The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show

Episode: Hour 1 - This Isn't Taught in School

Date: February 11, 2026
Podcast: The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show (iHeartPodcasts)

Overview

In this episode, Clay Travis and Buck Sexton deliver a fast-paced, opinionated analysis of recent news, focusing on U.S. crime statistics, the state of the American economy under Trump, debates about marijuana use, the Super Bowl halftime show controversy, and historical narratives around colonialism and slavery. With their trademark blend of humor, cultural critique, and conservative perspective, Clay and Buck scrutinize mainstream media narratives and challenge commonly-held beliefs about history and policy.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Crime and Law Enforcement: Lowest Murder Rates in 125 Years

• Pam Bondi's Testimony
  • Pam Bondi appears on Capitol Hill, presenting data showing the U.S. had its lowest murder rate in 125 years (00:09).
• Federal Government and Crime
  • Buck argues the Trump administration has proven the federal government can play an effective, positive role in law enforcement.
    • "The idea that the federal government can't have a very active frontline role in bringing down national crime stats, I think that has been annihilated, which is a very good thing." (00:30)
  • Critique of Democratic administrations: Claim they favor policies like early prisoner release, seen as counterproductive to crime reduction.

2. The State of the U.S. Economy: “En Fuego” Under Trump

• Record Job Growth
  • Wall Street Journal headline highlighted: 130,000 jobs added in January, strongest job growth since late 2024 (01:29).
  • Unemployment rate falls to 4.3% with the stock market up 40% since April 2025 (03:12, 03:42).
• Private Sector vs. Government Jobs
  • Clay notes significant reduction in federal government employees (~250,000-360,000 fewer since Trump took office), marking a shift to private sector employment (03:56, 06:10).
  • Tax revenues are up, and the federal deficit is reportedly coming down.
    • Notable Quote: "Private economy is on fire... we knocked out and continue to dial back the number of government employees." (03:42, Clay)
• US Labor Force Participation
  • Kevin Hassett (former economic advisor): "The percentage of Americans that are looking for a job or have a job actually went to its highest level since 2001... we've got the lowest government worker number since 1966 and the lowest share of government workers in the labor force in all of history." (06:10, Hassett)
• Tariffs and Market Recovery
  • Buck & Clay assert their show’s prediction vindicated Trump’s economic policies, particularly regarding tariffs (01:40).

3. Revisiting the 2020 Election and COVID's Impact

• What-if Scenario
  • Clay argues that if not for COVID, Trump would have overwhelmingly won re-election, as Biden’s age and limitations would have become evident if he had to campaign normally (09:01).
    • "Biden's decrepitude would have revealed itself and Trump would have won an unbelievable landslide in 2020." (09:42, Clay)

4. Conservative vs. Progressive Policy Outcomes

• Buck summarizes their thesis:
  • Crime: Trump and MAGA Republicans’ approach works better.
  • Border: Enforcing immigration law is demonstrably more effective.
  • Economy: Emphasis on free-market and "letting Americans do what Americans do" yields better results (10:32).
• Dismisses “Marxist redistributive principles” and DEI as failed policies of the Biden years (07:20).

5. Societal Shift: Marijuana Use Surpasses Alcohol

• NYT Admission
  • The hosts discuss a stunning NYT editorial admitting more Americans now use marijuana daily than alcohol (12:59).
• Personal Reflections
  • Buck: Calls widespread marijuana use "a scourge"; admits he was previously misled about its supposed harmlessness (13:13).
    • "Weed is a terrible and stupid and bad thing, and we were lied to." (13:24, Buck)
    • "I'm the American Taliban when it comes to weed. Do not want it in my neighborhood. Do not want it in my face." (14:25, Buck)
  • Clay: Credits the NYT for admitting error and admits personal underestimation of marijuana's impact (14:31).
• Anticipates Audience Pushback
  • Both expect disagreement, positioning themselves as tough truth-tellers to their own audience (14:51).

6. Super Bowl Halftime Show – Cultural Backlash

• Ratings Disaster
  • The hosts critique the NFL's decision to feature Bad Bunny, noting a record loss of 10 million viewers during halftime, the largest drop-off ever (19:00).
    • "Bad bunny lost 10 million viewers, the most people that have ever turned off or left the super bowl for a halftime show in the history of the Super Bowl." (19:54, Clay)
• Culture War Angle
  • Clay argues halftime shows should appeal to the widest English-speaking audience, emphasizing the importance of shared American cultural experiences (23:25).
  • Buck adds satirical commentary on social media claims that Spanish is the "language of anti-colonialism", highlighting Spain’s brutal history as a colonial power (25:12, 26:13).
    • "The Spanish showed up in the New World and they were like, we're going to take all your stuff. We're going to kill a lot of you. And anybody who doesn't do what we say, we're definitely killing you and burning down your whole village." (25:39, Buck)

7. True History: Slavery, Colonialism, and Illiteracy

• Debunking Historical Narratives
  • Buck and Clay argue U.S. schools and mainstream media rarely discuss the scope of European colonial brutality or the extended global history of slavery.
  • Noteworthy statistics discussed:
    • Portuguese as leading perpetrators of the Atlantic slave trade.
    • Brazil didn’t abolish slavery until 1888, Nigeria until 1936, Mauritania not until 1981 (30:50, 31:29, 32:55).
    • "There are countries where there's still active slavery practices, by the way, African countries in particular, where that is still going on. And it's usually Arab Muslims or ethnic Arab Muslims who are enslaving black Africans..." (33:35, Buck)
• Critique of “1619 Project”
  • Asserts left-wing projects aim to illegitimize U.S. founding ideals by framing all American and Western history around the original sin of slavery (28:24).

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the Economy
  "Private economy is on fire… we're taking people off of the government payroll… Americans are getting [the jobs]." — Clay (03:42)
• On Trump's Economic Critics
  "Looks like Trump was right and everybody else was wrong, or at least everybody who said that he was wrong was wrong." — Buck (01:57)
• On Weed
  "Weed is a terrible and stupid and bad thing, and we were lied to." — Buck (13:24) "I'm the American Taliban when it comes to weed. Do not want it in my neighborhood. Do not want it in my face." — Buck (14:25)
• On Super Bowl Halftime Show
  "Bad bunny lost 10 million viewers, the most people that have ever turned off or left the super bowl for a halftime show in the history of the Super Bowl." — Clay (19:54)
• On Spain and Colonialism
  "The Spanish showed up in the New World and they were like, we're going to take all your stuff… They were absolutely brutal. Like, this is… It's just so funny to me that people are thinking this." — Buck (25:39)
• On Historical Illiteracy
  "This isn't taught in schools. And people you tell them this, they'll be like, that's not true. Google it." — Buck (28:02) "We are historically illiterate as a country. When you actually study the history… you have a little bit more depth to be able to discuss many different issues." — Clay (30:26)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:09: Show open; Pam Bondi's crime statistics and implications.
• 01:29: Economy discussion: job growth, tariffs, Trump economic policies.
• 03:42: Private sector job creation, reduced government payroll.
• 06:10: Kevin Hassett on historic labor force participation and shrinking government workforce.
• 09:01: February 2020 economy and impact of COVID-19 on election.
• 10:32: Buck’s theses: crime, border, economy—conservative policies vindicated.
• 12:59: NYT on marijuana surpassing alcohol; Clay and Buck’s personal takes.
• 14:25: Buck's anti-weed "American Taliban" moment.
• 19:00: Super Bowl halftime ratings collapse, Bad Bunny controversy.
• 23:25: Clay on importance of shared American cultural experiences.
• 25:12: Buck on Spanish colonial history and anti-colonialism narrative.
• 28:02: “This isn't taught in schools”—white slavery and historical illiteracy.
• 30:26: Clay on value of historical literacy.
• 31:29: Countries abolishing slavery late in history.

Summary Feel & Tone

The hour is conversational, frequently humorous, and combative—aimed at debunking progressive narratives with both data and sharp critiques. Both hosts are self-congratulatory about having “been right all along,” imploring their mostly conservative audience to see recent headlines as validation of their views. Frequent references to historical context and data underpin broader arguments about contemporary policy, America’s place in the world, and the cultural battles raging in the U.S.