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

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

Transcript

Below is a rush transcript that may contain errors

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

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

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

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

Putting others first. Et cetera, et cetera.

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


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

GLENN: Yeah, you bet.

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

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

KIRK: I don't.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

And really a respected guy, by everybody.

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

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

KIRK: I'm 54.

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

KIRK: It is.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

KIRK: Yeah. That's right.

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

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

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

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

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

So I think the timing of this is perfect.

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

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

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

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

The app on your TV, or BravePlus.com.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

What?

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

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

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

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

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

GLENN: What an appropriate first episode.

KIRK: Yeah.

GLENN: So good. So good.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

And addictive.

And most children's shows are the same way.

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

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

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

And we lean into relationships. And develop trust.

And impart virtue the old-fashioned way.

GLENN: How difficult was that, to do?

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

They didn't start with nefarious purposes.

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

How are we going to do it?

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

That had to be a little scary.

KIRK: Yeah. It was.

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

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

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

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

Yeah, it's scary.

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

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

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

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

And especially well anything on education.

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

You just tell me how we can help.

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

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

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

So, Glenn, thank you very much.

God bless you. And keep up the great work.

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

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

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

And it's not what we grew up with.

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

It's a different world now.

It's a totally different world.

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

And I am -- I am not against progress.

I am very progressive in the right ways.

I believe in the future.

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

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

The truth works!

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