Episode Overview

Podcast: The Michael Knowles Show
Episode: Tough Questions And Real Drinks: YES or NO | Isabel Brown
Date: September 28, 2025
Theme:
Michael Knowles welcomes new Daily Wire colleague Isabel Brown to a lively, candid round of “Yes or No”—a rapid-fire, humorous game tackling major cultural and political debates. Over drinks (and plenty of banter), they dive into parental authority, social media, 'tradwife' culture, body image, Ozempic, religious loyalty, anime, masculinity, and more. Both hosts combine personal convictions, wit, and pop culture references, making for a fast-paced, engaging conversation about contemporary conservative issues.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Isabel Brown Joins Daily Wire

• Isabel shares how she was invited to join the Daily Wire right before giving birth, calling it "totally a God thing."
  • “It was totally a God thing that I got a call literally two days before having my baby girl about if I would ever be interested in doing something at the Daily Wire.” (01:53)
• Knowles jokes about having kids and new opportunities emerging through family life.

2. Parental Consent for Teenagers on Social Media

• Question: Should teens need parental consent to join social media?
  • Isabel: Yes. Emphasizes parental responsibility, expressing concerns over tech replacing parenting ("number of people that just shove devices in their kids face" (04:51)).
  • Knowles: Strongly agrees but supports measured state intervention:
    • “The law is a tutor...the social media stuff is quite dangerous. The Internet is just a portal to hell.” (03:24)
  • Both acknowledge social media’s unexpected positive role for conservatism among youth.

3. Can You Be a 'Tradwife' and Influencer If Your Husband Earns the Money?

• Both agree it's not really possible to be a "true tradwife" and a social media influencer, even without earning money directly.
  • Isabel references Ballerina Farm and media narratives about 'tradwives':
    • “It’s more in the eye of the beholder than how most people would personally identify. But personally, I would say no, you have your own brand.” (08:00)
  • Knowles: “The one thing I can tell you about tradwives, they're not on TikTok.” (08:53)

4. Body Image, “Metabolism,” and Political Credibility

• Knowles jokes about being called fat and whether one can be a political warrior while “losing the battle with their own metabolism.”
  • He points to historical and current leaders:
    • “Churchill was kind of a fad…Trump is the only politician I’ve ever seen age in reverse.” (10:44, 10:58)
  • Isabel warns about the virtue of taking care of oneself, but agrees gluttony can take many forms, including "fitness obsession" (Ozempic use).

5. Ozempic, Gluttony & Sin

• Is Ozempic the “new lobotomy” or even possibly Satanic?
  • Isabel: Yes, calls it an "easy way out," abdication of responsibility for health.
    • “Ozempic is essentially the easy way out. It’s saying that I have no responsibility, no consequences for my own actions.” (14:17)
  • Both question the moral and physical side effects—Knowles decries both excess and narcissism as twin forms of gluttony.
  • Isabel on postpartum TikTok:
    • “The number of videos I am constantly fed from other new moms saying, when did you guys finally quit breastfeeding so you could just start Ozempic? …I wonder how much of that's going to impact young women in particular, because this is being so hyper messaged to young moms, to young college students.” (14:43, 15:17)

6. Cosmetic Procedures

• Both disapprove of cosmetic enhancement trends.
  • Knowles: “I've forbidden my wife to ever get any cosmetic surgery…You're just going to be like your beautiful self, but…with lips that blow up to three times their size.” (15:53)
  • Isabel: “If you feel like you don't like how you look…go get your hair done. But all this stuff—the poke and the prod and…poisoning yourself—it's okay. You're beautiful just the way you are.” (17:04)

7. Rapid Fire Round—Anime, Video Games, Birth Control, and Star Wars

• Both answer rapid fire cultural questions:
  • Is playing video games a bigger red flag than watching anime? (No, anime is a bigger red flag, according to Knowles) (19:26)
  • Is birth control worse for you than nicotine? (Yes, per both) (19:53)
  • Would Knowles side with the Empire in Star Wars? (No) (20:22)
  • Isabel defends anime’s storytelling over most American TV:
    • “There is a depth of substance with the journey that the character has to go on that is extremely compelling. Whereas…most American…shows…miss the plot.” (24:41)
  • On masculinity: Isabel tells her husband’s “gigachad” approach to dating was a major draw.

8. Gender Roles: The Final Say in Marriage

• Is there ever a circumstance where a wife should have the final say?
  • Isabel: Yes, if the husband leads the family into grave sin. Otherwise, man should be head of house.
    • “If your family is being led into grave sin, you have an opportunity and an obligation…to gently guide your family in the other direction.” (28:10)
  • Knowles: Agrees, barring grave sin, man should lead.

9. National Loyalty vs. Religious Loyalty (Catholics and the Vatican)

• Do Catholics have dual loyalty to the Vatican and their own country?
  • Isabel: Ultimately, spiritual loyalty comes first, but it's not the same as legal citizenship.
    • “Our primary allegiance always has to be to Christ and to Christ’s law.” (39:35)
  • Knowles: Explains complexities of nationalism vs. religious authority using Dante, Jewish loyalty, and American history.
  • Both criticize “Americanism” as a heresy.

10. Superman & Immigration

• Should Superman be deported?
  • Isabel: Frustrated by new renditions, jokes about deporting Superman.
    • “Mainly I’m just upset with how they’ve handled this new rendition.” (32:55)
  • Knowles: No, keep him if he serves American interests, invoking political realism.
    • “If there’s some illegal immigrant who happens to be really good for America, I’m happy to make an exception.” (33:30)

11. Why Are Gen Zers Embracing Tradition and Catholicism?

• Isabel: “We crave tradition. We crave structure…that’s why Catholicism in particular is so appealing to Gen Zers. Because this is something that largely hasn’t changed for 2000 years.” (45:30)
• Knowles: Marvels at Gen Z’s shift toward “hardcore, common good” beliefs.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “The Internet is just a portal to hell, basically, the cell phones. And so teenagers are going to look at porn and terrible things, radical politics and nasty bullying and all, just everything. And so absolutely. I think the state has a role to rein that in a little bit.”
  – Knowles (03:24)

• “It's possible to be an influencer and not make a single cent from it. Like that.”
  – Isabel (08:45)

• “Trump is the only politician I've ever seen in my lifetime age in reverse. The guy looks better.”
  – Isabel (10:58)

• “Ozempic is essentially the easy way out. It’s saying that I have no responsibility, no consequences for my own actions.”
  – Isabel (14:17)

• “If you feel like you don't like how you look…go get your hair done. But all this stuff…the poke and the prod and…poisoning yourself—it's okay. You're beautiful. You're beautiful just the way you are.”
  – Knowles (17:04)

• “There is a depth of substance with the journey that the character has to go on that is extremely compelling. Whereas…most American…shows…miss the plot …it's all about the substance and the flash and the random gay, non binary character that somehow is the whole front of the show. Now. I don't see that in anime.”
  – Isabel (24:41, 24:58)

• “There’s nothing more attractive than when a man has a total plan and you don’t have to think about anything.”
  – Isabel (30:53)

• “Our primary allegiance always has to be to Christ and to Christ’s law.”
  – Isabel (39:35)

• “We crave tradition. We crave structure. We crave a tether to something that is foundational and doesn't change with the whims of day to day.”
  – Isabel (45:30)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:30 – Introduction to "Yes or No" game and Isabel’s arrival at Daily Wire
• 02:52 – Parental consent for teens on social media
• 05:49 – Tradwife vs. influencer debate, Ballerina Farm example
• 09:33 – Can you be a cultural warrior if unhealthy?
• 10:58 – Trump aging “in reverse” and public figures, body image
• 14:16 – Ozempic, gluttony, and moral concerns
• 19:26 – Rapid fire: anime, video games, birth control, Star Wars
• 28:08 – Who should have final say in marriage?
• 32:21 – Should Superman be deported?
• 35:53 – Catholics: dual loyalty to Vatican and country
• 45:30 – Why Gen Z wants tradition and Catholicism

Overall Tone

Witty, irreverent, and insightful—a blend of playful competition, genuine cultural angst, and reflective faith-infused conservatism. Both Knowles and Brown mix humor, pop culture, and serious social critique, creating a vibrant, conversational examination of contemporary American (and Catholic) politics.