The Glenn Beck Program

Episode Title: Pray for the Children of Minneapolis | 8/27/25
Air Date: August 27, 2025
Hosts: Stu Burguiere & Jeff “Jeffy” Fisher (in for Glenn Beck, who is out sick)

Episode Overview

This episode, hosted by Stu and Jeffy in Glenn Beck’s absence, blends satirical commentary, keen political observation, and serious reflection on America’s cultural and political climate. The main focus is a developing mass shooting at a Catholic school/church in Minneapolis, but the show also offers an extended deep-dive into the ever-changing persona of California Governor Gavin Newsom, urban crime, policing strategies under Trump, the pitfalls of DEI and wokeness, commercial brand pivots, and corporate misdirection. The hosts maintain the program’s trademark irreverence, but shift to a somber tone as the Minneapolis news unfolds.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Glenn's Absence and Opening Banter

• Glenn Beck is out sick; Stu and Jeffy emphasize that the show will go on and aim for a candid, unfiltered take on pressing news and issues.
• Lighthearted intros segue into advertisement reads before the main content commences.

2. Crime, Policing, and Urban Decline

• The hosts discuss widespread increases in crime across major U.S. cities and the struggle of city leaders to cope.
  • Stu (09:57): "If you want to live in a world where your city is crumbling, where crime is rampant, where the economy is going into the tank... You can have it."
• Comparison is made between U.S. cities and countries like Venezuela and North Korea.
• They forecast more cities facing similar failures as those in LA, Chicago, and Washington, D.C.

Urban Policing & National Guard

• Discussion of Trump’s strategy of increasing National Guard/police presence in high-crime cities.
  • Jeffy (29:11): "There are plenty of residents in Chicago that would say, yeah, come on in."
  • Stu (31:55): "Most people would [want] a larger police presence in areas where there’s lots of crime."
• Noted dramatic crime decreases in D.C. after federal interventions.
  • Stu (29:16): "We’ve seen real dramatic decreases in crime... at least zero murders."
• Reflects on the hazards of normalized urban decay and how people in cities become desensitized to crime and poor conditions.
  • Stu (33:08): "You start to tolerate a weird set of everyday events."

3. Gavin Newsom: A Catalog of Reinventions

A comedic yet pointed “software release” style chronology of Gavin Newsom’s political persona shifts, framed as endless, soulless rebranding.

• Newsom Versions:
  1. Party rising star.
  2. Playboy (public infidelity).
  3. Anti-Trump tough guy.
  4. DEI (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion) champion.
  5. COVID dictator – most extreme lockdowns.
  6. Hypocrite (French Laundry dinner scandal).
  7. "Competent executive" to debate Ron DeSantis.
  8. Biden’s party loyalist.
  9. "Anti-DEI Centrist" and "Manosphere podcaster" (cozying up to right-wing figures).
  10. Social media troll and "tweeter-in-chief."
• Stu (19:32): "There will never be a relationship in your life. Your children, your spouse, your mother, your father—no one will love you like Gavin Newsom loves Gavin Newsom."
• Positioning Newsom’s chameleon act as emblematic of a broader lack of authenticity among American politicians.
  • Stu (28:09): "Whatever he needs to be, he will become. And it’s possible the American people fall for that. It’s just embarrassing if they do."

4. Trump’s Approach to Power and Law

• Trump’s directness contrasted with other presidents' denials or caveats.
  • Stu (36:59): "Donald Trump just cuts the corner. He’ll just make it seem way more aggressive and over the line from his mouth. And then what he does is the opposite."

5. Pandemic & DEI/Woke Era Retrospective

• Reflection on how quickly the U.S. reversed many long-held values during the COVID and George Floyd/DEI era.
  • Stu (53:54): "We reversed almost every belief we had in this country for a couple of years."
• Companies’ and sports leagues’ social justice signaling recalled as outlandish and performative.
• Current pushback against “woke” corporate culture and branding.

6. Cracker Barrel & Brand Reversal

• Extended, humorous debate about Cracker Barrel’s failed rebranding (logo change, removing mascot “Herschel”, de-cluttering stores) and rapid reversal after public backlash.
  • Jeffy (58:35): "They’re taking away the old guy on the rocking chair, who it turns out is named Herschel."
  • Stu (73:32): "I think the right thing to do in this moment is to reverse yourself. There’s no reason—this was a rebrand and it was a bad idea."
• Compares the pivot to “New Coke” and the necessity for companies to listen rather than stubbornly push unpopular changes.

7. Flag Burning Executive Order Discussion

• Trump’s new proposed order: harsh mandatory penalties for flag burning.
• Hosts clarify that—contrary to Trump’s bluster—the executive order does not create new criminal penalties, but focuses on prosecution existing crimes (e.g., riot incitement) tied to flag burning.
  • Stu (77:11): "The actual text of this...is consistent with the Constitution and the Supreme Court ruling."
• Touches on the symbolic importance of the flag but frames “flag amendment” pushes as political theater, not practical legislation.

8. Emerging Breaking News: Minneapolis School Shooting

• Unfolds live during the episode—Annunciation Catholic School, Minneapolis.
  • Initial reports: over 300 K–8 students were gathered in a mass when a gunman opened fire.
  • Early casualty numbers are unclear, 15–20 injuries, shooter deceased via suicide.
  • Stu (91:10): “Prayers are a different story. When the left mocks prayers, what they're mocking is the ultimate thing you can do in this moment.”
  • Both hosts reject the idea that "thoughts and prayers" are empty, insisting faith is an action when practical solutions are limited.
  • They contextualize school/church security, the desire for notoriety in shooters, and media responsibility (“do not name shooters”).

9. Class Action Against Amazon: You Don't Really "Buy" Digital Content

• Riff on Amazon’s practice of selling users a "limited license for viewing access," not true ownership, and a new class action lawsuit.
  • Jeffy (111:57): "What’s being bought isn’t ownership of the title, but rather a limited time license for viewing access."

Notable Quotes & Highlights

• Stu, on Gavin Newsom’s self-love (19:32):
  "[Y]ou, in your entire life, will never find anyone who loves you as much as Gavin Newsom loves Gavin Newsom."

• Jeffy reenacts views on Chicago police intervention (30:24):
  "There are plenty of residents in Chicago that would say, yeah, come on in..."

• Stu, on American values reversal (53:54):
  "We reversed almost every belief we had in this country for a couple of years, that’s for sure."

• Stu, on “tolerance” of urban decline (33:11):
  "You start to tolerate a weird set of everyday events."

• On the Minneapolis shooting (92:57):

  • Jeffy: “We can certainly hope and pray that what they're reporting is not true. The shooter, they claim, is deceased.”
  • Stu: “...All we can do is pray for the victims, pray for the families that are involved.”

• Stu, on flag burning order (77:11):
  "The actual text of this, though, is consistent with the Constitution and is consistent with the Supreme Court ruling..."

• Stu, on Trump’s style (36:59):
  "Donald Trump just cuts the corner. He’ll just make it seem way more aggressive and over the line from his mouth. And then what he does is the opposite..."

Timestamps for Key Segments

| Timestamp | Segment | |-----------|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 02:54 | Hosts introduce themselves; outline day’s topics and Glenn’s absence | | 09:57 | Urban crime crisis, parallels to Venezuela & North Korea | | 19:32 | Satirical “versions of Gavin Newsom” segment begins | | 28:09 | Newsom’s “manosphere podcaster” phase, adaptability for self-benefit | | 29:11 | Trump’s National Guard and crime strategy discussion | | 36:59 | Trump’s political style vs. other presidents | | 53:54 | COVID/George Floyd/DEI era as a national reversal of values | | 58:35 | Cracker Barrel rebrand debacle | | 73:32 | Should brands reverse after backlash? The New Coke example | | 77:11 | Deep dive on Trump’s flag-burning executive order | | 87:14 | News of Minneapolis school shooting breaks; prayers & details discussed | | 91:10 | Thoughts and prayers: why faith is a meaningful response | | 111:17 | The Amazon class-action lawsuit: “You don’t own digital content” | | 125:16 | Eyewitness quote: Daughter survives Minneapolis shooting; appeals for prayers |

Tone & Language

• Candid, satirical, and frequently irreverent—especially on political figures.
• Quick pivots to a more serious, compassionate tone as breaking news on the Minneapolis shooting emerges.
• Occasional self-deprecation, especially in regards to “America’s weird new normal” and cultural nostalgia.

Summary: Who Should Listen

This episode is quintessential Glenn Beck Program: insightful but brash conservative analysis, media skepticism, mocking of “woke” excesses, and a willingness to take detours into the absurd—until it’s time to respond soberly to tragedy. The talk on Gavin Newsom’s ever-shifting persona and the urban crime/Trump policing strategy is particularly sharp and timely, while the live coverage of the Minneapolis shooting is delivered with genuine gravity and empathy. Those seeking a mix of humor, critique, and current events—with an unfiltered right-leaning lens—will find much to engage with here.