Best of the Program | Guest: Zachary Levi | 2/14/25

Summary

The Glenn Beck Program – Best of Episode Featuring Zachary Levi | February 14, 2025

Hosted by Glenn Beck on the Blaze Podcast Network

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Introduction

In this "Best of" episode of The Glenn Beck Program, host Glenn Beck delves into the current political landscape, shares insights from caller interactions, and engages in a heartfelt conversation with guest Zachary Levi about his latest film, The Unbreakable Boy. The episode offers a comprehensive look into American culture and politics, highlighting Glenn's candid opinions and engaging personality.

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Political Landscape: President Trump's Second Term

Glenn Beck opens the discussion by addressing the recent shift in support for President Trump's actions, emphasizing that while there have been positive changes, there are still challenges ahead.

• Callers' Perspectives: Glenn receives calls from listeners expressing both excitement and concerns about President Trump's second term. Greg from Ohio shares his enthusiasm, stating, "I've been voting since 1980. My first vote was for Reagan... I've been waiting for the last 45 years for somebody to come into our federal government and just turn the thing upside down. And I'm loving every bit of this right now" ([02:53]).

• Administration Efficiency: Glenn praises the Trump administration's cohesiveness, noting, "I've never seen an administration have every Cabinet person so focused and working together" ([04:17]).

• National Citizenship ID Card Debate: Jeff from Arizona introduces the topic of a national citizenship ID card, positing that it could serve as a voter ID to combat voter fraud. This sparks a spirited debate between Jeff and Glenn, where Glenn expresses reservations about national IDs, stating, "I don't like anything national, especially when it comes to our ID" ([07:43]).

  • Key Quote: Jeff argues, "This will kill the voting corruption from the progressive left" ([05:44]).

  • Glenn's Counterpoint: Glenn challenges the efficacy and implications of such measures, emphasizing the importance of state control over voting processes ([11:28]).

• Gaza Situation: Caller Chuck from Kentucky discusses Trump's negotiation stance on Gaza, highlighting concerns but ultimately supporting Trump's approach. Glenn acknowledges the complexity, saying, "If we're actually taking over things in Gaza, I don't think that's a good idea" ([12:35]).

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Listener Interactions and Concerns

Throughout the episode, Glenn Beck engages with various callers, addressing their concerns and sharing updates on political developments.

• FBI and DOJ Overhaul: Glenn provides updates on the anticipated confirmation of Cash Patel, anticipating significant changes within the FBI and Department of Justice. He remarks, "When Cash Patel comes in, I think you're going to see a massive change in the FBI and DOJ" ([16:06]).

• Real Estate Industry Issues: Glenn discusses a report from the Consumer Federation of America criticizing real estate companies for inadequate training. He promotes his initiative, realestateagentsitrust.com, urging listeners to find trustworthy agents ([17:00]).

• Economic Concerns and Inflation: The conversation shifts to economic topics, with Glenn expressing skepticism towards Biden's handling of inflation. He notes, "The Bidenflation is... the work against inflation that Biden has been doing. Biden nomics. That's working. It's the greatest thing ever" ([40:40]).

  • Gold Prices: Glenn highlights the rising price of gold, mentioning its potential revaluation and the implications for the economy ([42:17]).

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Guest Interview: Zachary Levi on The Unbreakable Boy

The highlight of the episode is an in-depth interview with actor Zachary Levi, who discusses his new film, The Unbreakable Boy.

• Film Overview: Zachary describes the movie as a "true story about a family navigating life... specifically navigating the waters of having a child on the autistic spectrum" ([18:26]).

  • Notable Quote: "When you radially accept... it's amazing, the peace and the love that flows from us and into those around us" ([23:50]).

• Personal Reflections: Glenn shares his emotional reaction to the film, relating personally to its themes. He asks about the child character's condition, learning that he has osteogenesis imperfecta ([24:19]).

  • Zachary's Insights: Zachary elaborates on the challenges faced by the family, emphasizing themes of acceptance and resilience. He states, "This is something that's applicable to everybody... we're all touched by it in some way" ([25:00]).

• Impact and Messaging: Zachary underscores the film's message of unity and understanding, encouraging viewers to experience the movie in theaters to foster communal empathy. He remarks, "There's something that's very unifying in all of that" ([28:00]).

  • Glenn's Endorsement: Glenn praises Zachary's portrayal and the film's authenticity, mentioning, "The kid that is represented... there's such joy in that kid. What's he like?" ([21:00]).

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Technology and National Security Discussions

Towards the latter part of the episode, Glenn engages in a conversation about artificial intelligence (AI) and its implications for national security.

• AI Control Debate: A caller raises concerns about centralized control of AI, referencing James Cameron's warnings about surveillance capitalism leading to digital totalitarianism ([35:13]).

  • Glenn's Concerns: Glenn echoes these fears, highlighting the dangers of both government and corporate control over AI technologies ([36:28]).

  • Public Trust Issues: The discussion touches on public trust in corporations versus government, with the caller stating, "I trust corporations more than I trust the government" ([36:40]).

• International Perspectives: Glenn mentions global developments, such as Canada's proposed bill to imprison individuals who express favorable opinions about fossil fuels, criticizing it as overreaching ([37:35]).

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Conclusion and Final Thoughts

Glenn wraps up the episode by reflecting on the resilience of the Republican Party and the ongoing political battles. He criticizes opposing narratives and emphasizes the importance of competent leadership, stating, "You have to have somebody competent to run, somebody who has vision" ([34:30]).

• Closing Remarks: The episode concludes with reminders to rate the podcast on iTunes and a brief advertisement for Mint Mobile, seamlessly integrating sponsorships without detracting from the content.

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Notable Quotes

• Greg from Ohio ([02:53]): "I've been voting since 1980... I've been waiting for the last 45 years for somebody to come into our federal government and just turn the thing upside down."

• Jeff from Arizona ([05:44]): "This will kill the voting corruption from the progressive left."

• Zachary Levi ([18:39]): "It's a true story about a family navigating life... specifically navigating the waters of having a child on the autistic spectrum."

• Glenn Beck ([07:43]): "I don't like anything national, especially when it comes to our ID."

• Glenn Beck ([36:28]): "I distrust both of them [corporations and government]."

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Conclusion

This episode of The Glenn Beck Program offers a rich tapestry of political discourse, listener engagement, and an inspiring interview with Zachary Levi. Glenn Beck effectively balances current political analysis with personal storytelling, providing listeners with both information and emotional resonance. Whether discussing the intricacies of national policy or the heartfelt narratives of a moving film, Glenn ensures that his audience is both informed and connected.

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For those who missed the episode, this summary provides a comprehensive overview of the key discussions and insights shared by Glenn Beck and his guests.

Transcript

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[Glenn Beck]

Great. There's a change in the country. You felt the shift in support of what President Trump is doing so far we're not out of the woods yet. Several pitfalls are still out there. Callers share their excitement about the first three weeks of President Trump's second term and some of their concerns. Also, Zach Levi promoting a new movie that comes out next week. It's really good, the Unbreakable Boy. All of that. More on today's Best of podcast. I want to tell you about Daisy. She and her husband decided not to have children. So the day she found out she was pregnant, she was devastated and afraid. She thought abortion was the only way. But thankfully she and her husband came across a preborn clinic. And after they met their baby on ultrasound and heard the heartbeat, something changed in them and they chose life. Today there's a bouncing baby boy named Jeffrey who is healthy and beautiful. Daisy and her husband can't even imagine their lives without him in it now. And it happened because of somebody just like you. People that support preborn. As abortion continues to rise, preborn is expanding their life, affirming care in the darkest corners of our nation to help more hurting women and to save more babies. If you have the means, would you consider a leadership gift to help save babies in a big way? $28 covers an ultrasound. Maybe do that once a month. But if you have the means, your tax deductible donation of $15,000 will place a machine in Aniti's women's center, saving countless lives for years to come. Donate whatever it is. Dial pound 250, say the keyword baby pound 250 keyword baby. Or you can donate [e-mail] that's preborn.com this message sponsored by preborn.

You're listening to the best of the Glenn Beck Program.

Hello America. Welcome to the Glenn Beck Program. Want to talk to you about some of the stuff that Donald Trump has done, done, and just get your feelings on how you think things are going. Anything that you're concerned about. 888-727 Beck, I've got a lot of stuff that's just happened over the last 24 hours that we have to talk about, but I want to check in with you first on the phones. Greg in Ohio. Hello, Greg.

[Caller Greg]

Hey, Glenn, how are you?

[Glenn Beck]

I'm great, man. Thanks for listening.

[Caller Greg]

I just wanted to call. I've been voting since 1980. 80. My first vote was for Reagan.

[Glenn Beck]

Yeah.

[Caller Greg]

Which at the time also included McConnell. I've been waiting for the last 45 years for somebody to come into our federal government and just turn the thing upside down. And I'm loving every bit of this right now. I know the team that he's put together, I'm fully in the camp that it was a good. It was actually good that what happened in 2020 happened. The last four years were terrible. But. But that provided a lot of focus for Trump. He learned a lot of lessons and put together a team that every last one of them, I mean, they're just. Every part of our government right now is going through an overhaul. And I couldn't be happier.

[Glenn Beck]

I know, it's amazing. I've never seen. Thank you, Greg, for your call. I've never seen an administration have every Cabinet person so focused and working together. You know what I mean? It's like they're finding something like, yeah, that needs to go over to justice, and justice is saying, I need this from Homeland Security. They're all working together. They're all working in lockstep, and they seem to have the people underneath. I haven't seen a single person in the Cabinet yet kind of floundering like, I don't know, I'm being sabotaged by my people. Except for Cash, who's not in yet.

[Caller]

Yeah, that's true. There hasn't been a lot of that, which you usually do get. Actually, one of my favorite moments of the past couple of weeks was the other day when Elon Musk is sitting there standing there with his kid, you know, and. And they said something to him about something he, I guess, tweeted that was wrong and they fact checked it or whatever. And Elon Musk was like, you know, some of the things I say will be wrong. And I was thinking to myself, like, that's not that you shouldn't say that. Right. Like, every lesson, you know, about politics says you should not just say that.

[Glenn Beck]

But that's true. Everybody says that.

[Caller]

It's true about every single person on Earth. You know what? Some of the stuff I say will be wrong. And you should know that. And, like, if we can. And he's moving so fast and he's going to break things. And sometimes these things are. There's gonna be mistakes made. There's gonna be. But, like, the intent here is to root all this stuff out. And you wonder why all this stuff builds up over a long period of time. It's because the intent is to keep it there. The intent is not. It's not a mistake. There's not $20 billion in some account because, oh, gosh, we missed the $20 billion is because there's an entire, you know, foundation and an entire city built on trying to keep those things in place. And we finally have a couple of people who seem interested in rooting all that out. And it's not gonna be perfect. There are gonna be things that go wrong, I'm sure, but, like, wow, it's just great to see that attitude and approach.

[Glenn Beck]

But here's the problem. The complaints aren't even real. First of all, you see the people that went into a Senate hearing yesterday, and they were, you know, protesting. They're like, well, you gotta fix the. The aid to AIDS in Africa. That's important. And they were kicked out. And the secretary just looked up the Senate and said they must not pay attention at all. Because that was fixed two weeks ago. Right? We. We did that two weeks.

[Caller]

To be fair, there's a lot to follow right now.

[Glenn Beck]

No, there is a lot to follow, but you think if you're going to organize a group, right, that's your one thing you should know that, you know. Let me go to Jeff in Arizona. Hello, J. Glenn.

I'm gonna get right to it because this is such an important thought. This is already a known thought. It's out there. And I believe Trump was actually talking about during his 2020 election campaign. And that is a national citizenship ID card, which he can do as the executive with the pen and the phone. He can from a national department. I'm going to suggest it's the Treasury Department order out national ID cards. And I think, you know, the reason why is because de facto, this can then act as voter id, and this will then act as the death knell, the actual knife in the heart of the Marxist progressive left to get control over our vote. And the way it de facto acts, as in a voter ID card, is the states just adopt it, and you're going to immediately have 15 to 20 states who already want voter ID who will just say, oh, we suddenly have a national citizenship ID card. This will now be used as voter ID card. And you will create a wave across the country and you will kill the voting corruption from the progressive left. So I have a vision I want to cast on how he gets to that, but please.

Yeah, hang on just a second. I just would like to say I don't think I'm for a national id. Uh, I don't like anything national, especially when it comes to our id. That sounds like it's one step away from a, a digital id, which I'm absolutely against. I could, I could understand if you are not here legally. If you are, you know, even here on a visa, you are not a natural born citizen. You could be required to have a national id, but I don't like the government with any more lists of anybody else. Just don't like it.

I'm surprised to hear you say that because everything in life has a trade off. And when you look at killing voter fraud, when you hear. I get what you're saying, Glenn, but when you look at the upside of killing voter fraud and killing, you know, these groups, Metcha La Raza. I know, I know leftist groups who want to literally overthrow our country by polluting our votes. This would kill that because the national government can do that, and then the states can just adopt it. And then here's the vision on how would go through the Treasury Department is you already have a national card. This pathetic little piece of construction paper that comes mailed to you. This is literally the Social Security card. The most important number in your life is to this day, just like we got this stupid mine seven stories down with paperwork for people's retirement. The most important number in your life. This is why I said we come with the Treasury Department. The Treasury Department just simply changes over to a hard card that protects beyond our Social Security number, protects the most important thing we have, Glenn. Our citizenship. Our citizenship they've already been talking about. It's already out there. And I would love to see Trump sign on July 4th of this year, the Protect Citizen Secure Citizen card. Secure citizenship ID July 4th of this year. And everybody next year on the 250th anniversary of the declaration has a protect citizenship ID card in their hand.

Jeff, I'd like to hear more about it. I'm, I am against national id, but you know, when you're bringing up the Social Security, if it's nothing more than a glorified, very, very, very hard to recreate, and you actually have a Fence around Social Security, maybe, Maybe, but I.

[Caller]

Don'T know, I don't know. Again, they've talked about. When I've heard Trump talk about national id, the idea is more for. Typically we're talking about legal migrants. Right. Like the idea that you would have an identification for those who are here legally that have to hit a different standard than a US citizen would have.

[Glenn Beck]

To hit like a sophisticated green card.

[Caller]

Yeah, I think that's a little bit more. Because you talk about this, you know, the states will adopt it. Well, what states. Is California adopting it? Probably not. What you're gonna do is if anything you'd have red states doing it, which would be great, I guess, but I mean, there are probably a lot less, fewer problems in those states anyway. And again, we have to also project past Donald Trump. What does a national ID card look like when you have the next president in who wants to do all sorts of things with it that are gonna make you very uncomfortable? I think giving. There are a lot of ways to push back against voter. I mean, a voter ID law is something that you could pass, but states would be the ones in control of that. And I think that's a better approach.

[Glenn Beck]

Must be in control of the vote, never the federal government.

[Caller]

Right. It's really tempting. Cuz we all are like, oh, we want to get the vote results immediately on election night. We should just have a national election. And it's very tempting to people, but there's a very bad path that, that leads down.

[Glenn Beck]

All right, let me take Chuck in Kentucky. Hello, Chuck.

[Caller Chuck]

Hey, Glenn. Great to talk to you again. We met about 15 years ago in Melbourne, Florida.

[Glenn Beck]

Oh my gosh, Chuck.

[Caller]

We were just talking about you, Chuck. Yeah, yeah. We love you.

[Glenn Beck]

We love you. Thank you. Love you. Thank you.

[Caller Chuck]

A couple of things.

[Glenn Beck]

Yeah.

[Caller Chuck]

One, thank you for supporting Preborn. My wife and I support them as well.

[Caller]

Awesome. Yeah, great organization.

[Caller Chuck]

For the most part, I'm really happy with what Trump is doing. I love the Doge stuff. I'm a little concerned about the Gaza stuff and how that's going to work out.

[Glenn Beck]

Yeah, hang on just a second. Let's say more than on that. If, if we're actually taking over things in Gaza, I don't think that's a good idea.

[Caller]

What if they build a nice pickleball facility there? Yeah, that would be nice.

[Glenn Beck]

Yeah. Maybe we can just steamroll and just make a big pick.

[Caller]

Doesn't this just strike you though? I, you know, I just, it just strikes me as just pure Trump negotiation.

[Glenn Beck]

Yeah. Except I saw a story today Let me see if I can find it to where. I think it's the UAE said, the ambassador to America from the UAE said, I don't think there's any way to stop that. I just think that's the best. You got a better idea, go for it. And I'm like, somebody's got to come up with a better idea than that. Now. I don't mind if we have American business over there. You know, the Waldorf Astoria wants to build some hotels over there.

[Caller]

Yeah, go for it. And he's kind of said that it's not going to be taxpayer dollars, not.

[Glenn Beck]

Us, any troops over there.

[Caller]

But again, I, I, that's not very America First. It's not consistent with, with most of his platform here. To me, it's just very much him saying like, hey, guys, release these hostages. Do it. Because we will just take this land from you and you will go to different countries and we'll build resorts.

[Glenn Beck]

Yeah.

[Caller]

So get it done.

[Glenn Beck]

And I think he's, what he has done is he's changed the narrative. Yeah. You know, all of the countries around, we're not talking about, wait, the, the Gazans have to stay in the Gaza Strip. No, no, no, nobody was talking about that. They were like, we can't have the United States come in and build anything.

[Caller]

That's what I mean. And that's what you need in that situation is to change the conversation. How long have you been talking about two state solution? It's not going to work. Stop it. Stop it. Change this. If you guys want to stay on this land, you will start acting like civilized people.

[Glenn Beck]

Yep.

[Caller]

And while I'm sure there are some there that have, generally speaking, when you look at the polls, it's not all that encouraging. So change what you're doing or things are going to change.

[Glenn Beck]

All right, let me, let me go to Rob in Indiana.

[Caller Rob]

Glenn.

[Glenn Beck]

Yeah.

[Caller Rob]

Thank you so much for taking calls, man. There's so many of us that just want to get through and talk to you. And I understand things have changed, but, but it just is what it is.

[Caller]

So we love taking calls whenever, call whenever you, we don't solicit for them enough anymore because we just get off ranting on stuff. But you're always welcome to call. The lines always open. BJ's in there screening your calls. He's yelling at people most of the time. I don't know what he's doing in there, but. Triple eight, seven, two, seven back.

[Glenn Beck]

Thank you. That's right, Mr. Executive Producer.

[Caller Rob]

You know, I've been a listener yeah, I've been a listener, you know, from the beginning, and I'm a Blaze subscriber. Last night I purchased tickets to go to the American Journey Experience.

[Glenn Beck]

Really cool.

[Caller Rob]

I'm going to make a pilgrimage in March.

[Glenn Beck]

Dallas, I think. I'm around in March. So you make sure you tell the, the people over at the museum that we spoke. And I'd love to see you when you come, but anyway, go ahead.

[Caller Rob]

Okay. That would be great.

[Glenn Beck]

Yeah.

[Caller Rob]

But anyway, I love everything, you know, I can't believe how close we came to the point of no return.

[Glenn Beck]

Yeah.

[Caller Rob]

And, you know, it's unbelievable, you know, voting day. It was like this thing. We all knew it in our gut, in our soul, in everything within us. Knew how close we were and how dire the everything was. Thank God, you know, that things went the way they did.

[Glenn Beck]

Yeah. And literally, thank God because I think he stepped in and did it real quick. What is the one thing that you say concerns you?

[Caller Rob]

Oh, well, if people don't start going to jail, all this will just be a four year blip.

[Glenn Beck]

Yeah. Well, here's the good news. Cash Patel got out of committee yesterday. He's going to be confirmed. Confirmed maybe early next week. Um, because they just had to go to Germany. All these senators had to go to stay home, take care of business here, quite honestly. Uh, but they're gonna confirm him next week. Now you have Pam Bondi. She's already issuing, you know, charges around the country. And when Cash Patel comes in, I think you're going to see a massive change in the FBI and doj. And that's. You have to have the FBI to start putting people in jail. That's the last piece to come in to play. And it's gonna happen next week. So let's watch what happens beginning next week. Cause I think it's gonna happen quickly. Let me talk to you about real estate agents. I trust. Recent report from the Consumer Federation of America showed many real estate companies and their agencies hire indiscriminately. Then they fail to adequately train and supervise their new agents. So through lax hiring and training, many companies sponsor agents that have too little knowledge and experience to adequately serve their customers. I'm still quoting. Home buyers and sellers benefit from considering recent sales experience and customer evaluations before hiring an agent. You don't think of hiring a real estate agent, but that's what you're doing. You don't think of interviewing them. This is why I started real estate agentsitrust.com because most people don't know how to interview Interview a real estate agent. They don't know what the best practices are. They don't know how to find that really great real estate agent that gives it their all and can turn your housing experience from horrible into great. Realestate agentsitrust.com I don't charge you for this service. We just recommend people that you should talk to to represent you with real estate. Real estate agents I trust dot com. Now back to the podcast. This is the best of the Glenn Beck program. And don't forget, rate us on itunes. Macri, how are you, sir?

[Zachary Levi]

I'm well, thank you, Glenn. Good to be back and talking to you.

[Glenn Beck]

Yeah, I know. So good. I thought you were coming in today, but Texas is a large state and you have a cybertruck and what, you'd have to stop and plug that thing in three times.

[Zachary Levi]

I think it's a couple charges to.

[Glenn Beck]

Get up and down. Well, good to talk to you again. I just watched your movie last night, my wife and I, and just loved it. It is such a good movie.

[Zachary Levi]

Thank you. Yeah, I'm. Listen, I'm very grateful for the career that God's blessed me with over these 25 years and very proud of lots of things that I've done. But I am particularly proud of this film. I think it's. Honestly, it was kind of a miracle that it even happened. It's very. God breathed. It happened in the height of the pand and, you know, just the right of us, the right, a number of us and people came together to make this very, you know, slice of life. It's a grounded film, as, you know, as you've seen it. You know, there's nothing big or splashy or, you know, big special effects or anything. It's a true story about a family, you know, navigating life and all of its complexities, but specifically navigating the waters of having a child on the autistic spectrum. And I have never seen or heard of a film like ours that tackles it in such an authentic and beautiful way. And also, you know, diving into the human condition of the parents that as they are trying to figure out how to love themselves and each other and their children. And it's powerful, you know, but it's also done with such a. Such a big heart. And so it never feels like you're trudging through the drama too much or too long. It's there to provide the groundedness of, you know, and the redemption in the story because, as you know, we all go through our darkness and if we don't tell that part of the story, then I don't think you ever really get the triumph of coming around at the end and having enlightenment and waking up to bigger and better things in your life. I mean, my character, specifically the father, you know, his journey is. And, you know, kind of then what the messaging in the film is in the large part is what it means to radically accept the life that God has given you and radically surrender to it. And when you do, when we do that, you know, it's amazing, the. The peace and the love, the radical love that flows from us and into those around us. And so I just think it's something that's applicable to everybody, you know, and now, as it turns out, because autism has become so ubiquitous, you know, we're all touched by it in some way. And so I think it's even. That resonates with almost everyone.

[Glenn Beck]

I have to tell you, this rang so true in my life. I mean, it was almost in many ways, many parts of it. And I probably think you are kind of in this world too, where so much of it rang so true. I spent a lot of the time crying in a way of relating, but also crying with tears of joy. The kid that is represented, which. He's a real kid. This is a true story. But the actor who plays him is incredible. There is such joy in that kid. What's he like?

[Zachary Levi]

He's a really special kid. He's got such a beautiful heart, and we were so lucky to have found him. Like I said, I mean, very. God breathed everything and all the rest of the cast. Megan Fahey, who plays my wife, and Peter Facinelli and Drew Powell and Amy Acker. Patty Heaton. Patricia Heaton plays my mom.

[Glenn Beck]

She's great, too.

[Zachary Levi]

Yeah. And everyone kind of slid right into their role and inhabited it so authentically. But Jacob, as you were pointing out, really has such a special energy that he brings to this charact Austin, who, as you said, yes, is a real kid who's about 31 now, but Jacob just brings that effervescence and optimism to life in a way that really affects, obviously, us in the story, but affects the viewer, affects the audience. You can feel it. It's real. It's palpable.

[Glenn Beck]

Yeah. And he doesn't have any disabilities himself. He's just a.

[Zachary Levi]

A regular kid, as far as I know. Yeah. I've never heard Jacob having been diagnosed with anything neurodivergent. Although, listen, man, at this point, I wonder how many of us I know could probably all be, you know, categorized as being Somewhere on some, you know, spectrum, whatever it is. I mean, it's. It's fascinating to look at how all of our minds and bodies continue to change, and not always for the better as we progress as a society. You know, specifically with all this technology. I mean, how wonderful it is that we can be on the phone right now on your show, or I could be, you know, zooming in or, you know, the things that we have now at our disposal, at our fingertips, it's pretty incredible. And also, it's. It's been a real. It's been a real toxic thing in our lives. And blue light emf, like, all of these things, they reprogram us. So, you know, even if we were born and had nothing going on for a long time in our life, you start introducing these types of technologies, well, you might start reprogramming your brain in a lot of ways. So anyway, that's kind of a tangent, but also I think in line with some of the stuff we're going to talk today, like. AI.

[Glenn Beck]

Yeah, I want to stay in the movie here for just a second longer. Absolutely. Oh, no, stay as long as you want.

[Zachary Levi]

I want to talk about it.

[Glenn Beck]

Yeah, no, it's. It's just. I just really loved it. The kid doesn't only have, you know, he's not only on the scale, but he also has a disease that man, I can't even imagine he has. Very bravecta. What is it?

[Zachary Levi]

Osteogenesis imperfecta. Brittle bones disease, essentially.

[Glenn Beck]

Oh, my gosh. I mean, and when the baby is born and you find out that my wife and I were talking about it as she was giving birth, we were like, why didn't that break any bones? And you find out it did. Broke two ribs, and that's why the baby was crying all the time. You didn't know it at first. And then he's constantly falling and breaking bones on the simplest of things. My gosh. What the real parents went through and what the kid went through too, but, I mean, my gosh, that's just turns your life upside down.

[Zachary Levi]

Yeah, no, it's. It's definitely. It's definitely, you know, part of this overall journey that they went on. And again, a journey that they. They got pregnant on their third date. It was definitely a big curveball, but they stepped up to the plate and were like, we're gonna go have this child and we'll figure out our relationship as we go. And so they were already kind of navigating those waters. Then they've got this. This new baby that is crying Nonstop. And they don't even know why until years later when they finally are able to diagnose that he, in fact, did inherit the genes from his mother. To have osteogenesis imperfecta and then to have them in pain and be worrying about them constantly that they're going to break another bone. And I mean, it. It's a. It's a ride, man. Like, I can't even imagine what Scott and Teresa were going through in that time. And for them to continue to stay strong and navigate through that. Then just to find out, you know, later on in life, after having their second son, Logan, who, you know, God, you know, thank God he was. He did not have osteogenesis imperfecta and seemingly was, you know, operating in a normal level. But then Austin was starting to operate in very atypical ways, only for them to test him and find out that he indeed had autism. And that's a whole other challenge. You know, that's. That's. And that for Scott, I think that was him. That was this real struggle with fighting his life. Like, this is not my life. This can't be my life. Like, I've got these expectations of what my life is supposed to be, which I think is applicable to all of us. Right. We all have these ideas of, no, no, no, no. My life is supposed to go this way or that way. And we fight. And we fight God essentially, in that we're like, no, it's got to be different. It's got to be different. As opposed to radically accepting that, well, perhaps God knows better than me. And perhaps, though my son. I wish my son would have been born without having to battle these things through his life, that God is still going to use my son in beautiful ways and has. And that's what was so transformative in that story.

[Glenn Beck]

Yeah. And the. The fact that you're running away to alcohol and part of it being, I'm just a bad dad. I mean, he's a. He's a normal guy, and, you know, he's out on the swings, and his son, you know, has a horrible break, and, you know, his wife is like, it always happens with you. Not. Not with me. And he just starts to think he's just such a bad guy and runs from life with alcohol. And, I mean, it's. As somebody who's been there, I get it. I get it. And I thought it was really well done.

[Zachary Levi]

Thank you, man. That really means a lot, and I'm very grateful that you were able to see it before we even talked. You know, it's it gives it a lot more context for your viewers and listeners. Because I really would love for this movie to do well and not, you know, obviously, biasly. I always want the things that I do to do well. But I think that this is bigger than that. I think this story is bigger than that. And, you know, particularly nowadays, with so much content that's out there that I don't think has good messaging or great messaging or that a whole family can actually watch together. And it speaks to the. The human condition in all of us. And so, yeah, I implore everyone listening, please go see it, and if you enjoy it, please tell everybody that, you know. And also, not for nothing, but I do encourage people to go to movie theaters, and I think for, you know, some of the same reasons that. That some people in my industry talk about it. But I think there's one thing that is often overlooked and it's very important, which is theaters, you know, historically have been places that provide us, the public of all different backgrounds and belief systems and whatever, to gather in the same place to experience the same thing. And what's really powerful about that is, and I think something that's been lost as people have continued to, like, kind of leave theaters and watch things on television is that when you're in a public theater with a bunch of people that are not you, that believe different things than you, and you know that, and you're all watching a thing, but yet, even though you all have these different opinions and different belief systems, you're all laughing at the same jokes, you're all crying with the same moments of despair and pain, and that those types of things help to remind us that we are all on this planet together, that we're on Team Human together. And yes, we might have differences of opinion, and, yes, we need to have more conversations about trying to find more middle ground, but how can we even get to that point if we don't see that the person on the other side of the aisle is a human being just like me, that cries and laughs at nearly all of the same moments. You know, there's something that's very unifying in all of that. So I encourage people to go to theaters mainly for that reason. Go. Go put yourself back into a world where we start seeing each other again. And I think this movie has a lot of that. No matter what background you have, you're gonna laugh and cry at a lot of the same spots, because it's just about being a human.

[Glenn Beck]

Zach, I have to tell you, I got in huge trouble when I Got home after interviewing you because my son was in town and he was staying for a couple of weeks, and he said, wait, wait, wait. Who. Who did you interview today? And I said, zachary Levi. He's like, you. You interviewed the guy who played Kurt Warner, one of my favorite movies, and you didn't even tell me. So I got it. I got into huge trouble. Next time you're. You're coming up, I. I have to tell him in advance, if you don't mind.

[Zachary Levi]

100%. Yeah.

[Glenn Beck]

Anyway, you know what that's like? You know what that's like?

[Caller]

Like you're listening to the Best of.

[Glenn Beck]

The Glenn Beck Podcast.

[Caller]

Hear more of this interview and others with the full show podcast available wherever you get podcasts.

[Glenn Beck]

Well, I gotta tell you, I think the. The left just doesn't know what to do. They are on the ropes. And then. And then you put somebody like David Hogan as well. I mean, what are you thinking?

[Caller]

Vice chair of the dnc.

[Glenn Beck]

Yeah.

[Caller]

What?

[Glenn Beck]

What are you thinking?

[Caller]

They've learned nothing.

[Glenn Beck]

Nothing.

[Caller]

I think they're just panicking right now. And there is a reason to believe, if we're being honest here, that the American people are fickle and they usually just run out of gas for whoever's in office. And you can't look ahead and think, okay, this is 40 years of success ahead. They're gonna do something right now. They're flailing, though. But we're three weeks into this. We need to remember.

[Glenn Beck]

But you also have to remember that it wasn't too long ago that books were being written how the Republican Party will never come back.

[Caller]

Yeah. If you.

[Glenn Beck]

It's over. It'll be 100 years of Democratic rule.

[Caller]

There was a book. Was it James Carville that wrote it, about how Republicans would be a regional party only.

[Glenn Beck]

Yes.

[Caller]

This is after Barack Obama's 2008 election. The 2010 election was the biggest wave election in a hundred years.

[Glenn Beck]

Yeah.

[Caller]

That's how fast this stuff can dry up. So this is why I'm so encouraged by what Trump is doing here, in that we are at a situation that he's realizing that he doesn't maybe have the longest road to do all of this stuff. He's got to get it done, and hopefully it works and excites the American people and we don't lose the House, for example, in 2026, which is usually what happens.

[Glenn Beck]

You have to have somebody competent to run, somebody who has vision. I mean, when you're putting in as your vice chair, David Hogg, it doesn't show, you know, somewhat Meaningless role. But I know that. But still, it shows me that you are. You're still on the same message. You know, I was talking to somebody yesterday. Do we have that picture of the front of Rockefeller Center? This is one of the buildings in Rockefeller Center. Pull it up if you can, online. And it is a glass cutting of the front of Rockefeller Center. Do you have it?

[Caller]

They're working on it.

[Glenn Beck]

Okay.

[Caller]

They are working on it, Glenn.

[Glenn Beck]

Okay, there it is. So it's hard to see, but see, there's two horses, and then the strong guy, naked, standing, holding those horses back. He's standing on a chariot, and the two horses are being held back.

[Caller]

Looks like he works out.

[Glenn Beck]

And there is a sunrise right in front of the horses. And you'll see the youth in front of the horses, kind of leading the horses. Okay.

[Caller]

Yeah.

[Glenn Beck]

All right. So what this means is this is. This is the. The. The socialist movement, the Democratic Party. This is. The horses represent industry. The strongman in the chariot is the government, and it's holding back the reins of industry. It's got industry completely in its grip and control. And the youth of tomorrow lead us into the sunrise and the new chapter. This is socialism. This is what they're still offering us. Where Trump is saying, no, we don't want the strong guy in the chariot. We don't want that. And we just want competent people. I don't care if they're 12 or 112, if they're competent. We just want competent people, you know, setting the course for us. And that could be. It doesn't necessarily have to be elected. The elected guy is in the chariot. I want that guy just to be really small and really not even in the picture, quite honestly.

[Caller]

Yeah. I mean, this goes back to the speech JD Vance made this week about AI.

[Glenn Beck]

Yeah.

[Caller]

Which we haven't really discussed all that much. It's, like, really encouraging. It was like saying, hey, we're freaking America here. You know, we're gonna. Of course we're going to dominate this industry, obviously. Do we want it? Yeah. So we're gonna take it and like, that. It. We're not gonna lose to China. Like, it was like. It wasn't. It wasn't apologizing for that. It wasn't saying, well, really, we should give this technology to everyone because everyone needs it in it. No, it was just like, no, we're the best at it, and we're gonna do it. And we're gonna. We're gonna. We're gonna do everything we can to make sure we're the ones in control of this because it's not only important for our economy, but also for the.

[Glenn Beck]

Nation'S security and freedom of the world.

[Caller]

Yeah.

[Glenn Beck]

Quite honestly, do you see what James Cameron came out and said? Normally I don't care what James Cameron said, but because he's the guy, you know, with Skynet and, and the Terminator.

[Caller]

Okay, yeah.

[Glenn Beck]

He came out and said, you know, I wrote a fictional nightmare. He said, but this time it's not fictional. It's not speculation. It's already happening. That's a quote from him. He said, it's a scarier scenario than what I presented in Terminator 40 years ago. If for no other reason that it's no longer science fiction, it's happening right now. You'll be living in a world that you didn't agree to, didn't vote for, are forced to share with a super intelligent entity that wants to follow the goals of a corporation. This entity will have access to your communications, beliefs, everything you ever said, and the whereabouts of every person in the country through personal data. He said its ability to predict and influence human behavior. This is surveillance capitalism. And surveillance capitalism can toggle pretty quickly into digital totalitarianism. This, this is the hard place is I don't want the government to own it, but I also don't trust corporations to own it.

[Caller]

I trust corporations more than I trust the government. I do. That one's not a tough decision for me. I understand. I feel like it's a little more difficult than maybe conservatives felt at one point.

[Glenn Beck]

I mean, I distrust them equally. It's not like I trust one more than the other. I distrust both of them.

[Caller]

I trust corporations more. And the reason is that there's actual competition between them. And I don't trust any individual corporation necessarily. But the impacts of the market, I think generally speaking lead us to good things. But it's up for debate, of course. I mean, the problem here is you sort of have to choose one path or another. And I can tell you I do not want centralized control of AI. No. Do I want guardrails around it for national security purposes? Sure. But when it comes to whether I don't love tech companies, for example, I think there's been a lot of good things, but there's been a lot of bad things. That being said, the difference between that and the government is, to me, there's a pretty, pretty bright line there.

[Glenn Beck]

I have to tell you that, you know, if you look at what's happening in Europe and Canada, I mean, did you hear that? Canada, they are, they are now Trying to pass a bill that you can go to prison. If you say anything favorable about oil, gas or coal, go to jail.

[Caller]

That's sensible.

[Glenn Beck]

Yeah, that's going to work out really well, isn't it?

[Caller]

I mean, this is, these are products that have built our civilization exactly right. Like that.

[Glenn Beck]

You can't run. Not, not just built it in the past, currently. Can't live without any of that stuff.

[Caller]

Nope. And they're like, oh, you can't even talk about it positively.

[Glenn Beck]

That's crazy.

[Caller]

It's basically crazy about everything, let alone something that's been really positive to our world.

[Glenn Beck]

Also, Linda McMahon yesterday, she talked about in her confirmation hearing, she said, fund educational freedom, not government run systems. This is her plan. Listen to the parents, not the politicians. Build up careers, not college debt. Empower states, not special interest. Invest in teachers, not Washington bureaucrats. November proved that Americans overwhelmingly support the President's vision. And I'm ready to enact it. Education is an issue that determines our national success and prepares American workers to win the future. The legacy of our nation's leadership and education is one that every person in this room embraces with pride. Unfortunately, many Americans today are experiencing a system in decline. I think she's, I think, I mean, I don't know how you argue about, against these things. I really don't. We all know our schools are failing like crazy. And she was asked, does that mean you're going to cut off the funds for, for schools that need, you know, help because they're in low tax? No, no, we'll still help those, but we're going to get rid of all of this crap that you're required to do to get any of that money. They have to be run. The classrooms need to be run by the parents and the teachers locally, not some bureaucrats in Washington, D.C. yeah.

[Caller]

And she, McMahon's a real advocate for school choice. This is an incredible, I mean this, we have a real opportunity to make a massive difference for millions of children in this four year period. And it's really exciting. Even here in Texas, where we had an election, we talked about the House speaker situation, who did not go the way that conservatives were hoping here in Texas. But at least as of today, Burroughs, who's the guy who is not the more conservative option, is claiming that they're gonna go forward with school choice in Texas even, I mean, we're at the point that now even, you know, what you might call the Rhino contingency is like, okay, yeah, we'll do that. This is incredible, Glenn. We've been Talking about this policy for 20 years longer than that. But as long as the show's been on the air, we've been discussing it as this sort of like pie in the sky, hey, maybe that will vouchers. Like it was this thing that would never occur and all of a sudden it's occurring all over the country.

[Glenn Beck]

So here's what concerns me is Donald Trump is. I love these people who are coming out from the Democratic side saying, oh, have you checked inflation? No, there is no inflation. This is the greatest economy ever. What are you talking about? The Bidenflation is, you know, the work against inflation that Biden has been doing. Biden nomics. That's working. It's, it's the greatest thing ever. I can't believe people who told us for four years there was no such thing as inflation are now crying, you know, the inflation numbers. And I'm happy to say that our president is saying, yes, inflation is, it's going to go up and it's going to be hard and we are working to, to reverse that. He's at least recognizing the reality of the situation and it is going to go up and get worse before it gets better. We talked about this before. We talked about this before November.

[Caller]

It's concerning, though. It is concerning because if it, look, you know, think about the average person. They're not sitting here like you are, listening to a bunch of talk radio and thinking about these issues. If these prices go up and they continue to, if it feels like Biden, they won't care what else is going on. You've got a very short Runway with, hey, there's gonna be some pain here. You just need to take it and it'll get better later. That can work. Worked with Reagan, I would argue. I mean, the early, remember, I mean inflation in 81, 82 was really high and then it came down and everything was fine. And he wanted a landslide. So it's possible to turn it around, but it's a tough, tight wire walk.

[Glenn Beck]

I'm looking at the price of gold. What is the price of gold? It's almost $3,000 an ounce. It was yesterday. It was 26, 9, sorry, 2961. I'm looking for that because this is the seventh weekly gain on, on gold. And it has something to do with the trade war, but also something else is happening with gold. And we're not sure exactly what it is, but it looks as though some people are thinking that we're going to go back and revalue all of our gold, which would be Good if you had gold, you know, really good if you had gold. But is going to be. It's going to cause problems because of the dollar getting stronger, etc. Etc. It's. The cure is not going to be worse than the disease, but the cure is going to make it seem as though the disease is getting worse before it gets better. By the way, one other thing that happened yesterday, you know, Rachel Maddow came on and she was like, yeah, I told you, I told you. Elon Musk. I'm sorry, it's Rachel Maddow. It.

[Rachel Maddow]

I told you that Elon Musk was double dealing. Right? Am I right? Emerson, msnbc, Rachel Maddow, viewers, I'm always right. Right, Right. So he's. You know what he did? He just got the government to buy 400 million, that's almost half a billion dollars of armored Tesla vehicles. And he got a contract through the State Department.

[Caller]

What a jerk. Wow.

[Glenn Beck]

What a bastard.

[Caller]

That's unbelievable, Glenn.

[Glenn Beck]

I know.

[Caller]

You know, the fact is he got. Well, this is what happened, Glenn, is his money bought influence with Donald Trump.

[Glenn Beck]

Yeah.

[Caller]

And then Donald Trump gets elected, probably falsely, by the way. And then Musk becomes the real president and just directs all this money to his own company.

[Glenn Beck]

Right you are.

[Caller]

Thank you.

[Glenn Beck]

Says Rachel Maddow. Unfortunately, 100% wrong. The government because of green energy. Can you imagine how long these batteries last carrying around an armored vehicle? Like what are the, like 10, 10 minutes out of the car.

[Caller]

But Elon would not agree with that.

[Glenn Beck]

Yeah. So he's. So Biden wanted armored vehicles for the State Department and he wanted them all evs. So he put out a bid. The only one that responded to the bid was Tesla. Okay. Nobody else responded to the bid. Everybody else was like, I 10 minutes. I don't think that'll be good. So he was, he was the high bidder on the government's list of, of providing all of these vehicles. However, Trump stopped. That said, it's not going to happen. So Rachel Maddow is.

[Rachel Maddow]

Oh, geez, man, I got to tell you, a pack of cool cigarettes, maybe some Alka Seltzer, and I'm going to be fine. I got to get over this. But I'm telling you right now, all.

[Glenn Beck]

Lies, all of that is, is not true. They are so desperate.

[Caller]

Yeah, I'd be real. I mean, if you had a network that cared, you'd be really concerned about that. I mean, she does one show a week. The main focus of her monologue wasn't even true. Like, that's got to be really concerning as a network. You would think in any other circumstance.

[Glenn Beck]

You know, I was going to say wow. I didn't know she was doing one show a week. And then I thought, no, the real wow is wow. She's still doing one show a week.

[Caller]

She's their star.

[Glenn Beck]

I know. I know she is.

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[Glenn Beck]

Will that be cash or credit? Credit. 4 Galaxy S25 Ultra the AI companion.

[Caller]

That does the heavy lifting.

[Glenn Beck]

So you can do you get [e-mail].

[Caller]

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[Glenn Beck]

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[Caller]

Results may vary based on input.

[Glenn Beck]

Check responses for accuracy.