From Newsgroup: alt.law-enforcement

It was a pretty good show.
Yes, be willing to talk to those we disagree with.

see: https://www.insidehook.com/television/bill-maher-thanksgiving-real-time-mel-robbins

Bill MaherrCOs 2025 rCLReal TimerCY Finale Had Plenty of Thanksgiving Advice And an appearance from rCLThe Let Them TheoryrCY author Mel Robbins
By Tobias Carroll
November 22, 2025 2:02 pm EST
Bill Maher on Thanksgiving
Bill Maher had some Thanksgiving advice this week.
HBO
This FridayrCOs Real Time With Bill Maher episode brought the showrCOs 2025 season to an end, and with the holiday season upon us, Maher had some
thoughts to share about political division, family gatherings and rCo as
you might expect rCo what it all means. Throw in a somewhat meta twist and
you have a fairly archetypal Real Time episode, for good and for ill.

Starting things out: Mel Robbins, author of The Let Them Theory, joined
Maher for an interview. (Full disclosure: I have not read this book but
I did listen to the If Books Could Kill episode on it.) rCLTo say your
book is a phenomenon is an understatement,rCY Maher said. HerCOs absolutely correct there; earlier this year, The Washington Post reported that the
book had sold 3.6 million copies in English to date.

Maher led things off by asking how Robbins classified her book. Should
people file it under self-help? rCLLet them,rCY she replied, which seemed
very on brand. She went on to distill her theory for the audience rCo that rCLother peoplerCY are the main source of stress in our lives.

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rCLYou first start using it because you are annoyed with other people,rCY Robbins said. She explained that that isnrCOt the only element of the
bookrCOs message, which she described as rCLlearning how to accept people as they are rCo and as theyrCOre not.rCY

Maher offered a skeptical note, pointing out that rCLnot everything is a rCylet themrCO case.rCY He argued that office sexual harassment, for instance, would not be a great place to adopt a rCLlet themrCY attitude.

Robbins looked at that issue a little differently. rCLTheyrCOve already done it,rCY she said. rCLSo when you say rCylet them,rCO yourCOre not allowing it, yourCOre forcing yourself to recognize the situation yourCOre in.rCY She then offered advice to people dreading holiday conversations about politics
or other sensitive matters, reminding viewers that they have options.

Maher was more in agreement with this line of thinking. rCLYou have to
pick what you get upset about,rCY he said. Robbins co-signed that. rCLYou
get to choose how much energy that opinion takes up up here,rCY she said, gesturing to her brain. She then addressed the importance of rCL[allowing] yourself to recognize whatrCOs in your control and whatrCOs not.rCY

Maher closed out the interview by discussing his own idea for a
self-help book. rCLAt 70, what IrCOve learned in life is, whatever you think the future is, it could be shitty, [but] itrCOs not going to be what you
think it is,rCY he said.

Then two frequent guests arrived for the panel: musician and actor
Michael Render, aka Killer Mike (who, it should be noted, did terrific
work on The Lowdown this season) and Democratic strategist Donna
Brazile. The two guests quickly settled into plenty of banter, leaving
Maher to try to get a word in edgewise rCo and allude to the possible sale
of Warner Bros. WhoeverrCOs going to buy this network, let them think I
have some place,rCY Maher said.

The panel then discussed who might be the next Democratic presidential nominee. Neither Render nor Brazile got too specific, likely because
that election is still almost three years away and a lot can happen
between then and now. Brazile predicted a large primary field; Render
had good things to say about Nina Turner, but predicted that a white guy
would be the eventual nominee. (Maher: rCLWhy do we have to put it in
terms of that?rCY Mike: rCLBecause IrCOm Black.rCY)

For his part, Maher argued that Stephen A. Smith could be the nominee.
rCLThe Democrats need somebody who doesnrCOt give a shit, and thatrCOs him,rCY he said. His guests were not convinced.

We Went to the Opening Night Party for Woody HarrelsonrCOs New Dispensary

There was plenty of weed. Hopefully none of it in the cake.
The conversation took an interesting turn when it got to education
policy, as all three people on stage alluded to their experience
attending public schools. Brazile emphatically argued for better pay for teachers, while Render called for a move away from emphasizing test
taking and for schools to return to a broader approach, from art to
trade instruction. He argued that the best teachers ask their students, rCLWhat talent will send you to the next level?rCY

To close out the night, Maher addressed familial fights over politics. rCLPolitics has broken up more families than letting your wife see your phone,rCY he said rCo and reiterated his opposition to people cutting off their relatives over politics. rCLMost people donrCOt decide their politics rCo they inherit them,rCY he said.

In this segment, he was mostly critical of the left, eventually moving
from awkward family dinners to the criticism he had received for dining
at the White House earlier this year. He also had time to riff on
Succession, quoting the line rCLYou are not serious people.rCY WerCOll see what 2026 has in store for Maher and Real Time in a few months.

Other notable moments from this weekrCOs episode:

MaherrCOs reference to both Zohan Mamdani and Mohammed bin Salman visiting
the White House as rCLMuslim WeekrCY did not get the audience reaction he
was expecting.
Occasionally Real Time guests rCo or Maher, or both rCo will allude to
smoking weed backstage. This isnrCOt that surprising; Maher is a partner
in a dispensary, after all. That said, this conversational thread was especially pronounced this week.
As mentioned above, this was the last Real Time episode of the year. The
show will return on January 23, 2026. MaherrCOs podcast, Club Random,
will continue through the break.

Meet your guide
Tobias Carroll lives and writes in New York City, and has been covering
a wide variety of subjects rCo including (but not limited to) books,
soccer and drinks rCo for many years. His writing has been published by
the likes of the Los Angeles Times, Pitchfork, Literary Hub, Vulture,
Punch, the New York Times and MenrCOs Journal. At InsideHook, he hasrCa
More from Tobias Carroll -+
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