I'm thrilled this afternoon to be joined by Kelly Goff, who is a contributor to the Daily Beast,

to the Hollywood Reporter, and a member of the On Strike Writers Guild of America.

We'll talk a little bit more about this over the course of the afternoon, but basically Kelly can write anything about anything from abortion politics to donation politics to superheroes to sex in the city, a tremendously talented person.

But she wrote a perfect essay, a perfect column, I think,

for The Daily Beast. Kelly, I've said that if I was teaching a course on politics, I would build

it around your essay because it has so much of the basic ingredients of what it takes to understand at a complex level, what goes on in American politics, why things are the way they are with some important elements of life lessons.

And I just want to read the beginning of the column to you.

It begins by saying a few years ago,

I had just begun my TV writing career when I was warned by friends in the industry

not to publish a column critical of the fact that Democrats, like Hillary Clinton, had for years accepted donations from Harvey Weinstein and others like him.

I did it anyway.

And when I read it, I laughed out loud.

And I just wondered talking to you, what is it about you

that triggers that sense of defiance? That when someone tells you not to do something, it's a

guarantee that you're going to do it. Where does that come from?

I just never, you just never learned my lesson. I think some people would say after reading this

column, I just never learn. And I want to apologize off the outset, because I think there's a

little bit of a Wi-Fi issue on my end. So I'm going to, I hope your listeners and viewers can hear

me, Steve. But what I, you to, I hope your listeners and viewers can hear me,

Steve. But what I, you know, I think part of it is my upbringing. You know, there's so much talk

about privilege and coastal elites versus flyover country. I am very proudly flyover country,

my fountain for much of their lives. And now here I am

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