Beans Talk | Strike Force Five

Summary

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The Daily Beans (Beans Talk) | Strike Force Five

Host: Allison Gill (MSW Media)
Air Date: May 15, 2026
Episode Focus: Solidarity Among Late Night Hosts, Free Speech Under Threat, and Standing Up to Right-Wing Smears

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Overview

This episode of “Beans Talk,” hosted solo by Allison Gill, takes a timely look at the impending finale of “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert”—a move widely seen as forced by the Trump administration’s campaign against speech it disfavors. The episode dives into the notable “Strike Force Five” podcast reunion (featuring Stephen Colbert, Seth Meyers, Jimmy Kimmel, John Oliver, and Jimmy Fallon), the united stand taken by late-night hosts and major media networks against political retaliation and censorship, and ends with a sharp, witty takedown of right-wing billionaire Kevin O’Leary’s baseless attacks on grassroots activists.

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Key Topics & Insights

1. Stephen Colbert's Forced Departure & Late Night Solidarity

• Colbert’s Final Show:
  • “Just six days from now is going to be the final episode of the Late Show with Stephen Colbert on CBS… he’s being pushed out by the Trump administration because they disfavor his speech.” (Allison Gill, 00:48)
• Strike Force Five Reunion:
  • This week saw the rare gathering of Seth Meyers, Jimmy Kimmel, John Oliver, and Jimmy Fallon on Colbert’s late-night set, marking a symbolic act of support.
  • The hosts also recorded an emergency “Strike Force Five” podcast episode, reviving the camaraderie and joint advocacy from previous writer strike solidarity.
  • Memorable Moment:
    • John Oliver (joking about the risks of getting together):

      “The five of us being here right now, obviously it's dangerous. Jon Stewart is Designated Survivor. Someone has to survive for the president to be mad at.” (John Oliver, 02:01)

2. The Chilling Effect of Political Retaliation

• Other Networks Join in Solidarity:
  • Jimmy Fallon and Jimmy Kimmel will both go dark, running repeats instead of new episodes on the night of Colbert’s CBS finale—making a clear, public statement in support.
    • “In a show of solidarity, they’re going to be dark... That’s fantastic.” (Allison Gill, 04:07)
• ABC News and Disney Push Back:
  • Over 100 former ABC News employees signed a letter praising Disney/ABC’s resistance to FCC and Trump administration pressure to silence critical voices (04:07).
  • Notable Quote from the letter (read by Allison Gill):

    “A free press is not a partisan issue. It is the foundation of our democracy. We stand with ABC in this fight and call on the FCC to drop its politically motivated inquiry.” (04:07)

• Regulatory Targeting:
  • The FCC’s investigation has allegedly only targeted shows critical of Trump, ignoring supportive conservative talk programs—exposing the partisan nature of enforcement.

3. Notable “Strike Force Five” Banter

• Behind-the-Scenes Humor and Camaraderie:

  • Jimmy Kimmel and John Oliver share exaggerated, absurd stories about making out with celebrity guests, underscoring both their chemistry and their irreverence.
    • “Why would you look at me like that?” (Jimmy Kimmel, 02:57)
    • “Cause I think you’ve made out with guests on camera.” (John Oliver, 02:58)

• Solidarity with Colbert:

  • John Oliver jokes nervously about the future:

    “Do I lose my insurance because I have my insurance through Strike Force Five?” (John Oliver, 03:53)

    • Jimmy Kimmel retorts:

    “Yeah, don’t worry. Give me a few months, it'll be Strike Force 3.” (Jimmy Kimmel, 03:56)

4. Grassroots Pushback Against Kevin O’Leary’s Smear

• Context:

  • Kevin O’Leary (right-wing billionaire and former Shark Tank star) made baseless allegations that local Utah activists opposing his data center were part of a Chinese Communist Party “cell.”
  • The activists, Gabby Finlayson and her team at Elevate Strategies, responded with wit and skepticism, exposing the absurdity of the accusation.

• Highlight Reel (Gabby’s Retort):

  • “It’s not every day you get called out by first and last name on Fox News by a Canadian billionaire trying to ruin my state. But here we are. Kevin, are you okay?” (Gabby Finlayson, 08:24)
  • “If we were Chinese operatives, we would be the worst operatives in the entire world. Someone alert Beijing that the payment portal to Jackie and Izamx bills is somehow broken... we run Democratic campaigns in the state of Utah. If we were in this to be making money, we would be doing literally anything else.” (Gabby Finlayson, 09:12)
  • “Let’s be so for real and so clear. That is not us. [...] Let’s do the thing all men who are scared and have no actual facts do—accuse women who have a fully formed thought of being the problem and being Chinese operatives.” (Gabby Finlayson, 09:12)

• Allison’s Applause:

  • “Absolutely fantastic. I love these women. Congratulations on pushing back and being amazing and being awesome. The flip flops, by the way, are killing me.” (Allison Gill, 10:30)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Colbert’s Finale & Solidarity:

  • “He’s being pushed out by the Trump administration because they disfavor his speech.” – Allison Gill (00:48)
  • “A free press is not a partisan issue. It is the foundation of our democracy.” – ABC News letter (04:07)

• Strike Force Five Banter:

  • “The five of us being here right now, obviously it’s dangerous. Jon Stewart is Designated Survivor.” – John Oliver (02:01)
  • “If we were Chinese operatives, we would be the worst operatives in the entire world.” – Gabby Finlayson (09:12)

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Key Timestamps

• 00:48: Allison Gill introduces the significance of Colbert’s departure and the week’s late night solidarity.
• 02:01: John Oliver ribs about "Designated Survivor" and the perils of being comedian-critics under the current administration.
• 02:54–03:56: Strike Force Five share comedic notes on “making out” on set and the future as a group.
• 04:07: Allison details the networks’ acts of solidarity and reads from the ABC News/Disney letter.
• 07:36–10:30: Kevin O’Leary’s Fox News attack is played, with Gabby Finlayson’s witty video response highlighted and lauded.

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Tone & Style

The tone is fierce, unfiltered, and deeply supportive of press freedom, women's voices, and resilience in the face of right-wing intimidation. There’s a blend of snark (especially in Gabby’s response and Allison’s commentary) with genuine concern for democracy and free speech.

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Conclusion

This episode captures a pivotal week in late-night television history and the broader struggle for the First Amendment in 2026. It celebrates the solidarity of major comedic voices, the media’s pushback against authoritarian overreach, and a grassroots victory over billionaire smears—all with the sharp wit and directness that defines The Daily Beans.

Transcript

[Brian Caram]

I'm Brian Caram, and I've spent decades covering politics. Now I'm taking you behind the scenes, one interview at a time.

[Podcast Narrator]

Join us as each week Brian confronts the issues that matter, posing the questions you wish you could ask. No filter, no agenda, just the truth.

[Brian Caram]

We're not here for sound bites. We're here for substance. Join me, Brian Caram, every week as we cut through the noise and get straight to it. This is Just Ask the Question where curiosity will lead us to the facts.

[Podcast Narrator]

Subscribe now on your favorite podcast platform and remember, when you want answers, all you have to do is just ask the question.

[Gabby Finlayson]

Hey, everybody.

[Allison Gill]

It's Friday, may 15, 2026. I'm allison gill and this is beans talk. Hi, everybody. Thanks for joining me. This final show of the week, Final Beans talk of the week. Dana's out. She's going to be back next week. It's going to be a quick show today. I just want to go over something that, I don't know. It's hitting me harder than, than I thought I would. Just, just six days from now is going to be the final episode of the Late show with Stephen Colbert on CBS. That's Thursday, May 21st. Now, he's done over 1800 episodes across 11 seasons, but as we know, he's being pushed out by the Trump administration because they disfavor his speech. Okay. Now, this week on his show, Seth Meyers, Jimmy Kimmel, John Oliver, and Jimmy Fallon appeared on Late Night with Stephen Colbert all together. And then the next day, they did a reunion episode of what they call the Strike Force five podcast. So I just wanted to kind of give you a little bit of a look inside this episode where they appeared all together. Watch this clip from Entertainment Tonight.

[John Oliver]

The five of us being here right now, obviously it's dangerous. Jon Stewart is Designated Survivor. Someone has to survive for the president to be mad at. Did it ever occur to you that you'd be doing a job that the president of the United States would have strong feelings about?

[Kevin O'Leary]

No.

[Brian Caram]

No.

[Jimmy Kimmel]

You know what's even weirder? We're doing a job that his wife has strong feelings about.

[John Oliver]

Most of us have avoided that part.

[Kevin O'Leary]

Yeah.

[Jimmy Kimmel]

Yeah, that's true.

[Allison Gill]

Here we go again.

[John Oliver]

Is there anything that we have not

[Jimmy Kimmel]

touched on the outrage that your show is being thrown off the air? Yeah, you guys have no idea.

[Narrator]

There's only seven more shows before Colbert's final episode airs next Thursday. And as you'd expect, Kimmel, Fallon, John Oliver, and Seth Meyers turned up the heat during this paddle game.

[Jimmy Kimmel]

Are we gonna spank each other.

[John Oliver]

Wait, who would make out with a guest on camera?

[Jimmy Kimmel]

Why would you look at me like that?

[John Oliver]

Cause I think you've made out with guests on camera.

[Jimmy Kimmel]

No, I think you just wanted to make out with me.

[John Oliver]

Have you guys ever made out with a guest on camera?

[Jimmy Kimmel]

Yeah, once. Regis, once. Not only did I kiss Regis, but he chewed my gum.

[Allison Gill]

He just kissed me on the top of the head.

[Jimmy Kimmel]

Martin Short, we were on snl, we had to do a bit where he kissed me or whatever and he goes, hey, I want no tongue. I go, we do the sketch live. He looks at me full on tongue

[John Oliver]

for me. Sally Fields, Helen Mirren, Andrew Garfield.

[Narrator]

The love fest didn't stop there after a two and a half year break. And the guys announced they recorded a brand new emergency episode of Strike Force 5 which drops tomorrow. And what you didn't see on the broadcast, their plans on moving forward once Steven is off the air.

[John Oliver]

Do I lose my insurance because I have my insurance through Strike Force Five?

[Jimmy Kimmel]

Yeah, don't worry. Give me a few months, it'll be Strike Force 3.

[Allison Gill]

And now the Hollywood Reporter is saying that both Fallon and Kimmel, the two Jimmies, plan to go dark. They're shuttering their shows next Thursday. Here's a quote from the Hollywood Reporter. In a sign of late night solidarity, NBC put it the Tonight show starring Jimmy Fallon will air a repeat episode on Thursday, May 21, opposite the final episode of the Late Show. ABC said on Monday Jimmy Kimmel Live will also go dark that night. So I think that's fantastic. In a show of solidarity, they're going to be dark. And over at ABC, that's Kimmel's network. Over 100 former ABC News employees have issued and signed a letter to Disney thanking the company for pushing back on heavy handed investigations by Federal Communications Commission and the Trump administration. We know Brendan Carr is at the FCC and here's what the letter says. Last fall, we called on Disney and ABC News to stand up for its journalists and to resist government pressure to silence voices critical of the Trump administration. This came after Disney pulled talk show host Jimmy Kimmel off the air briefly under threats from the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission. Today we write to commend Disney and ABC for the strong stand they are now taking in support of freedom of the press. Excuse me, freedom of speech. ABC rightfully argues that the Trump administration is violating its free speech rights and creating a chilling effect on First Amendment protected speech through its regulatory action targeting the view. In its filing with the fcc, ABC argues the FCC has questioned talk shows critical of the president, but not those conservative radio talk shows that have featured content supportive of the administration. Making plain that this is political retaliation, not regulatory enforcement. As ABC's filing notes, with the 2026 midterm elections approaching, Americans need more access to political news, not less. A free press is not a partisan issue. It is the foundation of our democracy. We stand with ABC in this fight and call on the FCC to drop its politically motivated inquiry. So that's from over 100 people at ABC News. I'm not going to watch CBS much after they pull Colbert, but I will leave you with this today for the weekend. Kevin o'. Leary, you might not know who he is. He's a Trump supporting right wing Canadian billionaire. He was on Shark tank. He's a TV guy. In 2017, he campaigned to be the leader of the Conservative Party in Canada. And he dropped out in April 2017, a month before the election, because basically everybody hates this guy. Canada doesn't want him back. If he's here in the United States, they're like, keep him. Well, he went on Fox News the other night and claimed that there was a secret spy Chinese Communist Party cell operating in Utah opposing his massive data center. Right. Because he's also in tech, he's also crypto guy. And so he's like, yeah, there's this Chinese Communist Party terror cell. They're trying to block my data center. But you know who that dangerous terrorist cell is? It's actually two young women who live in Utah. Watch this takedown.

[Kevin O'Leary]

Elevate Strategies. Also a cell operating inside of Utah. Gabby Finlayson. Gabby, what are you doing and why? Who's paying you?

[Gabby Finlayson]

Well, hi. Hello, it's me, Gabby Finlayson.

[Kevin O'Leary]

1.

[Gabby Finlayson]

What am I doing? Apparently we've reached the part of the Stratos Data center journey where Kevin o' Leary goes on national Fox News to accuse us of being cells for the Chinese Communist Party.

[Kevin O'Leary]

Yeah, because at the end of the day, who would want us to stop building our electrical grid? Which adversary would want that? There's only one. It's China. So what I think is happening, and I got my guys to go a deep dig into the IP addresses and here's what we found out. This is fascinating. We found two cells inside of Utah. Elevate Strategies. Gabby Finlay said. Gabby, what are you doing? Why are. Who's paying you? So what I'm doing right now is after getting this data, I'm calling out Gabby operating in Utah.

[Gabby Finlayson]

So, hi, Kevin. We are Elevate Strategies. This is Utah. You might not know it because you're from Canada. This is where we live. Before we get into anything too serious, this is the very scary, very intimidating man that is threatening us. We are not taking the criticism of anyone who is wearing flip flops and a suit on national television. You know, it's not every day you get called out by first and last name on Fox News by a Canadian billionaire trying to ruin my state. But here. Here we are. Kevin, are you okay? But after sitting with this for a moment, we decided to take it as a compliment. Because first of all, how are these men scared of us? Have. Have you met us? Hi. What are we talking about?

[Kevin O'Leary]

I want a forensic auditor who's funding their platforms. Who is it? So these are proxies for the Chinese government's my argument. And if they're not, because I want them to be able to defend their name to Gabby. Come out, come out, wherever you are.

[Gabby Finlayson]

Okay, Kevin, go ahead. Mr. Wonderful's Nancy Drew Little Detective Agency. Have at it, brother. Because if we were Chinese operatives, we would be the worst operatives in the entire world. Someone alert Beijing that the payment portal to Jackie and Izamx bills is somehow broken. As a reminder, we run Democratic campaigns in the state of Utah. If we were in this to be making money, we would be doing literally anything else. And you should know that because your job is to give small business owners advice. Yeah, you'd think that Kevin would understand the hellscape that is late stage capitalism and consumerism that has led to you becoming a terrible, horrible billionaire who's trying to ruin our state. But if we're talking about audits, we should be auditing the Stratos project. We should be auditing all of the politicians that I don't know. Do you have property surrounding the Stratos project? Or maybe do you have interests that you were changing the laws before this was created? Hypothetically. We're just saying we should maybe look into people that stand to make hundreds of millions of dollars off this project. And let's be so for real and so clear. That is not us. It is not us. But sure, let's do the thing that all men who are scared and have no actual facts do we. Which is accuse women who have a fully formed thought of being the problem and being Chinese operatives just like me. It just like, what are we talking? How are we making this video right now? Like, it's so unserious.

[Allison Gill]

Absolutely fantastic. Absolutely fantastic. I love these women. Congratulations for on pushing back and being amazing and being awesome. The flip flops by the way, are killing me. Like, like, look, unless you're Jimmy Buffett himself, there's no occasion to wear flip flops with a suit. There just isn't. So let's hear Jimmy Buffett. Or maybe Nathan Lane in the birdcage. I'll, I'll, I'll, I'll give him that. All right, everybody, thanks so much for watching. Dana's going to be back next week. I'm Alison Gill, and you've been watching Beanstalk.

[Martin Sheen]

Hello, Martin Sheen here, and it seems to me that no day of the week is without its endless barrage of bad news, even on Sunday. For God's sake, let's change that. What do you say? Together, let's make Sunday immune to bad news. Available now every Sunday, season three of the Martin Sheen Podcast with your Truly Martin Sheen has begun. Yeah, 10 brand new episodes are already underway. So join me, Martin sheen, for a 20 minute journey as I share my personal stories, a bit of poetry, and insightful reflections that will encourage you to take a deep breath and enjoy a relaxing moment. Of course, it's important to know and understand what's happening in the world, but I also believe there's nothing wrong with taking a step back to find strength and clarity. And Lord knows we need that now more than ever. A moment of thoughtfulness and calm may be rare these days, but it doesn't have to be. So what do you say? You want to take back your Sundays? So do I. And guess what? I've already done it with the Martin Sheen Podcast, Season three. Available now. Don't mess with my Sunday. And thank you for listening.