Hour 2 - A Doom & Gloom Pause

Summary

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Podcast Summary: The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show

Episode: Hour 2 – A Doom & Gloom Pause
Date: December 15, 2025
Hosts: Clay Travis & Buck Sexton
Podcast: iHeartPodcasts

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Episode Overview

In this emotionally charged hour, Clay Travis and Buck Sexton tackle a series of tragic news stories—from a terror attack on Bondi Beach in Australia to a horrific family murder involving Rob Reiner—while also reflecting on broader issues of violence, mental health, and political partisanship. To give the audience some necessary respite, the hosts intersperse the heaviness with lighter banter, including a spirited debate on R&B music, and share some personal holiday anecdotes.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Bondi Beach Terror Attack and Gun Control in Australia

• Clay (02:38): Opens with updates on the Bondi Beach terror attack targeting the Jewish community—15 killed, multiple guns used, and evidence of explicit antisemitic motives.

• Insights:

  • Challenges to the narrative that Australia "solved" gun violence through bans; Buck relays statistics showing gun ownership has increased since 1996.
  • Critique of Australian police response—attack lasted over 10 minutes at a major public venue in broad daylight.
  • Raises the issue of "globalized Intifada" and the impact of radicalized rhetoric on college campuses.

• Memorable Quote:
  "This is what globalize the Intifada actually means. You stupid moron college kids." – Clay Travis (02:47)

2. Rhode Island: Brown University Shooter at Large

• Clay (05:13): Updates on the university shooting: the suspect is still at large, with the police mistakenly detaining an unrelated individual.
• Insights:
  • Discussion of law enforcement challenges in active shooter investigations.
  • Public safety concerns on college campuses.

3. Rob Reiner and Wife Murdered: Mental Health and Society

• Clay (06:42): Reports on the shocking murder of director Rob Reiner and his wife, allegedly by their son with mental health struggles.

• Buck’s Insight (07:42):

  • Recalls interactions with Rob Reiner; emphasizes focus should be the tragedy, not politics.
  • Addresses the difficulty of involuntary psychiatric commitment in the US—even when families see clear danger.
  • Advocates for a return to spiritual and societal meaning as a route to preventing such tragedies.

• Memorable Quotes:
  "If we're going to find something that could be different other than looking to find ways to push our society closer to God and the wholesomeness of meaning..." – Buck Sexton (08:54)
  "It's just a tragedy. I don't know what else to say about it other than it's horrible and nobody should ever have to... a double murder and your own son did it. This is like biblical in its awfulness." – Buck Sexton (14:44)

• On Trump’s Reaction (11:22):

  • Clay criticizes Trump’s tone in commenting on Rob Reiner’s death, urging basic decency in response to violent loss, regardless of political differences.

4. Rob Reiner’s Stand Against Political Violence

• Clip from Piers Morgan (13:50): Reiner expresses horror at Charlie Kirk’s assassination, advocating for forgiveness and denouncing violence irrespective of politics.
• Hosts Reflect (14:47):
  • Buck and Clay commend Reiner for handling ideological differences with humanity: "For somebody who comes from the other side of the political aisle... just have a humane or basic human response." – Buck Sexton (14:47)

5. Taking a Breather: Holiday Cheer Amid Gloom

• Hosts Shift Tone (19:55):
  • Buck shares light-hearted stories about Christmas parties and life in South Florida; Clay recounts attending a party in Tennessee.
  • Discusses upcoming Supreme Court cases with major political implications for 2026.

6. Music Debate: R&B, Disco, and Musicals

• Disco vs. R&B Showdown (24:05–34:35):

  • Buck rails against disco, Clay confesses dislike for R&B and musicals, defending his position with tongue-in-cheek bravado.
  • They banter about musical genres, disagree about Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, Beyoncé, and even The Rockettes.
  • Clay stakes out: “Traditional R&B is a wasted genre that has to cross pollinate with actual genres that people want to listen.” (39:46)

• Listener Reactions (38:30+):

  • Callers pile on: Diana from Houston urges Buck to "take the shovel away" as Clay "digs a deeper hole," and Brian from North Dakota supports Clay’s R&B take.
  • Buck jokes: "Shovel ready Clay is the best clay." (39:30)

7. Gen Z, Inflation, and Why Young People Lean Left

• Ryan from Iowa’s Call (43:12):
  • Gen Z caller cites the soaring costs of gold and starter homes compared to minimum wage hours, arguing this economic climate leads more young people to support socialism.
  • Buck acknowledges inflation’s real impact; Clay adds that expectations for home size have dramatically increased since the 1980s.

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Notable Quotes and Moments (with Timestamps)

• On the Bondi Beach shooting:
  "These guys were able to shoot for 10 plus minutes." – Clay Travis (04:00)

• On mental health and violence:
  "It's way too hard to commit people... even family members have a difficult time getting somebody committed unless they want to be." – Buck Sexton (08:54)

• On political decency:
  "When somebody dies... you should just condemn the violence and move on." – Clay Travis (11:22)

• Rob Reiner on forgiveness:
  "I believe in the teachings of Jesus and I believe in doing to others and I believe in forgiveness." – Rob Reiner (13:50, interview clip)

• Running joke:
  "Shovel ready Clay is the best Clay." – Buck Sexton (39:30)

• On inflation and youth politics:
  "The inflation problem is very real. And for wage earners and people trying to build assets... it's a big challenge." – Buck Sexton (43:41)

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Timestamps for Major Segments

• 02:38: Bondi Beach terror attack, antisemitism, Australia gun law debate
• 05:13: Brown University shooting update
• 06:42–13:16: Rob Reiner family murder, mental health, Trump’s response
• 13:50: (Clip) Rob Reiner denounces political violence
• 19:55–22:07: Holiday anecdotes, lighter mood
• 24:05–34:35: Music genre debate: R&B, disco, and musicals
• 38:24–41:37: Listener reactions to music debate
• 43:12: Gen Z, inflation, and socialism
• 44:26: Transition toward end of hour

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Tone and Style

The hour’s overall tone is a rapid oscillation between somber and lively—reflecting the gravity of recent news but offering listeners a respite via humor, musical banter, and holiday warmth. Buck plays the straight man, while Clay leans into provocateur with his bold music opinions, all while keeping the show's signature mix of sharp political insight and irreverent entertainment.

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For Listeners Who Missed the Episode

This hour is a vivid snapshot of the show’s approach: taking on the day's toughest headlines with a blend of direct analysis, personal reflection, and humor designed both to inform and to offer a break from unrelenting bad news. The hosts do not shy away from serious policy or moral questions, but also let the banter run wild—whether it’s about disco, R&B, or holiday parties.

Listeners will come away with:

• Updates and perspectives on major news events, including terror, crime, and their societal implications
• Unfiltered opinions about political and media reactions to tragedy
• Some much-needed comic relief and holiday spirit
• Classic Clay and Buck repartee, especially on matters of music and pop culture

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Transcript

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[Clay Travis]

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[Clay Travis]

Welcome back. In our number two Clay Travis Buck Sexton show, we have been talking about the awful Hanukkah Bondi beach terror attack, 15 Jewish people slaughtered. Reports that the two shooters told some of the fleeing individuals that to just kind of get out of the way because they wanted to make sure they could target Jews. Just FYI, this is what globalize the Intifada actually means. You stupid moron college kids. This is a direct result of the arguments you have made trying to equivocate in some way the response of Israel to the attacks of October 7th with the depredations that were delivered on that day, October 7th, 2023, the fallout continues. And we had seen a massive increase in anti Semitic acts and attacks in Sydney and in, and in Melbourne. I believe Buck, that there are more Holocaust survivors outside of, outside obviously of Israel and the United States. In Israel, in Australia that is there is a huge population of Jewish people in, in Australia. And this targeted act of violence by a 50 year old father and his 24 year old son that was the two shooters, the father is eventually shot and killed, son is in custody and they were able legally to I believe between the two of them Buck possess six different guns. So everybody out there who has said hey Australia solved all of its mass shooting problems, they've banned guns. Buck gave us data in the first hour that there's actually more guns in Australia since they banned the guns back in 1996. And again I think the cowardice of the Australian police is going to become a bigger and bigger part of this story as we go forward. Major public venue in daylight. The equivalent basically of someone opening fire at a place like as you said Buck, south beach down in the Miami area or out in, out in California. For those of you in LA or I've spent time in la, this is like somebody opening fire at Santa Monica beach. And this guy was able to shoot for. These guys were able to shoot for 10 plus minutes. So a lot of you weighing in on that. Okay, let's also update two other stories and unfortunately they are off. Also awful. In Rhode island, the Brown Killer, that is the person who walked into a Brown University classroom and killed two people and wounded nine, several of them severely, is completely on the loose. There is a video out there of him appearing to leave campus. They took the wrong person into custody and it doesn't seem bucked that they have any real leads at all. The shooter wore all dark clothing. They were in the middle of doing an exam study session and just walked in and opened fire. And so we do not know where at all this guy is. And I say guy because it appears to be a man walking in all black clothing in the videos that I have seen. So that is out there. The shooting in Providence, Rhode island at Brown University. This story also came out late last night. Rob Reiner and his wife Michelle were murdered, according to authorities in Los Angeles, by their son Nick Reiner, stabbed to death. And Rob Reiner, whatever you think about his modern politics, I read Throat Slit.

[Buck Sexton]

Was what I read, which is a particularly brutal and vicious way to go.

[Clay Travis]

So both of them found dead. 78 year old Rob Reiner, 68 year old Michelle will come maybe back to his politics in a sec here. But Buck, you actually interviewed off air, I think you said Rob Reiner at one point in time. And I'm going to go through his film catalog, which in the late 80s and the early 90s he hit on a string of incredibly successful films. And this was before we all knew his left wing, frankly politics. But what did you find Rob Reiner to be like when you interviewed him back in the day?

[Buck Sexton]

I think there's not going to be any surprise about the fact that he had incredibly left wing politics and thought that Trump was a Hitlerian figure. But I also sit here and just say I don't really. I think that the story here is much more. So how is it that someone could have a family member whose mental health is so out of control like this over a period of time that they would kill their own parents like this? Yeah, because it was known that he had met. This wasn't like he snapped or something. It was known that he had mental health struggles for a long time. If anything, you know, there's not always a policy answer or policy solution. It's not always something that you could make go away or that could have been solved or could have been different. So we'll get more details about this Clay, about the Rob Reiner and wife double murder, which is what this is. But it seems they've already taken the son into custody. It seems very likely that that is exactly what happened here. That is the allegation certainly that is out there. And I just think that if we're going to find something that could be different other than looking to find ways to push our society closer to God and the wholesomeness of meaning that comes together from that sort of spiritual enlightenment. But put that aside just for a moment. Maybe it's just way too hard to commit people. I think that this is something and I've seen this time and again where there's some story and something completely terrible happens and we have made it and this stretches back for a long time. So that even family members have a very difficult time getting somebody committed to a psychiatric facility unless they want to be committed to a psychiatric facility. Now, you can imagine that people who are dangerously crazy, they generally don't want to be committed to a psychiatric facility. That's part of the whole being dangerously crazy thing.

[Clay Travis]

Oftentimes, unfortunately, Buck take their medicine. Right. One of the challenges of crazy people is they start to get a little bit better when they're on their meds and then they start to think, well, I don't actually need this anymore. By the way, the movies on a positive side in the 80s, this is spinal Tap, Stand By Me, the Princess Bride, When Harry Met Sally, Misery, A Few Good Men, all of those in an eight year period was an incredible string of successes for Rob Reiner as either director and or producer. He was the director of all those movies, also the producer of many of them as he started to have success. So to all of those, to continue and to have the ability to string together now again, the sun, we presume $4 million bail out there. I'm surprised that there would be any bail at all for something of this magnitude that you would do. But just a heinous thing. Now, I don't know why Trump felt compelled. I will, let me take a step back. I will say by and large, this is the difference between the right and the left. I've seen almost. And correct me if I'm wrong on this Buck team, you can correct me if I'm wrong. I've seen zero public celebration of Rob Reiner's death by anybody on the right. I ha. I just haven't seen it. Right. He was a committed left wing, anti Trump person. I have not seen a single thing out there, by and large, that is associated with tap dancing or anything remotely akin to what happened when Charlie Kirk died. And, and so I say that in a positive way. Trump, as Trump often did, stepped in it. I thought with his, with his post about Rob Reiner, I mean, you and I, I think, have the general perspective on this that remains consistent. When somebody dies, generally speaking, you should, especially in a violent manner like this, you should just condemn the violence and, and move on.

[Buck Sexton]

And there's also, there's also, look, there's something particularly horrible, Clay, about a father and a mother being killed by their own son. This would be a tragic story if it was a home invasion or something like that. You know, home invasion gone wrong, turned into a double homicide. They had their throat slit by their own son. Alleged. I know it's alleged right now, but, you know, ok, the guy's in custody. I'm sure that there's a lot of evidence that's going to be coming out here shortly. He had a long struggle with schizophrenia and mental health. Sorry, schizophrenia and addiction. I meant to say schizophrenia obviously is a mental health issue. So there's sort of a ticking time bomb scenario. Look, I. Huge supporter of President Trump's and so many things. Nobody's perfect. I don't, I don't. This was not the right response. So, you know, it's a miss. Sometimes there are misses But I think that you can, we can all give a little grace to someone, to their memory after they have been allegedly murdered by their own son with a butcher knife in their home with their wife as well. It's a pretty horrific, really about as horrific a story as you're going to come across these days.

[Clay Travis]

I'll also mention that Rob Reiner actually went on Piers Morgan uncensored and was not one of the crazy left wingers who celebrated the death of Charlie Kirk. This was from late September, September 26, 2025. This was with Piers Morgan. This is what Rob Reiner had to say about Charlie Kirk's assassination. Cut to four. You first heard about the murder of Charlie Kirk. What was your immediate gut reaction to it?

[Rob Reiner (Interview Clip)]

Well, horror, absolute horror. And I unfortunately saw the video of it and it's, it's in this, it's beyond belief what happened to him and that should never happen to anybody. I don't care what your political beliefs are. They, that's not acceptable. That's not a solution to, to solving problems. And I felt like what his wife said at the service, that the memorial they had was exactly right and totally, I believe, you know, I'm, I'm Jewish, but I, I believe in the teachings of Jesus and I believe in doing to others and I believe in forgiveness. And what she said to me was beautiful and absolutely, you know, she, she forgave his, his assassin. And I think that that is admirable.

[Buck Sexton]

Very well said. Yeah, that's a. For somebody who comes from the other side of the political aisle. Yeah, that's what you should do, which is just have a humane or a basic human response to something like what happened to Charlie Kirk. And that was why when I did my scrolling through blue sky that night, which again I think was necessary, but it was also haunting because you see so many people have been willing to completely abandon that basic humanity in favor of left wing ideology of a whole range, on a whole range of things. So that part is distressing. But yeah, look, Rob Reiner, Clay. I don't think we have much more. I actually had more to. I want to get back to the Brown shooting because I think that brings up some issues on the policy side other than being able to involuntarily commit somebody, including somebody, most notably somebody in your own family, because you know them better than anybody and you know, this is just a, this is just a tragedy. I don't know what else to say about it other than it's, it's horrible and nobody should ever have to. I mean, think about what this does to the broader family as well. A double murder and your own son did it. This is, this is like biblical in its awfulness. I mean, killed by your own child. Pretty shocking. Again, alleged, not proven yet. We'll get to it. Um, safety in your own home shouldn't be a question. We were just talking about safety and double, you know, home invasion situation. You want to be prepared and there's a company out there, Sabre, that wants to make sure you are prepared. With the best non lethal self defense products and tools on the market. Safe Sabre has safeguarded hundreds of thousands of Americans with their products. Their home defense projectile pepper spray may just be your ultimate choice. Small enough to hold in one hand, fires off a round projectile full of pepper spray which will slow and stop an intruder. These moments when someone invades your home are not the time when you want to think, oh, I wish, I wish I had something to defend myself. Sabers projectiles pack a serious non lethal punch. Find dozens of products that Sabre makes at their website. All meant to defend you, your home and your loved ones. With the best non lethal products on the market, save 15% when you go to Sabre. Radio.com that's S A B R E radio.com or call 844-824-SAFE 844-824 safe.

[Clay Travis]

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[Fitness Show Announcer]

10 athletes will face the toughest job interview in fitness that will push past physical and mental mental breaking points. You are the fittest of the fit. Only one of you will leave here with an IFIT contract worth $250,000.

[Buck Sexton]

This is where mindset comes in.

[Fitness Show Announcer]

Someone will be eliminated.

[Clay Travis]

Pressure is coming down.

[Promotional Announcer]

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[Washington Post Announcer]

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[Buck Sexton]

A candle on the Menorah or placing baby Jesus in the Nativity, we hope your holiday is full of grace, wonder and love.

[Clay Travis]

And maybe even a little snow. Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah from all of us at the Clay and Buck Show.

[Buck Sexton]

Welcome back in here to Clay and Buck. I know it is the Christmas season and we're talking some heavy stuff today, so I'm just gonna take a mom to to just bring us into the Christmas season, to the Hanukkah season, to the new year coming up here, to my birthday, which is not technically a national holiday yet, but perhaps, perhaps in time, as the Clay and Buck show continues to dominate, that will change. But I. I think that. Well, one thing, it was really nice to have you down here in South Florida.

[Clay Travis]

We had an awesome time.

[Buck Sexton]

Good times where the the, the Sexton Christmas party, I think was, was a big hit. We had live with live music there, jazz, because nothing is classier than random jazz. And we enjoyed it. And I think the Michael Scott line is actually nothing is classier than boring jazz. But I like to change that up a little bit. So we had some fun with that. And then we also had Dave, Dave Rubin had a little holiday party. We checked that out. I went shooting for the whole day on Saturday with my friends, your Michael Singleton. But you know, down here in Florida, we do Christmas. We get it going. We got palm trees with lights on them. You know how it is. So how's it up in Tennessee? I just want to, I, I need to shake off a little bit. It's been a rough day here on Clay and Buck.

[Clay Travis]

Based on we haven't even, we haven't even gotten into the awfulness about the Brown Killer still being on.

[Buck Sexton]

Okay, Clay, can we take a pause? We're trying to have a pause. We're trying to let everyone have a breather here.

[Clay Travis]

It is, it is a very, it is, well, super cold. And I am, I think there's a lot of people out there that are ready for the holiday season to be here. I was yesterday with in addition to your awesome party that you and Carrie put on yesterday, Shannon Bream, friend of the show who is on Fox News and there has been on this show a ton over the years. She and her awesome husband Sheldon had a Christmas party in downtown Franklin, Tennessee and we had an awesome time there. So there you go. A lot of good Christmas party cheer that is out there for Trump.

[Buck Sexton]

But she's one of the very best people. She really is media. Shannon Bream, the best lovely lady inside and out.

[Clay Travis]

She, she is fantastic. Sheldon is also great. And so we had an awesome time hanging out with them. And I actually talked with her a little bit because one does about the fact that probably under the radar, the amount of big time decisions that are going to come down from the Supreme Court between now and June is, I think, not being talked about enough as it pertains to presidential power, as it pertains to birthright citizenship, the tariffs, which I think there is a decent chance the Supreme Court may say Trump doesn't have the authority to have implemented in the manner that he did, to say nothing of all the other challenges that are out there. So we will continue to be following those as we enter into 2026. We come back, unfortunately, more bad news out there. We'll talk about the Brown Killer as still on the loose after a shooting at the university. Uh, in the meantime, I want to tell you the power of your purchase makes a big difference in the success of a business. Individually, you may think it doesn't, but every customer counts. This past year, your support of PureTalk has helped them achieve a record breaking year. And now they would like to say thank you for choosing PureTalk as your cell phone company. Because of your generosity through their Roundup for charity program, they've been able to donate over a half million dollars to America's Warrior Partnership. That's a nonprofit who stands on the front lines of preventing veterans suicide. And when you choose Pure Talk as your wireless provider, you choose to support American jobs. So from everyone in the Pure Talk family, including both Buck and myself, thank you for your trust. God bless America. And if you want to switch £250 great American company, that's £250. Say clay and Buck. All right, welcome back in Clay Travis Buck Sexton show. I mean it was kind of a tough.

[Buck Sexton]

Was that disco Christmas music?

[Clay Travis]

What were we playing there, guys? It does. What was that?

[Buck Sexton]

It was disco Christmas music. This is perhaps where. Get off my lawn. Buck rears his ugly head.

[Clay Travis]

Now you're going to join me anti Christmas. Good luck on the, on the responses you're going to get.

[Buck Sexton]

I, I don't care. Anybody. I hate disco music. If I think I hate disco music more than any other kind, any other genre of music, I, I would rather have like weird like, you know, what's like the tribal like guttural singing they do in like Nordic countries. Like, like I'd rather that anything but disco music.

[Clay Travis]

I would probably say R and B is my least favorite music. Really.

[Buck Sexton]

There's most.

[Clay Travis]

R and B is awful. There's like five R&B songs that are actually popular. I'm talking about like, you know, and they tend to be more pop than.

[Buck Sexton]

They are bone thugs and harmony. Nothing for you. They're nothing.

[Clay Travis]

No, no. But bone thugs and harmony is, is the rap mixed with the R and B. The R B by itself is often just atrocious. Just atrocious.

[Buck Sexton]

Now when they thugs is not, Is not. That's not R B.

[Clay Travis]

That's right.

[Buck Sexton]

That's right.

[Clay Travis]

Thugs in harmony.

[Buck Sexton]

Oh, both thugs and harmony. Really? Oh, okay. That shows what I know.

[Clay Travis]

Yeah. Oh, I, I, I think that would be clearly classified as rap. If I go back in seven RIP I think at least one of the. Is it busy? I don't, I'm always, I always hesitate to say who's actually dead one of the bone Thugs in Harmony guys is dead. I don't want to pronounce the wrong guy dead, but, you know, unexpected.

[Buck Sexton]

According to. According to AI, they straddle the line between hip hop and R B as part. That's.

[Clay Travis]

Well, that's what I'm saying. Like, it's only when you move R B close to another genre that it becomes likable. So people out there are like, oh, I like R and B. Most of you like R and B when it's crossed with rap or crossed with pop or crossed with, you know, country. Whatever you want to say whenever it's crossed with something else. Otherwise, it's just like Tony Braxton wailing along.

[Buck Sexton]

Is Stevie Wonder R B, you heathen.

[Clay Travis]

No, he would be pop. The. The songs that you like that are. Stevie Wonder would be popular. The true R B. When I say R B, I mean like Toni Braxton. I hope she's still alive. I think she's dead too, isn't she? I'm just. There's a lot of dead people out there. Apologies if Toni Braxton still alive. It's like the Mariah Carey who I know is alive. It's like the Mariah Carey songs that you like all veer towards pop. And the ones where she just is, like, screaming and singing, that's off. So, anyway, I'm. I'm anti R and B. I mean, according to.

[Buck Sexton]

I. I'm just. I'm just going this year. By the way, I have to point out wherever I can if Clay gets anything wrong between now and when the election happens, because increasingly, it is looking likely that Kamala is going to run.

[Clay Travis]

I was going to raise this, but we have so many awful stories out there, But Kamala was. We need to give everybody a break.

[Buck Sexton]

We need to get everybody a break from. This is too much of a. We got the Christmas music going, and today's like a big bang bummer of all the terrible things happening in the world. But top R and B, according to AI. Stevie Wonder. Amazing. Aretha Franklin. Amazing. Whitney Houston, Marvin Gaye, Clay. The worst music of all, I said, of all genres. I mean, I'm throwing, like, international whatever in there.

[Clay Travis]

I would rather listen to disco because it's upbeat and not just. Again, the R B that pops, the R B that people like. I will die on this hill. It actually is not very much R and B. It actually.

[Buck Sexton]

What is. What is like classic. What is. What is true R B. Then if. If all the R B artists are not really R B, what is R B?

[Clay Travis]

Beyonce, when. Let's use Beyonce as an example. Beyonce will come out with an album that has, I don't know, 15 songs. Nine of them will be actual, you know, ballads where she's just standing there, you know, just singing. And then the ones that are actually successful will be the ones where she dances. And there is a pop element associated with it. Right? Like, you go back and look, if you actually listen to most of Beyonce's songs, 90% of them are awful. And then she has 10 that are huge crossover appeals because they have strong hip hop elements, because they have strong pop elements. Traditional R and B, to me, is just somebody, like, I just think Houston standing there singing.

[Buck Sexton]

I think your definition is just like, jello here. Like, I try to. I try to squeeze in one area. Like, I'm sitting here, I'm looking at, like, Marvin Gaye is an R and B artist. You don't like mar. Like, straight up, he's an R and B artist. You don't like Marvin Gaye songs?

[Clay Travis]

I don't even know that many Marvin Gaye songs to start with. Is that let's get it On. Is that Marvin Gaye? Is that his most famous song? Probably, yes. Okay. Yes. My argument, okay, like, this is a good one. They're saying boys to men, okay? I'm talking about people in my life. Boyz to Men has like, three good songs ever. They are still wildly popular, but it's like Motown, Philly, where they have a little bit of more hip hop flavor. The actual ballads, they're awful.

[Buck Sexton]

You see that? You see this? This is like. It's like dealing with a leftist. When you talk to Clay about music, all of a sudden, oh, no, in my lifetime, you're throwing that in, buddy. I dropped that Marvin Gaye on the table, and you knew you were in trouble.

[Clay Travis]

This is where I'm 100% right, is I'm also very anti musical, so I will own this. I've never been to a musical and thought, you know what? This is better because they sang. Just act like you're actors. Go act. I don't need you to break into song. But R and B is. If you just had to listen to the worst. Most R and B, like, that is just somebody standing there wailing into a mic for 20 consecutive songs. You would. It would be worse than disco, I think.

[Buck Sexton]

So when Russell Crowe and the guy who plays Wolverine in Les Mis were like, sing. Shouting at each other. You weren't into that? That didn't do it for you? Do you even know what I'm talking about? No.

[Clay Travis]

I mean, I know that they're like, I will only go. I will only go to a musical because I believe that if I go to a musical, I think south park actually made a joke about this. And one of the. That I presume my wife will sleep with me after I go to a musical. That is the only that I'm sitting there just thinking, well, at least she's going to sleep with me after this is over. The whole musical universe, they're all awful. And they would all be better if they just talked.

[Buck Sexton]

I'm just glad. You barbarian. You cultural barbarian. That I don't have to explain to you that the Rockettes. Not really a musical. You know what I mean? The ladies with the nice legs dancing around. That's. That's a. That's its own thing.

[Clay Travis]

I will admit that I can be distracted by ladies with nice legs dancing around such that I don't notice the awful singing. But every time they start to sing a song. I went. I took my kids. I went to go see. And I'm not an anti Broadway guy. I went to go see the Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. I took my kids. Really, really good. I went to go because I'm super cultured. I went to go see Denzel Washington and Jake Gillenol in. Yeah, Was it Macbeth? Othello. Okay, well, a Shakespeare play.

[Buck Sexton]

You know, Shakespeare, Clay. That guy Shakespeare, he's got some good stuff.

[Clay Travis]

I went to go see George Clooney in the. In the. Whatever thing he was doing where he's playing the cbs. Edward R. Murrow. No singing.

[Buck Sexton]

Yeah. Good night and good luck, producer. Pretty good save on that one. Yeah, I. A long time ago, I had a date who demanded that I take. I shouldn't say demanded, but she kind of demanded that we go to Frozen on Broadway. That was brutal. That was brutal. Didn't last.

[Clay Travis]

That's all I can tell.

[Buck Sexton]

You didn't last. She really want to go to Frozen?

[Clay Travis]

They made a movie about. I mean, they made a play about Frozen.

[Buck Sexton]

It was on Broadway. Yeah.

[Clay Travis]

Really? I didn't even know that I missed that one. Well, that's kind of weird.

[Buck Sexton]

You make the buckster sit through some nonsense like that. You are not long for the.

[Clay Travis]

They made a Broadway play version of Frozen, and it's already off. Didn't frozen make like $8 billion? How did the play not work? Like, they still have Aladdin, the play? I've seen all of these because I was with my kids. The Lion King, they did all the different play versions on Broadway, but. Oh, man, that's a weird chick that wanted you as part of a date to take her to go see Frozen.

[Buck Sexton]

I got taken on a date to Hedwig and the Angry Inch. And I never forgot nor forgave that debacle either. I don't know if you know what that play is about, but if you do, you'll know what I'm talking about. Not good. Not good. But a guy cuts off his own. You know what, Clay? True story. That's the play. And there's some rock music. Yeah.

[Clay Travis]

Must be popular with Democrats.

[Buck Sexton]

Kind of their anthem.

[Clay Travis]

A lot of democrat men. A lot of democrat men. A little bit of a metaphor there. All right, do we have to get back now, like.

[Buck Sexton]

No, no. I think we got to open up the calls.

[Clay Travis]

I think we got to hit the.

[Buck Sexton]

Reset and talk about, like, serious things.

[Clay Travis]

Yes. At the top of the NEC next hour, people are going to be angrier at me about my R and B and musicals.

[Buck Sexton]

Take this is the top five. Wrong clay.

[Clay Travis]

Take.

[Buck Sexton]

Top five clay Belly flop right here on R B. There's such worse genres of music than R B. I'm not even. I don't love R B, but there is some great R B out there. Like, Aretha Franklin is incredible. Okay?

[Clay Travis]

But again, if it's not real R B, they're pushing it into pop. Everything you like. That's actually R and B is just pop that they have disguised as the R and B. Go, go pull an album up and just listen to somebody wailing. That is real R and B. And it's awful.

[Buck Sexton]

I mean, I feel like Attila the Hun is explaining the Sistine chapel to me right now. Like, this is just not. This is just not working for me.

[Clay Travis]

I was just in the Sistine Chapel. I appreciate great art.

[Buck Sexton]

Yeah, Sistine chapel is very nice. Very nice. Yeah. That's ever since Clay got doused with holiness, you know? Now he's just an expert on all these things, you know, he's. Ever since his high five with the.

[Clay Travis]

Pop, you get to hang with the pope. You just see the world. I bet the pope agrees with me on bad R and B.

[Buck Sexton]

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[Clay Travis]

Anything goes. Clay, Travis and Buck Sexton. Find them on the the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts.

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[Fitness Show Announcer]

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[Buck Sexton]

This is where mindset comes in.

[Fitness Show Announcer]

Someone will be eliminated.

[Clay Travis]

Pressure is coming down.

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[Buck Sexton]

To play and Buck, let's go right into this.

[Clay Travis]

The.

[Buck Sexton]

The big controversy of the day. Clay's take on music. We knew this was going to happen. I thought I'd upset some disco lovers out there, but no. Clay decided I'm just. He said, hold my beer or maybe hold my rose. I'm going to do something even more inflammatory by throwing all of R B under the bus. This is Diana from Houston. Isn't Diana Ross, by the way, fantastic?

[Clay Travis]

Is this Diana Ross who's called. It would be Singapore. It would be amazing if.

[Buck Sexton]

If Aretha the Queen Franklin herself were to send us a talk back right now. Maybe, maybe a little singing. Cece Diana from Houston, hit it.

[Clay Travis]

Buck, please take the shovel away from Clay. He's digging a deeper hole. The more he talks, the deeper it gets.

[Buck Sexton]

You don't understand. Go ahead.

[Clay Travis]

I was going to say, I think most people agree with me. I think. I think most people out there are like, you know what? Clay's right. Because R B is awful standing alone. They have to cross it with actual good genres in order to make it popular.

[Buck Sexton]

I just want to tell you, shovel ready, Clay is the best clay. The Clay that has that shovel and keeps digging is like the most entertaining. Because once, once you goad him into it, once you give him the off ramp from his craziness, no interest. He's going. He's going to dig a hole to China.

[Clay Travis]

When you know you're right, you don't bail. And I'm right on this. The traditional R and B is a wasted genre that has to cross pollinate with actual genres that people want to listen. Here we go.

[Buck Sexton]

Someone in North Dakota, big surprise. Brian wants to take Clay side in the R and B debate. Go ahead, put them on.

[Caller Brian]

Yeah, well, no problem with that. You know the original R and B, when you get back to the Temptations and Aretha Franklin and the folks you're talking about there, but absolutely correct. But what we moved into is just nothing but pop and money and a screen fest. Whitney Houston started it all and. And quite honestly, if I want to get yelled at, I'm moved back in with one of my ex wives.

[Buck Sexton]

Wait, wait, wait a second. Wait a second. You're throwing Whitney Houston under the bus? Whitney Houston is amazing.

[Clay Travis]

Amazing voice, Buck. But her voice is so good that she got lazy. And they just said, hey, you're gonna read the phone book for eight of your. Eight of your.

[Buck Sexton]

These are the worst.

[Clay Travis]

These are the worst music takes I've ever heard. I've just. I didn't know. We're gonna cross pollinate it with pop, and we'll actually have, like, three songs that people like that Whitney Houston does, and they don't even realize how awful most of Whitney Houston's music is, Clay.

[Buck Sexton]

Next thing you know, you're going to throw Mannheim Steamroll under the bus. It's just crazy what's coming out. What's crazy?

[Clay Travis]

I will say the Beyonce, like. Like, Love Affair is. Well, hold on. I might be contradicting myself for a second. Here is Adele.

[Buck Sexton]

That would be a shock as you're running in circles here on the. That's not R and B.

[Clay Travis]

This is R and B. I will. I will pull one exception out. I think Adele is 100% R&B. Would it be fair to say, Although she crosses over with pop, too. Who is the most prominent current R B artist? Beyonce.

[Buck Sexton]

Oh, I don't know. I don't listen to really anything new anymore. I listen to, like, a little bit of, you know, indie rock. And that. That's about. That's about it. By the way, we're getting thrown another bus here. We're going to get back into the whole third hour. We're going to get into depressing news and analysis therein and the fight for Western civilization, so. Because we're getting some calls about that, too. Okay, we'll get back to it. It's almost Christmas. We only talk about so much massacres, mayhem and. And terrorism and all these horrible things without, you know, we got to take a breather, too. All right, Billy from New York wants to throw us under the bus. This is Talk Back bb. Man, I had to get off my ladder just to. Just to tell you guys. I can't believe. And either you two, none of you seen the Warriors? You guys. What?

[Clay Travis]

I. I can't believe it. This is true.

[Buck Sexton]

First of all, Billy from New York is definitely from New York. I love this. I had to get off my ladder. Billy, we love you.

[Clay Travis]

This was, I think, age related because this is one where it came out in 1979, I think if you looked.

[Buck Sexton]

It up, because, Clay, you were just graduating college. You clearly should have seen this.

[Clay Travis]

I was born in 79. Buck was born in what, 82, 81. And so this is like one of those little windows where the movie came out, like when we were so young that we never went back to see it. I. I've never seen that movie. And I know people were fired, fired up about that. I think that was Friday. We had a talk back and we had to confess to that. We have.

[Buck Sexton]

We have a Gen Z podcast. Listener Ryan from Iowa wants to weigh it on the Gen Z phenomenon in politics these days. AA Hit it.

[Caller Ryan]

Hey, Clay and Buck, it's Ryan from Iowa. I'm a gen zer. I just wanted to point out that in 1980, apparently it was $850 an ounce to get gold versus nowadays $4,330. And in the 80s, it would be 274 hours at minimum wage versus nowadays at 597 hours. And that's why so many in my generation are falling into the trap of socialism. The economy is just not what it was.

[Buck Sexton]

Well, the, the inflation. The inflation problem is very real. And for wage earners and people trying to build assets, play like for example, buy their first home, inflation is a big challenge.

[Clay Travis]

I also think the homes have expanded monstrously since 1980. So what we consider to be a starter home, let me just point out in 2025, starter homes would have in many cases been considered the largest homes anywhere in a neighborhood back in the 70s or 60s or 50s, if you see some of the size of those homes historically. So I think it's also an expectation of how much bigger a home needs to be. We come back, awful stories. We'll go back into them. This is Clay and Buck.

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[Fitness Show Announcer]

10 athletes will face the toughest job interview in fitness that will push past physical and mental breaking points. You are the fittest of the fit. Only one of you will leave here with an IFIT contract worth $250,000.

[Buck Sexton]

This is where mindset comes in.

[Fitness Show Announcer]

Someone will be eliminated.

[Clay Travis]

Pressure is coming down.

[Promotional Announcer]

Trainer games on Prime Video January 8th. Watch the trailer on trainergames.com Ever wish.

[Washington Post Announcer]

You could try the Washington Post and see what all the talk is about right now you can with a one week pass for just $7. No commitment, no strings attached. Just $7 for one week of unlimited access to the Post. It's the perfect way to explore our award winning journalism and experience what subscribers already know. There's nothing else quite like it, so why not give us a try? Go to washingtonpost.com week and start your $7 one week pass today. That's washingtonpost.com week.

[Promotional Announcer]

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