Lex Fridman Podcast
#464 – Dave Smith: Israel, Ukraine, Epstein, Mossad, Conspiracies & Antisemitism
09 Apr 2025
Dave Smith is a comedian, libertarian, political commentator, and the host of Part of the Problem podcast. Thank you for listening ❤ Check out our sponsors: https://lexfridman.com/sponsors/ep464-sc See below for timestamps, transcript, and to give feedback, submit questions, contact Lex, etc. Transcript: https://lexfridman.com/dave-smith-transcript CONTACT LEX: Feedback - give feedback to Lex: https://lexfridman.com/survey AMA - submit questions, videos or call-in: https://lexfridman.com/ama Hiring - join our team: https://lexfridman.com/hiring Other - other ways to get in touch: https://lexfridman.com/contact EPISODE LINKS: Dave's X: https://x.com/ComicDaveSmith Dave's YouTube: https://youtube.com/DSmithcomic Dave's Instagram: https://instagram.com/theproblemdavesmith Dave's Website: https://comicdavesmith.com/ Part of the Problem Podcast: https://partoftheproblem.com/ SPONSORS: To support this podcast, check out our sponsors & get discounts: Call of Duty: First-person shooter video game. Go to https://callofduty.com/warzone Tax Network USA: Full-service tax firm. Go to https://tnusa.com/lex Notion: Note-taking and team collaboration. Go to https://notion.com/lex Shopify: Sell stuff online. Go to https://shopify.com/lex BetterHelp: Online therapy and counseling. Go to https://betterhelp.com/lex OUTLINE: (00:00) - Introduction (00:10) - Sponsors, Comments, and Reflections (09:32) - Libertarianism (10:47) - Ron Paul (13:59) - Military–industrial complex (20:53) - War on Terror (33:12) - China and Taiwan (41:00) - Just war theory (48:09) - Israel and Gaza (1:05:35) - Douglas Murray (1:13:29) - Hamas (1:29:48) - Hitler and Stalin (1:32:01) - Darryl Cooper (1:41:13) - Antisemitism (1:54:46) - World leaders (2:07:21) - Jeffrey Epstein (2:15:24) - Sam Harris (2:28:07) - Ukraine and Russia (2:47:32) - Joe Rogan (3:00:01) - Conspiracy theories (3:17:52) - Hope PODCAST LINKS: - Podcast Website: https://lexfridman.com/podcast - Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2lwqZIr - Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2nEwCF8 - RSS: https://lexfridman.com/feed/podcast/ - Podcast Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrAXtmErZgOdP_8GztsuKi9nrraNbKKp4 - Clips Channel: https://www.youtube.com/lexclips
Full Episode
The following is a conversation with Dave Smith, an outspoken and at times controversial anti-war libertarian, comedian, and podcast host. And now, a quick few second mention of each sponsor. Check them out in the description. It's the best way to support this podcast.
We got Call of Duty for Video Game Fun, Tax Network USA for figuring out your tax problems, Notion for collaborating with your mates and integrating AI in the whole process, Shopify for selling stuff online, and BetterHelp for figuring out the problems of your mind. Choose wisely, my friends.
If you're watching or listening to this on Spotify, I decided to start putting the same ad reads for me at the beginning as I do on Apple Podcasts and the RSS feed, since a lot of folks in the survey said that they actually like the random non sequitur, weird, strange, chaotic things I talk about in these ad reads.
and they said that they would be happy to skip when they don't feel like listening. I do make it easy to skip with timestamps on screen and in the description, and I'm not adding ads in the middle, so hopefully this whole thing works for you. Let's see.
I do try to make the ad reads interesting and personal, often related to stuff I'm reading or thinking about, but if you skip them, please still check out our sponsors. I'm grateful for them. Sign up. Buy their stuff. Whatever it is, I enjoy it. Maybe you will, too. Also, if you want to get in touch with me for whatever reason, go to lexfumer.com slash contact. And now, on to the full ad reads.
Let's go. This episode is brought to you by Call of Duty Warzone. Cue music. And the return of the iconic Vordonsk map. It is out now. The wait is over. Verdansk is back. This reminds me of how much I like Schwarzenegger movies.
I've been talking back and forth with Robert Rodriguez, who is a legendary filmmaker, in part for the action movies he creates, in part for the improvisational genius that he has. Anyway, talking to him, learning about him, thinking about his work and watching his work reminded me how much I love action films. And I think of Call of Duty, given its realism.
As an action movie, I can be a part of, I can be inside of, I can participate in. I can tell the story of the movie with my own actions. You can download Call of Duty Warzone for free and drop into the Vodafone map now. Rated M for Mature. I don't know why I'm doing the movie announcer voice, but let's keep going with it.
This episode is brought to you by Tax Network USA, a new sponsor, an awesome sponsor, a full-service tax firm focused on solving tax problems for individuals and small businesses. I just did a really, really, really deep dive on theoretical computer science. I shouldn't say with who. One of the most brilliant people I've ever met. Super technical episodes. Super long episode.
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