Podcast Summary: The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show

Episode: Hour 3 – Why Culture Matters

Date: December 19, 2025
Host: Clay Travis
Guest: Senator Markwayne Mullin (Oklahoma)
Note: Buck Sexton is out for Christmas Break

Overview

In the year's final hour of The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show, Clay Travis leads a lively, wide-ranging conversation centered on the importance of culture—explored through politics, college sports, pop culture arguments, and family. Special guest Senator Markwayne Mullin joins for a substantial segment covering everything from grueling fitness challenges, to U.S. military policy, legislative battles in Congress, and favorite Christmas movies. The episode closes with Clay reflecting on how cultural leadership on campuses is changing college preferences and underlining the show's gratitude for its listeners.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Opening – Setting the Stage and Year-End Reflections

• Clay Travis acknowledges it’s the final hour, and final show, of the year. Buck Sexton is already on Christmas leave.
• Quick updates on current headlines:
  • Brown University shooter is dead; motivations still unclear.
  • Anticipation for release of Epstein files.
  • Nike stock’s ongoing collapse.
  • Fulton County fraud in the 2020 election.
  • Endorsements and political maneuverings (Erica Kirk endorsing J.D. Vance).

2. Interview with Senator Markwayne Mullin

A. Fitness Challenge Story

[02:36–06:06]

• Clay marvels at Senator Mullin’s Thanksgiving workout video: a full mile of lunges, inspiring awe (and disbelief) in Clay and his wife.
• Senator Mullin shares the aftermath: “It wasn't the next morning. It was two days later. By day five, I didn’t think I was ever going to walk normal. It was horrible.” (Senator Mullin, 04:14)
• Candid banter about age, ego, and the intensity of the challenge: “I got, I wouldn't say hoaxed into it, but egoed into it because...these guys are all heavy hitters...they have a tradition where they do a mile of lunges.” (Senator Mullin, 04:14)

B. Narco Attacks & U.S. Use of Force Policy

[06:06–10:47]

• Clay and Mullin discuss recent U.S. drone strikes against narco boats off Venezuela’s coast.
• Mullin explains that existing legal authorities allow drone strikes on terrorist-designated cartels such as Maduro’s. He notes these policies date back to the Obama administration.
• “Obama used these authorities 500 times to kill 3700 terrorists. By the way, a few of them were actually US Citizens along the way.” (Mullin, 07:11)
• Senator defends the strikes as legal and necessary: “These are narco boats. There’s no question about it … the Maduro cartel is deemed a terrorist organization. So the authorities apply to it too.” (07:11)
• Points out the scale of America’s drug overdose deaths: “In 2024, we lost more loved ones on our streets in the U.S...than we did in the entire US Personnel during the Vietnam War just from drug overdoses. So they are poisoning our streets. And thank God President Trump is being proactive...” (09:32)

C. Legislative Frustrations: ‘Right to Try’ for Pediatric Cancer & Bernie Sanders

[10:47–13:14]

• Clay asks about Bernie Sanders’ opposition to a “right to try” experimental drug bill for children.
• Mullin explains the bill—which passed unanimously in the House—would allow kids with rare cancers access to drugs available to adults, at no taxpayer cost.
• Bernie Sanders blocked it in the Senate, seeking the expansion of community healthcare instead: “He’s playing politics with people’s lives, Clay … that drug might extend their life a day, it might extend it a year, and it might cure it.” (Mullin, 11:55)

D. Holiday Pop Culture Debates: Best Christmas Movie?

[13:14–15:11]

• Clay and Mullin segue to lighter fare: What’s the best Christmas movie?
• Mullin splits his answer:
  • With his “boys”: Rambo (“…he's in the sheriff's office. It's clearly a Christmas tree in the background. That's a Christmas movie.” — 14:00)
  • With his family: Home Alone and Mickey Mouse Christmas.
• Clay challenges: “So wait a minute, you like Rambo more than Die Hard?” (14:29)
• Mullin: “Yes, absolutely.” (14:33)
• Banter over what counts as a Christmas movie, and generational differences in favorites.

E. College Football Banter: Oklahoma vs Alabama

[15:11–17:48]

• Clay claims Alabama will beat Oklahoma in a defensive battle; Mullin counters with his defense of Oklahoma’s home-field and fan support.
• “We don’t lose a lot of games in Norman. ...We’re going to get ahead because of our defense. ...If we’re there in command at the end of the third quarter, we’ll win by two scores.” (Mullin, 15:34)
• Playful wager talk and good-natured rivalry.

F. Closing on the Fitness Theme

[16:45–17:48]

• Senator Mullin recalls the pain of his lunge challenge: “This was worse than any leg kick, kickboxing, sparring, or professional fight I was ever involved in. It was awful, awful, awful.” (Mullin, 17:22)

3. Clay’s Reflections: Why Culture Matters

[21:40–27:00]

• Clay delivers a personal anecdote about his family’s values and college selection, linking it to broader culture-war dynamics.
• Cites the reaction of Vanderbilt University’s chancellor to pro-Palestine protests as an example of cultural leadership.
  • Immediate action against protesters: police called, student protestors expelled, leading to surging applications.
• “All of those schools in the SEC and the ACC...the places where the students stood for good are seeing applications skyrocket.” (Clay, 24:00)
• Contrasts the “steel in the spine” of Southern schools with Ivy League and other schools perceived as capitulating to activist takeovers.
• Personal impact: his own son is excited to attend Vanderbilt for these reasons.
• “Culture wins, and also culture loses...culture matters. The culture of the Southeastern Conference is one where we know the difference between good and evil.” (26:58)

4. Leadership, Strength, and the Lesson from the Middle East

[27:00–30:00]

• Clay argues the value of resolve and strength, contrasting Trump’s foreign policy favorably with Biden’s.
• Cites the testimony of former Hamas hostage Omer Shimtov:

  “There was one man they feared the most, President Donald Trump. When he was elected, the way they treated me changed completely. They were terrified of him.” (quoted at 29:45)

• Clay concludes: “Evil people. Fear. Strength, bravery, courage. He is imperfect as all of us are. But he says things changed when President Trump won.” (30:08)

5. Lighthearted Closer: Listener Calls on Christmas Movies

[40:29–44:22]

• Callers and listeners debate favorite Christmas movies:
  • National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (majority favorite)
  • Love Actually, It’s a Wonderful Life
  • The Christmas Story (“God bless your little heart, but...A Christmas Story is hands down…” — 42:00)
  • Four Christmases (called “most underrated”)
  • The Man who Invented Christmas, It Happened on Fifth Avenue, and A Homecoming: A Christmas Story
• Clay and Senator Mullin riff along, reflecting the show's mix of irreverence, nostalgia, and humor.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On grueling fitness traditions:

  “It wasn't the next morning. It was two days later. By day five, I didn’t think I was ever going to walk normal. It was horrible.”
  — Sen. Markwayne Mullin, on the aftermath of a mile of lunges (04:14)

• On U.S. drone strikes:

  “Obama used these authorities 500 times to kill 3700 terrorists...So the authorities apply to it too.”
  — Sen. Mullin, clarifying continuity in U.S. counter-terrorism policy (07:11)

• On politics blocking progress:

  “He’s playing politics with people’s lives, Clay...that drug might extend their life a day, it might extend it a year, and it might cure it.”
  — Sen. Mullin, on Bernie Sanders stalling the Right to Try bill (11:55)

• On defining Christmas movies:

  “If I'm with my boys, the best Christmas movie is Rambo. ...If we're with the family. ...Home Alone. ...I also like, you know, Mickey Mouse Christmas too.”
  — Sen. Mullin (14:00)

• On culture and leadership:

  “When you stand up for something significant in your life, other people want to be with you—they actually want to join you.”
  — Clay Travis, on the contagion effect of cultural bravery (24:31)

• On the Trump factor in world affairs:

  “There was one man they feared the most, President Donald Trump...They were terrified of him.”
  — Former hostage Omer Shimtov, quoted by Clay (29:45)

Important Timestamps

| Timestamp | Segment / Highlight | |------------|------------------------------------| | 02:36 | Clay welcomes Senator Mullin | | 04:14 | Senator Mullin recounts the lunge saga | | 07:11 | Discussion of drone strikes/offshore narco threats | | 10:47 | Bernie Sanders blocks pediatric ‘right to try’ bill | | 13:48 | Debate on the best Christmas movie | | 15:34 | College football rivalry talk: Oklahoma vs. Alabama | | 17:22 | Pain of the mile lunge: “This was worse than any leg kick…” | | 21:40 | Reflections on culture, college campus protests | | 24:00 | Impact on college applications | | 29:45 | Omer Shimtov quote about Trump | | 40:29 | Listener calls: Christmas movies rundown |

Recap & Tone

The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show closes 2025 with a blend of hard-hitting current events, humorous pop culture sparring, and personal reflection. Clay’s tone is dynamic: celebratory of the audience and their impact, irreverently combative on pop-culture debates, and passionate when discussing the contrasts in American culture and leadership. The episode ultimately connects politics, campus activism, and even sports and holiday movies back to the recurring theme: culture matters—and standing up for one's values influences people, institutions, and even the choices of the next generation.

For listeners who missed it:
This episode is a microcosm of the Clay & Buck experience: news analysis, conservative perspective, free-spirited banter, special guest insights, and messages of gratitude and resolve as America heads into the new year.