Desi Lydic Sits Down with Sec. Pete Buttigieg | Sophia Bush

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Yeah, as a basic bitch.

One of my favorite interests is travel. It's right after living, laughing, and loving. So when I had the opportunity to interview Transportation Secretary Pete Buddha Judge, I took it. Check out my interview with him at the DOT Operations Center. So sorry, Secretary Buddha Judge, thank you so much. I apologize for being late. I took amtrak. Okay, Secretary Buddha Judge. We are here at the Department of Transportation, which is the hub,

Well, I think everybody loves a good transportation project, you know, even though not everyone voted for the Infrastructure Law, I have yet to meet anybody who is upset when we're fixing an airport terminal, upgrading a bridge so that we can have a better, safer, more convenient experience getting around this country.

What have been the biggest accomplishments at the DOT since you took over?

So when we got here, first of all, the biggest question back in twenty twenty one about our airlines was whether they were going to go out of business. But then as the demand returned, we started finding new tools to hold those airlines accountable for how they treat passengers.

What are some of the areas that you think that the DOT could improve upon?

Have you hit any roadblocks?

See what you did there?

Thank you.

You know, we're doing a lot right now to hold freight railroad companies accountable for their safety practices.

But right now the fines are capped.

For example, if we catch a railroad company in an egregious violation involving hazardous material to get somebody killed, the highest toughest fine under the law that we can assess it's about two hundred and fifty thousand dollars. That is not enough in my view to get the attention of a multi billion dollar railroad company like in Norfolk Southern.

That I think would make a big difference.

Right now, we're dealing with some not all, but some Republicans on Capitol Hill who are saying well, we don't want to do too much too fast when it comes to getting tough on the railroad companies.

In my view, we need to act now.

Why do you think some Republicans are stalling on this? Is it because they're too busy focused on starting culture wars.

Well, I do think the culture wars are getting in the way sometimes. I mean, just the other day I was testifying in the Appropriation Subcommittee explaining how our budget was going to help with things like railroad safety, air traffic control, and other transportation needs, and we had to take a break so that they could all go and vote on a bill to kick transgender teenagers off of sports teams.

That was the priority for the House goop that day.

So these things really are getting in the way of our ability to get work done.

We're literally building.

Bridges and they're literally banning books.

Is the Department of Transportation going woke?

I don't think it's woke to build good infrastructure.

I just saw Fox News.

Taking a run of me for the work that we're doing on safety, including the use of crash test dummies that simulate men, women, and children, And somehow this is considered a woke priority to have female crash test dummies. Even though not something that has been around for.

A very long time, Fox News has made loads of false statements about you over the years. What do you think you think it's lawsuit time cash in on some of that seven hundred and eighty seven million coin.

It does sound like there's a lot of money in it, but I think that'd probably be a bit of a distraction in my case.

Possibly, But you know, I mean it could help fund some of these projects.

Yeah, I think I prefer to go through the appropriations process. But the amount of money in that lawsuit is as much as some of our nationwide transportation infrastructure programs.

Oh yeah, I mean that could repair at least hundreds of feet a tunnel.

It's depending on the tunnel.

Yeah, Secretary of Boot Judge, thank you for chatting with us, Thanks for joining us real quick before I go, can I just get a quick reimbursement for the train that I took out here? I was literally on the train for about twelve hours.

Straight, sorry to hear that.

And this was the Aesla. This was like the best train that America has to offer. So if I can just.

Get a little little refund, you're.

Gonna have to take that up with Amtrak.

Okay, so you'll turn it in.

You know, sure, have you to sign it along for you?

Yeah, thank you. I think you could use your stamp of approval.

We don't actually use stamps.

Anymore here, but oh hey, thanks for looking up. Thank you secretary. It really was an honor. Thank you so much. Appreciate it.

Yes, enjoy the trip.

Oh this is incredible. Do you mind if I just take a spin around?

Welcome to around a little bit o great? Or I could just describe things to you.

That's okay. Now I'll just sneak into some of these desks. What does this do?

Well? Please don't touch that. This don't touch you or really any of any of that. Yeah, just could just yeah, just.

A little operator the future us. Yeah, how do I turn this on?

Again? Please? Don't touch that?

What you doing over here? Can I borrow your badge?

No?

Just quick, I'll give it back.

Well. Day.

So my guest tonight is an actor an activist who will be starring in London's popular West End production two twenty two A Ghost Story, beginning May fourteenth. Please welcome Sophia bush Hi, who.

Is so nice, feels good? Right, power at it.

Yes, just ladies running the daily show said very into this.

Yeah, now guess this week that's what we got. Yeah, it's great to see. Welcome to the show.

Thank you so much.

Thanks for having me. Hi everybody you.

You've been busy on many things, but one of them is your very popular podcast, Drama Queens Yes, which is basically a rewatch podcast of One Tree Hill, Right, Yeah, yeah, yeah.

We realized that the nine years of that show that we made were sort of a blur, and people at these lovely events always ask us, oh.

You remember when, and we were like, we don't. I'm so sorry, I don't remember.

And our sort of COVID project was launching this podcast, and it's actually been really special to relive it. And every so often we're all just sitting on zoom sobbing, and we're.

Like, we get it. It's really good. This is super.

Emotional, very therapeutic, I would imagine, because when you started that show you were really young.

You were like twenty years old.

I had just turned twenty one. Hillary Burton and I actually our birthdays are one week apart. We had both just shredded our fake id's I'm so sorry mom, and we were like.

We can get into bars now, we are so grown up.

Turns out, at twenty one you are still absolutely a child, and it's really weird to look back and see.

Well, there are so many documentaries that have come out recently about women entering the entertainment industry at that time in the early two thousands, Paris Hilton, Britney spears Pamela Anderson and hearing their side of the story.

What was that like going in to the industry that young?

You know that famous adage. It was the best of times and the worst of times. It was that, you know, it's so special to go and do what you love and to get to do art for a living. And we worked for a total pig and that was awful, and so it was very confusing. I mean, I'm like, women are laughing, I'm like, you know what I'm talking about where you're like, I love my job, but.

I was really hated here.

Ooh, I don't know any pigs at this job.

I love this job.

We love this job.

Love it's a lot.

This is different. This is different, This truly is different. It is and you know when it is.

I worked on this amazing show in Toronto last year that was different. And you know, when I look at sort of what's on my resume, almost everything has been amazing. It just sucks in the things that you've done the longest have been sort of toxic and awful.

But how amazing that you talk about it with your castmates because having those conversations and I want to believe that things are different now. Women still struggle with these things, but by you talking about it, it makes other women not feel alone.

That's been the really special part of it. And when people ask women like why are you so obsessed with this, it's like, why were you never paying attention?

Why when we were all crying for help? Did you go like, it's not that bad, You're lucky.

That's weird, But.

You know, I think for us.

It's been really the unexpected side effect of this podcast job is that it's been really healing, and it's been really empowering. And what's been really beautiful is the sort of connections that we've been making with listeners, with other women in our industry, with women who were directing on our show back then, who listen to an episode reach out and say that was totally going on. I heard that, or I was told this. It's been really affirming, and

Feel's nice.

So much of what you do is you do so much activism. You are extremely vocal about issues that you care about, gun reform, voting rights, women's reproductive health. You were just honored yesterday by the National Institution of Reproductive Health for your work.

How do I feel?

For gradually wild?

It was so vild and they gave me this like big, gorgeous, heavy award, and I was like, wonderful. I can leave here and feel very special and also have a weapon just in case, because that is being a woman in the world, you know.

I was like, I don't have to carry my keys today. I got this.

Jokes aside, though it was it was very special, and

That's that's my work.

And you know, in the same way that we as women need men to talk about sexual violence because like it can't just be us.

We're like, please help us then talk to each other, my god.

Like it's the same way that I feel about as women when we look at the diversity within you know, our gender group, and then we look outward at how we need to stand up for our trans friends and folks like you know, all of the beautiful black women I see in this audience, Like racial justice among in feminism can't be your.

Job, Like that's our job, women who look I us of the problem.

So for me, what has been you know, a privilege and an awakening and hard and inspiring, has been getting really fired up about an injustice and then starting to pull the thread and going, oh my god, it's all connected. It's systemic everywhere. We have work to do, but I do think we can do it together. Organizations like the anir H are doing incredible work. They're proactive for us

But I want to hang out with.

You're about to start a play in London called twenty two a Ghost Story.

Till I get that right, twenty two a ghost Story?

Are you excited to go work in a country where they have access to healthcare?

Wow?

That might be nice. I realized it was.

It was a really big deal when I had to apply for my work visa and they were like, have you ever tried to sneak into the United Kingdom to access healthcare? And I was like, oh, yeah, we have to do that. I guess that's weird.

No that. But while I'm doing this.

Job, can I go to the doctor that's so cool.

And tell us what the play is about.

It's a supernatural story, right, and in Volt's Ghosts.

It is so I don't want to give it away. But the thing we all loved about friends was watching a group of people in an apartment hang out, right, so imagine it's four instead of six friends, and when their dinner party gets like a little bit lit, people start up conversation essentially of who does and doesn't believe in ghosts, And suddenly we're talking about belief and faith and upbringing and education and what's bigger than us?

And it's very spicy.

Fun and I love a good ghost story. Did you research for this role? Did you just go visit the Senate?

I know I should have. Yeah, Okay, I'm sorry, Yeah I should have.

Who's the first time we were doing theater?

It is a West End. Will be my stage debut, unless you count our.

Town in the eighth grade. Same tame, same, SAME's same, same. You're gonna You're gonna be brilliant. You're gonna be brilliant. I can't wait to see you in this.

I'm really excited and completely terrified. And then I have these moments where I'm like, Okay, we're doing eight shows a week in front of people.

What if someone has a bad day? Like what? I don't know?

And then it was actually one of my girlfriends from the podcast, Hillary said, Dude, when you do a TV show. You're on set for like fourteen to seventeen hours a day. This will literally be the least amount of hours you've ever worked in a week. And I'm went like, oh, yeah, okay, I get it. Oh right, maybe I can read more books or something downtime.

Yeah, great, okay, please with an audience. This is well, they're lovely.

You once said that you weren't interested in a in working in politics back in twenty thirteen. You said this, but you said, ask me in ten years, so what's up?

What do you think?

Well?

So interesting. So many people for the last number of years.

Uh, have said to me like please run.

And then Nancy Pelosi is what a weird thing I'm about to say to you? Nancy Pelosi said to me one day like it'll all be better when you're a president, and I went, I bet you say that to all the girls.

But thank you so much. Hey, that is an endorsement. It was so it was so deep flattering.

And then I went like, well, I guess if we're electing people from TV, anyone who knows anything about public policy or public health or education or like women would be cool.

I'll get stringing sentence together.

Yeah, you know, articulate humans who like other people instead of wish ill upon their lives, it would be nice. I think, as I've as I've learned so much over the last ten years, I don't know what it's going to look like. I don't know where I'm supposed to go yet, because I want to do what.

Is the most useful.

And I think a lot of people, whether they want to run for office or run a company, do it because they want to center themselves in the experience. If I could be most useful serving an elected office, great.

If I can be most useful raising.

Money for incredible C four candidates across the country and making sure we flip state houses so we're not you know, thrown back to the our age is into it, like literally, just tell me how to help, and I'm down.

You know.

I so appreciate we so appreciate all the work that you do, and I really appreciate you coming on too.

You are a delight. Thank you.

I got to.

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