RADIOApril 04, 2024

Has the PERSECUTION of Christians Begun in America?

Christianity is no longer the dominant religion in America, “Pagan America” author John Daniel Davidson argues. Instead, we have started down the dark path of paganism. So, what will this “post-Christian era” look like? How long until Christians are persecuted in America? Has that already begun? And what can we do to turn this around? John Daniel Davidson joins Glenn to break it all down. Plus, he explains why “the idea that the future will be this secular, woke utopia is totally wrong.”

Transcript

Below is a rush transcript that may contain errors

John Daniel Davidson, pagan America, the decline of Christianity and the dark age to come.

Let me just tell you, there's a couple of signs of hope, and I would like John to address some of this as we go along. First of all, here's Donald Trump two days ago. Cut six.

DONALD: And what the hell was Biden thinking, when he declared Easter Sunday to be Trans Visibility Day? Such total disrespect to Christians.

And November 5th is going to be called something else. You know what it's going to be called?

Christian visibility day, when Christians turn out in numbers, that nobody has ever seen before.

GLENN: Then we also had this come out over the weekend.

Here's Richard Dawkins.

Very famous atheist.

An entrepreneur claiming Christianity, as his belief.

But listen to what he says.

VOICE: I do think, culturally, we are a Christian country. I call myself a Christian. I'm not a believer, but there's a distinction between being a believing Christian and being a cultural Christian. And so, you know, I love hymns and Christmas carols. And I -- I sort of feel at home, in the Christian ethos.

If I had to choose between Christianity and Islam, I choose Christianity, every single time.

I mean, it seems to me, to be a fundamentally decent religion.

In a way that I think Islam is not.

GLENN: Okay. Forget about the Islam part.

The culture of our country is based on Christianity.

So let's bring John in, about pagan America. We are a Christian nation. You believe that.

JOHN: I believe we were. I don't think we are now. I think we're entering a post-Christian era for America and for the West.

GLENN: So that kind of sounds bad. If you listen to Richard Dawkins.

JOHN: Yeah. Absolutely. Richard Dawkins should know better. You can't have the culture without the cult.

You can't have Christianity, as a cultural force. As a force that shapes the public square. And forms the character of the people. Without the actual religion behind it.

People who believe elsewhere, in that clip that you played.

He said, now, I understand that the number that believe in Christians are going down in this country, and I think that's a good thing.

What does he think will happen to all the cathedrals? And all the parish churches. They will turn into mosques. In the case of Britain, or apartments, or nightclubs.

GLENN: So what happens to us?

JOHN: We became pagan. And part of the claim of the book, is that there is really only one alternative to Christianity. Which is paganism.

Now, I don't mean that we will have temples to Zeus and Appollo popping up in Times Square, or a surge of witchcraft, although we are seeing that surge.

What I mean is that our public life, our communal life as a nation and a people is going to be defined by the pagan ethos, not the Christian ethos.

GLENN: Which, the pagan ethos, is what?

JOHN: Nothing is true. Everything is permitted. A radical subjectivity about man, about God. About our natures. About what we can become and what we can do.

And so what determines what public policy should be, or what determines what is right, isn't based on any universal claims about human nature.

Or the image of God. Man being created in the image of God.

It's based on force and coercion.

And that's how pagan societies have always been. That's why they're slave societies.

GLENN: So pagan societies in the 20th century.

Soviet Union. Germany.

JOHN: Post Christian. Yes. Yes. Exactly. Exactly.

And what were they characterized by?

Force. Coercion. A rejection of human nature. Rejection of the idea of human rights.

GLENN: So you're seeing that everywhere.

And this is what led you to the -- the idea that we're -- we're post-Christian.

Is there any way to turn it around?

JOHN: I don't think there's a way to turn it around in our lifetimes. Let's put it that way.

So I don't think that Christianity will be defeated in the end.

I'm a Roman Catholic, myself.

And so I believe in the permanency, of the church.

And of the Christian faith. And victory if the end.

But this is a general racial struggle.

It's been centuries now, that Christianity has been declining in the West, has really accelerated since the middle of the last century. And I don't think it will be turned around in our lifetimes. And maybe not in our children's lifetimes. But there are things that we can do to sort of preserve the flame, and rebuild amid the ruins.

GLENN: Like, what?

JOHN: Transmit the faith to our children, carve out spaces for our churches and communities.

And this is the important part. We don't retreat into those communities.

We find and fight on ground we can win.

That may mean moving out of large cities that are lost. And it also may mean getting involved at the local level to take back your school district.
Take back your library. Take back your city council. And, you know, bring the faith.

The Christian faith, back into the public square. Where it was for most of our history in the country.

GLENN: You know, I've been saying for a long time now.

I think it's really important that -- and I don't like this. Because I don't want to segregate us.

I don't want, you know, two separate Americas. But I think because of the battle that we're in right now, I think it's important to be in like-minded communities, especially religiously speaking. And I don't mean all of the same religion.

I mean, that they are Judeo-Christian, value-driven communities.

Because we -- we -- if you're not in that community, and you are not surrounded by the people with the same kind of ethics and ethos, you could very well be into a community, that goes wrong on either side. On either right or left.

And goes into darkness quickly. Do you agree with that?

GLENN: You also get lulled into a place of complacency. Right? Things are okay. It's not as bad as it seems.

You know, part of the arresting title and subtitle in the cover of the book, which has a burning church on it is to wake people up, to get people to accept, that this is happening. We're living in a post-Christian society.

Christianity is not going to be the dominant force in the public life of America, moving forward.

As it has been, as I said, for most of our history. We're going to become a pagan country. And that means the Christians are going to become a persecuted minority, as they always have been in pagan societies.

GLENN: Well, wouldn't you say we're already really kind of there.

It's not as bad, as it probably will be.

But we're already there. Look, if you're pro-life, you're toast. You know.

JOHN: Yeah. The number of things that you can't publicly disagree with or dispute is growing, seemingly by the week. Right?

You have to accept that Easter is really Trans Day of Visibility. You have to accept that abortion is a positive good, not just safe, legal, and rare. But it's a positive good. It's necessary to vindicate the rights of women.

You can't question gay marriage anymore. That ship sailed a long time ago. So these are things that are part of what I call the pagan morality, or the state morality of the new pagan regime.

And you're -- there is no dissent allowed on these things. Because dissent, tolerance in the public square, freedom of speech. That's a Christian virtue. That's a luxury that only a Christian society can afford.

GLENN: Has there been any pagan countries, that have lasted?

I mean, I know that Soviet Union, 80 years. But has there been any modern pagan, that just don't eat themselves.

JOHN: Well, no. And the thing that always happens to pagan societies, when they encounter Christianity, going back through history. Christianity is the only thing that breaks the pagan stranglehold on a people, across geography, across time, across cultures.

It was the encounter with Christianity, that broke these pagan societies. Because it proposed a radically new way of conceiving of man, and our relationship to God.

And one another. And how we should organize society.

And as Christianity retreats, that paganism. That pagan ethos, that is simmering, just below the surface. Is going to come back in modern forms. In modern iterations. As it did in Nazi Germany.

In the Soviet Union. And there were periods, where there was this illusion of like atheism and of secularism.

We're shedding that pretty quickly. The idea that the future is going to be the secular liberal utopia is totally wrong.

GLENN: I think wokism is a religion.

JOHN: Yes. It's a form of paganism.

GLENN: Yeah, it has its high priests.

You can easily be excommunicated. It has its rituals. It has things you must do and must never do. It's the opposite of Christianity. There is no forgiveness. Even the high priests can't forgive you, unless you bow down to them.

JOHN: And then only maybe.

GLENN: Then only maybe, depending on who you are. It's so clearly a religion.

Why -- why call it paganism instead of wokism?

JOHN: Because I think wokism, just like atheism, or communism, is a species of paganism.

And that when you really dig into what paganism is. And how it works. What we're seeing is a resurgence of paganism in a modern context.

Part of it is a vocabulary problem. We're not going to talk about the dogs in the same that ancient pre-Christian peoples talked about the gods.

But we are seeing a growing acceptance in the idea of spiritual forces.

A movement away from pure materialist secular scientistic kind of thinking, that denies all supernatural reality. That denies all spiritual reality, especially among young people right now.

This admixture of being secular on the one hand, in rejecting organized religion, but being open to spiritual forces. And things like identity that are really beyond reason. Or I would say, a disfigurement of reason.

Which is another hallmark of a pagan society, and we see that everywhere now.

GLENN: So you -- you saying these things. It would be really easy for the left to say, ah! You want -- you're a Christian nationalist.

You want a Christian country, that is run by the church. How do you respond to Christian nationalism?

JOHN: Well, it would be great if it were true. The funny thing about the Christian nationalist debate. As I sort of -- the argument in my book, kind of lays out, is that it's the opposite of the case. We're not becoming a Christian nationalist country.

I don't even know what that he's not.

I think what they mean by that. They don't want Christianity to have any influence on our national life and on the public square, as was the case for our entire history up until the middle of the last century.

But the idea that Christian nationalists are somehow ascendent, or the Christians are somehow gaining power and influence in the United States is a joke.

And when you look at the demographic data and you look at the decline in church affiliation and church attendance, you look at how --

GLENN: It's plummeting.

JOHN: Yeah, on every metric across the board, so it's a weird argument to make when Christianity has never been weaker in the United States.

GLENN: But there is. There are those that do want. I mean, they're very fringe, fringe, fringe.

But they do want a religious state.

And that -- I don't think that's what you would want, when you said, it would be great, if it were true.

I don't think it would be great, if it were true.

I want the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. But I want the people to -- to regulate themselves, and, you know, as -- as Franklin and Jefferson said, the -- the best way to regulate yourself is through religion. Through Christianity.

JOHN: Yeah. Well, you have John Adams' famous line that our Constitution was meant for only a moral and religious people. It's unfit for any other.

But, you know, it really is true, that, you know, Remi Brague, the French philosopher said in the 1990s, talking about Europe.

The European civilization is, you know, a product, not of calculation, but of faith. So you need actual Christian belief.

You know, contra Richard Dawkins. You can't just have the principles.

They rely as their source of vitality on an act of faith among the people. So if we actually had a critical mass of believing, practicing Christians in this country, we would have things like free speech, tolerance, an open public square, human rights, and respect for everybody.

The things that are disappearing right now, under an ascendant and emerging pagan regime.

GLENN: The name of the book is Pagan America: The Decline of Christianity and The Dark Age to Come.

I just want to hold you over for a second longer because it's a little dark.

And I would like to see the hope in all of it. We'll that do in just a second. Let's say you had to spend 1 dollar every second of every hour, day after day, month after month, year after year.

How long would it be, before you could spend a trillion dollars? 36 thousand years!

We're spending and borrowing and printing $1 trillion every 100 days. That is an art form in and of itself for a country to be able to spend that kind of money. My gosh.

What are we buying?

I hope we all get yachts!

It is not hard to see, where we are headed with our economy and the US dollar. Please, don't have all of your money in US dollars. Please, land.

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(music)

GLENN: You know, I hear from people all the time, well, it's never going to get that bad.
It's never been like that. It's never going to get that bad.

Clearly, not true, John.

We're in a different place than we have ever been before. So give me some hope. What can be done?

JOHN: The last chapter of the book, is titled the Boniface Option, and it's a loving dig at Rogers. The Benedict Option, which came out in 2016.

And one of the things that they argued for, was to build up your local communities, your local churches, your home schools, your family communities.

And sort of build an ark to survive the storms to come. And one of the things I push back on a little bit with is the idea that we can just build arks and kind of hunker down and survive.

We have to push forward. And we have to push Christianity out back into the public square, where it was.

And where it belongs. As a testament to the faith.

I think there's hope in this sense.

As people she had their sort of strict material worldview. And are open to the idea of spiritual forces.

There's an opportunity for Christians to proclaim their faith, publicly again. And proclaim it to a people who maybe are more open, than they were a generation ago.

When secular liberalism seemed triumphant.

And it seemed like the future was going to be this atheist, cold, rationalistic world.

That's not the world that is emerging right now.

And so there's real -- there's real battles to fight. With real spiritual forces. And Christians need to sort of put on their armor, and get ready to fight with their faith. By like I said earlier, taking back your schools. Taking back your city halls. Taking back your towns.

But also being able to proclaim the faith, publicly. And pay a cost for it. Right?

There's a long period in this country, where Christians and the state were kind of on the same side. And Christians enjoyed a kind of deference and privilege that they didn't through much of our history.

That's coming to an end, and we need to wrap our minds around it. We need to steel our nerves, and we need to take heart in the truth of our faith and the succor and the strength that it gives us.

GLENN: And that only begets stronger Christians.

Stronger people of faith. When they really have to struggle. That's our problem. We haven't had to struggle with our faith for so long.

Yeah. Sure. I believe in God. You wouldn't say it, out loud, many times.

But now that you're starting to be pushed, you're seeing more and more people, talk about it, openly.

Thank you so much for being in here. It's pagan America. The decline of Christianity, and the dark age to come. John Daniel Davidson

France Goes Full Lawfare, JAILS Right Wing Leader Marine Le Pen

A French judge has just sentenced right wing leader Marine Le Pen to jail for 4 years and barred her from running for president in 2027. How convenient, since she has been leading in the polls. Glenn takes a look at the case, in which she was found guilty of embezzling EU funds, and compares it to the Biden administration’s prosecution of Donald Trump during the 2024 election. Maybe the French should have learned a lesson from America: people don't like it when you try and take their choice away.

Transcript

Below is a rush transcript that may contain errors

GLENN: This story just caught my eye. This morning, just breaking that the French far right leader, Marine Le Pen has been barred for running for president in 2027 after a court found her guilty of a vast system of embezzlement of European parliament funds, banned her for running for public office with immediate effect.

Now, that seems pretty convenient, doesn't it? Really convenient.

STU: Really convenient. Luckily, all the people that were going to be running against her, where she was the actual favorite, they now don't have to worry about that because of her crimes!

GLENN: Yeah. But it had nothing to do with that. It was all crimes. It was all crimes.

STU: No, it's just incredibly convenient for them. You would think, it's really hard to win against a particular -- it's like, I don't know if you know this, the Super Bowl champions. Philadelphia Eagles. They ran the Super Bowl this past year.

And now they're trying to ban the play, that they do better than every other year.

It's kind of like that! It's kind of like, hey. What if we stop them from doing something they're doing at? What if we stop the candidates that are running against, and accuse them of crimes. Then throw them out. So we don't have to run against them.

GLENN: Now, wait a minute, to be fair. With France, Nicolas Sarkozy was convicted in 2021 of corruption and influence peddling. Remember that? Yeah. Yeah. He could still run, however.

STU: He can. He's not a threat though at all to win again.

GLENN: No. No, no, no. The former Prime Minister in 2017, presidential candidate was convicted in 2020.

This is Francois Feldman, he was convicted in 2020 of embezzlement and creating fake jobs for his wife.

STU: Did he get banned from --

GLENN: Well, he was five years. Three years suspended. But yeah. He could still run.

He could still run. He could still run. But not Le Pen. She somehow or another is different.

You know, this is serious crimes. Even though, the other two were serious crimes as well.
But she can't -- she can't run.

So we've got that. Well, it seems to be happening a lot in Europe.

Where they just seem to be finding these crimes. Or they just have found some elections. They're like, you know what, we just don't think that's right. We don't think that's what the people really meant to do.

Let's overthrow that election!

You know, Stu. You know, I'm not a historian, but I am a thinker.

And it doesn't seem like these things ever work out well. Yeah.

I mean, I don't have to go back to Nazi Germany. Which I could. Where they threw Adolf Hitler into the clinic.

Which made him a hero. I mean, I could go there, but I don't have to.

Did anybody notice the election of Donald Trump?

STU: Hmm. When did that happen?

Is that recent?

GLENN: I'm not sure. I'm not sure.

But I think there was some funny business there. Where they were trying to throw him in jail and trying --

STU: You know why that doesn't work?

I honestly believe this.

Is because the people get pissed off that you're trying to make the decision for them. It has nothing to do with whether the person who got thrown in jail or threatened to be thrown in jail is a good he person.

I don't know if Marine Le Pen is a good person or whether she should be president of France. No rooting interest. I heard her Dad was pretty bad. But I don't know. Who knows.

GLENN: Not French. Don't really care.

STU: Not French. Don't really care, and not following all that closely.

But the French people get annoyed by that, I think.

At least I know the American people do.

GLENN: I think all people do.

STU: I think so too.

GLENN: The number one I put on the list on don't do this too.

Germans. I don't know why I think that. You know, let's not have them, you know, recently. What you know they're doing now?

They've decided, you know what, we need to build an army. Okay.

I mean, let's not piss the people off, while they're building an army. What do you say? What do you say?

STU: Yes.

GLENN: It will be a bad thing.

STU: It will be a double-edged sword on building the army thing.

GLENN: What happens is you're exactly right. It galvanizes people. Because they no longer trust the system. They're like, what the hell? Why are you taking my choice away?

STU: Yeah, don't take it away. Let me make the choice. I think the American people, certainly, and I think the French people probably say. I can look at these allegations.

I can look at what's going on here. And make the decision myself.

People, by the way, did that. With all the allegations against Donald Trump. And they said, you know what, I don't see anything here. Right?

They were just like, no. I don't think this is going to happen. We're going to make this instigation. We talked about it all the time.

The largest jury in the world was just around the corner. There was no reason to try to throw them prison. Let the American people decide whether what they think, whatever he did with Stormy Daniels was big enough for him not to be president. They made a decision.

GLENN: No, no, no. We know better. Well, we don't know better. The judges know better.

The judges always know better. You know, they did this Erewhon. Does anybody remember?

Aren't they like a spooky state now, with Erewhon? Isn't he somebody that we should keep our eye on?

What happened? I think he either recited a poem, or published a poem deemed to be anti-secular. That's against the Constitution. So he was imprisoned. And what happened?

Because he was anti-secular in a largely Muslim country, everybody was like, he's my man.

The ban was lifted on him. And he became, you know, the Prime Minister again. And look at what happened.

Look at turkey now. Friendly nation. I don't think so.

Good news, it's in NATO. So something happens with them. We need to send our boys to protect them.

That's -- good news.

This is not going to work out well.

I mean, they just keep -- they just keep poking and poking and poking the bear.

Have you seen. Did you see what happened in Sweden this weekend. With all of the protests.

All of the things going on. It's becoming an Islamic state.

The whole place is becoming an Islamic state.

Look at what happened in England alone.

They're what, ten years away? Just from birthrates. Ten years away of being the -- the major population? Twenty years.

And that's if everybody stays cool. And wait a minute. How come you're throwing all of the people standing up going, hey. I don't have a problem with Islam.

I do have a problem with -- you know, they're banning -- not machetes. The -- the Japanese knives. Sword. Yeah. Samurai sword.

Why?

People are being beheaded. Why?

I don't know. I mean, it's just a -- it's not going to -- again, I just -- France, I know insular speak your language.

STU: You do, I have heard you.

You have done that before.

GLENN: Yeah. You wake up now, huh.

STU: That's perfect French.

GLENN: You should probably wake up. Because hmm. I'm just saying. I'm just saying.

Oh, by the way, there's another story out today, that is in our show prep, that is kind of reminiscent of this.

You know, the -- the judge that is -- is banning, you know, Trump from doing everything he wants to do.

STU: He was the judge that wanted the Venezuela flights to turn around midair. Mid-flight.

GLENN: Yeah. Boasberg.

Okay. I don't know. I mean, you know, he has been instrumental in a lot of things.

For instance, he was the guy who was like, you know, what do you mean?

What do you mean the FBI lawyer, Kevin Clinesmith? Falsified information to get the -- to get the FBI wiretap going for Donald Trump.

Sure, he -- yeah. Okay.

So what?

He falsified information. What's the big deal then?

So he's the guy that let him off without any prison time for falsing information without a FISA court.

Not a problem.

I mean, this is just. It's comical.

It's absolutely comical.

He also is the guy who happened to hear the case of Ray Epps. And was like, oh, well. No.

He didn't do anything wrong.

You have him on tape. Saying, you know what, you should riot. You should go in there, and storm the Capitol.

He didn't mean that! He's the guy that let Ray Epps off the hook.

I don't know. I don't know. Maybe -- maybe we should talk about impeaching.

You can't do that! Yes, you can. Yeah, that's what's in the Constitution. Why is it that Justice Roberts, and all of these politicians just don't want to use things that are actually in the Constitution?

Well, it's never been done before. Yeah. You know what, I've never used the life vest on an airplane as a flotation device.

It doesn't mean if we're in the water, we shouldn't try it. Oh, you've -- we've never done this before. This has never been done before.

Well, wait. We've never been in the ocean. Floating around, needing a flotation device. I don't know.

Maybe that's an emergency thing that you use. That's why impeachment is there for the justices, in case things go badly!

STU: And the Founders actually thought it was going to be more useful and more common.

GLENN: Yes!

STU: They didn't see it as -- that's what it's turned into with the president, unless you could be Donald Trump. Which is a weekly occurrence.

When it's supposed to be -- it wasn't always supposed to be only this gigantic thing that happened every 15 years. It's something that was utilized a little bit more than it was.

GLENN: They thought people would be like, I don't know, that one was really bad, maybe we should get rid of that guy. Instead, we were passive.

We were, no. That's not so bad.

And in some ways, that's good.

In others, if you live that way, you then are in such bad trouble. By the time you pull that out, that it is an emergency crash landing.

It is the little wait, I have to blow into this little red hoes. And blow it up myself. Okay. This doesn't sound like it will keep me up above water.

But okay.

That's what those things are there for.

And I don't know, I think we should start. This guy, Boasberg.

Ray Epps.

All I need to say.

Ray Epps. Let me show you the video.

Here he is. Hey, everybody. You should go into the Capitol.

Get him. And nothing?

Because of that judge?

Hmm. Hmm. I can't wait until he has to hear a case on somebody with a burning up of a Tesla. Or rioting in the streets. Or beating up an old lady.

I'll bet. I'll bet he has examples there up his sleeve. Where he says, that really doesn't count. That doesn't count.

But I would love to weigh in on Marine Le Pen. I say, if she ever comes here, we execute her!

Okay. Judge. Thank you.

Kirk Cameron’s Solution to Woke Kids’ Shows

While Disney, PBS, and other “child-friendly” networks are introducing kids to gender ideology, Kirk Cameron has decided to return to the days of “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood.” Kirk joins Glenn to discuss his new children’s show, “Iggy and Mr. Kirk”, which he believes could be “the most important project I have ever done.” The show, he says, teaches kids about God, “the sacredness of all life,” our true identity, and other important lessons.

You can watch Kirk Cameron’s new kids’ show at https://BravePlus.com

Transcript

Below is a rush transcript that may contain errors

GLENN: Let me -- let me take you next to our next guest. Good friend of the program. Just overall great guy. Kirk Cameron is on with us. Actor, producer. He is with Brave books.

And it's now Braveplus.com, and they launched something yesterday, that he was on this program, talking about. Oh, jeez. I don't even know. Six months ago, maybe.

And he was talking about Iggy and Mr. Kirk, which is kind of a Mr. Rogers for modern day.

And it talks about the basic principles. It teaches us -- to our little kids. Self-control. Honesty.

Putting others first. Et cetera, et cetera.

All the things that Mr. Rogers did. Welcome, Kirk Cameron. How are you?

KIRK: Glenn, it's so good to talk to you this morning. Thanks for having me on. We're so excited.

GLENN: Yeah, you bet.

KIRK: Iggy has landed, and kids all over America are so excited. And I'm doing my best to honor Mr. Rogers with this new kids TV show.

GLENN: I meant to look this up, before you came on. Do you know how old Mr. Rogers was, when he started? Compared to your age now. I don't either.

KIRK: I don't.

GLENN: But he had years and years. Stu, look that up for me, will you?

He had years and years in front of kids, raising kids. And became just this beloved figure.

And I remember, I mean, he started, you know -- I don't know. I don't even know, if he was around when I was a kid. I'm sure it was when it was all black and white.

The early stuff. You know, I only found Mr. Rogers when I was older. And I'm like, wow!

This is weird. Because now, in looking back, you know, nobody was that nice.

Nobody was -- now you suspect people that are that nice. And so sweet.

But that guy was truly an amazing hero. A godly, godly man.

And really a respected guy, by everybody.

STU: He was 40 by, by the way, Glenn.

GLENN: He was forty. How are you, Kirk?

KIRK: I'm 54.

GLENN: Fifty-four. So he was 40 years old when he started this, and to step into kind of a little bit of his shoes must be a little intimidating.

KIRK: It is.

And in this show for kids, we're teaching clear moral lessons like he did. Like forgiveness. Lessons on telling the truth. Lessons on overcoming your fears. We are even diving into cultural and political issues.

We're teaching children about the dangers of socialism. And about the sanctity of life. We're even having an episode, number four, on identity.

And Mr. Rogers doesn't really need to talk about some of those things. Back in his day.

Today, we have Disney's Snow White, and we've got Nickelodeon and other shows that are introducing stuff, like nonbinary Big Bird.

And we have all sorts of crazy stuff, that kids are trying to wrestle with. So we need to address these issues in a way that is safe for kids.
That parents trust. And that also ignites those little imaginations for the good, and imparts virtue and faith. And that's what we're doing.

GLENN: We're pumping so much garbage into our system. I've heard you talk about, it's like food, but it's true!

We're pumping garbage food into us, and expecting our bodies to work.

We're putting garbage drugs into our bodies, and thinking it's going to work out well.

And garbage into our minds. And it -- it's not going to work out well, unless we turn this corner!

KIRK: Yeah. That's right.

And I'm actually really thankful for all of the -- the weird, woke, and twisted things, that have come down.

Because in a sense, it's the wake-up call we've needed.

And now parents are leaning in. They're waked up. They're speaking up.

And there's an opportunity, with so many things going on politically in the country with Trump and DOGE and all these other things.

Where all of a sudden, these governments. Top-down institutions are now going to be drained to a degree, and there's a need for parents and communities and churches to work at the grassroots level to provide better alternatives.

So I think the timing of this is perfect.

I'm so excited. It could be the most important project I've done.

And it's available everywhere. For everyone to see. Kids and grandkids.

And you want to nourish their hearts and minds. When they're in the middle of Korean time.

Just check out Iggy, Mr. Kirk. And it's on Brave+.

The app on your TV, or BravePlus.com.

GLENN: And it's not the only thing. Don't you have like strawberry Shortcake? I'm trying to look. You had a bunch of stuff. Strawberry Shortcake. Bob the Builder is on there as well. So it's all these great character-building shows?

KIRK: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, that's right. That's what's really cool about Brave Plus. We're not waiting for Disney to pick up the clues on and figure out this is the stuff that parents actually want and can trust.

They've created our own streaming platform. And really high standards. So if it's overstimulating, that's as bad for your kids as processed foods. If it's not underlining good morals, traditional American and godly values, it doesn't make the cut. But there are over 50 shows on there, and you can watch the first three episodes of my new show, Iggy and Mr. Kirk, for free. If you want to watch the rest, we've got a whole season complete, along with 50 other shows, like you said. Bob the Builder.

Strawberry Shortcake. Madeleine. So many great shows there. That are safe, without a second thought. And your kids are going to love them.

GLENN: So let's -- can we just go through?

Because I really want parents or grandparents that have little kids, to understand what you're doing because this is so important.

We have to rebuild education from the ground up. And entertainment. And entertainment that you can actually feel comfortable in leaving the room for five minutes.

And you're not -- your kids are going to be coming back and speaking a language that you're like, wait a minute. You're confused in your own body.

What?

So can we just go over the first couple of episodes. First one is injured bird. The lesson there is?

KIRK: Yeah. This is injured bird, this is all about the sacredness of life. All life. Including unborn life. And Iggy is -- is essentially really upset at this bird that see snuck into his treehouse. And is stealing all of his worms. He wants to go fishing, and the bird is stealing his bait.

What he doesn't know, is that this is a mama girl, who is collecting worms because the little chicks in her eggs, in the nest, are about to hatch.

And he learns, that these little lives, inside these eggs are precious. And he has to learn to take care of them.

But then the episode continues on, to value disabled life and elderly life. And so it's way whole show, about the sanctity of all life.

GLENN: What an appropriate first episode.

KIRK: Yeah.

GLENN: So good. So good.

KIRK: Yeah. Yeah. And then episode number four is dealing with identity. And in the middle of it, Mr. Kirk. That's the Mr. Rogers character, reads to Iggy, the little adorable green iguana, a book called Elephants Are Not Birds.

And this is a show about identity. Where Culture, the vulture, tries to deceive Iggy into thinking, if he were somebody else, if he was someone other than what God made him to be. He would be -- he would be liked and loved more by his family and friends.

And so we have this whole show, helping Iggy to discover, that God made him just the way he is. And that when he embraces who he is, then he can fulfill the purpose they can't be God has given him.

GLENN: Have you heard of -- have you seen any of the research on this. Or talked to any of the viewers.

And discovered something that you didn't know was going to be a benefit of this. Or something that you were surprised by. And you were like, oh, my gosh.

I'm so glad. I didn't even think of that. But I'm so glad that this is happening with the audience?

KIRK: Well, you know, more and more data is coming out, that is showing that children's brains are negatively impacted by most of the children's programming coming out.

Because at the end of the day. Just like junk food is designed to be cheap.

And addictive.

And most children's shows are the same way.

Kids are staring like zombies at the screen, because they've been designed to addict them.

Through non-diegetic sounds, that are put in a post-production. This is not part of the world they're actually looking at, with flashing lights and jump cuts every two to three seconds. It's a literal brain hack on your kids, to keep them glued to the screen. And they say, nine minutes of that has measurable negative impact on their pockets and development.

And so we're going back the opposite way. Back to Mr. Rogers. Where we take our time.

And we lean into relationships. And develop trust.

And impart virtue the old-fashioned way.

GLENN: How difficult was that, to do?

Because, you know, everybody in the media, they didn't start out, well, some of them probably did.

They didn't start with nefarious purposes.

They were just like, we've got to get these kids to watch the show.

How are we going to do it?

And now to go to the opposite and say, we don't want to use any of those tricks.

That had to be a little scary.

KIRK: Yeah. It was.

But Glenn, you're a guy who says, no. My bottom line is I want to do the right thing by God and by my family.

I want to love people. I want to champion what's good and true and beautiful. At the end of the day, that's why I love working with Brave books.

That's really their bottom line. They don't want to go bankrupt. They want to make money. More than that. This is an eye doctor, who dropped that business to become the CEO of a book publishing company, and now, a whole media company. Because she's got kids, and nobody else is doing it!

So that's -- that's why we're doing it the way we're doing it.

Yeah, it's scary.

But at the end of the day, I have to answer for everything that I'm a part of.

GLENN: Kirk, I am -- I'm so proud, to be your friend, and to see what you guys are doing. And what Brave is doing.

I just think there's nothing more important than -- than beginning the journey, that is going to be a very long journey and generational journey. But beginning the journey right now, to put things back in order.

It is -- it's the most important thing anybody can do.

And especially well anything on education.

And I -- I know you know this, but anything I can do. Whatever I have, is yours.

You just tell me how we can help.

Because you're doing -- you're doing God's work. And you are helping save the -- you're helping save not just the country. Civilization. You're helping save civilization, so thank you.

KIRK: Well, you're so kind. You always put wind in my sails. Anything we've built.

And you're an inspiration to so many of us.

So, Glenn, thank you very much.

God bless you. And keep up the great work.

GLENN: I want you to go to Braveplus.com. That's Braveplus.com. If you have children, grandchildren, you know somebody that is -- you know, has young children.

This is so important, and it will help your kids take all -- we have to stop with the Sesame Street stuff. We have to. We have to.

The stuff that is being taught now to our kids so early. Is absolute poison.

And it's not what we grew up with.

You can look at all these things and say, well, but I was fine.

It's a different world now.

It's a totally different world.

And these are not the Jim Henson lessons that we used to get as kids.

And I am -- I am not against progress.

I am very progressive in the right ways.

I believe in the future.

I believe in making new things, and cutting edge. And everything else.

But we cannot disregard all of the things that have worked, for centuries!

The truth works!

And Kirk is doing Yeoman's job here, along with Brave. So go to braveplus.com. You can see the first three episodes free, but share it with all your friends. BravePlus.com. BravePlus.com.

Rachel Zegler's Political Stance Costs Disney Millions

A producer for “Snow White” recently reprimanded the film’s star, Rachel Zegler, for mixing the film’s promotion with leftist activism. Her decision to trash the original “Snow White” film and focus on politics over publicity will likely cost Disney millions of dollars. But doesn’t she have the right to speak freely? Glenn explains why this is yet another example of a narcissistic generation that believes their careers should be handed to them. It’s not about free speech when she’s being paid millions to promote Disney’s movie. Glenn also reads the fiery comments of the producer’s son, who summarized the whole situation perfectly.

Transcript

Below is a rush transcript that may contain errors

GLENN: But the problem with our society, can be found with Snow White, and what's going on with Snow White. We have too many people that don't know what it's like to actually work.

They -- they don't know what merit is. Because they get paid whether they succeed or not.

You know, they were talking about SNAP, and yesterday, we shared the information about SNAP and sugary cereals, and everything else, that shouldn't be a part of SNAP. Well, they should be able to buy whatever they want. No. Not on our dime. How is that? How is that? This really comes from Benjamin Franklin, he believes the best way to get people out of the circle of poverty is to make them uncomfortable in their poverty. Meaning, you know, you don't get what you want.

You know, you get what you need. And there's a difference between needs and wants.

And if we give people what they need, people want more than that.

Well, they'll learn that they have to change their behavior. Maybe their behavior is self-destructive.

Maybe their behavior is just pure laziness. Maybe it's a lack of education.

But we can find those solutions together, if you're not getting what you want. You're only getting what you need.

You know, it was Edward Bernays that said, you know, the problem with America is: We've got a problem of needs. We need to turn this around, to a country of wants. He, by the way, was the father of American propaganda. He's the guy whose books all taught Goebbels how to make germ my into an all-new place. He is the author of modern advertising.

We've got to just change this from a nation of needs to a nation of wants. No. We need to do the exact opposite now.

We need to make our nation, a nation of needs, again.

And that -- that one even understands needs. So the producer of Snow White, Marc Platt, the son -- sorry, the sone of the producer, Marc Platt has just gone on X, and hmm. Defended -- defended his family's name, and the father.

So one commenter wrote in his Instagram and tried to flip the switch here, and flip the narrative. Apparently, his dad had to fly to New York City, to reprimand what's-her-face? The woman who played Snow White. What's-her-face?

Rachel Ziegler. Had to reprimand. Because when they went on tour for publicity, she starts in with all of her political nonsense, and that wasn't helping Disney. It wasn't helping the movie.

You know, hey, Snow white.

Yeah. Let me tell you about Palestine and Israel. And how bad Israel is.

And how bad Trump is!

Okay. That's not going to help sell the movie. You've just divided the country in half. So you've lost half of the revenue, we could have had.

Because you pissed off half of the country.

Now, this is what exactly -- what would be said to me.

You know, I go in, and I say, hey. I would want to work at NBC.

First of all, it would never happen. Because I wouldn't want to work at NBC. But two, they would never hire me.

If it was a serious consideration.

You know why they wouldn't hire me?

If everyone was being honest.

The same reason why they wouldn't hire anybody from the View. Or Rosie O'Donnell.

Because I'm a polarizing figure. Because I speak about politics.

So I lose half the audience.

When you're in mass media. When you're making movies.

You don't want to lose half the audience.

You want to get everybody into a seat.

You're there not only to make a beautiful, arc film.

You're also there to put butts in the seats, to make money for the company or yourself.

So he has to go across the country, and say, hey. Can you top?

Can you please stop talking about your pro-Palestinian views and anti-Trump comments and, you know, how -- how this film was just creepy in the 1930s? Can you stop? This is a beloved film.

So somebody goes on Twitter and says to Jonah Platt, son of the producer, your Dad flew to New York City to reprimand a young actress. Any word on this? Because that's creepy as hell. And uncalled for. People have the right to free speech, shame on your father.

Oh, my gosh. I'm not the son of the producer. And I want to respond to that. But the son of the producer did respond.

Here's what he said: You really want to do this? Yeah. My Dad, the producer of an enormous piece of Disney IP with hundreds of millions of dollars on the line, had to leave his family to fly across the country to reprimand a 20-year-old employee, for dragging her personal politics into the middle of promotion for a movie.

Which she signed a multi-million-dollar contract for, to get paid and do publicity for.

This is what you call adult responsibility and accountability. And her actions clearly hurt the film's box office. Free speech does not mean you're allowed to say whatever you want in your private employment without repercussions.

Tens of thousands of people worked on that film, and she hijacked the conversation for her own immature desires, at the risk of all of the colleagues and crew, and the blue-collar workers who depends on that movie to be successful. Narcissism is not something to be coddled or encouraged.

I don't think I could have said it better. I would have said it meaner, perhaps. I don't think I could have said that better.

This is -- this is how narcissistic -- how narcissistic our society has become.

It's all about me.

It has nothing to do with the blue-collar workers that are depending on that movie to be successful.

Has nothing to do with the thousands of people, the tens of thousands of people, that worked on that movie.

No. It's all about her!

And what she believes. And what she wants.

You know, when I first went into Fox.

I turned Fox down, probably three or four times.

Stu, how many times it they offer that job? And I kept saying no.

STU: It was several.

GLENN: Several. And Roger Ailes finally called me into the Murdoch lunchroom, and I went over to meet with him.

And he sat there with a bunch of executives. And he said, what is it about our number one status?

And the money that I'm offering you, that is much more than I think you're making now.

What is it that just doesn't interest you?

And I said, Roger, I know your business.

I know it!

You don't know anything about my business.

And until you know and care about my business.

I can't do business with you. Because I have two masters I would be serving. My business, my career, and yours. And I know your business. So I know the lines that I cannot cross. This is not my company. So if you say, Glenn, you're not to do that. I need to evaluate before I go into business with you.

Am I willing to play by your rules?

Because I can't get on to your platform, and then have you say, Glenn.

And then break those, that would harm your company.

Because I am being paid as an employee by you. Now, that doesn't mean that we will agree on everything.

But I'm not going to do harm to your company. And I need you to tell you, you're not going to do harm to my company.

So that was the beginning of the conversation of going into business with Fox.

And -- and I -- I have prided that any company that I've ever done business with. That I was a good partner.

They weren't necessarily good partners of mine. Most of them have been great partners.

But I've tried to do the right thing, in looking at their company.

Because they have hired me.

Okay. Why is that any different, than these actresses, that just believe they have free speech?

You don't have free speech without consequence.

You can say whatever you want.

But she was on the Disney dime. She's being flown to New York City. To have interviews, that were set up by Disney about Snow White. It was -- she was there, being paid to promote the Disney movie.

Not her propaganda. Not her belief. I wouldn't have the right to sit there. I would have said -- if they would have asked me, and they would have. They would have tried to goad me into something. I would say, it's not the time or place. I'm here to talk about Snow White. I'm not hear to talk about Donald Trump. I'm not here to talk about Israel or Hamas.

That's what I would have done.

And if you don't believe me, well, then you haven't listened to me long enough.

I know what my responsibility is. And if I'm going to make that deal and get into business with somebody, I know the difference of when I'm on their dime and when I'm not on their dime.

Now, I want to leave that, and hold my own press conference.

I think it's unfair to do. Because you are still promoting that movie. So if you do it, at the same time you're in promotion, you're going to sabotage your partner Disney. And that's not right. But if I felt strongly about it. I would get off of the tour, after I finished the tour, and I would say something then, in my own space and my own time.

And I would make it clear. This has nothing to do with Disney.

It has nothing to do with the movie. The movie is completely separate.

Now, if somebody wants to make it about the movie. That's fine. That's their thing.

But I'm not on the company dime.

That's how freedom of speech works. You have freedom of speech. But if you're being -- if you're on somebody else's dime, you have the responsibility to respect their wishes and respect what they're asking you to do.

What you do in your own home. Fine.

However, Disney would have the right, and they wouldn't have, because they agree with her on everything.

Oh, men are just disgusting. Especially white men.

They're all there with you.

So they will not let you go!

They let Roseanne go.

Sure. But not her!

Even though, this is a massive flop, they didn't let her go. They just had the producer fly out and say, can you shut the pie hole for a minute?

You're killing us. You're killing the movie.

You're killing everybody who worked on this movie.

You're killing Disney. What you are doing?

If this woman gets another acting job in a movie?

It will tell you everything you need to know about Hollywood.

There's no way this woman should be hired for anything ever again.

One of the bigger box office bombs, the reason why it was a bomb.

Is because she was just completely irresponsible.

Now, how do we teach our children this responsibility?

We teach our children this responsibility, by not allowing them to become narcissistic.

You know what, sweetheart. Life isn't fair.

And it's not always about you. Once we start looking and gazing at our own image on social media all the time. And we begin to believe that we're the most important thing ever, the whole thing goes to the crapper!

We have to put narcissism back into the ugly place, that it has always been. And understand that we are a narcissistic society.

And that needs to change.

Debating SNAP Benefits: Should Soda be Allowed?

There’s a big debate brewing: Should people be allowed to buy sugary snacks, like soda, using SNAP benefits? Glenn and Stu look at how our founders, like Benjamin Franklin, looked at poverty and social welfare. Is it a problem that the number one item purchased with SNAP benefits is soda? Should our tax dollars only help the poor buy the basics, like meat and bread?

Transcript

Below is a rush transcript that may contain errors

GLENN: I don't know. I mean, I don't want to turn anybody into Jeff Bezos.

But you might want to back off the sugar if you're on Snap. Oh, that's the word we're getting. No sugary treats, if you're on Snap.

And, you know, I'm torn.

If you are somebody who have got kids and you are struggling, you're not living off of the government. You're struggling.

I mean, it would be nice to have something. You know, an Oreo, to be able to have for dessert, or something.

But the argument is, and I agree with it, this is not good for you. We're going to cause more problems, if we're giving these really high sugary, high fructose corn syrup stuff to the people who can't necessarily afford the medical care and the medical treatment, and take care of yourself.

That's adding. That's just adding stupidity on stupidity.

But Stu and I are big fans of Benjamin Franklin. And how he looked at poverty.

STU: Yeah. Here it is.

I am for doing good for the poor.

But I think the best way of doing good for the poor. Is not making them easy in poverty.

But by leading or driving them out of it.

I observed, that the more public provisions were made to the poor, the less they provided for themselves. And, of course, became poorer.

On the contrary, the less that was done for them. The more they did for themselves. And became richer.

I'm a big believer in that philosophy.

GLENN: Me too. Me too. Me too.

STU: And I'm kind of like this with almost all government programs.

They should not give you some utopian life.

They should be something that you hate.

You should despise the fact that you have to stay on these rams.

And you should always desire to get off of them as soon as possible.

And this goes, when it comes to the snap benefits discussion. I don't -- it's not -- for me at least.

It's not about whether it's healthy or not.

I do -- you have a big place in my heart for your argument on -- that it's going to lead to a bunch of health expenses later on in life.

I think it's a real consideration.

It's not really that for me.

It shouldn't be things, that are like luxury items.

You shouldn't get a luxury item. Oreos, as much as I love them. And they feel like, it's part of my day-to-day necessity to live.

GLENN: Oh, it's the left hand side of my food pyramid. All the way to the top or the bottom, it's the left-hand side of that pyramid.

STU: Some would say, maybe not the best decision. But I'm with you on that. That should not mean, that the government provides those things for you. Like, I am like, I would rather go back to like government cheese.

They're delivering government cheese.

Government milk. They produce it.

It sucks! You hate it. You never want to eat it. That's what I want.

Do I want like -- if you are going to have a program like this.

The idea is to not make it a lifestyle. It might be something to get people through a really difficult situation. By the way, that is temporary.

It's supposed to be temporary.

A temporary situation, where you're struggling, and you help end meat.

But that means, you're alive! That doesn't mean, you're having the latest Mountain Dew flavor.

That's not what it -- you know the number one thing, purchased with Snap benefits is soda.

And I am the biggest soda advocate you will ever find. I constantly --

GLENN: Oh, yeah. You're 98 percent soda.

STU: I am. If anything, there was a story about conservative influencers perhaps getting payments to post in -- on behalf of big soda.

Which was really frustrating, and awful.

Because I didn't get an offer.

Like, I should be the number one --

GLENN: I know. I'm a little upset about that too.

STU: Where is my soda cash? I want it. You can pay me directly in aspartame. I'm fine with it. Deliver bags of aspartame to my front door.

GLENN: Honey, why is there a truckload of aspartame?

STU: Hold on, I need to post on X. So I -- from that perspective. Like I think there's a big hole here for considering what we do with these programs, and how we consider the relationship with the government and people who are on them.

People who are on these programs. Should desire to get off of them.

We shouldn't be. They used to have food stamps. Then they made the cards.

One of the talks. It's kind of embarrassing for these people who go and use them. Look, I'm not looking to shame people. You shouldn't have shame for going through a tough period.

But it also shouldn't be something where you're like, this is great. Hold on. Let me pay for all the food I have. So then I can use the extra money for liquor. Or I can use the extra money for an i Phone.

Or whatever else.

These should be desperation programs. The government, if it will provide these services at all.

Should be providing them to people who are desperately in need to get over a hump that is temporary. That should be the design of these programs.

GLENN: So do you know the history of that phrase, from Benjamin Franklin? Do you know what that's about?

STU: I think so. He was in Europe, right?

GLENN: He was in England. Yeah. He was traveling in England.

And somebody said, you know, you just -- you hate the poor. Because you don't. And he's like, no, no, no. I don't. I don't.

I'm watching what you're doing.

And everything that you're doing is making the situation worse for them. They're getting poorer and poorer and more reliant on you.

We found, you know, the churches should do it.

STU: Yeah.

GLENN: And you shouldn't just give it out. We should make people uncomfortable in their poverty, so they want to get out.

STU: Uh-huh.

GLENN: You know, if you read Noah Gerald Harari. Anyway, that guy.

STU: Geraldo. Yes. If you read Geraldo's book, yeah.

GLENN: You read Harari's book, and he talks about, what are we going to do to this useless population?

Well, there's your first problem.

STU: Yeah.

GLENN: Okay. If you're looking at people as useless. Then you do have to do something with them.

But who is making them useless?

Our school system is making them useless.

They cannot read. They can't reason.

They can't think.

They can't do mathematics.

And then on top of it. You know, the elites are controlling all of our tech.

And it's going to get worse and worse and worse.

I mean, Stu. Tell the story about homework last night with your son.

STU: Oh, yeah.

So we had baseball. By the way, Zach two for two with the triple. So we get back from the game, and it's late. And he's been -- from the moment we left school, it was baseball all the way. And it's like 9:15. 9:30. He's done with the shower. He's beat. He's -- you have to run for a triple at that speed. That will do you.

So he has the homework. And he has math homework. He's in some advanced math class. Where he's now looking at -- he's to the level now in seventh grade, where he is beyond what I can actually remember and do easily.

You know, he's like, can I help me with this.

GLENN: I remember that hit me with my kids in first grade.

STU: It's some advanced graphing formula.

And I'm like, I sort of remember seeing something like this 30 years ago.

It's beyond my level.

GLENN: Right.

STU: So when these things happen.

I've been using. Like ChatGPT.

Or Grok, or whatever. To kind of reteach it to me in a brief lesson. So I can talk him through it.

It's really helpful like that. Don't let your kids get access to it.

GLENN: Right.

STU: Right.

So what I usually do, is I'll be like, hey, help me understand this and explain it to a seventh grader. And it gives you like a little outline of, like, okay. Here's a formula. This is how this works.

Then it kind of comes back to you. It's like a language you maybe learned a long time ago.

When you get kind of a couple of words, it starts piecing back together in your mind. So it's been really helpful.

But last night, I'm tired. He's tired. It's late. And I am like, I just -- even after I did that exercise, could not really remember how to do whatever he was attempting.

And so I was like, well, let me just try to type it out. And have -- graph the thing for me. Maybe it will set me up. I do that, I type in the question he's got on his paper. It does the homework and graphs it up for me. And I'm like, wow, that's amazing. But still, I'm at the point, my brain is not working, I cannot get there.

Then I wind up taking a picture of his actual question, just a picture of it. Input it into the AI, and it reads the question. It then explains it to a seventh grader step by step. And then answers it, at the bottom.

And so I have him, I'm like, you read this.

I'm legitimately not getting this. I read this. He reads the step by step. You know, how to understand what's going on. What each thing means.

And, oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.

This is easy.

Before he gets to the answer.

GLENN: You gave him the answer?

STU: I didn't give him the answer.

It was at the bottom. So I made sure to not get to the --

GLENN: All right. You just know, it's my son. He's never going to read all the way to the end.

STU: I think what you want to do.

Correct me if I'm wrong, Glenn. Because you're the AI expert here. What I should have done is say, don't give the answer at the end.

GLENN: Well, you could have, cut it off for you. So you could have it, and check his work.

STU: That's what wound up happening.
It's fascinating. And then I started thinking, I'm super restrictive on phones.
My kid doesn't have one.

Every single thing is locked down. They can't even log into their devices, where they're coming to me and make me type in or give my fingerprint to get in. I'm obsessive about this. I've read Jonathan Haidt's book.

GLENN: That is terrifying, by the way.

STU: The Anxious Generation, read it. Hopefully before they turn of the age where you might be considering giving them a phone.

GLENN: I wish I would have read that. I wish it would have been printed before I did. Because I gave my kids a phone when they got into high school.

Because the school said, they have to have one.

STU: And that's late.

You already did a great job of -- of --

GLENN: Oh, we just.

STU: It's so hard.

GLENN: I'm sure every parent feels like this.

You just feel like a failure.

Because everything is so overwhelming.

And you never dealt with any of this stuff.

It's not like our parents -- I mean, kids hadn't changed that much.

Life hadn't changed that much from the '60s to the '80s. It's totally different now.

You just feel like a bad parent at times.

STU: We were at dinner with some of his friends after baseball.

Five kids at the table. Four of them are on phones, at the table. My son is the only one without one. I'm sure this is going to lead to all positive things in the future.

GLENN: Oh, it will. It will.

STU: I do believe it will, for him. He will have some tough times.

My point there though, is that I'm obsessive about this. I lock all that stuff down as much as I can. It's still difficult.

Most of the parents I know, are like, they're going to get it anyway.

I can't sit here and obsess about freaking screen time all day.

So, you know, they're good kids.

Look, I -- I don't know -- was I a good kid? I don't know. But I will tell you, if I had access to that, I would be taking a photo of every single one of my questions and having ChatGPT or whatever answer them.

Filling it all in.

Getting on with my life. When I went to play video games.

And we're seeing it now. There was an instructor, who teaches a college course.

Been teaching it for years and years and years.

He said, all of my students seem brilliant all of a sudden. And it's funny because none of them come for help after school and office hours. None of them ever ask any questions in class. They all get incredible grades, and until we have an in-room exam! And then they all do worse, than everybody else.

From the previous years.

And he's like, what's happening?

Is -- ChatGPT. I think it's a coding thing. Their -- ChatGPT is doing all the coding for them, or AI or Grok or Gemini. Or whatever.

And they're not learning it. They don't have any of the process. They don't know how to answer the questions.

They don't know how to think through the problems. What -- what does that lead to?

GLENN: Stu, do you remember when I had Ray Kurzweil? 2008, 2009.

And he said, that this was coming.

And I said, Ray, that's going to make us incredibly lazy.

He said, no. It will give you time to think about other things.

And I thought, okay. You don't know who humans are.

I use it that way. I know people who do use it that way.

It's enhanced what they do.

And I said, oh, my gosh.

I can create so much more.

Most people are not like that. That's the spirit of the entrepreneur that is like that.

That's the discoverer in some people.

Most people are like, I just want to get by.

I just want to get by.

And I just want to do my thing for a few hours every day, just be left alone. Those are the ones that are going to be left way behind. Because they will use it to complete their work.

And not to help them learn or think.