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Glenn's Show Prep

Glenn speaks to Brandon Stewart of the Millennial Choir

August 23, 2013
Wilson

Writer

Earlier this year, Glenn, Pat, and their families attended a performance of the Millennial Choir and Orchestra led by Brett and Brandon Stewart and were absolutely blown away by what they saw.

“This is the most amazing thing I've heard. They are better than the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. We were riveted the entire night,” Glenn said of the group on radio this morning. “Now, here's the amazing thing. This was an entirely volunteer orchestra and choir, and it starts ages 4 and up. It is the best experience you've ever heard… They're from California and Arizona. I'm thinking all the way through, I'm thinking, oh, my gosh. If they lived in Dallas, if they worked in Dallas, I'd do quarterly shows with them. My mind is just racing. And I'm thinking, I've got to go backstage and beg these guys to move to Dallas. Well, at the end of the concert they say, ‘And we have an announcement. We're going to be starting a new choir in Dallas.’ You've got to be kidding.”

Glenn got a chance to go backstage and meet the brothers, who are both Julliard graduates, after the show, and with the organization now expanding to Dallas, it sounds like we can expect to see some pretty exciting collaborations in the future. Auditions for the Dallas area will be held in the coming weeks and all information can be found at Millennial.org.

This morning, Glenn spoke to the Millennial Choir's conductor Brandon Stewart about the history of the choir and orchestra, the standards he and his brother seek to maintain, and the process of composing a new American classic.

Read a transcript of the interview below:

GLENN: And I wanted to bring Brandon, Brandon Stewart. He is the conductor of the Millennial choir. It is all faiths, all ages, and it is volunteer and they are having tryouts in four different states, Brandon; is that right? They start next week?

BRANDON STEWART: Yeah, that's right.

GLENN: Okay. Happening next week near Los Angeles, California; in Phoenix; in Provo, Utah; and Dallas, Texas. And you can bring your whole family. I was just meeting with a guy and he was watching last night. This morning, Robert, he was there, his whole family, and he's wildly talented. And he said, man, he said, I know my daughter, she's too young, but she wants to. And I said, Robert, your whole family ‑‑ first of all, she's not too young, and your whole family could join and you could make this a family kind of thing. But let me just ask you, Brandon. You have standards, and they are different than the world's traditional standards for volunteers. For instance, give me ‑‑ go in your code of conduct. What is that?

BRANDON STEWART: The code of conduct for our singers, it sounds kind of scary that it's called code of conduct, but really it's just a way for us to encourage our participants to have upstanding values and to represent themselves in decent ways ‑‑ in a decent way as they represent Millennial choirs and orchestras. We want this to be something that is a positive impact in the community and so we ask them to be decent people. And then in addition to that, our code of conduct requires that they are committing to the rehearsals and they are going to work hard and basically do what we encourage them to do musically so that we can be, you know, one cohesive unit as a musical organization.

GLENN: Brandon, how do you do ‑‑ because I went and I saw you in Phoenix because you're actually working on Man in the Moon 2, and I want to talk a little bit about that if we ‑‑ if we have time. How do you ‑‑ how do you get teenagers? Because I watched you rehearse teenagers, and they were on the edge of the seat as they are rehearsing. There wasn't any fooling around, there wasn't any ‑‑ I mean, it was discipline city and it was amazing to watch. I don't mean it was discipline city like it was a, you know, torture chamber. You didn't have to discipline. They self‑disciplined. How do you ‑‑

BRANDON STEWART: That's right. That's right. They ‑‑ these kids, first of all, are just awesome. The teenagers are one of the most fun groups that we have to work with. I think that the formula there is that we have a mutual respect for one another, and we have a lot of fun when it's time to have fun. And when it's time to really work and crank down, we do that. I think that they love the music because we hand‑select music for all of our choirs and orchestras that is exciting, that's motivating, that's challenging and ‑‑

GLENN: Really challenging.

BRANDON STEWART: That praises God. They have a reverence for what they're singing about, which I think is unique, especially today.

GLENN: Give me the qualifications and if anybody is interested in any of those cities. Give me the qualifications of what you're looking for and what they ‑‑ should they expect at a tryout.

BRANDON STEWART: Absolutely. First of all, our motto is all ages, all faiths, one voice. And you mentioned that earlier. But we welcome people of all different walks of life from the community and pretty much all ages. I mean, it starts at age 4 and goes up.

GLENN: Hang on. You have atheists in the orchestra, if I'm not mistaken, right? You have people who don't believe in God?

BRANDON STEWART: We do. We have all kinds.

GLENN: So ‑‑

BRANDON STEWART: All different types. So...

GLENN: You don't have to go to a church or anything like that. You can ‑‑

PAT: But you ostracize them, right? You ostracize the atheists?

GLENN: Well, they were sitting in the atheist section, yeah.

PAT: They're shunned.

GLENN: Yeah.

BRANDON STEWART: I mean ‑‑

GLENN: They're forced to ‑‑

BRANDON STEWART: You know, we'll sing about God and so if it's an atheist who's comfortable singing about God, then they are more than welcome to come. So...

GLENN: Right. Right.

BRANDON STEWART: But the auditions are for the adults only. The children and youth do not have to audition. They just register online at millennial.org. And the adults need to have some sort of musical experience or musical background or at least be able to sing.

GLENN: Okay. So Brandon, I sang all through high school, but I haven't ‑‑ I haven't sung except at church since. That's enough?

BRANDON STEWART: Yeah, I think you'd be surprised at how many people fit that description that are in our choirs already.

GLENN: And so what do they have to ‑‑ do they have to prepare something for you, or what are you going to do when you get there?

BRANDON STEWART: Yeah, all the information is online and we have auditions coordinators that help them prepare. And really it's one of the shortest auditions of their life. And they will come in and sing a little bit or play a little bit and we'll ask them to play some things and prepare some excerpts from some music or just a hymn or whatever and then they will sing, we'll get to know them briefly and then we let them know. So it's very simple.

PAT: I can play Mary Had a Little Lamb on a touchtone phone. Is that something you're interested in?

GLENN: Don't take Pat. Don't take Pat.

PAT: Because I think I can bring that to the table for your choir.

GLENN: Don't take Pat. Brandon, why did you ‑‑ why did you guys start this?

BRANDON STEWART: It initially was not our plan to do this. We felt inspired to do it and we didn't quite know why other than the fact that we knew that something like this was needed in the area that we were at in California and so we started it. And then it just kind of went from there. There were people in different areas in the nation, and there still are people all over who are requesting this type of thing in their community. And I think that the reason it's so needed is because, like you said earlier, it's including all families and people of all different faiths and walks of life. And music speaks the universal language. It's unifying the community, and it's such a positive experience for these people.

GLENN: I will tell you that I ‑‑ and I've told you this, Brandon, but let me tell the audience. That I was sitting in that crowd and I listened, and as you played songs, I had so many feelings, but one of them was this needs to go all over the country. These have to pop up all over the country because of the bright, bright light that, it's an explosion of light. And I couldn't believe when you guys said that was exactly what you guys were trying to do. I just couldn't believe it. I know it to be true, and I know it to be right. The Stewart brothers came with me to New York a few weeks ago because they had been ‑‑ you had been trying to talk to your brother ‑‑ or talk your brother into writing something about America, a new American piece.

BRANDON STEWART: Yes.

GLENN: And for about at the same time as I had been walking around going, "There's got to be a new American piece," and the way you guys described it is exactly the way, what I was describing of what to avoid and that is "The Constitution is great! We the people..." and it would just be awful.

BRANDON STEWART: (Laughing.)

GLENN: And so I brought these guys into the library and started telling them stories about America and they are now setting a story for Man in the Moon called The Journey. They are setting this to music. And if you've ever wanted to be a part of some of the things that we do, and I think this one will be one for the history books. If you've ever wanted to be a part of this creative process, this is the way to do it because it will be this orchestra and this choir that helps us put this new piece, this American piece of music and the American story to music in the coming year. And we have only one piece of music that is if I understand, and it is phenomenal, just phenomenal. And I am proud to even know these guys. But if you want to ‑‑ if you want to try out and audition, again it's in Los Angeles, Phoenix, Provo, Dallas. It's Millennial ‑‑ is it just millennial.org?

BRANDON STEWART: Millennial.org, that's right.

GLENN: Millennial, so you also have to be a speller. You can't ‑‑ millennial.org. And when do they start? When do the tryouts start?

BRANDON STEWART: They start next week and in all four locations. All the dates are online on the calendar.

GLENN: Okay. Millennial.org. You will not be disappointed. And I ‑‑ we hope to be doing some ‑‑ many more things on television with the orchestra and we're working on something now called the performance that I think you're going to ‑‑ you'll just be ‑‑ you'll just love and want to be a part of. So please, if you have any talent, an instrument or music and your family, you can go as a single or you can go as a family and try out. Millennial.org. And I would recommend highly that if you're looking for some standards, some quality, and something that will uplift and do tremendous good that you can't even understand until you sit and listen to this choir, go there and be a part of this. Millennial.org. Brandon, thank you. We'll see you soon.

BRANDON STEWART: Thank you.

GLENN: You bet. Bye‑bye. Tremendous, tremendous people.

EXCLUSIVE: Tech Ethicist reveals 5 ways to control AI NOW

MANAURE QUINTERO / Contributor | Getty Images

By now, many of us are familiar with AI and its potential benefits and threats. However, unless you're a tech tycoon, it can feel like you have little influence over the future of artificial intelligence.

For years, Glenn has warned about the dangers of rapidly developing AI technologies that have taken the world by storm.

He acknowledges their significant benefits but emphasizes the need to establish proper boundaries and ethics now, while we still have control. But since most people aren’t Silicon Valley tech leaders making the decisions, how can they help keep AI in check?

Recently, Glenn interviewed Tristan Harris, a tech ethicist deeply concerned about the potential harm of unchecked AI, to discuss its societal implications. Harris highlighted a concerning new piece of legislation proposed by Texas Senator Ted Cruz. This legislation proposes a state-level moratorium on AI regulation, meaning only the federal government could regulate AI. Harris noted that there’s currently no Federal plan for regulating AI. Until the federal government establishes a plan, tech companies would have nearly free rein with their AI. And we all know how slowly the federal government moves.

This is where you come in. Tristan Harris shared with Glenn the top five actions you should urge your representatives to take regarding AI, including opposing the moratorium until a concrete plan is in place. Now is your chance to influence the future of AI. Contact your senator and congressman today and share these five crucial steps they must take to keep AI in check:

Ban engagement-optimized AI companions for kids

Create legislation that will prevent AI from being designed to maximize addiction, sexualization, flattery, and attachment disorders, and to protect young people’s mental health and ability to form real-life friendships.

Establish basic liability laws

Companies need to be held accountable when their products cause real-world harm.

Pass increased whistleblower protections

Protect concerned technologists working inside the AI labs from facing untenable pressures and threats that prevent them from warning the public when the AI rollout is unsafe or crosses dangerous red lines.

Prevent AI from having legal rights

Enact laws so AIs don’t have protected speech or have their own bank accounts, making sure our legal system works for human interests over AI interests.

Oppose the state moratorium on AI 

Call your congressman or Senator Cruz’s office, and demand they oppose the state moratorium on AI without a plan for how we will set guardrails for this technology.

Glenn: Only Trump dared to deliver on decades of empty promises

Tasos Katopodis / Stringer | Getty Images

The Islamic regime has been killing Americans since 1979. Now Trump’s response proves we’re no longer playing defense — we’re finally hitting back.

The United States has taken direct military action against Iran’s nuclear program. Whatever you think of the strike, it’s over. It’s happened. And now, we have to predict what happens next. I want to help you understand the gravity of this situation: what happened, what it means, and what might come next. To that end, we need to begin with a little history.

Since 1979, Iran has been at war with us — even if we refused to call it that.

We are either on the verge of a remarkable strategic victory or a devastating global escalation. Time will tell.

It began with the hostage crisis, when 66 Americans were seized and 52 were held for over a year by the radical Islamic regime. Four years later, 17 more Americans were murdered in the U.S. Embassy bombing in Beirut, followed by 241 Marines in the Beirut barracks bombing.

Then came the Khobar Towers bombing in 1996, which killed 19 more U.S. airmen. Iran had its fingerprints all over it.

In Iraq and Afghanistan, Iranian-backed proxies killed hundreds of American soldiers. From 2001 to 2020 in Afghanistan and 2003 to 2011 in Iraq, Iran supplied IEDs and tactical support.

The Iranians have plotted assassinations and kidnappings on U.S. soil — in 2011, 2021, and again in 2024 — and yet we’ve never really responded.

The precedent for U.S. retaliation has always been present, but no president has chosen to pull the trigger until this past weekend. President Donald Trump struck decisively. And what our military pulled off this weekend was nothing short of extraordinary.

Operation Midnight Hammer

The strike was reportedly called Operation Midnight Hammer. It involved as many as 175 U.S. aircraft, including 12 B-2 stealth bombers — out of just 19 in our entire arsenal. Those bombers are among the most complex machines in the world, and they were kept mission-ready by some of the finest mechanics on the planet.

USAF / Handout | Getty Images

To throw off Iranian radar and intelligence, some bombers flew west toward Guam — classic misdirection. The rest flew east, toward the real targets.

As the B-2s approached Iranian airspace, U.S. submarines launched dozens of Tomahawk missiles at Iran’s fortified nuclear facilities. Minutes later, the bombers dropped 14 MOPs — massive ordnance penetrators — each designed to drill deep into the earth and destroy underground bunkers. These bombs are the size of an F-16 and cost millions of dollars apiece. They are so accurate, I’ve been told they can hit the top of a soda can from 15,000 feet.

They were built for this mission — and we’ve been rehearsing this run for 15 years.

If the satellite imagery is accurate — and if what my sources tell me is true — the targeted nuclear sites were utterly destroyed. We’ll likely rely on the Israelis to confirm that on the ground.

This was a master class in strategy, execution, and deterrence. And it proved that only the United States could carry out a strike like this. I am very proud of our military, what we are capable of doing, and what we can accomplish.

What comes next

We don’t yet know how Iran will respond, but many of the possibilities are troubling. The Iranians could target U.S. forces across the Middle East. On Monday, Tehran launched 20 missiles at U.S. bases in Qatar, Syria, and Kuwait, to no effect. God forbid, they could also unleash Hezbollah or other terrorist proxies to strike here at home — and they just might.

Iran has also threatened to shut down the Strait of Hormuz — the artery through which nearly a fifth of the world’s oil flows. On Sunday, Iran’s parliament voted to begin the process. If the Supreme Council and the ayatollah give the go-ahead, we could see oil prices spike to $150 or even $200 a barrel.

That would be catastrophic.

The 2008 financial collapse was pushed over the edge when oil hit $130. Western economies — including ours — simply cannot sustain oil above $120 for long. If this conflict escalates and the Strait is closed, the global economy could unravel.

The strike also raises questions about regime stability. Will it spark an uprising, or will the Islamic regime respond with a brutal crackdown on dissidents?

Early signs aren’t hopeful. Reports suggest hundreds of arrests over the weekend and at least one dissident executed on charges of spying for Israel. The regime’s infamous morality police, the Gasht-e Ershad, are back on the streets. Every phone, every vehicle — monitored. The U.S. embassy in Qatar issued a shelter-in-place warning for Americans.

Russia and China both condemned the strike. On Monday, a senior Iranian official flew to Moscow to meet with Vladimir Putin. That meeting should alarm anyone paying attention. Their alliance continues to deepen — and that’s a serious concern.

Now we pray

We are either on the verge of a remarkable strategic victory or a devastating global escalation. Time will tell. But either way, President Trump didn’t start this. He inherited it — and he took decisive action.

The difference is, he did what they all said they would do. He didn’t send pallets of cash in the dead of night. He didn’t sign another failed treaty.

He acted. Now, we pray. For peace, for wisdom, and for the strength to meet whatever comes next.


This article originally appeared on TheBlaze.com.

Globalize the Intifada? Why Mamdani’s plan spells DOOM for America

Bloomberg / Contributor | Getty Images

If New Yorkers hand City Hall to Zohran Mamdani, they’re not voting for change. They’re opening the door to an alliance of socialism, Islamism, and chaos.

It only took 25 years for New York City to go from the resilient, flag-waving pride following the 9/11 attacks to a political fever dream. To quote Michael Malice, “I'm old enough to remember when New Yorkers endured 9/11 instead of voting for it.”

Malice is talking about Zohran Mamdani, a Democratic Socialist assemblyman from Queens now eyeing the mayor’s office. Mamdani, a 33-year-old state representative emerging from relative political obscurity, is now receiving substantial funding for his mayoral campaign from the Council on American-Islamic Relations.

CAIR has a long and concerning history, including being born out of the Muslim Brotherhood and named an unindicted co-conspirator in the Holy Land Foundation terror funding case. Why would the group have dropped $100,000 into a PAC backing Mamdani’s campaign?

Mamdani blends political Islam with Marxist economics — two ideologies that have left tens of millions dead in the 20th century alone.

Perhaps CAIR has a vested interest in Mamdani’s call to “globalize the intifada.” That’s not a call for peaceful protest. Intifada refers to historic uprisings of Muslims against what they call the “Israeli occupation of Palestine.” Suicide bombings and street violence are part of the playbook. So when Mamdani says he wants to “globalize” that, who exactly is the enemy in this global scenario? Because it sure sounds like he's saying America is the new Israel, and anyone who supports Western democracy is the new Zionist.

Mamdani tried to clean up his language by citing the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, which once used “intifada” in an Arabic-language article to describe the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. So now he’s comparing Palestinians to Jewish victims of the Nazis? If that doesn’t twist your stomach into knots, you’re not paying attention.

If you’re “globalizing” an intifada, and positioning Israel — and now America — as the Nazis, that’s not a cry for human rights. That’s a call for chaos and violence.

Rising Islamism

But hey, this is New York. Faculty members at Columbia University — where Mamdani’s own father once worked — signed a letter defending students who supported Hamas after October 7. They also contributed to Mamdani’s mayoral campaign. And his father? He blamed Ronald Reagan and the religious right for inspiring Islamic terrorism, as if the roots of 9/11 grew in Washington, not the caves of Tora Bora.

Bloomberg / Contributor | Getty Images

This isn’t about Islam as a faith. We should distinguish between Islam and Islamism. Islam is a religion followed peacefully by millions. Islamism is something entirely different — an ideology that seeks to merge mosque and state, impose Sharia law, and destroy secular liberal democracies from within. Islamism isn’t about prayer and fasting. It’s about power.

Criticizing Islamism is not Islamophobia. It is not an attack on peaceful Muslims. In fact, Muslims are often its first victims.

Islamism is misogynistic, theocratic, violent, and supremacist. It’s hostile to free speech, religious pluralism, gay rights, secularism — even to moderate Muslims. Yet somehow, the progressive left — the same left that claims to fight for feminism, LGBTQ rights, and free expression — finds itself defending candidates like Mamdani. You can’t make this stuff up.

Blending the worst ideologies

And if that weren’t enough, Mamdani also identifies as a Democratic Socialist. He blends political Islam with Marxist economics — two ideologies that have left tens of millions dead in the 20th century alone. But don’t worry, New York. I’m sure this time socialism will totally work. Just like it always didn’t.

If you’re a business owner, a parent, a person who’s saved anything, or just someone who values sanity: Get out. I’m serious. If Mamdani becomes mayor, as seems likely, then New York City will become a case study in what happens when you marry ideological extremism with political power. And it won’t be pretty.

This is about more than one mayoral race. It’s about the future of Western liberalism. It’s about drawing a bright line between faith and fanaticism, between healthy pluralism and authoritarian dogma.

Call out radicalism

We must call out political Islam the same way we call out white nationalism or any other supremacist ideology. When someone chants “globalize the intifada,” that should send a chill down your spine — whether you’re Jewish, Christian, Muslim, atheist, or anything in between.

The left may try to shame you into silence with words like “Islamophobia,” but the record is worn out. The grooves are shallow. The American people see what’s happening. And we’re not buying it.

This article originally appeared on TheBlaze.com.

Could China OWN our National Parks?

Jonathan Newton / Contributor | Getty Images

The left’s idea of stewardship involves bulldozing bison and barring access. Lee’s vision puts conservation back in the hands of the people.

The media wants you to believe that Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) is trying to bulldoze Yellowstone and turn national parks into strip malls — that he’s calling for a reckless fire sale of America’s natural beauty to line developers’ pockets. That narrative is dishonest. It’s fearmongering, and, by the way, it’s wrong.

Here’s what’s really happening.

Private stewardship works. It’s local. It’s accountable. It’s incentivized.

The federal government currently owns 640 million acres of land — nearly 28% of all land in the United States. To put that into perspective, that’s more territory than France, Germany, Poland, and the United Kingdom combined.

Most of this land is west of the Mississippi River. That’s not a coincidence. In the American West, federal ownership isn’t just a bureaucratic technicality — it’s a stranglehold. States are suffocated. Locals are treated as tenants. Opportunities are choked off.

Meanwhile, people living east of the Mississippi — in places like Kentucky, Georgia, or Pennsylvania — might not even realize how little land their own states truly control. But the same policies that are plaguing the West could come for them next.

Lee isn’t proposing to auction off Yellowstone or pave over Yosemite. He’s talking about 3 million acres — that’s less than half of 1% of the federal estate. And this land isn’t your family’s favorite hiking trail. It’s remote, hard to access, and often mismanaged.

Failed management

Why was it mismanaged in the first place? Because the federal government is a terrible landlord.

Consider Yellowstone again. It’s home to the last remaining herd of genetically pure American bison — animals that haven’t been crossbred with cattle. Ranchers, myself included, would love the chance to help restore these majestic creatures on private land. But the federal government won’t allow it.

So what do they do when the herd gets too big?

They kill them. Bulldoze them into mass graves. That’s not conservation. That’s bureaucratic malpractice.

And don’t even get me started on bald eagles — majestic symbols of American freedom and a federally protected endangered species, now regularly slaughtered by wind turbines. I have pictures of piles of dead bald eagles. Where’s the outrage?

Biden’s federal land-grab

Some argue that states can’t afford to manage this land themselves. But if the states can’t afford it, how can Washington? We’re $35 trillion in debt. Entitlements are strained, infrastructure is crumbling, and the Bureau of Land Management, Forest Service, and National Park Service are billions of dollars behind in basic maintenance. Roads, firebreaks, and trails are falling apart.

The Biden administration quietly embraced something called the “30 by 30” initiative, a plan to lock up 30% of all U.S. land and water under federal “conservation” by 2030. The real goal is 50% by 2050.

That entails half of the country being taken away from you, controlled not by the people who live there but by technocrats in D.C.

You think that won’t affect your ability to hunt, fish, graze cattle, or cut timber? Think again. It won’t be conservatives who stop you from building a cabin, raising cattle, or teaching your grandkids how to shoot a rifle. It’ll be the same radical environmentalists who treat land as sacred — unless it’s your truck, your deer stand, or your back yard.

Land as collateral

Moreover, the U.S. Treasury is considering putting federally owned land on the national balance sheet, listing your parks, forests, and hunting grounds as collateral.

What happens if America defaults on its debt?

David McNew / Stringer | Getty Images

Do you think our creditors won’t come calling? Imagine explaining to your kids that the lake you used to fish in is now under foreign ownership, that the forest you hunted in belongs to China.

This is not hypothetical. This is the logical conclusion of treating land like a piggy bank.

The American way

There’s a better way — and it’s the American way.

Let the people who live near the land steward it. Let ranchers, farmers, sportsmen, and local conservationists do what they’ve done for generations.

Did you know that 75% of America’s wetlands are on private land? Or that the most successful wildlife recoveries — whitetail deer, ducks, wild turkeys — didn’t come from Washington but from partnerships between private landowners and groups like Ducks Unlimited?

Private stewardship works. It’s local. It’s accountable. It’s incentivized. When you break it, you fix it. When you profit from the land, you protect it.

This is not about selling out. It’s about buying in — to freedom, to responsibility, to the principle of constitutional self-governance.

So when you hear the pundits cry foul over 3 million acres of federal land, remember: We don’t need Washington to protect our land. We need Washington to get out of the way.

Because this isn’t just about land. It’s about liberty. And once liberty is lost, it doesn’t come back easily.

This article originally appeared on TheBlaze.com.