9-1-1, where is the emergency? It's the middle of the night in a small town on the Jersey Shore. Someone reports an abandoned car on a bridge. A search gets underway for the missing driver, 19-year-old Sarah Stern. Is it a missing person? Is it a suicide? At this point nobody knows. Old friendships, buried cash, and a sinister plot that was once pitched as a movie plays out in real life. I'm Juju Chang from 2020 and ABC Audio. Listen now to Bridge of Lies, wherever you get your podcasts. Hello there, Sunny. You look lovely. Hi Brian, thank you. It is Thursday, February 5th, towards the end of a long week for us. Yeah. And the news just keeps on coming. It does. You've been very consistent this week saying that President Trump and his administration have kind of entered a new phase where they're just saying the quiet part out loud. Yes, correct. Do you think that is something that people are noticing that's going to move the needle in a way it midterms? I hope so. You know, it was all written down in Project 2025, but I don't know that everybody read it. I don't think many people read it. I don't think many people read it. And there was even a little primer, like you could read just like a 90-pageer. I don't think people read that either. And so it was written down and everything that they are doing is straight from Project 2025, right? And so now, instead of just putting it out and writing, he's just saying it, hey, let's just nationalize the elections. You know, let's just round up all the immigrants. You know, these are domestic terrorists. So what someone got shot, a woman got shot in the face three times. So what a man, a US citizen got shot, you know, ten times. They, you know, they were bad people. Like these kinds of things, demonizing American citizens, demonizing immigrants, being xenophobic, you know, grabbing voter ID information. All of that is just out there for people now. And I think because if you look at his approval ratings that have plummeted, I think people are paying attention. I was reading somewhere and I think I said this on the show, a wonderful writer in the Atlantic said that his base tends to take him literally, but not seriously. And the media takes him seriously, but not literally. And as a country, we need to take him both literally and seriously. So none of this, oh, that's just how he talks. Well, I will say having done this show now with you for ten years, yeah, I feel like we've spent a lot of hot topics saying, do you think he really means this? Yes, we did. And it's like, I always thought, I think the guy means it. Like, you know, when, like my angel and when people show you who they are the first time, just believe them. The first term. He said it during the first term. He said it when he kicked on the escalators, started calling all Mexicans rapists. I mean, he has said these things for a really long time. He said racist things for a really long time. So this guy is, you know, he's been consistent. He's been following through on the things he's been saying. And people did not take him literally or seriously. And we have to take him at his word now. Moving on to a tragic, but we're still hoping we'll turn out better than we think story. Savannah Guthrie and her family have been in our minds in our prayers this week. Her mom has believed to have been abducted from her home and has been missing for five days from what is now being thought of as a crime scene. How important is the public in this case is somebody who, who, yeah, that would be a situation? I think it's very clear at this point that the public is very, very important because you generally don't have during an investigation where there are leads where they kind of know what's going on. The family comes out and makes the kind of statement that Savannah made with her brother. I was so striking today. Yeah. Yeah. So which was, you know, please look after my mother sort of pleading to the public for information. Also referencing if you have her and there's a ransom, we are here. We're listening, reach out to us. Basically, I think is what they were saying, but please let us know if she's alive. That tells me that law enforcement has perhaps hit a wall. They don't have any leads. They don't have any suspects. And now they need the public to give them tips. You see that in a lot of cases. Think about the Scott Peterson case where Lacey was missing and they didn't know where she was. And it sort of exhausted everything. And then they started asking the public for tips. You see it in a lot is John Van A Ramsey. You saw them reaching out to the public for tips. And so. And it also would let kidnappers know I think that it's in their best interest to keep her okay. Yes. And to keep her okay. And so it's heart wrenching to I know Savannah. It's heart wrenching to see someone that you know that you've worked with. I've never heard a bad thing about her. She's lovely. She's an attorney. A lot of people don't know that. So we've bonded over our love of the law. And you could see that she's suffering and that her siblings are suffering. And it just with all the crazy things that are going on in the world, it just reminds you that this could happen to anyone. We talked about it on the show a little bit and we've been talking about it backstage the idea that it might not have helped in this case. But the idea that every family needs a code. Yes. My family does have something to let people know that things are maybe not okay or okay. I actually thought a lot of people did that. And maybe I did it. I started doing it when I was a prosecutor. And so perhaps that was like a tip that an agent gave me. But it is it should be a word or piece of information that only that person would know. In our family, we have a certain word. So if I call my son and I say, hey, how are you doing everything okay? And he responds with that word. I know everything is not okay and that he can't talk. And that's very helpful. And my parents know the word, my husband knows the word and my children know the word. And that's sort of our, you know, safe word. I think we've had a security word. With my daughter. So that if she's at a party, she doesn't want to be at or something's gone there. That kind of thing. Just say that word. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I think that's smart. I think most people should try to do that. Yeah. All right. Let's switch gears to something a little more fun. Last week you told me that you're ditching a friend's party as you are known to do. So you can be home with a small group of people to watch the bad bunny concert. Plants have changed. Yeah. Actually. Oh, okay. Hold on. You're going to be peopleizing what happened. Your plans changed. My husband forced it on me. So now you're going to the party. I am. You're going to the party. We're going to be people. We're actually in a group chat with the 10 people that we're coming to our house. And the friends that are having the bigger party basically reached out to him and they were like, listen, we're actually going to have it catered by one of our favorite chefs, Chef Jesse. You should try to get all the people to come to our house. And so my husband puts it in the friend thread and said, hey, I know you guys were coming to our house. But let's go over to this other friend's house because they've got Chef Jesse. And everybody was like, I'll be there. I love Chef Jesse. I'll be there. And so now I'm going. So you're working on Sunday. You're peopleizing. I'm peopleizing on Sunday. And I just wanted to watch Bad Bunny. Yes. And we'll watch Bad Bunny and also the commercial. And the commercial. So we can talk about it on the show. Yeah. I mean, everyone loves the post-super Bowl show. All right. Well, you still have to do that. But now, what are you most excited about Bad Bunny? You know, I'm excited. First of all, all my friends and family in Puerto Rico, I mean, they are ecstatic. They are going crazy. They're surprised that I'm not going to the Super Bowl to see it in person. From West Coast. I need you Monday morning. I know. I know. And that's one of the reasons why I'm not going. But I'm just excited that it's highlighting Puerto Rico. I'm excited that he has stayed true to his roots and to himself. This is a Spanish language album. He sings everything in Spanish. And he's going to sing everything in Spanish. And it's music. And it's really world music. You know, he's a global artist. And so I'm just proud that the spotlight is on Puerto Rico. And the language as well, speaking Spanish, you know, that's my first language. And I feel like in America, it's a country where people are very proud to be monolingual. They're very proud not to speak other languages. And in fact, to scourge, I remember when I was growing up, my grandmother didn't speak very much English. And we would go to like just a grocery store. And they would say, speak English, speak English. And it's really humiliating to people that speak another language. And if you travel around the world, people speak three and four language. It's almost expected. And are pretty generous when they figure out you can only speak English. Exactly. Are pretty generous. So I think that part of it is, I'm just looking forward to sharing my experience. And I think that's what's happening in the country and everything else. Well, I mean, if you look, watch the Grammys, he started with ice out, you know, and he has been very political. He held a residency in the United States. And he was a very good person. He was a very good person. And he was a very good person. And he was a very good person. And he was a very good person. And he was a very good person. He held a residency in Puerto Rico to bring money to the island. I think it was something like $400 million is brought to the island. And he didn't perform in the US because he didn't want ice coming to try to arrest people. So he is politically active. I think he is aware of what's going on in the country. And I expect there to be a little bit. I mean, Green Day is going to perform in Green Day. Yeah, Green Day, American New Year theme. Yeah, it is quite political. So I'm fascinated by it. I'll be excited to see it. And there's also a lot of talk about who Mary may not show up with him there. I know. So I'm curious about that. Because they're always surprise artists, right? I think most of the time there are. Sometimes people just do it by themselves. Yeah. But even with Kendrick Lamar, he had to see it. Absolutely. Yeah, people show up. So I'm curious to actually, bad bunny's been there before. He went with Shakira. Yes, yes. He showed up with Jennifer Lopez. Yeah, yeah. So like, you know, maybe Shakira comes back here. Maybe more Anthony. Cardi B's very thought of because they have a song together. Oh, so I mean, I don't know. One person that's also on the list potentially for a surprise is Ricky Martin. And he just I would love that. He just penned an open letter to bad bunny after the Grammy win. And he says something similar to what you were just saying. He commended him for winning by staying true to Puerto Rico. What do you think about that? I think it's so true because if you think about Ricky Martin, Ricky Martin was in Menudo. And Ricky Martin didn't speak a lot of English. And I remember Ricky Martin living La Vida Loka, you know, that was in English songs. So I, an English language song. So I'm with Ricky Martin. Can you imagine that he became a global superstar speaking Spanish? He is the first. I think his album was the first all Spanish album to win a Grammy for album of the year. That just it's just wonderful. Yeah, it's exciting. I can't begin to tell you how excited I am. Yeah, I'm excited to see the show. It's going to be great. Today, I want to tell you about one of our partners, Reaffleed. Before I go on, take a moment to check in right now on how your body is feeling. How does your back feel? How do your hips feel? How about your knees? I got some issues. If you sit for most of the day, you might find that your body saves up a lot of discomfort. And Reaffleed is a seat cushion that's designed to help. With their serene sits orthopedic seat cushion, you experience all day comfort. It's made from advanced memory foam arranged in a unique W shape design. The slip resistance material means it can be used on any seat at your desk at work, on your couch, in your car, or anywhere else you find yourself sitting for long periods of time. Best of all, it's affordable. Just $29 with a special deal for our listeners. Start sitting better today so you can head home feeling ready to enjoy the evening to the fullest. Get your Reaffleed ergonomic seat cushion now at abcsecretsavings.com slash btt. That's abcsecretsavings.com slash btt to get yours today for just $29. Reaffleed is a seat cushion that's designed to help you get yours today for just $29. Ryan Pata, Senior Defensive Limon for Miami, gunned down. The key to this case is Brian. Oh, before he died, he was on a phone. This might be a hit. You want the truth. They just want a conviction in pressing your ass. We had a killer monster murder at the U. Listen now. All right. We also this week we had a baby shower. Man, it's been a long way. Oh, I know. This is fantastic. It was really sweet. I thought. I think Alyssa was really happy. I think so too. And you had some really sweet advice for her. You told her the time flies and that you wish you would take more photos into cherish every moment. And videos. I wish I had. I remember. And I've also told you to really just take that time in because when I had Gabriel, I stayed home for six months. And I was able to capture his first steps on video. That's amazing. And I'm like, Paloma, I stayed home for four months. And I didn't catch her first steps. And it's a regretted in my life. You know, it's like when I got home, she walked towards me. And that was great. But like I didn't get to experience it. And there are those moments that you never get back. And it goes by so quickly. I look at my kids now. I mean, I think we showed a montage of them. I'm sorry, sweet. I still see those little people. I still see that when I walk in. It's funny because I think there's a definite line for people that had their kids after iPhones and people that had the kids before iPhones. How much you capture and how much you get. I know. There's not a second of my- We have like a cam quarter. Right. So my kids every second of their lives photo video, I have so many. I'll never see them again because there's too many to go through. But when my dad passed away, I was going through old photos and things like that. And there's just not that many of us as kids. No. Take them. They did. We're the negatives. Right. They just don't exist anymore. They don't. They don't. It's a pretty tough situation. Speaking of your kids, Gabrielle Union's advice to Alyssa yesterday was that there's no such thing as work-life balance. Do you agree with that? She was dead on. I went on to- You make it pretty well. Yeah, but it's like, it's about prioritizing. Right. It's not a balance. You know, something always gets lost. It just happens. There's no work-life balance. It doesn't exist. You just have to prioritize things. And I have always chosen to prioritize family. And so there are jobs I didn't take. There are opportunities. I don't take to this day. I change plans all the time because I put my family first. So this notion that you can have it all is just not true. You can have it all, but it's all the different times. Right. You wouldn't do anything different either. I mean, that's the thing. You wouldn't do anything different. No. There have been some opportunities. I think I told you I was offered the opportunity to host my own show, but it was on the West Coast. And I would have been gone like three, four days a week. And my kids were younger. And Manny didn't want to move to California. That made sense. He didn't want to move his practice. And I almost took it. And we would have been on two separate coasts. And he would have been doing the bulk of the childcare. And I didn't take that opportunity. So it's something that I think about. But I made the right choice. I agree. Gabby also said that you should never ask someone for advice was not done what you were trying to do. Yes. That's really interesting. It was really interesting when she said it to me because I think I've told the story before. But I had wanted to be a broadcast journalist forever because I watched 60 minutes a lot. And I wanted to tell that kind of story. And I actually even spoke to the executive producer of 60 minutes many, many, many years ago, sort of trying to pitch myself as like a legal correspondent. And he didn't bite. But my mother in particular said, no one looks like you that does that. You should really go to law school. And I realized now that she didn't understand that dream because it wasn't her dream and it wasn't meant for her. Right. And while your mother probably gave you great advice in a million other different places in different ways, this is something different. It's hard. And it's hard. And you actually do have many friends that are in a similar world as you now. Yes. And it's similar experiences, not exactly the same thing. But I find that too because there's a limited amount of people, people whose counsel like I completely trust on most things. Yeah. But they don't know what it's like to do this job. They don't. They don't. They don't. And it's interesting that sometimes you do go to people and you run by, you know, you don't have a dream by them. And they're like a dream killer. Yeah. And it's, I don't even think that they're intentionally doing it. But they just don't understand it. And so why would you ask advice of that person? No. But it's interesting because with my children, you know, they're going into very different spaces, you know, my daughter's an artist. And I have to trust that she is following her passion where there's everything in my very being. I know she would make a great lawyer. I just know it. But I've tried really hard to just allow her to do her own thing and find her passion and paint her heart out and, and, you know, go to art school. Right. When I really, and she's talking about getting her masters in fine art now. And I'm trying really hard not. I'm proud of you. Not, yeah, right? I'm like trying really hard not to say why don't you just take the else's? I'm trying really hard. I have similar things because, you know, my daughter's much younger and they can change their minds 100 times. And right now they all they care about is acting in broad way. They probably all as well. Probably so. And I'm supportive of it and I love those things too. But in the back of my head, I just keep thinking about how hard it is. It's hard. It's, you know, it's the impossible dream. Like how many like working artists you were like, yeah, no, that did really well for themselves. But it's could be supportive. But they're probably happy. They're very happy. Yeah. And that's all you can ask for really at the end. All right. Well, on that note, thank you for joining me today, stunning. Thank you, Brian. Tomorrow we have an all new view. It'll be a fun one. The host Super Bowl snack recipes, which is good. You ready for your I am, I am. All right. We've got Caleb McLaughlin from Stranger Things Lucas. That's exciting. And of course hot topics. So we'll see you tomorrow. And we'll see you next week.
