Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:03):
This is Red Pilled America.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
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Tell a friend, About the show, this is how people
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on with the show. Previously on Red Pilled America.
Speaker 3 (00:43):
She got me the golden years of radio. And that
is when I knew exactly what I wanted to do.
Speaker 2 (00:52):
He was financially and emotionally decimated.
Speaker 4 (00:55):
This is the day Glenn Beck ended his career.
Speaker 2 (00:58):
So Glenn decided to do his own thing.
Speaker 4 (00:59):
Six months later, we were number one.
Speaker 2 (01:01):
And Glenn Beck's candid style was just what America wanted.
Speaker 3 (01:05):
Roger Ailes, about a year before my contract was up,
he called me.
Speaker 1 (01:08):
In many ways, Glenn was becoming bigger than Fox News.
Speaker 3 (01:11):
He had to have a way to have a thumb
on me. That's the way he was with everybody. And
he had nothing.
Speaker 1 (01:18):
That is, until a story crossed American airwaves.
Speaker 4 (01:22):
And I said, everything's about to change.
Speaker 1 (01:28):
I'm Patrick Karelchik.
Speaker 2 (01:29):
And I'm Adriana Cortez.
Speaker 1 (01:31):
And this is Red Pilled America, a storytelling show.
Speaker 2 (01:35):
This is not another talk show covering the day's news.
We are all about telling stories.
Speaker 1 (01:41):
Stories Hollywood doesn't want you to hear.
Speaker 2 (01:43):
Stories the media mocks. Stories about everyday Americans that the
globalists ignore.
Speaker 1 (01:49):
You can think of Red Pilled America as audio documentaries,
and we promise only one thing.
Speaker 4 (01:56):
The truth.
Speaker 1 (02:01):
Welcome to Red Pilled America. We're at the second and
final part of our series of episodes entitled Trailblaze. You've
probably heard part one, but if you haven't, stop and
go back and listen from the beginning. We're looking for
(02:22):
the answer to the question, who is Glenn Beck, by
hearing from the man himself. So in part one, we
learn that when Glenn Beck was just seven years old,
his mother introduced him to the golden years of radio.
He was fascinated by the craft of audio storytelling and
knew from then on what he wanted to do with
his life. At the ripe old age of 12, he
won a contest to DJ at a local radio station.
(02:45):
He was on his way. But then, when he was 15,
his mother took her own life. The tragic event seemed
to inspire Glenn to go headfirst into a career in radio.
He landed jobs at local stations, and when he graduated
from high school, he got a gig in Top 40 Radio.
He bounced around the country picking up different DJ jobs,
and in the process he developed a drug and alcohol problem.
(03:07):
He prayed for the strength to kick the habit, and
in a pivotal moment, Glenn had an on-air confessional about
his addictions. He thought it'd be the end of his career,
but instead, the exact opposite happened. His audience appreciated his candor.
A few years later, Glenn decided to take a stab
at Talk Radio. and he initially had a rough go
of it. He was listening to everyone around him instead
(03:30):
of relying on his own voice. When he finally decided
to do his own thing, his Glenn Beck program took off.
In 2006, CNN came calling, and then in early 2009,
Glenn moved to Fox News, and his show was practically
an overnight success. Glenn was doing something completely new. He
was spending entire episodes on one topic, using an old-fashioned
(03:52):
chalkboard and the tried-and-true technique of storytelling to explain complex issues.
His reporting forced the resignation of several Obama White House appointees,
and he became a media phenomenon in the process. And
it wasn't only because he was entertaining or enlightening. He'd
become effective, extraordinarily effective. And that was just too much
for corporate media to take. So began its war on
(04:16):
Glenn Beck. The modern-day cancel culture was born. Corporate media
and establishment Republicans joined forces to take him out. At
every turn, they labeled him a dangerous, chalkboard-wielding conspiracy theorist.
The media hit jobs even began to turn his own
network against him.
Speaker 3 (04:32):
Working at Fox, they were at times a predator as
well towards me. And so I had gotten a word
that somebody was looking into my background. And I had
already gone through this with the left, so I knew something.
Speaker 4 (04:51):
It was Fox.
Speaker 1 (04:52):
The head of the network at the time, Roger Ailes,
asked Glenn into his office, then suggested that he had
dirt on Glenn.
Speaker 3 (04:59):
And I knew he needed his thumb on me. He
had to have a way to have a thumb on me.
That's the way he was with everybody. And he had nothing.
He was bluffing.
Speaker 1 (05:13):
That is, until Saturday, January 8th, 2011.
Speaker 2 (05:24):
On that day, at around 10 a.m. local time, Democrat
Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords was hosting a public event at
a Safeway grocery store in Tucson, Arizona. A few minutes
after the event started, calls began flooding the local 911
phone lines.
Speaker 5 (05:44):
My husband just.
Speaker 4 (05:44):
Called me and told me he was shot. He went
to the Gabrielle Giffords, whatever.
Speaker 3 (05:49):
They were doing today, and I don't know where he is.
Speaker 4 (05:51):
Your husband was shot?
Speaker 2 (05:52):
That's what he said.
Speaker 6 (05:53):
He just called me.
Speaker 4 (05:54):
And then the phone went dead.
Speaker 7 (05:55):
Is anybody injured?
Speaker 3 (05:56):
Did you say Gabrielle Giffords was hit?
Speaker 5 (05:58):
She's hit.
Speaker 4 (06:00):
Okay.
Speaker 7 (06:01):
She's breathing.
Speaker 5 (06:01):
There's multiple people shot.
Speaker 4 (06:03):
Okay.
Speaker 8 (06:03):
Oh, my God.
Speaker 2 (06:06):
911 dispatch relayed the information to local law enforcement.
Speaker 4 (06:10):
This is advising Safeway, Ina, and Oracle.
Speaker 6 (06:13):
County's going to be working a shooting.
Speaker 9 (06:14):
We've got multiple, multiple, multiple calls.
Speaker 10 (06:18):
We've been informed Gabrielle Giffords is involved.
Speaker 7 (06:21):
All units to the county call.
Speaker 4 (06:23):
A male is advising that they are restraining a male
suspect in front of the store. And this may be
involved with the Congresswoman Giffords' function.
Speaker 2 (06:39):
The media arrived and began questioning bystanders.
Speaker 5 (06:42):
From my understanding, what I first heard, I heard about
15 to 20 gunshots in the parking lot. I came
outside immediately and did not see a vehicle or any
people fleeing. I just saw people running, screaming towards where
the shooting happened. Everyone screaming that it was Gabrielle Giffords.
Speaker 11 (06:59):
You're saying that you have heard there are fatalities, but
you have not seen and cannot confirm there are fatalities.
Speaker 5 (07:05):
I see two bodies laying on the sidewalk in front
of the Safeway.
Speaker 4 (07:10):
All right.
Speaker 11 (07:10):
That would seem to be confirmation that people have been killed.
Speaker 2 (07:14):
It wasn't long until the explosive story hit every news
desk in America.
Speaker 11 (07:18):
We have breaking news for you. It's coming out of Tucson, Arizona.
Several people have been shot. Among those shooting victims is
Congresswoman Gabrielle Gifford. She is a Democrat with the House
of Representatives.
Speaker 12 (07:31):
Again, there are conflicting reports about Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords
at this hour, whether or not she has died or,
in fact, is in surgery, trying to fight what was
apparently a shotgun blast.
Speaker 4 (07:44):
To the head.
Speaker 2 (07:55):
As the day progressed, details about the horrific event began
to surface.
Speaker 7 (07:59):
The congresswoman and others gather outside this Safeway and set
up a table to meet with constituents one-on-one. The gunman,
witnesses say, tells a staffer he wants to speak with
the congresswoman. He's told to wait in a line of
about 20 people and he complies. Then suddenly he gets
out of line and quickly walks towards the congresswoman. He
stops when he's about four feet away, raises his Glock
(08:22):
9mm pistol and fires. Congresswoman Giffords immediately falls. Witnesses say
the shooter then starts firing wildly.
Speaker 2 (08:31):
As the gunman attempted to reload, two brave men tackled
him to the ground and held him down.
Speaker 4 (08:36):
I had to do something. I just couldn't sit there
and let this guy go by.
Speaker 6 (08:40):
When we pushed her, he just went right to the ground.
Speaker 4 (08:43):
There was no struggle or no fight.
Speaker 2 (08:45):
In the end, 15 were injured. Six were dead. America
quickly learned the identity of the shooter. His name was
Jared Loeffner. and the media began to lay fault for
the violence at the feet of a burgeoning new movement.
Speaker 12 (08:58):
Of course, we do not know if any of the
emotions that might have flooded over from the political midterms
took any sort of play in this event. We do
know that that race was a very hotly contested race.
She won by, I believe, two percentage points or even
less up against a Tea Party favorite.
Speaker 2 (09:16):
When the story first broke, Glenn Beck was with his
wife in New York City.
Speaker 3 (09:20):
I was strangely at a Broadway play. And my security
detail came in and handed me a phone with that
story on it in the middle of the play. And
my wife said, what? And I handed it to her
and she said, oh boy. And I said, everything's about
to change. I knew that I would be blamed for it.
Speaker 4 (09:45):
Sarah Palin would be blamed for it. Fox News would
be blamed for it.
Speaker 2 (09:48):
Within hours of the story, the head of Fox News
contacted Glenn.
Speaker 3 (09:52):
And Roger called that night and he said, next Thursday,
I need to see you in my office.
Speaker 4 (09:59):
And next Thursday is not Monday.
Speaker 3 (10:04):
If it's really, truly something that you are worried about,
you call me in on Monday and we talk about it.
Speaker 4 (10:12):
It was next Thursday.
Speaker 2 (10:14):
Roger Ailes likely wanted to see how the media would
handle the event. It quickly became apparent that Glenn's initial
concern was accurate. Corporate media had their villains, and they
were two of the Tea Party movement's most prominent figures,
Sarah Palin and Glenn Beck. The attacks were kicked off
on the day of the shooting by an unlikely figure,
a person that was just supposed to stick to the facts.
(10:36):
The Democrat sheriff of the county where the tragedy occurred
stepped up to the microphone and, without evidence, placed the
blame on talk radio and cable news personalities.
Speaker 6 (10:47):
And I think it's time as a country.
Speaker 11 (10:49):
that we need to do a little soul-searching.
Speaker 13 (10:52):
Because I think it's the vitriolic rhetoric that we hear
day in and day out from people in the radio
business and some people in the TV business.
Speaker 2 (11:04):
That was all the far-left corporate media needed to begin
its attack on Glenn Beck and Sarah Palin.
Speaker 14 (11:09):
Glenn Beck. who obsesses nearly as strangely as this Mr.
Loeffner did about gold and debt, and who wistfully joked
about killing Michael Moore.
Speaker 15 (11:19):
Glenn Beck himself has been responsible for three thwarted assassination
attempts this year.
Speaker 16 (11:24):
You have people like Glenn Beck who repeatedly and constantly
refer to political opponents on the left as traitors, treasonous, Marxists, fascists, Nazis.
You know, you can see that as entertainment, but some
people like Mr. Loeffner are not going to see it
as entertainment. They're going to take it seriously.
Speaker 8 (11:40):
No, this guy was clearly a nut. But it's also
clear that he was very anti-government. I mean, if you
read some of the stuff that we have, that we
know he wrote, I mean, it's sprinkled with things, anti-government ideas, treason, tyranny.
get back to the gold standard, that kind of stuff
(12:00):
that seems like, you know, I don't know who else
but Glenn Beck talks about that.
Speaker 2 (12:16):
As hard as Glenn was being hit, Sarah Palin was
getting it even worse. During the midterm elections the previous year,
Her political action committee used scope sites on a map
to highlight vulnerable Democrat districts. Politicians had long used these
types of symbols, including the Democrats in 2004. But the
media brushed that fact aside and attempted to connect the
(12:38):
map to the shootings in Tucson.
Speaker 17 (12:40):
Sarah Palin was in the discussion because during the campaign,
she put out a map that had crosshairs that picked
the 20 districts in which Democrats had been elected, but
McCain had won in those districts. Now, Congressman Giffords' district
was one of those districts. That's why Palin was in
the conversation.
Speaker 14 (13:00):
Arizona has become the mecca of prejudice and bigotry. If
Sarah Palin, whose website put and today scrubbed bullseye targets
on 20 representatives, including Gabby Giffords, does not repudiate her
own part, however tangential, in amplifying violence and violent imagery
in American politics, she must be dismissed from politics.
Speaker 2 (13:21):
Sarah Palin's colleague, Rebecca Mansour, took to the airwaves on
the night of the shooting to explain how the map
came into existence.
Speaker 18 (13:28):
This graphic, it was done not even in-house. We had
a professional... who does political, you know, a political graphics artist,
you know, consultant, do this for us. So we saw
it really quickly. We said, yeah, that's fine. That's great.
And we had never even imagined or occurred to us
that anybody would interpret it as violent, because it's not.
Speaker 2 (13:47):
The media paired the map with a partisan Tucson shooting
victim to reinforce the building narrative.
Speaker 15 (13:52):
It looks like Palin Beck, Sharon Engel, and the rest
got their first target.
Speaker 14 (13:58):
Their wish for Second Amendment activism has been fulfilled.
Speaker 2 (14:02):
The attacks over the weekend were brutal. Every Sunday political show,
cable news desk, and legacy newspaper tried connecting the shooting
to the Tea Party in general, and Glenn Beck and
Sarah Palin in particular. But under scrutiny, the connection would
completely fall apart. The shooting was the work of a
schizophrenic madman, Jared Loeffner, who had no discernible political philosophy.
(14:24):
What happened was, Loeffner developed an obsession with Gabrielle Giffords
going back to 2007, long before the Tea Party movement
even formed.
Speaker 9 (14:32):
This just-released court complaint gives us a better idea of
what investigators found inside his home. A letter in a
safe from Congresswoman Giffords from 2007 thanking Loeffner for attending
an event. Loeffner told a friend that he once shouted
out a question to Congresswoman Giffords at an event. He
reportedly asked, what is government if words have no meaning?
(14:55):
The friend went on to say that Loughner didn't like
her answer and said ever since he thought she was
fake and had something against her.
Speaker 2 (15:04):
As the media's fake narrative began to build momentum, Glenn
Beck took the first opportunity to defend himself and his
friend on his radio show.
Speaker 3 (15:13):
I wrote to Sarah Palin last night, and I'm going
to give you I'm going to read to you my
part and then just a little bit of what she
wrote back. And I said, Sarah, as you know, peace
is always the answer. I know you're feeling the same heat,
if not much more on this. I want you to
know you have my support. But please look into protection
(15:35):
for your family. An attempt on you could bring the
Republic down. There are not jobs on all sides.
Speaker 4 (15:43):
Tomorrow I am.
Speaker 3 (15:44):
Issuing a challenge to stand with each other to reject
all violence. There is a difference between a hard-fought political
battle and violence. That's why they are two separate terms.
The press and politicians know this. It's time for politics
to stop and sanity to begin.
Speaker 4 (16:01):
God bless my best all. You are always in my
thoughts and prayers. She wrote back, in part, I hate violence.
I hate war.
Speaker 3 (16:14):
Our children will not have peace if politicos just capitalize
on this to succeed in portraying anyone as inciting terror
and violence. Thanks for all you do to send the
message of truth and love.
Speaker 4 (16:28):
And God has the answer. Sarah.
Speaker 2 (16:37):
As the week progressed, the anticipation of Glenn's Thursday meeting
with Roger Ailes began to weigh heavily on him.
Speaker 3 (16:44):
And I knew at that time, I'm doomed. If I
go in there, he's going to fire me if I
don't play the game. And then Fox News is blaming
me for that shooting.
Speaker 4 (16:57):
I'm done.
Speaker 3 (16:57):
However, if I go in there and I play the game,
I'm done. There was no way for me to win.
And a very good friend of mine, a guy who
is a billionaire, he's talking to me. One night, it
was like on Tuesday night, he said, you cannot go
in there. He said, you're done, Glenn. You will be done.
(17:19):
You've got to delay this meeting. And I said, I
don't know how. And he said, are you having a
heart attack? You don't sound well. And I said, what
are you talking about? He said, you need to get
to a hospital. I'm going to send my plane for you.
You need to get to a hospital. You need a battery,
a test. You sound like you're having a heart attack.
I figured it out, what he was saying.
Speaker 2 (17:39):
He wanted Glenn to fake an ailment to delay the meeting.
Speaker 3 (17:41):
And he said, I'll send my plane. I said, hang on,
I got to talk to my wife. He said, well,
you should talk to your wife because you shouldn't talk
to anybody else. But I think you're having a heart attack.
Speaker 2 (17:51):
After talking to his wife, Glenn called his friend and
declined his offer. When Thursday arrived, the enormity of his
meeting with Roger Ailes began to register with Glenn.
Speaker 3 (18:02):
He was going to pin me or fire me. And
I remember praying all the way over because I didn't
have my offices at Fox.
Speaker 4 (18:10):
I had an office at Fox, but I never used it.
Speaker 3 (18:13):
And I walked into his office and I sat down
and I had no idea.
Speaker 4 (18:22):
What I was going to say or how this was
going to work.
Speaker 3 (18:24):
And I was praying the whole time, Lord, this is
in your hands, man, because I'm dead either way. And
when I crossed the threshold of his office, I just
was overwhelmed with this feeling of sadness for him. And
I sat down in front of his desk and he said, well,
(18:45):
we have to talk. And I said, and I swear
to you, it was not contrived. I don't know where
it came from. And I said, before, before we talk,
I want to thank you.
Speaker 4 (18:55):
And he said, for what?
Speaker 3 (18:58):
And I said, if it wasn't for you, I don't
know if Reagan would have been elected or reelected.
Speaker 4 (19:04):
If it wasn't for Fox, God.
Speaker 3 (19:06):
Only knows where this country would have been after 9-11.
You have made some really crucial moments that bought time
for my generation.
Speaker 4 (19:17):
And thank you.
Speaker 3 (19:19):
Well, as I said that, he starts crying. And he said,
you really mean that, don't you? And I said, strangely,
I do. And he sat there for a while and he.
Speaker 4 (19:31):
Just looked at me.
Speaker 3 (19:31):
And he said, come on over. Let's sit on the couch.
We sat on the couch for probably 30 minutes. We
just shot the shit.
Speaker 2 (19:40):
As they talked, the time for Glenn's show arrived.
Speaker 4 (19:43):
And he said, you got to get on the set.
And I said, okay. And as I was leaving, I
heard him say, get f * * * ing Palin
on the phone. And that's the day Palin changed.
Speaker 2 (20:05):
This was around the time that Glenn and Sarah's relationship,
for all intents and purposes, ended. Glenn believed that Roger
Ailes poisoned the well. Sarah reportedly claimed that it was
because Glenn read part of her email on air. Either way,
corporate media successfully broke up a powerful team that was
fighting the establishment. Glenn had reached a pivotal moment. The
(20:29):
entire ordeal revealed the writing on the wall. Corporate media
was not the place he could continue his work. He
had to make a bold move. And as the attacks
over the shooting began to subside... Glenn made an appearance
on a show that gave a subtle hint of his
only pathway forward.
Speaker 6 (20:46):
People are surprised when they find out that.
Speaker 4 (20:49):
We're friends.
Speaker 2 (20:50):
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Speaker 1 (22:30):
Welcome back to Red Pilled America. So by early 2011,
Glenn Beck had survived two years of brutal attacks by
not only the mainstream media, but even his own network.
He'd reached a pivotal moment. The entire ordeal revealed the
writing on the wall. Corporate media was not the place
he could continue his work. He had to make a
(22:51):
bold move. As the attack over the Gabby Gifford shooting
began to subside, Glenn made an appearance in a show
that hinted at his only pathway forward. The program was
the Don Imus Show.
Speaker 6 (23:03):
People are surprised when they find out that we're friends.
So I know Sarah Palin is fine. But they're trying
to blame what happened in Tucson on you. Or on her.
Or on right-wing radio. My question for you is how
do you feel about that?
Speaker 3 (23:23):
I have gotten to a place now where they have
said everything that they could possibly say about me under
the sun for the last two years. I mean, they
blame me for everything. They've called me every name under
the sun. You get angry, and then you kind of
go dead inside for a while.
Speaker 4 (23:37):
Here's the best thing.
Speaker 3 (23:38):
This year, I have a company that is completely debt-free.
Speaker 4 (23:43):
We operate with values.
Speaker 3 (23:45):
And principles that I think are above board.
Speaker 4 (23:48):
I can sleep at night.
Speaker 3 (23:50):
I have my family with me and I've put in
my bank account enough to where I could go to
New Zealand today and live the rest of my life
and pay for my kids' college education.
Speaker 4 (23:58):
I don't give a flying crap.
Speaker 1 (24:00):
Consciously or not, Glenn turned to just the right man
at this pivotal moment in his career because Don Imus
unintentionally warned him about the outrage mob he'd just experienced.
A few years earlier, when Glenn was making waves at CNN,
Don Imus was embroiled in perhaps the biggest controversy of
his career.
Speaker 6 (24:19):
So I watched the basketball game last night between a
little bit of Rutgers and Tennessee, the women's final.
Speaker 1 (24:25):
On April 4th, 2007, Don Imus was talking with a
few of his colleagues on his show, which was simultaneously
broadcast by CBS on the radio and MSNBC on cable TV.
Speaker 6 (24:35):
Yeah, Tennessee won last night, seventh championship for Pat Summitt.
Speaker 14 (24:38):
I mean, they beat Rutgers by 13 points.
Speaker 6 (24:40):
That's some rough girls from Rutgers, man. They got tattoos
and some hardcore hoes. That's a nappy-headed hoes there. I'm
going to take that out.
Speaker 19 (24:48):
Of the way.
Speaker 1 (24:49):
Imus was known as one of the original shock jocks,
so politically incorrect humor was nothing new for him. But
what he hadn't realized at the time was that America
was experiencing a new shift. A few months earlier, then-U.S.
Senator Barack Obama announced his run for president.
Speaker 13 (25:05):
I stand before you today to announce my candidacy for
president of the United States of America.
Speaker 1 (25:15):
Race instantly became a hot-button issue. Don Imus' off-color joke
had become unacceptable in this new environment, and the radio
veteran got the message quickly. By Friday that week, Imus
apologized to the Rutgers girls basketball team, but over the weekend,
the story exploded.
Speaker 20 (25:33):
Don Imus is apologizing for what he calls an insensitive
and ill-conceived remark, but some say his apology falls short.
Speaker 10 (25:40):
We don't understand that a long-term veteran broadcaster wouldn't think
that it would hurt the feelings of student athletes. We're
talking about girls, college girls, who tried their best to
win a championship, and he degrades them by calling them
nappy-headed hoes.
Speaker 20 (25:57):
Imus issued an apology, saying, quote, It was completely inappropriate,
and we can understand why people were offended. Our characterization
was thoughtless and stupid, and we are sorry. But the
National Association of Black Journalists is not satisfied and is
calling for a boycott of the Imus show and for
Imus to be fired. if he doesn't take more action.
Speaker 10 (26:16):
Just, you know, saying I'm sorry is not going to
do it. He needs to outreach. He needs to reach
out to those student athletes. He needs to have a
larger statement regarding what he said.
Speaker 11 (26:28):
Sorry, Imus.
Speaker 10 (26:29):
Apology not accepted.
Speaker 1 (26:31):
Sensing he was in professional peril, Imus embarked on an
apology tour.
Speaker 6 (26:36):
On Friday, I apologized for some remarks that I made
and others made, but particularly ones that I made. on
this program to the women's basketball team at Rutgers University
because I thought it was important that I apologize to
these young women and to that coach and to their
parents and to you for what I said, and so
(26:56):
that's what I did. And that was before any newspaper articles.
That was the first opportunity that I had, and I
may discuss that with, well, it depends on what Reverend
Sharpton asks, but I'm going to appear on Reverend Al
Sharpton's radio program this afternoon. It's not, I'm not sure
what time, It's not broadcast in New York, but it's
broadcast all over the country.
Speaker 1 (27:17):
Imus appeared on Al Sharpton's program, and it didn't go
so well.
Speaker 6 (27:21):
And at the time I said it, I didn't think
it was racial. I wasn't even thinking racial. I was
thinking like a West Side Story deal, like... One team's
tough and one team's not so tough.
Speaker 4 (27:31):
Nappy is racial. Yes, sir, I understand that.
Speaker 6 (27:34):
But I'm not thinking that it is a racial insult
that's being uttered at somebody. At the time, I think
it's in the process of this, what we're trying to
wrap and be funny. I mean, I understand it's not funny.
I understand there's no excuse for it. I'm not pretending
that there is. I wish I hadn't have said it.
I'm sorry I said it.
Speaker 1 (28:00):
But Reverend L. Sharpton wasn't satisfied. He met with Imus'
radio station, CBS, and told them what the veteran broadcaster
should do.
Speaker 2 (28:08):
At this point, as we sit here today, is there
anything he can do?
Speaker 19 (28:12):
Yeah, he can resign. That's it? As far as I'm concerned.
Speaker 2 (28:15):
There's no way he can salvage himself in your eyes?
Speaker 19 (28:17):
I don't see how he could salvage himself in the
eyes of the public he offended without establishing a legal
precedent that it's all right to say these things.
Speaker 4 (28:27):
And just apologize.
Speaker 1 (28:29):
Sharpton's campaign was effective. Within a few days, both CBS
and MSNBC dropped the radio legends show. The Reverend quickly
underscored that this was only the beginning.
Speaker 19 (28:40):
It is really unfortunate that we have to revisit these
issues as late as 2007. So the bad news is
that the issue came up at all. The good news
is that people from all communities united and put significant
pressure on those in the advertising world and ultimately NBC
(29:02):
and CBS that made this first round a victory. But
this is only the first round. This is a long fight.
There are others that are guilty.
Speaker 1 (29:12):
Don Imus would eventually land at Fox News, the only
big corporate media outlet available to those banished from the
so-called mainstream media. Imus' cancellation from CBS and NBC gave
the far-left media a scalp. and it looked to broaden
their new tactic to take out others in talk radio
and cable news, including a rising star at CNN.
Speaker 5 (29:33):
I think if you're Howard Stern, you're Bill Maher, you're
Glenn Beck, you're Michael Savage, you've got to watch out.
Speaker 14 (29:38):
What about Limbaugh, O'Reilly, Glenn Beck, Michael Savage? Any change
anticipated in any of those areas?
Speaker 6 (29:43):
Areas?
Speaker 3 (29:43):
I've got to think that they are going to be
scrutinized a lot more closely today than they were 48
hours ago.
Speaker 1 (29:51):
At the time, Glenn Beck was in the lion's den
at CNN. He had to have been closely monitoring Don Imus' controversy.
It revealed the new normal. If you fall out of
the good graces of corporate media, your only home on
the big stage would be Fox News. And if you
lost Roger Ailes' network, you were through. Unless you could
(30:12):
build something new. When Glenn appeared on Don Imus' show
in the wake of Gabrielle Gifford's shooting, he had a
sense of calm in his demeanor. And that's likely because
he'd been working on a way out of cable news.
one that would blaze a trail on how to fight
back against cancel culture. More of Red Pilled America after
(30:35):
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Speaker 2 (31:39):
Do you want to hear Red Pilled America stories ad-free?
then become a backstage subscriber. Just log on to redpilledamerica.com
and click join in the top menu. Join today and
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Speaker 1 (31:57):
Welcome back to Red Pilled America. So while Glenn Beck
was in the lion's den at CNN, famed radio host
Don Imus revealed the new normal. If you fall out
of the good graces of corporate media, Your only home
on the big stage would be Fox News, and if
you lost Roger Ailes' network, you were through. Unless you
could build something new. When Glenn Beck appeared on Don Imus'
(32:23):
show in the wake of the Gabrielle Gifford shooting, he
had a sense of calm in his demeanor. And that's
likely because he'd been working on a way out of
cable news, one that would blaze a trail on how
to fight back against cancel culture.
Speaker 3 (32:35):
I knew probably six months into my two years at
Fox that it was not the place to be. I
remember the last year, I probably said this in my
morning meeting, three out of five meetings. And it was,
(32:55):
we have got to get out of here because all
of these networks are going to burn themselves to the ground.
We have got to be away from these people. And
so we knew we were going to do something. I
thought at the beginning we were going to be able
to do something with another network of some sort, you know,
(33:15):
an HBO or something like that.
Speaker 1 (33:17):
And at the apex of his influence at Fox News
in mid-2009, he was making those kinds of moves behind
the scenes. Glenn had deals flowing with major corporate media.
Speaker 4 (33:27):
Paramount bought one of my books and was.
Speaker 3 (33:31):
I mean, we were talking big budget production of a
book that I had written.
Speaker 1 (33:36):
But the deal was canceled. When the media began to
viciously attack Glenn, he no doubt started to see corporate
media was now using the same playbook on him that
it used on Don Imus. So Glenn started to prepare.
In August 2010, right around the same time of his
massive restoring honor rally in Washington, D.C., Glenn quietly launched TheBlaze.com.
Speaker 4 (34:00):
It was a news website.
Speaker 3 (34:02):
And I started it on that day because I didn't
want anyone to notice it. Because we wanted it just
to appear, and this gets some sea legs under it,
and then.
Speaker 4 (34:12):
We would announce it. And we thought, nobody's looking here.
Speaker 1 (34:15):
But Glenn had much bigger plans in store. He was
just waiting for the right opportunity to set it in motion.
That came after the Gabby Giffords ordeal. It became obvious
that corporate media was not the place for him. It
was time to build a new platform, something that hadn't
been done in media, a live streaming subscription service that
(34:35):
was immune to cancel culture.
Speaker 3 (34:37):
And this is a time when podcast was like a joke.
You know, I've got a podcast. Yeah, well, so does
any 12 year old kid. Our initial goal was we
can't be a podcast podcast. We can't be in, you know,
my mom's basement with a bad camera. We have to
(34:59):
show that this can be done on a network scale.
And back then, you know, that was really expensive, really expensive.
It cost millions of dollars to do this at first.
Speaker 1 (35:14):
It was 2011. there were almost no subscriber-based live streaming services.
Speaker 3 (35:20):
Well, remember, when I got into this, buffering was the problem.
Podcasts were audio only. You didn't do television with it.
The only ones that were doing it, the only one
that was doing it, was Major League Baseball. And we
actually had to partner with Major League Baseball. We were
running on their spine. We were before HBO or anybody
(35:42):
was really doing this. And it costs a fortune, but
it looked good. And if you could get past the buffering,
smart people saw this can be something that I didn't
think it could be.
Speaker 1 (36:00):
So on April 6, 2011, just a few months after
the Gabrielle Giffords tragedy, Glenn Beck made his move. He
announced he was leaving Fox News. and the media was
practically giddy.
Speaker 15 (36:13):
We learned today that one of the country's best known
and most polarizing broadcasters has broken up with Fox News.
Glenn Beck will be leaving along, apparently, with his chalkboard
and theories.
Speaker 4 (36:24):
They're trying to make this seem like a friendly divorce.
This is clearly a marriage that went sour.
Speaker 21 (36:29):
Glenn Beck never really fit in at Fox. He was
always his own man. Unlike Bill O'Reilly and Sean Hannity,
he wasn't born by Fox and he didn't depend on Fox.
So I think there were always skirmishes because of that.
Speaker 3 (36:40):
Head of Fox News Roger Ailes says he's read that
Beck was fired.
Speaker 4 (36:44):
He's read that Beck has quit. Ailes says he's happy
with both interpretations.
Speaker 1 (36:56):
As corporate media celebrated that Glenn Beck was being kicked
out of hell, his friend Bill O'Reilly was one of
the few that knew that the talented storyteller was working
on something big. He was about to trailblaze a new
path for the coming cancel culture.
Speaker 6 (37:10):
Hey, what happened to our guy Beck?
Speaker 4 (37:12):
You know, Beck's a genius, this guy. He's going to
make ten times as much money.
Speaker 1 (37:17):
Again, Glenn Beck.
Speaker 3 (37:19):
I have to tell you, it's incredible how many times
I've been counted out. I actually love it, because then
they don't see you coming again, you know?
Speaker 1 (37:28):
And that is exactly what happened. In September 2011, Glenn
launched what would later become Blaze TV, the first subscription-based
service of its kind. And with it, he showed every
freethinker that there was a way to bypass cancel culture.
Speaker 3 (37:42):
You are in the right place if you want to
get off your butt and do something. We must separate
ourselves from anger and focus on solutions. Radicals feed on anger.
They feed on fear. We're not going to be fearful
and we're not going to be angry. We are the 10%
that need to know exactly what they believe in and
(38:03):
then never sit down.
Speaker 19 (38:09):
Thank you.
Speaker 3 (38:12):
If you want to be awake, alive, and pushed out
of your comfort zone, if you want to be educated
and engaged, if you want to reach the end of
your life and confidently be able to look your children
in the eye and say, I left everything I had
out in the field.
Speaker 4 (38:28):
I did everything I could.
Speaker 3 (38:30):
If you want to be involved in something larger than yourself,
welcome home. You are in the right place. But you
must not bring anger with you.
Speaker 4 (38:43):
It was hell for the first five, six, eight, 10 years.
I don't know.
Speaker 3 (38:50):
It's, it's hell to start something new like this. It
was nice at the beginning, actually, before they really knew
that this was going to change things. You know, I
was invited out to Silicon Valley to talk to people
about it. I mean, I had some really interesting meetings
with deep thinkers about the future that were just examining
(39:14):
us as a guinea pig. And so it was interesting
to have that kind of interaction. Then trying to put
a network together of like-minded people, I think I would
have not lost my family fortune had I not put
a whole network on the air. It would have just
been my show, but I didn't want to do just
(39:36):
my show. I wanted to show you that you don't
need television anymore.
Speaker 1 (39:44):
Building a network from scratch is an extraordinarily difficult endeavor
that takes not only resources, but an enormous drive as well.
Glenn offered his creative inspirations that helped guide him on
his journey.
Speaker 3 (39:56):
The two real mentors of my life that I never
met were Walt Disney and Orson Welles. And Walt Disney
still had, even at the end of his life when
he's dying in bed with cancer, he's still dreaming. He's
(40:18):
pointing up to the popcorn ceiling in his room hospital
room telling his brother, you got to build this over
here and this is going to happen. And then you
get General Motors to do this. And I mean, he
saw so far ahead and.
Speaker 4 (40:32):
Nothing stopped him.
Speaker 3 (40:34):
And the other guy, Orson Welles, he had ideas and
everyone would say it couldn't be done.
Speaker 4 (40:42):
And he didn't believe in that.
Speaker 3 (40:44):
And my favorite story of Welles is You know, he
was a huge radio star, but he was also the
biggest Broadway star as well. And he was producing, directing,
doing art direction, costuming, and starring on Broadway.
Speaker 4 (40:59):
He was massive.
Speaker 3 (41:01):
And at one point, he's doing a Broadway show and
several radio shows.
Speaker 4 (41:06):
And he had no time. And at one point, John Houseman.
Speaker 3 (41:12):
I think his name was, Orson's business partner, was walking
with him, and he said, uh, Orson, I just want
to let you know, CBS wants you to do another
series on Saturdays. And he said, good, sign me up.
And he said, Orson, you have two shows on Saturday.
You have a matinee and the radio station is downtown.
Speaker 4 (41:34):
We're midtown.
Speaker 3 (41:35):
I can't get you there that fast. And he says,
there's got to be a way. There's got to be
a way. I can do it in between shows.
Speaker 4 (41:41):
Think of that.
Speaker 3 (41:41):
I can do it in between shows. Houseman said, you
can't do that. And as they're talking, an ambulance passes
them on the street. And Wells stops and looks at
his partner and said, do me a favor.
Speaker 4 (41:56):
Find out if you have to be sick to ride
in one of those things.
Speaker 3 (42:00):
And every Saturday after his first show, they'd back an
ambulance up to the Broadway show. He'd climb in, and
they would turn the sirens on, and he would go
down to CBS and cut the show.
Speaker 4 (42:10):
I mean, that's what makes life fun. fun. It was
worth living.
Speaker 3 (42:15):
I mean, you know, fame and fortune is battery acid
to the soul, but going out, living on the edge,
doing stuff that nobody's ever done before. And everybody tells
you that stupid, that can't be done. Oh my gosh,
that is worth getting up for every morning.
Speaker 1 (42:54):
Which leads us back to the question, who is Glenn Beck?
Glenn Beck is a trailblazing storyteller that showed an entire
generation of creators how to combat cancel culture. When he
was deplatformed by corporate media, he didn't fade away into obscurity.
He saw it coming and built something that had never
(43:15):
been built before. After he launched his first live streaming
subscription service, others followed. CRTV, Compound Media, The Daily Wired,
Censored TV, Locals.com, Rumble, and many others. Glenn Beck was
patient zero of cancel culture, but he refused to be
a victim of it. With the creation of Blaze TV,
Glenn showed a new way forward. Many, including your humble hosts,
(43:39):
were blacklisted from creative industries monopolized by the far left,
and were unsure how we'd be able to provide for
our families. But Glenn Beck showed it could be done,
and on the same scale as the big boys. And
he did it by learning from creative minds like Walt
Disney and Orson Welles, and by turning to our creator
for strength.
Speaker 3 (43:58):
I made a covenant with God, and I said I
would do what he wanted me to do. And maybe
I'm just hearing things in my head, but I actually
believe that we are all here at this time for
a reason, and that reason does involve right now Freedom.
The freedom does not belong to me or anybody else.
(44:21):
It belongs to him and what he wants to do
with it in the future. And we can't lose it.
I don't want to be a part of the generation
that loses this amazing thing called rights.
Speaker 2 (44:33):
For all things Glenn Beck, visit glennbeck.com. That's glennbeck.com. Red
Pilled America is an iHeartRadio original podcast. It's produced by me,
Adriana Cortez, and Patrick Karelchi for Informed Ventures. Now, our
entire archive of episodes is only available to our backstage subscribers.
To subscribe, visit redpilledamerica.com and click support in the top menu.
(44:57):
Thanks for listening.