The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show

Episode: Hour 2 - Behind the Curtain with Clay
Date: February 2, 2026
Host: Clay Travis (with Buck Sexton on-site at Kennedy Space Center)
Guest: Todd Ricketts (co-owner, Chicago Cubs; founder, Free Spoke)

Overview

This episode dives into the evolving landscape of American media, its shift from advertising to subscription models, and the resulting polarization. Clay Travis unpacks how journalists and outlets blur the lines between news and opinion, particularly regarding coverage of ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) and controversial statements from celebrities and NBA coaches. The hour also features an in-depth conversation with Todd Ricketts on the entrenched political bias of Big Tech, the challenges of building unbiased alternatives, and the impact of AI-driven information curation.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Behind the Curtain: Media Evolution and Political Polarization

• Media’s Two Revenue Models:
  • Advertising dominated the traditional model—news outlets sought broad appeal to maximize ad revenue.
  • “Now, subscriptions have changed the way that media operates because subscriptions basically fuel everything [...] at the New York Times, at the Washington Post, subscriptions are the reason now that they make money.” (Clay Travis, 05:03)
• Print Newspapers' Decline and Internet Disruption:
  • Print relied heavily on classified ad revenue; online classifieds like Craigslist destroyed this market.
  • “Internet dollars for advertising were a pin prick of what you could get in print advertising. […] So they had to shift and they had to become subscription-based businesses.” (Clay Travis, 07:44)
• Impact of Subscription Model:
  • Media now caters to subscriber preferences, leading to echo chambers.
  • “People are not seeking negative stories. They want their preexisting opinions reinforced.” (Clay Travis, 38:54)
• Sports Media Analogy:
  • Subscription fan sites always paint teams positively to retain subscribers—mirrored in modern news outlets.
  • “If you are a subscriber for a fan-based subscription, you don’t want to hear that your team stinks… That’s the New York Times.” (Clay Travis, 39:56)

2. Blurring News and Opinion: The ICE/Celebrity Narrative

• Manipulative Journalism Tactics:
  • Reporters ask ‘coded’ questions to coax opinionated responses from celebrities, then present those as news.
  • “She wants ICE to be ripped by a celebrity […] so that her news story can be ‘celebrity rips ICE’…” (Clay Travis, 10:48)
• Celebrity/Coach Accusations and Accountability:
  • Steve Kerr (Golden State Warriors) claimed ICE wasn’t arresting violent criminals—later corrected.
  • Doc Rivers (NBA coach) doubled down on calling ICE actions “straight up murder” without retraction.
  • Media covers initial provocative statements but ignores corrections/apologies.
  • “Steve Kerr's apology—almost no news site covered it, but they all covered him saying that ICE was only arresting five-year-olds and wasn't arresting violent criminals.” (Clay Travis, 16:12)
• Outkick Reporters Holding Figures Accountable:
  • Alejandro Avila (Outkick) pressed Steve Kerr on inaccuracies regarding ICE.
  • “That’s what actual journalism would look like: hear what somebody’s opinion is, push back when they’re wrong, and hold them accountable for it.” (Clay Travis, 22:38)

3. Big Tech, Censorship, and Political Bias: Interview with Todd Ricketts

• Personal Experience with Algorithmic Suppression:
  • Clay recounts how his site, Outkick, saw traffic plummet after publishing pro-Trump content, testifying how tech algorithms can sideline conservative voices. (24:18)
• Inside Free Spoke: Mission for Neutral Search and AI
  • Ricketts: Free Spoke isn’t designed to be right-leaning, but to provide balance and avoid suppression.
  • “We started Free Spoke not to be a right-leaning search engine, but we said, you know, what we want to do is we want to put something out there that is just trying to give good results and balancing all the information that you have…” (Todd Ricketts, 25:39)
  • AI presents new challenges—algorithms can further entrench biases.
  • “We've tried to train our AI to be really... just the facts, ma'am. We're trying not to lean anywhere.” (Todd Ricketts, 28:50)
• The Problem of Echo Chambers and Social Media Algorithms:
  • Algorithms reinforce users’ views, pushing them deeper into isolated bubbles.
  • “When you get on Instagram or TikTok and you like something, you just get more of it. […] It really drives the divide.” (Todd Ricketts, 31:00)
• Serendipity and Exposure to Diverse Views:
  • Print news offers accidental exposure to diverse topics; algorithmic curation narrows the field.
  • “One reason that I love print is serendipity. It puts articles I might not otherwise read in front of me…” (Clay Travis, 33:09)
• Scaling and Competing with Big Tech:
  • Ricketts notes challenges in gaining scale against entrenched behemoths and speaks to antitrust hurdles and AI’s significance in future information battles.

4. Cultural Sidebar: Super Bowl and Competing Halftime Shows

• Turning Point USA’s “All American Halftime Show”:
  • As an alternative to the official Super Bowl show featuring Bad Bunny (who has expressed anti-ICE, anti-America sentiments), Turning Point USA will air a performance including Kid Rock, Brantley Gilbert, among others.
  • Travis notes the halftime show always draws the biggest audience: “Every single year, the Super Bowl audience peaks at halftime.” (37:31)
• Cultural Competition as a Reflection of Political Divide:
  • Entertainment is being split along ideological lines, mirroring broader media trends.

Notable Quotes (with Timestamps)

• On Media Shifts:
  • "They (news organizations) no longer break news, they're just propaganda because they shifted from ad to subscription-based businesses."
    — Clay Travis (09:18)
• On Journalistic Bias:
  • “What the reporters are doing is they're asking left wing coded questions. They're getting famous people like Doc Rivers, Steve Kerr, Jelly Roll, whoever it is, to say what they wish they could say. And then they're covering it as ‘news’.”
    — Clay Travis (15:14)
• On Tech Censorship:
  • “The left is running big tech… Programmers at Google are just naturally left leaning and then there’s institutional left leaning from the executives.”
    — Todd Ricketts (25:56)
• On AI's Impact:
  • “We've tried to train our AI to be really... just the facts, ma'am. We're trying not to lean anywhere.”
    — Todd Ricketts (28:50)
• On Echo Chambers & Algorithms:
  • “The algorithms are driving us to the content that we like, because their whole idea is to keep you there. So they're not going to show you stuff that disagrees with you.”
    — Todd Ricketts (31:25)
• On Print vs. Algorithms:
  • “One reason that I love print is serendipity. It puts articles that I might not otherwise read in front of me because the algorithm only is going to give me things that already knows I like.”
    — Clay Travis (33:09)
• On Subscription Media:
  • “Subscription-based businesses are not honest because fans buy subscriptions. People are not seeking negative stories. They want their preexisting opinions reinforced.”
    — Clay Travis (38:54)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• Media Shift to Subscription, Bias Explained:
  [05:03]–[09:18]

• How Journalists Manufacture Opinion Headlines:
  [10:30]–[16:30]

• Clips: Steve Kerr on ICE, Correction, Doc Rivers on ICE:
  [13:00]–[14:41]

• Outkick Reporter Questions Steve Kerr – Journalism Example:
  [22:16]–[22:38]

• Todd Ricketts Interview (Big Tech, Free Spoke, AI, Scale):
  [25:24]–[35:47]

• Discussion on Echo Chambers & Print News Serendipity:
  [31:00]–[33:19]

• Super Bowl Halftime Show, Cultural Split:
  [37:31]–[38:54]

Memorable Moments

• Clay’s “Behind Enemy Lines” in California:
  Clay highlights that despite California's reputation, many conservative listeners exist there—“even behind enemy lines.” He shares the surprising stat that “more people in California voted for Donald Trump in 2020 than in Texas” (02:19).

• Clay Recalls Being ‘Deplatformed’
  News of Outkick’s traffic plummeting due to algorithmic suppression after a Trump interview—underscoring Big Tech’s gatekeeping.

• Todd Ricketts on Tech Bias:
  Explains Free Spoke's aim to give users exposure to the full political spectrum rather than just what algorithms auto-feed based on prior behavior.

• Cultural Competition of Halftime Shows
  Reflecting the political divide, while the official Super Bowl show features a left-leaning artist, Turning Point USA offers a “patriotic” alternative.

Conclusion

The episode pulls back the curtain on how business models, technological algorithms, and human bias combine to shape an increasingly fractured and opinion-heavy media landscape. With anecdotes and pointed examples, Clay Travis critiques modern journalism, exposes the mechanics of echo chambers, and explores efforts to foster more balanced platforms. The hour closes with a preview of further discussions on media, culture, and technology.