What We Learned Today
Episode 43: Celebs Dig Up Their Family SecretsOprah believes that there is no such thing as coincidences.
Oprah says that we are all connected.
Everyone comes from East Africa, despite what some Southerners may like to think.
Eva Longoria and Yo Yo Ma share a common ancestor.
Meryl Streep shares a common ancestor with director Mike Nichols, a man she’s worked with on four films.
Episode 42: Oprah’s Annual After-Oscar Party 2010
Sandra Bullock hopes that Louis Vuitton will make her a little something to carry her Oscar.
Mo’Nique and her husband and have their best conversations in the bathroom. He calls her Momma.
It is a little-known fact that Quentin Tarantino is immensely polite.
Cameron Diaz recommends red lipstick to take attention away from tired faces.
Carsson Kressley says that dressing fro the Oscars is like dressing for your wedding day; wear what you love.
Episode 41: Fridays Live with Diane Sawyer and Alicia Keyes
Diane Sawyer says she should be in rehab for her curiosity
Diane Sawyer doesn’t understand a world that lets doctors use vodka for anesthesia and cleaning wounds
At lunchtime, Diane Sawyer eats soup from home in a plastic cup.
Oprah says when shy people come on a talk show and don’t want to talk, its very irritating.
Oprah says that Alicia Keyes, of all people, has been able to hold on to that space inside herself and she does that so beautifully in this crazy world
Episode 40: 43 Hours Lost At Sea: The Sole Survivor of the NFL Boating Tragedy
One of the main symptoms of hypothermia is the hallucinations
Sufferers become very confused and could do something that may, in fact, cause their death.
Seasickness caused Nick Schuyler to put on his ski jacket, which probably saved his life.
Wear life jackets and tell people exactly where you are going when going out to sea.
Watching 3 of your friends die in your arms is incomprehensibly terrible.
Episode 39: Jessica Simpson is Ready to Go Public
Jessica Simpson says that the pressure that the media put on women to be thin and beautiful is so unfair, it’s disgusting.
Jessica says that no one else can define beauty but herself, no one’s words, compliments or love can define it, only what she has inside herself.
Oprah guarantees that this is the way the universe works; it always tests us in many ways to see if we really got the lesson.
Barbie is an impossible standard to uphold.
Minimum height requirements are not unusual for many jobs, and some college admissions in China, leading to the controversial leg-lengthening procedure.
Episode 38: Roger Ebert Speaks for the First Time
Roger Ebert is never going to eat or drink or talk again.
He will not have any more surgeries- his life is happy and productive,
No one looks perfect, we have to make peace with the way we look and get on with life.
Nelson Mandela said that Morgan Freeman would play him in a film, and now he has.
Tom Ford always looks pristine, according to Colin Firth.
Episode 37: Jerry Seinfeld: The Marriage Ref
Jerry Seinfeld believes that professional golf must be really, really boring.
Jerry Seinfeld says don’t be such a good accountant in relationships, don’t count everything.
Tom Papa says that marriage is a big sloppy mess.
There is a need for Blackberry etiquette- when someone is talking you cannot check your Blackberry.
Jerry Seinfeld says that Oprah is the only person who can do the No Phone Zone pledge, because it has to become a collective conscience thing.
Episode 36: Oprah’s Wowie-Kazowie Auction
Everything in your closet should promote joy, beauty and usefullness.
Oprah imagines herself as a lady who lunches and has bought accessories accordingly.
Jimmy Fallon finds good jokes funny. Also people falling over.
It is rumored that Vancouver 2010 Olympic souvenir wear will never go out of style.
The director of Precious thought the film would go straight to DVD.
Episode 35: Kirstie Alley: Inside Her Big, Big Life
Kirstie Alley has a new reality TV show that follows her daily weight loss journey.
Kirstie Alley swore on Oprah, twice, and was beeped out.
Jamie Foxx agrees to be Kirstie Alley’s booty call, with Oprah’s permission.
Kirstie Alley is also a speed-decorator.
Oprah says a skinless chicken wing is a pitiful thing.
Episode 34: Sex, Lies and Scandal
Oprah doesn’t normally watch other people’s TV shows.
Filming a naked sex tape while running for the US Presidency is stupid.
Having an affair while your wife publicly battles cancer and you run for President is not a good thing to do.
Even if your boss is like a father/ brother/ friend to you, claiming that his love child is your love child will not be easily understood by others.
Narcissism gone wild will always end in tears.
Episode 33: Amanda Knox’s Family Speak Out
In Italy jurors are not sequestered
Oprah says if you want to be tried, get tried in the USA.
The prosecutor in this case labored under an indictment for abuse of office during the entire pendency of Amanda’s case and was ultimately convicted.
There was no hair, no fiber, no footprint, no shoe print, no hand print, no palm print, no fingerprint, no saliva, no sweat, no cells, no blood, no DNA of Amanda Knox in the room where Meredith Kercher was found or on her body.
A tragedy in the family focuses on one person but everyone is equally impacted.
Episode 32: That’s Incredible!
If you appreciate yourself you’ll be appreciated in return. If you love yourself, you’ll be loved by others.
The biggest dog in the world is really big.
The tallest 16 year old in the world is really tall.
The fastest violin player in the world plays really fast.
Oprah narrates Life, the new series from the makers of Planet Earth.
Episode 31: Fridays Live with Shaun White
Oprah says that she has a big head.
It’s scarier to model fro Sports Illustrated than it is to speed down a mountain.
The Double McTwist 1260 has been Shaun White’s best friend and worst enemy for the last 2 years.
Shaun White wants to meet Obama, Oprah is sure it will happen.
Being jailed in Haiti is bad but not as bad as being out on the streets.
Episode 30: Miraculous Family Reunions
One of the greatest myths is that time heals all wounds.
Who loves you when you need them, that’s your family.
People don’t have peace until they find all the pieces.
Everyone is looking to know that they matter,
There is still time to move the unloved ones over to the loved ones list.
Episode 29: Serial Killer John Wayne Gacy’s Sister & Mass Murderer Jim Jones’ Son Speak Out
909 people died in Jonestown including almost 300 children in the biggest mass murder suicide in modern history, masterminded by Jim Jones.
Jim Jones Jr, the son of Jim Jones has forgiven his dad because they were trying to create a utopian ideal.
Jim Jones Jr has embraced his father’s legacy so that to his children, this particular history is just stories.
John Wayne Gacy, a seemingly functional member of society abducted, raped and murdered 33 yound men and boys.
Karen, sister of Gacy saw no warning signs in her brother, and has forgiven him, but not his crime.
Episode 28: Make-Unders: How’d You Get That Way?
Just like a food or drug addiction, a beauty addiction fills the void to make people feel better.
If you don’t know what a MILF is, then ask your children.
Make up should enhance your features not cover them up, which is aging.
A lot of women who lose weight go too far showing off their bodies.
Oprah says we love America, because there is room for everybody.
Episode 27: Raped By His Mother- A Victim Comes Forward
The stories behind the smiles are never revealed from childhood photos.
The innocence that every child deserves is taken by sexual abuse.
Kids don’t have the right words- so asking them if they have been molested is unhelpful as they don’t understand the concept.
Every child wants to fit in and be normal.
It is a choice, every abused child does not choose to become an abuser
Episode 26: Happy Valentine’s Day- Oprah Fridays LIVE
Oprah, Letterman and Leno were all in the same room to film their Superbowl advert, it was not a special effect.
Carrying the Olympic torch would turn anyone to jelly.
Drew Brees is comfortable in his own skin.
There’s only one Lionel Ritchie.
The no phone zone pledge as been modified to allow people to semi-pledge.
Episode 25: The High School Quarterback Who Became A Lesbian
Think how great you could be if you had the courage to live your own truth.
Like Glinda the Good Witch in the Wizard of Oz says; nothing is outside of us, it’s inside always, the answer is there.
Many transgender people wish that they acted on their gender-change earlier.
So many people who grew up in smaller communities grew up, married and did what society expected, and they are miserable.
When you shed your false exterior, the world and your perception of it changes. When you change, it changes.
Episode 24: Celine Dion’s Showstopping Surprise
Dried flowers can be turned into rosary beads by nuns in Quebec.
Celine Dion is there to serve the music with the message, with her voice given by God.
Celine Dion’s husband is called René and her son is called René-Charles.
Taking your child to school is a normal life for most people but for Celine it is extraordinary.
Some people learn to love and be loved through the music of Celine Dion.
Episode 23: Lisa Ling Goes Inside the Secret World of a Modern Geisha and a Real-Life Nunnery
Paid sex is never, and has never been, part of the geisha tradition.
God takes care of everything.
The beautiful part of chastity means that you love more not less.
The habit represents the wedding gown, and that you’re married to Christ.
Nuns and geishas are just like us: they use email too.
Episode 22: Oprah & A No Holds Barred Conversation With Child Molesters
90% of Child Molesters are people that you know- family friends, uncles, brothers, fathers, neighbors.
Child Molesters seek out and seduce vulnerable needy kids and gain their trust.
Trust is integral to the abuse.
Child molestation is about grooming and seducing a target. The targets are chosen, they are often needy and neglected.
Listen to your child’s cues and if you think something is going on and something seems weird, then it probably is.
Episode 21: Oprah Fridays Live
You learn most about yourself in the context of a relationship: stick with it, learn, don’t quit.
During the Grammys, Pink wanted all the famous people to get wet.
‘If you”ve ever been hungry, you’ll never be full’.
Set goals early, achieve them.
The Colts may well win the Superbowl on Sunday, but the Saints could too.
Episode 20: America’s Silent Killer: Oprah and Dr OZ Want To Save Your Life
People change their lives based on what they feel, not what they know.
If your waist size is more than half your height, you’ll have an increased risk of diabetes.
The cheapest calories are those with no nutrients- white bread is like a candy bar for your stomach.
It’s hard to tell people to eat right and it’s harder to get people to exercise. Exercise is not negociable.
Stop eating white foods, stop frying foods, do 30 minutes of exercise daily.
Episode 19: Stars of Reality TV: Fantasia’s Comeback and Ruby’s Revelations
Learn to say no, even to family, if they ask for more than you can give.
Fantasia works really, really hard.
Money doesn’t change you, it makes you grow.
When you say no and others don’t listen, then they are trying to control you.
You don’t get to be 716lb if you are not feeding a suppression.
Episode 18: The Children of Elizabeth Smart’s Kidnapper Speak Out
Each child in every family has a different experience within that family.
As adults we create our own realities and must be responsible for them.
We have to learn responsibility for our own mistakes and not blame our backgrounds for where we are going.
We all have levels of dysfunction in our families.
It is hard to form and nurture relationships when you are in survival mode every day.
Episode 17: Undercover Boss
If you go to meet your employees as the president of the company, you get treated as the president of the company.
As an undercover employee, you may uncover some of your own policies which shock you.
You may also discover that your employees work harder than you do, with much less reward.
America is the best country in the world, Americans just don’t know how blessed they are.
As the president of the company, you will be able to reveal who you are and give your employees some hefty financial rewards.
Episode 16: Happy Birthday Oprah! Fridays LIVE
When you have everything you ever could wish for, two puppies and a mission to make the world a safer place will suffice for birthday presents.
Up In The Air is a dramatic, comedic, brilliant film mirroring both our times and George Clooney
Texting while driving is still stupid, and Oprah is not afraid to get in the face of any offender.
Giving up using your phone is not unlike withdrawal from an addiction.
Hugh Jackman will have a glass of red wine in Oprah’s honor tonight.
Episode 15: Jay Leno: The Tonight Show Fiasco
Paradise is the ability to know you’re in it before you’re cast out of it
It is a TV show that got cancelled, and even Jay Leno is surprised that there has been so much attention paid to the matter.
Ultimately television is all about the ratings.
Jay Leno does not feel responsible for taking away Conan O’Brien’s dream
Maybe Leno is not a good guy, but he thinks he’s a good guy.
Episode 14: Before You Grocery Shop Again… Food 101, With Michael Pollan
Modern agriculture is about making things faster and bigger and fatter and cheaper, nobody is thinking about the ecological health of the whole system.
We can make up our own minds about these issues, because we live in America. Isn’t that wonderful?
Most of what is in the supermarket is not “food”, it is an edible food-like substance.
Consider being truly kind to yourself, letting yourself have your best health, look your best, feel your best and feel your most vital.
Vegan poop is effortless, quick and fabulous enough to consider sharing it with your friends.
Episode 13: Denise Richards and Mrs Ted Haggard: Surviving a Public Scandal
Despite denials, Charlie Sheen is most likely threatening and abusive.
Most people would agree that drugs, pornography and prostitutes are not appropriate for children.
If Gail Haggard’s husband had been unfaithful with women, there would have been different challenges, but the same principles of recovery.
To avoid all trust issues with oneself and others, stay in the pastor’s house rather than a hotel.
Therapy can work to reverse all homosexual impulses and feelings.
Episode 12: Rosie O’Donnell: Life After The Breakup and Her New Love
Menopausal hot-sweat discomfort for those with thick hair can be eased with the right haircut.
Fame corrupts. Fame is a toxic drug.
Family is forever, change is inevitable and you can always survive it, you can survive unexpected huge challenges
There is always something new in the future and you don’t know now what that might be, but it has the potential for tremendous joy, without the pain of the present.
Crying is not weak; it is brave, authentic and true.
Epidode 11: Sarah Palin and Her Daughter Bristol
Journalism should be about the who, what, where and why, from which the viewer can make their own judgements
Don’t close any doors which you may find open in the future
If you don’t want people to know what you ate for dinner last night, don’t announce it on the Oprah Winfrey Show
Oprah and Jeff Bridges are neighbors
An impairment is an impairment, be proactive not reactive
Episode 10: Life and Death Interventions
Our secrets will keep us sick
We need to be taught coping mechanisms
Addiction is a disease, not a choice
Do not be ashamed, you are not a bad person, ask for help if you need it
Take things day by day, minute by minute if need be
Episode 9: Help the Victims in Haiti
Wyclef Jean is the most famous person from Haiti, he has a mission from God to help the rest of the world care about Haiti as much as he does
Haiti today is apocalyptic, like the 7th hell
Wyclef Jean would like to manage the distribution of supplies from the airport to the people of Haiti; he will need a taskforce
This tragedy is worse than any other, because those who lived are dying from their injuries, which should be preventable deaths
Celebrities are helping as much as they can, there is a huge benefit on all channels on Friday night
Episode 8: Big Breaks with Adam Lambert and Susan Boyle
Don’t judge a book by it’s cover
If you dream hard enough, your dreams will come true
Dream big and your possibilities are endless
Live in the moment and learn to enjoy it there
When you’re finally alone, you really are alone
Episode 7: This Show Could Save Your Life: America’s New Deadly Obsession
Talking on the phone while driving is as unsafe as driving with 4 drinks in your system- you are 4 times more likely to have an accident
Texting is twice as dangerous as talking while driving- statistically you are 8 times more likely to have an accident
Distractive driving is responsible for six thousand deaths and half a million injuries per year
These numbers are not just statistics, they are mothers, fathers, husbands, wives, sons, daughters, sisters, brothers
These accidents are 100% preventable
Episode 6: Oprah Fridays Live
Every day since the earthquake in Haiti brings it’s own kind of horror
The heroes here are the people of Haiti
There is a fine line between cliché and archetype
Be provocative but true to your vision
Be good to your parents, be good to yourself, celebrate yourself
Episode 5: Nate Teams Up with the Millionaire Matchmaker
There is a three cat limit, beyond this a line has been crossed
The best-kept dating secret is the divorced man
When dating you are not Human Resources: stop interviewing
In grief, the date does not have the power, the memory has the power
In the kitchen, one can be creative and temporarily forget loss
Episode 4: Marriage Around The World
Everyone loves yoghurt, both Danes and Egyptians
Divorce is on the rise because men are no longer men and women are no longer women
The history of marriage is not what we believe it to be
Mail order brides can lead to lasting love
Arranged marriages are very popular and often successful
Episode 3: From 52, Feeling Frumpy to Fabulous! Look Great at Every Age Makeovers
There is always stylistic hope for you, even if you are sitting at home in sweats with your hair in a bun.
You need to identify your style. Think of three words to describe your personality and translate those words to your clothes
Every woman needs a jacket, a scarf, black boots and black leggings
Dress sexily but age-appropriately; neither too old nor too young
Never, ever let your hair go grey
Episode 2: A Family Stripped Down: Peter Walsh Moves In
The state of your stuff is a metaphor for your life, be it nasty car or messy bedroom
Our lives need to be “stripped down” of all our stuff so that we can re-connect with each other
You should always “Be where you are”
A clean house is a happy house
Communication begins with a conversation
Episode 1: Ultimate Betrayal: How She Discovered Her Dead Husband’s Mistresses
Hold onto your dignity, despite your betrayal
Believe people the first time they tell you who they are; a liar lies, a cheater cheats
If you see red flags, follow your instincts
Even if you have the loveliest of surroundings, don’t surrender your sense of self and your independence
Don’t expect sympathy if you are sitting in a gold BMW