WEBVTT - EITM interviews Brad Meltzer 0:00:00.240 --> 0:00:06.320 Brad Meltzer birthday boy, Hey, how are you? I love 0:00:06.440 --> 0:00:08.159 happy birthday. I love celebrating with you. 0:00:08.240 --> 0:00:10.640 Oh well, thank you. That's very kind. How are you doing. 0:00:12.119 --> 0:00:16.520 I'm good. I am good. My my son's birthday was yesterday, 0:00:16.520 --> 0:00:19.520 and so I guess have two people I love too 0:00:19.520 --> 0:00:21.079 close together, which is great. 0:00:20.960 --> 0:00:23.239 Very nice, and I'm sure he understands the second, the 0:00:23.360 --> 0:00:25.560 more important one to you, is on you. 0:00:25.840 --> 0:00:27.840 That's all. That's what it said. He was like, why 0:00:27.960 --> 0:00:29.840 is my birthday cakes? A happy birthday Elliott on. 0:00:32.520 --> 0:00:35.080 Hey, so Brad, real quick, before we get to before 0:00:35.120 --> 0:00:38.080 we get to Princess Diana, right, I want. 0:00:37.880 --> 0:00:39.720 To go back. The last time we saw you, you 0:00:39.760 --> 0:00:40.320 were in town. 0:00:40.360 --> 0:00:42.760 You were doing your book tour for the for the Viper, 0:00:43.360 --> 0:00:46.520 the novel that came out, dude, that went number one. 0:00:46.560 --> 0:00:47.520 Congratulations. 0:00:48.560 --> 0:00:51.800 It was you know, this was one of those books 0:00:51.840 --> 0:00:55.080 where you put it out there, you know, and I 0:00:55.080 --> 0:00:57.520 haven't had a thriller out in four years. You didn't 0:00:57.560 --> 0:00:59.320 know what was going to happen, and it was really 0:00:59.400 --> 0:01:01.680 nice to see the Obviously it was you know, in 0:01:01.720 --> 0:01:03.480 the category of where we were. We were the number 0:01:03.520 --> 0:01:06.360 one book, and you know, I said, my family bought 0:01:06.360 --> 0:01:09.959 a lot of copies that week, clearly but obviously so 0:01:10.160 --> 0:01:12.959 thrilled to see people. And I have to say this 0:01:13.040 --> 0:01:15.880 is important is right after I left you, we had 0:01:15.880 --> 0:01:20.119 our first events in Virginia, the one we gave out 0:01:20.160 --> 0:01:22.800 like Viper tattoos. So if you if you ordered early 0:01:22.840 --> 0:01:24.600 and you got them, and I said, the only thing 0:01:24.640 --> 0:01:27.040 we haven't had is a Viper tramp stamp so far, 0:01:27.760 --> 0:01:32.160 and needless to say, at the Virginia event two Elliott 0:01:32.200 --> 0:01:36.840 in the Morning listeners broke that record and we quickly 0:01:36.880 --> 0:01:40.720 had our first Viper tramp stamps. I think you're more 0:01:40.760 --> 0:01:42.440 excited than I was in that moment. 0:01:42.560 --> 0:01:45.440 Oh I was. I was very excited, but. 0:01:45.440 --> 0:01:47.600 I was pretty excited and you were even more excited. 0:01:47.600 --> 0:01:49.560 But it was I trust me. I took pictures with 0:01:49.640 --> 0:01:50.160 the butt crack. 0:01:50.240 --> 0:01:53.400 It was spectacular, Hey, Bret, So let me ask you this. 0:01:53.440 --> 0:01:56.280 Obviously, obviously the book, the book comes out, it sells, 0:01:56.320 --> 0:01:57.080 it goes number one. 0:01:57.120 --> 0:02:01.360 That's great. Has the has the feed beIN? I mean, 0:02:01.360 --> 0:02:03.760 because I mean, what's the right way to say. 0:02:03.920 --> 0:02:06.080 I could I could buy it, read it and not 0:02:06.280 --> 0:02:08.360 like it, but it still counts that I bought it. 0:02:08.680 --> 0:02:11.200 Have you been pleased with the like you said, it's. 0:02:11.000 --> 0:02:13.400 Been four years. Have you been pleased with all of 0:02:13.440 --> 0:02:14.560 the feedback from the book? 0:02:15.919 --> 0:02:18.760 Yeah? I mean, listen, my you know, there are like 0:02:18.800 --> 0:02:21.320 people who will say, hey, you know, why why do 0:02:21.400 --> 0:02:24.080 you list you know, a Corvette doesn't have a backseat, Like, 0:02:24.080 --> 0:02:25.960 they'll find little things that we got wrong in it. 0:02:26.080 --> 0:02:29.040 So that's always a thrill to get from people. But 0:02:29.200 --> 0:02:31.560 you know, I got one yesterday from a police officer 0:02:32.040 --> 0:02:36.079 that came that said, I've never read a mystery thriller 0:02:36.480 --> 0:02:39.160 that left me in tears and like in a happy 0:02:39.200 --> 0:02:41.200 like he was just like this this book moved me. 0:02:41.320 --> 0:02:43.960 And I was just like, that's from like a New 0:02:44.040 --> 0:02:47.160 York ah, right, not the easy you know. And so 0:02:47.720 --> 0:02:49.640 those are the reviews that I care about most. Like 0:02:49.639 --> 0:02:51.720 by the time the book comes out the truth, says Elliott, 0:02:51.720 --> 0:02:54.760 like I know what I've got, Like I trust my gut. 0:02:54.960 --> 0:02:57.240 I was so proud of this book. The Viper to 0:02:57.280 --> 0:02:59.040 me was like one of the best things I've written. 0:02:59.600 --> 0:03:00.560 And whatever. 0:03:00.680 --> 0:03:01.320 As in all. 0:03:01.240 --> 0:03:03.240 Cases, some people will say it's the best and that 0:03:03.280 --> 0:03:04.880 doesn't mean it's right, and some people say it's the 0:03:04.919 --> 0:03:07.120 worst and that doesn't mean it's right. But like, I 0:03:07.160 --> 0:03:09.720 know who I care about in terms of like what 0:03:09.840 --> 0:03:12.040 I've got, and when I get something like from a 0:03:12.160 --> 0:03:16.080 from a brutal cop who walked the beats, like, yeah, 0:03:16.200 --> 0:03:18.880 I'll take that any day. That's the one that counts, right. 0:03:18.760 --> 0:03:21.280 Because we talked about that where it is. It's an 0:03:21.320 --> 0:03:23.639 unbelievable novel. But I think I even said to you, 0:03:24.800 --> 0:03:27.200 you tear up during the book where it's like, whoa, 0:03:27.639 --> 0:03:29.600 why why are my eyes all wet right now? 0:03:30.680 --> 0:03:31.280 Right right right? 0:03:31.280 --> 0:03:33.440 And I think my joke was that's that's an orgasm 0:03:33.440 --> 0:03:39.440 from your eyes. Yeah, But you know, the thing is 0:03:39.440 --> 0:03:42.400 is like I put you know, it's important and I 0:03:42.400 --> 0:03:44.360 don't know you know me a long time. Yeah, we 0:03:44.400 --> 0:03:48.080 know each other two decades now more. And and the 0:03:48.240 --> 0:03:51.720 truth is is like I think I'm just getting more honest, 0:03:51.880 --> 0:03:53.920 Like as I get older, I'm like less afraid to 0:03:53.960 --> 0:03:57.040 put myself in the book, so to speak, and I 0:03:57.080 --> 0:03:59.720 pour myself in there, and I pour like you know 0:03:59.800 --> 0:04:02.640 this moment in the book where like, you know, Zig 0:04:02.720 --> 0:04:06.600 finally calls his mother in law mom, and he's like 0:04:06.800 --> 0:04:08.560 he realized it was you know, he thought it was 0:04:08.600 --> 0:04:10.480 a gift for her, but it was a gift for him. 0:04:10.520 --> 0:04:14.000 And that's not just me being a writer when I 0:04:14.120 --> 0:04:17.520 turned you know, recently, like, I finally my mom has 0:04:17.600 --> 0:04:21.800 been dead, you know, almost eighteen years now, And it 0:04:21.880 --> 0:04:25.120 took me seventeen years before I called my mother in 0:04:25.200 --> 0:04:26.760 law mom again, even though I used to call her 0:04:26.800 --> 0:04:28.680 that when my mom died. I just couldn't do it anymore. 0:04:28.800 --> 0:04:31.280 Oh really, And I finally and I finally was, like, 0:04:31.320 --> 0:04:33.240 you know, I was. We had a birthday dinner for 0:04:33.320 --> 0:04:35.560 me a couple of years ago. I was writing the Viper, 0:04:35.640 --> 0:04:37.719 and I was like, and I called her mom again. 0:04:37.880 --> 0:04:40.640 It was the first time in whatever, all those years, 0:04:41.160 --> 0:04:44.720 and I that I was just bawling, and Corey's like, what, 0:04:44.800 --> 0:04:47.120 I'm like, I thought I was doing it. I held 0:04:47.160 --> 0:04:48.680 back all these years because I thought it was a 0:04:48.680 --> 0:04:51.279 favor to her. I didn't want to upset my mom. 0:04:51.960 --> 0:04:55.279 And I realized it was it was a gift for me. 0:04:55.560 --> 0:04:59.159 And my son says to me, My youngest says to me, 0:04:59.720 --> 0:05:01.600 I I think he calls my mom now, and I 0:05:01.680 --> 0:05:03.919 think your mom would be so proud of what you 0:05:04.000 --> 0:05:08.400 did tonight. She'd love it. And lost it. I lost 0:05:08.440 --> 0:05:11.160 my crow there, right, And so then you're seeing me 0:05:11.200 --> 0:05:14.000 put in the novel those moments that zig has are 0:05:14.080 --> 0:05:16.280 not just made up moments. There. There are moments for 0:05:16.400 --> 0:05:18.600 my life and that's why they hit you, because they're real. 0:05:19.080 --> 0:05:20.840 All right, last two things about the Viper, and then 0:05:20.839 --> 0:05:23.960 I want to get to Princess Diana. Number one. I 0:05:24.000 --> 0:05:28.280 saw you posted a picture of Linda Carter with with 0:05:28.360 --> 0:05:31.120 the Viper. I'm assuming that you know I listen, I 0:05:31.160 --> 0:05:33.560 know you know her and you know the books and everything. 0:05:33.800 --> 0:05:36.400 Does she text you while she's reading the book like 0:05:36.480 --> 0:05:36.760 I do? 0:05:39.440 --> 0:05:43.560 No, you are the only one. No, you are not 0:05:43.680 --> 0:05:46.720 like Linda Carter is I guess the easiest way to 0:05:46.760 --> 0:05:49.640 answer that, but I may and I wish she did, 0:05:49.920 --> 0:05:53.440 like I would love for that. Like, no, you're you're 0:05:53.440 --> 0:05:55.080 a text of the best of because you're reading The 0:05:55.160 --> 0:05:58.839 Viper and you're just like, oh my gosh. Yeah, I 0:05:58.880 --> 0:06:01.560 text in real time and I can see how factory 0:06:01.640 --> 0:06:03.760 and I know when you text when you're like I 0:06:03.760 --> 0:06:07.120 can't believe you did this, and then like whatever, twelve 0:06:07.120 --> 0:06:09.120 minutes later, I'll get out of the text like dude, 0:06:10.279 --> 0:06:12.840 dance and I'm like, and I know, oh, you're not 0:06:12.880 --> 0:06:14.520 gonna believe who the killer is in this one. And 0:06:14.560 --> 0:06:17.240 then I'm just waiting for that call, and so I 0:06:17.320 --> 0:06:19.760 love your text because they you know, a novel you 0:06:19.800 --> 0:06:22.760 never get to. The only person it happens with is 0:06:22.800 --> 0:06:25.000 my wife because she's sitting here and I usually I'm 0:06:25.000 --> 0:06:26.719 reading while she's reading. You know, I'm sitting there while 0:06:26.720 --> 0:06:28.240 she's reading because I want to see her reaction. 0:06:28.560 --> 0:06:29.480 Right, But if you and my. 0:06:29.440 --> 0:06:31.800 Wife would give me that like that feedback in real time, 0:06:31.800 --> 0:06:34.480 I wish I could like sit in everyone's house and 0:06:34.560 --> 0:06:36.800 watch them read, because it like it would just be 0:06:36.920 --> 0:06:39.280 it's so much fun to watch people react to your stuff. 0:06:39.440 --> 0:06:42.120 And now you pointed out that at the at the 0:06:42.200 --> 0:06:45.520 at the signing at Barnes and Noble and Tyson's, you 0:06:45.560 --> 0:06:49.520 got the tram stamp. Where was the signing where there 0:06:49.520 --> 0:06:53.880 are a woman who you went to a third forty 0:06:53.920 --> 0:06:56.880 eight years ago. You went to a third grade dance 0:06:56.960 --> 0:07:00.800 with her, and she showed up at one of your signings. 0:07:01.880 --> 0:07:05.720 Yeah, so she was my dance partner in fourth grade, 0:07:06.279 --> 0:07:10.920 Randy Boxer, and she showed like I'll see her a lot, 0:07:10.960 --> 0:07:14.560 but she showed up at my New York signing and 0:07:14.760 --> 0:07:17.360 we recreated. If you look on my Instagram and seasy 0:07:17.400 --> 0:07:18.600 to find because you just looked for the kid with 0:07:18.640 --> 0:07:22.120 the little bowl haircut, the nineteen seventy whatever it is 0:07:22.200 --> 0:07:26.000 bull haircut. And she showed up and we recreated the 0:07:26.160 --> 0:07:29.280 pose from our dance recital in fourth grade. And then 0:07:29.320 --> 0:07:32.760 the best part was three days later. I was in 0:07:32.880 --> 0:07:35.640 Vero Beach, Florida, and my buddy who I used to 0:07:35.640 --> 0:07:39.080 work at Hogendaws with, who came to my very first 0:07:39.120 --> 0:07:41.920 signing ever. Nobody was there. It was like my wife 0:07:42.000 --> 0:07:45.240 and him, and he walked in Karen a pit of Hogendaws, 0:07:45.600 --> 0:07:48.400 and he surprised me, and as I said in the post, 0:07:48.800 --> 0:07:51.160 he did not bring me any ice cream. Net bastard 0:07:52.080 --> 0:07:52.960 is very upset by it. 0:07:53.120 --> 0:07:55.880 Isn't that hoggin DAWs? If I remember an old story, 0:07:55.960 --> 0:07:58.040 isn't that Hoggen DAWs? Where there was some woman who 0:07:58.080 --> 0:07:59.320 was a real bitch to you. 0:08:00.800 --> 0:08:03.880 This woman snapped her fingers at me and she said, 0:08:04.480 --> 0:08:06.160 you're going to serve me. You need to serve me. 0:08:06.200 --> 0:08:07.800 I said, mam, I'll be right with you. She said, no, 0:08:07.840 --> 0:08:10.120 you need to serve me now. And I said, ma'am, 0:08:10.160 --> 0:08:12.600 you know you're being rude. I'm not serving you. Take 0:08:12.640 --> 0:08:15.800 your business elsewhere, and I'll never forget. She screamed in 0:08:15.840 --> 0:08:19.239 my face, you're going to be working at this miserable 0:08:19.320 --> 0:08:21.720 ice cream store for the rest of your miserable life. 0:08:22.400 --> 0:08:25.400 And I calmly looked at her and said, ma'am, if 0:08:25.480 --> 0:08:27.840 I am working here for the rest of my miserable life, 0:08:28.400 --> 0:08:33.199 you're still never getting any ice. And I told that 0:08:33.280 --> 0:08:36.360 story in the commencement address. I gave it the University 0:08:36.400 --> 0:08:40.360 of Michigan a couple of years back. And what's crazy 0:08:40.440 --> 0:08:42.440 is how many people we put it in our book 0:08:42.520 --> 0:08:46.320 make magic on it, but how many people that worked 0:08:46.400 --> 0:08:50.480 in like coffee places, restaurants, you know, named anywhere in 0:08:50.520 --> 0:08:52.920 the mall reached out to me after her and was like, 0:08:53.160 --> 0:08:55.600 I know the version of that woman, like thank you 0:08:55.640 --> 0:08:58.360 for And I don't look back at that woman. I 0:08:58.400 --> 0:09:00.839 was never mad at her, like to like laugh it 0:09:00.920 --> 0:09:02.640 off and be like, you know, that didn't bother me, 0:09:02.679 --> 0:09:05.520 but it totally bothered me. But today, if I can 0:09:05.559 --> 0:09:07.920 meet her, I'd thank her because that woman drove me. 0:09:08.000 --> 0:09:09.120 She pissed me off so much. 0:09:09.120 --> 0:09:11.600 She just she drove me. 0:09:11.920 --> 0:09:14.600 Like any success I have is like from that woman. 0:09:15.000 --> 0:09:17.000 So I would thank her today. So to me, like, 0:09:17.040 --> 0:09:19.240 you got to use your use your fear, use that 0:09:19.320 --> 0:09:23.440 anger and harness it and you know, don't don't you know? 0:09:23.440 --> 0:09:25.040 You got what you got to do with your enemies 0:09:25.080 --> 0:09:25.839 is prove them wrong. 0:09:26.280 --> 0:09:28.840 All right, So let's switch gears. I Am Princess Diana. 0:09:28.840 --> 0:09:31.160 It's out and available today, part of the Ordinary People 0:09:31.240 --> 0:09:32.360 Change the World series. 0:09:32.760 --> 0:09:34.640 Are you Are you a Royal Watcher? 0:09:34.800 --> 0:09:34.880 Like? 0:09:34.920 --> 0:09:37.400 Are you are you a Royals guy? 0:09:37.760 --> 0:09:41.400 No? I'm not. You know, the people who love Princess 0:09:41.440 --> 0:09:43.600 Diana was my The person who loved more than anyone 0:09:43.679 --> 0:09:46.920 was my mother, right, my mother. And my mom was like, 0:09:47.360 --> 0:09:50.360 you know, never read any newspapers. She thought all real 0:09:50.400 --> 0:09:52.680 news came from the Star in the Inquirer, like that 0:09:52.840 --> 0:09:55.280 was it, Like that was all she'd read. But she 0:09:55.520 --> 0:09:58.040 fringing and she didn't care about the President. She didn't 0:09:58.040 --> 0:10:00.280 care about the Supreme Court. She couldn't tell you what it. Yeah, 0:10:00.280 --> 0:10:03.920 my mom, you know, never went to college nothing, And 0:10:04.240 --> 0:10:07.720 boy does she love Princess Diana. Not just because she 0:10:08.800 --> 0:10:11.440 kind of like said screw you to Prince Charles, which 0:10:11.440 --> 0:10:14.200 was part of it, but she just felt like Princess 0:10:14.240 --> 0:10:19.480 Diana was unapologetically herself. And that's why I dedicated I 0:10:19.480 --> 0:10:22.679 Am Princess Diana to my my daughter and to my mother, 0:10:23.400 --> 0:10:25.880 Like may she rest in peace. My mother was always 0:10:26.120 --> 0:10:27.880 unapologetically herself. 0:10:28.640 --> 0:10:30.640 And I'll tell you this. I'm like, I'm not a 0:10:30.840 --> 0:10:33.840 I'm not a royals person. Diana is. I'm not a 0:10:34.280 --> 0:10:35.559 I'm not a royals person. 0:10:35.960 --> 0:10:40.280 So, like Princess Diana obviously was very public, I couldn't 0:10:40.280 --> 0:10:44.000 have told you anything about her past other than she 0:10:44.080 --> 0:10:46.440 came from a rich family. And that gets pointed out 0:10:46.480 --> 0:10:49.120 in the book, like Prince Charles at that point isn't 0:10:49.120 --> 0:10:51.600 going to marry you know, so you know some rando 0:10:51.720 --> 0:10:53.560 who lived in town, So you knew she had to 0:10:53.600 --> 0:10:56.319 come from a good family. But I had no idea 0:10:56.400 --> 0:10:59.120 that she came from a family that like they never 0:10:59.200 --> 0:11:02.280 hugged her, never told her they loved her, like I 0:11:02.559 --> 0:11:05.839 know that the yeah, like they like she never had 0:11:05.880 --> 0:11:08.960 dinner with them, like her parents, and I know I 0:11:09.040 --> 0:11:12.680 knew nothing about them but her growing up. I mean, yes, 0:11:12.760 --> 0:11:16.080 did she come from privilege, of course, but growing up 0:11:16.360 --> 0:11:18.960 she didn't. She didn't have any love or support or 0:11:19.000 --> 0:11:19.880 anything like that. 0:11:20.880 --> 0:11:22.640 I mean, that's what you know. And again, every time 0:11:22.679 --> 0:11:24.760 I do these books, people are like, oh, do this 0:11:24.800 --> 0:11:27.160 person and I'll I kind of get into their life 0:11:27.200 --> 0:11:30.680 and I'm like, are they really that great, and Princess 0:11:30.679 --> 0:11:34.360 Diana is that great. I mean for Christmas, she would 0:11:34.360 --> 0:11:37.160 get a catalog from the fancy toy store and they'd 0:11:37.200 --> 0:11:39.840 be like, circle what you want and that. Then they'd 0:11:39.840 --> 0:11:41.760 show up and like you're like, okay, well she got 0:11:41.800 --> 0:11:43.080 you know, you're like, oh, she got what she wanted, 0:11:43.120 --> 0:11:45.640 but she didn't get any love. Like I wouldn't trade 0:11:46.280 --> 0:11:48.959 anything in the world, but what she had is this grandmother. 0:11:49.679 --> 0:11:52.640 And the grandmother wasn't just sweet and kind to her, 0:11:53.040 --> 0:11:55.280 but she used to go visit people in her town 0:11:55.800 --> 0:11:59.440 who needed things they could afford, who were sick, and 0:11:59.559 --> 0:12:01.880 she was like, what can I do for you? And 0:12:02.360 --> 0:12:04.640 to me, you know, she would just hold their hands, 0:12:05.400 --> 0:12:07.000 just sit there and hold their hand. And when you're 0:12:07.040 --> 0:12:09.880 a kid like I, my grandfather is the one who 0:12:09.920 --> 0:12:13.640 taught me what kindness was, right. It certainly wasn't my dad. 0:12:13.720 --> 0:12:15.760 My dad was a maniac, right like, my dad was 0:12:15.760 --> 0:12:19.120 fighting with everyone. But my grandfather was the one who 0:12:19.160 --> 0:12:21.360 was like what you know, like would give away things 0:12:21.360 --> 0:12:24.160 to people who had nothing. And we didn't have that much, 0:12:24.200 --> 0:12:27.120 but he could find people who had less and would 0:12:27.160 --> 0:12:30.360 give away stuff. And I remember being like that changed 0:12:30.400 --> 0:12:33.280 my life. So when I saw that story about Princess Diana, 0:12:33.400 --> 0:12:36.800 I'm like, oh, I get this woman now I connect 0:12:36.800 --> 0:12:40.360 and watching you know, this woman who comes from nothing, 0:12:40.800 --> 0:12:43.760 who turns into someone who just gives so much love 0:12:43.840 --> 0:12:47.840 to so many strangers, was stagged. I was like, she 0:12:48.040 --> 0:12:52.160 is worth and I am booked, like she she's amazed me. 0:12:52.520 --> 0:12:54.439 Hey, and so in one of the things you talk about, 0:12:54.480 --> 0:12:56.600 like you talk about how her grandmother steps in after 0:12:56.640 --> 0:13:00.360 her her parents get divorced, and her grandmother was like, 0:13:00.400 --> 0:13:02.439 she just wants to help people, like you said, even 0:13:02.480 --> 0:13:04.520 if it's just to hold their hand or to sit 0:13:04.600 --> 0:13:07.440 with them and just treat them like they're somebody as 0:13:07.440 --> 0:13:10.560 opposed to to a cast off. You talk about how 0:13:11.280 --> 0:13:14.080 every Tuesday and Thursday, when Princess Diana was a young 0:13:14.200 --> 0:13:17.440 was a younger girl, every Tuesday and Thursday, she and 0:13:17.520 --> 0:13:20.440 some of her classmates they would spend time and like 0:13:20.640 --> 0:13:24.120 just go see like sick people, and like while some 0:13:24.160 --> 0:13:25.760 of them were scared, like some of the people were 0:13:25.800 --> 0:13:29.160 scared to like go interact with them, Princess Diana just 0:13:29.240 --> 0:13:30.520 jumped in and ran up there. 0:13:30.880 --> 0:13:32.160 Was she was she doing that? 0:13:32.280 --> 0:13:32.400 Like? 0:13:32.600 --> 0:13:35.400 Was she the leader who brought those other kids or 0:13:35.520 --> 0:13:38.360 was that like her grandmother bringing Diana and her friends, 0:13:38.640 --> 0:13:39.840 or she already picked. 0:13:39.679 --> 0:13:41.080 Up on it at that point, I want to go 0:13:41.120 --> 0:13:41.680 help people. 0:13:42.760 --> 0:13:44.480 No, I think it was something through her seat. There 0:13:44.520 --> 0:13:46.240 were a bunch of stories, but I think it was 0:13:46.280 --> 0:13:48.240 just through her school, so it wasn't like they brought 0:13:48.240 --> 0:13:50.320 her there. But when when you you know, if you 0:13:50.320 --> 0:13:52.760 ever worked in when when you're when your class goes 0:13:52.800 --> 0:13:55.440 to like the old age home, You're like, oh, here 0:13:55.480 --> 0:13:58.320 we go, we got to do the service hours. Everyone 0:13:58.360 --> 0:14:00.360 else is like, these kids are coming in looks like 0:14:00.400 --> 0:14:02.120 you know, old people are swarming and they feel like 0:14:02.200 --> 0:14:06.080 zombies attacking right, And the classmates would get scared because 0:14:06.120 --> 0:14:07.880 they'd be like, these are old people who are trying 0:14:07.880 --> 0:14:09.720 to spend time with it. Even though we came for this, 0:14:09.800 --> 0:14:12.800 it's still look creepy and weird and you're a little kid. 0:14:13.240 --> 0:14:16.400 And Diana is like, I was never scared, and she 0:14:16.440 --> 0:14:19.600 would meet people like at the time. One things she 0:14:19.600 --> 0:14:21.240 would do is what her grandmother did. She would go 0:14:21.280 --> 0:14:24.960 and to hold their hands, and you know, I remember that. 0:14:25.000 --> 0:14:27.320 There's this one moment that just really stuck out to 0:14:27.400 --> 0:14:30.520 me is the hospital puts on music and all the 0:14:30.640 --> 0:14:32.960 kids go to the back of the old people's wheelchairs, 0:14:32.960 --> 0:14:35.240 and they're kind of like dancing with them, pushing them 0:14:35.240 --> 0:14:40.320 from behind, and she instead goes and faces them from 0:14:40.520 --> 0:14:43.640 fa face forward. Right, It's like, so she can see them. 0:14:44.000 --> 0:14:47.240 And what she's really doing when you dance together and 0:14:47.280 --> 0:14:51.440 look in someone's eyes, is you're showing someone empathy. Right, 0:14:52.320 --> 0:14:55.280 it's and that is what I am, Princess Diana. The 0:14:55.560 --> 0:14:59.840 entire book is about empathy and compassion, and my god, 0:15:00.160 --> 0:15:03.040 right now, as a culture, do we ever need to 0:15:03.120 --> 0:15:06.920 teach our kids empathy and compassion? We are a culture 0:15:07.000 --> 0:15:11.680 right now completely divided, and to me, there's always policies 0:15:11.680 --> 0:15:13.680 we're going to argue about, but what we're seeing now 0:15:13.720 --> 0:15:17.120 feels like an attack on American values right these and 0:15:17.160 --> 0:15:21.040 there are shared beliefs by both sides. You can't legislate decency, 0:15:21.560 --> 0:15:25.120 you can't legislate empathy. But man, we got to teach 0:15:25.160 --> 0:15:27.080 our kids that. I want my daughter to know, what 0:15:27.080 --> 0:15:29.120 I want my sons to know, what I want everyone 0:15:29.160 --> 0:15:34.520 to know. What Diana was taught by her grandmother, which 0:15:34.600 --> 0:15:38.480 is be freaking decent to people, show them some compassion. 0:15:38.920 --> 0:15:40.680 And if we don't teach our kids that, we're in 0:15:40.720 --> 0:15:42.320 bigger trouble than anybody thinks. 0:15:42.520 --> 0:15:44.560 Hey, there's a page in the book, and I'm assuming 0:15:44.560 --> 0:15:46.440 it's a true story or else you put wouldn't have 0:15:46.480 --> 0:15:49.360 put it in there. So she moves to London and 0:15:49.400 --> 0:15:51.920 she's literally on the floor scrubbing the floor. 0:15:52.560 --> 0:15:53.160 Is that true? 0:15:53.200 --> 0:15:55.400 That's when she got invited to the barbecue where she 0:15:55.480 --> 0:15:57.120 ends up meeting Prince Charles. 0:15:58.240 --> 0:16:00.880 Can I tell you that? The editor there was like, 0:16:00.960 --> 0:16:03.440 you don't have to show her on the floor scrubbing. 0:16:03.480 --> 0:16:07.760 It's like cliche. It seems like it's Cinderella, right, Sorella 0:16:07.880 --> 0:16:11.320 is like scrubbing, it's real, dude. I was like, this 0:16:11.760 --> 0:16:15.080 is the crazy She is scrubbing the floor. When she 0:16:15.160 --> 0:16:18.760 gets invited to the royal party and her friend jokes 0:16:18.800 --> 0:16:21.200 with her, I didn't even make up the joke that 0:16:21.240 --> 0:16:23.080 I put in the book. She says, maybe you'll be 0:16:23.120 --> 0:16:26.480 the next Queen of England and I'm like, while she's 0:16:26.600 --> 0:16:29.280 I'm like, where are the mice who make her dress? 0:16:29.680 --> 0:16:29.760 Like? 0:16:29.960 --> 0:16:34.720 What is missing from this moment? And that's where she 0:16:34.840 --> 0:16:37.480 meets Prince Charles. Like that in that you know at 0:16:37.480 --> 0:16:39.640 that weekend, at this it's a separate event, but like 0:16:40.360 --> 0:16:43.200 and I'm like this store. You can't make it up. 0:16:43.320 --> 0:16:45.880 And that's why I love the Ordinary People books. Is 0:16:45.920 --> 0:16:49.400 like you almost feel like life got ripped from these 0:16:49.480 --> 0:16:52.840 real life headlines and they're all the details are real. 0:16:53.360 --> 0:16:54.880 Hey, can I tell you something that I was really 0:16:54.920 --> 0:16:56.640 proud of? And I don't know if you fought with 0:16:56.720 --> 0:17:00.120 anybody over this, like because I mean, ultimately, yes. 0:17:00.080 --> 0:17:02.440 These they're they're family books. 0:17:02.440 --> 0:17:04.479 But these books are for kids, right, These books are 0:17:04.520 --> 0:17:08.080 to hopefully teach kids lessons and and like you said, 0:17:08.160 --> 0:17:10.280 to just be a decent human being. Just be a 0:17:10.280 --> 0:17:13.600 decent human being. I was surprised and you talk about 0:17:13.640 --> 0:17:18.040 how so she gets married and she will all and 0:17:18.119 --> 0:17:20.720 charity and all that, you know what. I was surprised 0:17:21.040 --> 0:17:23.120 and you you go through like the land mines where 0:17:23.160 --> 0:17:25.399 she's walking through the land mines that she's got like 0:17:25.440 --> 0:17:28.840 the fatal shield on and the and the the bomb 0:17:29.000 --> 0:17:32.320 suit and all that other stuff. Fine, I was surprised 0:17:32.359 --> 0:17:35.600 that you I shouldn't say surprised. I was happy that 0:17:35.640 --> 0:17:41.439 you addressed everything that she meant to to understanding and 0:17:41.440 --> 0:17:44.639 and and trying to break down the walls that surround aids. 0:17:46.359 --> 0:17:48.120 Yeah, that was the big one for me. I mean, 0:17:48.240 --> 0:17:50.160 you know when we do. You know when we did, 0:17:50.359 --> 0:17:52.159 I'll never forget. It was really when we started with 0:17:52.200 --> 0:17:56.280 I am Harriet Tubman, You're dealing with slavery, right, And 0:17:56.320 --> 0:17:58.520 I remember the the editor at the time said to me, well, 0:17:58.560 --> 0:17:59.960 what are we gonna do? How are we gonna deal 0:17:59.960 --> 0:18:02.960 with slavery? I'm like, what do you mean? We're gonna 0:18:03.000 --> 0:18:07.400 show it because that's what history is, right, Because bad 0:18:07.440 --> 0:18:09.879 things happen doesn't mean we're a bad culture or a 0:18:09.880 --> 0:18:13.080 bad place. What is beautiful is that we learned from 0:18:13.119 --> 0:18:17.000 these things and we move forward. And her great to me, 0:18:17.200 --> 0:18:21.160 greatest moment is the fact that AIDS is, you know, 0:18:21.359 --> 0:18:26.000 sweeping through cultures. At that time, no one knew. And 0:18:26.080 --> 0:18:27.840 I remember at the time, my buddy was on the 0:18:27.880 --> 0:18:30.280 Real World Okay, and I remember it was the first, 0:18:30.280 --> 0:18:32.879 you know, I went San Francisco. Real World was my 0:18:33.040 --> 0:18:36.879 college roommate was on it. Pedro who had AIDS, was 0:18:36.960 --> 0:18:39.800 on the show. I went to visit the house and 0:18:39.800 --> 0:18:41.399 I remember at the time being like, am I going 0:18:41.480 --> 0:18:44.879 to get AIDS? Like nobody knew what was going to 0:18:44.960 --> 0:18:47.240 happen if you touch someone with age, if you it 0:18:47.320 --> 0:18:50.880 was just too new. And Diana is the one who 0:18:51.040 --> 0:18:56.119 like he's a man crying who has AIDS and she 0:18:56.320 --> 0:19:00.359 goes and holds his hand and she wants to and 0:19:00.400 --> 0:19:02.679