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Author of beloved Michael Vey series announces new installment, reveals book cover

July 13, 2022
Screenshot from YouTube
Staff

WRITER

Glenn shared exciting news today for fans of Michael Vey, the best-selling book series by author Richard Paul Evans. Evans joined Glenn's show with an important announcement: the eighth installment of Michael Vey is coming soon!

This announcement might come as a surprise for long-time fans of the series as book seven appeared to be the series finale. And according to the author, that was the original plan.

"The thing is, the Michael Vey series never stopped selling. It kept growing in other countries," Evans said. "And every day, I would get scores of letters from kids saying, please, bring it back. Bring it back."

Evans also wanted Glenn's audience to be among the first to see the new book's cover, which had been mysteriously hidden until today.

The newly revealed cover of Michael Vey 8: The Parasite, by Richard Paul Evans

So Michael Vey and the Electroclan are back by popular demand—ready to face a new and even more terrible threat than the Elgen.

"It's like the hydra. You cut off the head, and three other heads pop up," Evans said.

Michael Vey 8: The Parasite is slated to be released on September 27th. You can pre-order now on Amazon.

Listen to the interview starting at 01:25:22 or read the transcript below.

Transcript

Below is a rush transcript that may contain errors

GLENN: Richard Paul Evans, my friend, how are you, sir?

RICHARD: I'm doing great. Good morning.

GLENN: So Richard, in case you don't know, is a dear friend of mine, who has sold, I don't know how many millions of books. Do you even know?

RICHARD: It's over 35 million. Kind of stopped counting.

GLENN: Yeah. 35 million books in print and sold. He came up with a series. The Michael Vey series.

Simon & Schuster turned him down years ago. Or it didn't turn him down.

Actually said, we need you to change things in the book. A, it's too smart for kids.

And wanted him to dumb it down. And he sent me a copy. And I said, don't ever dumb this down. This is a brilliant series. I just love it. And so what did we do? Did we do seven books?

RICHARD: We did seven books. And it went global. It's a number one New York Times best-seller. And there are groups around the world that call themselves Babiacs now.

GLENN: It's crazy. And it's a really -- tell the -- tell the story, quickly.

RICHARD: Well, it's got Michael Vey. He's a young man with Tourette's syndrome, who has electrical powers.

He soon learns there's 17 kids. The electricity is a little bit of a science. It won a science award. The way the electricity worsening in the body. They are all superheroes, who are fighting a demon, a villain named Dr. Hatch.

GLENN: Right. And so the whole series was about trying to get to the root of this evil. The series ended in -- in episode seven. Or so we thought.

Do you want to talk to us about book eight?

RICHARD: Yeah. Exciting news. The thing is, the Michael Vey series never stopped selling. It kept growing in other countries. And every day, I would get scores of letters from kids saying, please, bring it back. Bring it back.

Or prepare it, saying you got my kid to read. My child didn't read until Michael Vey. And, you know, after covid, it's like, I miss seeing all these kids. We had 4,000 kids, who came to my last book signing. So it's like, okay.

GLENN: It's crazy.

RICHARD: Yeah. So it's -- I'm happy to announce. And we're revealing the cover here today on Glenn Beck. That Michael Vey eight. The parasite comes out this September 27th. And, Glenn, your listeners may want to preorder because of the paper shortages in America. You -- you saw that with your number one best-seller. Oh, my gosh. You were running out.

GLENN: Yeah. Yeah. We ran out. I have a feeling, it will happen with this book as well.

So preorder now. Where do you preorder? Just go to Amazon, or where?

RICHARD: Yeah. I think we have a link on your sites, Glenn. Go to Amazon.com.

It's right there. Saw a discount. Anyway, it's going to reveal a cover today. It's kind of exciting.

GLENN: So -- and that is -- are we showing it now? Can we put it up on TheBlaze TV? And I'm going to go to GlennBeck.com. Because I think the cover -- at least I think the cover is supposed to be at GlennBeck.com, I think.

And is it? Is it? No. I don't see it. But it should be there. I'll let you know where it is here, in just a second. But the story is, what? Quickly. What's the eighth book?

RICHARD: Well, people have been asking, how can -- and, spoiler alert. In the end of seven, they take down the LJet (phonetic), where do you go from there? It's like the hydra. You cut off the head, and three other heads pop up.

GLENN: Yeah.

RICHARD: I think you'll love it, Glenn. Because it's fascinating, how they see America falling. And that's their place to take over.

GLENN: Yeah. Yeah. I will tell you, you know, I think the book is really inspired, in a lot of ways. A lot of good ways. Teaches a lot of great lessons, without feeling that it's teaching you a bunch of lessons.

I can't tell you how many parents, and I'm one of them, that say, thank you. Finally. Something that is clean and food and exciting.

I mean, my son went from, gosh, how old was he, when we first started reading these? Eight? To -- yeah, to 16. We read these books. Every summer. And he loved them. Loved them. And when I told him, that the eighth is coming out, he said, wait a minute.

They beat the -- I said. Yeah. I know. Richard has another idea.

And so we're going to read it together, when this is out. When does it come out?

RICHARD: It comes out September 27th.

GLENN: Okay. When do I get it?

RICHARD: You can make -- yeah. You get it whenever you want.

GLENN: All right. I want it. I want it. I want it. I'm up at the ranch together, we'll read it together. Richard Paul Evans. Thank you so much.

It's called the parasite. Michael Vey returns. And you can preorder now.

Richard. Did you have something else to say? Because I heard you --

RICHARD: Yeah. I just want to say, thank you so much. Glenn Beck believed in Michael Vey before the rest of the world. Now there's millions of followers. But Glenn is the first one to believe that. And I really appreciate that.

GLENN: Thank you very much. I appreciate it, Richard. Thank you.

The great thing is, I didn't know this when I first met Richard Paul Evans. He has Tourette's. His son has Tourette's.

I think his son -- yeah. I think his son has -- so he knows. And he's showing how these things can be turned, and made into strengths. It's a really, really good book. Especially in a world where you are -- where you're seeing, you know, people use every excuse, you know, to wine and say, they can't do it. I'm being held back. There's no excuse for that. You have to do it.

RICHARD: I can't explain it. But at every signing I have, scores of youth with autisms. Youth with anxiety disorder.

One girl told me, she got out of bed, and went to school for the first time in four months, because if Michael Vey can do it, she can do it.

GLENN: Oh, that's great. Thank you, Richard Paul Evans. Appreciate it. Thanks.

The truth behind ‘defense’: How America was rebranded for war

PAUL J. RICHARDS / Staff | Getty Images

Donald Trump emphasizes peace through strength, reminding the world that the United States is willing to fight to win. That’s beyond ‘defense.’

President Donald Trump made headlines this week by signaling a rebrand of the Defense Department — restoring its original name, the Department of War.

At first, I was skeptical. “Defense” suggests restraint, a principle I consider vital to U.S. foreign policy. “War” suggests aggression. But for the first 158 years of the republic, that was the honest name: the Department of War.

A Department of War recognizes the truth: The military exists to fight and, if necessary, to win decisively.

The founders never intended a permanent standing army. When conflict came — the Revolution, the War of 1812, the trenches of France, the beaches of Normandy — the nation called men to arms, fought, and then sent them home. Each campaign was temporary, targeted, and necessary.

From ‘war’ to ‘military-industrial complex’

Everything changed in 1947. President Harry Truman — facing the new reality of nuclear weapons, global tension, and two world wars within 20 years — established a full-time military and rebranded the Department of War as the Department of Defense. Americans resisted; we had never wanted a permanent army. But Truman convinced the country it was necessary.

Was the name change an early form of political correctness? A way to soften America’s image as a global aggressor? Or was it simply practical? Regardless, the move created a permanent, professional military. But it also set the stage for something Truman’s successor, President Dwight “Ike” Eisenhower, famously warned about: the military-industrial complex.

Ike, the five-star general who commanded Allied forces in World War II and stormed Normandy, delivered a harrowing warning during his farewell address: The military-industrial complex would grow powerful. Left unchecked, it could influence policy and push the nation toward unnecessary wars.

And that’s exactly what happened. The Department of Defense, with its full-time and permanent army, began spending like there was no tomorrow. Weapons were developed, deployed, and sometimes used simply to justify their existence.

Peace through strength

When Donald Trump said this week, “I don’t want to be defense only. We want defense, but we want offense too,” some people freaked out. They called him a warmonger. He isn’t. Trump is channeling a principle older than him: peace through strength. Ronald Reagan preached it; Trump is taking it a step further.

Just this week, Trump also suggested limiting nuclear missiles — hardly the considerations of a warmonger — echoing Reagan, who wanted to remove missiles from silos while keeping them deployable on planes.

The seemingly contradictory move of Trump calling for a Department of War sends a clear message: He wants Americans to recognize that our military exists not just for defense, but to project power when necessary.

Trump has pointed to something critically important: The best way to prevent war is to have a leader who knows exactly who he is and what he will do. Trump signals strength, deterrence, and resolve. You want to negotiate? Great. You don’t? Then we’ll finish the fight decisively.

That’s why the world listens to us. That’s why nations come to the table — not because Trump is reckless, but because he means what he says and says what he means. Peace under weakness invites aggression. Peace under strength commands respect.

Trump is the most anti-war president we’ve had since Jimmy Carter. But unlike Carter, Trump isn’t weak. Carter’s indecision emboldened enemies and made the world less safe. Trump’s strength makes the country stronger. He believes in peace as much as any president. But he knows peace requires readiness for war.

Names matter

When we think of “defense,” we imagine cybersecurity, spy programs, and missile shields. But when we think of “war,” we recall its harsh reality: death, destruction, and national survival. Trump is reminding us what the Department of Defense is really for: war. Not nation-building, not diplomacy disguised as military action, not endless training missions. War — full stop.

Chip Somodevilla / Staff | Getty Images

Names matter. Words matter. They shape identity and character. A Department of Defense implies passivity, a posture of reaction. A Department of War recognizes the truth: The military exists to fight and, if necessary, to win decisively.

So yes, I’ve changed my mind. I’m for the rebranding to the Department of War. It shows strength to the world. It reminds Americans, internally and externally, of the reality we face. The Department of Defense can no longer be a euphemism. Our military exists for war — not without deterrence, but not without strength either. And we need to stop deluding ourselves.

This article originally appeared on TheBlaze.com.

Censorship, spying, lies—The Deep State’s web finally unmasked

Chip Somodevilla / Staff | Getty Images

From surveillance abuse to censorship, the deep state used state power and private institutions to suppress dissent and influence two US elections.

The term “deep state” has long been dismissed as the province of cranks and conspiracists. But the recent declassification of two critical documents — the Durham annex, released by Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), and a report publicized by Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard — has rendered further denial untenable.

These documents lay bare the structure and function of a bureaucratic, semi-autonomous network of agencies, contractors, nonprofits, and media entities that together constitute a parallel government operating alongside — and at times in opposition to — the duly elected one.

The ‘deep state’ is a self-reinforcing institutional machine — a decentralized, global bureaucracy whose members share ideological alignment.

The disclosures do not merely recount past abuses; they offer a schematic of how modern influence operations are conceived, coordinated, and deployed across domestic and international domains.

What they reveal is not a rogue element operating in secret, but a systematized apparatus capable of shaping elections, suppressing dissent, and laundering narratives through a transnational network of intelligence, academia, media, and philanthropic institutions.

Narrative engineering from the top

According to Gabbard’s report, a pivotal moment occurred on December 9, 2016, when the Obama White House convened its national security leadership in the Situation Room. Attendees included CIA Director John Brennan, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, National Security Agency Director Michael Rogers, FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, Attorney General Loretta Lynch, Secretary of State John Kerry, and others.

During this meeting, the consensus view up to that point — that Russia had not manipulated the election outcome — was subordinated to new instructions.

The record states plainly: The intelligence community was directed to prepare an assessment “per the President’s request” that would frame Russia as the aggressor and then-presidential candidate Donald Trump as its preferred candidate. Notably absent was any claim that new intelligence had emerged. The motivation was political, not evidentiary.

This maneuver became the foundation for the now-discredited 2017 intelligence community assessment on Russian election interference. From that point on, U.S. intelligence agencies became not neutral evaluators of fact but active participants in constructing a public narrative designed to delegitimize the incoming administration.

Institutional and media coordination

The ODNI report and the Durham annex jointly describe a feedback loop in which intelligence is laundered through think tanks and nongovernmental organizations, then cited by media outlets as “independent verification.” At the center of this loop are agencies like the CIA, FBI, and ODNI; law firms such as Perkins Coie; and NGOs such as the Open Society Foundations.

According to the Durham annex, think tanks including the Atlantic Council, the Carnegie Endowment, and the Center for a New American Security were allegedly informed of Clinton’s 2016 plan to link Trump to Russia. These institutions, operating under the veneer of academic independence, helped diffuse the narrative into public discourse.

Media coordination was not incidental. On the very day of the aforementioned White House meeting, the Washington Post published a front-page article headlined “Obama Orders Review of Russian Hacking During Presidential Campaign” — a story that mirrored the internal shift in official narrative. The article marked the beginning of a coordinated media campaign that would amplify the Trump-Russia collusion narrative throughout the transition period.

Surveillance and suppression

Surveillance, once limited to foreign intelligence operations, was turned inward through the abuse of FISA warrants. The Steele dossier — funded by the Clinton campaign via Perkins Coie and Fusion GPS — served as the basis for wiretaps on Trump affiliates, despite being unverified and partially discredited. The FBI even altered emails to facilitate the warrants.

ROBYN BECK / Contributor | Getty Images

This capacity for internal subversion reappeared in 2020, when 51 former intelligence officials signed a letter labeling the Hunter Biden laptop story as “Russian disinformation.” According to polling, 79% of Americans believed truthful coverage of the laptop could have altered the election. The suppression of that story — now confirmed as authentic — was election interference, pure and simple.

A machine, not a ‘conspiracy theory’

The deep state is a self-reinforcing institutional machine — a decentralized, global bureaucracy whose members share ideological alignment and strategic goals.

Each node — law firms, think tanks, newsrooms, federal agencies — operates with plausible deniability. But taken together, they form a matrix of influence capable of undermining electoral legitimacy and redirecting national policy without democratic input.

The ODNI report and the Durham annex mark the first crack in the firewall shielding this machine. They expose more than a political scandal buried in the past. They lay bare a living system of elite coordination — one that demands exposure, confrontation, and ultimately dismantling.

This article originally appeared on TheBlaze.com.

Trump's proposal explained: Ukraine's path to peace without NATO expansion

ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / Contributor | Getty Images

Strategic compromise, not absolute victory, often ensures lasting stability.

When has any country been asked to give up land it won in a war? Even if a nation is at fault, the punishment must be measured.

After World War I, Germany, the main aggressor, faced harsh penalties under the Treaty of Versailles. Germans resented the restrictions, and that resentment fueled the rise of Adolf Hitler, ultimately leading to World War II. History teaches that justice for transgressions must avoid creating conditions for future conflict.

Ukraine and Russia must choose to either continue the cycle of bloodshed or make difficult compromises in pursuit of survival and stability.

Russia and Ukraine now stand at a similar crossroads. They can cling to disputed land and prolong a devastating war, or they can make concessions that might secure a lasting peace. The stakes could not be higher: Tens of thousands die each month, and the choice between endless bloodshed and negotiated stability hinges on each side’s willingness to yield.

History offers a guide. In 1967, Israel faced annihilation. Surrounded by hostile armies, the nation fought back and seized large swaths of territory from Jordan, Egypt, and Syria. Yet Israel did not seek an empire. It held only the buffer zones needed for survival and returned most of the land. Security and peace, not conquest, drove its decisions.

Peace requires concessions

Secretary of State Marco Rubio says both Russia and Ukraine will need to “get something” from a peace deal. He’s right. Israel proved that survival outweighs pride. By giving up land in exchange for recognition and an end to hostilities, it stopped the cycle of war. Egypt and Israel have not fought in more than 50 years.

Russia and Ukraine now press opposing security demands. Moscow wants a buffer to block NATO. Kyiv, scarred by invasion, seeks NATO membership — a pledge that any attack would trigger collective defense by the United States and Europe.

President Donald Trump and his allies have floated a middle path: an Article 5-style guarantee without full NATO membership. Article 5, the core of NATO’s charter, declares that an attack on one is an attack on all. For Ukraine, such a pledge would act as a powerful deterrent. For Russia, it might be more palatable than NATO expansion to its border

Andrew Harnik / Staff | Getty Images

Peace requires concessions. The human cost is staggering: U.S. estimates indicate 20,000 Russian soldiers died in a single month — nearly half the total U.S. casualties in Vietnam — and the toll on Ukrainians is also severe. To stop this bloodshed, both sides need to recognize reality on the ground, make difficult choices, and anchor negotiations in security and peace rather than pride.

Peace or bloodshed?

Both Russia and Ukraine claim deep historical grievances. Ukraine arguably has a stronger claim of injustice. But the question is not whose parchment is older or whose deed is more valid. The question is whether either side is willing to trade some land for the lives of thousands of innocent people. True security, not historical vindication, must guide the path forward.

History shows that punitive measures or rigid insistence on territorial claims can perpetuate cycles of war. Germany’s punishment after World War I contributed directly to World War II. By contrast, Israel’s willingness to cede land for security and recognition created enduring peace. Ukraine and Russia now face the same choice: Continue the cycle of bloodshed or make difficult compromises in pursuit of survival and stability.

This article originally appeared on TheBlaze.com.

The loneliness epidemic: Are machines replacing human connection?

NurPhoto / Contributor | Getty Images

Seniors, children, and the isolated increasingly rely on machines for conversation, risking real relationships and the emotional depth that only humans provide.

Jill Smola is 75 years old. She’s a retiree from Orlando, Florida, and she spent her life caring for the elderly. She played games, assembled puzzles, and offered company to those who otherwise would have sat alone.

Now, she sits alone herself. Her husband has died. She has a lung condition. She can’t drive. She can’t leave her home. Weeks can pass without human interaction.

Loneliness is an epidemic. And AI will not fix it. It will only dull the edges and make a diminished life tolerable.

But CBS News reports that she has a new companion. And she likes this companion more than her own daughter.

The companion? Artificial intelligence.

She spends five hours a day talking to her AI friend. They play games, do trivia, and just talk. She says she even prefers it to real people.

My first thought was simple: Stop this. We are losing our humanity.

But as I sat with the story, I realized something uncomfortable. Maybe we’ve already lost some of our humanity — not to AI, but to ourselves.

Outsourcing presence

How often do we know the right thing to do yet fail to act? We know we should visit the lonely. We know we should sit with someone in pain. We know what Jesus would do: Notice the forgotten, touch the untouchable, offer time and attention without outsourcing compassion.

Yet how often do we just … talk about it? On the radio, online, in lectures, in posts. We pontificate, and then we retreat.

I asked myself: What am I actually doing to close the distance between knowing and doing?

Human connection is messy. It’s inconvenient. It takes patience, humility, and endurance. AI doesn’t challenge you. It doesn’t interrupt your day. It doesn’t ask anything of you. Real people do. Real people make us confront our pride, our discomfort, our loneliness.

We’ve built an economy of convenience. We can have groceries delivered, movies streamed, answers instantly. But friendships — real relationships — are slow, inefficient, unpredictable. They happen in the blank spaces of life that we’ve been trained to ignore.

And now we’re replacing that inefficiency with machines.

AI provides comfort without challenge. It eliminates the risk of real intimacy. It’s an elegant coping mechanism for loneliness, but a poor substitute for life. If we’re not careful, the lonely won’t just be alone — they’ll be alone with an anesthetic, a shadow that never asks for anything, never interrupts, never makes them grow.

Reclaiming our humanity

We need to reclaim our humanity. Presence matters. Not theory. Not outrage. Action.

It starts small. Pull up a chair for someone who eats alone. Call a neighbor you haven’t spoken to in months. Visit a nursing home once a month — then once a week. Ask their names, hear their stories. Teach your children how to be present, to sit with someone in grief, without rushing to fix it.

Turn phones off at dinner. Make Sunday afternoons human time. Listen. Ask questions. Don’t post about it afterward. Make the act itself sacred.

Humility is central. We prefer machines because we can control them. Real people are inconvenient. They interrupt our narratives. They demand patience, forgiveness, and endurance. They make us confront ourselves.

A friend will challenge your self-image. A chatbot won’t.

Our homes are quieter. Our streets are emptier. Loneliness is an epidemic. And AI will not fix it. It will only dull the edges and make a diminished life tolerable.

Before we worry about how AI will reshape humanity, we must first practice humanity. It can start with 15 minutes a day of undivided attention, presence, and listening.

Change usually comes when pain finally wins. Let’s not wait for that. Let’s start now. Because real connection restores faster than any machine ever will.

This article originally appeared on TheBlaze.com.