What Is Your Core?

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Hi everybody, Dennis Prager and Julie Hartman, Dennis and Julie Podcast. You know, Julie, you don't even know this. I mean, you'll know it when I say it, but it's not a— you don't know this aspect of my psyche right now. Do you know what bugs me? That we missed one, one of our—

of course it bugs you. It bugs me too. We were on such a roll.

I mean, over 100, not missing one, even when you were at college, when I was on the, on the road, God knows where.

But, and by the way, we are contractually obligated to miss like 5 a year or something because of vacation, but you and I don't—

you don't believe in that.

We don't believe in vacation.

Well, look, the truth is, and all of you should know this, we do this out really out of love. I mean, we love doing it with each other, and we love that others watch it. I mean, it's— it— that is true. So I have, um, I told you I had an interesting question, and I don't know what it is. Yes, you don't know what it is. And I know that we have touched upon it. You'll know, you'll probably know the date and time, but, uh, it doesn't matter. It's— I still, I think people will be interested. I will be interested because the subject, even though it's— it will begin about you, it's about— everybody has to deal with something analogous. Or most people anyway. So you just came from this extraordinary trip. I mean, it'd be extraordinary at any age to be wined and dined in, you know, 4 or 5 different countries.

Try 7.

Okay, 7. Great. Even better. And giving speeches. You're 24 years old and this is happening to you. So this is a super serious question because I, I had this very, very similar thing at your age. I knew, I knew how fortunate I was. What prevents you— all right, I'll leave it. I'll make it more provocative because I'll make it more direct and true. You're not full of yourself. If you were, I wouldn't feel toward you the way I do. I don't even know if you'd be in my life, to be honest, as I wouldn't be in your life. So I can vouch for the fact that you don't go to bed at night thinking, whoa, I am, you know, the best thing since sliced bread.

Quite the opposite, actually.

Quite the opposite. That's very possible. Quite the opposite. So what I want— but so this is— that's the given. What I want to know is, do you take active measures to prevent it?

No.

Really? No. Because that's your nature.

Yes. And I think I have a good worldview about it that I both have. Well, I guess I've worked towards this worldview, but really I also have, and it's always been in me. I view myself as truly one of the most privileged people to ever live. Number 1, because I was born in the United States of America. Number 2, because I was born into a two-parent household. Number 3, because of the extraordinary education that I was fortunate enough to have at, you know, my elementary school, high school, and then going to Harvard. And Harvard was, you know, I haven't exactly been silent about my criticisms of the school, but I had extraordinary opportunities. I had a great dorm, incredible friends. You've met many of my friends. Ironically, I had the opportunity to go to Israel with 100 fellow undergraduates for 10 days. And then, by God's grace, I'm lucky enough to meet you. You saw my email. And yes, you know, you can say, oh, I, you know, I underwent the intellectual, you know, journey. I took the risk to get canceled and come on your radio show. Sure. But come on, I got really lucky to have you see my email and have you respond to me. And to really make it personal, I just feel so lucky to be able-bodied, able-minded, and have a shot at life. Sometimes on the show I reference my sister Gina, who has very, very severe autism. And I think this has to do so much with my worldview. And I really bring this up to answer your question of have I had to work towards it, because just for my whole life, I have been very, very, very lucky. Very aware of how very stark the differences are between her life and my life. She's a vegetable, essentially. Forgive me, but it's true. She can barely speak. She's incredibly disabled. She needs help going to the bathroom. She needs help brushing her teeth. She needs 2-to-1 staff at her at all times. My mom makes these puzzles for her, and they're like 2-year-old puzzles. You know, they'll say, Is red a color? And then my mom will write on the other side, yes, and she'll draw a line to yes. You know, if she hears too many high stimulating sounds, she'll go like this. You know, as we've talked about, tragically she's been abused and neglected in her group homes. And for my whole life, I've looked at her and I've gone, how does this make sense? How does it make sense that she, this one sister of mine, and I could have been born as that sister is essentially a vegetable. She will never have a shot at life. She can't— she doesn't have any friends. She can never get married. She can never have a job. She can't leave her house. She doesn't have any freedom. She can't walk down the street. She doesn't know how to. She needs help. How is it that this one child is so, so disabled and then this other one— I was able-bodied, I was a good swimmer, I was well-liked. And I worked hard. I'm not trying to— you know how hard I work. I'm not trying to not give myself credit, but come on. I was given so much. I get to go to these great schools. I get to have a talk show. How does it work that way? And so that is just what has facilitated my worldview. I just view myself as very privileged, and as trite as it sounds, but I hope you know me well enough to know that it's not trite. It's not something I'm just saying to sound sweet. It really is a part of my life. A deep part of me. I view it as my vocation to wake other people up and spread truth, beauty, and goodness that I have been privileged enough to bask in for my whole life. Two-parent privilege, American privilege, the wisdom that you've taught me about conservatism and God. I just, I view myself as taking it all in and then shooting it out to people as best as I can.

Well, I'm very happy I asked you the question, and it raises an interesting point. How many people— and I don't know, I don't have, I don't have a clue what the answer to this question is, I just know it's a legitimate question— how many people having a disabled sibling have reacted as you have with just overwhelming, permanent gratitude? Well, for her or his situation?

Well, it's interesting because there's a permanent amount of gratitude, or permanent gratitude as you said, but there's also permanent guilt. Profound permanent guilt.

Like survivor's guilt?

Yes. And I know for sure that I have that, and I know that many others who have disabled siblings or siblings who've died, you know, it's, it's not just with disabled siblings or family members who are, who have been gotten into a terrible accident and have had, you know, I, I know someone who has a close family member who has MS, it's, it's her mother, and her Her mother developed MS when she was 17, and now her mother can't walk. She's witnessed her mother turn and turned from an able-bodied person into a vegetable. So I think with—

well, she's not a vegetable like your sister because her brain is functioning.

Well, she can't speak.

She— oh, really?

She talks.

I didn't know MS had that effect. Yes. Oh my God.

Life is so— you know, it's funny. I'm a very joyful person. I know you are too. And well, you know, actually, I want to ask you, I had this battle when I was in Rome. You know, I went on a Catholic immersion experience and Catholic immersion boot camp, I should actually say, because we were up really early, going to bed really late, really just, you know, going through, through boot camp, religious boot camp. And it was great. But it was— I call it sometimes I call it a retreat and it wasn't a retreat. But one of the things I was really battling is this question: is the default in life joy, and then tragedy marks the exceptions? Or is tragedy the default of life, and we're just lucky when we get some joy?

Great one. It's a great one.

Well, I was battling it the whole trip, and I'm still battling it.

I think different people have different defaults.

I agree.

I guess that would be the answer. But, but with the world, you know, with the way God said the human situation The default— I tend, I tend, I don't, I don't fully agree with Dostoevsky. One of his most famous lines, to live is to suffer. Hmm.

And I do see, I do agree with that, but that doesn't mean that that's all of living, right?

But yeah, but I think Dostoevsky thought it was all living.

Well, you couldn't blame him exactly for thinking—

well, that's the point though. You can't blame him because it was such a dark place to live in in 19th century Russia, right? But where was it a bright place to live in history?

America.

You're right. Okay, that's correct. America. And yet in America, almost everybody lost a child.

Yes.

Because that was the human condition.

Well, all around the world, almost everybody. I said it's the human condition. Yes.

All right. So you're— it's a very interesting, valid question, which is the default. But it's interesting. It— and it almost doesn't matter which it is. We—

it matters what you believe it is, because that's how you're going to go about your life.

Well, let's say— I don't know. Let's say you believe the default is to suffer. But you've had all this non-suffering, so you'd be very grateful.

Yes.

Let's say you believe the default is joy, and then you've had a lot of joy, so how would it— so you wouldn't be as grateful because the default is joyful?

No, I actually think, I actually think it— I don't want to say it doesn't matter which, but which one you pick, it matters how you view it. So if you view tragedy as the default, You should, in my opinion, view yourself— try to view yourself as lucky if tragedy is the default. A lot of people would view tragedy as the default and then succumb to or wallow in despair and self-pity. Well, but if you choose— if you choose joy— forgive me— if you choose joy as the default, You should be, you should be happy that there's joy and expect tragedy. You shouldn't just view joy as the default and then feel entitled to joy all of the time. Do you understand what I'm saying? Yeah, it almost doesn't matter which, it matters how you view it.

And right, that's what I said. That's why I asked you, what difference does it make in the final analysis? So, uh, I, I asked you the question because I I think people need, need to, first of all, just to know you better, and as it is good to know me better, if they're, if you're going to listen, people, people in public life, or at least certainly the way the type of life we do of communication, it's good, it's good that people feel that they know you. That's the most common thing I get. I get the two most common comments I get I feel like I know you, to which I've always responded, you do. And the other is, I didn't know you were so tall. Those are the two comments that I get, 'cause I've always seen seated.

Well, let me tell you, just to follow up on the first one, it really, really is true. They do know you. As someone who is privileged enough to know you off the air as well as on the air, I know you very, very well. You are the same on the air as you are off the air. It's just true. And I don't think I've ever met someone like that. I've met a lot of people, you know. Well, mostly it's not fair to say because mostly growing up in Los Angeles, I've— the people on screen who I've met are mostly actors. So of course they're not who they are on screen as they are off screen. But you really are. And I think that's— I think that's the key of life. I think that's— I think the definition of sanity is being all of yourself all of the time to everyone. That doesn't mean that you let your freak flag fly, or that doesn't mean that you complain. You know, it's not like be all of yourself and complain to everyone all the time. But I think sometimes people in life, they, they have different personalities, or they have different— they have different— they're just different when they're around other people are when they're in different settings.

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And as we talked about, you know, Dennis and I the other day were talking about the Christian concept of the Trinity, which was something that I was very confused about. I was— when I was in Rome, I was saying, how does this make sense? How is it that it's one God but three different persons? I don't get this. And the most compelling answer that I got from a priest who I asked about this, he said, Think of you, Julie. You're a daughter, you're a sister, you're a granddaughter, you're a friend, you're a co-host, you're a stranger. You know, when you're going and buying groceries, you're a stranger. You're different people, but you're all one Julie. And I thought, that's— putting the religious Trinity thing aside, I think that's such a cool way to view yourself in life. You are different people. Of course I am a different person with my parents than I am with you. I'm a different person with my friends or with, you know, my grandmother or with my sister than I am with any of the other combinations, but I am still the same Julie all the time. You are still the same Dennis all the time, whether you're with Sue, with me, at Shabbat, with Dr. Marmor, on the air, you're the same Dennis. And I think that's the key to sanity. In your different contexts where inevitably you are going to be a little different, you should still be the core you. But I don't think a lot of people are that way. I think a lot of people do really change themselves depending on who they're with or where they are. Do you agree or disagree?

Oh, I do agree, but I think the— not but— and I think the reason is that not everyone has a core.

Yes, yes. Well, that, you know, that is part of the reason why I took this big trip that you had mentioned at the start of the episode. By the way, I just have to show you this because you know Dennis, but you also know me. I mean, I really don't hide anything. I mean, of course there are some things that I— when you're asking me about my romantic life last episode, there are some things I keep private as you keep private, but you really know me. Let me pull this away. I, on this trip, 5 weeks, 7 countries in Europe, I took 100 pages of notes, typewritten notes. 100. Well, yeah, partially. So I— so here I did—

no, that's the handwritten part.

So I'm just showing a whole book handwritten.

That's a lot of pages.

And then my hand got so tired because I wanted to remember every detail, and then I started typing them. And so I actually was thinking maybe I had to write a book on the trip, but What were we saying? I forgot, but it—

Core.

Yes, your core. Thank you, thank you. Part of why I went on this trip is because I wanted to get a stronger core. And you may, if I may speak for you, hear that and go, wait a minute, did you not have a core before? Did you have a weak core before? No, you know me. All of you have known me for the past however many episodes of Dennis and Julie. I've had a very strong core. But all throughout your life, you should be developing your core. And that is part of why I took this trip. I went on the religious immersion program. I went to, I was speaking in formerly communist countries. I went to Ireland. Like, I was trying to put myself in a lot of different situations to strengthen my core. And also, as I had mentioned, I viewed as my life's vocation to take advantage of my opportunities and funnel out whatever I've learned to other people. And so these are shows, these are columns, these are, These are books, and that's what I know you do. You are an excellent observer. You will go to the coffee store and have an, or as Ashon often notes, you will go in the elevator here at our workplace and you'll have a conversation with someone and you'll try to glean, okay, what does that reveal about the human existence, or what is something that I can learn from that, and then you'll bring it to your show. But you'll also integrate it into you to develop your core as Dennis.

So, we've touched on two things. What prevents people who succeed, especially early, from being self-obsessed and arrogant?

Sorry.

Which is an important discussion. And the other one is core. They might be really related, by the way. If you have a strong core, you're less likely to get transfixed with the— with, with your success. Yes. Because you know what your core— you're Julie. I know my core. I'm Dennis. I'm not really— I'm not Dennis Prager to me, right? I'm Dennis. You're exactly as I was in 8th grade. Uh, and but The core— I've never discussed it. It's— that's why Dennis and Julie is so valuable to me, purely on, on a selfish level. It, it really helps me think, because all of my shows have been just me, all of them.

I know, me too, by the way. This, this really—

so no, yes, and hopefully it does for the listener. Obviously, that's what we hope. The core And I want to help people. That's all. It's all I want to do in any event. But I want to help people understand what do we mean by core. I know you know what we mean. I know I know what we mean. But if we can't explain it, it may not— it may not help people. So do you have a working definition? And I'm putting you on the spot because—

fine.

No, I know it's fine. But I'm saying I want the listener to know I'm putting you on the spot. Because we've never discussed it. I'm not sure you have thought about it much.

I have. Well, I think about it all day, every day.

About your core?

Yeah.

Okay, good. So what is a core?

I think your core is your, your worldview. And I think your core is what, what are the set of principles that I believe in and that I follow all the time.

Or try to follow.

Or try to follow. Yes, try to follow. Because obviously with our human nature, we're all— we often fail. But give me, give me a minute. I know I can call to mind an example. Well, what's your working?

Okay, so I— it's going to be totally spontaneous.

Sure.

I mean, this is a new subject, oddly enough. I can't believe with all the subjects I've thought about and spoken about. But I admit it. And it's, it's really, I mean, it's really, it's one of the rarest times in my life, what I'm undergoing now, where I know something and I'm working hard to define it. I know I have a core, but I know I want that. And I wanted to say, go on.

No, I was saying, I know it's very difficult to define. Yes.

But I think your definition which I don't negate, but your definition was a values and philosophical-based definition. But core is more than values. It's also psychology.

It's also your personality, your interests. Of course.

So there are people who have great values, but they're somewhat lost. Not everybody with great values is psychologically healthy. And it's— Of course. Yeah, well, I don't know if it is, of course, but it may— I want—

No, I hear you.

It needs to be stated.

Yes, it does.

If values were everything, and I think values are the most important thing, but they're not everything. If values were everything, two people should get married and all they would need are shared values. But there are people with shared values who get divorced.

Okay, I have a good example. I knew if I just gave myself some time, I could come up with one. So it's funny because I, in this job and in my life, view myself as conservative. Of course, that's a part of my core, though I view conservatism as not just political. I view conservatism as a personality trait. Honestly, as a philosophical undertaking outside of the political, because at the core of conservatism is conserving the best. And that's what I endeavor to do in every category of my life, certainly politically, but also I want to figure out what has worked in all regards. You know, romantically, I want to figure out— I talk with my friends about, like, you know, patterns between men and women. I want to figure out what what works, what doesn't work, excuse me, in romance or in decorating, in art, in architecture. I'm always trying to figure out the best and bring it into my life, just outside of the political. But so, that was kind of a tangent. My point is, I am conservative, but the conservatism isn't all of me. However, recently, I have become very, sure in my support for Donald Trump. I've always been sure of my support of Donald Trump, or at least over the past few years. But I've really become just even more confident in my public support for him and voting for him. And I have had several friends recently, you know, in the wake of the assassination attempt, in the wake of Joe Biden resigning and Kamala ascending the ranks, I've had a lot of friends really kind of give me a hard time. For supporting Donald Trump. And I think an older version of me, or a year-ago version, or a 2-year-ago version, would have watered down my real feelings about Donald Trump in order to protect the friendship. And by the way, this is another tangent, but though we call Dennis and Julie Tangent Hour, I do believe that you should protect your friendships politically. I don't come to dinner with certain friends and talk about my support of Donald Trump. However, if they ask me or if it comes up, I am no longer going to hide it. I am no longer going to water it down because this is my core and I don't have anything to apologize for. I'm not ashamed and I'm not backing down. I'm not racist. I'm not homophobic. I'm not sexist. I'm not transphobic. I don't endorse every single thing that Donald Trump has ever said and done. In fact, a lot of the times I think he's been incredibly stupid and has said some very irresponsible things and done some very irresponsible things. But an older version of Julie wasn't confident enough to come out and say that. An older version of Julie would have been like, oh yes, I understand that, you know, maybe you think he's an authoritarian. A new version of Julie is not going to do that Maoist self-criticism session. And I'm actually in a situation right now with one of my closest friends who I adore, but we're talking on the phone in a few days and she is— she's quite left. She's Black. She really hates Donald Trump and thinks that he's a white supremacist. And again, at the risk of repeating myself, but the old Julie would maybe get on the phone with her and then go over so many times why I'm not racist. A new Julie is saying to her, I love you, but I'm not doing that. If you think I'm racist, then we're not friends. If you think that I would vote for a racist, then we really need to have a talk. But I think this gets back to the core issue, because I've worked on that over the past year. I've worked on, okay, Julie, what do you believe? Who are you? Are you going to water yourself down in certain situations? What do you really believe? What really matters to you? And how are you going to behave with all of these different people and all of these different circumstances in your life? That goes back to developing a good core. And that, and forgive me, I know I'm talking a lot this episode. I will shut up. I think I'm like been shot out of a cannon since this Europe trip. But when I talk on the phone with my friend, that doesn't mean I'm not gonna have sympathy for her position. That's also a part of my core. I think my core is a deeply loving, understanding, open-minded person. I'll say to her, Hey, is there something I'm not understanding about Donald Trump? You are black. I'm not black. Is there something that I'm not seeing that you want to tell me? And we'll have a conversation about it. However, if I disagree with her, I'm not going to hide that I disagree with her because she's black.

So it's really a worthy topic because CORE is such a big deal. So first you made core somewhat synonymous with values.

Yeah, I'm sorry, that was quite the monologue.

Oh no, that's irrelevant. Then, then you made core more or less synonymous with self-confidence. Well, I think I'm not saying, I'm not saying that either is wrong. I just want It's a very—

it's—

this is completely spontaneous. Normally I have thought something through and I'm working it out even further with you. I have not thought through what is to have a core mean.

I think it's values and then you get confidence from the values. So what I actually— that's fascinating to me that you sense that I had somehow linked it to self-confidence. I can see why you thought that because I said I'm confident enough to not change myself. But I view that as just— you're buried so deeply in your values, that is your core, knowing what you believe and following that all the time. And then you get a confidence from having that foundation.

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I know, I didn't either.

Okay, this— so this may help people. And I'll give you the classic example. When in the '60s and '70s, it was so incredibly popular for people to say, I'm going on a search for myself or I'm searching for myself. And I kind of say I want to find myself. Go on.

So I'm so sorry to interrupt you. I kind of get that. I know what you're about to say. You're gonna say you don't get it.

That's right. And by the way, that doesn't make me better. It makes me luckier. There wasn't a day that I wondered who I was. That's definitely part of a core, and that's not values-based necessarily. If you'd have asked me in 9th grade, what are your values? I don't think I'd have said ethical monotheism. I did within 10 years or even earlier, but it doesn't matter. And certainly not conservatism. I certainly would have said, you say, what are you politically? I would have said, you know, a liberal.

Same.

Right. And by the way, to a large extent, I still am a liberal. That's why I'm called a conservative. It's true.

Morgan and I were just talking about true liberals are conservative. That's exactly—

that's— we are the—

what I just said.

Liberals do not protect liberal values. Conservatives do.

Yes. When you're conservative, you're actually also liberal. When you're liberal doesn't mean you're always actually conservative.

Liberal. Liberals are liberal today. Means confused. Leftists. Leftists are bad. Conservatives know what they believe. And liberals are confused. It's a very tragic thing because they're the ones who put the left in power. But I don't want to go there right now. So I knew— I— wait, you, you responded to me by saying you get it that people go in search of themselves. Go. So go. What does that mean? And by the way, if you do, then did you go on that search? Who is Julie? Because if you did, then until you found you, you didn't have a strong core.

No, I knew who Julie was. I— and who Julie is. I had a strong core. I was going there to iron out some kinks and to just grow in my core, if that makes any sense. But no, it's not that I was coreless. Then what did you mean when you said you relate to the people who said I understand that because I've seen people, I've seen people in my life who need to detach from their life and go on a trip or go move somewhere or quit their job in order to really find themselves. And oftentimes it comes from having a tyrannical parent or parents or a, or a situation that doesn't allow them to really figure out who they are. I mean, you, you talk about your parents a lot on Dennis and Julian. I love hearing about them, and I so wish I'd met them.

Me too.

I just, as an aside, and we always get into danger of going down these tangents, but they're so fascinating. People's parents tell you so much about a person. Most people are either reflections of or reactions to their parents. And you can be some combination of both. In some ways, you can be a reflection. In some ways, you can be a reaction. But I think people's parents tell so much about them. So I wish I had met your parents. But I often find, you know, I know some people who have very tyrannical parents, parents who, you know, and we hear that you, I'm sure you hear this on your radio show, you know, dads who are very heavy-handed or moms that are very heavy-handed or, And, and I kind of get growing up in those environments, sometimes it's difficult to figure out, well, who am I irrespective of my tyrannical parent?

Yeah.

And so I get people needing to kind of like leave whatever it is that they're in. And I've— and by the way, I've gotten emails about this from Dennis and Julie listeners. Tyrannical bosses, tyrannical parents, or just situate— I'll give you an example. A lot of— I mean, Imagine being at a woke, I say imagine, I was just in it. Being at a woke university these days is a tyrannical environment. You can't really figure out who you are on these campuses. You go to class, these narratives are being shoved down your throats. You have all these friends who are, or classmates who will not tolerate you if you are conservative. I just got out of this, I know how it is. And so I get the searching for yourself thing. I do, because some people don't have the freedom. And I'm not— I think you growing up, Dennis, I think you had a lot of freedom as well.

So I would argue this is all, as I said earlier, spontaneous. And so I may rethink everything that I'm saying.

But well, that's, that's why we do this.

Yeah. Well, you can evolve.

We can, we can go.

No, no. Yeah, of course. Course, but I like to present people not, not working it through as much as discussing what I have worked through. But it doesn't matter, it is what it is. I raised the issue. It's an important, a really important issue. So I would argue that kids with non-tyrannical parents are as likely to lack a core as kids with tyrannical parents. The kids, the kids whose parents were not tyrannical, but, you know, all they did is shower their kid with love and attention. I'm not sure that that builds a big core either.

True.

The, the— I'm sort of leading up to what I had started earlier. That as long as I remember myself, I knew who I was. That wasn't based— my parents were somewhat tyrannical, but I had a lot of freedom. I know it sounds bizarre. I had both. And once I was in high school, they were completely non-tyrannical, and all I had was freedom. I'm talking about really much earlier. But When you, when you are raised in any type of home, it remains, I think, a fact that like musical ability, anyone can learn piano, but only a handful can be great pianists. Those people were given a gift. I, I don't know if you know my friend Andre Bala. He's a superb violinist, a world-class violinist. He, he, it's a gift. I mean, he works at it, but it's a gift. I believe that, that I knew who I was in 6th grade.

Me too.

Was a gift. I did not work at it. I did not have some great worldview that I had.

Same.

Yeah.

I knew who I was when I was 4 or 5.

Okay.

So memories.

I want you to know, it bothers me because I feel sort of like your answer earlier. I feel like I am the lucky recipient of a staggering cosmic gift.

Yes. that you're not responsible for.

that I didn't do a damn thing.

I agree.

So, by the way, it raises an issue. I can't believe I was not plagued by this all of my life, only in the last few years, oddly enough. And that is the issue of free will. How much of us, how much do we really choose and how much is built in. There's so much built in, and it's so not fair. And I was given such an abundance of built-in gifts. And I, that's, by the way, that has prevented me from ever being arrogant. And everybody who works with me knows, as I think I told you, anywhere I've worked, somebody, people in sales would come over, you know, You're not a prima donna.

Sean, do you want to weigh in?

Yes. He knows. He is.

He is. Danny, a prima donna?

No, he's a prima donna.

Well, that we know. We know that.

You know what I've been wondering the whole episode? What? He's— he's— he's wondering the whole— greatest thing since sliced bread. Yes. I thought of all the great things in the world. How did sliced— I know, because it's so great. No, no, no. He's right. Dennis Prager, when I said the greatest thing since sliced bread, he was wondering what's so great about sliced bread that that's the metaphor that's used. I agree with him. It's not exactly— how about if people said, you know, the greatest thing since air conditioning? That makes sense. But sliced bread, I got to admit, it's not played as significant a role as air conditioning has.

Or antibiotics.

Or yeah, yeah, right, exactly.

Or the car or the airplane.

It's a truly— you're 100% right, it is a truly bizarre saying.

But anyway, you're not a prima donna.

So yeah, I'm saying it to say— let me explain why it's not a boast. I am not a— I, Dennis, am not a prima donna is as true as I, Dennis, am tall. I'm 6'4". I didn't do a damn thing to get 6'4", and I didn't do a damn thing not to be a prima donna. It's not in my nature. My whole outlook on life works against it. I know so deeply how much of life is luck, and, and it bothers a lot of people when I speak about the role of luck. By the way, it bothers me, uh, but I can't think irrationally. And rationally, of course there's luck. I had the luck, back to our subject, of having a core. I knew who I was from when I could begin thinking in middle of elementary school.

Yes, that is true, and I totally agree. I knew who I was from my earliest ability to know that I was a person. I agree. However, we both, and I know I can speak for you with this, We both have led ourselves well. You taught yourself how to play— what did you play again?

You mean musically?

Yeah. Or no, sorry, you taught yourself all of these languages. Yeah, to the concerts. I'm sorry.

Yes, I told myself how to conduct.

Yeah, conduct. That's what I was looking for, you know. And, and, and even with me, I was, I was always steering myself well. I mean, even finding you, I was just trying to steer myself well. I was just, okay, what do I need to know about right now? This Black Lives Matter moment is so awful. What should I know about police? What's something that I'm not getting about this moment? You know, or when I ordered your Torah commentary, I need to learn about God.

I agree with you. So, okay, so the $64,000 question is, if I'm right, and you seem to be agreeing, because if you had it when you were 6, yeah, you didn't work at it.

Right.

Okay.

So we were like the sliced bread thing. Why $64,000? Why not $64 million?

Oh, that you don't— that is a phrase because that when you— when I was even younger than you, I was one of the most popular television quiz shows, the $64,000 Question.

Okay.

And let me tell you something. $64,000 in 1960. I mean, it's a lot today, but it would be half a million dollars today.

Right.

Okay. So that's the reason I shouldn't even use the phrase because it doesn't mean anything to younger people, but it doesn't matter. So here— so the key question, whatever price you put on it, and it's— it bothers me not on my behalf, but on behalf of so many people. How do you get one if you don't have one built in?

You said something a few minutes ago that deserves further attention. You asked, how much free will do we really have?

Right.

This also haunts me. And I feel like you gave this one to me. So thanks. Because you talk about nature's all, you know, that this, this question of your nature haunts you. So I'm going to go on a little spiel, but I promise it relates. And I know you've heard this one before, but I am fascinated by how lucky all of us are to be born. There are 8 billion people on Earth right now, and we think that's a lot, and it is a lot. There are 110 billion people who have lived over the course of human history, and we think that's a lot, and it is a lot. But we don't compare that against how many other people could have been born who weren't. Before we continue, I want to tell you about MyPillow. I use many MyPillow products. I walk into work every day wearing the MySlippers, and then I quickly change into heels. I sleep on the MyPillow in the Giza Dream bedsheets, and I use MyTowels, among other products. And you can get many of these products at a discount if you use the promo code Hartman. MyPillow's latest deal is the sale of the year. For a limited time, you'll get 60% off of the Afore mentioned Giza Dream bed sheets that comes with a 60-day money-back guarantee and a 10-year warranty. You'll get a set for as low as $39.99 with the promo code Hartman. Just go to mypillow.com and click on the radio listener square and use the promo code Hartman, or call 1-800-566-6745 and use the promo code Hartman. Along with this offer, you'll get deep discounts on all MyPillow products, including including the MyPillow mattress topper, the MyPillow towel sets, and more. It's almost infinite for that one sperm to meet that one egg, that one sperm out of, forgive me, 75 million sperm that a man produces. For— I've done some research on this— in 30 days to meet one of the 200,000 eggs on average that a fertile woman at her peak, you know, to— for that, at that one time of day. I mean, there are so many things Forgive me, if your parents had been intimate 30 seconds later than they were, you would not be born.

That's right.

Forget about if your mother had married a different person or like, it's crazy. It's absolutely crazy. And someone did, some statistician did some—

Our chance of being here is 1 in 400 trillion. 1 in 400 trillion. Which is essentially infinite.

So wait, it gets even crazier. And this is— I mean, we can talk about God, but this alone makes me believe in God. So it is a miracle that we're born, but then why are we born at the time and place in which we are born? I couldn't control that I was born in 1999. I can't control that I was born as a woman. And being born as a woman is very different than being born as a man, as few people realize today. But it's true. I mean, my life is very different because I am a woman than it would be than because I'm a man. You know, I couldn't control that I'm 5'7.5" or that I have blonde hair and blue eyes or that I, you know, any of these things. Or you can't control that you're 6'4". You can't control that you were born Jewish or I was born into a nominally Christian household. We can't control that we were born in America, that our ancestors immigrated so that 2 or 3 generations later we could be born in America. It really does raise this question: how much free will do we really have? We have very limited free will. You know, I read a lot about Iran. I'm kind of have a fascination with the country of Iran. It's By the way, especially now, holy moly, with all that's going on with Iran and the 1979 revolution. How did this country go from being pro-Israel, pro-West to so vehemently anti-Israel, anti-West? Anyway, I'm fascinated by Iran. I think all the time about women in Iran who are forced to wear hijabs, who in the case of Mahsa Amini can get killed if strands of hair are poking through her over hijab. There are these despicable beyond belief laws, evil satanic laws in Iran that if you're a woman and you're raped, you need 4 male Muslim witnesses to corroborate your story before you can even go to court. I mean, it is savage beyond belief. And this haunts me, like how this free will question— I didn't do anything to deserve. And it actually goes back to this, the answer I gave at the beginning of the episode you asked, you know, how do you not get arrogant? Why would I be arrogant? I didn't control any of this. How did I— you know, I'm lucky. Anybody who walks around thinking they're holier than thou is stupid. They're just stupid. I just got stupidly lucky that I was born as a woman in one of the freest societies on earth. I was born in America where people judge me on my own merit and not on my skin color or my gender or my religion. Women— there's a 24-year-old in Iran right now wearing a hijab who needs permission from her husband who she was forced to marry at 13 in order to leave the house.

I have to interject.

That's not free will. That's very limited free will. Sorry, go ahead.

No, no, no. I'm the one should be sorry. This is— that's the beauty of this podcast that we do. It really provokes me, let alone you, let alone the listeners. So here's a thought. Periodically, in my daily reading of the news, I try to keep up to a certain extent with pop culture. Just— it's because it's popular.

It's relevant.

It's relevant, yes. And because That I don't relate to much of it is irrelevant. I want to know what's going on. Okay, so there will be frequently— the place that keeps me— I read the Daily Mail almost every day from England. It's got— it's, it's a staggering amount of news stories, even though they came for you, and they crapped on me twice. I, I, I, I, I, I don't, I don't care. So I read regularly, and you don't even have to read the Dennis Prager, it's anywhere, just A-list, that's the term, an A-list wedding, an A-list party. So, and who is there? And then they will recite the names of some of the biggest Hollywood stars, and they're all at this party. Now, I've always had certain contempt for it because my desire to be with A-list people is zero.

Yeah, are you a good person? Are you an interesting person?

Right, right, that's right.

You won't discriminate against them if they are A-list.

No, no, I know, but the chances are not good. But so here, but here is my, I I'm attaching it to our subject. Why is being at an A-list party important to you?

Well, it's kind of fun.

Oh, I mean, all right. Well, I don't relate to that. Okay, fine.

I don't relate to good drinks, good vibes.

Okay, good fashion. I mean, all right. All right. That's interesting. Okay, good. That's fair. But that's not the real reason they want to be there.

True.

The real— that's right. So here is my, my latest insight as of this second. People without a strong core get meaning from being with famous people. With other people.

Oh, for sure.

It's a statement of you are not you. You were at a party with— give me some— with, uh, I don't know what— what?

Kim Kardashian.

Okay. Oh, well, no, no, everybody. Okay, no, that wouldn't work. Okay, who's the most— no, no, the most famous woman singer, the— who, uh, Taylor Swift. Yes, you— I was— that's right. I was at a party with Taylor Swift. Why is that important to someone?

Because it means that you're important.

That's right.

And that you—

So, but if you have a core—

Yes, you don't care about that.

My desire to be at a party with her is zero.

Right.

And I have nothing against her. Nothing. Nothing whatsoever.

See, I want to be at a party with Billy Joel. I do.

Okay, yes, you love his art.

Billy Joel.

Yes, that makes perfect sense. I would like to— Well, all right, so I want to be at a party with any of the great conductors.

But I hear you, people will care as long as they're famous.

I had dinner with 6 members of the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra. It was one of the highlights of my life. They were thrilled to be with me, but I was thrilled to be with them. So, so, but that, that's not, that doesn't count. That's not the reason. You won't get a high of, wow, I am, I must be worthwhile, I met Billy Joel. Where, where is that? I'm at, I'm at, I'm at a yacht with, with Jeff Bezos.

Right.

Then I must be really something. But if you have a core, being on the yacht with Jeff Bezos won't do anything for you.

Okay. It's funny because I feel like I can speak to this because, and I would never, ever say who these people are because I don't work that way. Some people like will go on the air and they would talk about who they met or who they know. I would never do that because I care so much about people's privacy. But I do have friends who are quite famous, and if I told you their names, you would know them. Again, I would never do that because I cherish my friendships and I keep them private. But I do have— I am friends with actors or comedians or, you know, who are, who are famous. And I'm friends with them. You know, earlier you were saying I have no desire to be at an A-list party, and I cut in and I said like, well, but we won't discriminate if you are A-list. Like, I, I am friends with very famous people because I love them as people. They're good people. I'm not friends with them because they're famous, just as I'm friends with people who are not famous. I— one of my very close friends is not college educated. He washes dishes for 14 hours a day. He doesn't provide me with any status, and I love him and talk to him more than I talk with my famous friends. I care if these people are good. But, you know, I think like, I sort of understand, like, you feel, you know, fame, and you can talk about fame because you're famous. I can't talk about fame because I'm not. But fame is such a, such a crazy thing in life. It's such a dazzling, so it's such a different kind of thing than most of the world experiences. And I could, there's, there's some Yes, some people are truly, truly shallow and they get some kind of weird status from being around famous people. But also it's such like a— almost like a supernatural thing. It's so bizarre. Human beings are not made this way. I mean, to walk down the street and have strangers just know you is a very bizarre thing. And so I think a lot of people, they want— they want to feel special. I think on the surface they're shallow, but I think there's something in them when they're—

I didn't say shallow.

I just want to make that clear.

No, no, I agree with you, but I wasn't attacking them. I was actually just saying a core, a core prevents you from yearning for that.

But I think 100%. But I think also if you don't have a core, you're seeking the fame because— or you're seeking the— you're a star. Excuse me, Sean, you're going to have to bleep me, but you're a starfucker because you're shallow and you're searching. But I think deeply people— I feel like I'm not being eloquent. I'm not quite explaining it. But I think what it really deeply comes down to is that they don't have a core and they want to feel special. And they think that if they— they think if the famous people sprinkle their magic fairy dust on them, they'll feel some kind of importance. And that's sad. That's very sad.

Well, but the A-listers themselves lack cores.

Well, I don't know. Many do. I am friends with some A-listers who have strong cores, and many of them are very lonely because they're surrounded by people who don't like them.

Okay, then fine. And they can't trust people. Okay, so fair enough.

I mean, do you ever feel like you can't— do you ever feel like your fame is a curse?

No.

I know. I knew you were going to answer that.

Oh, that's interesting that you knew that.

You know why?

Why?

Because you have a strong core. And B, because this environment that we're in, being famous in the conservative world is very different than being famous in Hollywood because you're surrounded by people who share your values and who are in it fighting for the same values.

When I'm stopped at airports, which happens at every airport except Logan and Boston.

I know, that's what you always say. That's so funny. You know, I've spent like the most amount of time at Boston Logan, obviously.

Oh yeah, of course, right.

I want to walk through there with you.

Yeah, no, no, I, I could walk through there, you know, it, you know, in a bathing suit. It would, it would have no effect. I may get arrested, but that's beside the point.

No, you wouldn't.

But anyway, uh, oh yeah, it's Boston. So, uh, This, I don't think I've said this publicly, and not— it's just never come up. It's not a sensitive issue, but do you know what my immediate reaction to being stopped for a selfie at an airport?

You're lucky. You feel lucky. You feel so happy that they know your work.

No, no, no. Well, that was part 2. That's right. Part 2. Oh, good. They heard my ideas. That's my immediate reaction. My interest in fame is 99%. I'll grant 1% to my human being. 99% is, did I touch another person with really good ideas? That's it. I'm not saying this to sound noble. I'm saying it because it is true. For me, see, here's the difference. For Britney Spears, see, is another pop name I know. For Britney Spears is a very troubled soul, obviously, so I'm not making fun of her in the least. But for her, fame is an end, as it is for the vast majority of people, whether they have it or not. For me, and the way— that's the ideal. Fame is 100 or 99% a means. The more famous I am, the more people hear about my ideas. Oh, that means the more people might read the Rational Bible. Oh, that's that.

Well, because if I may interject, you view yourself as a conduit.

Totally.

I know you do. You view yourself as an ambassador representing truth, beauty, and goodness.

Yeah, that's right. Or— and, and I know this is awful— God.

Why would that sound— I mean, that's basically—

well, people would— people would make— so you're gonna make it sound—

you're gonna love this story.

A prophet.

Yeah. No, no, no, you're gonna love this story. So when I was in Rome, as I mentioned, the first week of the trip was the Catholic immersion program, and then the rest of the trip was speaking and, you know, going around and learning about other countries, which, gosh, do I want to talk to you about more in depth on D&J. But one time I was talking with a priest. I showed you his picture. He's, I think, like half French, half Spanish. He's a hilarious priest. And that, by the way, is also worth another Dennis and Julie. People don't understand how fun religious people are.

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And there are many religious people who are very conservative and very serious and are— and what did Jeremy Boreng say, the purity, the purity death spiral? You know, yes, there are some people who are not fun, but a lot of religious people are really fun. I'm sitting across from one. Anyway, this priest was talking to us about how we are carrying God's values into the world, and it's not about us, it's about God. And when, you know, if good— I'm paraphrasing, but, you know, if we get praise for something, really we should thank God, or we should shoot it back up to God, because God gave us the values in order to achieve that good thing. Anyway, he was talking about this story in the Bible, which truthfully I have not read, but I will, where Jesus is on a donkey. I think it's Palm Sunday. We need the in-house Catholic thing. Sean's nodding. Thanks, Sean. It's Palm Sunday and Jesus is riding on a donkey and people are waving palms at Jesus. And the priest was so funny. And the priest is like, Don't be a donkey who thinks that the people waving the palms are waving them at you. They're waving them at Jesus.

That's a good one.

Don't be that donkey. And then they— and then he would end and he'd go, you're in— you're just an ass. You're just an ass carrying, you know, the— carrying on your shoulders the wisdom and truth and beauty that God has given to you. And he ends it and he goes, you're an ass. Amen. You know, I wrote that in my journal.

Absolutely.

You're an ass. Amen. And like, that's, that's, that is it right there.

You will love it.

That is it.

It's coming out later this year as the fourth of my five books, a commentary on the Torah, in the book of Numbers, the fourth book of the Bible. And in it is Balaam's ass. It's a very famous story among people who know the Bible about this pagan prophet Balaam who's riding a donkey And it's— I— a lot of people think it's weird. I think it's one of the most brilliant stories and funniest, and its punchline is exactly what this priest told you. So the donkey is carrying, uh, the, the, the Balaam, the, the, the pagan prophet, to, uh, perhaps doing— to do a bad job, to do something God doesn't want. There's an angel of God standing in the road, and the donkey stops because he's got a sword, and the donkey knows, I'm not, I'm not going further, man. And Balaam starts beating him, or beating her. Why? You know, what the hell's wrong with you? Why aren't you moving? He can't see the angel with the sword.

So, um, so interesting. Why is that?

No, it's so perfect. It's so perfect. The donkey sees what the prophet can't see. Yes, exactly your story.

Yes. Oh, I love it. I love—

you know, I, uh, as a result of this, this core thing is now going to obsess me.

I know, me too.

We've really scratched the surface. As a result of this, I'm going to ask Dr. Marmot to come on the Happiness Hour and I'm going to ask him that question. Can people develop a core? And if so, how?

Well, first, my question for him would be, what is a core? How would you define your core? By the way, I don't think you answered that.

Well, no, because it's utterly spontaneous, I keep saying. My answer is, you know, you know who you are. And by the way, I was not at all belittling your responses.

No, no, no, no, no.

When I said earlier, well, you gave one, it was values, and then you gave another. I forgot what the other one was.

Confidence.

Confidence. Ace, see, the problem with the values, and I happen to agree with you, is what about people with bad values? Do they have a bad core? Can you have a bad core?

It's fascinating. Yes, I think you can. I think I know some people who— I, I know I know one person who truly has a bad core. I'm not going to say his name, but I think you know. No, no, no, but there's someone in your— who was in your life. I'm not gonna— I think you know who I'm talking about, but I think he has a bad core.

No, Sean is still in my life. Oh, I'm so sorry, I didn't know you were listening.

Oh my God, my mom's gonna think you hate him.

Your mom thinks that Sanskrit truly is— yes, life is— she finds flaws in her husband.

Are we done? Oh, that's fun. So, so, yeah, so it was recently Dennis birthday on August 2nd. Happy birthday, my dear.

Yeah, thank you.

And Dennis— or sorry, PragerU put out this quiz and I get PragerU emails with new videos or new quizzes and it's called Are You a Dennis Prager Superfan? And I know Dennis well enough to know that he doesn't even know about this quiz.

You're right.

I haven't taken this quiz and I thought it would be fun if we could do it on D&J. So, okay. Are you going to put it here?

And so wait, have you— wait, have you taken it already?

I haven't seen it.

It's all new to you.

I knew that you wouldn't know about it and I haven't taken it and I want to quiz myself because if I don't get all 9 right, then really something is wrong. So. All right.

Okay.

Go ahead.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

All right.

It's going to be on screen.

Yeah.

Like this.

On which screen? No, on the other screen.

Oh, okay.

Okay.

That screen.

The big screen.

That's great.

Okay. I don't see anything. There we go.

Oh my God. Fill in the blank. Dennis Prager's bestselling. Oh, oh, this is ridiculous.

Well, this one's easy. Okay. Of course. But not everybody will know it. Wait, so read it.

Why don't you take it off the screen? It's the Thoughtful Bible. C. Just kidding. B, the Rational Bible. Now.

Okay, so read the whole thing so people could answer.

Yes. So the Dennis Prager's bestselling book series. It's called the blank Bible.

B, Jewish, rational, thoughtful, intellectual.

Well, it's all— I mean, it's all four of those things. Next.

You do need to read everything for the audio. Got it right.

You're right.

What?

Oh my God, PragerU, but are you kidding?

I love it. Yes.

What religion does Dennis practice? Islam.

Do you know how— no, no, read the choices. The, the— no, do you know? I'm serious. Vast numbers of Americans, and maybe people abroad, think I'm Christian. I get that all the time.

And this is worth an episode. People really don't know the difference. I mean, I was so illiterate with regard to religion before I encountered you. I did not know the difference between the Old Testament and the New Testament. Seriously. If you had put a gun to my head and said, "What is the New Testament?" I could not have answered.

Most Jews don't know the difference. Most non-Christians, let's put it that way, don't know the difference between Protestants and Catholics.

Oh, I had to learn it fairly recently. So yeah, he's a Jew, FYI. It's not Islam. What was Dennis Prager's first—

oh, this is good. All right, read the choices.

Yeah, so what was Dennis Prager's first radio show called? Religion on the Line, The Dennis Prager Experience, Religion on My Mind, or A Relief Factor?

Dennis Prager program.

Dennis Prager program.

That's funny.

Religion on the Line.

Next.

Which is not one of Dennis Prager's hobbies? Cigars, photography, fishing, music equipment, and fountain pens. C, fishing.

Correct.

Correct. Next.

That was a good one.

What is the name of Dennis's English bulldog who was his original companion on the fireside chat? See, this is a trick question. You really got to know Dennis's life.

That's right. It gets harder. Why? You got to give choices.

I saw, I saw them. A, Snoopy. B, Mr. Tubbs. C, Otto. Or D, Felix. Well, it was C, Otto, but then Otto died. Very sadly.

So now it's B, Mr. Tubbs. Yes.

Who eats my shoes.

Correct.

Great dog. Dennis has appeared in over 60 PragerU— wow, that's amazing— PragerU 5-minute videos. Which is his most popular today? Oh my God, I may get this.

I don't know.

Yeah, you don't even know. Just Say Merry Christmas. Why isn't communism as hated as Nazism? Left or liberal or the American Trinity? I'm going to guess the American Trinity.

I'm going to guess that too. And oh, we don't know the answer. Was the answer right? Oh, we don't know.

I mean, it's either left or liberal or American Trinity. I think it's American Trinity. Great video, by the way.

Maybe— I wouldn't be surprised if it was Just Say Merry Christmas. That's a real possibility.

You know what, it actually could be that.

Yes. All right, go ahead. Next.

Dennis believes that blank is the key to happiness: family, gratitude, faith, or morality. You know, that actually— like, no offense to whoever created this quiz, it really could be all of them.

No, you're right, but there is a fair one.

Gratitude.

You can have all the others, but if you don't have gratitude, you can't be happy.

Fair. It's gratitude. Final. What is Dennis's favorite— oh my God, card game. I don't know this about you.

The whole thing you didn't say.

I don't even know card games. It's definitely not poker. B, what is that, solitaire?

Solitaire.

Solitaire. I don't know what card games. C, poker, or D, gin rummy. Um, I'm gonna guess hearts.

Correct.

I don't even know what—

how the hell did you get hearts?

Because I feel like I've heard you say it and I've—

the most popular one was left or liberal.

No, it was—

it was left or liberal was the most popular. We both got it wrong. I got it wrong about my own self. That's fascinating.

It is fascinating. Wow.

That's another question. I don't know if you have the slide.

It said Dennis Dennis has invented a word.

What word is that? That would be great.

No, no, no, no, no. Let me—

Dennis has invented a word. What word is it? Oh, God. What word is it? Oh, my God.

What is it?

What is it, Sean? Yes. Oh, my God. Nephthys. It's a great word, you have to admit. And it works. It works with anything, you know, that's really nifty. I used to say that on the radio.

Can I end with two funny Dennis stories? I have so many, but there are two. Number one, I wasn't present for this one, but I've been very blessed to become close with many of your friends who are now my friends, and they were telling me that when you first started on the radio, there was one segment where Dennis didn't know what to do for that segment. He didn't know what to say, and so he pulled a piece of fruit out of his lunchbox and bit into it on the air and made the audience call in and guess based on the sound of the bite what fruit it was.

I did that. You know what is a wonder? That I still have my job. You see, talk about miracles. Makes splitting the sea, splitting—

it was a peach.

It looked like— no, no, nothing.

That's the first one. Oh, God. I was going to— oh, yes. The Dennis Dennis, so when I first came into Dennis's world, you know, I was really intimidated by you because you're so intellectually formidable. And I was like, I was, I really was starstruck when I first met you.

And as opposed to now, it's so, so—

I was sitting in the booth with Sean. This was back in the old studio in the good old days. And when Sean, you know, gives you, and now when I guest host, he does the same thing for me, you know, a minute, 30 seconds, or sorry, not 30 seconds, he goes a minute, you know, 2 minutes counting down from when we go to commercial. Sean would always say this thing to you, Zillah, Zillah, right?

And I thought, he still says it, he still says it.

And I would go, wow, this is like, 'cause it's, and you told me and you were joking, you told me, you said, well, Zillah means 30 in Hebrew. And I thought, wow, these people are so intellectual. He doesn't count down 30 seconds. This Hebrew word. You know what it is? It's Godzilla. It's short for Godzilla. It's just Zilla.

Yes.

And you don't want him to say 30 because it's just— why? Why don't you want him to say 30?

Yes. Could have been— what did he say? 20? Did he say 40? But I think Zilla. So, no, the way it worked was I said, Sean, say anything except 30. Say, say Godzilla. And then we realized it's too long. So that's how it got to Zilla.

Yes. But for like 2 years, I was—

I took the God out of Godzilla. That is exactly right.

I was fooled that it was some very intellectual Dennis, you know, like 40 days in the desert, you know, like symbolic meaning. And it was—

continue to think that, except you would have gone to Israel and you would have at some point said, Uh, how much does it cost? Oh, zilla? Zilla shekel?

And they would have said, Julie, we don't know what you're talking about.

Well, it was a great, great segment.

Yes. Well, you can reach us.

That's right, you can.

Let's do a quiz question.

No, let's not.

Try to figure out my email.

Julie at Julie Hartman dot com. Give me a break.

You did it. That is really wonderful.

That was truly pathetic.

What's your Instagram?

Yes. Dennis at Instagram dot com.

Oh my God.

It's Insta Dennis.

I mean, Dennis, get off of Instagram.

Instagram.

Yes. Get off. I mean, follow us, but get off of it. His is at the Dennis Prager. Mine is.

Yeah.

Mine is Julie R. Hartman, and you can, you can DM me. Don't DM Dennis. If you want to DM him, DM me. And my Twitter is Julie R. Hartman, and his Twitter is Dennis Prager. And you can find him— he always says this— at DennisPrager.com.

That's right. Thank you, everybody.

Shalom. Thanks for being with us.

Your beloved dog and a stranger are both drowning. You can only save one. Who do you save? Every time Dennis Prager asks that question, his audience splits 3 ways. 1/3 chooses the dog, 1/3 chooses the stranger, and 1/3 aren't sure. Why? Because we live in an age where increasingly feelings define right and wrong. But if morality is based on emotion, then murder, rape, and theft are just opinions. And if people feel justified, why is rioting or destruction wrong at all? In his new book, In his new book, If There Is No God, Dennis Prager explains why civilizations cannot survive without objective morality and why Judeo-Christian values shape the moral foundations of the free world.

If you claim that certain things are good, certain things are evil, independent of how you feel about it, you are in effect affirming God.

If There Is No God by Dennis Prager, available now at PragerStore.com. That's PragerStore.com.