The Glenn Beck Program – Best of the Program | Guest: Dave Isay | 11/21/25

Date: November 21, 2025
Host: Glenn Beck (A)
Guest: Dave Isay, StoryCorps (C)
Producer/Co-host (occasional interjection): B
Podcast Theme: American culture, politics, gratitude, and the vital role of storytelling in a divided nation.

Episode Overview

This episode of The Glenn Beck Program centers on the “Bubba Effect”—a societal trend where public trust in institutions erodes, prompting self-reliance and citizen vigilance. Beck connects constitutional crises, institutional failures, and major scandals (like the Epstein saga) to this effect, urging listeners to embrace civic engagement rather than apathy or rage. The episode concludes with a powerful Thanksgiving segment and an uplifting conversation with Dave Isay, founder of StoryCorps, celebrating gratitude and the enduring goodness of the American people through personal storytelling.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. The Bubba Effect & Constitutional “Earthquakes” (03:13–12:48)

• Definition & Relevance:
  The "Bubba Effect" describes when ordinary Americans, losing faith in failing institutions, take matters into their own hands. Beck illustrates this with events in Michigan, the military’s chain of command being questioned by Congress, and sinister undercurrents in national stories.

• Institutional Failures:

  • Congress is failing to discipline its own, eroding moral authority and allowing dangerous precedents.
  • The military must restate its commitment to lawful civilian authority; silence so far is “not reassuring.”
  • The Supreme Court is urged to close legislative loopholes (referring to the Bozberg case) to protect the separation of powers.
  • The media and cultural elites have abandoned their roles as guardians of the Republic in favor of ideological advocacy.

• Call to Citizenship:
  Beck urges listeners not to respond with rage or apathy, but with purposeful civic action. He emphasizes citizens’ role in insisting on boundaries and transparency, reminding that the restoration of the Constitution depends on public vigilance.

  “There is a moment in every republic, every empire, every nation that historians will look back on and go, yep, that was it. That was the biggest warning.”
  — Glenn Beck (05:02)

  "The answer is not anger...It is citizenship...If we sleep through this, the system will break. Guaranteed."
  — Glenn Beck (12:28)

2. The Epstein Scandal: Follow the Money (17:20–24:35)

• Redirection from Sensationalism:
  Beck laments media focus on side issues and insists the real story in the Epstein controversy is the financial coverup, especially overlooked money transfers.

• Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs):

  • Banks are federally required to flag and report suspicious transactions exceeding $10,000.
  • JPMorgan Chase filed only a handful of SARs over 14 years on Epstein (~$4.3 million in suspicious activity), but after his death, the number jumped to 5,000 SARs totaling $1.3 billion.

  “You do not accidentally forget to report 5,000 suspicious wires...You don't misplace a billion dollars in wires to foreign banks and shell companies connected to...a convicted sex offender.”
  — Glenn Beck (21:01)

• Systemic Complicity:
  Beck suggests this was no oversight, but coordinated negligence likely due to Epstein's “value” and connections. He calls for criminal—not civil—prosecution of bank officials involved.

• Broader Concerns:
  The incident exemplifies a deeper rot in financial and governmental oversight—with implications far beyond this singular case.

3. American Institutions and “Theft in Plain Sight” (24:35–26:45)

• Discussing widespread financial corruption, including schemes in Minnesota where taxpayer money was allegedly funneled to terrorist organizations, Beck reiterates how the public is distracted from real crimes by surface-level controversies.

  “The biggest heist in all of human history is happening right now...I think because the bank and maybe the Treasury are in on it.”
  — Glenn Beck (26:15)

4. Thanksgiving: Refocusing on Gratitude and Survival (27:00–33:00)

• Meaning Over Tradition:
  The core of Thanksgiving is not parade floats or football, but a reflective, unifying act of gratitude in the face of hardship—echoing the Pilgrims' original gesture.

• Message for Divided Families:
  Beck urges listeners to set aside differences, especially within families, and gather in humble gratitude, recognizing survival and blessings even amid adversity.

  “Thanksgiving is the quiet confession that we are dependent on something much greater than ourselves, that America's strength begins not with the clenched fist, but the open hand lifted in gratitude.”
  — Glenn Beck (31:29)

5. StoryCorps and the Power of Human Stories (33:14–42:32)

Introduction to Dave Isay & StoryCorps

• Glenn Beck introduces Dave Isay and StoryCorps’ mission: to collect and preserve personal American stories for the National Archives—an initiative born of gratitude, empathy, and national unity.

The Value of Civil Dialogue (34:01–36:59)

• Isay praises Beck and his listeners for their consistent efforts in bridging divides, noting that the Glenn Beck audience consistently participates in StoryCorps’ “One Small Step” program with empathy and open-mindedness.

  “We have to love one another. We have to show each other grace. We have to love this country, or we have no future.”
  — Dave Isay (34:23)

• Both discuss how most Americans are part of an “exhausted majority,” seeking understanding and exhausted by divisive fringe voices.

Featured Thanksgiving Story (37:26–40:47)

• John Cruet and Cecile Doyle:

  • In 1958, third-grader John loses his mother just before Christmas. His teacher, Cecile Doyle, comforts him, sharing her empathy as someone who'd also lost a parent young.
  • Fifty-four years later, John writes Cecile a letter of gratitude, not knowing her circumstances. Cecile receives it after a hard day caring for her husband with Parkinson’s disease—the note gives her strength.
  • A touching exchange follows, highlighting the long-lasting impact of everyday kindness:

  “When you bent over and kissed me on the head, it was really the only time someone said to me, I know what you're feeling and I know what you're missing. And I felt in a very real way that things really would be okay.”
  — John Cruet [38:48]

  “And your letter could not have come at a better time...”
  — Cecile Doyle [40:12]

What Will the Future Find in America’s Stories? (40:47–41:53)

• Beck asks Isay what future generations will discover about America through the StoryCorps archive.

• Isay responds:

  “The basic goodness of the American people, period. Every kind of person, every state, every occupation, every political persuasion... It's a version of the Anne Frank quote, that people are basically good.”
  — Dave Isay (41:01)

Notable Quotes and Memorable Moments

• On Constitutional Crisis:

  “These are not political stories. These are constitutional earthquakes, and no one's talking about them.”
  — Glenn Beck (05:57)

• On Restoring the Republic:

  “From 1800 to 1868 to 1974, institutions bend, people break. But the Constitution can be restored. But if, and only if, you know it, you love it, you never betray it yourself, and you demand it of the people who represent us.”
  — Glenn Beck (12:40)

• On the StoryCorps Mission:

  “It is our patriotic duty to see the humanity in people with whom we may disagree.”
  — Dave Isay (34:51)

• On Thanksgiving:

  “Thanksgiving is the American holiday that is supposed to force us quietly, maybe stubbornly, to confront the truth of who we are and where we've been.”
  — Glenn Beck (27:18)

Important Timestamps

• [03:13] – The Bubba Effect explained, urgency of institutional discipline
• [12:48] – Beck on active citizenship over rage or apathy
• [17:20] – Epstein segment, exposing the money trail and bank corruption
• [24:35] – Broader banking and government malfeasance
• [27:00] – Beck’s Thanksgiving reflection and call for gratitude
• [33:14] – Dave Isay joins for StoryCorps and “One Small Step” discussion
• [37:26] – Thanksgiving StoryCorps feature: John Cruet & Cecile Doyle
• [40:47] – What America’s archive will reveal about its people

Resources & How to Get Involved

• StoryCorps “One Small Step” Project:
  takeonesmallstep.org — Participate in bridging divides with civil conversation.
• Glenn Beck Program:
  BlazeTV.com/Glenn — For full episodes and more content.

Closing Tone & Significance

The episode combines Beck’s trademark urgency and deep concern for American democracy with a tone of hope and unity, culminating in a heartfelt celebration of gratitude, empathy, and the enduring power of personal stories to reveal the nation’s true character—goodness, resilience, and the will to connect beyond differences.