessert.
[00:15:44]  I want to concentrate on the.
[00:15:47]  You're right.
[00:15:49]  Now, what is that?
[00:15:50]  That is an old Jewish way of saying, oh, that's disgusting.
[00:15:55]  There is no English equivalent to fe, is there?
[00:15:58]  No.
[00:15:59]  Oh, fe.
[00:16:00]  We have ooh, but that's very adolescent.
[00:16:03]  Uh huh.
[00:16:04]  That is so funny.
[00:16:05]  I have not heard fe since I was a child, but that's thanks to your great grandfather, not great as a great grandfather, your wonderful grandfather who was the one Jew in your back.
[00:16:17]  Laszlo Goraz.
[00:16:18]  Laszlo, yes.
[00:16:20]  He was a stabilizing and very positive factor.
[00:16:24]  In an otherwise rather unstable environment.
[00:16:27]  When I learned to love the Jews, it was Laszlo, my Hungarian grandfather.
[00:16:33]  Not by blood, sadly.
[00:16:35]  Yeah, yeah.
[00:16:36]  That doesn't matter.
[00:16:37]  Well, no.
[00:16:38]  No, I'm blood and schmud as well.
[00:16:41]  Right.
[00:16:41]  And I don't understand it at all.
[00:16:43]  But you wish you had had them, I guess.
[00:16:45]  I do.
[00:16:46]  No, he was a writer.
[00:16:48]  And every once in a while, someone will say, Well, he was, or your grandfather was a writer, and I guess you've got that in your jeans.
[00:16:54]  And I said, No, my jeans was an alcoholic short order cook who walked to San Francisco and no one ever saw him again.
[00:17:01]  That's what's flowing through my veins.
[00:17:05]  Orlando, Florida, James.
[00:17:07]  Hello, James.
[00:17:08]  Dennis Prager and Adam Carolla.
[00:17:11]  Wow, the two great guys I really appreciated seeing in Orlando, Florida.
[00:17:15]  You guys put on a tremendous show.
[00:17:16]  Thank you.
[00:17:17]  And I highly recommend it.
[00:17:18]  Anybody who's listening to go and see these two, they're absolutely awesome, even though Adam freaked out.
[00:17:23]  It thought he was being attacked by a bat and it was just a moth.
[00:17:26]  It was a giant moth.
[00:17:30]  And look, elephants are docile creatures, but they can kill you.
[00:17:35]  I would argue that a moth the size of a pterodactyl could also kill you as well.
[00:17:42]  That thing buzzed my head.
[00:17:44]  I didn't know what.
[00:17:45]  Florida is a weird place.
[00:17:46]  They have, you know, everything is supersized and has venom in it.
[00:17:51]  I'm sure your moths are killers over there.
[00:17:54]  All right, fine.
[00:17:55]  Thank you very much, James.
[00:17:58]  By the way, among these circumstances or events that take place spontaneously when we're together, in Northridge, right around where we are right now, remember I pulled out my cigar and they came out and said it was forbidden?
[00:18:13]  And I said, but isn't it allowed for an actor who's like 100 feet from the closest human being?
[00:18:22]  Right.
[00:18:23]  And no.
[00:18:24]  And he would have closed the show.
[00:18:27]  Oh, yes.
[00:18:28]  It's, first off, it's insane.
[00:18:32]  I always think back in the days of your.
[00:18:35]  We look at this as progress, by the way.
[00:18:37]  I do not look at this as progress.
[00:18:39]  Everything, one of our problems in our society is we look at this as evolving.
[00:18:45]  This is not evolving.
[00:18:46]  And I always think back, I don't know why, but I always think if Frank Sinatra lit up a cigarette on stage and some guy.
[00:18:55]  Some peon that made $11 an hour walked out on stage and either took it from him or told him he was going to have to leave.
[00:19:02]  Sinatra would just have had him killed or badly beaten outside.
[00:19:07]  And that would have been the end of that.
[00:19:08]  And people think that's bad.
[00:19:09]  I think it's good.
[00:19:11]  I miss it.
[00:19:13]  I just think about Frank Sinatra today.
[00:19:17]  He would be going through an airport and people tell him, take your shoes off, take your hat off, take your belt off.
[00:19:23]  And then when some guy started patting him down and he said, whoa, take it easy.
[00:19:27]  That person would pepper spray him.
[00:19:29]  I mean, picture.
[00:19:31]  I'd love just to bring back Frank Sinatra and push him through the airport.
[00:19:34]  Have him go to the Northridge, Cal State Northridge, and attempt to do a show in light of Chesterfield and see what happened.
[00:19:41]  Not progress.
[00:19:42]  It was actually a sad moment to me.
[00:19:45]  It was because of the Cal State system, because it was at Cal State Northridge, California State University at Northridge.
[00:19:51]  You are 100 feet away from people.
[00:19:53]  It's part of, quote unquote, an act, even though it was totally real.
[00:19:57]  But I'm just saying, we were public performers.
[00:20:00]  Nobody, not one of the, I don't know, 800,000 people, whatever it was, cared.
[00:20:06]  And this guy comes out and says, you can't do it.
[00:20:09]  Yes.
[00:20:10]  It just saddens me about what has happened to us.
[00:20:13]  There's a killjoy spirit.
[00:20:15]  That's what I really believe it is.
[00:20:17]  But I don't want to say what part of the political spectrum it comes from.
[00:20:20]  Gee, I wonder.
[00:20:23]  This episode of Timeless Wisdom will continue right after this.
[00:20:30]  We live in a time where the moment you question the narrative, you're told to stop thinking and start complying.
[00:20:35]  That's why what Angel is doing matters.
[00:20:38]  With eye opening documentaries like Thank You, Dr. Fauci, and RFK Legacy, Angel is willing to explore the issues others avoid.
[00:20:45]  In a culture shaped by gatekeepers, Angel offers something rare.
[00:20:49]  A platform for truth seeking storytelling that isn't constrained by fear or conformity.
[00:20:54]  Go to angel.comslash Prager, join the Angel Guild, and watch these films today.
[00:21:02]  Now, back to more of Dennis Prager's Timeless Wisdom.
[00:21:07]  Hey, everybody, Dennis Prager here with Adam Carolla.
[00:21:10]  You probably see him on O'Reilly, and he is the most downloaded podcast in the world, according to the Guinness Book of World Records.
[00:21:18]  Who's second, do you know?
[00:21:20]  Who?
[00:21:21]  Okay, that's right.
[00:21:21]  Okay, that ends that.
[00:21:23]  Who silvered in the overall gymnastics at the last Olympics?
[00:21:29]  I only follow curling.
[00:21:30]  In curling?

=== Naming Your Kid Messiah (03:27) ===

[00:21:31]  Well, the point is, who cares who's second?
[00:21:34]  Do you know anything about curling?
[00:21:36]  Yes.
[00:21:36]  You really do?
[00:21:38]  Yes.
[00:21:38]  The sport of curling?
[00:21:40]  Oh, yes.
[00:21:42]  I'm from North Hollywood.
[00:21:43]  That's the cradle of curling.
[00:21:45]  He's full of crap.
[00:21:46]  He's Josh.
[00:21:47]  He's joshing me.
[00:21:48]  Correct.
[00:21:48]  We were curling before I could walk.
[00:21:50]  Yeah, exactly.
[00:21:51]  I listen.
[00:21:52]  I know what it is.
[00:21:53]  Yeah, what is it?
[00:21:54]  It's basically a version of ice fishing, which is in certain regions where it's frozen for six months out of the year.
[00:22:04]  People need an excuse to get drunk, so they create an activity around that reason to get drunk, which is ice fishing and curling.
[00:22:14]  It's a reason in regions where there's no thaw, where they can go out and say, Well, let's do this, but let's have a couple of brews.
[00:22:21]  All right.
[00:22:22]  Well, anyway, you said who got the silver?
[00:22:24]  Hjalmar Thornton.
[00:22:26]  Of Doorway.
[00:22:27]  I'm just telling you.
[00:22:29]  You know how to attract an audience because that kind of scintillating hot AM talk is what brings them into the tent, Dennis.
[00:22:38]  They love that.
[00:22:39]  Hey, did you hear the story about the woman who wants to name her son Messiah and the judge banned it?
[00:22:47]  First, to be honest, I don't know if the judge has an authority to ban a name, but putting that aside, listen to this.
[00:22:55]  This is from Politico.
[00:22:57]  While Messiah may not be a traditional English name, that's an understatement, it is becoming more popular.
[00:23:03]  Messiah was number four among the fastest rising baby names in 2012, just ahead of King, but behind Major at number one.
[00:23:15]  Right.
[00:23:16]  Do you know how sick that is?
[00:23:18]  Well, here's the problem it's part and parcel of a bigger problem, which is it's a way to think like we're going to steer this train from the caboose, meaning.
[00:23:31]  You naming your kid is not going to make your kid successful.
[00:23:35]  You focusing on education, family, and all those other things to make your kid.
[00:23:39]  So, just name the kid John and then focus on education and all these things, and your kid will be successful.
[00:23:46]  But it's going to be weird 14, 20 years from now when you're standing at El Pollo Loco saying to Messiah, I'll have the side of pinto beans and coleslaw.
[00:23:59]  I mean, there's going to be a whole lot of people named King, and you're going to be walking out to them at a car wash saying you missed the spot.
[00:24:05]  That's going to be a weird relationship to have with people named Messiah and King.
[00:24:10]  And Major.
[00:24:11]  And Major, although.
[00:24:13]  I must say, I think Brent is a worse name than that.
[00:24:17]  I feel like we have a Brett.
[00:24:19]  Do we need a Brent?
[00:24:20]  And then the cruelest joke a parent can play, and I know one of these, they name their kid Taryn.
[00:24:27]  I know a girl named Taryn, which means she spends her entire life 4.5 times a day saying to people, Yes, I'm Taryn.
[00:24:36]  Okay, Karen.
[00:24:37]  Well, if you just wait over there, the doctor.
[00:24:39]  No, I'm not Taryn.
[00:24:40]  Sorry, Taryn.
[00:24:42]  Exactly.
[00:24:43]  Your whole life is spent.
[00:24:45]  Having people call them the next closest name because we have an autocorrect in our brain for names.
[00:24:52]  If your name was Pennis, which would be cruel, I would call you Dennis.
[00:24:58]  I would have to correct people.

=== Life Lessons Over College (13:36) ===

[00:24:59]  Yeah.
[00:25:00]  Well, that is correct.
[00:25:02]  Yes.
[00:25:02]  No, no.
[00:25:04]  It's a serious issue.
[00:25:05]  You're entirely right.
[00:25:08]  It is a belief that I have to give my kid every possible advantage, and that includes.
[00:25:16]  A distinctive name.
[00:25:18]  But see, I don't.
[00:25:19]  But it's not an advantage.
[00:25:21]  I think it's a disadvantage.
[00:25:22]  It's deeper than that.
[00:25:23]  I think it's a participation trophy as a name.
[00:25:28]  It's a.
[00:25:30]  You know, my kid has a picture of himself holding a baseball bat that says Sports Illustrated, Sportsman of the Year.
[00:25:39]  It's like, what does that mean?
[00:25:41]  Why don't I just get a fake doctorate printed up or a Stanley Cup made, you know?
[00:25:48]  Out of styrofoam and has my name emblazoned.
[00:25:51]  It means nothing.
[00:25:52]  It's a cardboard Cadillac parked in your driveway.
[00:25:56]  It doesn't mean anything.
[00:25:57]  That's a great phrase.
[00:25:58]  Cardboard Cadillac.
[00:26:00]  I just made that up.
[00:26:01]  You can write that down.
[00:26:02]  I do like it, actually.
[00:26:03]  Yes.
[00:26:04]  I might add that Adam Carolla has done two courses at Prager University.
[00:26:09]  Incidentally, some left wing site that doesn't like me, and I'm being very understated, said, Oh, what kind of university is that?
[00:26:19]  Adam Carolla gives courses.
[00:26:21]  I'll tell you what I said.
[00:26:22]  Thank you.
[00:26:24]  This episode of Timeless Wisdom will continue right after this.
[00:26:31]  We live in a time where the moment you question the narrative, you're told to stop thinking and start complying.
[00:26:35]  That's why what Angel is doing matters.
[00:26:38]  With eye opening documentaries like Thank You, Dr. Fauci, and RFK Legacy, Angel is willing to explore the issues others avoid.
[00:26:46]  In a culture shaped by gatekeepers, Angel offers something rare a platform for truth seeking storytelling that isn't constrained by fear or conformity.
[00:26:55]  Go to angel.com slash Prager, join the Angel Guild, and watch these films today.
[00:27:03]  Now, back to more of Dennis Prager's Timeless Wisdom.
[00:27:07]  Adam Carolla, who's with me now, is one of those who's not a professor.
[00:27:13]  And he gets attacked for going around publicly with Dennis Prager.
[00:27:20]  And I get attacked for, why would you, you know, what kind of serious university you have?
[00:27:26]  You have this funny guy, Adam Carolla.
[00:27:28]  Well, I'll tell you my answer, and I am as proud to have Adam Carolla teach a course at Prague University as I am professors from Princeton or Harvard.
[00:27:39]  Thank you.
[00:27:40]  Well, you're welcome, but I'm not saying it just to compliment you.
[00:27:45]  I'm saying it because it's a very basic belief of mine.
[00:27:48]  Wisdom matters, not degrees.
[00:27:52]  In fact, I think that at a given point, the more degrees one has, the less I think that there's actually an inverse ratio between degrees and wisdom.
[00:28:03]  Unfortunately, it shouldn't be that way, but I think it has become that way.
[00:28:06]  You do have wisdom, you have the wisdom of life, you reflect on life.
[00:28:12]  And if we can change a life in five minutes, which is the intention of every single one of our courses, I believe Adam Carolla's two courses, one on the subject of luck and one on changing your life, and especially young people seeing this, I think it will affect them more than four years in college in a positive direction.
[00:28:35]  Well, also, why?
[00:28:37]  I've said this to people many times.
[00:28:40]  I was a builder, a home builder, a carpenter, and I was good at it.
[00:28:46]  And that's just because I did it every day for 50 hours a day, five, six days a week for over a decade.
[00:28:54]  And I never read a book on framing a house, and I never read a book on setting tile.
[00:28:59]  I just went and did it all day, every day.
[00:29:02]  And I've said to people many times, what would you rather have?
[00:29:05]  Who would you rather have building your house?
[00:29:06]  A guy who built houses or a guy who read books on building houses in an air conditioned room?
[00:29:12]  Jane Goodall, she knew a lot about chimps.
[00:29:16]  Lived with them.
[00:29:17]  She spent time with them.
[00:29:18]  I don't know how much time she spent in a library.
[00:29:21]  She spent time observing them.
[00:29:25]  I feel like I spent my life outside with people, observing people, some good, many bad, some successful, many unsuccessful, and just learned.
[00:29:36]  You certainly did.
[00:29:37]  Look, obviously, though, a lot of people go through your experience and don't learn.
[00:29:41]  So there's, again, there's something innate within you.
[00:29:44]  I mean, and you have to acknowledge that.
[00:29:46]  You have.
[00:29:48]  A gift within you to see life clearly.
[00:29:52]  You take a big picture and you also take the little picture.
[00:29:56]  You observe very carefully.
[00:29:58]  I mean, I know you pretty well.
[00:30:00]  And those are gifts.
[00:30:02]  You use them well.
[00:30:03]  That's the only area where I would argue that luck does come in.
[00:30:07]  I mean, luck comes in with health.
[00:30:09]  I mean, you would acknowledge that too, obviously.
[00:30:11]  Yes.
[00:30:11]  One's lucky one has health.
[00:30:13]  One's lucky that one has abilities.
[00:30:17]  But the vast majority of people have abilities, but they rather watch television.
[00:30:22]  Well, I always say, look, there's going to be a certain percentage of people that are born into nobility and wealth and whatever.
[00:30:31]  Your father is Martin Scorsese or something, and that's going to make it easier for you to make a film.
[00:30:38]  Right.
[00:30:39]  And there's other people that are going to be born into incredible poverty and with no clean drinking water.
[00:30:48]  But throw out the high and the low.
[00:30:50]  I mean, throw out the lottery ticket winner and throw out the guy.
[00:30:54]  Who was at nine years of age, was on his skateboard, and was hit by a garbage truck and horribly disfigured.
[00:31:00]  That's a very small percentage.
[00:31:02]  And then the rest of us land somewhere in between those two things.
[00:31:05]  That's right.
[00:31:06]  And that's all I want to focus on.
[00:31:08]  Perfectly, perfectly correct.
[00:31:10]  Atlanta, Georgia, and Vaughn.
[00:31:13]  Hello, Vaughn.
[00:31:13]  Dennis Prager and Adam Carolla.
[00:31:16]  Hi, Dennis.
[00:31:17]  Hi, Adam.
[00:31:18]  I don't know if you remember me, but in the summer, I saw you guys together in Florida.
[00:31:24]  And I took my children with me.
[00:31:26]  There's three of them, and my husband, and I'm that short Asian lady that you took a picture with.
[00:31:30]  Well, I took a picture.
[00:31:33]  Yes, actually, and I have that picture.
[00:31:35]  Thank you.
[00:31:36]  Yeah, well, you know, I tried to talk to you and, of course, Adam.
[00:31:42]  I think what you guys have is a tremendous combination.
[00:31:47]  And I'm going to try to persuade Adam because I know you're the one who said that Adam wouldn't go for it.
[00:31:55]  But between the two of you, you have wisdom and you have life experience.
[00:32:02]  And that's what the Dennis Prager University is all about.
[00:32:06]  Well, I'm a homeschool mom and I love.
[00:32:09]  The fact that children need to learn more about moral values and character of people.
[00:32:18]  And what better way than the two of you to get together to cover the wide aspect of the why age brings?
[00:32:28]  Adam, you're funny.
[00:32:30]  I never even heard of you until my husband told me about you.
[00:32:34]  Thanks, I think.
[00:32:35]  You know, your comedy is hilarious.
[00:32:37]  I'm listening to you now.
[00:32:38]  Kind of escape.
[00:32:41]  Edgy.
[00:32:42]  Edgy.
[00:32:43]  But they enjoy listening to you because you appeal to the youth.
[00:32:48]  This is very sad to me because my number one demographic is Asian women under the height of five, three and a half.
[00:32:57]  So I don't know why I'm not spoken about more in your community.
[00:33:01]  I am your number one comedian.
[00:33:02]  But I'm glad that your husband informed you and now you've become a fan.
[00:33:07]  Yes, indeed.
[00:33:08]  As I have, obviously.
[00:33:10]  And again, we'll be in San Bernardino on September 21st.
[00:33:13]  Go to Dennis Prager.com for tickets.
[00:33:19]  So, what's troubling you?
[00:33:22]  You shouldn't ask a guy who's funny that.
[00:33:26]  What's troubling you about life?
[00:33:28]  Not only personally, about America.
[00:33:30]  What do you worry about most?
[00:33:32]  I worry that we are hitting.
[00:33:37]  I feel that there's a character.
[00:33:40]  And it's become a free for all.
[00:33:43]  And the last three flights I've been on, people have had their dogs with them on the plane because it's game on.
[00:33:52]  They want their dog.
[00:33:53]  Other people have their dog.
[00:33:55]  Everyone's getting a pass with a fake handicap, whatever, and going to the front of the line of Disneyland.
[00:34:02]  We have left, it's turned into a every man for himself free for all.
[00:34:06]  And that scares me.
[00:34:07]  That's my worry, exactly.
[00:34:13]  There is an article in the Wall Street Journal.
[00:34:15]  Hi, everybody.
[00:34:16]  Dennis Prager here.
[00:34:17]  There's an article in the Wall Street Journal about thousands of teachers, thousands.
[00:34:23]  It's now 20,000, I believe, was the number, who are taking courses led by people who are using the works of Howard Zinn, who thought this was a contemptible country and wrote horrible scholarship, but it's used widely.
[00:34:44]  We're trying to undo that damage.
[00:34:47]  You understand, they're affecting how people are taught.
[00:34:51]  We're the only antidote I know of Prager University.
[00:34:55]  And August is fundraising month.
[00:34:58]  Folks, we're doing important work.
[00:35:02]  The most important work we could do was changing minds.
[00:35:06]  And not only that, but it's the archival part of it the fact that it's digital, that people will be able to enjoy it, learn from it long after we're gone.
[00:35:16]  Yeah, that's right.
[00:35:17]  I think of that.
[00:35:18]  I mean, wouldn't you love to?
[00:35:21]  You know, I'm not comparing my works, but some of the other folks to some of the other great voices in this country's past or the world's past.
[00:35:31]  You know, you talk, you know, the writings of Abraham Lincoln or Ben Franklin, but wouldn't it be cool to see it on high def video?
[00:35:40]  Yeah.
[00:35:40]  And just have it on your computer or your glasses, as it were, in the future.
[00:35:45]  In the future.
[00:35:46]  Well, that's what this is possible.
[00:35:48]  So, folks, help me help the country.
[00:35:50]  We've got to fight back.
[00:35:52]  So, make a donation.
[00:35:54]  Again, we have bought this time on the show, and we need your help.
[00:36:01]  What is it?
[00:36:02]  100 people giving.
[00:36:03]  $10,000 is a million.
[00:36:05]  A thousand people giving $1,000 is a million.
[00:36:08]  Or 10,000 people giving $100 is a million dollars.
[00:36:12]  Or one super drunk rich guy giving $1 million.
[00:36:16]  Yeah.
[00:36:17]  Yeah.
[00:36:18]  That's right.
[00:36:19]  Or even sober.
[00:36:21]  It could happen.
[00:36:22]  It could happen.
[00:36:23]  There are folks who could give a lot out there.
[00:36:25]  But folks, if you can't give more than $20, I hug you and thank you as well, please.
[00:36:31]  And it's the banner at thedennisprager.com.
[00:36:34]  This article on Howard's Inn just blew my mind.
[00:36:38]  I had that man on this show before he died, which is a silly thing to say because you can't have anybody on the show after they die.
[00:36:45]  But what he said, he didn't think that the war against.
[00:36:50]  He's such a pacifist and so against what America's done.
[00:36:53]  He didn't think the war in World War II was moral.
[00:36:56]  I love these people.
[00:36:58]  And I only wish they were around and living in Europe during the time possibly they would say then.
[00:37:04]  What would they have said then?
[00:37:06]  Adam Carolla.
[00:37:07]  Adam, it is a total joy to be with you.
[00:37:09]  Always a pleasure, Dennis.
[00:37:10]  Thank you, sir.
[00:37:11]  Tomorrow, Untimeless Wisdom with Dennis Prager.
[00:37:14]  I knew a guy who for years associated with a guy because he was interesting.
[00:37:18]  He was intelligent.
[00:37:19]  But he had a horrible character.
[00:37:21]  Horrible.
[00:37:22]  And got burned.
[00:37:25]  Really burned.
[00:37:27]  Burned to a crisp.
[00:37:30]  There are so many reasons people choose to be in association with people, and most of them are wrong.
[00:37:41]  And self destructive.
[00:37:44]  Join us tomorrow to hear more on Timeless Wisdom with Dennis Prager.
[00:37:49]  This has been Timeless Wisdom with Dennis Prager.
[00:37:52]  Visit DennisPrager.com for thousands of hours of Dennis's lectures, courses, and classic radio programs, and to purchase Dennis Prager's Rational Bibles.
[00:38:06]  We live in a time where the moment you question the narrative, you're told to stop thinking and start complying.
[00:38:11]  That's why what Angel is doing matters.
[00:38:13]  With eye opening documentaries like Thank You, Dr. Fauci, and RFK Legacy, Angel is willing to explore the issues others avoid.
[00:38:21]  In a culture shaped by gatekeepers, Angel offers something rare a platform for truth seeking storytelling that isn't constrained by fear or conformity.
[00:38:30]  Go to angel.comslash Prager, join the Angel Guild, and watch these films today.