The Matt Walsh Show – Episode 1693 Summary

November 18, 2025

Overview

In this episode, Matt Walsh takes a deep dive into several culturally charged issues: the rise and controversy around tick-induced meat allergies (specifically Alpha-Gal Syndrome), the push among some scientists and elites to use bioengineering or genetic modification for climate and moral ends, the justice system surrounding self-defense shootings, Hollywood’s ongoing box-office decline, and the existential/ethical dangers of “grief tech” – resurrecting lost loved ones using AI.

Main Topics & Key Discussion Points

1. Alpha-Gal Syndrome (AGS): Meat Allergy Linked to Tick Bites

• [01:19–11:46]
• Matt recounts the story of a 47-year-old airline pilot from New Jersey who became the first known fatality from AGS after eating red meat following multiple Lone Star tick bites.
• AGS is caused when people are bitten by the Lone Star tick, sensitizing them to the Alpha-Gal sugar molecule found in mammalian meat. Previously considered non-fatal, the recent death reopens questions.
• Quote:

  “Hundreds of thousands of people are suffering from AGS, otherwise known as the red meat allergy. None ... have died as a result of this allergy, although they've had serious complications.” — Matt, [06:11]

• Medical professionals often cannot diagnose or treat AGS, due to lack of awareness and its delayed reaction after eating meat (unlike typical fast-onset allergies).

Official vs. Alternative Theories

• Official explanation: AGS was discovered during cancer drug trials when patients—previously bitten by ticks—reacted to mouse-derived drugs containing Alpha-Gal.
• Matt notes there’s no strong evidence that AGS was engineered in a lab but points out that skepticism is reasonable due to public health establishment dishonesty, especially as seen during COVID-19.

2. Elites Advocating for Engineered Meat Intolerance

• [11:46–19:18]

• Matt discusses a growing body of academic and ethical literature suggesting that inducing meat intolerance or allergies (either through patches, genetic modification, or tick proliferation) could help solve climate change by reducing meat consumption.

• Matthew Liao, bioethics expert:

  • Proposes “human engineering” to make people intolerant to meat, via immune stimulation or “meat patches.”
  • Quote:

    “We could artificially induce mild intolerance to meat by stimulating our immune system against common bovine proteins ... and in this way, we can create an aversion to eating eco-unfriendly food.” — Matthew Liao, [12:38]

• Parker Crutchfield, Professor at Western Michigan:

  • Argues in peer-reviewed papers that spreading AGS through genetically modified ticks is “morally obligatory” if one believes eating meat is wrong.
  • Even advocates for covert bioengineering programs — i.e., infecting people “without the recipients knowing.”
  • Quote:

    “If eating meat is morally impermissible, then efforts to prevent the spread of tick borne AGS are also morally impermissible. Promoting tick borne AGS is strongly pro tanto obligatory.” — Matt quoting Crutchfield, [15:29]

• Matt highlights that discussion of promoting involuntary illness is not just theoretical and fringe, but mainstream enough to be supported or referenced by groups like the World Economic Forum (WEF).

3. Are Genetic Experiments on Ticks Dangerous?

• [19:18–23:51]
• Advances have made it possible to genetically modify tick embryos.
• Matt draws parallels to gain-of-function research (e.g., COVID, Lyme Disease) and raises concerns about transparency and unintended consequences.
• Quote:

  “A large group of very powerful leftists would rather kill us than allow us to eat meat. And that's very simple. They'd also rather lie to us than tell us the truth about their scientific experiments, whether those experiments involve bats or ticks or anything else.” — Matt, [23:43]

4. Michigan Self-Defense Shooting Case

• [24:41–34:50]
• A Michigan man, Dayton Napton, faces manslaughter charges after shooting and killing teens who broke into his garage at 1am after suffering repeated burglaries.
• Matt argues the legal system often penalizes law-abiding victims while being lenient with criminals, and he supports near “carte blanche” for homeowners defending property.
• Quote:

  “Break into someone’s home, and whatever happens to you next is your fault. We’re not getting involved, okay? … The law isn’t intervening to protect you when you decided to break into somebody’s house.” — Matt, [32:47]

5. Hollywood's Box Office Crisis

• [34:51–44:20]
• Dramas and comedies are flopping at the box office; even star-driven films are missing the $50M mark.
• Matt doesn’t celebrate Hollywood’s demise, suggesting what replaces it (algorithm-driven, endless smartphone content) is even worse for culture.
• He explains that low theater attendance is less about “wokeness” and more about the saturation of smartphones and decline in both content quality and public etiquette.
• Quote:

  “It's not the quality of the film, mainly. It's…the box that we all carry around and we're just looking at it all day. Like, that's really why.” — Matt, [40:10]

• Points to the “Moana” live-action remake as an example: despite low originality, remakes still rake in massive profits, while original films flop.

6. AI Resurrection of Dead Loved Ones (“Grief Tech”)

• [59:44–66:37]
• Matt covers a new trend where apps use AI to animate and recreate dead relatives based on recordings, advertising “continued conversations” and “digital immortality.”
• He argues this practice traps the grieving in perpetual denial and damages the true memory of the deceased, reducing human lives to party tricks or “digital slaves.”
• Quote:

  “You haven’t resurrected your mother, but you have desecrated her memory. … Anyone who tries to cheat death through AI is today, most certainly with a vengeance, canceled.” — Matt, [66:17]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “Hundreds of thousands of people are suffering from AGS... None... have died as a result of this allergy, although they've had serious complications.”
  (Matt, [06:11])

• “We could artificially induce mild intolerance to meat by stimulating our immune system against common bovine proteins.”
  (Matthew Liao, [12:38])

• “Promoting tick borne AGS is strongly pro tanto obligatory. ... We should promote a particular tick borne syndrome, Alpha-Gal Syndrome.”
  (quoted by Matt from Parker Crutchfield, [15:29])

• “Break into someone’s home, and whatever happens to you next is your fault. We’re not getting involved... The law isn’t intervening to protect you when you decided to break into somebody’s house.”
  (Matt, [32:47])

• “It's not the quality of the film, mainly. ... It's the box that we all carry around and we're just looking at it all day.”
  (Matt, [40:10])

• On grief tech:

  “You haven't resurrected your mother, but you have desecrated her memory.”
  “Anyone who tries to cheat death through AI is today, most certainly with a vengeance, canceled.”
  (Matt, [66:17])

Timestamps for Key Segments

| Timestamp | Segment | |:------------:|------------------------------------------------------| | 01:19–11:46 | The rise of AGS, the fatal New Jersey case, challenges in diagnosis and origins | | 11:46–19:18 | Academics propose engineered meat intolerance for climate goals | | 19:18–23:51 | Genetic modification of ticks, analogy to gain-of-function research | | 24:41–34:50 | Michigan self-defense shooting, Stand Your Ground debate | | 34:51–44:20 | Hollywood box office collapse – causes, cultural consequences | | 59:44–66:37 | “Grief tech”: AI resurrection of loved ones and ethical concerns |

Tone & Style

• Matt Walsh’s tone is direct, skeptical, and critical, especially of public health authorities, academia, and “elites.” He is darkly satirical when discussing trends he finds dystopian or absurd, particularly in tech and bioethics.
• Frequent references to real-world news and academic sources, often with incredulity or scorn.
• Uses humor and hyperbole, especially when emphasizing double standards and cultural decline.

Summary for New Listeners

This episode combines investigative skepticism with broad cultural commentary, challenging mainstream narratives on meat allergies, bioethics, crime, media, and technology. Drawing on current events, academic arguments, and personal judgment, Matt Walsh warns of growing trends—both scientific and cultural—that he sees as threatening to individual liberty, human flourishing, and societal trust.