Podcast Summary: The Rubin Report

Episode: Bari Weiss Shocks Media Establishment with Ballsy Next Move That No One Expected
Host: Dave Rubin
Guests: Emily Wilson (Emily Saves America), Link Lore (Spoton with Link Lore)
Date: November 14, 2025

Overview

This episode explores the rapidly shifting landscape of American media, focusing on Bari Weiss’s unexpected move to helm CBS News, the mainstream media's desperate attempt to stay relevant, and broader cultural issues from political double standards and media bias to radical identity politics and immigration-related challenges. The conversation blends analysis of current events, viral clips, and irreverent banter, all with a distinctly conservative/libertarian perspective.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Bari Weiss: From Alt-Media to Legacy News

• Tension between old and new media: Weiss’s trajectory—from leaving The New York Times for “The Free Press,” and now selling that entity to CBS—illustrates the ongoing friction and cross-pollination between legacy outlets and new independent voices.
• Mainstream media’s scramble for relevance:
  • CBS is courting conservative pundits like Scott Jennings and Bret Baier in an attempt to rebuild shattered credibility and viewer trust.
  • Rubin: “Legacy media outlets are suddenly desperate for conservative voices that can actually connect with audiences... Jennings proved you can survive behind enemy lines and thrive.” ([02:28])
• Skepticism about success: Both guests are unsure if legacy media can be saved or if these efforts are too little, too late.

2. Is There Hope for TV News?

• Generational disconnect:
  • Link: “I'm more interested in CVS pharmacy than I am CBS, okay? ...Does anyone in my generation care that Gayle King is leaving?” ([03:25])
• To Save or Not to Save:
  • New credible voices could help moderate news, attract mainstream and moderate viewers, and potentially trigger a domino effect toward sanity in the wider media.
  • Emily: “If there was more people that were more middle...a lot of people like her [a friend, a nurse, not into politics] would be more inclined to pay attention, to get involved locally...” ([07:35])
  • Rubin: Even if this move cost him clicks and revenue, he says he'd support a saner legacy media for the country’s sake. ([08:10])

3. Media Manipulation and Lawsuits: Trump vs. BBC

• Deceptive editing controversy:
  • The panel discusses the BBC’s selective editing of a Trump speech from January 6th to make it look inflammatory, and Trump’s subsequent lawsuit.
  • Trump (clip): “They actually changed my January 6th speech, which was a beautiful speech, which was a very calming speech, and they made it sound radical...” ([09:38])
  • Emily: “You literally edited something to sound like he is calling for violence, which is a huge deal...” ([11:38])
• The consequence: CEO of the BBC stepping down, denying systemic bias ([11:53]), panelists scoffing at her claims.

4. Cultural Decay: Trans Issues, Sex Positivity, and Feminist Double Standards

• Viral BBC segments:
  • Odd and deeply controversial broadcast topics, from a “sex therapist” advocating drugging for sexual fetishes to claims about trans women’s milk equating to breast milk.
  • Emily: “As a woman, I'm being told... it should be socially promoted and acceptable to allow men to...drug ourselves so men can take out their kinks... instead of maybe saying those kinks and fetishes are not okay and don't really have a place in a productive society.” ([15:00])
  • Link: “All these liberal feminazis who were like pushing all this MeToo and protect women, y’all don't actually care about protecting women at all...” ([16:23])
• Double standards in appearance and feminist politics:
  • Right-leaning women are attacked for their looks, while posturing of left-wing women’s solidarity is called out as hypocritical.
  • Emily: “At the end of the day, if you put every single woman on the left compared to women on the right, we are significantly more attractive.” ([19:16])
  • Link: “Women on the right actually have vaginas, you know what I'm saying? Women on the left have dicks.” ([21:07])

5. Political Hypocrisy and Corruption

• Lavish spending by progressive politicians:
  • Highlighting lists of expenses by Rep. Jasmine Crockett—hotels, restaurants, travel—contrasted with her socialist rhetoric.
  • Emily: “...you should be so angry. My only regret in life is not being a Democrat... when I see the spending...” ([22:25])
• California corruption:
  • Exposing alleged corruption tied to Governor Gavin Newsom’s circle.
  • Link: “He [Newsom] ran the state into the ground... If you surround yourself with crap, you're going to start to stink.” ([24:12])

6. Rising Violence and Integration Failures

• Immigration as a wedge issue:
  • Coverage of an attack by a man named Jihad on a Turning Point USA attendee; skepticism over integration and assimilation.
  • “As a woman who wants to love and protect other women, [Islam] is nothing I can stand for... it's a very violent religion.” – Emily ([25:43])
  • Rubin: “That broadly is the point... anyone that wants to assimilate into America, I have no problem with that. As long as you want to put some of the ancient stuff aside that is literally anti-American.” ([27:40])

7. Cultural Fragmentation & Schools

• Fragmented classrooms and hijabs:
  • Concern over lack of white students in certain American schools and the normalization of hijabs and burkas in public.
  • Emily: “I believe it should be illegal in America to cover your face... that classroom looks like it should be in another country.” ([28:31])
  • Rubin: Describes how face-covering attire breaks social contracts and community intimacy. ([29:18])

8. Imported Problems: Anti-Rape Underwear Ad & Safety Fears

• Social commentary:
  • Outrage over European ad for “anti-rape underwear,” arguing it's a symptom of failed immigration integration and declining safety.
  • Emily: “Do you know how depressing it is that there's maybe two places in the world I even am willing to travel at this point because everywhere has been taken over by migrants... we have imported the third world.” ([30:54])

9. International Comparison: Poland Gets It Right

• Poland’s strong borders, patriotic culture, and safety for women are praised as an outlier in Europe’s migrant crisis.
  • Emily: “It's probably on my list of the top three places left in the world I can travel to as a woman and not be sexually assaulted…” ([33:20])

10. NYC, Municipal Politics, and Socialist Mayors

• Mayor Eric Adams travels and transition to new leadership:
  • Discussion of Mayor Adams’ Israel trip, Zoran Momdani taking over, and the expectation that little substantive governance will occur due to his inexperience.
  • Link: “He was totally unmasked to be the guy we all thought he was... so angry...so nasty... and that's the real Zoran Momdani.” ([35:05])
• Voters’ motivations & rebellion:
  • Young, progressive voters characterized as acting out, not voting on actual policy but for disruption, self-interest, and “free stuff.”
  • Emily: “All they're voting for is me, me, me. Free stuff, free stuff...How is he gonna fix New York City?” ([37:03])
  • Link: “The gays that are voting for Mom Donnie, I think they just think he's cute. It's like chickens for Chick Fil A or something.” ([37:55])
  • Rubin: Laughs that, after extended political rebellion, someday these voters may regret their choices.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “Girl boss go you. But I'm more interested in CVS pharmacy than I am CBS.”
  – Link ([03:17])
• “If you put every single woman on the left compared to women on the right, we are significantly more attractive.”
  – Emily ([19:16])
• “Legacy media outlets are suddenly desperate for conservative voices that can actually connect with audiences.”
  – Dave Rubin ([02:28])
• “I'm the only person in here paying. And I'm like, I have golden goose on. I'm like, please chill.”
  – Emily (on being wrongly accused of shoplifting, [04:32])
• “Women on the right actually have vaginas, you know what I'm saying? Women on the left have dicks.”
  – Link ([21:11])
• “My only regret in life is not being a Democrat because when I see the spending...”
  – Emily ([22:25])
• “You should be so angry. And you're not.”
  – Emily ([22:35])
• “If we have to get to this point with this ad, things have far gone too too long.”
  – Emily (about anti-rape underwear, [31:50])
• “That classroom looks like it should be in another country, not in the America that I want to raise my children in one day.”
  – Emily ([28:31])
• “I passed?”
  – Link ([39:09]) (On Dave Rubin inviting him back)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [02:28] – Bari Weiss’s strategic hires and CBS/legacy media dilemma
• [05:32] – Scott Jennings’s rise as a “sense-making” conservative voice
• [09:38] – Trump sues BBC for manipulated January 6th clip
• [11:38] – Panel discusses the real-world impact of media dishonesty
• [15:00] – Viral BBC clips on sex/identity, panel critiques of left-wing feminism
• [19:16] – Looks-based attacks on conservative women
• [22:25] – Socialist politicians’ lavish spending habits
• [24:12] – Gavin Newsom’s record and corruption claims
• [25:43] – Integrating new immigrants and discussing violent attacks
• [28:31] – Minneapolis school, hijabs, and American identity
• [30:54] – Anti-rape underwear and comment on Europe
• [33:20] – Poland as an exemplar of cultural and physical security
• [35:05] – NYC politics and what’s next under socialist leadership
• [37:03] – Voting for disruption instead of substance

Tone and Style

The episode is high-energy, openly confrontational, and laced with humor and pop culture references (notably Star Wars). The hosts and guests use irreverence both as a rhetorical tool and to build rapport. The content is openly partisan but grounded in genuine frustration with perceived hypocrisy, cultural decline, and media dishonesty.

Conclusion

The episode uses Bari Weiss’s shakeup at CBS as a launch pad to critique mainstream media, celebrate the rise of independent voices, and warn about cultural and political trends they see as dangerous for American society. The show’s candid, punchy style makes for an engaging listen, weaving current events with lively debate and sharp, sometimes provocative jokes.

For listeners seeking the lay of the media-and-culture land from a right-leaning/populist perspective, this Rubin Report installment is a fiery snapshot of what’s animating independent media in late 2025.