Hour 3 - Why We're Anti-Cancel Culture

Summary

The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show

Hour 3 – Why We're Anti-Cancel Culture

Date: October 10, 2025
Podcast: The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show (iHeartPodcasts)

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Episode Overview

This episode centers on recent high-profile news stories in politics and media, with a particular focus on cancel culture and its implications for free speech and media accountability. Clay Travis and Buck Sexton discuss the ongoing government shutdown, Democratic Party infighting, left-wing activism, media bias (particularly around Antifa and Jimmy Kimmel), and their firm opposition to cancel culture. The episode also features an extended interview with bestselling author and Navy SEAL Jack Carr, delivering candid advice on writing, creative life, and reflections on current events.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Government Shutdown & Democratic Party Dynamics

• Overview: Clay and Buck dissect the ongoing government shutdown, assigning blame squarely on the Democrats, highlighting inner-party conflicts, and referencing upcoming rallies.
• Key Points:
  • Speaker Johnson believes Democrats will ultimately fold but first must appease their "rabid base" through rallies and theatrics.
    • Clay Travis (02:19): “They're playing games with real people's lives...they can't face their rabid base. I mean, this is serious business hurting real people. And I just, I'm beyond words.”
  • Democrats are in a "tough spot," being cornered by progressive factions within their party, particularly those in New York.
    • Clay Travis (03:15): “I think the only reason Chuck Schumer let it happen is because he’s terrified of AOC...radical left wing ideas have taken root.”
  • Many Americans aren’t personally impacted by the shutdown; the media narrative may be shifting blame more than in previous shutdowns.

2. The Left, Antifa, and Media Narratives

• Overview: The discussion pivots to perceptions of Antifa, referencing a controversial monologue by Jimmy Kimmel in which he calls Antifa a "myth."
• Key Points:
  • Buck and Clay push back on denials of Antifa’s existence, sharing personal observations of Antifa activity and dissecting media attempts to “memory-hole” incidents of leftist violence.
    • Jimmy Kimmel clip (06:19): “There’s no Antifa…This is an entirely imaginary organization. This is no different than if they announced they rounded up a dozen Decepticons.”
    • Buck Sexton (06:36): “Clay, I've read books about Antifa. I've seen Antifa personally. I've never seen the Chupacabra, though.”
    • Clay Travis (06:46): “Yeah, he's wrong. And I've seen Antifa too…all these Antifa lunatics running around with spray paint cans and throwing Molotov cocktails…lots of graffiti, lots of the spray, lighting things on fire.”
  • Discusses double standards in legal consequences for political violence and media erasure of acts not fitting the prevailing narratives (e.g., attacks on conservative Supreme Court justices).

3. Cancel Culture – Critique & Reflections

• Overview: The hosts take a clear stand against cancel culture, using the Jimmy Kimmel controversy as a springboard to explore the broader censorship landscape.
• Key Points:
  • Criticism of Kimmel for making a false, politically motivated claim, and then framing resulting backlash as “mischaracterization.”
    • Buck Sexton (12:33): “How is someone mischaracterizing his words when what he said was clearly false and malicious?...He wasn't making a joke. He was making a political statement.”
  • Clay reiterates their anti-cancel-culture stance, referencing past incidents (Roseanne, Gina Carano) and arguing for a culture of forgiveness and open discourse, especially for those in creative and live environments.
    • Clay Travis (13:38): “This is why I'm anti cancel culture...I think as long as you are doing your best to try to be creative in the space, I don't think we should try to cancel people…They were poorly said, and they were rightly condemned, I think, by people who saw that he lied.”
  • The persistent danger facing right-leaning media from coordinated campaigns to silence dissenting views.

4. Jack Carr Interview: Writing, Inspiration, & Creative Process

• Overview: Buck and Clay welcome Jack Carr—Navy SEAL-turned-thriller-author and showrunner—for an engaging and practical discussion on writing, TV, and blending real-world current events into fiction.
• Key Insights:
  • On balancing writing and TV production:
    • Jack Carr (26:10): “Balance is a bit of a misnomer…every morning I get up and it's like being shot out of a cannon with kids, wife, dog and all the rest of it. So it's just a mass chaos. But I feel extremely fortunate to be working on multiple Hollywood projects, multiple books.”
  • Advice for aspiring writers:
    • Jack Carr (28:20): “Don't worry about anything else but writing that book…All of that bandwidth is now bandwidth that is not going into making that product, in this case a book, the best that it can possibly be.”
    • Focus on story first, then worry about agents/publishing once the manuscript is as good as it can be.
  • Creative process:
    • Starts with a title and theme as a "north star."
    • Writes a one-page executive summary for diagnostic purposes, then builds a story outline, and finally converts it into a full manuscript.
    • Jack Carr (29:22): "I have a theme that's going to guide the writing process...then I read a one page executive summary...then I turn that outline into the narrative."
  • Fiction and real events:
    • Carr describes how sometimes plots he invents become eerily real-world relevant (e.g., Russian invasion of Ukraine, quantum AI, Israel-Gaza conflict), but he insists his focus remains on story rather than overt headline-chasing.
    • Jack Carr (31:45): "I'm always interested in current events...but I'm not obsessed with trying to fit it into a story. Instead, I am focused only on the story. And if I'm only focused on this story...things have happened that I've written about that look like I'm projecting something."
  • Inspirations:
    • Influenced by Clancy, David Morrell, Nelson DeMille, and other thriller/classic authors.
    • Jack Carr (33:51): “It’s certainly Clancy, it’s David Morrell...all of those masters I read from the 80s through the 90s…they’re my professors in the art of storytelling.”
  • Best war movies—Jack Carr’s selection:
    • Band of Brothers, Platoon, and Uncommon Valor; also mentions Apocalypse Now and The Longest Day as top-tier.
    • Jack Carr (35:06): “Band of Brothers…Platoon…Uncommon Valor…those ones really stand out to me.”
  • Famous fans:
    • Deeply honored to earn praise from David Morrell, who created Rambo.
    • Charlie Sheen is also a fan.
    • Jack Carr (36:16): “David Morrell…actually gave me a blurb. When that blurb ends with I'm a fan. That one blew me away...”

5. Venezuelan Activist Wins Nobel Peace Prize

• Overview: Briefly covers the Nobel Peace Prize going to Maria Karina Machado for her fight against the Maduro regime, and her gratitude for U.S. and especially Trump’s support.
  • Clay Travis (21:26): “This is Maria Karina Machado, who won the Nobel Peace Prize, said…the recognition…is a boost to conclude our task to conquer freedom...I dedicate this prize to…the suffering people of Venezuela and to President Trump for his decisive support of our cause..."
  • Discussion on how South Florida’s right-leaning Latinos—Cubans and Venezuelans—keenly understand the dangers of socialism.
    • Buck Sexton (21:52): “I love my right wing Latinos. We just, we're very simpatico…they’ve experienced…what happens when communism is just basically a codified version of social justice wokeness.”

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Clay Travis (02:19):

  "They're playing games with real people's lives...they can't face their rabid base. I mean, this is serious business hurting real people. And I just, I'm beyond words."

• Jimmy Kimmel (06:19):

  "There’s no Antifa…This is an entirely imaginary organization. This is no different than if they announced they rounded up a dozen Decepticons."

• Buck Sexton (12:33):

  "How is someone mischaracterizing his words when what he said was clearly false and malicious? This is...you said something that was clearly untrue...He wasn't making a joke. He was making a political statement."

• Clay Travis (13:38):

  "This is why I'm anti cancel culture...I think as long as you are doing your best to try to be creative in the space, I don't think we should try to cancel people."

• Jack Carr on writing (28:20):

  "Don't worry about anything else but writing that book…All of that bandwidth is now bandwidth that is not going into making that product, in this case a book, the best that it can possibly be."

• Jack Carr — best compliment (36:16):

  "David Morrell…actually gave me a blurb. When that blurb ends with 'I'm a fan.' That one blew me away..."

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• [01:35] – Government shutdown blame and Democrat political strategy
• [05:28] – White House on Antifa; Jimmy Kimmel's comments
• [11:25] – Kimmel’s reaction to backlash and cancel culture debate
• [23:28] – Jack Carr interview begins
• [26:10] – Jack Carr’s approach to balancing writing and Hollywood
• [28:20] – Jack Carr’s practical advice to new novelists
• [31:45] – Fiction’s relationship to current events
• [33:41] – Literary influences
• [35:06] – Favorite war movies
• [36:16] – Most surprising fan encounters

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Final Thoughts

This hour of The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show is a brisk, no-holds-barred conversation that threads together current political events, the culture wars, and the fragility of robust public discourse in an age of cancel culture. Their unapologetic stance on free speech is reinforced by the practical wisdom and insight of Jack Carr, whose methods and reflections provide a window into both creative writing and navigating cultural crosscurrents.

For Listeners:
The episode is engaging for those interested in the intersection of culture, politics, and media—with practical inspiration for creatives, especially writers and anyone wrestling with the impact of cancel culture.

Transcript

[Jack Carr]

This is an iHeart podcast.

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[Leon Neyfakh]

Was making a podcast about Benghazi, nine times out of ten, they called me a masochist, rolled their eyes, or just asked why Benghazi.

[Clay Travis]

The truth became a web of lies.

[Leon Neyfakh]

From prologue projects and Pushkin Industries. This is Fiasco Benghazi.

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What difference at this point does it make?

[Leon Neyfakh]

Listen to Fiasco Benghazi on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

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I'm Ben Ferguson.

[Ted Cruz]

And I'm Ted Cruz. Three times a week, we do our podcast Verdict with Ted Cruz.

[Ben Ferguson]

Nationwide, we have millions of listeners.

[Ted Cruz]

Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, we break down the news and bring you behind the scenes inside the White House, inside the Senate, inside the United States Supreme Court.

[Ben Ferguson]

And we cover the stories that you're not getting anywhere else.

[Ted Cruz]

We arm you with the facts to be able to know and advocate for the truth with your friends and family.

[Ben Ferguson]

So download Verdict with Ted Cruz now, wherever you get your podcasts.

[Buck Sexton]

All right, it's third hour of play and Buck last hour before the weekend gets going, which is so exciting. And let's just bring up to speed all the latest news here. Let's dive into it, shall we? First of all, the government shutdown is still a thing. The government is still shut down. And Speaker Johnson, who play while you were out, he actually called into the show. So we spoke to the speaker of the House about this issue, but he just weighed in earlier today and his take is that Democrats know they're gonna have to cave. But first they have to go through the theatrics of perhaps some rallies over this weekend. Here is the speaker of the house. Cut 30. Hit it.

[Clay Travis]

We're so angry about it. I mean, I, I, you know, I'm a very patient guy, but I have had it with these people. They're playing games with real people's lives. The theory we have right now, they rally that's scheduled for October 18th on the National Mall. It's all the pro Hamas wing and the, you know, the, the antifa people, they're all coming out. Some of the House Democrats are selling T shirts for the event. And it's, it's, it's being told to us that they won't be able to reopen the government until after that rally because they can't face their rabid base. I mean, this is, this is serious business hurting real people. And I just, I'm beyond words. I can't believe they're actually doing this.

[Buck Sexton]

Democrats putting the politics of the moment ahead of real people's interests. Clay, not a surprise here at all. And I think this is the first shutdown I can remember where Democrats are getting squarely the blame from a majority of Americans.

[Clay Travis]

I don't think most Americans feel impacted by the shutdown at all. I mean, the Trump Middle east peace agreement and him traveling to the Middle east is going to take over. All of the news through the weekend. The release of the hostages, hopefully which will occur after two years on Monday, will be an unbelievable moment in the Middle east, even for Trump's detractors. That will be an event that is very difficult not to imagine it. Leading news all through Monday. I just, I feel like Democrats are in a tough spot. And the reality is it seems like Trump's kind of calling their bluff and saying, okay, we're going to start laying off primarily Democrat workers and they caused this. And they don't really seem to have a way to fix it. And I just think it's going to drag on for a long time until some of these senators in swing states, Michigan, New Hampshire, Georgia, Arizona, till they start looking around and recognizing that their constituents are not pleased over their decision making. Remember, there's nothing going on here. This is unprecedented because the continuing resolution would just continue to spend money, as has already occurred. And I just think they're in a really tough position. I, I, I don't know how they get themselves out of this mess. And I think the only reason Chuck Schumer let it happen is, is because he's terrified of aoc. And I think Hakeem Jeffries is terrified over one of the Mamdani guys who evidently is going to challenge him in his seat. And I think radical left wing ideas have taken root because, remember, the leader of the House is a New Yorker, the leader of the Senate for Democrats is a New Yorker. And the left in New York City has lost its mind. They're going to elect a socialist, a communist, it appears, and that has taken over the entire Democrat Party. So I think this is actually just a local political preservation move that Hakeem Jeffries and Schumer are engaged in.

[Buck Sexton]

Meanwhile, speaking of the radical left, Clay, the White House puts out this on X. Make no mistake, Antifa is a radical terrorist organization that explicitly calls for the overthrow of the US Government, law enforcement and our system of law. Under the Trump administration, antifa's days are over. But noted extremism expert Jimmy Kimmel, who still has a TV show. Everybody, I guess the First Amendment's not dead.

[Jack Carr]

Oh, my gosh.

[Buck Sexton]

Jimmy Kimmel was off the air for two days. Here's Jimmy. Or was it three days? Whatever it was, here's Jimmy Kimmel four days.

[Clay Travis]

To be fair, I think. I don't. I don't want MSNBC fact checking you on your lack of commitment to. To the truth and decency.

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Thank you.

[Buck Sexton]

Clay's. Clay's always got my back. Jimmy Kimmel lying to his audience about antifa. This is 24. Hit it.

[Jimmy Kimmel]

You understand.

[Clay Travis]

There'S no antifa.

[Jimmy Kimmel]

This is an entirely imaginary organization. There is not an antifa. This is no different than if they announced they rounded up a dozen Decepticons. We've captured the Chupacabra, everyone.

[Buck Sexton]

Clay, I've read books about Antifa. I've seen Antifa personally. I've never seen the Chupacabra, though. So I think that Jimmy's analysis here needs a little bit of work.

[Clay Travis]

Yeah, he's wrong. And I've seen Antifa too. I remember when Antifa really kind of got its start. Remember all the World bank protests that they used to have? I don't think they care about the World bank anymore. But my recollection is this is where all of the crazy people became crazy for the first time, was related to the imf. Do you remember that? When they decided the IMF was uniquely evil. And I haven't heard about the IMF in a very, very long time. But when I was in college, the IMF is right next to George Washington University and they basically rioted in 1999 or 2000 or whatever it was. I just remember walking through campus and all these Antifa lunatics running around with spray paint cans and throwing. Can. Throwing Molotov cocktail a little bit. Like, it wasn't as if it was the same level that we saw during the BLM protest, but lots of graffiti, lots of the spray lighting things on fire. Remember that? Back in the day when people used to have. I don't know what it was, but they would spray something and they'd have a lighter and it would kind of turn into a blowtorch or whatever. Yeah, a Lot of that going on. And yeah, so I don't understand the argument being this thing that you're seeing happen is not real. This is the typical way this goes, right? They say that's not happening. Then they say, ok, it happens, but not very often. Then they go to, yeah, it's happening and it's a good thing. So at some point they're going to come back around to yes, antifa exists, but they're not very impactful. And eventually we're all going to be told, yes, antifa exists, then they have to exist because otherwise who would stand up to fascism? And, and that's kind of the, the treadmill that we're on when it comes to the way we talk about left wing violence in the country. But even talk about this, apologies if we didn't, but it may have been earlier this week, you may have mentioned it. Everybody just totally, basically stopped talking about a guy who had 200 explosive devices and showed up outside of a church where the Republic, the, the, the Republican appointed and confirmed Supreme Court justices tend to go worship. And he wanted to kill as many people as he could. Thankfully, they caught him 200 incendiary devices in his car, though that seems like kind of a big deal. It just totally plays that story.

[Buck Sexton]

Before we know whether he should spend the rest of his life in prison or not, we have to know, does he identify as trans? Yeah, it's important because if you identify as trans, you get a very light sentence, even if you're planning a political assassination. That was just established based on the guy who said he wanted to kill Brett Kavanaugh because now he says he's trans. It's like, whoa, whoa, hold on a second. I didn't know he was trans. We can't put him in prison that long, Ed.

[Clay Travis]

We're going to put him in a women's prison. That's what they're trying to do. I mean, I'm going to be honest with you. I guess if you had to get sent to prison, like, if I ever face multiple years in prison, I'm going to say I'm a chick too. It's probably a lot safer in a girl's prison than it is a guy's prison. Am I crazy?

[Buck Sexton]

Much better deal for a guy to be in a woman's prison in a. I would assume, I would assume. I don't have experience.

[Clay Travis]

I feel, I feel like I'm going to be safer in the showers, let's put it that way, than, than I would in the men's prison. So I Don't. Not even necessarily surprised by the decision. But I mean, in all seriousness, we just keep stacking all of these left wing wounds one after the other and they happen so frequently that the stories vanish and they have no resonance whatsoever. And it just reminds me of the, the Jan6, you know, Jan6 happens and they talk about it for years and they refuse to allow it to vanish. Meanwhile, there's an assassin outside of Brett Kavanaugh's house who is trying to kill him to ensure that Roe v. Wade is not overturned. We still don't know who the leaker was worth mentioning that set all of this in order and was designed to set this in order. Right. That basically drew the big target on the, on the Supreme Court justices because.

[Buck Sexton]

It was essentially, yes, it was inciting terrorism. It was inciting. Releasing that decision was meant to incite violence and perhaps an assassination of a Supreme Court justice to stop that decision. Because Democrats kill as many babies as they want with no one's stopping them.

[Clay Travis]

Until the opinion is published, it is not law. So that was an unprecedented leak which never occurs. And there's only 50 people probably that had significant access to that opinion. And basically everybody just threw up their hands and said, well, we'll never know. But that was the impetus under which Brett Kavanaugh's assassination was attempted.

[Buck Sexton]

Jimmy Kimmel, not finished, by the way, with his statements about politics lately. Here he is. Remember, he got in trouble because he said that Charlie Kirk's assassin was a MAGA guy, which was a lie. It was preposterous. Now here he is saying that he didn't say anything wrong. It was the way that people pounced on what he said. Play 25.

[Jimmy Kimmel]

I didn't think there was a big problem. I just saw it as distortion on the part of some of the right wing media networks. And I aimed to correct it. I have problems like all the time. And it's kind of funny because sometimes you think, oh, this is not a problem, and then it turns into a big problem. And then sometimes it goes the other way where you think like, oh, this is going to be a problem and nobody really notices. And so at what point did you realize this was a problem? I think when they pulled the show off the air. Well, that's unusual. He felt like your initial comments had been mischaracterized. I didn't feel like it was intentionally and I think maliciously mischaracterized.

[Buck Sexton]

How. How is someone mischaracterizing his words when what he said was clearly false and malicious? This is. This is where I wish somebody would ask, like, explain how that's a miscarriage. You said something that was clearly untrue and you didn't. It wasn't part of a joke, by the way. That's also a lie. He wasn't making a joke. He was making a political statement.

[Clay Travis]

So now I don't know what the answer is. Yeah, I mean, I don't think there is one. I mean, look, I would just say we talk live every single day. And so far, to my knowledge, we haven't really had to apologize for anything. Now we get facts wrong unintentionally, we come back and we say, hey, we saw that, we said this, but we never apologized for an actual opinion. I don't think there was a mischaracterization. Now, I do agree with him. That was, I thought, actually kind of funny when they took the show off. That's when you know it's a bad thing. This is why I'm anti cancel culture. Many of you who listen to Rush know this. They will not stop coming after us no matter what. They came after Rush with everything they had. And I don't think that they're suddenly going to say, oh, they're coming for us, too. We're going to change it. I think this is where you stand on principle. I understand some people disagree and say, hey, live radio, live television, whatever it is, there shouldn't be a cancel culture at all. And I said that for Roseanne. I said that for. For Gina Carano. I think that if you're in creative space, any comedian out there, you're sometimes going to speak inarticulately and sometimes you're going to say moronic things. And I think as long as you are doing your best to try to be creative in the space, I don't think we should try to cancel people. But the words weren't mischaracterized. They were poorly said, and they were rightly condemned, I think, by people who saw that he lied.

[Buck Sexton]

Or he said something false because he's a moron. But either way, it's a. It's a bad thing to say.

[Clay Travis]

Living on blue sky, the amount of left wingers who do not know basic truths now, and this is why I talk about the cognitive dissonance. You've been told Trump's Hitler and now he's on the COVID of Jerusalem Today or whatever it is and is going to bring back all the terrorists. I mean, at some point, the alarm bell should start going off in your head, hey, wait a minute. Maybe the things that I've been told by the media I follow are not true and I'm cautiously optimistic. Buck, if you look for instance at what's going on with the Washington Post that people like Jeff Bezos are starting to get fed up with things and there is a cultural shift that is significant even in left wing publications. Fingers crossed.

[Buck Sexton]

You have more faith than I do.

[Clay Travis]

I'm an optimist. This is true. Yes you are.

[Buck Sexton]

You are an optimist. I'm surly pessimist. All right. So good to be home after nearly two straight weeks of traveling. Aside from seeing my family, Carrie Speed and Ginger Spice, which is amazing, being back in my own bed is such a luxury and a big reason for that. We've got Cozy Earth sheets. These things are incredible. If you've not heard all the buzz about this company yet, they make some of the most comfortable and soft sheets you're ever going to sleep on. Truly incredible products. Treat yourself to some Cozy Earth indulgence. I'm going to tell you this. My wife, she's very down to earth gal, but when it comes to her sheets, she's a little fancy and she loves these Cozy Earth sheets. She is all about them. She also loves their blankets. They have so many great products. Find Cozy Earth products [e-mail] cozy earth.com you're like why the sheets so good Buck? Well look, they're temperature regulating and moisture wicking and super soft to the touch. But you'll sleep cooler when you have these sheets on your bed. Try them risk free 100 night sleep trial and a 10 year warranty. That means you get three months and then some. To make sure these Cozy Earth sheets are the best sheets you've ever slept on. I think you're going to find exactly that. Upgrade the place you spend the most time your bed. Go to cozyearth.com use my name buck for 20% off. That's cozyearth.com code buck cozyearth.com code Buck let's go home with Cozy Earth.

[Clay Travis]

Sometimes all you can do is laugh and they do a lot of it with the Sunday hang. Join Clay and Buck as they laugh it up in the Clay and Buck podcast feed on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts.

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[Leon Neyfakh]

Was making a podcast about Benghazi, nine times out of ten they called me a masochist, rolled their eyes, or just asked why Benghazi?

[Clay Travis]

The truth became a web of lies.

[Leon Neyfakh]

It's almost a dirty word, one that connotes conspiracy theory.

[Ted Cruz]

Will we ever get the truth about the Benghazi massacre?

[Leon Neyfakh]

Bad faith, political warfare, and frankly, bullshit.

[Clay Travis]

We kill the ambassador just to cover something up. You put two and two together.

[Leon Neyfakh]

Was it an overblown distraction or a sinister conspiracy?

[Clay Travis]

Benghazi is a Rosetta Stone for everything that's been going on for the last 20 years.

[Leon Neyfakh]

Leon I'm Leon Naifak from Prologue Projects and Pushkin Industries. This is Fiasco Benghazi.

[Annabe Sofa Ad Voice]

What difference at this point does it make?

[Clay Travis]

Yes, that's right.

Lock her up.

[Leon Neyfakh]

Listen to Fiasco Benghazi on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Ben Ferguson]

I'm Ben Ferguson.

[Ted Cruz]

And I'm Ted Cruz. Three times a week we do our podcast, Verdict with Ted Cruz.

[Ben Ferguson]

Nationwide. We have millions of listeners.

[Ted Cruz]

Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, we break down the news and bring you behind the scenes inside the White House, inside the Senate, inside the United States Supreme Court.

[Ben Ferguson]

And we cover the stories that you're not getting anywhere else.

[Ted Cruz]

We arm you with the facts to be able to know and advocate for the truth with your friends and family.

[Ben Ferguson]

So download Verdict with Ted Cruz now. Wherever you get your podcasts welcome back.

[Clay Travis]

In Clay Travis, Buck Sexton show. You never know what the talkbacks are going to be. I was not expecting to see this from Les in Orville, California, KBFK radio. He's weighing in on me in a prison. Listen.

[Jack Carr]

Yeah, no, he would not be safer in a women's prison.

[Clay Travis]

Not that you're gonna get killed or anything like that, but trust me, you will.

[Jack Carr]

You wouldn't be able to walk and you know why. You know what I'm talking about. Can't say it on air.

[Clay Travis]

No, he'd be passed around like a.

[Jack Carr]

One of them electric devices.

[Clay Travis]

That again, I'm not gonna say it. Yeah, it, it wind up falling off.

[Jack Carr]

After the first month. But no.

[Clay Travis]

I mean let's just going blue here at the end of the end of the final hour of the week. By the way, good news. Thank you, Les. Very funny. Good news from the Nobel Peace Prize. Not that Trump was left behind on this as he should have won, but I thought this was great. This is Maria Karina Machado, who won the Nobel Peace Prize, said the recognition of the struggle of all Venezuelans is a boost to conclude our task to conquer freedom. We're on the threshold of victory and today more than ever, we count on President Trump, the people of the United States, the peoples of Latin America and the democratic nations of the world as our principal allies to achieve freedom and democracy. I dedicate this prize to the suffering people of Venezuela and to President Trump for his decisive support of our cause. Buck, you have got a ton of Venezuelans where you live all over Miami who have helped to flip Dade county red because they more than most understand the perils of socialism.

[Buck Sexton]

I love my right wing Latinos. We just, we're very simpatico, you know, and whether it's my right wing Cubans or my right wing Venezuelans or any of my Latino right wing people, they understand because yeah, they've experienced particularly in those two countries what happens when communism is just basically a codified version of social justice wokeness. That's all it ever, it's an earlier version of it, I should say. It's the same thing.

[Clay Travis]

And I thought that was well said by her. And we'll see whether Trump potentially wins the Nobel Prize next year. The peace Prize because of the situation in Israel happened very close to when the vote actually took place. Rapid radios make modern day walkie talkies great for busy families like mine. My mother in law, she has a rapid radio walkie talkie that my wife uses to stay in touch with her and we give My fifth grader who is out on fall break right now playing video games downstairs. When he leaves the house, he doesn't have a cell phone yet. We give him Rapid Radio so he can stay in touch with us and we can be aware of where he is when he's out playing with his friends. No setup required, just pulling out of the box, press a button and boom. One talk connection. Rapid Radios combine the simplicity of walkie talkies with today's technology for peace of mind. We've got them ourselves. You can get your [e-mail] 60% off. Free UPS shipping from Michigan. Use code radio for an extra 5 off. That's code radio rapidradios.com Rapid Radios.com Sign up today. Welcome back in, everybody.

[Buck Sexton]

We're joined by Jack Carr. He is a former Navy SEAL turned bestselling author of the Terminal List book series and the streaming show, which is an excellent show. Highly, highly recommend. The books and the show usually, Jack, you know, you don't get both to be great. Like, you can write great books, but they don't do a great show. You are in very rarefied air, my friend. As somebody who has both great books and great show.

[Jack Carr]

Thank you. Thank you so much. Yeah, both went to number one on Prime Video, which is not bad. And the first one that aired in 2022, summer of 2022, hops back into that top five, which is unusual as well. So after so many years. So that was pretty, pretty cool. We'll find out in the next couple weeks if we get a second season of Dark Wolf looking good, though. Everybody wants to do it, so we shall see. And then we just finished filming True Believer book over in Morocco and finished up there. Been filming that since February in South Africa, Morocco and Toronto, and that should come out next summer. So there's, there's a lot in the.

[Buck Sexton]

Works I really appreciate. You know, in your, in the first episode, the first episode of Dark Wolf, which obviously I saw recently, it to me, there's so much really good content that could be done about that g wat era and special operations, but really very few people have done it or certainly done it well. And I think you just nailed it in the opening episode of Dark Wolf. I'm also, Taylor Kitsch and Pratt are like two of my favorite actors. So how did you manage? Did you get to pick? Were you like, you know what? I just want these two awesome guys to be playing important roles in my series.

[Jack Carr]

Well, Chris optioned it out of the gate. He's the only person I wanted to option it and play the character of James Reese. So he was. He was my pick and set from the beginning. And then the first season I wasn't involved in the casting process. I was involved in it for the second season and for Dark Wolf, but first season I wasn't. So it was a. Not a surprise, but I guess a surprise in the fact that I didn't pick him. I didn't pick anybody because I wasn't involved. But they said Taylor Kitsch is playing Ben Edwards. And I said, oh my gosh, that is the best pick.

[Buck Sexton]

You got Riggins to play a Navy SEAL series.

[Clay Travis]

That's awesome. Buck even recognizes the star from Friday Night Lights.

[Jack Carr]

Yeah, Jackson.

[Clay Travis]

And so that's an incredible combo. What is it like to balance writing obligations with making television show obligations? Because I imagine you're on the road all the time, you're promoting the book, the books all the time, but you have to continue to produce new books. How do you balance it all out? Do you have a set, regimented schedule? There's a lot of people out there in creative space, I bet, that are curious how you balance all of that.

[Jack Carr]

Yes, well, balance is a bit of a misnomer. I hope to get to some balance one day. But there's a reason we're talking here in October and not in June when the book was supposed to come out, and that is because I was juggling so much with both the TV show, two TV shows, essentially. Dark Wolf and True Believer, and writing this book that I thought was going to be the most efficiently written book yet, meaning I thought I had a good understanding of Vietnam, lessons learned From Vietnam, the 60s overall, the feel of that period of time. And then I dove into the research for this book, Cry Havoc, that I'm on Book Tour 4 right now. And I realized I'd really just scratched the surface because every sentence in this book has to be written through the lens of 1968. I didn't want to have 50 plus years of hindsight applied to any character's perspective on an event, a situation, or part of a conversation. So that took a lot longer than research for a contemporary thriller. And that's why we're here in October. Point being, the balance thing is something I am still working on every morning I get up and it's like being shot out of a cannon with kids, wife, dog and all the rest of it. So it's just a mass chaos. But I feel extremely fortunate to be working on multiple Hollywood projects, multiple books, and to have Cry Havoc out there, which I think is my best book yet.

[Buck Sexton]

Oh, let's say something.

[Propane Ad Voice]

Yeah.

[Buck Sexton]

And you know, my father in law is a huge fan, huge fan of the series, so I think I sent him one.

[Jack Carr]

Or if I didn't, I'm happy to rectify that.

[Buck Sexton]

No, I think you did. Thank you for that. And he reads it like within, you know, days of getting it. So he's always very up to speed on it. I want to ask you the one thing that we get here a lot, especially when I see people in person, Jack, is they'll say, you know, I'm thinking about doing a podcast. Like, do you have any advice? And I'll, you know, and we really do a radio show that's also a podcast. But I just say, yeah, here's my advice. Do it and just start doing it and just do it a lot. And then go, what if someone comes up to you and says, you know, hey, man like you, you really, you know, you're the Tom Clancy of our era. Like you've become this huge phenomenon. So much success in writing. How do I start to write a fiction book in the most general terms? What do you say to them?

[Jack Carr]

I say, don't worry about anything else but writing that book. Meaning don't worry about, do I need to find an agent? Do I need to find a publisher? How does that happen? Do I need a social media presence? Do I build that up in order to sell books? 20 to get a website going when you start? No. All of that bandwidth is now bandwidth that is not going into making that product, in this case a book, the best that it can possibly be. So focus those efforts on making this book the best it can possibly be. And then once it's done or you get it to a place where you think, hey, if I worked on this for the next five to 10 years, it would get better, but it would get better by a degree or two. And when you're at that stage, then it's time to start thinking about those other things, thinking about how to find an agent and a publisher and all the rest of it. But the first, first thing you have to do is have that product that I got.

[Buck Sexton]

I got one follow up question for you, Jack, and sorry, I may or may not be taking notes here because I think writing a fiction book would be fun. Do you structure the whole thing out or do you start writing based on the story you want to tell and then create structure after you've gotten a chapter out or something?

[Jack Carr]

Yeah, I've had the same exact process from the entire time. And it's not based on anything that I read or anyone's advice. It was just what I thought was common sense. And I come up with a title and a theme for every book. And I've come up with a title, even if it's going to change. So I'm not wasting bandwidth worried about coming up with a good title. So I do that. I have a theme that's going to guide the writing process. In the case of the first book, it was Revenge without constraint. And I had that on a little yellow sticky on my computer as I typed away just to keep me on track. Then I read a one page executive summary. And I read it and I say, is this worth the next year to the year and a half of my life? And if the answer is yes, I read it again and I say, if someone was to walk by a Hudson News at the airport and pull this book off the shelf and read something similar to this that describes the book, would they be willing to invest time in this story that they're never going to get back? And if the answer is yes or most likely, then that's my project, that's the next book. And I take that one page executive summary, turn that into the outline so I know where I'm going. So I have that beginning, that middle, that end, a few scenes that are going to happen along the way, and I at least have a destination. And if there's some things in that line where I'm like, how's he ever going to get out of this situation? Or well, I know I have a year to figure it out. This isn't the battlefield in Iraq and Afghanistan where I have to make a split second decision that's going to affect people to my right and left forever and their families. Now I have time. I can sleep on it, I can wake up, I can edit, and in a year I am confident that I'm creative enough that I can figure this out. So get that to that stage and then I turn that outline into the narrative.

[Clay Travis]

We're talking to Jack Carr. Cry Havoc is the latest and best book that Jack Carr has ever written, according to Jack Carr himself. I love those answers, by the way, and I would encourage people out there to take that advice and pursue your own writing desires. Let me ask you this. The world is evolving and there's so much crazy happening every day. You write out those plot points and do you ever think, boy, there's no way anything like this could happen. And then there's a plot point that is very similar to what you have thought about before. And to your point, you spend a year writing, but it can end up looking very timely. How much do you pay attention to current events? Buck just came back from Taiwan, for instance. I'm not giving you ideas you probably haven't thought about a lot, but you know, you can kind of think of where the geopolitical flashpoints might be. Are you conscious of that? Are you thinking about it as you're writing? Or are you trying to divorce yourself from the current world in which you sit?

[Jack Carr]

I'm always, ever since I was a little kid, I'm always interested in current current events. Also history, the merging of those two, what lessons we can draw from history and apply to the problem sets of the present as wisdom. But I'm not thinking about I need to grab something from the headlines or I need to project into the future. It happens naturally. I'm very aware of what's going on around the world. That's just where my interests lie. But I'm not obsessed with trying to fit it into a story. Instead, I am focused only on the story. And if I'm only focused on this story without worrying about the current event or a headline or if I'm going to upset somebody with if I say X, Y or Z or hey, are short chapters better than long chapters? Now, I don't consider any of that. I just focus on the story. And in doing so I honor, I think, the readership and the listenership now that that is going to spend time with me that they're never getting back. So I focus on that. But things have happened that I've written about that I didn't. It looks like I'm projecting something like the Russian invasion of Ukraine, but that was not a hard one. That was. That came out in 2019. That's the one we filmed, True Believer that we just finished. And that storyline had to change a little bit because the Russians actually did invade Ukraine. So there's been that. I talked about an AI quantum computer well before anyone had heard of ChatGPT. There are certain things like that that have come up in the novels. October 7th, something similar to that I wrote about in Israel not too long ago before it happened. So some of these things look like I'm projecting. I have a crystal ball, but I certainly do not. They are just. They just happen to correspond with some current events, but do like to weave a lot of things that are topical into the storylines because that one day people are going to go back maybe and read these and it'll be like a time machine it's me going back and reading Hunt for Red October, now that's a time machine back in 1984. And so I do. I am cognizant of that.

[Buck Sexton]

You think Tom Clancy is the biggest inspiration you had? Who would you say, as a writer for what you're doing, if you had to pick one author would be the biggest inspiration.

[Jack Carr]

I can't pick one because I read so many growing up and they're all part of my foundation. So it's certainly Clancy, it's David morell, it's Nelson DeMille, it's AJ Quinnell, it's JC Pollock, it's Mark golden, it's Louis Lamour, it's John Le Carre, it's Ian Fleming, it's Robert Ludlum, it's all of those masters that I read from the 80s all the way through the 90s and continue to read today. David Morrell, who created Rambo in 1972 with first blood, kicked off this book tour with me in Phoenix just a few days ago. Such an honor to be on stage with him. And all of those guys had, were so instrumental during those very formative time in my life, let's say for most of us age 10 to 20. And during that time, I am reading all those masters and they're really becoming my professors in the art of storytelling. But back then I didn't look at it that way. I just looked at it as escaping into the magic of those pages. But it created this foundation that I then coupled with the academic study of warfare and my experiences downrange in Iraq and Afghanistan, so I can bring the feelings and emotions behind certain events that I was involved with.

[Buck Sexton]

All right, all right, Jack. Jack, you're a best selling author. You're an American page. You're a fantastic guy. You're being far too diplomatic and humble, though. So I want to put you on the hot seat with three best war movies of all time. Then you don't have to give me your author number one. But the three best war movies for you are what?

[Jack Carr]

All right. Band of Brothers. Even though it's a series, I think it's, you know, go keep that one to the side. But it's a series. But that is certainly up there. I was just actually right before we came on here, I had to wrap up a podcast with Charlie Sheen and we were talking.

[Clay Travis]

Oh, wow.

[Jack Carr]

Yeah, we're talking about Platoon and his experience on set with Apocalypse now when he was like 9 or 10 years old with his dad. Because my book is Pro Havoc 1978 and so we're talking about that and his experiences on set with Marlon Brando and Dennis Hopper and Robert Duvall and just, just a fascinating conversation with him. So I would say Band of Brothers. I would throw Platoon in there for sure. I love Uncommon Valor for those who remember that one. Apocalypse Now, Long, Longest Day. Those ones really stand out to me.

[Clay Travis]

Last question for you as we go to break here. I've got one here who is a guy who or gal who has read your book that you were blown away is a fan. Has there been somebody that you met and you just couldn't get over it? Because look, you come from a background, you're busting your ass, you know, doing what you do in the military before you end up writing these books. Is there anybody that you were just in disbelief was a reader or a big fan of your friends work?

[Jack Carr]

It's. Yeah. David Morale, who created Rambo. I can't believe that he's. He actually gave me a blurb. When that blurb ends with I'm a fan. Just that that one blew me away because discovering him through Rambo, First Blood Part 2, a novelization, which is a book based on a screenplay in the Summer of Rambo 1985. Then going back and reading First Blood, then reading Brotherhood of the Rose, Fraternity of the Stone, League of Night and Fog, and then having him, one of my heroes in the literary realm, read my books and be a fan. That's a little crazy. And then Charlie Sheen, he, he was a fan of the books before, before he even came on the podcast. I mean, that was a little bit crazy too, having grown up watching him in these movies to include Navy Seals.

[Clay Travis]

No.

[Propane Ad Voice]

Very cool.

[Buck Sexton]

Well, Cry Havoc is the book. It's going to be a runaway bestseller. Get your copy today. Also check out I'm mid series right now for Dark Wolf. Highly recommend it to all of you. Our friend Jack Carr, as always, congrats on all your success. Come back and hang out with us anytime.

[Jack Carr]

Oh, man. Thank you guys so much. Love what you're doing. Stay strong. It's. It's important.

[Buck Sexton]

Will do.

[Clay Travis]

Thank you. Great author, great television series that are out there, I guess, streaming series. I don't know that we still say television, but that is certainly worth checking out as is price picks. You get $50 when you play. $5. Right now we are rolling into the middle of October and October, I think is the best sporting month of the year. You got baseball, Major League Baseball, playoffs underway. You've got NHL starting, you've got the NBA. If you're a fan there starting and college and NFL football is hitting its stride and I gave you guys a pick and we already won half of the pick this week. I said Jalen Hurts is going to have at least one passing touchdown. He did. I said Jackson Dart is going to have at least one passing touchdown. He did as well. We need Cam Ward to have at least one passing touchdown. That's more than one half. And Drake May of the New England Patriots to have more than one and a half touchdowns. If that happens, nearly a five to one payout, we'll give you another pick as we do every single Thursday. But right now you can get hooked up with $50 when you play. $5 Texas, California, Georgia, Florida, nationwide at least 40 states. You can play along with us. All you have to do is download the prizepix app or go to prizepix.com use my name clay that's prizepix.com my name clay for $50 when you play $5. Join the team. Let's see if we can win for a fourth time this year. Halfway there. Pricepix.com code clay keep up with the biggest political comeback in world history on the Team 47 podcast Clay and Buck Highlight Trump replays from the week, Sundays at noon Eastern. Find it on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts.

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[Leon Neyfakh]

Was making a podcast about Benghazi, nine times out of ten they called me a masochist, rolled their eyes, or just asked why Benghazi?

[Clay Travis]

The truth became a web of lies.

[Leon Neyfakh]

It's almost a dirty word, one that connotes conspiracy theory.

[Ted Cruz]

Will we ever get the truth about the Benghazi massacre?

[Leon Neyfakh]

Bad faith, political warfare, and frankly, bullshit.

[Clay Travis]

We kill the ambassador just to cover something up. You put two and two together.

[Leon Neyfakh]

Was it an overblown distraction or a sinister conspiracy?

[Clay Travis]

Benghazi is a Rosetta stone for everything that's been going on for the last 20 years.

[Leon Neyfakh]

I'm Leon Naifak from Prologue Projects and Pushkin Industries. This is Fiasco Benghazi.

[Annabe Sofa Ad Voice]

What difference at this point does it make?

[Clay Travis]

Yeah, that's right.

Lock her up.

[Leon Neyfakh]

Listen to Fiasco Benghazi on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Ben Ferguson]

I'm Ben Ferguson.

[Ted Cruz]

And I'm Ted Cruz. Three times a week we do our podcast, Verdict with Ted Cruz.

[Ben Ferguson]

Nationwide, we have millions of listeners.

[Ted Cruz]

Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, we break down the news and bring you behind the scenes inside the White House, inside the Senate, inside the United States Supreme Court.

[Ben Ferguson]

And we cover the stories that you're not getting anywhere else.

[Ted Cruz]

We arm you with the facts to be able to know and advocate for the truth with your friends and family.

[Ben Ferguson]

So download Verdict with Ted Cruz now, wherever you get your podcasts.

[Clay Travis]

Welcome back in Clay Travis, Buck Sexton show. We have had an awesome week with all of you. We hope that you had an awesome week with us and that you will have fantastic weekends. Buck, you were back home for the first time in a very long time. Do you have any spectacular weekend plans or are you just going to kick up the feet and chill at your place?

[Jack Carr]

I mean, I'm just.

[Buck Sexton]

It's going to be PJs, Jimmy Speed, Ginger Spice and Wifey all weekend, man.

[Clay Travis]

It's just.

[Buck Sexton]

Just laying low. There's nothing better when you've been away from home. So taking it easy, maybe, you know, cooking up some steaks, that's about all I got. Not Polish sausage steaks.

[Clay Travis]

Not having the roommate come over and give you a Polish sausage instructions.

[Buck Sexton]

Not this time.

[Clay Travis]

What did Kerry think about the Polish sausage discussion?

[Buck Sexton]

Well, she knew about my. She knew about my Chicago based roommate and his culinary habits. So this was not some big surprise to her. I also had a roommate who used to eat Brie, like a. Like a wedge of Brie. The way that you'd eat pizza. Like, he would just sit there and I thought this was. He was really skinny, too. But imagine someone would hold like a triangular slice of pizza, but he would do that with Brie. Oh, and just sit there eating it.

[Clay Travis]

Yeah, that sounds absolutely awful. I'm going to watch a lot of college football in NFL. I don't think that's going to shock anybody. And I can't wait. Monday, Buck. And we're back. I mean, it should be a pretty awesome day because hopefully those hostages are going to come back and it will be. Trump will be in the Middle east and we'll have a lot to. To talk about.

Which.

[Buck Sexton]

Which team is number one in the country right now, ranked for college football? Clay.

[Clay Travis]

So in my opinion, it should be Miami. But you've got Ohio State, you've got Oregon. We've got a bunch of big games going on.

[Buck Sexton]

So I'm going to be rooting for. I'm not going to watch, but I'll be rooting from afar from my beloved Miami Hurricanes, right?

[Clay Travis]

Yes, that is correct. It is the Hurricanes, and they have been stellar so far this season. They are the state champions, as Governor Ron DeSantis proclaimed them, because they beat in South Florida, Florida State, and Florida, among others. It should be an awesome weekend. Get those prize picks in. We love you guys. See you Monday.

[Leon Neyfakh]

When I told people I was making a podcast about Benghazi, nine times out of ten, they called me a masochist, rolled their eyes, or just asked why Benghazi.

[Clay Travis]

The truth became a web of lies.

[Leon Neyfakh]

From prologue projects and Pushkin Industries. This is Fiasco Benghazi.

[Annabe Sofa Ad Voice]

What difference at this point does it make?

[Leon Neyfakh]

Listen to Fiasco Benghazi on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Ben Ferguson]

I'm Ben Ferguson.

[Ted Cruz]

And I'm Ted Cruz. Three times a week, we do our podcast, Verdict with Ted Cruz.

[Ben Ferguson]

Nationwide, we have millions of listeners.

[Ted Cruz]

Every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, we break down the news and bring you behind the scenes inside the White House, inside the Senate, inside the United States Supreme Court.

[Ben Ferguson]

And we cover the stories that you're not getting anywhere else.

[Ted Cruz]

We arm you with the facts to be able to know and advocate for the truth with your friends and family.

[Ben Ferguson]

So download Verdict with Ted Cruz now. Wherever you get your podcasts, this is an iHeart podcast.