The O'Reilly Update, September 24, 2025

Summary

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Podcast Summary: Bill O'Reilly's No Spin News and Analysis

Episode: The O'Reilly Update, September 24, 2025

Host: Bill O’Reilly
Guest Newscaster: Mike Slater
Air Date: September 24, 2025

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Overview

This episode of the O'Reilly Update offers a rapid-fire recap of significant national news, commentary on free speech in media, and a brief historical reflection on the legacy and current challenges of the TV program 60 Minutes. Bill O'Reilly addresses hot-button topics such as President Trump’s speech at the UN, threats to communications infrastructure, issues of censorship in television, and the enduring debate over freedom of speech. Listener mail further grounds the episode in current conservative anxieties about media bias and political partisanship.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. National News Rundown

(00:09–03:06, Mike Slater)

• Trump’s UN Speech

  • President Trump returns to the United Nations after five years, questioning its effectiveness:

    “All they seem to do is write really strongly worded letters and then never follow that letter up. It's empty words, and empty words don't solve war.” (Mike Slater, 00:30)

  • Trump criticizes UN for “funding an assault on Western countries and their borders.”
  • Trump targets green energy policies:

    “If you don't get away from the green energy scam, your country is going to fail.” (Mike Slater, paraphrasing Trump, 00:47)

  • Warns about unchecked immigration and defends Christianity as the world’s “most persecuted religion.”

• Assassination Attempt Verdict

  • Second man in Trump golf course assassination plot found guilty; attempted self-harm in court.
  • Emotional courtroom exchange with daughter shouting:

    “Dad, I love you! Don’t do anything… This is not fair. This is all rigged!” (Mike Slater, 01:28)

• Secret Service Discovery

  • Secret Service uncovers illicit network designed to potentially cripple NYC’s communications—over 300 SIM servers and 100K SIM cards found.
  • Official statement: Network could have disabled EMS and police communications.

• Baseball Automation Update

  • Automated balls-and-strikes system coming to Major League Baseball in 2026. Human umpires will remain, teams can now challenge two calls per game.

2. Media Commentary—Freedom of Speech & Censorship in Entertainment

(03:36–07:17, Bill O’Reilly)

• Jimmy Kimmel and Disney

  • O’Reilly’s skepticism on recent Disney–Jimmy Kimmel controversy:

    “To me, this is not a big deal… I’m in the Sergeant Schultz mode on Disney. I know nothing, but not quite.” (Bill O'Reilly, 03:38)

  • Criticizes Kimmel and Disney for alleged lack of ideological diversity:

    “The record shows Jimmy Kimmel will not book non-liberal guests. That's not freedom of speech, Jim.” (Bill O’Reilly, 03:57)

  • Offers similar critique of The View and other Disney shows:

    “The showbiz cabal has completely shut down conservative traditional points of view on television. That is the real censorship. Violation of freedom of speech.” (Bill O'Reilly, 04:16)

• Entertainer Support & “Victimhood”

  • Points out that 400+ entertainment figures, including Selena Gomez, signed an ACLU letter in support of Kimmel.
  • Asserts Kimmel is not a victim, but nor does he deserve a lifetime ban; suggests community service.

• Geopolitical Perspective

  • Satirical warning:

    “Putin and Xi are laughing at us. More weakness from the good old USA. Freedom of speech? Hello, Siberia. Jimmy Kimmel wouldn't like it there.” (Bill O’Reilly, 05:08)

3. Listener Mail

(05:40–07:17, Bill O’Reilly)

• Trump at Charlie Kirk Memorial

  • Multiple letters debate whether President Trump’s remarks at Charlie Kirk’s memorial became too much of a political rally.
  • O’Reilly’s take:

    “There are a lot of Trump supporters who watch the No Spin News… but I don't think you could generalize across the board.” (Bill O’Reilly, 06:30)

  • Believes Turning Point USA paid for the service, but not confirmed.

• Book Promotion

  • O’Reilly encourages fans to order signed copies of his new book Confronting Evil due to rising demand.

4. Historical Feature: The Legacy and Decline of 60 Minutes

(08:06–10:37, Bill O’Reilly & archival Mike Wallace)

• Debut of 60 Minutes (1968)

  • Overview of the show's innovative magazine format.
  • Clip from Mike Wallace:

    “It has the flexibility and diversity of a magazine adapted to broadcast journalism… If this broadcast does what we hope…it will report reality.” (Mike Wallace, 08:42)

• Heyday and Influence

  • 60 Minutes covered key historic moments (Vietnam, Watergate, etc.).
  • Audience peaked at ~15 million weekly viewers through the early 2000s.

• Modern Criticism & Ratings Decline

  • 2020: Host Leslie Stahl criticized for dismissing the Hunter Biden laptop story.
  • 2025: CBS pays Trump $16M to settle a lawsuit over deceptive interview editing.
  • Result:

    “Ratings for 60 Minutes have dropped 50% from its high point.” (Bill O’Reilly, 10:33)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the UN and Global Affairs:
  • “The UN is supposed to stop invasions, not create them and not finance them.” — Mike Slater (reporting Trump’s speech), 00:39
• On Domestic Censorship:
  • “The showbiz cabal has completely shut down conservative traditional points of view on television. That is the real censorship. Violation of freedom of speech.” — Bill O’Reilly, 04:16
• On American Media Trends:
  • “Today, 60 Minutes has fallen on rather hard times... Ratings for 60 Minutes have dropped 50% from its high point.” — Bill O’Reilly, 10:33

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:09 – 03:06 | News Recap with Mike Slater (Trump at UN, Assassination Trial, SIM Card Network, MLB automation)
• 03:36 – 07:17 | O’Reilly’s Message of the Day (Jimmy Kimmel/Disney, Censorship, Listener Mail)
• 08:06 – 10:37 | ’Something You Might Not Know’ (History and Decline of 60 Minutes)
• Select Quotes:
  • Trump at the UN (00:30–01:00)
  • Slater’s description of the assassination trial drama (01:28)
  • O’Reilly on Disney and censorship (04:16)
  • 60 Minutes archival intro (08:42)

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Tone and Style

• Direct & Blunt: Hosts employ concise, unapologetic language: “Just facts. No spin.”
• Cynical Humor: O'Reilly deploys sarcasm (“Hello, Siberia”) and plays up cultural divides.
• Populist/Conservative: Continuous critique of mainstream media and perceived liberal dominance.

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For New Listeners

This episode provides a fast-paced, commentary-driven look at major news events, the state of free speech in American media, and the evolving credibility of once-revered broadcast journalism. Bill O’Reilly’s tone is assertive, skeptical, and openly conservative—appealing directly to a base concerned with censorship and media bias. The structured segments make it easy to catch up on both headline news and deeper political-cultural analysis.

Transcript

[Bill O'Reilly]

Foreign Bill O'Reilly here. You are listening to the O'Reilly Update. Coming up next, the news with Mike Slater.

[Mike Slater]

Thank you, Bill. It is Wednesday, September 24, 2025. Here's what's happening today in America. Trump at the U.N. trump's would be assassin found guilty. Secret Service discovery and the robots get called up. It's all coming up. Then Bill's gonna be here with your message of the day. But first, the president spoke to the UN for the first time in five years, as has been the case since the first day, the UN Brazil speaks first, then America speaks. Trump said, what is the purpose of the United Nations? The UN has such tremendous potential. All they seem to do is write really strongly worded letters and then never follow that letter up. It's empty words, and empty words don't solve war. He later said the United nations is funding an assault on Western countries in their borders. The UN Is supposed to stop invasions, not create them and not finance them. He said China and India are the primary funders of the ongoing war in Ukraine by continuing to purchase Russian oil. But inexcusably, even NATO countries have not cut off much Russian energy. He then said, I'm telling you that if you don't get away from the green energy scam, your country is going to fail. If you don't stop people that you've never seen before that you have nothing in common with from coming into your country and your country is going to fail. He said, together let us defend free speech and free expression. Let us protect religious liberty, including for the most persecuted religion on the planet today. It's called Christianity. The second man who tried to assassinate President Trump at his golf course was found guilty on all five counts he faced. After the verdict, he tried to stab himself in the neck with a pen. I did not know this, but I guess some pens in all courtrooms or some courtrooms, this pen at least was specifically designed to not be able to injure someone, so just left a couple marks on his neck. His daughter then yelled, dad, I love you. Don't do anything. I will get you out. He she screamed, he didn't hurt anybody. This is not fair. This is all rigged. You guys are blank holes. She ran out of the courtroom. U.S. secret Service discovered and dismantled a network of electronic devices at multiple locations around New York City that could have been used to disable the City's cell phone network. Five locations within 35 miles of new York. Secret Service agents discovered more than 300 SIM servers and 100,000 SIM cards. These devices allowed anonymous encrypted communications and we're told potentially the ability to disable cell phone towers. One official said that it even had the ability to disable EMS and police communications. The automated ball strike system getting called up to Major League Baseball in 2026. Humans are still going to call the balls and strikes, but teams will be able to challenge two calls per game and the team will retain the challenge if successful. I'm Mike Slater. I have a podcast called Politics by Faith. The great Bill O'Reilly who always gets the balls and strikes right with your message of the day. Next.

[Caitlin Becker]

No newspaper is more iconic than the New York Post. So why not start your day with me telling you our best stories? I'm Caitlin Becker, host of the New York Post Cast. Every weekday morning, I'll break down the headlines that matter to you and the stories you're going to want to talk to your friends about. It's a mix of politics, business, pop culture, basically everything you expect from the New York Post. Ask your smart speaker to play the NYPD cast podcast, listen and subscribe on Amazon Music, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Bill O'Reilly]

Time now for the O'Reilly update message of the day on his Wednesday. Well, that was quick. Jimmy K. Back and the Disney Corporation is, well, confused. To me, this is not a big deal. I don't know if Mr. Kimball defied Disney about the daily Trump hatred he displays or the mouse folks cheer them on. I don't know. So I'm in the Sergeant Schultz mode on Disney. I know nothing, but not quite. The record shows Jimmy Kimmel will not book non liberal guests. That's not freedom of speech, Jim. Also, Disney allows the View to do the exact same thing. Kelly rip a morning program identical. I wonder if conservatives can even buy a ticket to the Disney theme parks these days. The showbiz cabal has completely shut down conservative traditional points of view on television. That is the real censorship. Violation of freedom of speech. Again, this is wrong. Somebody tells Selena Gomez, who signed an ACLU letter supporting Jimmy K. So did 399 other entertainment people. No mention of the conservative boycott. Jimmy Kimmel is not a victim, but he doesn't deserve banishment forever. His comments after the Charlie Kirk assassination were dumb. Maybe some community service for Jim. Putin and XI are laughing at us. More weakness from the good old usa. Freedom of speech. Hello, Siberia. Jimmy Kimmel wouldn't like it there. I'm Bill O'Reilly. I approve the message by writing it. You can reach me bill o'reilly.com [e-mail] name in town if you wish to opine now, let's go to the mail. Judith. I agree with Leland Vitter. President Trump said good things in regards to Charlie Kirk, but he became some of it a rally in the middle of the presentation. All right. We got two to one letters saying that there was too much rally, just so you know. And there are a lot of Trump supporters who watch the noseman news. Dave Popham, Ashton, Maryland. Do you know who paid for Mr. Kirk's memorial service? As someone who voted for Donald Trump three times, I felt the service was more of a GOP rally than it should have been. And that's a prevailing wisdom. I think the Turning Point USA Group paid for the memorial service. I don't have that confirmed 100%. Diana Fringouli, Rochester, Massachusetts. I disagree with you. Guess that said people were leaving the stadium because of what Trump was saying. People knew Trump was the last speaker. They were leaving to get a jump on the crowd. Some of them were, but some of them didn't want a political rally. But I don't think you could generalize across the board. I think that's a fair statement, Diane. Michael Wilson, Marshall, Illinois. I got my signed copy Confronting Evil halfway through it. Anything pertaining to or related to the Civil War gets my immediate attention. I've studied all of your books, O'Reilly, but this is my first signed copy. And I'm so glad you did that, Michael. If you want signed copies of Confronting Evil, you got to get those orders in now. This hand is going to collapse.

[Mike Wallace]

All right.

[Bill O'Reilly]

And this is for holidays or for now or for your personal library. You want them signed, get the orders in. Just go to billow riley.com because the backlog is thousands. So we gotta got to do it methodically In a moment. Something you might not know.

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[Caitlin Becker]

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[Bill O'Reilly]

Now the O'Reilly update brings you something you might not know. 57 years ago today, CBS aired the first episode of a groundbreaking news program. The show introduced a magazine format to television featuring multiple segments and compelling stories. 60 Minutes had arrived. Here is the story. The concept was pioneered by producer Don Hewitt and journalist Bill Leonard. The show, hosted by Mike Wallace and Harry Reasoner, debuted on September 24, 1968.

[Mike Wallace]

Good evening. This is 60 Minutes. It's a kind of a magazine for television, which means it has the flexibility and diversity of a magazine adapted to broadcast journalism. And if this broadcast does what we hope it will do, it will report reality. But we do think this is sort of a new approach. We realize, of course, that new approaches are not always instantly accepted. We'll see. I'm Mike Wallace.

[Bill O'Reilly]

The initial ratings for 60 Minutes were modest. However, the program gradually gained popularity after moving his Sunday evenings scheduled shift alongside the Watergate scandal propelled 60 to significant success. For the next five decades, 60 Minutes, one of the most important broadcasts in America. A rotating group of hosts covered the Vietnam War, Nixon resignation, Iranian revolution, on and on and on and on. Until the early 2000s, the program was watched by 15 million Americans every Sunday. And here's something else you might not know. Today, 60 Minutes has fallen on rather hard times. The program received widespread criticism in 2020 after host Leslie Stahl dismissed the Hunter Biden laptop story as an unverified hoax. Earlier this year, CBS paid Donald Trump $16 million to settle a lawsuit accusing 60 Minutes of deceptively editing an interview with Kamala Harris. The Result? Ratings for 60 Minutes have dropped 50% from its high point back after this.

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[Bill O'Reilly]

See mintmobile.com thank you for listening to the O'Reilly Update. I am Bill O'Reilly. For more news and honest analysis, please go to billoreilly.com no spin, just facts. And always looking out for you.

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