NBC Covers North Korea for the Winter Olympics as If Everything’s Normal

North Korea is infamous for human rights abuses, and leader Kim Jong Un has been threatening the U.S. and other countries with nuclear war. So of course, NBC decided it was necessary to cover the hermit regime’s involvement in the upcoming Olympic Games.

NBC’s Lester Holt reported that he was treated “with respect” in North Korea and showed a ski slope where North Koreans seemed to be enjoying the winter day. On today’s show, Glenn and Stu couldn’t believe the upbeat coverage that North Korea gets when so many defectors have revealed to the world what’s really going on inside the country.

Watch the clip here and tell us your thoughts in the comment section below.

This article provided courtesy of TheBlaze.

GLENN: So NBC has been given rare access inside of North Korea. So we've got American news cameras finally able to show the truth about what life is like inside this -- this hermit kingdom. And, wow, look what they've exposed so far.

VOICE: This is the bunny slope at a very modern ski resort here in North Korea. We have been treated with respect here. So many impressions. One is that how colorful a city it is. You can see the building. So many hues of green and yellow and red. One of the early impressions I've had here is how hardy the North Korean people are.

GLENN: Wow. Wow. You got a modern ski resort.

STU: Wow.

GLENN: You have colorful buildings. And the people are hardy. Now, I'm hoping that NBC is going to go further, and that's -- they're only saying those things because they have a gun to their head. I mean, where is the journalism there?

You're the -- you know what, I am the only person from the West that's been allowed to -- to stand in front of these buildings. You know, you might want to mention that you're only allowed to go where your guards will allow you to go. You know, anything that might point out the -- the oppressive nature of the state, instead of regurgitating all of the state's narrative.

NBC, I don't even know what you're doing. I mean, why go on report on anything at all? If you can't tell the truth, why go there? At what point does your work become propaganda for a ruthless dictator?

Now, I'm -- I'm counting on NBC having some sort of a follow-up. But then, why would you go in the first place, because you'll never go again? I don't understand what you were trying to -- what you've traded for this rare access. Because you've traded your credibility. What did you get out of it? Doing a stand-up at North Korea had to sound cool, especially when the State Department just last week said, do not go to North Korea. And if you do, make sure your will and your estate is in order.

So I guess maybe it would be cool. But would we have done this before? I mean, if NBC was terrified of offending Kim Jong-un by doing their actual job? Why didn't they just stand Lester Holt in front of a green screen with some cool-looking B-roll and say, yep. This is the ski slope that was probably built by slaves.

Why not?

In 1944, there was a guy named Kurt Gerron. He was -- he was probably one of the most famous movie actors of Germany before the war. He was Jewish. And his story is long and intense. And we have -- we have covered it, on -- his story on TheBlaze TV. And if you get a chance, watch it. Download -- you know, watch it on demand now. The story of Kurt Gerron. It is truly remarkable. But here's a guy who, in the end, compromised and was commissioned by the Nazis to make a film, taking a concentration camp, and turning that concentration camp into a Jewish paradise.

And the movie is out. And you should watch it. You can watch it on YouTube. It's terrifying, when you know the truth. The movie is the furor gives the city to the Jews. And it showed the Jews laughing and playing and enjoying life. But when the cameras weren't rolling, they were all being tortured. They were murdered. In fact, everybody in that film was dead within a month in the ovens of Auschwitz, in the gas chambers of Auschwitz.

Every single person.

You don't go to the town of Auschwitz and say, you know, look at this beautiful little town. Look at how colorful it is, when you know that there are concentration camps down the street.

NBC News, you are dangerously close to Gerron's movie. Evil exists when good men do nothing. What did you get out of that, that you can show to the world, this is what this regime is like?

Showing the colorful buildings and the sturdiness and the stockiness of the people. My gosh, they're well-built, because they're so well-fed.

Showing their colorful buildings does nothing. Those buildings were built by slaves. Darkness reigns when people -- and especially the media fail to speak up.

(music)

STU: I think what you wanted to say was democracy dies in darkness.

GLENN: Maybe. Something like that. You should write that down.

STU: Yeah. Look, if there's a gun pointed to your head, I'll excuse your crappy reporting until you get home. But you're right, there needs to be some sort of follow-up on this.

GLENN: No. There needs to be a discrediting of this. And I don't see how that's a win for NBC.

STU: Yeah. What's the point of going over there? You know, it's hard to understand. Especially because it's kind of put into this context of the Olympics.

And, you know, we were just talking to Scott Hamilton, and he won a gold medal in Sarajevo, 1984, in the middle of the Cold War. You know, that same sort of tension seems to at least be discussed when they talk about North and South Korea right now, though they've had some bizarre coming together over the Olympics.

GLENN: Really bizarre. I don't know why.

STU: But to go over to North Korea and talk about their colorful buildings and their sturdy people.

GLENN: Do you remember the Cold War?

STU: Yeah, I mean, I obviously remember it ending in Rocky 4.

GLENN: Okay. That wasn't the point. But I remember during the Olympics -- and maybe this is foggy memory, or, you know, revisionism. I don't think it is.

I seem to remember, before we would go over -- if we would ever go to, you know, Sarajevo. If we would ever go to some place that was, you know, ruthless and we'd ever discuss the Soviet Union or any of those countries, it was always, always, this is a brutal place. We're only allowed to show you the things that we can show you. This is what they tell us. They tell us that these buildings, being so colorful, are, you know, one of the pride and joy of the people, who they also tell us are very stocky.

That is the way you can do that. When he says, I was really struck by the hardiness of the people -- the hardiness of the people?

STU: I don't know what that is.

GLENN: What the hell is that? And that is -- that sounds like something a propaganda minister would give you to infer that you are -- you're full. You're well-fed. You're hardy.

STU: Yeah, exactly. There are times in the report, where he says -- Lester Holt says, we're going to a very modern ski resort. And this is a place the regime really wanted to make sure that we saw. He said something like that.

And it's like, well, okay. He's kind of hinting there, that he understands that this is part of a propaganda mission. And any time you go on a trip like that, you -- you should expect some of that. And it doesn't mean you don't necessarily take the trip.

I mean, you know, we -- we've had some discussions about --

GLENN: Syria.

STU: Syria. And going to Syria. And interviewing --

GLENN: Yeah. We've been asked by the Assad regime, how many times, to go over and -- and interview Assad. And we have had real discussions on that. We knew that if we go over, when we're there, we'd only be able to see what he wanted us to see. And we'd only say the things that we'd be okay with. And we would be able to push him maybe a little. But it's Assad. And we've turned it down because we haven't felt comfortable doing the -- the bidding.

STU: Right.

GLENN: Even though we think we would be able to have a perspective and a look at what's happening in Syria that would be different than anyone else on talk radio. We decided against it because of that one show or two shows that would have come from Syria. We didn't want to carry that regime's water at all.

STU: Right. And, you know, you wouldn't do it if you had to.

You know, you would never agree to carry someone's water like that, obviously. The only reason to do it is to go over there and get whatever you can and say, this is what we think is really happening. Here's what we saw. Here's what they wanted us to see. And you have to be honest about that. And we'll see if NBC can kind of do that on the other side of this trip.

But that's an important -- it's an important part of it. You have to do that.

GLENN: If you come back and you have hidden camera stuff that shows you stuff -- if you have, even first person. But there's no way. It's like we talked about with Assad. There's no way we're going -- because we're going to be with them the whole time. You know, if you read anything about Hitler, there would be streets -- you know, he would go into towns in Poland or whatever, and it would be just desolation. It would be horrible. But the street he was on had flowers and cheers and flags and everything else.

STU: Yeah.

GLENN: Well, that's what you're going to see when you go over there, because they are in total control. So do you do it?

And if so, why? What do you get in return? What does humanity get from making North Korea look like -- oh, well, it's not so bad. I mean, it's got a ski resort. And look, the buildings are pretty colorful. It's like Miami.

(music)

STU: The sad thing that I suspect is, what humanity is going to get out of it is access for NBC during the Olympics. They're going to get some -- and that's not a worthwhile cause to do such a thing. I mean, we saw that with -- you know, Michael Moore did this in his movie with Cuba, where he glorified them and tried to make his points that way. That's not a trade you want to make.

GLENN: Venezuela, look at how many people in Hollywood went and did propaganda for Hugo Chavez, and look -- if you can find it in the mainstream media or from anybody in Hollywood, look at the misery that that has caused.

The West is dying—Will we let enemies write our ending?

Harvey Meston / Staff | Getty Images

The blood of martyrs, prophets, poets, and soldiers built our civilization. Their sacrifice demands courage in the present to preserve it.

Lamentations asks, “Is it nothing to you, all ye that pass by?”

That question has been weighing on me heavily. Not just as a broadcaster, but as a citizen, a father, a husband, a believer. It is a question that every person who cares about this nation, this culture, and this civilization must confront: Is all of this worth saving?

We have squandered this inheritance. We forgot who we were — and our enemies are eager to write our ending.

Western civilization — a project born in Judea, refined in Athens, tested in Rome, reawakened in Wittenberg, and baptized again on the shores of Plymouth Rock — is a gift. We didn’t earn it. We didn’t purchase it. We were handed it. And now, we must ask ourselves: Do we even want it?

Across Europe, streets are restless. Not merely with protests, but with ancient, festering hatred — the kind that once marched under swastikas and fueled ovens. Today, it marches under banners of peace while chanting calls for genocide. Violence and division crack societies open. Here in America, it’s left against right, flesh against spirit, neighbor against neighbor.

Truth struggles to find a home. Even the church is slumbering — or worse, collaborating.

Our society tells us that everything must be reset: tradition, marriage, gender, faith, even love. The only sin left is believing in absolute truth. Screens replace Scripture. Entertainment replaces education. Pleasure replaces purpose. Our children are confused, medicated, addicted, fatherless, suicidal. Universities mock virtue. Congress is indifferent. Media programs rather than informs. Schools recondition rather than educate.

Is this worth saving? If not, we should stop fighting and throw up our hands. But if it is, then we must act — and we must act now.

The West: An idea worth saving

What is the West? It’s not a location, race, flag, or a particular constitution. The West is an idea — an idea that man is made in the image of God, that liberty comes from responsibility, not government; that truth exists; that evil exists; and that courage is required every day. The West teaches that education, reason, and revelation walk hand in hand. Beauty matters. Kindness matters. Empathy matters. Sacrifice is holy. Justice is blind. Mercy is near.

We have squandered this inheritance. We forgot who we were — and our enemies are eager to write our ending.

If not now, when? If not us, who? If this is worth saving, we must know why. Western civilization is worth dying for, worth living for, worth defending. It was built on the blood of martyrs, prophets, poets, pilgrims, moms, dads, and soldiers. They did not die for markets, pronouns, surveillance, or currency. They died for something higher, something bigger.

MATTHIEU RONDEL/AFP via Getty Images | Getty Images

Yet hope remains. Resurrection is real — not only in the tomb outside Jerusalem, but in the bones of any individual or group that returns to truth, honor, and God. It is never too late to return to family, community, accountability, and responsibility.

Pick up your torch

We were chosen for this time. We were made for a moment like this. The events unfolding in Europe and South Korea, the unrest and moral collapse, will all come down to us. Somewhere inside, we know we were called to carry this fire.

We are not called to win. We are called to stand. To hold the torch. To ask ourselves, every day: Is it worth standing? Is it worth saving?

The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. Pick up your torch. If you choose to carry it, buckle up. The work is only beginning.

This article originally appeared on TheBlaze.com.

Stop coasting: How self-education can save America’s future

Joe Raedle / Staff | Getty Images

Coasting through life is no longer an option. Charlie Kirk’s pursuit of knowledge challenges all of us to learn, act, and grow every day.

Last year, my wife and I made a commitment: to stop coasting, to learn something new every day, and to grow — not just spiritually, but intellectually. Charlie Kirk’s tragic death crystallized that resolve. It forced a hard look in the mirror, revealing how much I had coasted in both my spiritual and educational life. Coasting implies going downhill. You can’t coast uphill.

Last night, my wife and I re-engaged. We enrolled in Hillsdale College’s free online courses, inspired by the fact that Charlie had done the same. He had quietly completed around 30 courses before I even knew, mastering the classics, civics, and the foundations of liberty. Watching his relentless pursuit of knowledge reminded me that growth never stops, no matter your age.

The path forward must be reclaiming education, agency, and the power to shape our minds and futures.

This lesson is particularly urgent for two groups: young adults stepping into the world and those who may have settled into complacency. Learning is life. Stop learning, and you start dying. To young adults, especially, the college promise has become a trap. Twelve years of K-12 education now leave graduates unprepared for life. Only 35% of seniors are proficient in reading, and just 22% in math. They are asked to bet $100,000 or more for four years of college that will often leave them underemployed and deeply indebted.

Degrees in many “new” fields now carry negative returns. Parents who have already sacrificed for public education find themselves on the hook again, paying for a system that often fails to deliver.

This is one of the reasons why Charlie often described college as a “scam.” Debt accumulates, wages are not what students were promised, doors remain closed, and many are tempted to throw more time and money after a system that won’t yield results. Graduate school, in many cases, compounds the problem. The education system has become a factory of despair, teaching cynicism rather than knowledge and virtue.

Reclaiming educational agency

Yet the solution is not radical revolt against education — it is empowerment to reclaim agency over one’s education. Independent learning, self-guided study, and disciplined curiosity are the modern “Napster moment.” Just as Napster broke the old record industry by digitizing music, the internet has placed knowledge directly in the hands of the individual. Artists like Taylor Swift now thrive outside traditional gatekeepers. Likewise, students and lifelong learners can reclaim intellectual freedom outside of the ivory towers.

Each individual possesses the ability to think, create, and act. This is the power God grants to every human being. Knowledge, faith, and personal responsibility are inseparable. Learning is not a commodity to buy with tuition; it is a birthright to claim with effort.

David Butow / Contributor | Getty Images

Charlie Kirk’s life reminds us that self-education is an act of defiance and empowerment. In his pursuit of knowledge, in his engagement with civics and philosophy, he exemplified the principle that liberty depends on informed, capable citizens. We honor him best by taking up that mantle — by learning relentlessly, thinking critically, and refusing to surrender our minds to a system that profits from ignorance.

The path forward must be reclaiming education, agency, and the power to shape our minds and futures. Every day, seek to grow, create, and act. Charlie showed the way. It is now our responsibility to follow.

This article originally appeared on TheBlaze.com.

Glenn Beck joins TPUSA tour to honor Charlie Kirk

Joe Raedle / Staff | Getty Images

If they thought the murder of Charlie Kirk would scare us into silence, they were wrong!

If anything, Turning Point will hit the road louder than ever. On Monday, September 22, less than two weeks after the assassination, Charlie's friends united under the Turning Point USA banner to carry his torch and honor his legacy by doing what he did best: bringing honest and truthful debate to Universities across the nation.

Naturally, Glenn has rallied to the cause and has accepted an invitation to join the TPUSA tour at the University of North Dakota on October 9th.

Want to join Glenn at the University of North Dakota to honor Charlie Kirk and keep his mission alive? Click HERE to sign up or find more information.

Glenn's daughter honors Charlie Kirk with emotional tribute song

MELISSA MAJCHRZAK / Contributor | Getty Images

On September 17th, Glenn commemorated his late friend Charlie Kirk by hosting The Charlie Kirk Show Podcast, where he celebrated and remembered the life of a remarkable young man.

During the broadcast, Glenn shared an emotional new song performed by his daughter, Cheyenne, who was standing only feet away from Charlie when he was assassinated. The song, titled "We Are One," has been dedicated to Charlie Kirk as a tribute and was written and co-performed by David Osmond, son of Alan Osmond, founding member of The Osmonds.

Glenn first asked David Osmond to write "We Are One" in 2018, as he predicted that dark days were on the horizon, but he never imagined that it would be sung by his daughter in honor of Charlie Kirk. The Lord works in mysterious ways; could there have been a more fitting song to honor such a brave man?

"We Are One" is available for download or listening on Spotify HERE