The Glenn Beck Program | Best of the Program

Guest: Lee Zeldin
Episode Date: February 13, 2026

Episode Overview

This episode brings a mix of thought-provoking historical analysis, insight into American economic and political systems, and a headline interview with Lee Zeldin regarding the largest EPA deregulation in U.S. history. The program moves from a captivating monologue on the collapse of America’s streetcar era and its implications for today, to a spirited discussion with Zeldin about deregulation, government overreach, and what it means for everyday Americans. The hour rounds out with a timely geopolitical conversation on Russia, the U.S. dollar, and echoes of the Cuban Missile Crisis.

Key Sections and Themes

1. The Hidden History of Streetcars and America's Urban Transformation

Timestamps: [03:03] – [19:52]

• Glenn Beck opens with an impassioned account of America’s forgotten streetcar legacy, using it as a metaphor for manipulation and loss of public choice.

• Contrasts the “efficient, rhythmic, elegant” cities of the 1920s-30s—where trolleys ruled—with today’s car-dependent urban sprawl.

• Details a corporate conspiracy: “National City Lines”—backed by GM, Standard Oil, and Goodyear—secretly bought up and dismantled streetcar lines to favor cars, buses, gasoline, and tires.

• Memorable quote:

  “The streetcar wasn’t a vehicle. It was a rival business model to those three companies.” (Glenn Beck, [05:20])

• Analysis:

  • Developers stopped building around transit; cities sprawled. The auto became a necessity, not a choice.
  • Federal antitrust case in 1949 found the companies guilty of collusion—a mere $5,000 fine (“That’s like a parking ticket...”—[10:50]).
  • Parallels drawn to today’s policy manipulations (“Rip out the rails—bring down the coal-fired plants. I share this with you today because we are destined to repeat history if we don’t know our own history.” [17:40])
  • Beck argues that large-scale corporate-government schemes often change American life in ways most people don’t notice until it’s too late.

• Key insight:

  • American choices were heavily manipulated; foundational city systems were dismantled for profit, not public good.

• Notable moment:

  • Beck’s frustration with the minuscule legal consequences and the long-term social impact (“When something slowly disappears, slow enough, people stop remembering it ever existed. That’s what you’re witnessing in real time now with health care and energy over the last 20 years.” [18:30])

2. Interview: Lee Zeldin on EPA Deregulation and the Supreme Court

Timestamps: [19:53] – [31:58]

Headline Announcement

• Host Glenn Beck welcomes Lee Zeldin, lauding him for executing what Beck calls the “largest deregulation action in U.S. history”—the dismantling of the EPA's endangerment finding.
• Zeldin explains:
  • This $1.3 trillion rollback was achieved by attacking the root: the “endangerment finding”—a reading of the Clean Air Act used to justify massive regulation.
  • Supreme Court impact: Recent rulings (Loper Bright, West Virginia v. EPA, Michigan v. EPA) emphasize that Congress, not unelected bureaucrats, must decide on massive regulatory actions.
  • “If you want the law to say that EPA should be regulating the heck out of greenhouse gas emissions, that is a topic for a debate and a vote in Congress, not a rogue unelected bureaucrat at a federal agency.” (Zeldin, [20:29])

Immediate Consumer Benefits

• Zeldin: “A new vehicle is going to cost over $2,400 less on average now that this decision has been signed... we got rid of that annoying start-stop feature in vehicles.” ([21:58])
• Savings and effect: “The president came in January 2025. This was a day one executive order... We followed all of the rules of the Administrative Procedures Act... And this thing is airtight.” ([22:44])
• Beck’s humor and excitement: “You’re talking sexy talk... you had me at hello.” ([22:27])

Durability & Supreme Court Precedent

• Zeldin notes this deregulation is durable—not just an executive order but rooted in Court precedent and statutory reality.
  • “If the pendulum swung one day... the Clean Air Act is still going to give them the same problem. And Loper Bright is on the books and it says you can’t just make it up.” ([26:24])
  • Manufacturers can make the vehicles “consumers actually want rather than what politicians demand.”

Global Perspective and Economic Context

• Beck asks about trade: does relaxing regulations put U.S. auto exports to the EU at risk?
  • Zeldin: The EU is “feeling the strain” of their green goals; “...these European countries are facing a reality where they’ll make their decisions in the months and the years to come. But...they are feeling the economic pressure of their environmental policies.” ([28:07])

Impact for All Americans

• Emphasizes positive effects for working/middle-class, not just conservatives:
  “This is about more consumer choice... The cost of living across the board is able to go down. $1.3 trillion is one massive number... It's more economic mobility. It’s the ability to be able to get to work, to get to church.” ([29:55])

3. International Affairs: Russia, Cuba, and the “Missile Crisis 2.0”

Timestamps: [32:21] – [44:09]

• Cuba Poll: Audience interest leads Beck into a discussion of recent Russian statements and their implications for U.S. foreign policy.

  • Russia signals it may resume using the U.S. dollar—“the dollar didn’t abandon us, we had to leave”—if a Ukraine settlement occurs.
  • “This is huge. Russia has been using the dollar as a weapon for a long time... This is the fundamental principle of BRICS and local currencies. But why are you saying you might go back to it?” ([33:26])
  • Internal Russian proposals suggest openness to broader economic ties if the Ukraine situation is resolved.

• Cuban Missile Crisis Recap:

  • Jason briefly recaps the 1962 crisis: Soviets placed missiles in Cuba in response to U.S. missiles in Turkey.
  • Beck draws historical parallels:

    “We gave up Turkey. Now we’re headed towards another blockade, possibly, because Russia just sent ships down to Cuba... Is it possible this Cuban thing will be solved by what we do and solve in Ukraine, just like we resolved last time with Turkey?” ([36:38])

• Current Geopolitical Analysis:

  • Both Beck and Jason analyze Russian motivations and the shifting global alignment.

  • Beck suggests Russia’s overtures may show desperation and sees an opening for a new U.S.–Russia relationship:

    “This could end with Russia not being a trusted ally by any stretch, but by being somebody we can do business with... That’s what Donald Trump is doing.” ([43:10])

  • Beck criticizes the “experts” and celebrates unconventional leadership for positive change:

    “Stop listening to the experts. Every single expert has got us into this trouble, and now the guy who’s bucking all of the experts... seems to be collapsing everything in our favor.” ([41:35])

Notable Quotes & Moments

• On deregulation and bureaucratic overreach:

  “If you want the law to say that EPA should be regulating the heck out of greenhouse gas emissions, that is a topic for a debate and a vote in Congress, not a rogue unelected bureaucrat at a federal agency.”
  — Lee Zeldin ([20:29])

• On manipulated markets:

  “You didn’t choose it. Three companies through collusion, bribery... they chose that because now you need a car to participate in society at all.”
  — Glenn Beck ([11:20])

• On the power of legislation:

  “Congress would have to pass a new law in order to have trillions of dollars of regulation. So, yeah, no, it doesn’t have to be codified...the Supreme Court precedent...says you can’t just make it up.”
  — Lee Zeldin ([26:24])

• On global consequences of green policy:

  “These European countries are facing a reality where they’ll make their decisions in the months and the years to come. But...they are feeling the economic pressure of their environmental policies.”
  — Lee Zeldin ([28:07])

• On lessons from the streetcar story:

  “When something slowly disappears... people stop remembering it ever existed. That’s what you’re witnessing in real time now with health care and energy over the last 20 years.”
  — Glenn Beck ([18:30])

Episode Structure & Flow

• Opener: Streetcar history and metaphor for modern policy manipulation.
• Headline interview: Lee Zeldin on historic EPA deregulation—implications, Supreme Court, economic effects.
• Geopolitics: Contemporary echoes of the Cuban Missile Crisis, Russia-Ukraine dynamics, and shifting alliances, with parallels to Cold War history.
• Consistent tone: Glenn Beck’s blend of storytelling, skepticism of elite narratives, and populist, quick-witted asides.

For New Listeners

This episode delivers Glenn Beck’s distinct historical storytelling, sharp criticism of establishment politics, and a look behind the curtain of American policymaking. The Zeldin interview is a centerpiece not only for conservatives but for any listener interested in the mechanics of federal regulation. The episode closes by applying lessons from both history and current events, warning listeners to guard their freedoms and push for transparency and genuine public choice.