Latest news with #Fragoso
The Herald Scotland
7 days ago
- Politics
- The Herald Scotland
David Mamet abruptly exits contentious Sam Fragoso interview
When host Sam Fragoso pressed Mamet on the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the Capitol, led by supporters of the president, the playwright offered an empathetic view, saying: "I think that Donald Trump said to those people, 'Go protest peacefully and patriotically,' and some of them were doing that. Some of them were rioting." When Fragoso countered that such a view was more "generous" than Mamet's approach to protestors demonstrating against the police killing of George Floyd in 2020 or the war in Gaza, Mamet grew agitated. "Why do you have me here today?" he said. "It seems to me that what we're talking about here is a little bit more toward an inquisition rather than a dialogue." Fragoso, seemingly trying to temper the conversation, said he was "genuinely curious" about Mamet's viewpoints. Still, the writer took specific offense to the reference to anti-war protests on college campuses. "Twenty months prior to my birth, they were throwing Jewish kids into the ovens. So American Jews of the midcentury, our main tactic of accommodation was to keep our heads down and work harder and try to be liked," he said, referencing the Holocaust. What does it mean for something to be is antisemitic? How the age-old hatred manifests "You know what, I'm not going to debate the Columbia riots with you. Ask me something else," Mamet said. Despite his request to reorient the conversation, the two had seemingly hit a point of no return, with Mamet circling back to what he saw as the antisemitism running rampant throughout the protests. Protests against the war in Gaza, which spread across college campuses but found a locus at New York's Columbia University, were viewed by some in the Jewish community as promoting antisemitic tropes and encouraging violence against Jews. Proponents of the protests argued they were merely centered on a critique of the state of Israel and U.S. support of it, not the Jewish people writ large. Sam Fragoso, David Mamet spar over a punching joke The two then veered into a back-and-forth about a quip from Mamet that Fragoso looked like he had never been punched in the face. While both men maintained even tones of voice, the acrimony between them was clear with Mamet calling Fragoso "squishy" (a reference to the host's feelings-forward approach) and Fragoso seeming disappointed with the turn the conversation had taken. "I'm a Jew," Mamet said. "The River to the Sea means kill all the Jews. Support the antifada means kill all the Jews." Those phrases, used among student protestors to voice support for a liberated Palestinian people, were viewed by some in the Jewish community as manifestations of hate. "For you to say, on the other hand, there may be some people out there that were involved in peaceful protest is (a) loathesome piece of antisemitism," Mamet said. "You don't know what ... you're talking about. Thank you for talking to me." He then got up, leaving Fragoso alone at the interview table looking a bit exasperated and confused, before he turned to the camera and said: "And that was David Mamet." Their exchange reflects a larger fault line in the American and Jewish populace, as the war in Gaza stretches into its second year, and warnings of widespread famine in the area grow louder. While some agree with early views of student protestors that Israel is carrying out a campaign of cruelty and ethnic cleansing in Gaza, others insist Hamas, the militant group in control of the region, which attacked Israel on Oct. 7, sparking the war, is solely responsible for the suffering.
USA Today
05-08-2025
- Entertainment
- USA Today
David Mamet storms out of interview over 'inquisition' on his conservative views
Playwright and author David Mamet stormed out of an interview after a conversation around his rightward political shift turned contentious. Mamet, the Tony and Pulitzer-winning mind behind plays like "Glengarry Glen Ross" and "Speed-the-Plow," appeared on the "Talk Easy" podcast Sunday, Aug. 3, to discuss his expansive canon of work and his recent embrace of President Donald Trump. When host Sam Fragoso pressed Mamet on the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the Capitol, led by supporters of the president, the playwright offered an empathetic view, saying: "I think that Donald Trump said to those people, 'Go protest peacefully and patriotically,' and some of them were doing that. Some of them were rioting." When Fragoso countered that such a view was more "generous" than Mamet's approach to protestors demonstrating against the police killing of George Floyd in 2020 or the war in Gaza, Mamet grew agitated. "Why do you have me here today?" he said. "It seems to me that what we're talking about here is a little bit more toward an inquisition rather than a dialogue." Fragoso, seemingly trying to temper the conversation, said he was "genuinely curious" about Mamet's viewpoints. Still, the writer took specific offense to the reference to anti-war protests on college campuses. "Twenty months prior to my birth, they were throwing Jewish kids into the ovens. So American Jews of the midcentury, our main tactic of accommodation was to keep our heads down and work harder and try to be liked," he said, referencing the Holocaust. "You know what, I'm not going to debate the Columbia riots with you. Ask me something else," Mamet said. Despite his request to reorient the conversation, the two had seemingly hit a point of no return, with Mamet circling back to what he saw as the antisemitism running rampant throughout the protests. Protests against the war in Gaza, which spread across college campuses but found a locus at New York's Columbia University, were viewed by some in the Jewish community as promoting antisemitic tropes and encouraging violence against Jews. Proponents of the protests argued they were merely centered on a critique of the state of Israel and U.S. support of it, not the Jewish people writ large. Sam Fragoso, David Mamet spar over a punching joke The two then veered into a back-and-forth about a quip from Mamet that Fragoso looked like he had never been punched in the face. While both men maintained even tones of voice, the acrimony between them was clear with Mamet calling Fragoso "squishy" (a reference to the host's feelings-forward approach) and Fragoso seeming disappointed with the turn the conversation had taken. "I'm a Jew," Mamet said. "The River to the Sea means kill all the Jews. Support the antifada means kill all the Jews." Those phrases, used among student protestors to voice support for a liberated Palestinian people, were viewed by some in the Jewish community as manifestations of hate. "For you to say, on the other hand, there may be some people out there that were involved in peaceful protest is (a) loathesome piece of antisemitism," Mamet said. "You don't know what … you're talking about. Thank you for talking to me." He then got up, leaving Fragoso alone at the interview table looking a bit exasperated and confused, before he turned to the camera and said: "And that was David Mamet." Their exchange reflects a larger fault line in the American and Jewish populace, as the war in Gaza stretches into its second year, and warnings of widespread famine in the area grow louder. While some agree with early views of student protestors that Israel is carrying out a campaign of cruelty and ethnic cleansing in Gaza, others insist Hamas, the militant group in control of the region, which attacked Israel on Oct. 7, sparking the war, is solely responsible for the suffering.
Boston Globe
23-04-2025
- Politics
- Boston Globe
Sen. Warren defends past comments on Biden's mental fitness: ‘I said what I believed to be true'
'I said what I believed to be true,' Warren replied. 'You think he was as sharp as you?' Fragoso responded swiftly. 'I said I had not seen [a] decline, and I hadn't, at that point,' Warren said. 'You did not see any decline from 2024 Joe Biden to 2021 Joe Biden?' Fragoso said with an incredulous look. Advertisement 'Not when I said that. You know, the thing is … Look — he was sharp, he was on his feet,' Warren replied. 'I saw him [at a] live event. I had meetings with him a couple of times.' Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up 'Senator, 'on his feet' is not praise,' Fragoso said. 'He can speak in sentences,' is not praise.' 'All right, fair enough, fair enough,' Warren replied. 'Look… the question is what are we going to do now?' Fragoso is a writer, director, and left-leaning podcast host who is based in Los Angeles. Biden's Advertisement Amid Some Democrats had urged Biden to drop out of the race, while others threw their support behind the president. Some Democrats, including Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, resisted Alyssa Vega can be reached at
The Independent
23-04-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Awkward moment Elizabeth Warren laughs when asked if Joe Biden was as sharp as her
This is the awkward moment Elizabeth Warren laughed when asked if Joe Biden was 'as sharp' as her. The Democratic Massachusetts senator appeared on the Talk Easy with Sam Fragoso podcast on Sunday (20 April). Fragoso asked Warren if she regretted previous statements that Biden had 'a mental acuity' up until he dropped out of the 2024 presidential election in July. The senator replied, 'I said what I believed to be true.' Fragoso pressed, 'You think he was as sharp as you?' Warren froze for a moment before laughing silently. She appeared to catch herself and quickly doubled down to defend her past remarks, saying, 'I said I had not seen decline.'
Yahoo
14-04-2025
- Yahoo
Hobart man, 24, charged after sex with underage teen
A Hobart man is charged after having sex with an underage teen girl, records allege. Gabriel Fragoso, Jr., 24, was charged Friday with four counts of sexual misconduct with a minor. He has not been apprehended. When arrested, he is ordered held on a $7,500 cash bond. Cedar Lake Police Det. Marcus McDowell wrote that a Hanover Central High School police officer reported that the girl was assaulted by a man, 24. Police subpoenaed records from Discord — an online messaging app. Fragoso agreed to pick up the girl in late November at the Cedar Lake library before they went to Lemon Lake Park. He told the girl his name was 'Dave.' 'I had soo much fun tonight,' she later messaged. The girl later told a Special Victim's Unit detective they went to Lemon Lake Park and walked around. She got cold, they went to the bathrooms. When the detective asked what happened, the girl was upset, embarrassed, and didn't want to elaborate. Later in the interview, she appeared to allude to a sex act. They went to a Jewel parking lot, likely in Crown Point, where they got in the back seat. Fragoso repeated asked her to have sex with him. The girl later said she felt 'scared' and had little choice. Later in December, the girl lured Fragoso to her house where her family, at minimum, screamed at him in their garage. The girl wasn't entirely sure what happened. Fragoso got an lawyer and refused to answer the investigator's questions. mcolias@
