BONUS: From the Knicks to NYC Culture: Ari Melber with Bill Bradley & Lexa Gates

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0:30You know, recommendations can be great. Maybe someone recommended this podcast, and here you are. But home projects are different. If a podcast isn't your thing, you lose a few minutes. If you hire your cousin's neighbor to mount your TV, you might end up with a lopsided screen and wall damage. Maybe I know a guy just isn't enough for your home. That's why Thumbtack works. It matches you with top-rated local pros with photos, reviews, and credentials all in one place. For your next home project, try Thumbtack. Hire the right pro today. What's on your fallbacks? All right. So I don't know if you saw a couple, I think maybe a couple of days ago, maybe last week, JLo, iconic New York resident, had a hot take on subway takes where she made this declaration that if you are not born in New York, you are not a New Yorker.

1:17And I took serious issue with that. So unfortunately, I'm a big fan of JLo, but JLo's got to fall back for taking that take. And there's a few reasons why. As we look at the Knicks last night, talk us through it. First of all, I'm so glad that you actually brought that up because I want J-Lo to look at the energy of Madison Square Garden and look at the thousands of people who've been taken to the streets outside of MSG every day in New York and tell those people who are not born in this city they are not New Yorkers. The energy that they brought carrying the Knicks back from down 29 points, you can't do it unless you're a New Yorker.

1:52I don't want to go too far with it, but we're going to put up the footage of people celebrating. Okay. Amen. But this is the most American thing ever in the classical sense. And this is what New York and America have in common. We're going to look at this. Yep. Is you can come here. You can make it anywhere. Right. You're embraced here. I see people come to this country. I see people come to this city. And as you say, you are then of it. And I want to say one more thing, because, you know, you are of a legal mind. But if you distill J-Lo's argument, what it is, it is the birthright citizenship case.

2:23Wow. She is taking the birthright citizenship argument that Donald Trump and MAGA and applying it to New York City. J.P. O 'Neill is a real New Yorker, bro. No, she's a real New Yorker. I'm not saying she's a real New Yorker. Just because you celebrate a team winning and you watch a game doesn't make you from that state. That makes no sense. OK, speak on it. And by the way, as a lawyer, I would say it's not that serious where you're taking it with her. I'm just saying. It's not birthright. But Lexa, go on. Why does it bother you so much? Why does it bother you so much? I think that New York is a feeling and it's a belief system.

2:59And if you move to New York and you commit your life to this city and you raise your kids here. My kids are born here. I've been here for more than 10 years. Your kids are New Yorkers. They are New Yorkers. They're proud New Yorkers. But I'm saying I've been here for more than 10 years. Yeah. And I've committed to this city. I cheer not just for the teens, but I cheer for this. All right. Lexa. I'm a real New Yorker. I'm from here. I was born in Flushing. I think that's what makes you a New Yorker. I could see both sides of it I could see both sides No, I'm not calling on you again I'm going back to Alexa You gotta go a couple times, bro I get why you're upset And I feel you You know, you're out here You're paying the taxes You're doing what you gotta do Your kids are from here And that's cool Like, in a way you are She did make a point that There's tears to it And that I will tell you this There's a bar By Alexa Gates That says something to the effect of some corny people in Brooklyn.

3:53And I ain't talking about my neighbors. You live in Brooklyn? I do. Okay. Tell us about that bar. What about it? I mean, I said Brooklyn's full of corn balls. I be on the same type of thing. So I understand. I mean, I enjoy all the things that come with new residents and the Whole Foods and all of that. The nicer buildings. but it is what it is. Respect. All right, so I'm going to play a little Alexa. I've been listening to your music like a lot of people. Yeah. And, you know, there's no such thing as genres. It's just like how we, the words we add to music. But you are like hybrid genres, like singer, rapper, mellow.

4:36So I want to play some of that and then get your fallback. But let's take a listen to Stop Me. Let's do it. Aim to get myself together. Please don't laugh at my face. Sometimes I'll be feeling so out of place. Wow, what a world. Now I know I didn't know before. I know I really never know a thing at all. And I could even get fresh in the fall. Make it rain in the spring. Wow. Tell us anything you want about the album, but also tell us your fallback. My fallback. Well, I think we need a fallback on saving money. Yeah, saving. I think we should stop waiting for a special day to put on our favorite outfit, to get a necklace, a bracelet, ring, whatever, to get dolled up.

5:25Just no more saving. Like go on that trip now. You don't know when you won't be around. When it's going to end. Yeah. So you feel like almost this whole scarcity mindset or wait for later is kind of gone too far. Yeah, I think the way you spend your day is the way you spend your life. So if you're just trying to save all the time, you're never going to really enjoy that thing you're saving for. I agree with that. I agree with that to some extent. I also worry about having to be prepared for a rainy day. Is that not a good approach to things? You want to be able to say, be cautious. Well, as I understand, and I'm just doing my reporting here, Alexa said she was going to make it rain in the spring.

6:08So that's when that rainy day is. Right. But they do say, I don't know if you know this one, why do rappers make such good meteorologists? No, I don't know why. Why? Because they can make it rain. Yeah, yeah. I don't know. Pretty much it, though. I say spend all your money, guys. Respect. And tell us about the album Gov Ball. That's a big stage. You're 25. It's going great. How did it feel being out there talking about a New York music event? I only got about 40 seconds, but how was that? It was nice. It was windy. I had a good time. There was a good crowd there. I got some people that loved me and I'm really grateful for that.

6:45So I just did my best. That's all you can do. Love it. Yeah, that was great. Well, I also have this vibe that like you guys look like opposing chess pieces today. That's my final thought. A little bit. Go ahead. I mean, there's a little on the New York side. There's definitely a little contention there, but let's squash the beef. You're a New Yorker. I've been validated. Thank you so much. As you may have heard, game two of the NBA Finals tips off tonight. The New York Knicks have secured the first win against the Spurs. And just about everybody has been talking about this one.

7:22The Knicks sweats. The New York Knicks are heading back to the finals, people. For the first time in nearly three decades. New Yorkers are in a very celebratory mood today. An epic NBA Finals matchup begins. The Knicks superstar leading New York on a thrilling comeback. It is the hottest ticket and toughest ticket arguably New York sports has ever encountered. And that's big because New York is a place with plenty of sports, plenty of tickets, plenty of options. But this one is different. Mayor Mom Donnie signing a fund executive order that purports to cancel kids' bedtimes so that they have the city's support staying up as late as they want to finish these games.

8:06Now, it's a New York story. But for the Knicks, it's also about overcoming being an underdog, having patience and perseverance. They're not the only team, of course, that's gone down this road. But they haven't been to the finals in 27 years. And they haven't won a championship since all the way back in 1973.

8:35A mayor Muslim, my Vegas Jewish, my Christian New York. Mix it, boys! Mix it, boys! Mix it, boys! I'm gonna make a brand new start of it in old New York. The energy's enthusiastic, infectious, diverse, big crowds. We have the perfect guest lined up tonight, a former Knicks player, of course, and Democratic United States Senator Bill Bradley. I'll remind everyone he played for the Knicks during their only championship winning years, 1970 and 73, making 10 seasons in total. He helped secure a gold medal for the U.S. basketball team at the 64 Olympics. He is, of course, a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame.

9:23And he took that following and fame and in 1979 took it to politics, where you might remember he was a Democratic U.S. Senate representing New Jersey for 20 years, running as a liberal for president and went for that nod against Al Gore in 2000, pushing the party a little bit to the left, progressive for his time on several issues. We want to help working families pay for their health insurance. First thing I'd do is make the Voting Rights Act permanent. I wouldn't let it expire every this period of time. Racial profiling is a deep and serious issue. It challenges all of us. I think what we need in this country today is registration and licensing of all 65 million handguns.

10:16What a career. And he's not over. He's been stayed involved in politics. You can see him there with Barack Obama. He also hosts a serious radio show, American Voices. He and Republican John Danforth working on a new project about reaching across party lines. You are really wrapped up in American history, sir. And like I said, you're not done. Thanks for joining us tonight. It's my pleasure, Ari, to be on your show. I really admire you. Oh, I didn't know that. Well, it's very nice of you to say. So we'll start with the sports here, obviously. Nick's going in a game two, what would the coach be telling them in the locker room?

10:54How do you look at this matchup? I think that the Knicks simply have to go out and play like they have been playing. They're winning because they're confident and they're playing with confidence. I mean, coming back in the fourth quarter at the first game of the Cleveland series and now the first game of the Spurs series. That makes a big difference. They're playing unselfishly. They have discipline. They have resilience. And I'm sure he's going to say, we just got to go out and do what we do best, and then we can win. And don't let it up. Yeah, there are ways that the game has changed over these decades.

11:38What do you think are the fundamentals that still apply? What do you tell a team like this when obviously talent is high, pressure is high, and that's what makes championships such a special case? Yeah, well, I mean, there are changes since I played three-point-year-old as an example of that. But you tell people the same thing. Players help out on defense, hit the open man. If you've got to go push it up the floor. and if you got an open shot, take it. But always look for somebody that has a better shot than you do and get the ball to them because then the other side can't key on you. They have to play defense against everybody.

12:27Why did it take this long? People talk about this is a franchise where players want to live in New York or be based here compared to some other places. You could get into the management, which is a running conversation, ownership in New York. And yet it's taken a really long time. You have any view on that since you are, of course, back to the championship team yourself? Well, to me, I mean, since why is it taken since 73? That's a long, long story. I think the key point now is that a lot of the values that we manifested when we played back in the 70s are now being manifested by the current Knicks.

13:11I mean, you know, the unselfishness, you can't underestimate the importance of that. If you go out on the court and your objective is to take the best possible shot and get your teammate the best possible shot, that's a little different than going out and seeing how many points I can score. And I don't think that any one of the Knicks cares about how many points they score as long as they get the best shots and they win the game. And they play tough defense in the process. And to me, that's why they are where they are. Yeah. What do you think about how sports can unite a city, or in the Olympics they can unite a country, and you've had the experience in both, in a way that's different from the other things that we spend all our time fighting about.

13:58You know, I've lived in New York a long time. And people, you know, people talk to each other straight up. You walk around Brooklyn, you could talk to anybody, but you could debate anybody. And then something like this is happening, and the photos tell the story. People are so united across every other line you can think of. What do you think about all that tonight? Does that give us any hope beyond sports? I think it's a beautiful moment. It is a message that says we have something in common. We can share something important for all of us. And we can champion the values that we see demonstrated, in this case, by the Knicks as they play.

14:39And for New York City, it means, you know, be a little more generous. I mean, you know, a Knick player is generous to his teammate. Nick Player is considerate of his teammates. And I think that it's kind of a nice little message for all people in New York to live their life to the fullest by giving to another human being. And to me, that's a nice thing. Yeah. Last thing I'll ask you is I am familiar with your career. What's the rule of thumb or the tip you would give for someone who looks and says, gosh, go play at the top of a sport, win a championship, play in the Olympics, run for office, win there.

15:24I mean, you did a lot of winning run for president. You're still at it. You're not someone who seems to have just completely kicked back or you could have. What's your tip for someone who might, I don't know, want to do some of those things? You know, not everyone wins a championship and serves in the Senate. What's your tip? Be clear about what your strengths and weaknesses are. Go out and pay the price, have the discipline to develop your skills and recognize if you love, you've got to love people. If you're going to do it in politics, you've got to love people, which means you've got to love their stories.

15:58That's what, you know, I've done 1500 interviews on American Voices. And basically what I'm doing is I'm doing interviews with people about their lives. When I used to walk the Jersey Shore every summer, in every community along the 127-mile shore, people would come up and tell me their life stories, their stories. I love that. And that's what you have to do. You have to appreciate human beings and their diversity and their difficulties and their dreams. And if you do that, it can be a great experience. Snoring? Gasping during sleep? Feeling fatigued? Ask your doctor about ZepBound, Terzepatite, the first and only FDA-approved prescription medicine for moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea, OSA, in adults with obesity.

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