Podcast Summary: The Glenn Beck Program

Episode: How Bad Bunny's Halftime Show EXPOSES the NFL | Guest: Stephen Moore | 2/9/26
Date: February 9, 2026
Host: Glenn Beck (Mercury Radio Arts)
Guest: Stephen Moore (Economist)

Episode Overview

This episode of The Glenn Beck Program centers on the cultural and political implications of Bad Bunny's Super Bowl halftime performance and what Glenn views as the NFL’s shifting values. The discussion expands to include alternative cultural events (TPUSA’s halftime show), generational shifts in American life and culture, and broader economic and geopolitical topics. Renowned economist Stephen Moore joins to weigh in on Trump’s economic policies and Federal Reserve prospects.

Key Topics & Insights

1. Super Bowl Halftime Shows: Culture & Controversy

[03:00-22:30]

• Bad Bunny’s Performance: Glenn critiques the choice of Bad Bunny as the Super Bowl halftime star, questioning his degree of cultural impact and highlighting the exclusion of English from a major American event.

• Lyrics & Family Entertainment Concerns:

  • Glenn reads alleged translated lyrics from Bad Bunny’s set, expressing alarm at explicit content:

    “Your T’s are rubbing my ends this year. I don't want sluts.” (Glenn Beck, 07:47)

  • He frames the performance as antithetical to the family-oriented tradition of the Super Bowl.

• Cultural Message of the NFL:

  • Glenn accuses the NFL and Roger Goodell of using the halftime show to signal a decline and transformation of American culture:

    “The NFL declared last night that America is over, as you understand it, that the dominant culture is going to be Spanish-speaking.” (Glenn Beck, 21:50)

• Contrast with TPUSA Halftime Show:

  • Glenn favorably compares TPUSA’s alternative halftime show, citing its narrative arc of redemption and religious messaging, as well as its strong online viewership.
  • Notably, TPUSA’s halftime views (25 million+) are placed alongside ratings for cultural hits like American Idol and Matlock, arguing for alternative media’s growing influence.

2. The NFL as Host: Alienated Audiences

[22:30-27:40]

• Glenn uses a party host analogy, contending the NFL, as cultural host, has begun insulting and excluding its long-time American audience.

  “The host gathers everybody for the centerpiece of the night... and delivers it in a language you don’t speak.” (Glenn Beck, 25:15)

  • “That’s not hospitality. That’s a drug dealer mentality. Because hospitality is about respect.” (Glenn Beck, 28:40)

• Argues the NFL assumes its viewers are addicted and will continue supporting them regardless of the league’s abandonment of their values.

3. Cultural Reminiscence & Societal Change

[28:00-33:15]

• Glenn recalls his childhood in the '70s/'80s, emphasizing safety, simplicity, and unstructured play, contrasting it with today’s hyper-connected, anxious, and overexposed youth.

• Laments the disappearance of boundaries in culture (exemplified by explicit halftime shows) and the pervasiveness of social media:

  “Silence wasn’t awkward. It was normal. And we didn’t send pictures of ourselves. We didn’t talk about sex the way kids do now.” (Glenn Beck, 32:26)

• Suggests that modern “clarity” is lost, and families now struggle to distinguish the real from the artificial, particularly in a world dominated by screens and online personas.

4. Breaking Down Economic and Geopolitical Strategy

[56:43-66:00]

• Iran & Military Updates:

  • Beck discusses the absence of F-22s at the Super Bowl flyover, implying U.S. military build-up in the Middle East as negotiations with Iran approach.

• The UN “Bailout”:

  • Critiques the Trump administration’s conditional funding of the UN, seeing it as strategic leverage amid global institutional reforms:

    “When institutions like the UN collapse, they metastasize into nasty cancers … This is leverage. This is not a bailout … this is containment.” (Glenn Beck, 62:01)

• Trump's Management of Global Institutions:

  • Asserts Trump is managing the “decline of the global world order,” trimming U.S. support while forcing reforms in the UN, NATO, WEF, etc.

5. The Epstein Case Update & Government Incompetence

[68:00-81:09]

• Details new questions and anomalies in the Jeffrey Epstein case, including inconsistent timelines, unexplained individuals (“orange blob”) in surveillance footage, and suspiciously predated press releases.

  “If it wasn’t the noose, where was the noose he apparently hung himself with?... Is there any good explanation that you can think of?” (Glenn Beck, 73:03)

• Dialogue suggests government incompetence at best, cover-up at worst, fueling ongoing public skepticism.

6. Deep Dive: Bitcoin, the Economy, and Main Street

[86:55-109:03]

• Bitcoin Stress Test:

  • Glenn uses a theater analogy to explain market mechanics, warning of systemic risks if Bitcoin price drops below $80,000:

    “The problem isn’t the fire. The problem is the door.” (Glenn Beck, 93:17)

  • Outlines potential domino effects from leveraged institutions, ETFs, miners, and stablecoins.

• Trump’s Economic Gambit:

  • Asserts that Trump’s strategy has moved from disrupting elite institutions to directly seeking relief for ordinary Americans on Main Street.
  • Outlines four focus areas: Energy, Healthcare, Housing, Credit.

7. Interview: Stephen Moore on Economic Policies

[110:12-123:40]

• Trump’s Child Savings Accounts Proposal:

  • Moore commends the plan, linking broad market participation to American prosperity, but laments it wasn’t done earlier, referencing Bush’s failed 2004 “ownership society” push.

  • “If you just start with $1,000, and put $1,000 in each year, you’re going to have a million dollars by the time you’re...22, 25 years old.” (Stephen Moore, 112:21)

• Federal Reserve Chairmanship & Monetary Policy:

  • Moore advocates for Kevin Warsh as Fed Chair, lauding his free-market credentials.
  • Explains currency’s dual role (store of value and medium of exchange) and stresses the importance of maintaining the dollar’s global reserve status.

• Debate on Interest Rates:

  • Beck and Moore discuss Trump’s call for lower rates. Moore cautions about repeating the 2024 “rate-cut that led to higher mortgage rates,” emphasizing the need for price stability over constant stimulus.

  • “Growth does not cause inflation.” (Stephen Moore, 116:09)

• Populist Movements Abroad:

  • Moore shares optimism for global “power to the people” trends, citing Argentina, Costa Rica, and the UK’s Nigel Farage as examples of Trumpian influence spreading internationally.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Bad Bunny Halftime:

  • “This is supposed to represent our culture...for about 10 minutes, no English. Not a word of English.” (Glenn Beck, 06:36)

• On NFL’s Cultural Messaging:

  • “The only reason a host would do this...is because they think you’re a drug addict...and you won’t care. You’ll never leave.” (Glenn Beck, 28:40)

• On Childhood:

  • "Silence wasn’t awkward, it was normal. And we didn’t send pictures of ourselves. We didn’t talk about sex the way kids talk about it now.” (Glenn Beck, 32:26)

• On Economic Structure:

  • “Markets don’t break when prices fall. They break when obligations activate, when people who never wanted to sell are forced to consider it.” (Glenn Beck, 95:36)

• On Strategic UN Funding:

  • “He’s not saving the UN...he is managing the decline. Exactly what the UN was trying to do to the United States.” (Glenn Beck, 65:49)

• Stephen Moore on Reviving Market Ownership:

  • "We should have democratized the stock market more than we have." (Stephen Moore, 113:16)

Highlighted Timestamps

• [03:00] – Glenn's critique begins on Bad Bunny's “icon” status and the NFL’s choice.
• [07:47] – Explicit (translated) lyrics from Bad Bunny’s halftime set.
• [13:40] – TPUSA’s halftime show, redemption narrative, and YouTube impact analysis.
• [21:50] – Glenn claims NFL is declaring “America is over as you understand it.”
• [25:15] – The “party host” analogy for the Super Bowl.
• [32:26] – Glenn’s reflection on generational differences.
• [62:01] – “Not a bailout—this is leverage” in UN funding.
• [73:03] – Questioning the Epstein case noose and timeline irregularities.
• [93:17] – Bitcoin theater analogy and systemic financial risk explanation.
• [109:22] – Stephen Moore segment begins.
• [112:21] – “If you start with $1,000…”—Moore’s savings math.
• [116:09] – “Growth does not cause inflation.”
• [123:27] – Global “Trumpian Revolution” and international admiration.

Overall Tone

Glenn’s tone throughout is urgent, critical, nostalgic, and combative—candidly sharing concerns about the future of American culture, dismissive of the modern “elite” approach to tradition, and hopeful but strategic about the future, particularly under current conservative political leadership.

Stephen Moore offers optimism about the U.S. economic outlook under Trump and reinforces Glenn’s vision of an American-led, free market, populist wave.

Conclusion

For those who didn’t catch the episode, Glenn Beck delivers a full-spectrum critique of shifting American culture as exemplified by the Super Bowl halftime show, tying it to larger trends of alienation, cultural loss, and institutional manipulation. He repeatedly contrasts establishment moves (NFL, UN, Wall Street) with populist alternatives—most notably regarding Trump’s strategies and grassroots events like TPUSA. The conversation concludes with in-depth economic analysis and commentary on geopolitics, rooting today’s anxieties in both generational memory and broader social change.