Dave Smith: evaluation

Transcript context

…If you want to reveal something about that person, there’s a different skill involved there in order to reveal how they think, who they are as a human being, you have to, just like we said with Darryl Cooper, you have to humanize the person to a degree in order to let their mind flourish in front of you in order for them to let down the barriers they’ve put up. And Benjamin Netanyahu’s put up a lot of barriers, internally in Israel he gets attacked insanely. There’s a Game of Thrones constantly going on, and this guy has maintained power for a very long time so he is very good at putting up those barriers. Plus, globally gets attacked a lot. So the task there is difficult. And so each one is a puzzle and you have to make a decision, do you want to take this on as a project which might become a lifelong project because of the consequences? And you don’t need to. There’s a calculation there. I’m not saying it’s not so self-evident that there is a correct and incorrect answer, and I do think that we’ve probably all had things, like certain type of ventures in life where you’re like, “All right, no, I don’t want to do that.” But then you have to have a moment and be like, “Well, why is it you don’t want it? Oh, is it just because it’s going to be a lot of work? Is it just because you’re scared of it? Is it just because this?” And those typically are not good reasons to not do something, you know what I mean? Now, there is a reasonable, I think, point that you made in there where it’s like it is a different game to interview a world leader. That is a very different thing. Talking to some comedian about his thoughts on all this stuff is a very different thing than talking to a world leader and especially one who’s conducting a brutal war as you’re talking to them. And I don’t know exactly what the way to navigate that is. I agree with you, it’s not just to be hostile and be like, “I’ve got you here for three hours, I’m going to grill the shit,” it’s probably not the best way to do it. There’s probably to have a conversation to talk to the guy, probably try to get some important questions in, but also give him a chance to breathe and be a person. From my perspective, but again, it’s a very personal thing, for me I just do think that I’m going, “I hope you do it,” because I’d love to see that podcast. Okay, well see, this is why it’s part of the reason I asked you is I get a Dave Smith endorsement on it.…

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