Chief Surgeon Confirms Fart Fire Exists: 'I Lit a Fart Through a Midline Incision'

November 04, 2016

Writer

In one of the more pressing news stories of the day, reports surfaced that a woman undergoing laser surgery actually caused a fire by farting. Naturally, the investigative team at The Glenn Beck Program jumped into action.

"It's not every day that you get a story on a fart fire," Glenn reported. "I want to hear from doctors, because I believe it can."

As luck would have it, Dr. MacDowell, a chief surgeon from Nashville, Tennessee, called in to lend his expert opinion.

"Would you say that fartology is in your realm of business? You've been around some sort of fartologist?" Glenn asked.

"Definitely, I have. I consider myself an expert on it, in fact," Dr. MacDowell said.

Dr. MacDowell went on to confirm that, under the right conditions, a patient's gas can absolutely spark a fire.

Read below or watch the clip for answers to these explosive questions:

• Under what conditions did Dr. MacDowell light a fart?

• Does Al Gore need to get involved in this methane gas problem?

• Among Glenn and his co-hosts, who has lit their own farts?

• Is Jeffy correct about why doctors wear masks?

• Why does Dr. MacDowell say the U.S. has the best medical system in the world?

Below is a rush transcript of this segment, it might contain errors:

GLENN: All right. I think we have to start with the fart fire. I mean, you don't -- it's not every day that you get a story on a fart fire.

PAT: I don't even think this can happen.

GLENN: I want to here from doctors. Because I believe it can.

PAT: Do you really?

GLENN: Yes.

All right. Some -- a woman, where was she?

JEFFY: Japan.

GLENN: She's having laser surgery on her butt.

PAT: Well, her cervix.

GLENN: All right. So she's having -- it wasn't colon surgery?

PAT: No.

JEFFY: No.

GLENN: Well then I don't know if this can happen.

PAT: That's what I'm saying.

JEFFY: What?

GLENN: So, anyway, so she's having laser surgery. And they got the lasers fired up, and she passes gas.

JEFFY: Right.

GLENN: And the laser hits the gas, ignites a fire.

JEFFY: Right.

GLENN: And it sets --

PAT: Of the -- of the, you know, bed she's laying on, ignite and burns her on the lower torso of her body.

JEFFY: She gets burned.

PAT: Her fart didn't cause a laser fire. Come on.

JEFFY: First of all, it couldn't -- I will say -- I believe that it's possible. But it's not the first time that people have passed gas during surgery, right? I mean, that's why doctors wear masks.

GLENN: Yeah. No, that's not why doctors --

JEFFY: They wear the mask so they don't smell the gas.

GLENN: No, it's not for gas. It's really not.

PAT: It's not.

JEFFY: Why else would you --

GLENN: For germs. But it's a good guess on your part. But it's germs.

JEFFY: Okay. All right. If you say so.

PAT: We need to stop the methane gas releases in order to save the planet. It's the SUVs and the farting during surgery that is causing catastrophic damage to the planet.

(chuckling)

GLENN: I mean, so there was a fart fire in the --

JEFFY: Yes.

PAT: I want to hear from doctors whether that's even possible.

GLENN: Of course, it is. People can light their own farts on fire.

STU: No, they can't.

PAT: Not with a laser.

GLENN: You don't know what kind of --

STU: So, Pat, I want to make sure I understand your nuanced position here: You're saying that the issue with this is not that you can't light farts on fire, it's that you can't light farts on fire with a laser.

PAT: Yeah, with a laser.

STU: You can do it with a lighter?

PAT: Yes, you can. Obviously. Were you ever a teenager? Come on.

JEFFY: Haven't you see the YouTube video? Come on.

STU: I don't click on those typically.

PAT: Okay.

JEFFY: Yeah, neither do I. Neither do I.

GLENN: Lori, do you have fart fire on your screen right now? Do you have a YouTube up of a fart fire?

LORI: No.

GLENN: No, you don't? All right. Could you get one?

PAT: She's lying. You know she's lying.

GLENN: Lori who writes for GlennBeck.com is in here. And I'm surprised she didn't have the fart fire up on there, a YouTube video of that, immediately.

STU: So you're saying you can't light farts on fire?

GLENN: Oh.

PAT: No question about it. That's a proven fact.

JEFFY: That's a fact.

PAT: That's a proven fact.

GLENN: Okay. Right here. World fart fire. There it is. Look at that. Look at that.

Now, watch. Look at that.

PAT: Okay.

GLENN: That is a --

JEFFY: Yeah, that -- guys have had their hair burned down their backside for years.

PAT: That's sick. That's sick.

STU: I suppose my question then is why wouldn't you believe that a laser during surgery --

GLENN: That's what I don't understand.

PAT: Just --

GLENN: Of course, this happened.

PAT: I don't think that's possible.

GLENN: Why?

PAT: Because it would have happened a thousand times by now --

STU: Maybe it has.

PAT: And not just in Japan. It would have happened all over the world, and we would have heard about it before now.

GLENN: Maybe -- maybe her gas was a little extra --

JEFFY: Yeah. And it was perfectly timed with the time that the laser came on.

PAT: 877-727-BECK. I got to hear from the audience on this.

GLENN: On fart fires.

PAT: Yes.

GLENN: I don't mean to be crude. But seriously, what if her fart was a little more liquidy.

PAT: Ick.

GLENN: That would cause it to go on the sheet and be like a gas fire.

PAT: Ugh.

STU: What do you mean you didn't mean for it to be crude? You absolutely --

GLENN: How else do you explain that?

STU: You don't explain it -- that's how you --

GLENN: Okay. Then I'll just be quiet. Then I -- you're trying to shut down my freedom of speech.

PAT: I wish he would have, yes.

GLENN: I am trying to have a real -- a serious explanation on how it could catch the sheets on fire.

STU: I have not -- I have not passed a congressional law limiting what you're saying. You should just stop saying it.

GLENN: Boycott.

STU: Not a First Amendment.

GLENN: Next it's a boycott.

STU: It's not.

(laughter)

PAT: I would say that would make it less likely. I would think it would have to be more, you know, gaseous.

GLENN: Gaseous?

PAT: Uh-huh. Do we have a doctor?

JEFFY: Yes, we do.

PAT: All right.

GLENN: Dr. McDowell. Doctor. Doctor.

CALLER: Hello.

GLENN: You refer to me -- when I say doctor, you say doctor.

CALLER: I am -- I am a doctor.

GLENN: Well, so am I a doctor.

CALLER: Is this Glenn?

GLENN: Yes, this isn't Glenn. This is Dr. Beck. It's professional courtesy, man. Doctor.

CALLER: I have no idea.

PAT: He doesn't understand how this works. When Glenn addresses you as doctor, you address him back as doctor.

GLENN: Let's try this again, if you are indeed a real doctor who doesn't know the etiquette of addressing a doctor. Doctor.

CALLER: Doctor.

GLENN: Yes! Yes. There you go.

JEFFY: Thank you.

PAT: It wasn't delivered great, but okay.

GLENN: But we'll take it. We'll take.

Okay. So Dr. McDowell. You are a doctor of?

CALLER: Surgery. I'm a surgeon from Nashville, Tennessee.

PAT: You've worked with lasers?

GLENN: Would you say that fartology is in your realm of business? You've been around some sort of fartologist?

CALLER: Definitely I have. I consider myself an expert on it, in fact.

PAT: All right.

GLENN: Excellent. Do you work with lasers?

CALLER: You know, I think "lasers" is a misnomer in our line of work. We really don't use lasers much. I don't really know what they were doing with a laser around an anus. That really doesn't make a lot of sense to me.

(laughter)

I mean, I don't use a lot of lasers around --

PAT: That's one of the best phrases that's ever been uttered on this show. I don't know what they were doing with lasers around an anus.

CALLER: Right. But so -- but the truth is, it very much can happen. And I was telling your screener about a story that happened to me a few years ago. I was a resident. This was probably ten or 15 years ago at Vanderbilt. And I was on trauma call. And a gentleman came in on a Sunday morning with a history that he had been out at a bar on Saturday night here in Nashville and had gotten into a fight and been stabbed in his abdomen. And went home and passed out. And woke up the next morning, and his belly just felt awful. And so he showed up at our emergency department. And we evaluated him and found that he had some unknown injury to his bowels. And so that -- that's a straightforward indication to take him to the operating room and explore his abdomen.

JEFFY: Oh.

CALLER: And so I had him in the operating room, and I had opened up his abdomen. And I had an electric artery, which is -- can cause a spark. And as soon as I entered his abdominal cavity, a blue flame shot out of his wound. It was the craziest thing. And what had happened was is he had been stabbed and had an injury to his colon, and the methane from his colon had leaked out into his peritoneal cavity and had built up over night.

PAT: Ick.

CALLER: And literally, I lit a fart through his midline incision. It was crazy.

(laughter)

PAT: That's what I'm saying. That needs to stop.

CALLER: So, yes, it can happen. And there were no lasers involved. And it really can happen.

PAT: Wow. It can happen. Wow.

JEFFY: So, Doctor, are you going to deny that that's the reason you wear masks in surgery?

CALLER: Well, there's lots of reasons that we wear masks. It's not like that those masks can control the odor if you enter, you know, some untoward organ. It can --

GLENN: Is there ever --

CALLER: You mainly wear masks for your own -- to make sure that you don't pass your -- your germs on to the patient. So that's the reason why you wear masks.

JEFFY: Whatever.

GLENN: Jeffy.

Thank you, Doctor. Doctor. Oh, my gosh, this guy is not a --

CALLER: Doctor.

PAT: There you go.

GLENN: Thank you.

Doctor, let me ask you this, has there ever been a time that you open somebody up or you were treating somebody and you thought, "You know what, they never told us about this in medical school. And why the hell am I doing this job?"

CALLER: It happens to me almost weekly, Glenn. I mean, you know, there are just some days where I'm like, "God, why didn't I go to law school. Jeez." But it's --

JEFFY: That's amazing.

CALLER: But the truth is, a lot is said about American medicine in these days. And I think that -- I'm the chief of surgery of my hospital in Nashville. And I have a great deal of faith in what we do. I think our technology is great. The training that our physicians is great. And I think that we have the best medical system in the world. I just hope that we can maintain it.

GLENN: Me too.

CALLER: With the next administration, whoever that may be. I'm praying for one particular candidate. So...

GLENN: I'm praying for all of them.

(laughter)

CALLER: Good.

GLENN: Thank you very much, Doctor.

CALLER: Whatever is needed.

GLENN: Appreciate it. God bless you.

That's nice.

PAT: It's interesting. So it can happen.

JEFFY: There you go.

STU: Wow, there you go. It's a real story.

PAT: It can happen.

GLENN: I can't believe you didn't believe.

PAT: I did not believe.

GLENN: You saw the evidence on YouTube.

PAT: It's amazing. Well, I knew that could happen. But the laser thing --

STU: I honestly did not even know that could happen. It felt like one of those urban myths that you would say when you were a kid because you thought it was funny, to light your farts on fire. And then it would actually -- if you tried to do it, it wouldn't actually happen.

GLENN: See, I have to tell you, I don't know why I knew that was not a myth because I had never met anybody, nor had I tried to light farts on fire.

JEFFY: Please. We're supposed to believe that. Everyone has.

GLENN: I have not.

PAT: You personally have firsthand knowledge of it, don't you?

GLENN: I have never tried to light --

JEFFY: Everyone has burned some hair between --

GLENN: No, I haven't.

JEFFY: Jeez.

GLENN: And I don't know anybody who has, Jeffy, until right now.

PAT: You know somebody. You know somebody.

STU: We, as a national talk show, don't typically take requests, but on Twitter @worldofStu, and someone mentions this. And I think is needs to happen. Tell Pat to say anus like Al Gore.

(laughter)

STU: What was the sentence again?

GLENN: I don't know what that laser around the anus...

PAT: I don't know why they had a laser around an anus.

(laughter)

STU: It's a great point.

GLENN: It really is.

STU: Not enough people have made it.

GLENN: And only from a chief of surgery.

STU: What a weird show.

Featured Image: U.S. Air Force surgeons repair the ruptured achilles tendon of a service member. (Photo Credit: Wiki Commons)

'Rage against the dying of the light': Charlie Kirk lived that mandate

PHILL MAGAKOE / Contributor | Getty Images

Kirk’s tragic death challenges us to rise above fear and anger, to rebuild bridges where others build walls, and to fight for the America he believed in.

I’ve only felt this weight once before. It was 2001, just as my radio show was about to begin. The World Trade Center fell, and I was called to speak immediately. I spent the day and night by my bedside, praying for words that could meet the moment.

Yesterday, I found myself in the same position. September 11, 2025. The assassination of Charlie Kirk. A friend. A warrior for truth.

Out of this tragedy, the tyrant dies, but the martyr’s influence begins.

Moments like this make words feel inadequate. Yet sometimes, words from another time speak directly to our own. In 1947, Dylan Thomas, watching his father slip toward death, penned lines that now resonate far beyond his own grief:

Do not go gentle into that good night. / Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Thomas was pleading for his father to resist the impending darkness of death. But those words have become a mandate for all of us: Do not surrender. Do not bow to shadows. Even when the battle feels unwinnable.

Charlie Kirk lived that mandate. He knew the cost of speaking unpopular truths. He knew the fury of those who sought to silence him. And yet he pressed on. In his life, he embodied a defiance rooted not in anger, but in principle.

Picking up his torch

Washington, Jefferson, Adams — our history was started by men who raged against an empire, knowing the gallows might await. Lincoln raged against slavery. Martin Luther King Jr. raged against segregation. Every generation faces a call to resist surrender.

It is our turn. Charlie’s violent death feels like a knockout punch. Yet if his life meant anything, it means this: Silence in the face of darkness is not an option.

He did not go gently. He spoke. He challenged. He stood. And now, the mantle falls to us. To me. To you. To every American.

We cannot drift into the shadows. We cannot sit quietly while freedom fades. This is our moment to rage — not with hatred, not with vengeance, but with courage. Rage against lies, against apathy, against the despair that tells us to do nothing. Because there is always something you can do.

Even small acts — defiance, faith, kindness — are light in the darkness. Reaching out to those who mourn. Speaking truth in a world drowning in deceit. These are the flames that hold back the night. Charlie carried that torch. He laid it down yesterday. It is ours to pick up.

The light may dim, but it always does before dawn. Commit today: I will not sleep as freedom fades. I will not retreat as darkness encroaches. I will not be silent as evil forces claim dominion. I have no king but Christ. And I know whom I serve, as did Charlie.

Two turning points, decades apart

On Wednesday, the world changed again. Two tragedies, separated by decades, bound by the same question: Who are we? Is this worth saving? What kind of people will we choose to be?

Imagine a world where more of us choose to be peacemakers. Not passive, not silent, but builders of bridges where others erect walls. Respect and listening transform even the bitterest of foes. Charlie Kirk embodied this principle.

He did not strike the weak; he challenged the powerful. He reached across divides of politics, culture, and faith. He changed hearts. He sparked healing. And healing is what our nation needs.

At the center of all this is one truth: Every person is a child of God, deserving of dignity. Change will not happen in Washington or on social media. It begins at home, where loneliness and isolation threaten our souls. Family is the antidote. Imperfect, yes — but still the strongest source of stability and meaning.

Mark Wilson / Staff | Getty Images

Forgiveness, fidelity, faithfulness, and honor are not dusty words. They are the foundation of civilization. Strong families produce strong citizens. And today, Charlie’s family mourns. They must become our family too. We must stand as guardians of his legacy, shining examples of the courage he lived by.

A time for courage

I knew Charlie. I know how he would want us to respond: Multiply his courage. Out of this tragedy, the tyrant dies, but the martyr’s influence begins. Out of darkness, great and glorious things will sprout — but we must be worthy of them.

Charlie Kirk lived defiantly. He stood in truth. He changed the world. And now, his torch is in our hands. Rage, not in violence, but in unwavering pursuit of truth and goodness. Rage against the dying of the light.

This article originally appeared on TheBlaze.com.

Glenn Beck resurrects the 9-12 Project to support Charlie Kirk's family

Glenn Beck is once again calling on his loyal listeners and viewers to come together and channel the same unity and purpose that defined the historic 9-12 Project. That movement, born in the wake of national challenges, brought millions together to revive core values of faith, hope, and charity.

Glenn created the original 9-12 Project in early 2009 to bring Americans back to where they were in the wake of the 9/11 attacks. In those moments, we weren't Democrats and Republicans, conservative or liberal, Red States or Blue States, we were united as one, as America. The original 9-12 Project aimed to root America back in the founding principles of this country that united us during those darkest of days.

This new initiative draws directly from that legacy, focusing on supporting the family of Charlie Kirk in these dark days following his tragic murder.

The revival of the 9-12 Project aims to secure the long-term well-being of Charlie Kirk's wife and children. All donations will go straight to meeting their immediate and future needs. If the family deems the funds surplus to their requirements, Charlie's wife has the option to redirect them toward the vital work of Turning Point USA.

This campaign is more than just financial support—it's a profound gesture of appreciation for Kirk's tireless dedication to the cause of liberty. It embodies the unbreakable bond of our community, proving that when we stand united, we can make a real difference.
Glenn Beck invites you to join this effort. Show your solidarity by donating today and honoring Charlie Kirk and his family in this meaningful way.

You can learn more about the 9-12 Project and donate HERE

The dangerous lie: Rights as government privileges, not God-given

Bloomberg / Contributor | Getty Images

When politicians claim that rights flow from the state, they pave the way for tyranny.

Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) recently delivered a lecture that should alarm every American. During a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing, he argued that believing rights come from a Creator rather than government is the same belief held by Iran’s theocratic regime.

Kaine claimed that the principles underpinning Iran’s dictatorship — the same regime that persecutes Sunnis, Jews, Christians, and other minorities — are also the principles enshrined in our Declaration of Independence.

In America, rights belong to the individual. In Iran, rights serve the state.

That claim exposes either a profound misunderstanding or a reckless indifference to America’s founding. Rights do not come from government. They never did. They come from the Creator, as the Declaration of Independence proclaims without qualification. Jefferson didn’t hedge. Rights are unalienable — built into every human being.

This foundation stands worlds apart from Iran. Its leaders invoke God but grant rights only through clerical interpretation. Freedom of speech, property, religion, and even life itself depend on obedience to the ruling clerics. Step outside their dictates, and those so-called rights vanish.

This is not a trivial difference. It is the essence of liberty versus tyranny. In America, rights belong to the individual. The government’s role is to secure them, not define them. In Iran, rights serve the state. They empower rulers, not the people.

From Muhammad to Marx

The same confusion applies to Marxist regimes. The Soviet Union’s constitutions promised citizens rights — work, health care, education, freedom of speech — but always with fine print. If you spoke out against the party, those rights evaporated. If you practiced religion openly, you were charged with treason. Property and voting were allowed as long as they were filtered and controlled by the state — and could be revoked at any moment. Rights were conditional, granted through obedience.

Kaine seems to be advocating a similar approach — whether consciously or not. By claiming that natural rights are somehow comparable to sharia law, he ignores the critical distinction between inherent rights and conditional privileges. He dismisses the very principle that made America a beacon of freedom.

Jefferson and the founders understood this clearly. “We are endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable rights,” they wrote. No government, no cleric, no king can revoke them. They exist by virtue of humanity itself. The government exists to protect them, not ration them.

This is not a theological quibble. It is the entire basis of our government. Confuse the source of rights, and tyranny hides behind piety or ideology. The people are disempowered. Clerics, bureaucrats, or politicians become arbiters of what rights citizens may enjoy.

John Greim / Contributor | Getty Images

Gifts from God, not the state

Kaine’s statement reflects either a profound ignorance of this principle or an ideological bias that favors state power over individual liberty. Either way, Americans must recognize the danger. Understanding the origin of rights is not academic — it is the difference between freedom and submission, between the American experiment and theocratic or totalitarian rule.

Rights are not gifts from the state. They are gifts from God, secured by reason, protected by law, and defended by the people. Every American must understand this. Because when rights come from government instead of the Creator, freedom disappears.

This article originally appeared on TheBlaze.com.

POLL: Is America’s next generation trading freedom for equity?

NurPhoto / Contributor | Getty Images

A recent poll conducted by Justin Haskins, a long-time friend of the show, has uncovered alarming trends among young Americans aged 18-39, revealing a generation grappling with deep frustrations over economic hardships, housing affordability, and a perceived rigged system that favors the wealthy, corporations, and older generations. While nearly half of these likely voters approve of President Trump, seeing him as an anti-establishment figure, over 70% support nationalizing major industries, such as healthcare, energy, and big tech, to promote "equity." Shockingly, 53% want a democratic socialist to win the 2028 presidential election, including a third of Trump voters and conservatives in this age group. Many cite skyrocketing housing costs, unfair taxation on the middle class, and a sense of being "stuck" or in crisis as driving forces, with 62% believing the economy is tilted against them and 55% backing laws to confiscate "excess wealth" like second homes or luxury items to help first-time buyers.

This blend of Trump support and socialist leanings suggests a volatile mix: admiration for disruptors who challenge the status quo, coupled with a desire for radical redistribution to address personal struggles. Yet, it raises profound questions about the roots of this discontent—Is it a failure of education on history's lessons about socialism's failures? Media indoctrination? Or genuine systemic barriers? And what does it portend for the nation’s trajectory—greater division, a shift toward authoritarian policies, or an opportunity for renewal through timeless values like hard work and individual responsibility?

Glenn wants to know what YOU think: Where do Gen Z's socialist sympathies come from? What does it mean for the future of America? Make your voice heard in the poll below:

Do you believe the Gen Z support for socialism comes from perceived economic frustrations like unaffordable housing and a rigged system favoring the wealthy and corporations?

Do you believe the Gen Z support for socialism, including many Trump supporters, is due to a lack of education about the historical failures of socialist systems?

Do you think that these poll results indicate a growing generational divide that could lead to more political instability and authoritarian tendencies in America's future?

Do you think that this poll implies that America's long-term stability relies on older generations teaching Gen Z and younger to prioritize self-reliance, free-market ideals, and personal accountability?

Glenn's Show Prep

Chief Surgeon Confirms Fart Fire Exists: 'I Lit a Fart Through a Midline Incision'

'Rage against the dying of the light': Charlie Kirk lived that mandate

Kirk’s tragic death challenges us to rise above fear and anger, to rebuild bridges where others build walls, and to fight for the America he believed in.

Out of this tragedy, the tyrant dies, but the martyr’s influence begins.

Picking up his torch

Two turning points, decades apart

A time for courage

Glenn Beck resurrects the 9-12 Project to support Charlie Kirk's family

The dangerous lie: Rights as government privileges, not God-given

When politicians claim that rights flow from the state, they pave the way for tyranny.

In America, rights belong to the individual. In Iran, rights serve the state.

From Muhammad to Marx

Gifts from God, not the state

POLL: Is America’s next generation trading freedom for equity?

Do you believe the Gen Z support for socialism comes from perceived economic frustrations like unaffordable housing and a rigged system favoring the wealthy and corporations?

Do you believe the Gen Z support for socialism, including many Trump supporters, is due to a lack of education about the historical failures of socialist systems?

Do you think that these poll results indicate a growing generational divide that could lead to more political instability and authoritarian tendencies in America's future?

Do you think that this poll implies that America's long-term stability relies on older generations teaching Gen Z and younger to prioritize self-reliance, free-market ideals, and personal accountability?

Do you think the Gen Z support for Trump is an opportunity for conservatives to win them over with anti-establishment reforms that preserve liberty?