*By Chloe Aiello*
Television psychologist Phil McGraw, better known as Dr. Phil, praised his "best friend" and colleague in entertainment Oprah Winfrey in an almost-endorsement for a presidential run on Wednesday when he joined Cheddar to discuss his new podcast, "Phil in the Blanks."
"People know Oprah from the entertainment world, but this is a very well-educated, very well-read, very wise woman who has a very astute understanding of the geopolitical situation in the world," McGraw told Cheddar. "She has a very astute understanding of economics and the socio-political environment in America. She has a wealth of knowledge that I think surpasses a lot of people that have run for, or that have held that office."
Almost a year exactly has elapsed since the 2018 Golden Globes ceremony, when Winfrey became the first black woman to accept the Cecil B. DeMille Award for lifetime achievement. [Her viral acceptance speech](https://www.cnn.com/2018/01/08/entertainment/oprah-globes-speech-transcript/index.html) touched on freedom of the press, civil rights, and the #MeToo movement, and caused fans to wonder if she would consider a 2020 bid for president. Winfrey has since taken almost every opportunity to slap down rumors she will run.
McGraw did little to encourage holdouts hoping for Oprah 2020.
"You never say never, and you'd have to ask her where she stands on it today. But I am in pretty constant contact with her and I don't really think she has a plan to \[run\] right now," he said.
It's been roughly 20 years since McGraw's friendship with Oprah catapulted him to television fame. Since his daytime talk show, "Dr. Phil," debuted in 2002, McGraw has counseled, consoled, and scolded countless troubled guests. He wants to try something different with his new podcast, "Phil in the Blanks."
Unlike the show that made him famous, McGraw won't be using the podcast to solve problems. He said he'll be using it to have quality conversations with interesting people.
"When I'm on the air, I always have a task at hand: I've got a problem in front of me, I've got a family, I've got a couple, I've got an individual that's in crisis, and so I always have to be on-task," he said. "What I wanted to do with the podcast is not have a problem to solve, just have interesting people to talk to."
Compared to TV, McGraw said he appreciates the liberating aspects of podcasting ー the freedom of content, time, and form. "It's really a much more free-flowing kind of thing," he added.
McGraw said the roster will include some celebrities, but he'll try to hit them with questions they don't typically get.
"My first episode, which dropped yesterday, was Shaquille O'Neal," McGraw said. "And everybody knows he is one of the most iconic basketball players ever ーhe's been asked about that a million times. I don't want to talk about basketball, I want to talk about him."
In an effort to fight climate change several corporations have vowed to work to fight climate change by 2030. They say the goal is to reduce carbon emissions by 40% or even close to 100%. However, according to a new study, many of these companies are not actually practicing what they preach. Tom Egger, senior lecturer at Emeritus at the University of Wisconsin, joins Cheddar News to discuss more.
'Jeen-Yuhs: A Kanye Trilogy' dives into over 20 years of the icon himself, Kanye West. The trilogy is described as 'an intimate and revealing portrait of Kanye West's experience, showcasing both his formative days trying to break through and his life today as a global brand and artist.' Cheddar news sat down with directors of the documentary and long-time friends of Kanye, Chike Ozah and Clarence "Coodie" Simmons, to discuss the project.
The Super Bowl is only a few days away, and the game is currently tracking to be the most expensive one ever.
Gametime, a website and app for last-minute tickets, says the average ticket price for the NFL's championship game is $9,502.50, with the most expensive seats costing nearly $38,000. That's a far cry away from the average ticket price of the first-ever Super Bowl in 1967, which was only $12. The average ticket price increased by more than $8,000 in just the past decade. Matt Rados, Senior Operations Manager at Gametime, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
At-home medical labs company Getlabs raised $20 million in a Series A round, led by Emerson Collective and the Minderoo Foundation. Getlabs aims to be the boots-on-the-ground partner to telehealth. The company says more than 70% of medical decisions still require collecting diagnostic tests in person, and that it fills that void by delivering health care directly to their patients' homes. Founder & CEO of Getlabs Kyle Michelson joined Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
Sting has sold his catalog of more than 600 songs for $300 million to Universal Music. The deal gives the label the rights to all of his work, including “Every Breath You Take," as well as all future royalties.
Miller Lite is opening the first branded bar in the metaverse, by way of Decentraland, as a way to advertise during the Super Bowl this year without buying an expensive TV commercial slot. Sofia Colucci, global vice president of Miller Family of Brands, joined Cheddar to talk about the new marketing concept. "We have a lot of great partnerships with NFL teams throughout the year but were shut out of advertising during the Super Bowl game, so this pushes us to think creatively and also think of what feels really relevant right now," Colucci said. "There's no question that there's a lot of excitement with the metaverse, and we wanted to participate but in a way that felt right for Miller Lite."
Kalle Marsal, Chief Operating Officer at PetDx, joins Cheddar Innovates to discuss how next-generation sequencing technology is being used to detect cancer in pets early.
Ashleigh Hinde, Founder and CEO of WALDO, joins Cheddar Innovates to discuss why now is a good time to make eyecare a priority, and how they are democratizing access to eyecare for all.
