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Making Masculinity Great Again with Dan Bongino - The Charlie Kirk Show | Wave AI Podcast Notes

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Making Masculinity Great Again with Dan Bongino

The Charlie Kirk Show

Fri Jul 23 2021

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Charlie Kirk Show — "Making Masculinity Great Again" with Dan Bongino

Host: Charlie Kirk
Guest: Dan Bongino
Date: July 23, 2021

Episode Overview

In this lively and candid episode, Charlie Kirk hosts Dan Bongino—conservative commentator, former Secret Service agent, and radio host—at the Turning Point USA Student Action Summit. The two discuss the current state of masculinity in America, the war on men, fitness and health routines, parenting challenges, and cultural shifts shaping modern manhood. Bongino shares personal stories from his work in law enforcement, media, and his battle with cancer, all while offering an unapologetically masculine—and deeply personal—perspective on what America needs to reclaim.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Dan Bongino’s Fitness & Health Philosophy

Efficient, Intense Workouts
- Bongino dismisses long, slow gym sessions for “wussbags,” emphasizing short (30 minutes or less), high-intensity, heavy lifting:
  
  “If you're doing it more than 30 minutes, you're not doing it hard enough.” (02:08, Dan Bongino)
- Key lifts: deadlifts, squats, weighted pull-ups, bench press, and overhead pressing.
- Tongue-in-cheek, he ridicules “waist-up” routines that neglect legs:
  
  “What do you do for legs? I bench. It's not a real workout.” (02:47, Dan Bongino)
Coping with Injury & Health Setbacks
- Bongino details a back injury and subsequent procedures, describing how kettlebell training helped rebuild his strength and spine health:
  
  “Kettlebells ... almost create a splint for your spine.” (04:44, Dan Bongino)
Sleep, Diet, and Recovery
- After dealing with “chemo brain” and sleep issues during his cancer recovery, Bongino found better rest by adjusting his meal timing and tracking sleep with an Oura Ring:
  
  “I figured out if I eat by 5:30 now my sleep is good and I'm feeling good now.” (08:13, Dan Bongino)
- On the importance of sleep vs. looks:
  
  “Would you rather have massive biceps or sleep well at night?”
  “Sleep well, man.” (08:21, Charlie Kirk & Dan Bongino)
Workout Techniques & Crossfit
- Bongino respects CrossFit but considers it tough on those with arthritis; shares stories of grueling complexes and battle wounds:
  
  “The problem with CrossFit for me is I have really severe arthritis ... My hands were bleeding so bad from the blisters on the bar.” (10:36, Dan Bongino)

2. On Jiu Jitsu, Fighting, and Grit

Bongino is a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu practitioner; explains how fighting teaches humility:

“Truth comes to people in a lot of ways, but it comes really fast to you in the ring.” (12:15, Dan Bongino quoting Teddy Atlas)
Emphasizes that even “icons” can reach a breaking point; tells the story of being unable to choke out a friend in sparring, underscoring toughness:

“Everybody eventually quits ... it's not who quits. Everybody has a breaking point.” (12:47, Dan Bongino)

3. Masculinity in Crisis: The “War on Men”

Roots of the Cultural Shift
- Bongino points to early childhood indoctrination and the marginalization of roughhousing, fatherhood, and male role models in schools as root causes.
- Echoes Andrew Breitbart:
  
  “Politics is downstream of culture ... The political war is useless if we don't fight the culture. It's obvious. We've failed in the culture.” (16:10, Dan Bongino)
Consequences and Solutions
- The erosion of traditional masculinity, especially the role of fathers and positive male behaviors, has negative societal effects:
  
  “The war on men is probably the single most destructive thing out there, along with the idea that kids don't need fathers.” (16:24, Dan Bongino)
- Recommends retraining the entire culture—starting in schools—toward patriotism, manliness, and the “sheepdog mentality” (protectors who stand between evil and the innocent):
  
  “You’re not going to get sheepdogs teaching kids in third grade that roughhousing is bad… I mean, I played guns growing up. I promise you I haven't killed anyone…” (17:44, Dan Bongino)

4. Culture, Parenting, and Risk

Changing Attitudes Toward Childhood Freedom
- Both discuss how past generations allowed more freedom—and risk—for children, compared to today’s hyper-cautious, “helicopter parent” culture:
  
  “We all knew we grew up in a different generation where you learned to grow up fast… I mean, honestly, Charlie, I'm guilty of it too. I got two kids and… you want to protect them from everything.” (22:36, Dan Bongino)
Role of Media and Technology
- Bongino attributes increased parental paranoia to social media and the proliferation of alarming video content:
  
  “I think it was the advent of video platforms, phone cameras, and social media… These kids are getting kidnapped. The hard reality is, the chances of your kid getting kidnapped are like … one in a million. But we see it and we think it's real because it's in front of us.” (24:14, Dan Bongino)
Law Enforcement & the “Paranoia” of Protection
- As a former Secret Service agent, Bongino candidly admits his own struggles balancing protection with freedom for his children:
  
  “I'm terrified about my daughter. Even in my… super safe neighborhood… But I haven't found the balance. I'd love to tell you… but I haven't.” (24:19, Dan Bongino)

5. On Media, Influence & Responsibility

Bongino describes being more stressed by his current media presence and responsibility to millions of listeners than his Secret Service days:

“What we're doing now [media] … stresses me out more because I feel a responsibility, man ... we're probably talking to seriously 10 million people.” (26:41, Dan Bongino)
He calls this work a bigger ongoing challenge—cognizant of both its potential for influence and the cultural stakes.

6. Memorable Quotes & Notable Moments

| Timestamp | Speaker | Quote | |:-----------:|:---------------|:---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 02:08 | Dan Bongino | “If you're doing it more than 30 minutes, you're not doing it hard enough.” | | 08:21 | Dan Bongino | “Would you rather have massive biceps or sleep well at night?” — “Sleep well, man.” | | 12:15 | Dan Bongino | “Truth comes to people in a lot of ways, but it comes really fast to you in the ring.” (quoting Teddy Atlas) | | 16:24 | Dan Bongino | “The war on men is probably the single most destructive thing out there…” | | 17:44 | Dan Bongino | “You’re not going to get sheepdogs teaching kids … that roughhousing is bad ... I played guns growing up. … That’s what we did.” | | 22:36 | Dan Bongino | “We all knew we grew up in a different generation where you learned to grow up fast… I’m guilty of it too...” | | 24:14 | Dan Bongino | “I think it was the advent of video platforms, phone cameras, and social media…” | | 26:41 | Dan Bongino | “What we're doing now … stresses me out more, because I feel a responsibility, man… we're probably talking to 10 million people.” |

Notable Segments by Timestamp

Workout Philosophy & Deadlift Advocacy: 02:04–03:13
Fake Weights and Lifting Culture: 03:13–04:21
Overcoming Injury & Kettlebells: 04:22–04:53
Back-and-Forth About Tattoos & Gym Culture: 04:54–06:13
Cancer, Health, and Sleep Monitoring: 06:32–08:21
CrossFit, Bear Complex & Battle Scars: 10:26–11:33
Lessons from Jiu Jitsu & Grit: 11:39–14:59
Defining and Reviving Masculinity & “War on Men”: 15:40–19:20
Childhood Freedom vs. Modern Parental Anxiety: 22:29–25:45
Responsibility in Media vs. Secret Service: 25:45–26:48
Dog Crap Training Mention: 26:58–27:07

Tone and Style

Throughout, both Kirk and Bongino maintain a playful yet passionate tone—frequently joking, using self-deprecating humor, and sharing personal anecdotes to illustrate deeper philosophical and cultural points. Bongino particularly weaves together personal vulnerability (illness, parenting anxieties) with bold, unapologetic advocacy for traditional masculinity, physical toughness, and American cultural renewal.

Conclusion

For those interested in the intersection of fitness, culture, and the modern challenges facing men, this conversation offers an unfiltered, energetic, and personal look at why Dan Bongino and Charlie Kirk believe masculinity matters more than ever—and what can be done to make it “great again.”

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Transcript

Charlie Kirk (0:00)

Charlie, what you've done is incredible here.

Dan Bongino (0:01)

Maybe Charlie Kirk is on the college campus. I want you to know we are

Charlie Kirk (0:04)

lucky to have Charlie Kirk.

Dan Bongino (0:07)

Charlie Kirk's running the White House, folks. I want to thank Charlie. He's an incredible guy, his spirit, his love of this country. He's done an amazing job building one of the most powerful youth organizations ever created, Turning Point usa.

Charlie Kirk (0:20)

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Dan Bongino (2:04)

Yeah, that's fun.

Charlie Kirk (2:04)

So tell us your workout regimen.

Dan Bongino (2:06)

Well, listen, here's the thing. There's this common misconception with lifting, like you gotta do it for a really long time. That's for wussbags. Don't do that. That's like a mess. Don't you have to lift really hard, super intense and short. If you're doing it more than 30 minutes, here's the thing, you're not doing it hard enough because if you're doing it the right way, like high intensity stuff, you shouldn't be able to do it more than 30 minutes. And no chump stuff. Okay. If you're gonna lift. No, no, not you. You give me like the, See, that you have to do. You have to do the heavy stuff. Especially you young guys like you. You got a deadlift. You got a squat weighted pull ups, bench press, overhead pressing. Yeah. No, no, you have to do legs. You can't do like the New York Queens workout, what I grew up with, you know, the New York Queens workout.

Dan Bongino (16:17)

i met him one time at an early CPAC when it was still at the Marriott Wardman. He was with Ted Cruz. Remember that? The old days. And he used to say the politics was downstream of culture. The political war is useless if we don't fight the culture. It's obvious. Let's just get through that. We've failed in the culture we have. The war on men is probably the single most destructive thing out there, along with the entire idea that, you know, that kids don't need fathers. I mean, I've been a. I grew up in a divorced family. It's not a sob story. Whatever. My wife and I were talking about it last week. Cause something happened with my mom. But dads are different. They roughhouse their kids. Kids learn that they can be physical without being violent. There are things fathers do. And this war on men and teaching kids that, you know, roughhousing is bad. Like what we remember, we Were kids, they call it, what do they call horseplay or something? Oh, you know, don't do that anymore. You know, that's like whatever. Male white supremacy, male dominance, you know, the male white male patriarchy. Knowledge is a construct of power. Critical race theory, bs. It's gonna take a long time to from, I mean, rip it out from the roots and start from scratch. And you know, where does it start? Because you need action plans. You can't just talk a bunch of smack. It starts in the schools of education. Who's donating their college? You donate in your college. I always ask people why, why are you donating your college? I went to Penn State. I don't give him a dime. I love Penn State. I went to the business school. When Penn State hires a bunch of conservatives, I'll donate. And once we start retraining the entire culture from the start to re. Embrace this country. Patriotism, manliness and the good thing of man. The good things about manliness. And we re embrace the sheepdog mentality like Dave Grossman writes the sheepdog mentality. So Dave Grossman wrote this book, he was an army officer called On Killing. The book is literally about killing and what actual killing in war is like. It's an amazing book. It was a bestseller. It's a eye opening book. You read it, you'll never look at the. It should be mandatory reading for law enforcement everywhere. And in the book he talks about there are wolves in society. Genuinely evil people, right? And then there were sheep. People who are just going to be preyed on. They're just weak. It happens, unfortunately. You know, I, I wish it didn't, but it did. But he said in between the sheeps and the wolves are the sheepdogs and the sheepdogs are the men. Think of this war on men. They're the men. And even the women out there who are willing to put their butts on the line and you know, put a shield on their chest or they don't have to be a cop or in the military. You're the guy in a gas station when some woman's getting beaten up and robbed. You could walk away and you're like, not today. And I'm going to go knowing you could get stabbed. And those are the sheepdogs and we need more sheepdogs. But you're not going to get sheepdogs teaching kids in third grade that, you know, roughhousing horseplay and playing guns is, you know, is, is somehow going to turn them into serial murderers. I played guns growing up. I promise you I haven't killed anyone, nor do I have the desire to. Just for the record. I mean, I played guns. I had the Jaguar Matic, I remember was a cap gun. And, you know, bang, bang, we got. That's what we did growing up. I mean, we acted like boys. We put mattresses on skateboards and used to roll them down hills into traffic. And my mom was like, everyone okay? Like, it's all good. I mean, we used to take a Spongebob, a bat and a glove, leave at 9 o' clock in the morning, come back at like 10 at night. We'd eat Mr. Softy for lunch before. Yeah, and sometimes we didn't even do that. And my mom was like, whatevs. If you're all right, you're all right.

Charlie Kirk (19:27)

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