Leah Fager: This is really good.
David Gilbert: Unfortunately, the plot then took a slightly darker turn.
Leah Fager: Oh my goodness.
David Gilbert: I’d never seen Gwen Waltz before, but she certainly looks a bit like Hillary Clinton.
Leah Fager: Because she’s short and blonde?
Donnie O’Sullivan: It’s a perm.
David Gilbert: i guess.
Leah Fager: everyone.
David Gilbert: In the world of conspiracies, this isn’t actually Gwen Waltz, this is actually Hillary Clinton, and she killed the real Gwen Waltz, and this is her secret way of getting back into the White House, and then ultimately, she’s going to kill everybody and take the presidency.
Leah Fager: I love this theory. I love this theory. How can you not love this theory? This theory has it all.
David Gilbert: It made me laugh.
Leah Fager: Body snatchers come out. Oh, this is good.
David Gilbert: Yeah.
Leah Fager: That was really good, David.
Donnie O’Sullivan: I’m worried about David.
Leah Fager: This is what he sees on the internet every day. Every now and then he logs in and asks, “Did you see this?” And I say, “Why? Why would I see this? In what world?”
Donnie O’Sullivan: Well, I’m not going to talk to J.D. Vance about couches.
Leah Fager: Yeah, Donnie, show us yours.
Donnie O’Sullivan: I don’t often have experience with subjecting myself to conspiracy theories. But I work with Anderson Cooper at CNN. He’s from Vanderbilt. He has this whole Qanon world going on. A lot of it is frightening, but some of it is just ridiculous and funny. But sometimes when I meet someone who’s really steeped in conspiracy theories, they ask me, “Oh, you’re CNN? Oh, yeah, you work with Anderson Cooper?” Yeah, I see him every now and then. I write for his show. “Have you met him in person?” Yeah. “Up close?” Yeah, I’ve been on a TV set with him. At least one person, maybe two, has asked me, really seriously, “Can you see the mask? Can you see it?”
Leah Fager: no.
Donnie O’Sullivan: Uh huh. “Can you see the mask?”
Leah Fager: no.
Donnie O’Sullivan: “Because you can see.” Yeah, I get that a lot. And naturally, I’m like, “Yeah, that’s weird. A mask…” No.
Leah Fager: Wait. So what’s the theory? Who is this?
Donnie O’Sullivan: David probably knows more about what we’re talking about than I do. There’s this issue of people taking on different identities and masks and all sorts of things. Some people… Last year we did a documentary about people who believe that Trump is JFK Jr. in disguise.
Leah Fager: oh yeah.
Donnie O’Sullivan: It leads to some pretty dark places. But of course, the moment someone asks me sincerely, “Have you seen the mask?” Yes. For me, it’s almost like an out-of-body experience, and I’m like, “Wow, wow. This is really just all worlds colliding.”
