Real Time with Bill Maher: Overtime - February 20, 2015 (HBO)

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Bill Maher and his guests - Aloe Blacc, Bill Nye, Rob Reiner, Elahe Izadi and Fran Lebowitz - answer viewer questions after the show.
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[@killthomas8373]

Bill Nye and Elahe Izadi were easily the most informed in every debate. It was one young journalist and an old scientist against three frightened old biddies

[@Apollexis]

Fucking shit so true man. I felt bad.

[@tennisdude52278]

***** It's my understanding that the anti-semitism problem in europe and the Islamist terrorist problem are essentially the same thing. I don't think it's a coincidence that France is both the most anti-Semitic country in Europe and has the highest Muslim population. All across Europe, Islam has been increasing in popularity, to the detriment of the Jews.

[@musicjock3]

Rob Reiner FTW. Nye seemed to just add disjointed facts that didn't further the discussion...

[@PaulVanSickle]

It's because Fran the Troll keeps interrupting him so she can stay in the spotlight. He has more patience than I ever could... I would've at least confronted her and asked her not to interrupt. "Excuse me, I have the floor..." type of thing.

[@gamersterns]

musicjock3 Nye was also getting interrupted. Hard to make a complete argument when someone cuts you off.

[@nonofyabidnez5737]

rob reiner was really great on this show(good to see him back on the panel!)

[@donaldnaylor5047]

am i the only one upset that they had Bill Nye on who is one of the biggest name on the front lines fighting for climate change, and a Mechanical Engineer, and the head the planetary society, yet everyone talked over him like he had no idea what he was talking about. He is the perfect person to have a discussion with about climate change and i don't mean a little 2 min oh hey mega drought is bad right? seriously thats all you gave him? and the question about technology was obviously his question. He is a fucking Mechanical Engineer. I would want to hear about technology from him more than a reporter, an editor, a director, and even though i love him a comedian. that's like having Neil Degrasse Tyson on and having a conversation about stars and not letting him talk. I wish they had lt bill talk mostly because he was having a serious conversation and the rest were prety much trying to tell jokes, and that is one of the things bill says is wrong with media.

[@guruoflove3083]

Impressive is this woman, Elahe Izadi...I have run across her in the public eye a few times now on the media. Very sharp and unassuming she is. Very unafraid and very comfortable in her space, and seemingly this is wherever it might be...she more than stood out in the crowd in this very intelligent panel. Try that with a thousand other people having equal footing in her occupational realms of belonging I have seen or met maybe three, perhaps four, people in the past handful of years that I felt were of "politician calibur" and having such a presence for such a venue, and Elahe Izadi is definitely one of them. As an added note...Michael Stivic is a meathead. M-E-A-T H-E-A-D...Meathead.

[@newfieocean]

Is it just me our was Bill Nye completely wasted as a guest.. seems Maher should of differed to him a lot more than he did..

[@AmselsTimothy]

Fran Leibowitz is so damn obnoxious. This cynical, know-it-all, super ego is just unbearable to listen to in my opinion.

[@wsurounder21]

I love Bill Maher, but he is so ignorant when it comes to science. He, without fail, continues to downplay the importance of science. For a guy who consistently talks shit about climate change deniers, he never asks honest questions about how to fix the damn problem.

[@whackoization]

I'm impressed by Nyes modern thinking. Not many people in his age are able to be this smart and open-minded about these things. Very cool.

[@whackoization]

***** No shit Sherlock.

[@whackoization]

***** Well, since there were 4 people in the video that was not able to think that way I thought it was impressive that Nye actually stood up and made sense when the others didn't. But I appologize, I'll make sure to ask for your permission next time I feel impressed ;)

[@barbaraduncan5820]

***** Troll?

[@deidreholmes5542]

+Barbara Dunca.

[@CrystalsandCandles]

I am impressed with Nye as well but your premise is absurd and bigoted. (in case YOU aren't smart enough to know the difference, bigoted is not the same as racism....) Because I know a LOT of younger people who are ignorant and closed minded.

[@wendywillason3984]

Wow. I started out loving Fran Lebowitz. She was just killing it talking about Guliani (sp?) and I was really digging her. Then I watched this. Fran needs to stfu. On the other hand, I have even more respect for Bill Nye for not completely losing it on her and Rob Reiner. LOL

[@ubuu7]

gun toting penguin annoyed at Fran after dissing the south... are you.... from the south ?!????!?????

[@wendywillason3984]

ubuu7 Huh. Nowhere there did I say I was annoyed at her for dissing the south. Did you hurt yourself jumping to conclusions? I got annoyed because she kept having to get the last word in every time Bill Nye (or anyone else on the panel) answered a question. I take back putting Rob Reiner in there because there were a bunch of times she talked over him too. I still really like her, but that was kind of super annoying.

[@Illlium]

You are talking about a guy that debated Ken Ham on evolution. His patience has no limits.

[@jasonwyman1873]

Wendy Willason I have to agree with you. Plus, she dissed Truman Capote's intelligence. He probably wasn't clever in the same way that she is, but there's more than one form of intelligence. But, I didn't really hear her saying anything too brilliant, besides suggesting that physical attractiveness and intelligence aren't necessarily diametrically opposed. Mostly, it just looked like she was trying to put others on the defensive, by being arrogant, and by being the first to call other people stupid. Pretty lame performance, but she's getting up there.

[@onlyjesusforgives4603]

***** Jesus Loves You

[@sybaritesphynx8057]

People choosing whom was their favourite on this panel - Relax, it's not a competition. No one is gonna give you a gold medal.

[@SatanistSin]

BILL WAS THE BEST!

[@gamesman0118]

I just want a chocolate one. BILL! BILL! BILL!

[@Ruprect44]

Wow ... I always thought Fran Lebowitz was smarter than that. That comment about letting go of the south was an "idiots at the Tim Horton's" level thought.

[@mst3kpimp]

Is'nt Tim Horton's a Canadian chain?

[@barbaraduncan5820]

Like Bill Maher, Fran Leibowitz is a comedian, so a lot of what she says are points she has edited way down just for shock value as a humorist. Plus she's a New Yorker--I lived there for decades, some of the same ones she did, and they every once in a while vote to secede (from the union). So, there's that...

[@bobhayes3135]

I agree with Fran, they should have let the south secede.

[@Ruprect44]

mst3kpimp Yes it is and the people who hang out there are notorious up here for having not very nuanced views on things. (I am not talking about the regular customers, just the folks who spend HOURS just hanging around the store or the parking lot.)

[@bobhayes3135]

Playfulpanthress , It would have been practical 150 years ago, not so much anymore. We'd have to pay more for those VWs and BMWs

[@Strand0410]

I love the show but the last couple episodes of have left a bad taste in my mouth. His vaccination episode was completely misguided. With this one, he went on a rant against streaming music. Bill, the reason songwriters are being screwed isn't Spotify. If you look at their financials, Spotify spends 75% of their revenue reimbursing labels and the rest to grow the company, their margins are measly. The problem is that the overwhelming majority of songwriters and artists don't have the leverage of Taylor Swift, and are bullied by studios into disadvantageous and poor-paying contracts.

[@annlanders978]

Taylor Swift has got to be the most overrated "artist" ever. The fact that she is so popular shows you how bad things are. She has an average singing voice, she cannot dance at all and most of her music sounds the same and most of it is stupid. Also she has never been in a relationship but that is all she sings about. And now I have noticed she is getting a big head.

[@Melllllzy]

Yes. It's like he became a grumpy old man in the past month. All of them being alarmist, in my day types.

[@AWSVids]

I found myself disagreeing quite a bit with Bill and Aloe in that interview. I've always been a big advocate of being open about intellectual property. Sure, there are some downsides to losing "control" of your "product", but there are usually a lot of upsides as well. More people hear your music (or see your film or whatever it may be), more word of mouth and it often leads to higher sales than the artist would have had otherwise. The only reason it LOOKS like they're making less than they would have otherwise is because they're looking at the situation through the prism of "What if all those free plays had been sales?"... Well, sure, then sales would be significantly higher. But the illogic there is that those free plays aren't necessarily lost sales... those people playing it for free wouldn't have necessarily gone out and bought the album if they couldn't listen to it for free... they just wouldn't listen to it. I used to download a LOT of music and I still download movies a lot... If I couldn't download them, I wouldn't be going out and paying for them instead. I just wouldn't be seeing as many movies. And a standard response to that is to point to past sales, before the internet, and say they're higher than sales today. Yeah, because that was BEFORE THE INTERNET. People didn't have as many entertainment options, so they relied just on movies, tv and music. Sales of every type of pre-internet media is down compared to before, the same way that VHS sales plummeted when DVD came out. Because it's been replaced by something better. For music artists to shy away from streaming is like a filmmaker who refuses to put his movies on DVD or Blu-Ray, because they grew up with VHS and stubbornly insist that VHS sales are the only barometer of success. In other words, the world has changed and the music industry can't hold onto record sales as being the only barometer of success, because it isn't anymore. They need to find ways to monetize streaming more effectively... not just avoid streaming. And just like it's always been, musicians still make most of their income from live performances and other avenues. It's easy to point to artists only making "$2700" from streaming and say they deserve more than that... but throw in the money they're making from touring, the millions they can make from merchandising and licensing deals (Jay-Z built an empire of a brand... he's not a multi-millionaire just because of his music), press appearances (how much do you think Aloe got paid for his appearance on this show so that he can talk about how he's not making enough money?)... suddenly, these poor destitute musicians don't look so bad off. And if streaming makes your music more popular, then these avenues only become more lucrative. The whole interview just felt very money-grubby to me. Aloe's sitting there, a millionaire in really nice dress, on a mass-media stage with a fellow millionaire... complaining that he's not making enough money. He seems to care more about keeping every possible penny he can than people hearing his "product". Yeah, it just REALLY rubbed me the wrong way.

[@AWSVids]

ann landers Stand's post wasn't about the merits of Taylor Swift as an artist or a person, but thanks for sharing. Sounds like you needed to get that off your chest.

[@AncientAstronaut952]

Totally agree with you! Maher is right on most issues, but there are some issues where it's obvious that he's getting too old. His is so wrong on vaccinations and technology that he ironically sounds like a conservative. Bill Nye, as he always is, was on the right side of this debate. Technology is fantastic; it's enhancing our lives! Sure, there are drawbacks, but that's what laws are for. We as humans can figure out how to mitigate the drawbacks.

[@Funnymann]

Once again, Bill Nye is the smartest person on the panel.

[@swfr765]

Fran came off a tad bit obnoxious and cynical

[@ericoberbeck561]

Bill, you raised a good question; if you live in Beijing and you can’t breathe the air, wouldn’t you want to make a change? Maybe a small part of the problem is that people like your guests Fran Leibowitz and Rob Reiner (who I love) are not willing to take seriously a brilliant guy and climate scientist like Bill Nye?

[@squidcaps4308]

Bill Nye is not climate scientist. He is mechanical engineer. That doesn't mean he doesn't know what he is talking about, he is scientifically literate and can interpret what climate scientist have written.

[@johnnylotito]

SquidCaps All he does all day long is research, travel, talks to real scientist, and acts as a translator to the public. I think you are making the critical mistake in assuming that 'because you haven't been educated in a university, you cannot possibly pick up the same books being used an teach yourself. And again, he is discussing these things with top scientist all the time.

[@rossbarn6858]

***** hey,,its the governor walker defense for not needing an education,at university,,,being tried out in you tube ...and he,,,squid, agrees with you kid i "think" your assuming everyone disagrees lol

[@squidcaps4308]

***** Nope, i'm only stating the obvious fact and one that Nye himself has said; he is not a climate scientist. Neither am i but i can still understand what is happening.

[@johnnylotito]

SquidCaps cause people like you pull that education bulshit if he says he knows just as much. Which he literally does. But yall do that shit

[@Venator237]

Poor Bill. It seemed the entire show he kept trying to make great points but kept being interrupted. One could even see the frustration on his face.

[@johncody2465]

Which Bill?

[@bradjbourgeois73]

I live in the country in the south and I'm as liberal as they come... I do admit I am surrounded by idiots though!

[@HawklordLI]

I live in Missouri which isn't quite the south...and I'm surrounded by idiots......and next door to Kansas.

[@01denese]

HawklordLI Kansas is full of idiots. They really embrace "The Stupid".

[@Terror350]

HawklordLI Missouri had a shadow government that fought for the Confederacy, they may not be technically in the South but they are close e-fucking-nough. Its not just "the South" its also the heartland, the middle of the country that is uber rural.

[@progKansas]

01denese, I know. I live in Kansas and feel like the top 1%-of common sense!

[@01denese]

progKansas If you have fresh fruit and veggies with any meal (instead of fried meat, mashed potatoes and gravy) that automatically puts you in the 1% in Kansas.

[@MRSEXY4EVER]

I've watched every episode for the years 5 years, and this was one of the most painful episodes I've had to sit through. Nye, while being highly informed on scientific matters, is unable to contribute to any other topic with other than rhetorical questions or hackneyed observations, he should really be only the mid show guest and only talk about science. And I'm a fairly liberal person, but Fran makes me want to join the tea party myself. If you can make Maher and Reiner cringe, you have some seriously fucked views. Walking stereotypes like her are exactly why conservatives find it so easy to hate liberals. Not to mention her banal and choppy banter that stopped conversation in its tracks, my god, please stick to writing. Stay far away from any live camera feeds

[@ImTheFlyingPig]

Couldn't agree more with you. All though I love Bill Nye and his books, he was really out of his element here, and Fran was just being completely obnoxious with the topic of technology.

[@Terror350]

I think you guys are mostly just mad at her for her technology comments, just about everything else she was spot on with. Republicans are racist fucks and control the old Confederate States, these are facts and that was most of what she talked about.

[@annlanders978]

Terror350 I think we were better off before cell phones. Now EVERYBODY is obsessed and addicted with their phones. It is today's ADDICTION. Don't tell me I am wrong either. Go into any restaurant or coffee shot and 80% of the people will be STARING at their phones - even when they are with other people. RUDE is the word of today. In other ways though technology is great. I love that you can Google stuff or shop online. Good and bad.

[@Terror350]

ann landers I dont own a phone either and just use a computer so I know exactly what you are talking about BUT there are other ways to fix this, you think people are staring at their phones because they have them? No, they are doing it because they are ignorant and dont think they have anything better to do. If we were to properly educate them and stop letting corporations push this materialist bullshit on them things would change. Its not technology that is the problem, it is ignorance and the corporations who push it.

[@avedic]

MRSEXY4EVER Best comment on this video. I agree with everything you said....about Nye and Fran especially. This episode was a tough watch....

[@nate_gilly3814]

It’s cool they let that tiny lady from the incredibles on the show

[@Beowoulf69]

Fran Lebowitz' extreme partisan views apparently prevent rational discourse in her presence. She makes Reiner look conservative!

[@schreiermeister34]

I think what Elahe Izadi is saying is that, at one point in time there used to be a "job" for everyone. For example, cobbler,printer,outfitter,lumber yard, general store....now its not the same way. I think that is a result of over-saturation of technology too rapidly, and lack of education that develops a more guided path leading towards a particular career field of some kind.

[@rnrtruestories]

Im surprised bill had howard stern on his show. They kept talking trash about each other. Guess it's all water under the bridge....

[@AvangionQ]

@ 4:10 When Bill Maher asked about gatekeepers, I think back to before the proliferation of the Internet, when there were only a handful of TV stations, magazines and newspapers doing the news, or an equally small number of music and movie publishing organizations, and everyone got their media from them. Now, anyone can create media content and distribute it, though while their market share is significantly diminished, the system has been democratized and thus vastly improved.

[@edwelsh5955]

Bill Nye is the only smart one on this subject the rest should not be commenting

[@SimplesArrows]

Saw Fran Lebowitz and thought "Damn! Howard Stern is looking rough nowadays"

[@dougholmes1627]

The anti-technology rants being spewed make me so pissed off. Gah! You fools! Technology and science have literally solved 99% of your problems! Every single thing about your life, from the food you eat, to the ways we communicate and ALL the old problems we used to have are now gone. Food storage? Fridges. Medical technology and understanding that allows us to double or triple our lifespans. I mean, fuck! Come ON! It would be harder to name one area of life that technology has NOT improved in our daily lives!

[@BullitCake]

These old ppl other than Nye are so out of touch about the tech debate

[@justinbf]

A bunch of old timers scared of change. Reiner: "We are less informed now." Are you kidding, or just ignorant? Internet users and students know WAY more than their equivalents of the previous generation. How to apply that knowledge is another question, but saying we know less because of technology is honestly one of the dumbest things I've heard.

[@Lingerminator]

"social media is look at me, look at" me coming from a profession that thrives from being known. More like 'what about me, what about me'. Embrace the change, use the tool. Autodidact on any and every subject.

[@izaccy]

Technology and Science is tools that will change our world, but humanity have to decide what to do with it. When Oppenheimer split the atom, it was used for something bad like Hiroshima, but later advanced us into the future.

[@Jgleason23]

Fran Lebowitz is the best. She will happily make anyone look like a fool who is out of line.

[@gc3k]

Too many rude obnoxious East coasters on the panel drowning out the people trying to say something insightful

[@bluewrenreilly4414]

I think Jon Stewart said it well, the internet is like schoolchildren passing notes.

[@TheEmanExperience]

I Fear the Day That Technology Will Surpass Our Human Interaction Albert Einstein

[@DavidPackluvr]

Indeed! And that time has come.

[@miroslavstejskal8123]

Suzanne Sheets Has it ? Because I am sitting here in this room in Czech Republic interacting with you.

[@senpai6463]

Has it though? Greetings from Belgium

[@MAnnaconduit1]

***** "anti-technology sentiment" this is starting to really piss me off, i get sick and tired of people reacting to this crap, you mention "hey maybe we should pay attention and or be more careful with growing technology, make sure it doesn't surpass our ability to control and or hold onto it..." and you get: "Luddite scum, get into the new world grandpa you people are the ones bringing our society down!" This idea that just by questioning whether or not we should have soemhting or just stating our fears/opinions on technology you are labeled anti-technology and vilified--well unfortunately this is legitimate concern--we see it with the internet where a lot of gray and bad things occur and are allowed to occur, because the law has not caught up with the technology--that is the problem,technology is growing so fast our laws barley have time to catch up. your right technology has allowed people from all over the world communicate, even view one another and maintain relationships--it has also founded a peice of culture where people's social lives are mostly digital based--Facebook, Myspace (any of these dating and or social websites etc.), Twitter, Email etc. etc. how many times do i see people immersed in their phones and their phones alone--doing texting, games, music, not really talking to each other---in fact actual socialization like talking to another person without a screen or characters is rare for me to witness. Not a crippling culture but one that has to be addressed if we want the actal face to face socialization process to keep away from the endangered species list. No one is anti-technology for raising the question are we being left behind where it counts with technology in exchange for convenience and simplistic pleasures.

[@DavidPackluvr]

***** That is what I think he (or whomever said that) meant too, and that is all I was referring to. I am not against technology, but I am sad when I see people constantly in front of one screen or another almost all of the time.

[@CorsicaCollector]

Fran Lebowitz, cynical, to her bone marrow.

[@terryfookwitt]

Bill 'I believe science when it fits my agenda' Maher.

[@irisalan3018]

We had a whole set encyclopaedia Britainica

[@steelbreeze420]

@7:30 Mr.Reiner...that why good penetration testers (professional hackers) can make in the range of 150k and bug hunters have unlimited income if they find exploits...good bugs pay almost 50 THOUSAND dollars EACH!! Get your kid into coding class NOW

[@maxfarley2519]

Was that a xylophone or something at 9:22?

[@georgerickard5509]

"OMG, I don't understand computers! They must be bad and scary!"

[@EdGloss]

I'll add that Wikipedia makes Encyclopedia Britannica look like a child's picture book. I'm addition to Wikipedia being as accurate or more accurate than traditional encyclopedias, the information exceedingly up to date and an entry has far more information.

[@SugaryCoyote]

My goo! My precious goo!

[@perochialjoe]

It isn't too often that I dislike an episode of Bill Maher but nearly everybody in this episode seemed so horribly uninformed. Seemed nearly everybody was just throwing out baseless opinions and trying to use scare tactics then dismissing whatever Bill Nye said, who was often the only one there actually informed on a topic.

[@RCrosbyLyles]

Indeed, we are less informed now than we were in decades past because of the amount of choice we have. When someone encounters ideas that may be true but disturb their established world view, they just hit the X at the top right corner of the screen and it goes away. The lanes of communication have become more rigid now than ever before because of choice. The necessary growth must be in our collective ability to at least listen to uncomfortable ideas. We must somehow learn to deal with the fear of being hard sold on something we will later regret, the overwhelming nature of problems that seem beyond our individual ability to do anything about, and the annoyance of possibly being sucked into an endless circular argument over dead(zombie) ideas. We will probably have to reach a crisis point where bullshit cannot be tolerated because all of our lives are at stake. In truth, our freedom and the existence of the whole planet are threatened by none other than the overwhelming volume of bullshit in the communication stream.

[@AWSVids]

Did Rob say that Selma wasn't nominated? Because it is nominated for Best Picture. Was he talking about acting noms?

[@ehsan6744]

I never respected Bill Maher more! EXACTLY! Nightcrawler should have been nominated! Bingo!

[@melj7172]

Trouble with panel shows, people like Mr Nye and Ms Izadi don't get enough time to express their thoughts. Rob Reiner seems very informed, I enjoyed his insights. Some may not appreciate thought provoking discussions like this but they need to live in Oklahoma and have to listen to the SFB's we more progressives have listen to EVERY DAY!!!! If you don't believe me, look at the people elected to to congress from this totally Red state.

[@zackstevenson750]

Yeesh, that Fran Lebowitz was ghastly! Last time I checked, we live in the UNITED States of America, not "I don't like them so they should leave" States of Lebowitz.

[@totovanesio]

how naif...

[@oddyseus91]

Medicine is massively improved in Fran's lifetime, to say only Polio is an uninformed answer. Organ Transplantation is HUGE. The massive changes in joint repair/replacement ( i had a joint in my back replaced). Heart Surgury ect ect. They may not have "Cured" things but they have saved countless more lives within the Cardiology field alone.

[@JerzyFeliksKlein]

The more I watch clips of Fran Lebowitz the more I realize that she has very litle to say and she seems to get invited only on the basis of being eccentric

[@jasonwyman1873]

No, the Encyclopedia Britannica was NOT better than Wikipedia. It's constantly updated, and links to other clarifying info, and you don't have to go to a library for the complete volume.

[@dreamcoyote]

how dated is the "red states are southern states" bit? that may have been true a few decades ago but, she's just flat out wrong there. Most places are "purple" with slight leaning towards either side and, if they lean enough, they are red or blue. I'm in Maryland, which is a very blue state. As you get away from the cities and more towards the western counties or eastern shore, the local color shifts much more red. overall? blue, but not because it's "north" but due to the populations in the cities/suburbs. Ironically, her whole attitude about the blue-north/red-south is exactly one of the reasons the south wanted to secede. They wanted to keep their rural (slave-owning) patriarchal society and the north wanted to build upon it's immigrant-rich industrialization-based society. That viewpoint just doesn't work in the modern age. I also live in a county that is made up of *extremely* democratic mostly black voters. When it came to gay marriage in Maryland, those voting against it were primarily the rural west and eastern shore and.. the highly religious super-dems right in the middle ;)

[@FidelityDenim1]

Fran Lebowitz is sounding like somebody's awkwardly racist grandmother

[@guberization]

I wonder, if they create a new Star Trek show if Bill Nye could be Q?! "Humanity is on trial for their past and should not go further and infect the rest of the galaxy...." You know, something around those lines.

[@ulyworkman3611]

Right, I'm sure Wikipedia's 5.3 million articles can't compare to Encyclopedia Britannia.

[@someonezmom]

this is so sad for me...Fran Lebowitz being apart of this conversation is like Rudolf Valentino being apart of a discussion with James Cameron about film

[@joshuafranco1570]

What the hell was this bullshit on culture? Whatever we do, as an accepting society, is, by definition our culture. Now, we can argue about whether it is shallow or deep but ruined? I don't know about that. Perhaps even good or bad with respect to past or contemporary behavioral norms but ruined, I think, is nothing more than hysterical hyperbole.

[@c.vaughn7371]

I didn't like the Iraq war either, but that comment maher made about Sadam Hussein is CRAZY. Kurdish Genocide, case in point.

[@konstantint1588]

Sadly I must dislikes video, because the one reasonable person, Bill Nye, in this debate gets almost no time to talk and all the others, unfortunately this time including Maher, keep spouting bullshit. Let Nye talk for God's sake!

[@romanticwarrior97]

These bobble head sessions aren't very elucidating. Rob Reiner, in particular. doesn't realize he's part of the problem. He's so far left he's loathe to admit Obama ever does anything wrong. This is the second show I've seen Reiner on where he danced away from any criticizing of Obama.

[@AsSheLikesIt]

Yes Wikipedia is better than the old paper Encyclopaedia because truth is like triangulation. The more perspectives you have, the closer you come to accuracy. At the very least many different versions of the truth enable a healthy scepticism. In the old days, you read it it an Encyclopaedia (written by one source) and believed it was true.

[@couchman7787]

To suggest that we are less cultured now than we once were is absolute nonsense. Additionally, Fran Leibowitz is irrelevant. Her cynical comments on overtime and during the show were disgusting as she tried to nab at saying something funny around every corner. Unless Bill Maher updates his own views, when it comes to technology and media, he too will be bringing up the rear on the progressiveness of politically motivated comedic news show anchors. If he doesn't, would love to see John Oliver take his place.

[@DerekToningoogle]

What I got out of that was 2 old guys (Maher and Reiner) who don't understand technology and are scared of the future. They can frame it in any terms they want, but Nye and Blacc make great points and Maher and Reiner just flounder.

[@InspirationIsFree]

Only cured polio since Fran's been alive??? Absolute nonsense. Maybe she should consult a physician or medical scientist before saying something so stupid.

[@suvariboy]

Aloe Blacc. Never heard of him (I'm sure there are lots of people I don't know about!!), but he didn't get much time to talk.

[@Rdff522]

I never comment, but the comment about "we are less informed" is a less informed opinion. I am 23 years old, I have in a way lived through a huge evolution of available information and have had more access to information within the last 10 years or so... just saying. It is easy to have a bias to technology or what is new when you didn't grow with it necessarily, so I see why it is easy to be edgy about the "information age" and social media. As a student and an artist, sourcing from other people's daily lives or events is revolutionary in the sense of what is possible and what is going on out in the world beyond us.

[@JohnSmith-zw5xf]

They are right about urban vs rural in the south. The reason urban people are more liberal than rural people in general is because the urban folks have higher degrees of education. Even socially moderate conservatives know that. It's not opinion. It's a fact that knowledge is inherently liberal while faith is inherently conservative.

[@Omega172]

I wish they had given Nye more room to talk during the actual episode. He had some insight to give on a few subjects, but it felt like they cut him off for the sake of jokes and more simplified commentary.

[@LikaLaruku]

I'm not good with faces, but doesn't the lady with the glasses & shoulder pads play Kate Kaplan on The Blacklist?

[@Loggjamm]

I have to admit I think Bill Nye is just kind of a sideshow scientist to me. I believe he knows stuff (I do literally mean in general) and so he names that stuff off in an attempt to be relevant. I also believe that these people just seem incredibly old and I agree with Nye that technology has not ruined society. So yeah...this is just all bullshit.

[@denarjan]

Hello, those Chinese are walking with breathing caps because a lot of heavy industry gets outsourced. You people buying new crap every week are still the root cause of it, dropped the ball there Bill.

[@LeesaDeAndrea]

Fran is wrong about the city, country thing just being in the south. It is very much in the Midwest too. Rural populations are more conservation than urban.

[@thegreatmonster]

In a 100 year Bill Nye, if indeed money keeps on flowing in -- and I mean in the right boxes -- to fund these researches otherwise it is back to the days where man wondered in the open steppes for food and shelter.

[@sydanaya]

what the fuck? a bunch of old people think that there time was better... well i hate to tell you that but thats kinda what every generation thinks ... how can people still be ignorant about stuff like that? Life is all about change and adaptation. If you dont get that, than you will have a hard time understanding this beautiful world

[@iantaylorcg]

well i am glad i am not the only one that thought bill nye was the only reasonable person when it came to talking about technology. elahe izadi had some good points as well. but good lord people, things change! they evolve! that is the nature of both science and culture. how ignorant and stuck in your ways do you have to be to not see that everything has good and bad implications. yes there are some risks with technology, but i think the benefits far outweigh those

[@ericlopez6866]

"What culture? What culture do we have?" - Ughh... liberals....

[@NILgravity]

It's absurd to say we are less informed now than we were. We used to think gay people were these extremely rare things. Now we know they are 1 in ten of us. We just didn't know how ignorant we were then.

[@000JP]

Bill Maher is pretty arrogant for a person who isn't particularly well educated and does nothing to contribute to society.

[@douglamert8115]

What culture??? The culture--that includes you wearing that hat trying to be cool, Aloe

[@dapperdanman1956]

I FEEL SOOO SORRY, YOU'VE GOT ONE ARGUE OVER THE AGE OF BILLION YEAR OLD BONES, AND STEVE HAWKINS, OUT THERE SOMEWHERE OUT THERE IN THE COSMOS, AND REAL PEOPLE IN AMERICA STUGGLING IN REAL TIME BEFORE OUR EYES

[@ApesAmongUs]

My respect goes out to anyone who didn't backhand that idiot for interrupting everything that was said.

[@arstxz319]

Fran needs to realize her opinion isn't required for every topic in a debate. Just because she can talk doesn't mean she needs to.

[@TheLowsofSolipsism]

I'd rather have people hack bank and rob them rather then me being in a bank and have a heist with guns. It is much safer for human life.

[@heywoodjablomi719]

I find Fran Lebowitz extremely annoying in this conversation and not for the better.

[@Kleavers]

Lebowitz is quite a character. Is she anything she does approve of?

[@tylerkeller8869]

You all know you went straight to the search tab and looked for "we live in public".

[@moeguy222]

The only thing Lebowitz managed to bring to this conversation is that she is entirely irrelevant.

[@maxkurant1470]

He was in Macon? Tell Lee I said hi.

[@occasional_doomer]

Basically Bill Nye and Elahe Izadi vs 3 frightened old luddites.

[@roomie4rent]

Doesn't Elahe perform at the DC Improv? Man, she was a lot funnier there.

[@gildlily78]

Real Time; feel free not to let Lebowitz back on. Seriously.

[@IIIIIIII]

no culture? what the hell are these people talking about? it sounds like these people want to make bold statements to look edgy or something.

[@jisseidydiaz]

Bill Nye's arrogance is such a turnoff. It seems like he feels superior to everyone else sitting at the table.

[@laveuviking]

poor bill nye. everyone seemed clueless around him. too much IQ for the rest of the panel.

[@LORDNAG1]

Why is that lady wearing clothing? Doesn't she know, that's technology she has on!

[@musicjock3]

Man bill bye really is clueless. Sad to see him floundering on bill maher...

[@oneslyder]

Izadi...one of those big hand talkers. Very annoying.

[@Gr8Layks]

Fran needs to be deported...not the people with differing opinions, as she suggested.

[@r13hd22]

Maher has turned into a cranky old man and his sinicism is making him more and more closed minded.