Brian Williams | Club Random with Bill Maher

Bill Maher sits down with longtime NBC News anchor Brian Williams (AKA the James Bond of nightly news) to talk about what happened to network news—and what America lost along the way. Williams explains how newscasts became consumed with East Coast weather and “water-skiing squirrel” filler, and why he believes Democrats lost touch with working-class voters. Away from the anchor desk, Williams shares the double life few viewers knew about: nearly five decades as a volunteer firefighter in New Jersey, near-broke beginnings in Kansas, and why he has avoided alcohol after losing his brother to alcoholism. He recalls meeting his wife in a television control room, tearing up at his daughter Allison Williams’s first Letterman appearance, watching his son build his own career in local news, and returning with Netflix’s We’re Back! With Brian Williams. Call him 007 – licensed to anchor, fight fires, and make his mother proud. Subscribe to the Club Random YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/clubrandomp... Watch episodes ad-free – subscribe to Bill Maher’s Substack: https://billmaher.substack.com Subscribe to the podcast for free wherever you listen: ⁠https://bit.ly/ClubRandom Support Our Sponsors: New customers can save 35% on your first month of subscription by going to https://www.dosedaily.co/RANDOM or entering RANDOM at checkout. Visit https://www.hims.com/clubrandom to get a personalized, affordable plan that gets you. For a limited time only head to https://www.ridge.com and use code RANDOM at checkout for 10% off your order AND a chance to win Ridge’s biggest sweepstakes ever—a Lamborghini Huracan Sterrato, a Hennessey Velociraptor, A Ford Bronco or $100,000 in cash. Connect with quality therapists and mental health experts who specialize in you at https://www.rula.com/random #rulapod For a limited time, our listeners get 50% off for life plus Free Shipping AND 3 Free Gifts at http://mengotomars.com/ Buy Club Random Merch: https://clubrandom.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices ABOUT CLUB RANDOM In Club Random, Bill Maher unleashes his comedic wit on an unpredictable lineup – from Bill Burr and Jerry Seinfeld to Quentin Tarantino and Neil deGrasse Tyson – digging into everything but politics. It’s Maher in his familiar element: one-on-one vibes, unfiltered laughs, and the kind of freewheeling banter only he can deliver. ABOUT BILL MAHER Bill Maher was the host of “Politically Incorrect” (Comedy Central, ABC) from 1993-2002, and for the last 23 years on HBO’s “Real Time,” Maher’s combination of unflinching honesty and big laughs have garnered him 41 Emmy nominations. Maher won his first Emmy in 2014 as executive producer for the HBO series, “VICE.” In October of 2008, this same combination was on display in Maher’s uproarious and unprecedented swipe at organized religion, “Religulous.” Maher has written six bestsellers: “True Story,” “Does Anybody Have a Problem with That? Politically Incorrect’s Greatest Hits,” “When You Ride Alone, You Ride with Bin Laden,” “New Rules: Polite Musings from a Timid Observer,” “The New New Rules: A Funny Look at How Everybody But Me Has Their Head Up Their Ass", and most recently "What This Comedian Said Will Shock You". 00:00 – Cold Open / Intro 04:50 – Bill’s Dad and the Golden Age of Radio 08:11 – Edibles, Weed and the Commitment Problem 12:33 – Why Brian Williams Doesn’t Drink 18:30 – How Network News Became Squirrels and Weather 24:22 – Brian Williams on CNN and Today’s Anchors 31:26 – Democrats, Thanksgiving and the NFL 36:51 – Are Young People Too Soft? 41:40 – California Fires and Red-Tape Hell 46:40 – Brian Williams Discovers Hollywood 50:33 – Are Aliens Watching Us? 55:33 – Brian Williams, Instagram Lurker 1:00:10 – Brian’s Kids Follow Him Into TV 1:05:49 – Office Romance Before HR Ruined It 1:10:54 – Trump, Greenland and Manifest Destiny 1:15:39 – Broke in New York and Kansas 1:22:12 – Why RFK Jr. Cried in Bill’s Chair 1:26:35 – Brian Williams’ Jersey Shore Years 1:31:27 – How Democrats Lost the Working Class 1:36:34 – Scott Galloway and the Public Intellectual 1:41:43 – Brian Williams’ Double Life 1:45:46 – How Their Mothers Made Them Who They Are FOLLOW CLUB RANDOM https://www.clubrandom.com   / club-random-101776489118185     / clubrandom_     / clubrandompodcast     / clubrandompodcast   FOLLOW BILL MAHER https://www.billmaher.com   / billmaher     / billmaher