So, we're looking for star potential.
- Oh, wow. - Yeah. So this is the room.
You'll be sitting here at this desk.
The singers are gonna come into this room one at a time,
and this is sort of where they need to stand.
- Okay. - And they'll be singing
from a list of public domain songs we gave them.
- Right. - And that's just so…
we don't have to pay the licensing rights
for the song. It just saves us money.
And then right away, I just make my decision
- at that moment. - Yes.
These are the tickets you give out if you want someone to move on.
You know, we really want the best of the best,
so you can't be giving these out to anyone.
- The standard should be star potential. - Okay.
That's what I was told
- when I did it. - What's star potential?
Star potential is someone that you think
- could be a star. - Okay.
Anyone that doesn't meet that threshold,
you have to deliver the news that they will not be moving on.
You know, for a lot of these people, they're coming in,
and they feel like their dreams are in your hands.
You're delivering this hard news. You're saying no to someone.
You need to, you know, assert yourself in that way.
Are you okay with, like, delivering bad news, or…
Just life.
When I was 23, I got my first job in television
as a junior producer for Canadian Idol…
Idol!
The Canadian version of American Idol.
The celebrity judges you see on TV don't have time
to consider everyone that shows up to these auditions.
So, what they don't show you is that all the singers
are first led into tiny rooms off camera
where junior producers like myself were tasked
with thinning the herd,
eliminating anyone that didn't have star potential.
All day long, I told people no to their face.
Some took the news okay, but many did not.
They broke down in front of me, crying,
pleading for another chance.
But no matter what, I had to hold my ground.
It was a brutal experience for me.
Every morning, I woke up in a new Canadian hotel room,
dreading what I would have to do.
When you know that whatever you say
is going to devastate the person across from you,
it makes you not want to say anything at all.
I was becoming convinced that this was the reason
some co-pilots have trouble saying no to their captain.
They just can't imagine a way for the interaction to go well.
But I've always wondered if it could be done differently,
to have someone leave feeling good.
I could never figure out how to do this.
But maybe there was a co-pilot out there who could.
Down in New Orleans
I recruited a sampling of first officers
from all the major U.S. airlines
to participate in a massive experimental study.
All these co-pilots had one unique quality
that made them special.
None of them have died in a plane crash,
which meant there's a chance that at least one of them
may have unknowingly cracked the code
to speaking up to a captain without making them upset.
Wings of Voice!
I hoped this could be revealed
with an aviation-themed singing competition
where any and all aspiring singers from across the country
were invited to apply.
It's not a singing TV show,
it's actually a singing competition as part of another TV show
that has nothing to do with singing.
- Okay. - Oh, cool!
- Yeah. So… - Is there like a prize at the end
or kind of what's the setup with it?
Okay, so the winner will get to sing a song of our choice
on national television with a full backing band…
- Oh, sick. - …in a partial recreation
of the Houston Airport.
- Wow. - Wow.
Sounds amazing.
O'er the land of the free
And the home of the brave
That was great. Unfortunately, you're not moving on.
- Okay. - Thank you for your time.
You did good, baby. You did good.
You did good, you did good. You did great.
I'm always proud of you. I'm always proud of you.
I had really done it.
I had brought Canadian Idol back to life.
- I love you. - I love you, too.
Because the experience can be so brutal,
I found some co-pilots would try to get around
upsetting the singers by giving out endless golden tickets.
So, yeah.
Well, congratulations, you're moving on!
Oh my goodness!
It was a byproduct of this being a real competition.
- Congrats. - Thank you.
But ultimately, this was all about rejections.
Hey, I was a little surprised about that one.
Yeah.
You feel she was good?
- Yeah. - Yeah.
You've sort of given a golden ticket to everyone?
I know, I know, I know.
That's why I was like, okay, okay.
We only want to give to the best, remember?
- The best, all right, the best. - Yeah.
You do have to do the hard work of saying no.
- All right. I got you. - Yeah. Okay, great.
Okay.
The holy grail I was looking for was a method of rejection
that left everyone happy.
Amazing grace, how sweet the sound
It was fascinating to watch the different ways
these co-pilots would say no to people.
You're doing great, buddy.
Just keep focusing on the donut and not the hole.
That's what they always told me.
But I was curious to see which of these techniques
would make the singers feel the best.
Sorry, thanks for coming.
People are very good at hiding their true emotions.
That's why I didn't want to evaluate anything
by the singers' faces.
Hi, would you be willing to rate your judge?
- Yeah. - Okay, thank you.
So, I put ballot boxes outside of each room
so after every rejection, the singers
could rate their co-pilot's likability
on a scale from one to ten.
- Thanks. - Thanks.
- Have a good one. - You too.
After a day of heartbreak and tears,
me and my Canadian Idol colleagues would go to a local bar to unwind.
I found that talking to people who were going
through the same thing as you helped me realize
that it wasn't so weird what I was doing.
So, I wanted this experience for the co-pilots too.
And it was important enough that I had the bar I owned
transported once again across state lines
and added to my Los Angeles set of the Houston Airport.
Well, that was fast.
- Yeah, thanks a lot. - Awesome.
These people are gonna think I'm so mean, but…
- It is. It is. - Yeah.
And she just started crying, and I was like,
"I'm sorry."
- Did you have a crier? - I had one crier.
- I'm so sorry. - And I was like, "Oh no!"
But when I started going through the singers' ratings,
I was surprised by how likable they found
these co-pilots.
One co-pilot, a first officer from Southwest Airlines
named Mara'D,
had an average score of over nine,
which seems suspiciously high.
Thank you so much. I like your rendition.
- I like the change. - Thank you.
I think for me, it's not quite the sound we're looking for today.
When I looked at her footage,
nothing she was doing seemed that notable to me.
I am going to pass today.
But people, for some reason, were leaving happy.
I was starting to wonder if these L.A. singers
were just a different breed
than the ones I used to reject back in Canada.
Maybe they were just so used to hearing no
that it didn't affect them.
So, I decided to sit in for a bit
and see for myself.
Amazing grace
How sweet…
It was cool to be back in the seat again.
I felt like I was in my element.
So, there… you know, there's a lot of…
Like, I'm not gonna be able to put you through to the next round…
- For sure. - …because there's a lot of,
you know, people coming in.
So, sorry about that.
Sure, you're the judge.
I just put forth my best performance, so…
Okay, you did good. Thanks.
Okay. Thank you.
Confrontation is… is not… doesn't come naturally to me at all.
I mean, you're doing something right.
You're delivering bad news to these people
and they are leaving happy about it.
I mean, I don't understand how that works. I'm happy to hear that.
Do you have a technique that you're doing or…
No. Look, not really.
- Should I? - No, no, I don't know.
- Okay. - I mean, I don't know what it is,
but yeah, okay.
Well, keep going.
- Yeah, okay. - Okay.
I decided to spend some time watching Mara'D
to see if there was anything I was missing.
- Hi! - Hi. How are you?
- I'm good, how are you? - I'm fantastic.
And the only thing that really jumped out to me
was how often she used the word "fantastic."
Hello, how are you?
- Hi, I'm well, and yourself? - Fantastic.
- Your volume control is fantastic. - Thank you.
You have an absolutely beautiful voice.
- Thank you. - Fantastic voice.
It's not quite the right sound, but your sound is fantastic.
So, for the next singers that came in,
I adjusted my approach.
- Hi. - Hi.
- Hi, I'm Austin. - Fantastic.
- All right. - All right.
What are you gonna be singing today?
So, "The Star-Spangled Banner."
- Fantastic. - Yeah.
Okay, whenever you're ready.
And the home
Of the brave
- Wow, fantastic. - Great.
I'm gonna have to say no for today.
- Okay. Okay. - But that was so good.
Thank you.
But yeah, great stuff.
- Okay. - Good stuff.
All right. Well, thank you so much.
- Thank you. - And, yeah.
- Thanks again for the opportunity. - Yeah. Fantastic.
- What is your name? - Adore.
Adore, that's beautiful. What are you singing today?
- What's your name? - My name is Darian.
Darian, beautiful. What's your name?
- My name is Isabella. - Isabella, beautiful.
- What's your name? - My name is Danny.
- Danny, that's beautiful. - Thank you.
Hey, the last couple of guys who were in my room,
are they still here?
Do you know… if they're still here?
Hey, this is Nathan from Wings of Voice.
Have you left yet?
If you're still close, do you wanna come back for a sec?
I just had a quick question.
- Thanks for coming back. - Yeah, of course.
I was just curious as to why you gave me
such a low score.
I don't know. I was just like, I was nervous
and I didn't know really what was happening.
I showed him a video of Mara'D and told him people loved her,
even though she delivered them all bad news.
'Cause I said a lot of the same things
like she did and… but she would get,
you know, she gets pretty high ratings.
So like, what's the difference? What do you think?
She just… I think that she just kind of came off
a little bit more…
I don't know what word to use.
The way that she did everything,
the way that she was, just her aura, her general aura, I would say.
- Okay. Her aura. - Yeah.
And how do you change that?
I don't know, I don't think that it's…
- I mean, I really don't know. - Okay.
I don't know if that's, like, you know,
I don't know if that's… you can really control like
what your natural energy is, you know?
- All right, well, thank you for… - Okay.
- Yeah, thank you for that. - Yeah.
Even though it was hard to hear, I disagreed with this man.
I believe that any human quality can be learned,
or at least emulated.
Sometimes, it just takes time.
- Hey. - Hey.
- How's it going? - Good.
But the more I got to know Mara'D,
the more I learned about her life in the cockpit.
He was making a lot of inappropriate jokes
and whatnot. You know, "Does your boyfriend satisfy you?"
- Kind of weird questions. - This is the captain saying this?
- This is the captain. - How do you respond to that?
I would blow him off or change the subject.
Just kind of chuckle and just kind of,
- you know, like, hope it goes away. - Okay.
I mean, at this point in my career, I'm very skilled at that.
It was a little more rough then, but…
Holy crap.
I was realizing I had still never witnessed a real captain
and first officer interacting with each other.
So, I invited some airline captains
to join the first officers at our nightly hangs at Nate's,
as I was curious to see how they got along.
Okay.
With the captains in the bar,
the energy in the room seemed to change,
but I couldn't tell what it meant.
Is that the female pilot table over there?
I see a bunch of female pilots.
- I guess there are, yeah. - I'm gonna talk to them.
Mara'D got into a conversation
with a captain named Jeff, who worked for American Airlines.
I got hired in 2013, and I've been there
- for about 11 years. - Right on.
Yeah. So, life could be worse, right?
- You wide body or narrow? - Narrow. Airbus.
- Okay. - Yeah.
But I couldn't tell from watching any of this
if captains were aware of how hard it can be
for their co-pilots to speak their mind.
So, when I invited Jeff to sit down for a chat,
I was surprised when he claimed
that he was the one who felt the pressure
to stay silent.
I mean, you know, especially being a male captain
and a female first officer, you always have to also kind of,
you know, walk on eggshells or whatever,
- if you will because you… - Why?
Because something you may think is a joke and try to be funny,
- she might get offended by, right? - Sure, yeah.
You know, I've been doing this for a long time. I feel like…
I'm not a psychologist, but I feel like I know how to read the room pretty well.
- Doing what for a long time? - Just, well, flying.
- Not only flying but also just… - Yeah.
…like interacting with people, being single.
I've been banned from pretty much every dating app known to man.
- Banned? - They kick you off…
- For what? - They don't give you reasons.
So like, I've been banned from Tinder,
Hinge, Bumble.
And I think that's it. And Seeking…
Seeking Arrangements, it's where you go meet girls
that are looking for, like, more like…
like a mutually beneficial arrangement.
How is that even possible, to be banned from so many sites?
You don't have to do anything illegal.
It could just be like you offended someone
based on something you said.
- Sure. - I don't remember saying
anything too offensive.
- I just don't know, right? - You don't know?
They don't give you a reason of why.
So, you have no clue why you got banned?
No. I got kicked off of Instagram too.
For like three months.
If a captain can be banned from five different dating apps
and still not know what he's done wrong…
They don't believe in second chances either.
I tried to sign up with my mom's phone number and stuff,
but Bumble has an algorithm, I think, where it recognizes your photos.
…it might be the perfect opportunity
to see if something emerges in a cockpit scenario
that would reveal Mara'D's special talent.
All right, so yeah, you guys can just do your thing,
- and I'll be watching. - All right. Sounds good.
- Generators one and two. - On.
- Probe heat. - Auto.
- Wing anti-ice. - On.
- Engine anti-ice. - Auto.
- Positive rate. - Landing gear up.
Gear up.
And JetLine 56, we are cleared ILS nine.
Set maintain 2,000 feet, turn left heading one-three-zero.
Yeah, so…
So, you've been five years flying, huh?
- Seven-three? - Yeah.
- Five years on the seven-three. - Wow.
- You single? - Yeah.
Married before?
- No. Never married. - No? Wow.
- No kids? - Nope, no kids.
Wow.
- Is it hard, dating? - I don't date.
- You don't date? - No.
But when Jeff started asking about her romantic life,
I couldn't tell if she was enjoying this conversation or not.
- You're just too picky? - No, just, you know, ten years ago,
it didn't work out with a situation, and I really haven't wanted to.
- I have a completely full life. - So you're just,
you're not dating or anything?
- You're just celibate? - No. Yeah.
- Wow. That's crazy. - Yep.
Yep.
It can be like that.
If she was trying to steer Jeff away from this topic,
he wasn't getting the hint.
I should hook you up with my dad. He's been celibate for like four years.
- No, I'm good. - I tried to sign my dad up
- on eHarmony… - But what I was witnessing
between Mara'D and this captain felt eerily similar
to a situation in my own life, where I couldn't figure out
the right way to express my true feelings.
"Deny nothing."
- That's our slogan. - Yeah. I love that.
I'd gotten in the habit of giving away jackets,
sweatshirts, and socks to the pilots I've been working with.
You can wear them to bed too. Like pajamas, too,
- if it's cold. - Yeah.
This brand had a special meaning to me
as it began a decade ago
as part of a comedy series I used to make
called Nathan For You.
As part of the show,
I launched a real outdoor apparel line called Summit Ice
that has gone on to raise millions of dollars for Holocaust awareness.
It's been my proudest achievement
and served as my only proof to these pilots
that a comedy show can actually make a difference.
These things that start off as like maybe a little silly
can actually have an impact in the world so…
It does. It really does.
But this is where the story gets complicated.
Okay, sit here.
So, I was at the computer just like this.
And this is my exact correspondence.
Okay, so I want you to type the same words I did.
Okay.
In late 2023, I discovered that the episode of Nathan For You
featuring the Summit Ice story mysteriously went missing
from the Paramount Plus streaming service.
It's season three, episode two.
You can see right there, it's gone.
But everything I did after that point wasn't captured on camera.
Are you supposed to be at home, or in the office?
I don't remember where I was,
but it could've been one of those. Yeah.
Okay.
Which was frustrating, because my headspace
in that moment might be the key
to understanding how to get through to a captain.
I wrote an email to some contacts I had at Paramount,
asking them why the episode was removed.
The thing that made this tricky was,
Paramount is currently airing a different series of mine,
a scripted drama that hadn't yet been renewed.
How I spoke to them could have career repercussions,
just like it did for co-pilots.
I remember wanting to convey how urgent this was for me.
And yet, my email was extremely cordial,
using phrases like "forever grateful" and "happy holidays."
The network confirmed in their response
that it was taken down intentionally
and gave me a one-word explanation as to why.
"Sensitivities."
How does that response make you feel?
Frustrated.
Right, yeah. I think I felt that way too.
Okay, now type my reply.
I was frustrated, but my reply, again,
didn't communicate my level of concern.
I used three friendly exclamation points
in just two sentences.
What was I so worried about?
I think you didn't want to be too pushy.
Which was strange
because I remembered my emails being very pushy.
But I'll never forget exactly where I was
when I finally learned the truth.
What I discovered was so shocking
a tornado of emotions began spinning inside my body.
The email said in late 2023,
a decision was made by Paramount Plus Germany
to remove the episode in their region
after they became uncomfortable with what they called,
"Anything that touches on antisemitism
in the aftermath of the Israel-Hamas attacks."
But it didn't stop there.
This act by Germany triggered the attention
of other European Paramount branches,
and they in turn pulled the episode too.
Before long, the ideology of Paramount Plus Germany
had spread to the entire globe,
eliminating all Jewish content that made them uncomfortable.
This is real, by the way.
Currently, on the Paramount app, there are 50 results for "Nazi,"
ten for "Hitler," and zero for "Judaism."
We've been erased.
I wanted to urge Paramount to reconsider their decision.
But what could I say that wouldn't annoy them?
That's what I was worried about.
That's what I was thinking about in the shower that day.
I remember now.
Why did I expect them to get the hint
when I didn't even say what I really felt?
Here you go.
But if the right girl came along,
- I would definitely wife her up. - Yeah.
If she was okay with non-monogamy.
Okay. Yeah.
But unlike me, who stopped communicating altogether,
Mara'D kept engaging with her captain.
Lots of beautiful Latina women there.
- Right on. - Right.
I need to brush up on my español a little bit.
- Yeah. - That's cool.
Yeah, I mean, I downloaded that Duolingo app.
- Yeah. - Yeah, I've been practicing.
- Right on. - Acting interested
in his perspective, whether she agreed with it or not.
Gotta impress all these girls all the time.
- Wining and dining 'em, you know? - Poor thing. You want kids someday?
- One day, yeah. - You gonna keep them alive?
I'll try. Well, I'm gonna hire a nanny.
And when she eventually did shut him down,
it felt like there was no tension at all.
I'm aiming to retire at 60.
Financially, I can retire at 60 right now.
How many years you got left, if you don't mind me asking?
Not enough. I don't… Or too many. I don't know, depends on the day.
- I'm not gonna try to guess. - I'm not gonna answer.
- You're not gonna answer? Okay. - No, we're not answering that.
I couldn't tell if this was a strategy
or what I was even looking at.
But maybe there was more I could try
with my captain to get my point heard.
I didn't know what the Paramount Plus Germany offices looked like,
so I sort of had to take a guess.
I tried to make the environment feel hostile to me,
as a reminder to not go soft on them like I did in my emails.
Mr. Fielder, it's a pleasure.
- Hi, nice to meet you. - Yeah.
So what brings you all this way to our humble offices?
How rude of me.
Fritz, will you bring our guest some tea?
Hospitality is what separates us from the animals.
- Don't you agree? - Sure.
I guess I'll just get right to it.
You guys removed an episode of a TV show I made
called Nathan For You,
and I was told the reason was sensitivities
related to antisemitism.
That's right. It's something we take seriously.
In Germany today, we have no tolerance
for any images that may evoke hate
or incite violence towards any group of people. You know?
But, look, I know you guys are…
You know, probably feel a lot of shame
about what you did in the past,
and now you're trying to overcompensate
by being the world leaders in fighting antisemitism.
But when it comes to art, I think you have to know your place.
And you have to let us Jews express ourselves,
because honestly,
the way you're approaching this whole thing, it…
You know, people might get the wrong idea
about what you actually stand for.
I'm on your side,
believe it or not, we're on the same side.
You take sugar?
Sure.
Okay, let's start over. Let's do it again.
Let's do another one.
- Want me to go out there, or… - Yeah, you can start outside.
But as I began rehearsing, something felt off.
Mr. Fielder. It's a pleasure.
The actors were very good,
but I felt they were being constrained
by the direction I had given them.
Fritz, will you bring our guest some tea, please?
Hospitality is what separates us from the animals.
Don't you agree?
Try something else. Just…
So, I encouraged them to speak more freely,
whatever came to their mind.
Well, tell me this. Is there…
Did you get any complaints about the episode?
If we did have complaints, would you be open to hearing them?
I mean, that's the reason I'm here, is to understand your perspective.
Yeah? I have a hard time believing that.
Why? I'm here. I'm asking you questions.
You designed this office to look like a war room.
Dressed me to look like a Nazi.
- I mean… - Pretending to want feedback,
but you don't actually want to get the Paramount Plus perspective
or the German perspective.
Look at you, pretending to be serious.
This is not sincere.
You're just a man with a grudge
using his television show to smear us…
instead of trying to understand us.
I've always felt that sincerity is overrated.
It just ends up punishing those
who can't perform it as well as others.
Joe S, 7.02!
Michael S, 7.17!
8.03!
- Wow. - 7.25!
9.07!
Some people are born great performers.
They have the talent to effortlessly convince others
they're more than just a number.
But for the rest of us, no matter how sincere we are inside…
Hi.
- How are you? - I'm good.
…it'll always be a struggle.
Beautiful dreamer
Awake unto me
Thank you so much for sharing that, Sophia.
Thank you.
Can I ask how old you are?
- I'm 15. - You're 15.
What do you want to do with your life, Sophia?
- What do I want to do? - Yeah.
Well, I wanna go on a stage and, like, sing my own songs.
Like, I'm a songwriter and I love singing.
Okay. So, I need to tell you that I can't put you through
to the next round because you're not quite
at the level we're looking for, okay?
But can I tell you why I think you're going to succeed?
Why?
There are millions of people in this country
that are your age that want to be singers, okay?
And I'm sure a lot of them saw the same ad that you did
to come out and audition today.
But you actually got out of bed this morning.
You drove here, you waited in line,
and you stood in front of me right now
knowing that there was a chance that you might fail, right?
Yeah, right.
I've been in this industry for a long time and…
the number one thing that shows me that someone's gonna succeed
is if they're willing to take that risk,
to put themselves out there and to give it a shot,
even though it might not go their way.
And you have that ability, Sophia.
And it's very rare and it's very special.
- Okay? - Okay.
And all the other singers
that are still in bed right now, they don't.
- Okay? - Okay.
How do you feel right now?
Well, I'm a little disappointed.
You're talented and you have a nice voice,
but you're not at the level that we need right now
for this competition. But you're so young,
you have lots of life ahead of you, okay?
- Okay. - So, just remember that.
Keep going. Don't give up, okay?
- Thank you. - Okay.
- Okay, good luck out there. - Thank you.