The Juneteenth Miracle + The Fatherhood Manifesto + AMA 271

Summary

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The Charlie Kirk Show

Episode: The Juneteenth Miracle + The Fatherhood Manifesto + AMA 271
Date: June 19, 2026

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Overview

In this episode, the Charlie Kirk Show—hosted today by Blake with appearances from Daisy and Tyler—delves into the meaning and political implications of Juneteenth, celebrates the role of fathers through a poignant conversation with author Alex Berenson, and concludes with an open audience AMA (Ask Me Anything). The show navigates topics from American cultural identity and holidays to the crisis and resurgence of fatherhood, Arizona election law, and persevering as a Christian conservative amidst opposition, all viewed through an unapologetically conservative lens.

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Main Themes

1. Juneteenth and Its Political Role
   How the Juneteenth holiday fits into American culture and the broader battle over national identity and patriotism.
2. Fatherhood, Culture, and "The Fatherhood Manifesto"
   Author Alex Berenson's take on the crisis in fatherhood and actionable advice for dads today.
3. Ask Me Anything – Listener Participation
   A lively Q&A covering political developments, school board strategy, personal faith, workplace witness, and behind-the-scenes show details.

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Key Segments & Highlights

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1. Juneteenth and the Culture War

[01:17–19:58]

• The Origins of Juneteenth

• Blake opens by framing Juneteenth's rise from Texas regional celebration to federal holiday enacted post-2020 (corrected to 2021, see below).
• Quote:
  “Juneteenth, of course, was originally a regional holiday in Texas…[but] in 2020, they decided we needed a new National Independence Day.” – Blake [01:40]

• The Politics Behind Juneteenth

• Charlie Kirk (in replayed clips) argues the holiday was promoted not as unifying, but as a left-wing tool to “dilute pride in our country and patriotism.”
• Quote:
  “Do you know the actual name of the bill that became legislation into law? Juneteenth National Independence Day. So by law we now have two Independence Days…this is so significant in the timing. It's obviously a summertime competitor to July 4th.” – Charlie Kirk [03:42]
• Quote:
  “Juneteenth was made as a federal holiday, as an expression of dominance and political power… The purpose is actually to divide us.” – Charlie Kirk [05:02]

• Obama Library Event vs. Trump's America

• Review of the Obama Presidential Library opening: speeches by the Obamas, celebrities, and political leaders emphasize “land acknowledgement” and America's flaws.
  • Valerie Jarrett: “We honor the Anishinaabe… the Ojibwe, the Odawa, and the Potawatomi nations.”
  • Barack Obama: “The founders fell terribly short of the Declaration's promise, leaving slavery intact...” [08:17]
  • Michelle Obama: “These folks, these folks, folks aren't Americans too. They are America. They are the beating heart of this country.” [12:49]
• In contrast, President Trump celebrates American heroes:
  “As we approach the 250th anniversary of our founding, we remember that we owe everything to heroes like those we celebrate today.” – Trump [14:40]

• Reflecting on "the Bullet America Dodged"

• The show frames surviving the “Juneteenth moment” and the election of 2024 as avoiding left-wing domination and keeping the country’s original values at heart.
• Fireworks and rallies planned for July 4th under the Trump administration signify a renewed pride.

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2. The Crisis and Hope for American Fatherhood

[19:58–37:23]

• Interview: Alex Berenson, The Fatherhood Manifesto

• Berenson’s new book is a defense of fatherhood and practical advice for dads.
• Crisis Point: Modern media (e.g., Berenstain Bears) consistently portrays fathers as fools, which Berenson sees as symptomatic of a wider “cultural trope” undermining traditional masculinity and authority in the family.
  • Quote:
    “Really every book has the same message. Papa bear is a fool. Mama bear is in charge… and that is a cultural trope. That is so deep in our society right now… part of this sort of larger attack on traditional masculinity…” – Alex Berenson [20:25]
• Gentle parenting is critiqued as undermining the value of clear authority and discipline.
  • Quote:
    “The one tip, the one uber tip in there is stand up to gentle parenting… your kids need to know… there are going to be times when they just have to listen…” – Berenson [22:46]

• Practical Fatherhood Tips

• Use car rides as opportunities for teaching.
• Encourage independence and resilience in children:
  “You have to let your kids grow and make mistakes and be on their own and trust that nothing terrible is going to happen to them.” – Berenson [27:05]

• Are Dads Getting Better, Even if Less Appreciated?

• Despite more involvement, today's fathers get “less credit than ever.”
• Berenson emphasizes that some “authoritarian” authority is necessary—for the child's benefit.
• Quote:
  “You have the right as a father to be somewhat authoritarian to your children… and they should actually be afraid of your anger, not of you, but… of your anger. But then when your anger is gone, it's gone.” [30:49]

• Cultural Consequences & Masculinity

• Societal attacks on masculinity have consequences, fueling interest in figures like Andrew Tate.
• Lowered testosterone: Is it a crisis? Berenson acknowledges complexity, but stresses:
  “There is nothing more masculine than standing up for your kids and standing up for your wife, than building a household.” [36:10]

• Summary Quotes

• “We need not just dads. We need fathers. And fathers…build civilization, you preserve civilization…” – Blake [36:44]

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3. Ask Me Anything: Audience Q&A

[38:33–73:54]

A. Family and Father’s Day

• Daisy and Blake share their own low-key, family-oriented traditions and how having a baby has changed their sense of purpose.
• “It was like everything shifted within an instant… now I have this beautiful gift from God that gave me… my purpose back.” – Daisy [70:24]

B. Iran and Global Affairs

• Question about the US–Iran Memorandum of Understanding: Is the pursuit of peace justified even if it disappoints reform-minded Iranians?
• Blake emphasizes the risks and cost of regime change: “President Trump is not the president of Iran. He is the president of the United States. And we have to look out for the good of America.” [43:07]

C. Maricopa County Election Power Struggle

• Tyler details the county board’s attempt to strip powers from the newly elected county recorder and the pattern of legal battles undermining election administration (Purcell Rule explained).
  • “What happens in Maricopa county is the tip of the spear for everywhere else.” – Tyler [45:28]

D. Conservative School Board Infighting

• Natalie asks why even conservative, Christian boards get torn apart by internal strife.
• Tyler: “The biggest problem that we have is this yearning for independence… lack of team player mentality within the conservative movement tends to fracture the conservatives.” [51:57]
• Blake: “Even if you sincerely believe those things [Christian, conservative]… it takes relentless cultivation.” [56:03]

E. Workplace Witness as a Conservative Christian

• Mary asks about standing firm in her beliefs at a left-leaning pediatric hospice job.
• Blake: “We have a duty to publicly defend our beliefs… Blessed are you, when they hate you and persecute you for my sake…” [72:01]
• Daisy: “It will always be worth it to stand up for your beliefs… but there also is a respectful way to do that, especially when you’re at work with people every day.” [72:01]

F. Silly & Personal Questions

• What music did Charlie listen to?

  • “Beethoven. I don't listen to bands.” — Charlie Kirk [58:51]
  • Daisy and Blake elaborate: Charlie preferred classical and worship music, seeing music as a medium to “raise your soul to God.”

• Recommended Roman History books:

  • Tom Holland’s Rubicon is suggested over Mary Beard’s SPQR (which Blake passed on due to perceived political bias).

• Sabbath-keeping struggles:

  • “Just because you are a Christian… doesn’t guarantee you’ll do the right thing. It takes relentless cultivation…” – Blake [56:03]
  • Daisy: Charlie would say, “Respectfully, I am busier than all of you. If I can do this [Sabbath], you can too.” [68:19]

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Notable Quotes & Moments

• "The only value America has is to the extent we annihilate those old traditions… and create a brave new world." – Charlie Kirk (clip, on left-wing motives for Juneteenth) [03:42]
• “Gentle parenting… is a huge mistake. Sometimes you’re just going to say, ‘Go clean your room’… you’re just going to listen to me.’” – Alex Berenson [22:46]
• On school board Christian infighting: “Are you Christian as a label, or are you Christian as a pervading way of life?” – Daisy [57:20]
• “Happy warriors must be loving, even in the face of hate. Happy Father’s Day. Happy Juneteenth.” – Blake [73:37]

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Timestamps for Key Segments

| Topic | Start | End | |---------------------------------------------|----------|----------| | Juneteenth—Political Context & Clips | 01:17 | 19:58 | | Fatherhood Manifesto—Interview + Advice | 19:58 | 37:23 | | Ask Me Anything—Q&A (Iran, Maricopa, etc.) | 38:33 | 73:54 | | Music Charlie Liked | 58:13 | 61:05 | | Sabbath & Personal Reflections | 66:18 | 71:27 | | Christian Witness at Work | 71:30 | 73:37 |

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Tone & Style

The episode features the show’s signature “no-holds-barred, unapologetically conservative, freedom-loving” tone, mixing polemical critiques of “woke” politics with faith-centered life advice, celebration of traditional values, and candid personal conversations.

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For Listeners Who Missed It

This episode underscores the hosts’ view of the ongoing American culture war, using the Juneteenth holiday and recent public events to highlight what they see as divisive left-wing strategies, while celebrating a return to tradition and patriotism in the form of upcoming Fourth of July celebrations under the Trump administration.

A thoughtful, practical discussion with Alex Berenson offers a rare blend of cultural criticism and real-world parenting wisdom, pushing back against trends many conservatives find troubling in contemporary family life.

Finally, the open forum format invites authentic questions, allowing space for both political wonks and those simply curious about the hosts’ personal lives or seeking encouragement for faithfulness in difficult environments.

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Transcript

[A]

My name is Charlie Kirk. I run the largest pro American student organization in the country, fighting for the future of our republic. My call is to fight evil and to proclaim truth. If the most important thing for you is just feeling good, you're gonna end up miserable. But if the most important thing is doing good, you will end up purposeful. College is a scam, everybody. You gotta stop sending your kids to college. You should get married as young as possible and have as many kids as possible. Go start a Turning Point USA College chapter. Go start a Turning Point USA High School chapter. Go find out how your church can get involved. Sign up and become an activist. I gave my life to the Lord in fifth grade. Most important decision I ever made in my life. And I encourage you to do the same. Here I am, Lord. Use me. Buckle up, everybody. Here we go. Noble Gold Investments is the official gold sponsor of the Charlie Kirk Show, a company that specializes in gold IRAs and physical delivery of precious metals. Learn how you could protect your wealth with Noble gold investments@noblegold investments.com that is noblegoldinvestments.com

[B]

Happy Friday. Welcome to the Charlie Kirk Show. I'm Blake. I'm flying solo today, at least for the first hour. We've got. We've got a lot of fun things to talk about. We're going to be having Alex Berenson on later this hour. He has a new book that's very relevant for Father's Day. He has advice for fathers and a manifesto on behalf of fatherhood, something that we need a lot of in America. And then in the second hour, we're going to be having an Ask us anything hour. We're going to have Daisy joining again. We know you guys love to give her some questions. And we should have Tyler as well. We're hoping to have Tyler on as much as possible in the next few months as we gird up for all these critical midterm battles that we want to win to secure the victory that we won in 2024, extend it. Salvage America more. And that is what we're also going to mark today because some of you out there, if you're public sector employees or work at some rather woke companies, you're maybe listening to the show at home right now instead of in your car or at work. And the reason you're doing that is, of course, that today, today itself is Juneteenth, June 19th. That, of course, is the brand new federal holiday that we got in 2020 at the peak of woke that in 2020, they decided we needed A new National Independence Day. Juneteenth, of course, was originally a regional holiday in Texas. And it celebrated the time that slaves learned that they had been emancipated due to the Emancipation Proclamation and the end of the Civil War. And that's a good thing. That's worthy of celebration. But that's not why we have this holiday. We have this holiday because the left in 2020 thought they had a chance to restart the history of America. They thought we, we can overthrow the Fourth of July and create a new holiday whose premise is that America is fundamentally wicked, that its founders were fundamentally bad. And the only value America has is to the extent that we annihilate those old traditions, annihilate that old history and create a brave new world. And Charlie himself was very much aware of that and he loved to talk about it on this show. In fact, he had a great take on it just this last year. Let's replay it. Clip 29.

[A]

Do you know the actual name of the bill that became legislation into law? Juneteenth. National Independence Day. So by law, we now have two Independence Days. We should have one Independence Day. The issue with this is obvious. Number one, this is so significant in the timing. It's obviously a summertime competitor to July 4th or actual Independence Day. Number two is the wording. It's not Juneteenth Celebration Day. Number three is, does it really warrant a federal holiday? Number four is, again, if you want to celebrate emancipation, do it the day that emancipation was actually signed, which was in September. No, but they want a summertime competitor. They want to have two. They want you to have to choose. Do you want the 1776 way which those evil right wing MAGA people celebrate, or. Or the 1619 way, which we celebrate now federally on June 19th?

[B]

And Charlie had another excellent clip in that vein. I'm not sure if it's from the same show or not, but really laying this out, that the left wanted to create a specific holiday. Not to unite Americans, not to enhance our national pride, but in fact to tear it down and to sort of assert its domination over the half of America that the left had declared war on. Clip 30.

[A]

It's Juneteenth. What exactly is going on here? Now, of course, the day itself is of course inarguably amazing. The emancipation of slaves. No one has a problem with that? I don't have a problem with that. You don't have a problem with that. It's a beautiful thing. So why don't we have Emancipation Day, though? It's very Important to remember that all of this is intended to dilute pride in our country and patriotism. Juneteenth was made as a federal holiday, as an expression of dominance and political power. Activists rammed it through in the aftermath of George Floyd's death, using the worst wave of national rioting in half a century to demand their way on top of a mountain of ashes and spill blood. We burned down the country. Now we demand a day off. The purpose of this holiday is not to unite Americans. The purpose is actually to divide us. It's typical traditional Marxist tactics.

[B]

He really had a talent for laying it out. And we should be especially grateful today because yesterday, in alignment with this holiday, we had a big event. We showed a little bit of it yesterday, but it continued after yesterday's show. The Obama Presidential library, the Obama presidential sandcaller, the Obama presidential alien horror show spaceship that landed in Chicago to gaze upon us with its all seeing eye that was opened yesterday, had its grand opening in Chicago. Four living presidents were there. President Trump was not there. He was in fact not invited. And we got speeches from Barack, we got speeches from Michelle, we got speeches from a lot of people. In fact, this is the way the New York Times writes it up. The opening itself was a star studded party. George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, Joseph Biden, the Roots kicked off the event. Christina Aguilera gave a rendition of what a Wonderful World. Bruce Springsteen sang Land of Hope and Dreams. This is, it's a revisit to the America we were building towards throughout the Obama years. It's the one they thought they were going to have forever. When they pulled off their maneuver in 2020, they thought they were going to re found America where it would be permanent. Shame on America's historic founders, its historic people. Year zero start a new country where people like Barack Obama, people like Bruce Springsteen lecture you from the top of a stage. They lecture you with things like, you know what, we're going to play this again. We got a land acknowledgement yesterday. Let's see, what number was that one? This is Valerie Jarrett and she opened the ceremony yesterday. We played this yesterday. I'm just gonna play it again. Clip 31.

[C]

We'd also like to take a moment

[B]

to recognize the original inhabitants of the land upon which we are gathered. Today we honor the Anishinaabe, the Council of Three Fires, the Ojibwe, the Odawa and the Potawatomi nations occupied Chicago Bears territory. That's what it's on. But we had more. Barack Obama himself spoke and of course he threw in A little bit about how our founders actually were not these great people. 25 union.

[D]

The founders fell terribly short of the Declaration's promise leaving slavery intact, allowing states to restrict the franchise to white men who own property.

[B]

So that's what we had. We had these lectures from Obama and everyone else, this feeling of shame over our country. And that would have been what we'd be getting from the White House if Kamala Harris were president right now. That's what we would be hearing every day. They thought this would be their big chance. They thought they would use the 250th anniversary of this country to dump on this country. They would say the first 250 years of this mostly a mistake. It was only good to the extent that we were building towards the leftism of the present. Everything only builds towards affirmative action, tearing down statues, dei, lgbt, transgender propaganda. That's the only thing that gives America value is when it's doing those things. The founders, the Constitution, the Bill of Rights. That was all flawed, that was all bad. Tear it down. And. And on this Juneteenth we remember the bullet that our country avoided. The tragedy that we avoided By thanks to 2024 and thanks to the decision that our country made two years ago.

[E]

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[B]

I first, I actually have to issue a correction. We had a great email from a viewer Aunt Se sent in. He pointed out I said Juneteenth became a holiday in 2020. That was a big mistake on my part because of course it if it had become a holiday in 2020, that means President Trump would have been the one who signed it. Of course, that did not happen. President Biden signed a bill to make it a holiday in 2021, giving us this National Independence Day, as they call it. But it was of course, driven by the events of 2020, that great national burn it all down psychosis. So thank you very much for that email and let's get back into it. So let's get more from this Obama presidential dedication. We didn't just have Barack speak, we also had Michelle speak. Michelle came up and she delivered an address about how really the realest Americans, the best Americans, are the ones who are foreigners, who actually aren't legally supposed to be here. Clip 23 Immigrants proving what it truly

[C]

means to be a dreamer. These folks, these folks, folks aren't Americans too. They are America. They are the beating heart of this country. They are us and we are them.

[B]

It's a very clever rhetorical play. This has a huge effect on people. If you are more tuned out from politics during the Obama years, it's worth remembering there was a period where this was the cult that ruled America. This suicidal idea that actually the most American people are the ones who are brought in here illegally, that what we need is amnesty for them, that we should be dispossessed of our own country, that our country belongs to the entire world. That was the rhetoric that they were pushing. And frankly there's an alternate reality where Michelle Obama is a little more ambitious, a little more likable, a little more hard working. I don't think she really enjoys working that much. And they could have run her for president and we might have had a President Michelle Obama delivering that lecture. And then every single media outlet would be gushing about it as one of the best speeches ever. As we burn down and destroy America, as we destroy everything that made this country great. But we avoided it. We avoided it, as I was saying there. And we got something very different. And I'm so glad about that. And so let's look at what we have instead. We have President Trump yesterday where he was presenting a Medal of Honor. And what number is that one? Got a bunch in here. He was presenting the Medal of Honor. And instead of Barack Obama talking about how our founders were terrible, talking about how our old American heroes were terrible, we have President Trump explaining that America's great. Let's do clip 34.

[D]

As we approach the 250th anniversary of our founding, we remember that we owe everything to heroes like those we celebrate today. Men who went willingly to the darkest and most dangerous corners on earth to defeat evil so we could live free.

[B]

So of course that honors our veterans who fought and died in World War II and other conflicts. But we should remember 250 years ago, the darkest and most dangerous corner of earth. It was right here in America. This was a country that was under siege by a foreign power that was trying to strip away the colonists rights. And the men of our founding, they were the heroes. They were the heroes who stepped up, who created the Declaration of Independence, who created our Constitution, who defeated the most powerful empire in the entire world. We had Patrick o' Donnell on a month ago for Memorial Day and he laid it all out for us. All those things that they did, the trials that they went through with no prospect of success, but they did it anyway and they won freedom. And we have a president who's ready to honor that and celebrate that, that we're going to be having our 250th anniversary of this country in just a couple weeks now. And it's going to be President Trump has announced it's going to have the biggest fireworks show in the history of Washington, D.C. i believe he's announced that we're going to have one of the biggest public rallies in our nation's history. And we've already seen, of course, the show he was ready to put on with the Freedom250 UFC event. And so on we have, we are getting a proper celebration of our country for the 250th anniversary. Instead of lectures from Michelle Obama about Dreamers, instead of lectures from Barack about how our founders were bad, instead of cackling from President Kamala Harris about Lord knows what she would be saying by this point, instead, we get to properly celebrate our country. And I think that is a reason for celebrating on this day. So if you're at home, if you're, if you're at home right now, you know, I can't say, pour out a toast to America, pour out a soda toast in honor of Charlie. He wouldn't want you drinking alcohol, but, you know, raise a glass to America because we have so much to be happy and proud of as we on this Juneteenth, because we're not. We're not celebrating the National Independence Day that they tried to impose on us. Also at Obama's event, we had some other funny clips that they threw out. We had, we had Gavin Newsom kind of making his unofficial bid to remind everyone that he's also running for president. Let's play clip 22 Got up there,

[D]

literally started tearing up. And I think everybody feels that spirit and that pride that we've been missing. And we didn't even realize how much

[B]

we've been missing it.

[D]

And we've been missing it because of the business.

[B]

We've been missing it because we have people that frankly, are unworthy of their positions.

[D]

And there we saw on stage people

[B]

that were worthy of what our founding fathers lived and died for. And we've had other statements from around the country like this. Kathy Hochul, Governor of New York, here's what she had to say. Clip 28.

[C]

Here's why we're here today to ask, are we really still free? Are people still free to live where they want to live, still free to work where they want to work, still free to get the education they want for their children?

[B]

Are they able to have all the

[C]

opportunities that they've always wanted and fought for? And I'll tell you right now, the progress we've made is now going backwards because of Washington D.C. so that's why we march. We march in resilience of those policies and that sense that everyone is not welcome in this great country.

[B]

That's what we're getting from the left. They're going to be running for president and they're going to be running on. America needs hope. And the only way we can have hope is to tear down this country rather than celebrate it. But we don't need to make that choice.

[E]

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[B]

We're joined now by Alex Berenson. We were talking about Juneteenth in the first half hour but we have another holiday that is worth marking which is Father's Day, that is this Sunday. And Alex, you have a new book out that people can go and buy right now. The Fatherhood Manifesto. A Defense of fatherhood and 50 practical tips to Be a Better, More Involved dad. Alex, why does fatherhood need defending?

[D]

That's a great question and that's sort of at the core of this. You know, the book, it's not very long, it's only about 50 pages long. It's, you know, it's a quick read. But I have three kids, you know, they're, they're 7, 10 and 13 now and, and frankly I got tired of reading, you know, books to them and you know, watching, you know, television shows with them where the father was always the fool, right? And you know, I say in the, in the manifesto, I say, well, the Berenstain bears is a classic example of this, right? You think that would be completely apolitical. It's about cartoon bears. But really every book has the same message. Papa bear is a fool. Mama bear is in charge and runs things and runs them competently. And that is a, that is a cultural trope. That is so deep in our society right now that, you know, I think we barely even think about it. And it's part of this sort of larger attack on traditional masculinity, on stoicism, on, you know, on traditional manhood. And I think it's had terrible consequences for fathers, it's had bad consequences for mothers, it's had bad consequences for families. And then, you know, the same people who, who say this, you know, who run down men and who, and who, you know, pretend that fathers don't contribute enough to their families, to raising kids, then turn around and say, well, you know, all these, all these, you know, teenage boys are, you know, 20 something young men. They love Andrew Tate and they love these sort of like hyper masculine influencers online. Well, when you, when you, when you undercut traditional, decent masculinity, obviously there's going to be a backlash to that. And I think that's what we've seen culturally. So that's why I decided to write this. And then, you know, and then because I have, you know, I have a, I have a close relationship with my kids, I would say I have a very close relationship with them. I said, here, you know, I'm not just going to write a screed about why I think we need to talk more about, you know, masculinity and stoicism. I'm going to throw out some tips. And frankly, a lot of the tips are pretty obvious. I think if you're a pretty decent parent, you'll, you'll know them. If you're a decent dad, you'll know them. But, but, but the fact that I had to write this, to me is what's revolutionary. And I will say the one is sort of the one tip, the one uber tip in there is stand up to gentle parenting. Okay? And, you know, for people who may not know what gentle parenting is, if you go into, you know, a Barnes and Noble bookstore, you go on Amazon, you'll see all these books about gentle parenting about, you know, progressive parenting, about, about not, you know, not being an authoritative parent, not, you know, not telling your kids that you're in charge, negotiating with them, not punishing them, not, you know, not sort of ever dominating them or establishing your authority over them. And I think that's a huge mistake in our culture. I think, listen, I obviously you need to be close to your kids, you need to love your kids, you need to hug your kids, but your kids need to know, particularly if you're the dad, that there are going to be times when they just have to listen that there's not going to be a negotiation here, that there's not going to be a long discussion of alternatives, that sometimes you're just going to say, go clean your room. I don't have to tell you why I, you know, I, I pay the bills in this house, but I don't even have to tell you that. You're just going to listen to me. And I think that that has been forgotten, lost, and undercut. And it is a separate issue, but it is certainly part of this bigger undercutting of masculinity.

[B]

Yeah, it's. So I searched gentle parenting once you mentioned it, and the very first result I got was a thread on a website that says gentle parenting turned my child into a naughty or an a hole, as they say. And so that seems like a good endorsement of what you're saying. I think it's so remarkable what you said, that you saw TV shows and it's always safe. Kind of the default comedic figure in so many books and TV shows and movies is the hapless dad. Advertisements, of course, are like this. I remember watching with my family. We would watch Nick at Nite growing up and we would watch the Brady Bunch. And that actually must be so jarring to watch because I remember now that the dad, the dad Brady, I can't remember his proper name, but he was not the figure of humor. The kids would screw up and he would come in and he would give them valuable life advice. And it was still a funny show. It was still an enjoyable show. You didn't need to beat up on Dad. I remember another classic one, Gidget, when Sally Field was a child star. That one also, she would do comedy. But yeah, the dad could be this leadership figure. And then I remember the stuff that was on the air in my actual childhood, so stuff like Everybody Loves Raymond. He's now the butt of every joke. And I think there's something to that. We had a cultural norm. I think it might have been that it's a little unsafe to go after almost any other group except for, as we'd say, like default white, straight white guys. And a dad is certainly a straight white guy in many cases. And we just made it the norm to tear them down without heedless of the consequences.

[D]

Yeah, that's absolutely true. I mean, I'm a little bit older than you, so the shows that I remember, you know, in my, in my sort of youth are things like Family Ties with a Cosby show, though that was the end of that. Right. In the 80s where you know, the dad was, you know, it's ironic. It's Bill Cosby, right? But he was still in charge, ultimately. And, you know, family ties, the same thing. And really, in the late 80s, the Simpsons came along and was a, you know, a massive cultural hit. Married with Children, these were almost parodies of that. And I get it. Like, you know, there. There's going to be cultural reactions to stuff, but this has been going on now for 40 years. And. And it really, I think, has had cultural consequences. And then, you know, then. Then sort of the same women. The same sort of woke women. Women in. In, you know, in New York or in Los Angeles, then they complain. Well, they can't find a guy they like. Well, you know, you've been spending. You've been spending your entire youth wearing the future's female T shirts.

[E]

And.

[D]

And you wonder why it is that masculinity, traditional masculinity, when you. When you go looking for it, you can't find it.

[B]

Exactly. It's the sense that things are out of balance, that a child doesn't need two moms. They don't need a full mom and half a mom. They need a mother and they need a father. And those fill different roles, as you say. So you mentioned your advice, but what are some other tips that you have in your book? You have 50 of them. So. So what are your four or five favorites?

[D]

So, okay, you know, here. This is sort of. I don't know if I'd call it a surprise or not, but I think driving. I drive a ton with my children.

[E]

Okay.

[D]

I, you know, and, you know, I live in. I live in the Hudson valley of New York state. It's. Everything's a bit of a distance, so I drive a lot. And I think driving is a time when you really should. It's a good chance to both teach your children, like, how to behave with other people. And in other words, don't. Don't tailgate, don't speed drive reasonably. But also, when you see other people doing these things, it's a good opportunity to say, like, this is not. This is not communitarian behavior. This is not good behavior. This person is just being a jerk. Okay? And, you know, normally when you're in public, you don't want to call other people out for being jerks because, you know, you don't know who has a gun. But. But in this case. And you don't want to start fights in this case, it's a safe space to discuss other people's public behavior in a way that doesn't hurt them. And I think can be a good lesson for your kids. The Last lesson number 50 is teach your kids to be able to be on their own. In other words, I let my kid. When I was growing up, I walked home from school as an elementary school student. I didn't think anything of it. And, and, and my kids, you know, they get dropped off on the bus and they walk up the hill to our house. It's, you know, it's close to a mile. I mean they don't do it every day if the weather's bad or whatever. But, but, but you know, I encourage them to do this. And I, my daughter, who is my older daughter who's 13, she actually went to Coney island with her, a good friend of hers and their, my, my, my nephew, her cousin who's 15. So two 13 year olds and a 15 year old taking the subway in New York City together during the day, you know, this was not at night. And, and, and I was not there, okay? And, and actually they lost a backpack. They got a backpack stolen from them because they are a little bit of country mice. And they didn't take the, you know, they, they didn't take it seriously enough, but they didn't get hurt. And I think that that's a really good life lesson for them. I think that you have to let your kids, you know, grow and make mistakes and be on their own and trust that nothing terrible is going to happen to them. And, and, and that does not mean that like, like the world, the world is a difficult place, okay? The world is a difficult place emotionally. The world can grind you down, but you have to build up your own resilience. And, and as children, that's something you have to do. You have to learn to listen to people and learn that sometimes you're gonna have to do stuff you don't like. But it's also good for you to know that you can do stuff on your own. And, and sometimes things may go wrong, but you're going to recover, you're going to overcome that. And I just think the over parenting again, the feminization, the gentle parenting takes something so important from these kids.

[B]

Alex, you and I both seem to agree that there's a general crisis of proper fatherhood compared to how it seemed to be in the past. But not everyone seems to agree. I was looking around to see what the discourse was. Literally today we have an article in the New Yorker which argues are dads getting better? And they say basically that they go with one of the things we've seen, which is that men are spend. They say dads are spending more time in the house, they're doing more household chores, they're more emotionally available. And at the same time, they do point out that one in four children doesn't live with their father. Six years after a separation, almost a third of fathers no longer see their children. So if your parents split, a third of them just stop seeing their kids. But they'll say the ones who are still there, they're more available, they're more involved, actually, things are improving. What do you say to that, Alex?

[D]

Well, I mean, I think that that's true, actually. I think the irony here is that people, again, my age and younger, are better dads. They're more involved, they're doing more and getting less credit for it than they ever have. And that's why this is, you know, it. It's almost like once you become a father, right, You. You tend to step up. Right. Even. Even if the culture is telling you you're dumb and you don't know what you're doing and, you know, just let mom, you know, she's going to be in charge, and you're just kind of a second secondary parent, like the parent that. The fathers that I know, that's not how they are, okay? They want to be involved. They are involved. They're emotionally involved. Well, what I'm saying is, like, you have the right as a father to be somewhat authoritarian to your children, okay? So this is another tip in the book that you have the right sometimes to be angry with your children, and your children should know when you're angry with them. And that could be because they're bullying another child. It could be because they took a stupid risk that could have hurt them or hurt somebody else. It could be that you've been asking them to do something repeatedly, and they have not done it. And. And it's just time for that to end, okay? It could be any of those reasons. You have the right to be angry, and your children should know that you're angry and that. And they should actually be afraid of your anger, not of you, but they should be afraid of your anger. But then when your anger is gone, it's gone. Okay? So what's not good as a dad is to be irritable with your children, because irritability is sort of a prolonged condition. Right? Right. And so this is sometimes what I see in parents, in fathers in particular, I know, who are very involved. They're very involved. They want to be good parents, yet they. They can't really establish authority over their children, and so it frustrates them over time. So. So if you're irritable with your children and this is something that's going on and on and on, what you need to say to yourself is, look, I need to either accept whatever behavior is. Is irritating me and stop being irritable about it, or. Or I need to change it. I need to mold.

[B]

No, that's such a brilliant point, Alex. I'm thinking about that. Because when you're irritable, when you're letting something get under your skin, you're showing you're not in command and you're not an authority figure anymore. You're a person dealing with this nagging problem. And that. That's so antithetical to that vision of fatherhood you were laying out in our first segment.

[D]

That's exactly right. So I do think that there are a lot of dads out there who are involved, who want to be involved, and. And who just, you know, again, have been a little bit emasculated. The culture has taken from them their natural voice. And so that's what this is saying. This is not saying, hey there. You know, there's so many dads are not involved, and you need to be. Obviously, that's a. That's its own problem and a separate problem. But if you're constantly telling somebody, hey, you're not very good at this, you know, you should just let mom lead the way. There are going to be dads who step back even. Even if they don't really want to. I think what we're seeing actually is how. How involved many fathers want to be that they stand in despite being told that they're idiots, despite, you know, the endless ads where they're goofy. I think they know better and they know they're important. And this book, you know, this book is for them, too.

[B]

So, Alex. So I apologize if this is a curveball, because I'm just looking through this New York article since it came out today, and they point out, I think this intersects with a lot of your reporting on your substack, which I should shout out. Unreported truth substack. You're still writing a lot about health, MRNA shots, all of that stuff. And you've written a lot about marijuana, too. So I thought I'd bring up another topic they mention here, which is the fall in male testosterone that's been happening over time. And they highlight in this article that we have evidence that the more time dads spend around their kids, it lowers your Testosterone, it makes you more of a dad and less of a hunter, gatherer, warrior killer type guy. And so, you know, a lot of people fret, oh, we're, you know, losing testosterone. Men are becoming more beta, more weak. And they say, maybe this is just that we're having better dads who are more involved, and that's what we're seeing play out. What do you have? Do you have any thoughts on this? Have you ever studied that question?

[D]

I think there's a lot of. Of questions about this. I think this is a real problem. You know, sometimes I think sort of medical crises are overhyped. I think there's evidence that this is really happening.

[C]

We're.

[D]

We don't know why it's happening. We don't know if it's some sort of environmental factors. You know, there are people who say it's just men, you know, are watching too much pornography and, and, you know, sating their sexual needs without going out and, you know, finding a real woman. There's lots of hypotheses here. I will say, like, I understand this idea that, that, you know, this biological idea that once you've had a couple of kids, you're more concerned about protecting those kids than going out and, you know, finding a woman to have more kids with. I don't know if that's actually true. It seems to sort of make a certain amount of biological sense. But to me, like, there is nothing more masculine than, you know, than standing up for your kids and standing up for your wife, than standing up for your family, than building a household. And, you know, it's. It's funny, there was a New Yorker, since we're talking about the New Yorker, there was a New Yorker article about Andrew Tate, the. Recently, in the last week or two to where he brags about how, you know, he's. He's fathered 12 kids or however many it is. I don't even know if he knows exactly that's. You're not a father, okay?

[A]

You're.

[D]

You're basically, you know, a stallion, okay? You're basically an animal running at that point. That does not make you a dad. What makes you a dad is not passing your genetic material into the world. It's fathering children, it's parenting children. It's being there for them. And, and, you know, I'm. I'm sorry for him that he doesn't know that. But. So, you know, I don't know if you measured my testosterone, what it would be right now. I know that I'm a parent to my children. And that is incredibly fulfilling to me. And it's. And it's the number one job in my life. It truly is.

[B]

It's so true. So true. And I love that distinction. It's like you've got to be, you know, we need not just dads. We need fathers. And fathers are not just. You build a family, and then on top of that, you. You build civilization, you preserve civilization, you build everything that makes our lives have structure and safety and meaning. And we have to have that. I want to shout out again your podcast or podcast Unreported Truth substack. Your substack. Also check out the Fatherhood manifesto. Check out tell your children. Check out all of his books. You even have some novels, Alex. People should check those out. You do great work.

[D]

Thank you, Blake, so much. I will say, if you get to Amazon now, you can still get the Fatherhood Manifesto in time for Father's Day.

[B]

Go check it out.

[E]

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[B]

I'm joined here with producer Daisy. She's back. Daisy, we were just talking about Father's Day with Alex Berenson. So this is Luke's first Father's Day. Do you have anything special planned?

[F]

I am making a dessert. Got him a little book for him to read to Jane because he likes to read to her at night and then that's kind of it. Luke is not super big on the corporate holidays. Like, he'll get me the flowers, do the card and everything, but if it was up to him, he'd be like, this is all just a waste of money.

[B]

Yeah, it's pretty fun. My family. My family's also very chill about some of those holidays. I'll be like, dad, what gift do you want? He's like, blake, I have more money than you. I can buy whatever I want.

[F]

That's exactly. Like, when buying gifts for the grandparents, it's like. Like, I don't know what they could want. So it's been nice having a baby. Now I'm able to give them gifts from the baby.

[B]

Yeah.

[F]

And that's, like, not something that they would get on their own. But it's also. I mean, we're very lucky. All of our families live within 20 minutes of each other. So we do big group Mother's Day, Father's Day with the grandparents and the uncles and aunts and everyone. So it'll be fun.

[B]

That's awesome.

[F]

What'd you get your dad?

[B]

He told he doesn't want us to do it, so he's just like, just give us a call. We usually they do stuff. My. I have my siblings in South Dakota. They'll make sure they do, like, kind of like lunch or dinner type thing with him. But no, it's great.

[A]

And

[B]

so let's dive into it. I think we're waiting on Tyler to join, but until then, so far, I

[F]

think we have Brenda.

[B]

Let's go to Brenda. Brenda, what's your question?

[C]

What are your thoughts on the Memorandum of Understanding with Iran?

[B]

All right, question.

[F]

Oh, yeah, let me tell you. No, no, no, I will tell you. When I read your question and you said mou, I admittedly it was like, what does MOU stand for?

[B]

All right, well, so we've talked about this. Andrew and I have talked about this a little bit. That's the Memorandum of Understanding with Iran. This is the framework of a potential peace deal. So it's not a final peace deal. It's more of framework for about two months worth of negotiations. It basically says Iran should open the strait, that we'll have a ceasefire, that the US Will agree, that if Iran makes serious material progress towards not having. Not seeking a nuclear weapon, improving it, like, if we're able to remove the nuclear dust, if we're able to make progress on that, then we will remove sanctions on Iran. We will organize potential investment into Iran to rebuild their country because they've taken a lot of damage and so on. It's an attempt to create a permanent arrangement with Iran so that we can live in an accommodation with them. What do we think of it? Well, personally, I think

[D]

we're going to

[B]

need some sort of peace deal with Iran. I don't think it would be wise for our country to pursue a full regime change. I don't think it would be. I think it would be a mistake for our country to send troops into Iran to overthrow the government to occupy it. I think we've seen with Afghanistan, with Iraq, we've seen that that was a mistake. We've seen that when you overthrow a country's government, like we did in Libya, this can create a huge number of unintended consequences. I think if we saw this happen, we might see millions more migrants flood into Europe, possibly come into America. I think a lot of people would die. I think that's regrettable. And so we have an obligation to do what we can to seek peace. And I think we haven't committed to something that we can't take back. We're pursuing it. And if it fails, which it's possible that it will, we know that President Trump is ready to use force. He's ready to bomb them again, and he might go back to that to try to achieve a long term peace deal. But President Trump, he has the ability to credibly threaten force against Iran. And we're hopeful that the fact that they know President Trump will do that means that this new leadership group they have in Iran, because the old one has been taken out, that they're willing to play ball to try to make their country better. That's sort of the thing here is we have the hope that, we have the hope that the Iranian leaders will actually want their country to thrive, that they will want their country to improve and get better. So I hope that helps. Brenda, do you have any other, do you have any more on that? Brenda?

[C]

I just feel like the Iranian people feel completely betrayed that the promises that were explicitly made to them have completely been. They haven't come to pass. This feels, I'm so disappointed. I don't even have words.

[B]

A lot of people do feel that way and I can understand that. But in the end, President Trump, he is not the president of Iran. He is the president of the United States. And we have to look out for the, the good of America. And I think he's done a lot on behalf of the Iranian people. He's done major strikes against their regime. But we have to remember that there do seem to be a lot of Iranians who do support this regime. So if we're going to go in, it's not that we've heard this line that we'll be welcomed as liberators and everyone will be happy. And the truth is often a lot more sordid and violent than that. When we went into Iraq, there was initial celebrations, and then the country descended and into a civil war that killed hundreds of thousands of people. And it's not really clear that anyone was the winner in all of that. And a similar thing here with Iran that I think there's a lot of people who will say if we overthrow this, it'll be super easy. And I think what we've learned over the past few months is that this regime is robust and it has a lot of supporters. And if you're going to take them out, it would be a heavy lift. And I don't think that the American public is enthusiastic about that. And President Trump ran on we need to strengthen America, rebuild America, revive America. And I don't think that's pursued with regime change. But I understand a lot of people have very strong feelings on that. But we, I hope that this memorandum of understanding is able to lead to peace and I think we should make a serious effort towards it. And that's how I feel about it. I think we have Tyler now.

[F]

We have Tyler.

[B]

Tyler with us.

[G]

What's up, guys? How are we doing?

[B]

Oh, thanks for joining us. Tyler, we're so glad you could be here because we actually have a question that I think is very much up your alley.

[F]

Elizabeth.

[B]

We have Elizabeth. So, Elizabeth, unmute yourself and ask your question for Tyler.

[E]

Okay. Hi, guys.

[B]

Thanks for taking my question.

[D]

Can you hear me?

[B]

Yes, we can. Okay, so I've been following the drama with Justin Heap. The County Board of Supervisors First Amendment legal. And apparently when Steven Richter was voted out, praise God and just take. Was voted in, the County Board of Supervisors did something with this office where they basically took his entire job and

[D]

gave it to them so they could still be corrupt. There's been a lot of things with lawsuits back and forth and a lot of victories, but if you guys could

[B]

go over that detail, I'd be very grateful.

[G]

Yeah, let me give you the kind of the quick rundown. So after the last election, the last primary election, Stephen Richard, who was the county recorder for Maricopa county, who had done a horribly, I mean, just terrible, terrible jobs so bad that the County Board of Supervisors actually had many, many conflicts with the recorder. You'll remember that they had the long lines that happened. Half the polling places shut down in 2022 on the Kerry Lake election. Anyways, what essentially happened was he got voted out and the County Board of Supervisors voted to essentially Take away all the IT staff, the vast majority of the responsibilities, constitutional responsibilities in the recorder, and just hand them over to the bureaucrats in the county board of election. The. The county elections department, which is directly overseen by the. The county supervisors. Huge constitutional issues with this. They did this in. In the kind of the dark of the night when no one was paying attention after Stephen was voted out and they weren't sure who was going to become the next, next Recorder. It was either going to be a super conservative and Justin Heap or a Democrat. And so they did this. And this is important, I want to make sure everyone understands this is important for the entire country because what's happening in Maricopa county is the tip of the spear for everywhere else. Whatever's happening in Maricopa county, you can bet will come to the next big counties that will try to take over your state, even if you're in a deep red state. So anyways, as I was saying, basically what happened was they tried to take all the powers away from Justin Heap. Justin Heap came in and thank goodness he had America First Legal that was coming in to help him. And they helped dramatically fight them in court. The courts said that the county supervisors were acting childishly. They went to that extent and said that they were acting childishly and that they needed to return back the powers they have dug their heels in to try to stop it. Every time that you get some kind of ruling in courts, basically there's an appeals process so you can appeal the entire thing and drag it out. And this has been really what's devastating for elections, because anytime that anything is fought in the courts about elections, the. The adversaries try to drag it out. And then what happens is something that's called the Purcell Rule, which actually came out of Maricopa county, but it's applied across the country, which says that if. If election procedures or rules are going to change too close to an election, then we just won't change them at all. And this is terrible precedent because what the left has done is they got really good at changing election rules and then getting the Purcell Rule applied in the courts, and so that nothing changes even when you're right. So what's happened actually just even just recently is the courts actually came out and said that the county Board of Supervisors acting childishly, but, oh, we have an election that's coming up in a few weeks, so we actually can't fix it because of the percent rule.

[B]

All right. This is why I love. When we get questions about Arizona politics, you really see Tyler Just get to unload and you remember, you see why he runs our, our political operation. Because that is a lot of detail to do. No off the cuff about an office in Maricopa County. So that's tremendous. We got a question, this one. What's that?

[G]

Well, Blake, and I was just going to say this is, this is really important moving forward because what happens in Maricopa county and how this ruling will come down and how things will get corrected. And this is where the Save America act comes in. Because Arizona already has laws in place to check people's citizenship and everything else. But if no one actually applies that, no one actually does the job, no one actually cleans the voter rolls and good people don't get into office and actually manage the office the right way, then the bad guys take over. And so this is really the crux of the battle that's happening in Maricopa county right now is you have a good guy that's in there that's fighting the good fight, basically single handedly and winning in the courts. But this is the fight that will be at the doorstep of absolutely every single county within America. And if Maricopa county doesn't go the correct way, meaning, you know, supporting the rule of law, then we're going to have real problems across America.

[B]

Exactly, exactly. Our next question we. This is a very funny one we got. This is a text question, but someone really wanted to know what flavor is Daisy? Starbucks. They ask us anything.

[F]

Yes, it is a grande non dairy, vanilla sweet cream, cold brew, half sweet. And I did not drink coffee at all until I had a baby.

[B]

Really?

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

You'd always get those refreshers.

[F]

Yes. Now every day it's like the thing that I look forward to. But yeah, that's my, that's my Starbucks order. Thanks for asking.

[B]

Do you experiment or was that like the first one you tried and you liked it?

[F]

I'm a routine person. Same thing every single day.

[B]

So same thing. You get one every day?

[F]

No, but when I get, I either make the same thing every day or if I go to Starbucks, I only get the same thing.

[B]

Alrighty.

[F]

And then next we have Natalie.

[B]

Natalie, Natalie. Unmute yourself.

[F]

Hi, guys. Happy Friday.

[B]

Friday.

[F]

So I am running for my local school board and the more involved I get, the more aware I am of like the craziness. And honestly, it's not even what's happening in public schools. We actually have a lot of really great things happening, but it's because of what's happening just within the school board members. So for example, four out of the five are on the more conservative end, but they are really dividing our district. They're at each other's throats. And quite frankly, frankly, I feel like it's destroying our district. And so my first question is why? And how is this happening within our own reserved Christian values? And then the second question is, if I do get into this, how do I prevent this from continuing to happen and just get our focus back on the students?

[B]

Oh man. Tyler, do you want to take a first crack at that one? This sounds in your wheelhouse. What do we do when it sounds like her district? Yeah, it's already conservative, but it's just fratricidal infighting anyway causing division.

[G]

Yeah. So this is the biggest problem that we have within the conservative movement is this yearning for independence that exists even with individuals who get involved. And you can see the hotheadedness that happens very quickly with people who get into office because they believe their way is the right way and that's the only way. And then the fracturing that happens because of lack of team player mentality within the conservative movement tends to fracture the conservatives. And then guess what happens? The left is super unified and comes in and they obliterate, especially with unified teachers unions and things like that, the fracture. So my best advice to anyone is number one, you have to start by getting involved for the right reasons. You're not going to win every battle at the board level, whether it's the school board level or the city council level. You're not going to win every battle. You have to go with a team player mentality. And team players mentality requires leadership. You have to have a team captain. And oftentimes what happens in these situations is you don't have captains. You have, you know, again, really hot headed, really, you know, strong headed individuals who it's my way or the highway and they're not able to even sit down in a room together and have a discussion. Some laws prevent sitting down in a room together and even having discussions because of the laws are in place by your state. But you know, you have to go in knowing if you're going to get involved, you're going to do it for the right reasons and you're going to be able to bring people together. And that's hard to do with, with conservatives sometimes because of the independence.

[E]

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[G]

That's right.

[E]

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[B]

Tyler had to step out, he's a busy man. But we were talking about Natalie's question where she's on the school board. It's a conservative board. It has conservatives on it, but it's being torn apart by infighting. Tyler gave great answers. I just wanted to add a big picture thing which is she says, why is this happening even among Christians and conservatives? And we should remind ourselves that just because you carry the label of Christian, just because you're a conservative, just because you sincerely do believe those things, that doesn't guarantee that you're going to be virtuous person or do the right thing. It takes relentless cultivation. That's one of the best lessons that Charlie would give. Like, that's why he's a Christian. But he's reading the Bible all the time. He's studying endlessly. He's studying great works of philosophy. He's always trying to strengthen his moral center because it's almost. It's like lifting weights. Like, you can say, I am a person who exercises, but if you aren't doing the exercises, you will not grow stronger. And similarly, if you're not cultivating your moral center and making sure that you live out those values, you can go awry. And this is a good reminder of that.

[F]

It's are you Christian first, then conservative, or are you conservative first, then Christian? That can lead to a lot of discrepancies.

[B]

Are you Christian as a label or are you Christian as a pervading way of life?

[F]

Like Republican in name only, but yeah, exactly.

[B]

Christian enamel, all of those things.

[F]

So we are no strangers to info.

[B]

Exactly. And I mean, Charlie dealt with that all the time. Far more off screen than on screen. He was so good at managing it. And I think he's a good model to look towards for navigating a lot of strife.

[F]

And especially, Natalie, like in your own local school board, it is worth saving. It's worth not black pilling. It's worth standing up for what's right.

[B]

Yeah. And so you say, what could you do? The first thing is to make sure you yourself just. I am not going to sow discord. I will not feud. I will coalition build. I will do my best to work with people and you can set a model that others will live by. All right, we have Gracie. Gracie, what's your question?

[C]

This might be a little bit of a silly question, but I was curious.

[D]

What kind of music did Charlie listen to?

[F]

Okay, so let me say when I saw your question come in, it really, really brought back such a fond memory for me. I had Noah pull the clip. It was back from 2023, where I was doing some sort of silly video with Charlie and someone had asked him what his favorite type of music to listen to was. It's 38. We can play it. Favorite singer? Band?

[A]

Favorite band. I don't listen to bands.

[F]

Any artist that you listen to.

[A]

Beethoven.

[B]

I don't listen to bands.

[F]

Gracie, that brought Back Just the sweetest memory. He's just bands. I don't listen. What I will say Beethoven. I mean that is accurate. Like you could hear it. It would. It would either be classical music or worship music. Coming out of his office, Charlie, I

[B]

think he didn't hate all band. He would like. He liked stuff that reminded him of like growing up in Chicago. So for example, that's why we would play that serious song, you know that. That song that we play at the start of hour two. That was Chicago Bulls music when they were. When like Michael Jordan was coming out. So he loved that song. But in general, I think Charlie's attitude was a lot of modern secular music, band music, as you'd call it. It's often on unedifying topics. You know, you're singing about not romance. You're singing like trashy, basically like the culture of sex and hookups. Or it's about, you know, these guys being emo and whining and stuff. And Charlie thought said. I think he basically said music you listen to should raise your soul to God. It should be edifying. And so you have Beethoven, abstract music, much of it very. I mean they actually use Beethoven in Catholic services at least very often. And then also just overtly worship music, worship music that praises God. And so that was, that's what the music Charlie liked the most. But it is true, he's not. He was not a listen to bands kind of.

[F]

Charlie was obsessed with like not wasting time. So it's like even the music he was listening to is still going to be growing his mind, edifying to his soul. Like he wasn't just. He wasn't just listening to whatever was popular right now. And I, I was, Gosh, I was 22 when him and I had that conversation. And I was like, oh, okay, Charlie doesn't listen to music like that.

[C]

I do.

[F]

But we're different in that way.

[B]

Yes, we are.

[F]

But we had. I asked Michael too, because Michael does all the music for the show. And he was saying that Charlie would always comment like what Blake said when it was something from a sports game, from something, a theme that he, when he was growing up, something that brought back nostalgia. He would always mention that he liked that kind of stuff, like classic rock or anything classical in general.

[B]

Awesome. Awesome. And by the way, about it being a silly question. We love silly. Silly questions are some of the most fun to answer because it's like we

[F]

were just talking about the infighting and the conservative movement. It's so, so nice to have like light hearted. We have so many day to day wonderful memories with Charlie.

[B]

We want to pull back the curtain on that and show people the kind of guy he was. So please, so we love. Send us as many silly questions as you guys like, Kyrie, we have you as our next question. Unmute yourself.

[C]

Thank you, guys.

[B]

Sorry, Kyrie, I think we're having. We're breaking up. Luckily, we do have your typed question here, so I'm gonna. I'm gonna go ahead and read this. It came in two parts. First, part one, what was the event that Charlie was speaking at during the breaks on Tuesday where he talked about the benefits of reading an actual Bible instead of one on your phone? And has that whole speech ever been uploaded as a podcast episode? Daisy, you were looking into this.

[F]

So yes, the. It was winning the invisible war at Awakened Church, July 14, 2021. And you asked the right person this question because I actually, she picks the episode I choose what speeches we put out every week, what bonus episodes we put out every week. And so this was a great one to be reminded of. I'm always pulling back from old, old church speeches, old cls, sass, all those things. So I am actually going to review this one for next week. So I will. It has been posted before, but I will, I'll look into it to repost it next week.

[B]

This is why. This is what all of you. I know a lot of you are sometimes wonder, should I ask questions? One, you should, because we love silly questions. And two, you might literally get a whole episode of the show published because of your question. Kyrie, you had a second part of your question. You say, blake, have you read SPQR by Mary Beard? And if so, would you recommend it as a good history of Rome? Yes, I'm getting questions about Rome. So I have not read that book. I have friends who have read it and they have liked it. I've always stood away because Mary Beard, she is one of those public intellectuals who she likes to. She likes to comment as, oh, I'm a history. I'm an expert on Rome. What can Rome tell us about today? And unfortunately, she's basically an annoying lib. And you can be an annoying lib and still be a good scholar. In fact, you know, there's a good line from the historian Robert Conquest that everyone is conservative about what he or she knows best. And so a lot of liberal scholars will basically be pretty good on in their home field, and then they go totally nuts elsewhere. So that might be the case with Mary Beard, but it just grated on me. This is this is going to be a specific example. So you've all seen ancient Greek statues, you know, marble statues, and they're usually shown as unpainted. And we basically know that most statues in ancient times were painted to some degree and, you know, to make them more lifelike. And we just don't see that today because time has passed and it's all come off. And so we got this idea that they were, they were bare and unpainted. And so that's why Michelangelo's David, for example, is unpainted, because he was aspiring to imitate this classic. It's an amazing statue. Anyway, so they've discovered they were painted and there's been this whole trend of like, let's paint people to show how they really look. And they, they do it wrong. Because we have evidence from like Pompeii murals that we know that they painted them to look good. They, they actually would have looked good to us. And they'll say, no, we're gonna paint them to be really garish. They're gonna be maximally ugly. And Mary Beard gave an interview where she basically said, I support us doing that because right wingers believe they like classical sculptures and they like them being bare and unpainted because then they're, they're white, and that's driven white supremacy. And so it's like, good that we've undercut this by painting them. And when I saw her give that interview answer, I'm just, I, I'll be frank. I just don't feel compelled to read a book by a person who offers a take like that. It annoys me too much. Luckily, you do say you're asking. There's a lot of other good Roman histories. There's a lot of classic ones. The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Gibbon is, I mean, it's an all time classic of history. I just read one called the Beginnings of Rome by TJ Cornell that's a little less introductory. So I don't know if I want to say, go there for learning if you want a good introductory one. Actually, a guy Charlie liked a lot, his name is Tom Holland, he's the guy who actually hosts the rest of his history, a very popular history podcast. He wrote a book called Dominion about how Christianity basically remade our entire moral universe. But he also has one about Rome. It's called Rubicon. It's about, about the last hundred years of the Roman Republic. So how it went from the republic to, you know, through Cato and Caesar and Pompey. And it fell and it became the empire, but it still endured after that and achieved a great many things. So I think that's a good place to start. I don't have a good one. That's all of Roman history. But if you find specific topics on in different periods, good books, you build up your understanding of it over time. So I'll throw out that recommendation for Rubicon.

[C]

Tom Holland's a good guy.

[F]

Or if you're not going to read one of the books, you can also either take the Hillsdale online course or you can. You can re watch Charlie and Blake taking the Hillsdale online courses that you can.

[B]

So check out the Hillsdale course on the Roman Republic. That's a good way to learn as well. Thank you for bringing that up, Daisy. So we have a couple more questions we want to get to for sure here, so let's go to Joni. Joanie, are you there? Unmute yourself.

[C]

Hello, Blake. Hello, Daisy.

[F]

Hi.

[C]

Can you hear me?

[B]

Yes, we can. What's your question?

[C]

Hey, I. Well, first of all, it's so nice to see both of you stepping up, stepping in under such horrific circumstances. I. I spent 30 years behind the camera, and I totally prefer to be there what you're doing, but I applaud you both and you're doing a great job. So thank you, thank you, thank you for doing. Filling in some really difficult shoes. And, Daisy, I started drinking coffee when I had my babies, too.

[F]

I think it's just a universal experience. It's like the first couple of weeks having a newborn, you're like, how do I function at all?

[C]

Exactly. I had two under. I had two on two infants at one point. So. Yeah, around the clock.

[B]

Yeah. So you have a question?

[C]

Yeah, my question is I'm reading Charlie's book. You know, stop in the name of God. And I'm about halfway through. Through. I kind of savor it. I like to soak in it. I. I read a few pages at night to kind of wind down and rest and. And just take it in, and there's so much in it. I realized this week, oh, my gosh, this is not a oneand done book. This is a book that I'm just going to keep on my nightstand and pull it out and just read it again and again because there's so much in it, and I can get so much out of it. What I'm realiz I realizing, though, is it's really hard to do a full Sabbath day. I haven't gotten there yet, so I just want to know what. What you and you two are in such a different phase of life. Especially Daisy is a new mom. And how do you. What are your views on it? How do you handle the Sabbath?

[F]

I will say, and I need to say this to myself too, because I am also not the best at taking a full Sabbath day. And I. It would call me out every time Charlie would give a speech on it and he would say, respectfully, I am busier than all of you. If I can do this for one day, you can too. And I need to hear that all the time. And I agree with what you're saying about just keeping the book on your nightstand because there is so much wisdom in it. Like you could pick it up and flip to any page and it would speak to your soul in some way. Like, I remember there was so much heaviness, like really in the immediate aftermath after Charlie passed. And I remember when I just going to pick it up and it was his chapter on sleep. And he was like, you can respond to any of this tomorrow you can rest. Like, just put it down, you can rest. And it was such a struggle to sleep in those, those first couple weeks afterwards. And like, so much to figure out, so much work, just really, really heavy. And I remember reading that and being like, I have permission to just go to sleep and rest right now.

[B]

Not even just permission. It's like God is asking me. God himself is asking.

[F]

I have to stop in the name of God, literally. So I totally agree with you. It is such such a wonderful book. And I think that having my daughter has made it easier to. To stop. Like, everything goes by so quickly. You're so busy when you have a baby. But it also is one of the only things that actually forces you to stop everything you've been doing and just recalibrate your entire life. And I not to get too deep, but there was a lot of change that took place in a lot of our lives after Charlie passed. A lot of like, day to day, my work life was very different pretty, pretty immediately. And I struggled a lot with, like, this was what my purpose was. This is what I was doing. And now it's all different within one second and I have no control over that. And when I had. Sorry, Joanie, I did not expect to get emotional. But when I had my daughter, it was like, okay. So much of this was taken away from me. So much of what I thought I was going to be doing forever was taken away from me. And now I have this beautiful gift from God that gave me like, my purpose back. Like, it gave me something to focus on every day that you, you can't, you can't fail at. Like, you have to do everything you can to protect and support and care for your baby. And it was like everything shifted within an instant on September 10th. And so, so much of that just hole in my heart and in my brain, I feel like was filled the second I had her. Because it's like this, this is what I have to focus on. No matter what else has happened, no matter how sad I am, no matter how different things look. I have this baby that God has entrusted to me to care for. And it, I mean, saved my life. Like, it. It's the best thing that's ever happened to me. So I want, I want so many more.

[G]

That's.

[B]

Oh, that's so tremendous. That's amazing to hear.

[F]

She's about to turn six months old.

[B]

All right, we're gonna read it real quick. Mary asks, how would you approach opposition at work? I work as a pediatric hospice, I believe cna, on a very liberal and left wing care team. I try my best to be respectful and loving to avoid potential violent outbursts, but I also refuse to attend pride events or support individuals who always claim to be victims of. Of their own actions. I'm one of three conservative Christian women out of up to 20 on the team. Daisy, you said you had some thoughts on that one.

[F]

Yes, I. We. Sorry, I got a little, Little sidetracked with my last tangent, but I just wanted to encourage you, Mary, if you are. I know you couldn't unmute yourself, but if you are listening, like, it will always be worth it to stand up for your beliefs. But there also is a respectful way to do that, especially when you're at work with people every day. We talked about this with a caller last week at her. Her small office job. You. I think a lot of it is like asking questions, putting. Putting their brains to work, asking them to critically think about things, not just coming in hot and heavy. You must do this. You need to think this. I can't believe you don't think this, because no one's going to react well to that. What do you think?

[B]

Yeah, it's. I mean, first of all, I mean, God bless you for standing firm, because as Christians, we have a duty to publicly defend our beliefs, to stand firm even in the face of ridicule, in the face of persecution. You think of the Beatitudes. It's probably possibly the most single beautiful sermon that Christ ever gave when he says, blessed are you, when they hate you and persecute you for my sake. And we do have that duty. And I, I you should take solace in that. You should take solace in the words of Christ on that front.

[F]

Well, and I think it's Colossians 3 Work unto the Lord, not unto man, which can be really hard when you don't see the fruits of that every single day. But it is your duty to show up and and work hard at what God is.

[B]

Be happy, because we should always be joyful. Be happy warriors want to be hateful. Happy warriors must be loving, even in the face of hate. Happy Father's Day. Happy Juneteenth. For more on many of these stories and news you can trust, go to charliekirk.

[E]

Com.