The Michael Knowles Show – "YES or NO: Riley Gaines"

Date: August 16, 2025
Host: Michael Knowles (The Daily Wire)
Guest: Riley Gaines

Episode Overview

This episode features a spirited, often humorous round of “Yes or No” with host Michael Knowles and guest Riley Gaines, champion swimmer and women’s sports advocate. The show blends culture war commentary, tongue-in-cheek provocations, and personal anecdotes, with Gaines offering candid takes on competition, politics, health, and more. The two spar over surprise prompts, riffing on everything from transgender athletes to media bias, family, and the state of conservatism, all while playing a lighthearted guessing game that lets listeners in on their philosophies and personalities.

Main Themes and Purpose

• Satirical and serious debate on the intersection of sports, gender, and politics
• The (often absurd) challenges of modern culture wars
• Insights into Riley Gaines’s public advocacy and personal values
• Broader commentary on immigration, public health “red pills,” and American conservatism

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The "Yes or No" Game Format

A recurring segment, the “Yes or No” game serves as the vehicle for unscripted cultural and political discussion. Both participants attempt to predict how the other will answer pre-written provocative questions. Wrong guesses require a drink—though as an expectant mother, Gaines sticks to water while Knowles has a martini.

Tone: Bantering, irreverent, self-aware.

2. Riley’s Pregnancy and Athleticism

(1:32–3:08)

• Gaines reveals she’s late into her pregnancy and crediting her athletic lifestyle for an “easy” pregnancy:

  “Being fit, prior to pregnancy…has made my entire pregnancy feel like a breeze. No fatigue, no tired, no aversions, no anything.” (Riley, 02:13)

• Light jokes about drinking and cigarettes in pregnancy, making fun of old cultural standards.

3. Transgender Athletes and Competitive Fairness

(3:35–6:15)

• Gaines asked if she’d rematch Leah Thomas for charity ("if Leah had the balls to do it").

• Gaines: “I think I could totally take them. And if I had a billion dollars to give to the charity of my choosing, ... it would go to, like, the most pro-truth, pro-reality, pro-science, pro-woman charity out there.” (05:46)

• Knowles questions if any principle is more important than a massive charitable donation, leading to the first viral line:

  “I would kick an orphan in the head...for $10 billion, I would kick an orphan in the head.”
  (Riley, 06:55)

  • They riff on how the media could take this quote out of context (“Mediaite headline: Riley Gaines would kick orphan in the head.” 06:52).

4. Social Media Harassment and Athlete Advocacy

(7:08–7:59)

• Gaines calls out Keith Olbermann for his ongoing social media harassment and challenges him to a charity race, saying:

  “I would challenge Keith Olbermann too. And...I would have money to a charity of my choosing.”
  (Riley, 08:00)

  “Would you kick him in the head?”
  — “Happily. For free. I would pay him to kick him in the head.”
  (08:06)

5. Legal Immigration and Personal Experience

(8:33–10:35)

• Gaines shares her husband’s green card journey thwarted by vaccine mandates, solved post-inauguration by Trump. She voices little sympathy for illegal immigrants due to having “done it the right way.”

  “I...don’t really have a ton of sympathy for those who don’t do it the right way.” (09:53)

6. Conspiracies, Epstein, and Institutional Secrecy

(11:01–15:41)

• A viewing of the Epstein jail cell footage jump cut prompts Knowles’s skepticism:

  “I think what didn’t happen [is] he was just kind of hanging out in his cell and no one came to bother him. But I don’t know what happened.” (Michael, 12:27)

• Discussion on the implications of government secrecy, Epstein files, and how exposing high-level corruption could “unravel the global order.”

  “If just what we know turns out to be true and taken to its logical conclusion...you would be unraveling the global order.” (Michael, 17:19)

7. Keith Olbermann, Celebrity Downfalls, and ESPN

(18:17–21:08)

• Knowles and Gaines poke fun at Olbermann’s decline from respected ESPN personality to “X” troll, with Gaines noting her dad’s disillusionment.

8. On Maternity Leave and Pronatal Policy

(23:05–26:41)

• Prompt: Should the federal government pay for maternity leave?
• Knowles, surprising Gaines, supports national family policy for boosting birthrates:

  “Basically the only policy that matters right now is getting people to have more kids.” (24:53)

• Both agree action is needed, with Knowles riffing about using wasteful spending on incentives for marriage and childbirth.

9. Health “Red Pills”: Fluoride, Big Tooth, Sunscreen, Seed Oils

(29:34–41:41)

• Gaines, a former dental student, dismisses “Big Tooth” conspiracy fears, giving a pro-fluoride, pro-dentist stance:

  “We’ve been using toothpaste with fluoride...for years. I’m of the mind that I don’t believe in Big Tooth.” (31:17)

• Knowles details his wife converting him to crunchy skepticism on sunscreen and deodorant:

  “If the crunchy weirdos are right about the seed oils, they could be right about other stuff...” (39:09)

10. Rapid-Fire Round: Conservative Satire

(36:14–52:30)
A series of quick, provocative questions prompt fast takes and laughter:

• Is Will Smith a closet homosexual?

• Is there a conspiracy to hide Noah’s Flood?

• Is sunscreen giving us cancer?

• Does Livvy Dunne set a good example for female athletes as long as she avoids OnlyFans?

  “…she’s done a fantastic job of marketing herself and her abilities and profiting off that, which I can respect. I think there are some things that she does that I’m, like, maybe questionable.” (Riley, 44:04)

• Is homosexuality more nature or nurture?

  “No, I’m very much of the mindset...especially today, seeing the social contagion of it...it is more of nurture than nature.” (Riley, 46:12)

• Is it disordered to have guys and girls training together in swimsuits?

  “We called it swim cest. Like, it’s a thing, of course, where swimmers… just date other swimmers.” (Riley, 64:39)

11. Personal Regrets and Representation

(50:44–53:42)

• Discussion of the “Conservative Dad's Real Women of America” calendar, which Gaines regrets participating in:

  “This still is not a good representation of just me in general, how I conduct myself...” (51:36)

  • Praises the value of admitting regret—rare in politics and public life.

12. Closing Reflections: Gender in Sports and Culture

(56:35–66:07)

• Final questions touch on denominational shifts in Christianity, the self-perpetuating “swimcest” phenomenon, and the pitfalls of co-education.
• Mutual congratulation, with Gaines ironically declared the “winner” for having the lowest point score.

Memorable Quotes and Moments

• “I would kick an orphan in the head...for $10 billion!”
  (Riley, 06:55)
  (A running joke and meta headline-watching about how this could be clipped)

• “Basically the only policy that matters right now is getting people to have more kids.”
  (Michael, 24:53)

• "No, I regret this."
  (Riley, on her calendar appearance, 53:24)

• “We called it swim cest. Like it’s a thing, of course, where swimmers...just date other swimmers.”
  (Riley, 64:39)

• “That's why I want to thank you for doing your patriotic...doing my service to America.”
  (Michael & Riley, 26:41, tongue-in-cheek about Riley’s pregnancy)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• Pregnancy & Athleticism: 01:32–03:08
• Transgender Athletes/Rematch with Leah Thomas: 03:35–06:15
• Orphan Kick Joke/Media Satire: 06:34–07:04, 06:55
• Social Media Harassment, Olbermann: 07:08–08:06
• Immigration & COVID/Vaccines: 08:33–10:35
• Epstein Footage & Conspiracies: 11:01–15:41
• Maternity Leave & Natal Policy: 23:05–26:41
• Health Myths & “Big Tooth”: 29:34–34:35
• Rapid Fire Round: 36:14–52:30
• Personal Regret & Authenticity: 50:44–53:42
• Final Round & Sport/Gender Culture: 56:35–66:07

Conclusion

This episode encapsulates the peculiar blend of humor, social critique, and personal candor central to the Michael Knowles Show. Riley Gaines's presence brings both firsthand gravitas (as an athlete navigating today's gender politics) and refreshing self-awareness. Their exchange is lively, ironic, and self-satirizing—never straying too far from the headline-grabbing absurdity of the modern culture war but still circling back to earnest questions about values, faith, and finding one’s path.

For more, follow Riley on Instagram (@rileygbarker) and catch her show "Gaines for Girls" on Outkick.