Pastor Josh McPherson (3:57)

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

Glenn Beck (4:01)

Welcome, Selena. How are you?

Selena Zito (4:03)

Hey, Glenn. How are you? I'm okay.

Glenn Beck (4:06)

Yeah. It's been a really tough nine days. Can you believe it's been nine days? It feels like it's been six months.

Selena Zito (4:14)

Yeah, it's. You know, there's sometimes I wake up and like, oh, that didn't happen. Right? I jumped it. Right? It didn't. It couldn't have happened because Charlie was such a life force. The first time I met him, I think he was like 18 years old. And I was just so struck by this, by this energy and this aspirational quality he had. And one of the things I think you've done really well and is important to note about Charlie, he never did this for himself. This was never about him. It was always about bringing people together to be part of something bigger than self. I think a lot of people, in trying to understand Charlie, have missed that, but you haven't. And I think that's that. I think that's real. But that's a quality a lot of people don't, you know, possess. Right. There's always an Ulterior motive. There wasn't. With Charlie, there never was, really. It was about faith and family.

Glenn Beck (5:21)

Yeah. He just wanted to make the world a better place. You know, he had his own ideas how to do that, but it was never about hogging the spotlight. It was. He always shared the spotlight. He always shared. We. You didn't matter where he was. You know, I called him for some advice on something, I don't know, last year, I think, and I called him. He was in the Oval with the President, picked up the phone, hey, Glenn, what's happening? And. And I said, hey, do you have a second? He said, yeah, I'm just with the President or just working on some stuff. And I'm like, I'll call you back. And he's like, no, no, no. What do you need? I mean, that's the kind of guy he was really. You know, it's amazing. You. You tw. I just spent 90 minutes sitting on the sideline of a kid's flag football practice. And I don't think cable news experts or Democrats have any idea how profoundly impacted suburban moms over what happened to Charlie Kirk and how they may have. And how much they have noticed how poorly Minnie had behaved. What do you mean by that?

Selena Zito (6:20)

So this is something that I. That's in my book. Butler in that, you know, after the President was shot, right. People, I went out and I saw people that I did not expect to see with Trump shirts on or Trump hats or put them in their yard, right. And I remember, right. I interviewed people like that. That's in my book. And also in my book was all these young people that kept showing up in droves to his events. And it was Trump, what happened to him. It was also Charlie. And. And so the other day, I was. First. I went to a revival. I don't know if I sent that to you. I went through. In the city of Pittsburgh, in a majority of black historic neighborhood called the Hill District. And there were kids coming from the busloads on Sunday just to. To witness and to. And to celebrate Charlie and his life, but also to celebrate their faith with. With. With a boldness that. That has been inspired by Charlie. But to get back to your original question, I'm sitting on the sidelines my little grandson's flag football game, and I'm listening to these. These moms overhearing their conversations. And it was all about how my profession has behaved in reaction to Charlie's murder and. But also how they've been invigorated and activated into. I mean, three of Them had freedom shirts on, you know, and I was like, whoa, something is happening. This is very real. This is very tangible. And my profession isn't seeing it on paper. These women should be Democrats.

Pastor Josh McPherson (8:24)

They're suburban.

Selena Zito (8:25)

They're college educated, right? I mean, they're the demo that you. And they live. And they live in suburbs. They're the demo. You expect Democrats to. For them to go towards the Democrats. And instead they were talking about, I can't believe that he was murdered. I can't believe how they're covering this. I want to get my kids out of school. I want to homeschool them. Several of them had just gone away for the weekend because they couldn't handle the way that things were being talked about. And there is an awakening going on.

Glenn Beck (9:02)

It's the right word, too.

Selena Zito (9:05)

I don't think my profession or Democrats understand. Just in the past four days, in places like Somerset, Pennsylvania, the city of Pittsburgh, Shippingsburg, Pennsylvania, Hempfield, Pennsylvania, Ligonier, Pennsylvania, Hundreds. Hundreds of people have just been showing up in their little town squares, right? These are small Pennsylvania towns, most of them with, you know, gazebos in the middle, right? And with just candles and just. They're praying and. And they're. A lot of them are really, really young. And. And, you know, people talked about, Glenn, when you and I were growing up, right? The counterculture. That was a coal people, right? This. That's the counterculture. We're looking at the counterculture. And it's not. And it's people of faith and purpose. I know it's not. It's not the bad guys.

Glenn Beck (10:05)

How do you think people are? You know, two questions. One, I see these polls that have just recently come out that are shocking, that show young people are much more authoritarian than any of their Gen X and even Gen Z counterparts, that this new generation has been indoctrinated from the beginning, and they are starting to look at authoritarian rule. How do you square that? Do you believe those polls?

Selena Zito (10:42)

Well, it's not that I don't believe the polls. It's where is the polling coming from? Are you polling in New York City? Are you polling in la, Chicago? Are you polling on college campuses? Which, by the way, would be the easiest way to do it if you're a pollster, right, and you want to capture a certain demographic. But that's not the experience I have had. And we have to remember, Glenn, that oftentimes what we see coming from our cultural curators, meaning big legacy media, right? Corporations, institutions, academia. A lot of that is coming from, you know, the super zip codes in the country, except in the super zip codes in the country, right, where the. Where wealth and power is at the center of everything. Those places don't decide elections. Those places don't make what makes this country go and move. And so I think that if you're polling, you're not pulling from Somerset, Pennsylvania, then you're not getting the full breadth of understanding what is happening in this country. I remember last year when writing Butler and thinking nobody is seeing what's happening. They're really not. They're not understanding what a sea change is happening in this country. And I'm standing in the exact same place again, only it's bigger, it's broader.

Glenn Beck (12:22)

So I'm looking at the reaction of those on the left last week and this week to Charlie Kirk. And then I'm watching how I read a story today where Stephen Colbert and Jimmy Kimmel were literally called martyrs. And, you know, I've been in this business enough, I can read ratings. I know what advertisers, if you don't have advertising, if you're not getting sales and you're costing more than it costs to put the show on, you're not there long. And I really believe abc, I mean, cbs, they fired Stephen Colbert because it was costing them twice as much to produce than what they were making. That doesn't last unless you're in a communist society. The thing with Jimmy Kimmel is they were trying to find ways to get rid of him. And I think ABC saw this opportunity was like, yep, yep. Community standards, they, you know, they want him off, and so they're getting rid of him. And now Jimmy. The word is, is that Jimmy is really upset about this, and so he's doubling down and he's already looking for a new job, and he's got one. And he's going to go, you know, tell the public what really is going on and, and double down on his hatred for Trump and everything else. I see the reaction of this Jimmy Kimmel thing, and I think, I can't believe the American people are buying into this and that this is helping the people on the left at all.

Selena Zito (13:52)

No, it's not. And they're reporting this from their bubble, right? Just to use a cliche, it is a bubble. This is the same. They all talk to and see the same people all the time. And so, you know, nobody's going to tell them, oh, you're seeing this in the wrong way. Look, markets change all the time. You know that and I know that because we're in a business that's always fluctuating, but so are American people. Where were like, think about the steel worker in the 1970s. Did anybody come rushing to save their job when it wasn't making money for the big company? No. Did any reporter plop in and say, how do you feel? Are you mad? Are you angry? No, they didn't. I'm not saying I lived it, so I know they didn't. Right. But to lift up and celebrate someone who is also not meeting the moment with the ratings and say, well, you should still have a job. Well, you know what? Those steel workers still thought they should have a job too. Right? But you weren't making the money. And also, more importantly, this is the thing that really bothers me. It's the affiliates that said, we're not doing this anymore. It is affiliates. They have the most power because they're the ones that need to make money. These are stations across the middle of a country, right? Where while D.C. and New York don't think those people have much power, actually they turned out to have power not just in the election, but also in deciding what is right for our culture. And these affiliates said, yeah, we're not doing this in particular because Kimmel wasn't even going to apologize the next day. You know, he was. He was. He wanted to come out and clarify. That's not an apology.

Glenn Beck (16:03)

Right now you're listening to the Best of the Glenn Beck Program. And don't forget, check out the full show for even more. We're back with more after a word from our sponsor. Let me tell you a little bit about Good Ranchers. Every time you want meat, you go to the grocery store and you gotta ask yourself, what kind of country do I want to live in? You want a country that imports cheap, untraceable meat from overseas, you know, or one that stands with our own farmers and ranchers, ones that encouraging our ranches and our farms to stay in business so we can make our own food. You know, when you see that product of the usa, it doesn't mean it was raised here. It doesn't mean anything. It just means it could be put in Styrofoam here. This is why Good Ranchers exist. To provide great American meat. Fight back against the loss of American agriculture. Every box from good ranchers is 100% American meat. Chicken, beef, pork, seafood, all of it. You can get it now at Good ranchers. Every box 100%. Thousands of listeners have already made the switch to Good Ranchers and left great reviews. So visit goodranchers.com shop for American meat that you can trust. And if you use my code, Glenn, today, you're going to get $40 off plus free Meat for Life. Good ranchers.com promo code Glenn. $40 off plus free Meat for life when you start a new subscription. So go to good ranchers.com good ranchers.com welcome to the table. Now back to the podcast. This is the best of the Glenn Beck Program. Josh, welcome to the program. How are you, Pastor?

Pastor Josh McPherson (17:40)

I'm very good. How are you going to.

Glenn Beck (17:42)

I'm good, I'm good. It's good to talk to my friend. And thank you for the kind note this week. I really appreciate all that you do.

Pastor Josh McPherson (17:49)

I've been thinking about you a lot, praying for you and grateful for your voice right now.

Glenn Beck (17:54)

Bro, I feel the same way about you. I want to talk to you about what's happening in our churches, but I want to start with a couple of definition definitions first.

Pastor Josh McPherson (18:04)

Yeah.

Glenn Beck (18:04)

What is the. What is the definition of a martyr? What. Where do we get that word? What's it come from?

Pastor Josh McPherson (18:11)

So martyr is anchored in the original Greek word that means witness. And so it's someone who gave clear witness to something. So when we use the word martyr in relationship to a Christian martyr, it's someone who was faithful in their clear and uncompromising witness and explanation of the gospel, and more specifically, Jesus Christ.

Glenn Beck (18:35)

But you could also make that as a witness of the truth of the American principles, could you not?

Pastor Josh McPherson (18:42)

Absolutely. Absolutely.

Glenn Beck (18:44)

Cause I think Charlie Kirk was a witness of both. I gotta tell you, I told Erica the other day when I saw her, I. It was hard for me to say this to her. I couldn't imagine a better way to go out than the way Charlie did. And I don't mean the way he did. They killed him. I mean by witnessing, having the words coming out of your mouth just three sentences before witnessing Jesus Christ and then witnessing to the truth to a group of people that were starving for it and then to be taken out. I mean, if that's not a swift elevator or escalator ride right up to the top, I don't know what is.

Pastor Josh McPherson (19:26)

Oh, it's remarkable. And I mean, all of us have been thinking, reflecting on just. I'm sure I'm like, you haven't slept for days. You just, you're just. It's all you can think about. And, and the irony, the poeticness. How do you want to say it? In the nature that he wasn't killed in a car accident, he wasn't attacked someone outside? He was. He was Killed doing the thing he'd been doing for 12 years and that he loved to do in spite of the fame, in spite of all the responsibilities, sitting in a chair under a tent with a cheap microphone, talking to anyone who would want to come and listen about the ideas that meant most to him. And for Charlie, I heard him say it so many times. He loved America, he loved our nation, and he loved what made it great and what made it great. And this is what made him so, I think, different from other people is his ability to connect the dots between the greatness of America and the glory of Jesus. And that the American ideas that people connect with around the world work anywhere in the world because they're connected to the timeless truths of the gospel. And I mean, Charlie's political theory was anchored in biblical theology. And he, like no one I've ever met, had the ability to connect those dots in all of life. And so as I've been talking with guys all week long, they didn't kill Charlie because he was a big personality. They didn't kill Charlie because he was merely a big conservative voice. They killed Charlie Kirk because he was talking and the next generation was listening. He was pointing them to the glory of Jesus, the good news of the gospel, anchored in the truth of God's word. And that's why they had to kill him. So he is absolutely, in every sense, I believe, a Christian martyr and maybe potentially the first public figure Christian martyr on American. So we have the Jim Elliot.

Glenn Beck (21:14)

I know we know we disagree, I know we disagree on theology, but I would have to throw in because I thought about this. Joseph Smith and Charlie Kirk are probably the only Christian martyrs in American history.

Pastor Josh McPherson (21:27)

Yep. Can we have Christian martyrs? You know, Jim Elliott goes to a jungle somewhere. You know, those kind of examples have gone away, but, but on American soil, at an American University, captured by 3,000 cell phones from every possible angle. This one was just different.

Glenn Beck (21:43)

Yeah, it was, it was, and it, it, you know, I think if Charlie would have been asked the night before, hey, listen, Charlie, tomorrow you have a choice. You can live a little while longer and you can continue to do these things, or tomorrow you could be taken out while testifying and millions of people will be affected by your testimony of Christ. I, I, I'll, from what I know of Charlie, and I knew him fairly well, there's not a question he would have said, oh, the second one right now. Yes, let's do it.

Pastor Josh McPherson (22:20)

That's right, that's right. And I think, I think people know that, Glenn. And that's what makes the story so compelling? This wasn't like a shock or a surprise, even though it was horrific. He'd been getting death threats for years. And you know the Bible says count the cost, right? He is one who count. Counted the cost. And, and, and the question was, do I want to, do I want to take the road of safety as an act of cowardice or walk the road of danger as an act of faith? And oftentimes we think the counterpart of, of cowardice is courage. The counterpart of, of cowardice is faith. And Charlie had faith in the risen Christ, which gave him then courage. I mean, you watch that video of him walking up to the chair at the Utah, it's haunting. I mean, you're like, turn around, don't go out there. Someone stop. Why isn't there bulletproof glass? And Glenn, he could have been wearing a full kit. He could have been behind bullet blood. He didn't want to. He wanted to stay accessible to the people and demonstrate a measure of courage that quite frankly, many of us pastors sometimes lack. And it was a stunning display of courage that I think we're now seeing ripple across the country.

Glenn Beck (23:26)

So what is happening in our churches, Josh? What is happening in our church? I was lucky enough to attend one of my services in my faith in a town where the bishop got up and he spoke boldly about Charlie Kirk and what was happening. And I don't know how many churches, even in my own faith, I don't know how many wards or churches that actually spoke about Charlie Kirk. And that was so important to me. Is that happening in most churches or are they dropping the ball again?

Pastor Josh McPherson (23:58)

Well, obviously can't speak for every church out there. So I'm on these text threads with over 60 pastors. And so, you know, across the country from Florida, New York, Wisconsin, Michigan, Texas, California, red states, blue states, big churches, small churches, some of the biggest churches in the country, down to 10 month old baby church plants. And so we're all talking and Wednesday it happens and you're just like, my gosh, what's happened? And Thursday, Friday, you're processing and grieving and there's just too much to take in. And by Friday it's like this feels different. Something is moving here and stirring here, not only because of how he was killed, but because of who he was and how he lived. I mean, all of a sudden you can't go on the Internet without just clip after clip after clip after clip. And I don't think even Charlie knew how big a deal he was. I mean, bro, From. From missing man formations and Blue Angels to the Dallas Cowboys to New York Yankees to Coldplay to the Polish Parliament.

Glenn Beck (24:58)

I know.

Pastor Josh McPherson (24:59)

Holding a moment. You're watching this, you're like, what in the world is happening? You know, 150,000 people is reported by CNN in London. Turned out to be 3 million. It' is wild. And so Saturday, I filmed this quick video. I was like, hey, pastors, if you're out there, I think there's a tidal wave coming. And the tidal wave is in the form of people who are hurting and are hungry and they're going to show up at your church. And it's our job to open the Bible and give them Jesus. Don't miss the moment. And then we all went into Sunday going, what's going to happen? And this is what I. This is why I texted you yesterday. This is what I want the American people to hear. Because in moments of tragedy like this, we instantly start looking for meaning. Like, why did this happen? Why could this been allowed by a good and loving God? And we know we have promises in the word of God that says, what Satan intends for evil, God intends to use for good. And all of us, including you, myself, we're probably going, yeah, not this time. You know what I mean? Like, I'm seeing it.

Glenn Beck (25:55)

Yeah, I'm seeing it happen.

Pastor Josh McPherson (25:56)

Used for good. Yeah. And so. So Saturday, we're all like, how could this be used for good? Sunday, we get to church and I walk in and I'm like, what in the world's happening? And going, this is what I wanted to tell you. I want American people to hear universally, across the board, with every pastor I know and who I'm talking to, Easter level, record attendance on a random Sunday in September. I mean, I'm Talking churches up 30%, 40%. Some guys texted me 70%, 80%. And not only Easter level attendance, Easter level response to the good news of the gospel. You know, Charlie used to get up and he was. He was really famous for saying, you know, the gospel is in four words. Jesus took my place. The gospel in three words, him for me. The gospel in two words, substitution, atonement. The gospel in one word. Grace. What is grace? It's not getting what you deserve and getting what you don't deserve. When you stand before the judgment seat of Christ, in Christ, you can have grace and find eternal life. Thanks so much. You can drop the mic and walk off. I think Charlie's life and death has awakened Glenn in just this moment, a spiritual hunger that I have never seen at levels in Our nation across the board. And so I wanted the American people to hear that when Jesus says, you know, unless a grain of wheat goes into the ground and dies, it cannot produce more seeds. Charlie's life went into the ground like that grain of wheat. It died, and it's producing millions of seeds. And this just is that. This isn't just pastors hyperbole, preacher hyperbole. This is reality. We are seeing not just a Sunday of revival. I believe we're moving into a season of revival, and it's staggering. It's a stunning thing to behold.

Glenn Beck (27:37)

So I was singing the other day that. That our work has got to be. All of us has to be. Get out into the fields. The harvest is ripe. But one of the things. The. One of the things that I wanted to ask you about is, you know, I have to grow my own alfalfa. And when I say I grow it, I have people that grow it for me.

Pastor Josh McPherson (28:01)

I mean, other people grow it. Yeah, right.

Glenn Beck (28:03)

Other people grow it for my cows. But I know the planting and everything else, and the harvest comes in three or four times a summer. You have to go out and just cut the field and then grow some more and then cut the field. This is the first cutting, if you will. The harvest is ripe, but more is coming after this. Do bad things have to come each time before the harvest?

Pastor Josh McPherson (28:33)

That's a really good question. You know, C.S. lewis said, Pain is God's megaphone to a deaf world. And sometimes it takes something painful in our own personal life or out in the public square that causes us to reflect on our life. I mean, here's why this is landing on people. I mean, have you been asking yourself what makes us different? And not crass or mercenary, but people die every day, and it's horrible and it's tragic, and it's a part of the fall, and it's terrible. But this. This has stopped and shocked the world. And it's like, what is different? And I think, Glenn, one of the things that has made it different. Well, there's lots of dynamics, and there's, of course, the sovereign plan of God at hand, I believe. But in Charlie, we saw a champion, our champion. He was a gladiator. He would go into places that none of us would want to go and do and say what we wish we could say. It's like, that guy's on our team. Yeah, let's go. This is exciting. And then he was taken off the field in a devastating injury. And we're all asking ourselves, is the team still going to Win. And the second thing that makes it personal, I think, is all of us saw ourselves in Charlie. He was a normal guy. He could connect to the normal Joe. He was saying. I mean, we had. We have people saying, including our former president, that Charlie's views were extreme. He was an extremist. And you know what his views were. You should read the Bible, obey the Bible and teach people about the Bible. You should get married and have kids, hold down a job and be a good member of your society. That is now. That is now counted as extreme. And all of us are listening to this and watching this, going, wait a minute. That's what I believe. That's how I live. I'm just a boring Christian that's married to one woman, got a couple of kids and working hard in my community. Do they all feel like that about me? And so it's. It. It's carried something different, I think, with it. And it's caused something to shift. And so to your question, does. Does something bad always have to happen for there to be a harvest? Well, it is. It is a cycle of life. Death is a prayer. Mark, was that for the miracle of resurrection? It's true. With this. With a grain of wheat that goes into the ground. And it's true. I think of how God works in. In the heavenly realm. And so this, this one trag believe is going to roll out not just for a few days, not just for a few weeks. I believe for decades. Because I'll give you an example. I got a couple. We got a college at our church. A college kid came up to me on Monday. He said, pastor Josh, I just had to tell you I've been wanting to reach out to some of my friends in high school, don't know Jesus. And I just wasn't sure how to do it after Charlie's assassination, I thought, my gosh, why am I wasting time? And So I texted 10 of my old high school buddies. These are secular, pagan, atheistic, non church, college freshman. I texted 10 of them and they're all away at school. All 10 drove home and came to church with me on Sunday.

Glenn Beck (31:23)

Wow, you're streaming the Best of Glenn Beck. To hear more of this interview and others. Download the full show podcasts wherever you get podcasts. Let me start with. Actually, Sarah, I'm going to start with cut two. I want to start with something good that will show you that there is decency out on the left. And I don't know how to square this in my head right now. Rainn Wilson, who, you know, played Dwight on the office, he's a lefty, but he's always seemed like a decent guy, at least to me. He's always seemed like, you know, a little out there, but. And you know, we don't vote the same, but he seems like he really wants to be a decent guy and he tries to be a decent guy and he preaches we should all be decent to each other. Um, now somebody who I don't feel that way about is Mark Ruffalo. Um, and Mark is, is never the guy who seems to be trying to be a decent guy. He is a bomb thrower, at least in my opinion. Um, here he is. Rainn Wilson on his podcast with Mark Ruffalo.

Rainn Wilson (32:29)

Listen to this country is being torn apart in so many different ways. While I didn't agree with his ideas, shooting someone that we disagree with, even if they're vociferous and loud and out there, is so colossally wrong headed. I spoke to a couple of, let's say, some liberal friends last night at an event and they were like, you won't find me shedding any tears. And someone else was like, oh, well, there was a little bit of a, kind of a good riddance thing. And it's like, guys, no.

Glenn Beck (33:03)

Yeah, I know. No, I know.

Rainn Wilson (33:05)

We cannot think or talk that way. That is not okay.

Glenn Beck (33:09)

So dangerous, man. That's really good. And I believe Rain, I, I, I don't know how to, I don't know how to put it together with what I know from Mark Ruffalo, but hopefully he means that.

Narrator/Commentator (33:22)

So Mark actually chimes in a little bit later, and of course he shifts towards, shifts the conversation to gun control, which was so frustrating because there was actually a human conversation going on for a little while. But then Mark shifts it back to gun control. He talks about these weapons of war, of course, that are only designed to kill people. He clearly doesn't even know what was used as a hunting rifle.

Glenn Beck (33:43)

Yeah, this was not a weapon of war. No, this was a hunting rifle. It was a old style hunting rifle. Old school. Yeah. Like, my understanding is it's legal in, like, almost every country, even with restrictive gun. Oh, yeah, this is a bolt action rifle. This is a, this was something that they used in World War I. Okay. And before, I mean, as soon as we had any kind of modern firearm with a bolt action, with something with, you know, slams into the back of the bullet to set off the, the fuse and the igniter, that, that's how old this gun is. This isn't a modern weapon of war. It doesn't take a modern weapon of war. You want to kill somebody, you can kill them. The. The. It's the society that is so sick. And. And how do people miss this? How do. Honestly, how are people missing that? This is a societal problem. This isn't a gun problem. This is a societal problem. And you want to see it? Here's. Here's Elon Omar. She was at a town hall event in Minnesota, and she's talking to a concerned citizen about the Charlie Kirk situation. Here she is, cut three.

Concerned Citizen (34:58)

I asked in the interview we had this week with Mari Hassan, I think his name is. You said that those who disagree with you and may have a different open view worldview are in your words. So I'm just wondering which approach is better to call upon on those who disagree with you to come to open debate and dialogue or to say that those who disagree with you and have a different worldview are full of.

Mayor of Dearborn (35:31)

So you must have selective hearing, sir, because I said that the people who were full of were. The people who were saying that was civil.

Podcast Host (35:45)

That's not true.

Mayor of Dearborn (35:48)

The person who called for public execution of people he disagreed with is not civil. The person who said, you are a black woman. You lack the ability to process thoughts is not civil. The person who said, because I am. I cannot be in this country because I want to destroy Western society is not simple. The person who said, I can't stop up.

Glenn Beck (36:14)

I'm just. I don't. I don't want to play you. I just want to show you. This is the Jimmy Kimmel disease. This is somebody who is just making quotes up, just saying things that are absolutely untrue. That is, that there. There's no basis of reality in that. And so I would say kindly to this woman who I believe married her brother, that she is wildly misinformed, and she can either inform herself or she should face some ramifications of smearing somebody. This. This is. This is lawsuit territory. Um, you. You. You just can't say these things about people that are so grossly wrong. This isn't. This isn't just a difference of opinion on how to read it. He didn't say those things. He didn't say say those things. And it's. It's sick. It's really, truly sick. Do we have. But this is what I expect from, you know, some of these places, you know, Michigan, Minnesota. Do we have the audio from two days ago? Sarah? This is. This is the mayor of Dearborn. Now listen to this. This is a city council meeting, and the mayor of Dearborn is sitting there listening to a concerned citizen. They just renamed a street after a guy who was. What was his role? Do you remember?

Narrator/Commentator (37:40)

I believe he was Hezbollah or one of those groups.

Glenn Beck (37:43)

Right. Okay. So it just named him. It just named this boulevard after a guy from Hezbollah. Okay? And this guy shows up peaceful at a town city council meeting in Dearborn, Michigan. I want you to hear what he says and then listen to the mayor's response. I mean, Hezbollah, you know, bombed the embassy in Beirut, including many Americans.

Concerned Citizen (38:10)

So I just feel that's quite inappropriate.

Glenn Beck (38:12)

You are an Islamophobe, and although you live here, I want you to know as mayor, you are not welcome here. And the day you move out of.

Rainn Wilson (38:19)

The city will be the day that.

Glenn Beck (38:20)

I launch a parade celebrating the fact.

Rainn Wilson (38:22)

That you moved out of the city.

Glenn Beck (38:23)

Because you are not somebody who believes in coexistence. Excuse me. You know who doesn't believe in coexistence? Hezbollah. Hezbollah does not believe in coexistence. You are a racist and Islamophobe because you stand against Hezbollah. What kind of America are you making in Dearborn, Michigan, when your mayor can get away with saying that? And there is not an uprising to oust and recall that mayor, you are no longer living in an America that I even recognize. To say that you are not welcome because you stand against Hezbollah, and the mayor will lead a parade the day you leave town. You're not welcome here. I've never heard an American mayor say anything like that, ever. I've never heard an American mayor say anything like that. Especially at a city council meeting where you have people coming. And that's their job. To sit there and listen to the people and the voice of the people and take it under advisement to respond that way is chilling. Absolutely chilling. Now let me go to cut four. This is Brendan Carr. Brendan Carr is the commissioner for the fcc. He's a friend of the program. I generally agree with him. And I want him. I want to parse this one out, because this is all about Jimmy Kimmel and what happened to Jimmy Kimmel. And there is. You know, ABC was looking at replacing Jimmy Kimmel months ago. They're using this as a convenient way to get rid of him. Okay? Because they were looking for a replacement because he has. He has zero ratings. Zero ratings in the. In the 18. What is it? 1849 demo. He had, like, 150,000 people watching.

Pastor Josh McPherson (40:21)

Lower than that?

Glenn Beck (40:21)

Oh, that's. Yeah, it's lower than that. 1290-001290-00129,001. That is insane. That is the ABC television network and 129,000 people. We get that on some of our YouTube videos. People. And to be clear, Glenn, those. That's lower than the ratings that we had when we were doing a show on CNN Headline News. I mean, it's not unbelievable how bad those. Unbelievable. Okay, so they're just use. ABC is just using this as cover. And he is getting worse and worse and worse. But so the, the sponsors, the local affiliates and ABC wanted this to happen, but they're blaming it on Brendan Carr. Now, I wanted to listen to this because Pat, I heard Pat talking about this today on the Blaze and he said, we can't go this way. I want to listen to it again because when I, what I heard Brendan say, I was like, I think I actually agree with him, but I'm not sure. So let's listen to it again. Here's cut four.

Podcast Host (41:23)

Look again. Broadcast TV is different. We're on a cable show right now. You don't have an FCC license. You don't have an obligation to serve the public interest. Podcasts don't either. Stand up comedians, whether they're on lots of forms of communications, don't. And Kimmel is free to do that. But if you have a broad.

Glenn Beck (41:40)

Stop, stop, stop, stop, stop, stop, stop, stop. And pause it right there. First, let's agree. That's true. Now, you don't have to agree with what the FCC does. You don't have to agree with the regulation on broadcast television. That happened because of. That is the law. It is the law. They, they only censor broadcast television. That's why when you're watching something on, you know, on NBC, you're watching, I don't know, Quantum Leap, it just feels like an old TV show because it's so, so sanitized and so safe. That's because it's regulated by the federal government. Like it or not, that is the law. If you don't like it, let's change the law. But the law is that there, there are community standards. Community standards. Not national standards. Community standards. Now listen to what he says next.

Podcast Host (42:35)

Kimmel is free to do that, but if you have a broadcast TV license, that means that you have something that very few people have and you're excluding other people from having access to that valuable public resource. And it comes with an obligation to serve the public interest. And again, over the years, there's been a rule in place at the FCC that local TV stations get to preempt programming that they don't think meets the needs of their communities. But recently these national programmers, abc, Disney, Comcast, NBC, they've been exercising outsized control and power over those local TV stations. And there's been no pushback. And this is a very significant moment because local broadcast broadcasters now pushing back on national programmers for the first time that I can think of in modern history.

Glenn Beck (43:22)

Okay, so, so listen to what he's saying here. He's saying that you have. And I, I disagree with this actually. I don't like the FCC. I never have like the FCC. I've done this for almost 50 years. Believe me, I brought my experience with the FCC. But the FCC regulates what he said. You have, if you have a broadcast license, you have access to. Access to people. Something that everybody doesn't have and that is the airspace. There are only so many frequencies available. We don't need any of that anymore as long as the Internet stays alive. Okay, you, you, we needed that before there was inter Internet so you could broadcast something to the whole country or to your local community. So you have that frequency, you know, 95.5onfm, you have that frequency and that is licensed to you as long as you uphold community standards and you are serving the public. Okay, now the next thing he says is you have the right to preempt things nationally if it doesn't serve your local interests. Now he gets into something here that I'm not aware of. And so this is where it could get fuzzy on me. He says now they have outsized power, the national networks have outsized power. And it's the first time local broadcast has pushed back on that outside power. The license does not belong to the networks. The license belongs to the local stations. What he went on to say is I am trying to empower the local stations. That is where the power should be. Not at the corporate level, not at the national level, not at the network level. The ones that hold the license, they're the ones who have the responsibility to serve the public. And if that company says I don't want to carry this show anymore, I want to preempt this show. That's where the power should be. Not with the government, but with a local license holder. I don't know what the problem is on that.

Narrator/Advertiser (45:32)

This episode is brought to you by FXX and Hulu. An all new season of Futurama is back. Blending heartfelt moments with razor sharp humor while accidentally saving the day. The Planet Express crew is back, defying gravity and common sense. From the creator of The Simpsons comes 10 new episodes where the romance is hotter, the threats are bigger and the action hits harder. Don't miss the all new season of Futurama. Watch it Mondays on FXX or streaming on Hulu.