I admit that I like Da Ali G Show when he takes on really well known people like Noam Chomsky, Steve Nash, Kent Hovind, and Newt Gingrich. It's different when he does it to people who aren't as well known, haven't done as many interviews, or can't really adapt to his style. Those just make me uncomfortable.

I'm glad that Harris dodged the bullet.

I'm not sure, but this may have happened before YouTube was invented.

Hey guys,
Here's the explanation :)

Yes, this sermon was obviously delivered recently, but he is telling a story from several years ago (when he was still on the conference circuit, before he was senior pastor at Sovereign Grace).

And back then, NOBODY knew about the Ali G show. That's why it worked. It started in the UK. They interviewed unsuspecting people until the well ran dry...meaning the show became so well known in the UK until it wouldn't work anymore. So he came here and filmed a bunch of interviews (for HBO, right?)

Here's how I figure it worked. They probably did a whole lot of interviews before ANY of them aired. That way the secret was safe and the hoax would work. Then after they had a bunch of interviews in the can, THEN they were aired.

I figure that they got to Josh Harris before the HBO specials aired, so not he or anyone else knew who Ali G really was.

I think that the Ali G show is probably over. In fact, Baron Cohen's career may be fine, but his days of fake interviews are over. He's too well known now.

But at the time that this happened to Harris, no one knew about Ali G or Borat or the hoax. So I believe him. His story sounds perfectly plausible to me.

And I totally understand how it would have gotten that far, in a time when no one in the States, including Josh Harris had ever heard of "Da Ali G" show.