The Glenn Beck Program – "Best of the Program"

Date: October 8, 2025
Guest: Jack Carr (Bestselling Author, "Terminal List" Series)
Host: Glenn Beck
Podcast Network: Blaze Podcast Network

Episode Overview

This episode features Glenn Beck’s incisive commentary on recent political events, media bias, and free speech, alongside an in-depth interview with Jack Carr, former Navy SEAL and bestselling author. The show covers:

• Fallout from California gubernatorial candidate Katie Porter’s disastrous interview
• Media echo chambers and misinformation
• The significance of free speech in the context of a current Supreme Court case
• The meaning and implications of recent pro-Palestinian rallies in New York
• Carr’s writing process and the parallels between Vietnam and today
• Reflections on society, faith, and generational change

Throughout, Beck’s conversational, candid, and occasionally humorous tone keeps the discussion engaging.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Katie Porter's Interview Meltdown

[03:14 – 08:18]

• Beck plays a clip from Democrat Katie Porter’s interview where she becomes defensive over whether she needs Trump voters to win California's gubernatorial race, then abruptly ends the interview.
• Porter’s response:
  “How would I need them in order to win, ma'?” (Porter, [03:49])
• She doubles down on her own base:
  “If it is me versus a Republican, I think that I will win the people who did not vote for Trump.” (Porter, [03:59])
• When pressed, she ends the interview, citing "unnecessarily argumentative" questions.
• Beck and co-host dissect the exchange, suggesting Porter is unaccustomed to follow-up questions, revealing a "bubble" around many progressive politicians.
• Commentary:
  “She asks one minor follow up question that isn’t adversary at all, and she pulls the plug on the interview.” ([07:22], Co-host)

Notable Moment

• Porter’s exasperation:
  “I don't want to keep doing this. I'm going to call it. Thank you.” ([05:26], Porter, as she ends the interview abruptly.)

Media Echo Chambers, Misinformation, and Narrative Control

[08:18 – 17:16]

• Beck and co-hosts point out how left-leaning media do not critically engage their own, leading to intellectual atrophy.
• Example: The misreporting around a judge’s house burning down—presented in mainstream outlets as likely arson by conservatives without supporting evidence.
• Media echo chambers reinforce narratives:
  “They…just say it over and over. And people go, well, they wouldn’t say that if it wasn’t true.” ([14:51], Beck)
• Discussion about CBS’s hiring of Bari Weiss and media bias:
  "She describes herself as center left, right. And this is how desperate we are in the right—someone who is center left and actually kind of means something..." (Co-host, [17:18])

Jack Carr: On Writing "Cry Havoc" & Historical Parallels

[19:03 – 25:37]

• Jack Carr discusses his new novel "Cry Havoc," set during the Vietnam War (1968), marking a departure from the present-day focus of previous "Terminal List" books.
• On why Vietnam:
  "I wanted to also write this book through the lens of 1968. So without 50 plus years of hindsight applied to different characters..." (Carr, [23:27])
• Research immersion:
  "It really did look like I was planning an invasion...maps from that era, red dots...books everywhere."
• Carr’s approach is deliberate: characters only have knowledge up to 1968, making it true historical fiction rather than a modern transplant.

Memorable Exchange

• Beck: "We're really stupid as a species..." ([22:34])
• Carr: "Specifically when it relates to Afghanistan. We had the Soviet experience from '79 to '89...We took the wrong ones, unfortunately." ([22:36])

Department of War vs. Department of Defense

[25:37 – 26:57]

• Beck and Carr discuss the Biden administration’s language shift to "Department of War."
• Carr says the language helps clarify intent, but warns:
  "But also if you read the statement on it, it’s not permanent...I believe it does take an act of Congress to officially change this forever..." (Carr, [26:27])

Society, Generational Change, and Faith After Tragedy

[27:36 – 31:24]

• Beck and Carr reflect on the impact of new technology and social media—how tragedies are experienced directly by a new generation.
• Carr shares a personal story about his children's connection to Charlie Kirk and how witnessing Kirk's death (implied tragic event) online galvanized faith in his family and others.
• Beck uses a vivid analogy about Christ as a carpenter and trusting in God after personal failures.

Notable Quotes

• Beck: "How he can take the very worst things and make something glorious is amazing." ([31:10])
• Carr: "The impact that he has in death is probably more...generationally than what he had in life, even. And he had a huge one." ([31:24])

NYC "Flood" Protest & Supreme Court Free Speech Case

[32:53 – 47:37]

• Beck expresses alarm over large pro-Palestinian, pro-Hamas rallies in New York ("Flood NYC") and historic analogues to American Nazi rallies.
• He avows the importance of letting such speech stand as a testament to American freedom, even when odious:
  "If we were truly living in a dictatorship...we wouldn't be talking about Jimmy Kimmel. We would be talking about the rounding up of people who are carrying Islamic terrorist flags..." ([33:00])
• Discusses a major Supreme Court case regarding Colorado’s law banning "conversion therapy" for minors, with major implications for religious liberty and freedom of speech.
  "Does counseling count, or is counseling freedom of speech? Can I not counsel based on my religious dictates? Colorado says no. This is going to be a huge case." ([35:36])
• Beck reaffirms his religious beliefs and their potential to become "hate speech" if the Court rules against free expression.

Most Passionate Moment

• "There will come a time...where I can't have the freedom of speech to say those things—that will be deemed hate speech. That's what's in front of the Supreme Court yesterday." ([41:42])
• "No matter what the punishment is, I won't stop saying those things because I believe them. And I can't change what I believe because I believe them." ([42:44])

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Political Bubble:
  “She’s never had to deal with follow up questions before.” (Co-host, [06:50])

• On Media Bias:
  “No one ever asks you a follow up. No one ever pushes you on anything. You just say whatever you want and everyone just walks away as if it was the greatest thing of all time. That must be so much fun.” (Co-host, [07:06])

• On Misinformation:
  “They have reported that now as fact. How many people are going to believe that forever?” (Beck, [11:19])

• On Historic Parallels:
  "We didn't really listen to those, learn those lessons and apply them in a present day as wisdom. And we tend to do that over and over and over again." (Carr, [22:15])

• On Free Speech Crisis:
  “This is going to be a huge case...Does counseling count, or is counseling freedom of speech?” (Beck, [35:36])

Timestamps for Important Segments

| Timestamp | Segment Description | |------------|---------------------| | 03:14–08:18 | Katie Porter's interview, analysis, and implications | | 08:18–17:16 | Media echo chamber, misinformation, Bari Weiss at CBS | | 19:03–25:37 | Jack Carr joins: background on new novel, research, Vietnam lessons | | 25:37–26:57 | Department of War vs. Department of Defense discussion | | 27:36–31:24 | Reflections on tragedy, generational changes, return to faith | | 32:53–47:37 | NYC pro-Palestinian protests, American Nazism parallel, Supreme Court case on conversion therapy and free speech, Beck’s declaration of faith and future of expression |

Tone & Style

The episode mixes Beck's trademark wit and gravitas with earnest, sometimes sober, conversations about politics, media, religion, and culture. Jack Carr brings a disciplined, reflective perspective on both history and current events, deepening the thematic resonance.

In summary:
This episode weaves the personal, the political, and the historical—branching from a single failed interview into larger discussions about media bias, societal narratives, generational traumas, freedom of speech, and the lessons of history, all with a blend of Beck’s candor and Jack Carr’s thoughtful storytelling. If you want to understand how underlying themes in news events connect to deeper societal currents, this episode delivers analysis, compelling stories, and some memorable moments.