RADIO

The INSANE way leftist media just DEFENDED Democrats on gas

It’s now common knowledge that America’s mainstream media will do what it can to help the Democrat Party. But a recent op-ed from The Washington Post just took far-left pandering to a whole new level. The article, titled ‘Here’s what voters will get if they cast their ballots based on gas prices,’ tells Americans Democrats are NOT to blame for our sky-high inflation rates and gas prices: ‘There are relatively few tools that the president and Congress can deploy to help boost oil production or moderate overall inflation.’ HOLY COW, Glenn says. In this clip, he unveils the rest of The Washington Post’s INSANE Democrat defense, and he asks and important question: How do they sleep at night?!

Transcript

Below is a rush transcript that may contain errors

GLENN: Here we are with the Washington Post. And they have a new very important piece out today. That says, here's what voters will get. If you cast your ballot based on a gas price. Okay? Americans are mad about inflation. They're especially outraged that the gasoline average now is $5 a gallon, nationwide. And history suggests that they may act on that furor. By voting the bums out. But voters should think carefully about what they'll get, if they cast their ballot, base on a gas price. Have you ever -- ever heard this, ever before?

The unexpected inflation tends to cause voters to punish incumbents at the polls. Yeah. Exactly like it's supposed to. The cost of gasoline looms especially large in the public consciousness. If also weighs heavily on presidential approval ratings. But the president doesn't have some super-secret special dial on his desk, that can adjust gas prices. But many voters believe otherwise. Well, let me just give you the rundown on the history of this. Because it seems ironic coming to the press. 1996, the press reported, not Clinton's fault. It's capitalism, and Newt Gingrich's fault. Then 2000. Bush blames Clinton. But it's really Bush's fault. This is typical of an administration that refuses to accept responsibility. Here's another one from CNN. 2001. It's Bush's fault. Then 2004. It's all Bush's fault. Then 2008. It's Bush's and Cheney's fault. Then CNN 2012. Stop blaming Obama. It's not his fault. Then in 2012. Sure, gas prices are high. But it's not as bad as you think. CNN, 2012. America, quit whining about high gas prices. 2018, it's Trump's fault. 2020, now it's Trump's fault. Low oil prices are causing oil company bankruptcies. Then CNN 2021, Biden can't do anything about it. It's not his fault. Okay. All right.

So back to the Washington Post. Republicans hope this widespread confusion will turn the midterms into a referendum on painful economic conditions. And by extension, Democratic leadership. They're counting on voters to protect their homes and dreams. Including their wildest fantasies about cheaper gas. I don't know about you, but I'm not thinking of, you know, the people behind the counter at the gas station all dressed up in something Lacey and revealing. It's not exactly a fantasy for me. You know, gas prices, being low. No. We had that just a year and a half ago. I don't know if anybody else noticed. But when Trump was in, we were for the first time in my lifetime, energy independent. We didn't have to worry about Saudi Arabia, or anybody else. Because we were independent and had cheap gas. For the first time in my life. And who got that done? Oh. Donald Trump.

But wait a minute. He doesn't have any levers to do that, does he? Hmm. There are relatively few tools, said the Washington Post, that the president and Congress can deploy to help boost oil production. What?

Here's an idea. End ESG. End the administration's war on oil. Here's another idea. You really want to get rid of oil? Fine. Get rid of oil. But how about we take a quick break. How about we just break for a minute, slow this down, until we have the other things that are going to replace oil. They also can't control or moderate overall inflation. Isn't that what the Federal Reserve's job is -- that is -- that is their only job. I know they've taken on so much more. That is their job. Their job is to keep inflation under control.

Well, the things that they do have, probably won't make a huge dent in price growth. But they could help a little on the margin. Unfortunately, these are not the things that either party is proposing right now. Democrats are grandstanding about greed, and considering silly stuff such as export bans and price controls. Meanwhile, by the way, those price controls won't seem silly when they happen. Republicans demagogue about President Biden's supposed war on fossil fuels. And socialism. His supposed war on fossil fuels.

That's what he campaigned on. Washington Post says, neither party has a serious plan for dealing with inflation. Overall, or gas prices, specifically. You know what, we don't need the Republican Party. All you need to do is just listen to the people. Are we a republic? Do we have representatives of the people? Because I can tell you, most of the people in America would say, you know what, let's start producing more of our oil. Most of America would say, I want to go green, if we can. That's great. But let's not sacrifice ourself on the God of global warming. I would like the country to continue. I would like my children to be able to eat. Oh. And inflation, here's an idea. Stop spending money. You don't have it. No one is borrowing it. Nobody is giving us the money anymore. We're borrowing it from the fed. Meaning, we're just printing more. Assuming that Russia's war in Ukraine continues to disrupt every energy market, that is such bullcrap, I can't take it. Then voters realistically face a choice, between high gas prices and the rest of Democratic agenda. War, high gas prices, and the rest of the Republican agenda. So what it's worth. Let's consider what the rest of the agenda is, for each party: Biden and fellow Democrats once promised a cradle-to-grave expansion of the safety net. Plus, measures intended to combat climate change.

Love or hate this program, I very much like it. But it's no longer terribly relevant to the choices the voters face this November. Yes, it is. Climate change. That's what's causing all of this. This, and the hostile takeover of the free market, through something called The Great Reset. But Democrat infighting has considerably scaled back their ambitions. Giving constraints laid out by senators Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema. Who wield critical votes for getting anything done. Democrats have at best had a shot at more modest packages, focused on climate, prescription drugs, and maybe some tax increases on high earners and corporations. But what do the Republicans stand for? Their national leaders won't say. Yeah. I know.

Keep it secret. You know why? Because our national leaders agree with a lot of this stuff, that is going on with the Democratic Party. They don't represent the people. Anyway, even when asked directly, they keep it secret. Their state level rising stars are mostly focused on fighting with Mickey Mouse and drag queens. Really? Are we? Is that how you put it? When -- when our parents are called terrorists for saying, hey. I don't want this Marxist and sex stuff in school.

You dismiss it by saying, we're fighting with Mickey Mouse in drag queens. But if you look at G.O.P. actions taken over the last several years. Including, when they had unified control of the federal government. You get a sense of what Republicans are likely to prioritize. Republicans mostly seem to care about tax cuts for the wealthy. And corporations.

Don't even start with corporations. Do you think the corporations are the friend of anyone, who is on the right? Anyone who doesn't believe in all of this progressive bullcrap? I mean, check the ad campaigns. But if you look at the G.O.P. actions, they just want to find ways to repeal Obamacare. Or otherwise reduce access to health care. Huh. For example, by slashing Medicaid. I know. As somebody who has voted Republican, and I myself am not a Republican. Because I don't want to be tainted with the -- with the -- with the smell of all of the death. But I am all for cutting back on -- I say, we close hospitals, in poor areas. You know, let's just close them down. Kids' medicine. Please, at any time if they're defective. Oh, wait a minute. That sounds like a progressive agenda. They only care about installing judges, who will roll back reproductive rights. Hey, listen to this. They care about supporting a president, who has used the powers of the state, to further his own political and financial interests. Oh, my gosh. Oh, my gosh. Let me give you a couple of quick stories here. Just to -- I just -- let me just point them out real quick here. Story number one. Headline. Buttigieg says the fed -- the feds have power to airlines to hire more workers, amid travel delays. Let me see here. I remember the republic -- or, the Democrats were very upset at Ronald Reagan. Because he forced union workers to go back into work, so we could keep the skies open, because none of them would work the control towers. So they had a real problem with that. Buttigieg is saying, he can tell the airlines, you don't have enough workers. Hire them.

Where, in the Constitution can you find that? That's fascism. Oh, here's the other. This one from the Washington Examiner. Biden's bid to expand Obamacare. The Biden administration is unlawfully trying to expand Obamacare. The Internal Revenue Service has published a proposed regulation. That would make an additional 5 million people eligible for premium subsidies. The IRS proposal is unlawful, but the administration will do it anyway. Here's the background. Obamacare statute created premium subsidies for people who buy insurance through exchanges. Congress restricted those subsidies for people with low and moderate incomes. Or at no other source of health insurance. In addition to Medicare and Medicaid recipients, 155 million Americans with job-based coverage are prohibited from claiming the credits.

The law carved out one exception. If a company plan required a full-time employee to contribute more than 9.5 percent of household income for self only coverage. Then the worker and his or her family members are eligible for the subsidies. So this has gone back and forth with Congress. And they won't do it. Because it will add $45 billion to the deficit. Just in the next ten years. It's called the family glitch. The urban institute, estimates the regulation would reduce the number of uninsured, by around 190,000. Because why? At an average cost of $4.5 billion, taxpayers are going to pay 23,000. 684, per newly insured person each year. Which is kind of not so good. So it would never pass Congress. And so now the IRS is going to do it, even though they know it's illegal. So what is it they care about supporting a president who used the powers of the state, to further his own political and financial interests? Financial interests, China. Please.

They care about supporting a president, whose few purported diplomatic achievements. Few? Few? The world was headed towards peace. The Middle East was having peace. Like I've never seen in my lifetime. In retrospect, they largely look like an excuse to meet potential investors who can might fund Trump aides' new private equity. Are you kidding me? This guy who is schlepping his son with him, everywhere he goes. And you're blaming this on Trump?

They care about defending at all costs, a president who cheered on the mob. Seeking to hang his own vice president. Speaking of mobs, how about the people who are threatening to kill our Supreme Court justices? Because that kind of sounds like the same thing to me. And what is the White House saying? Nothing. What are the Democrats doing? Reluctantly voting to give the Supreme Court justices and their family security. And then they have this one. And then they care about undermining the integrity of our election system. And overturning the will of the voters. If and when tallies don't go their own way. Oh, my gosh. I think I'm going to start vomiting blood. I mean, holy cow. Election deniers are already laying the groundwork to overturn the will of the voters in the future. Through legal and administrative changes at the state and federal levels. They're only changing it back to what it was. The special exemption for covid!

Oh. I can't -- I mean, how do they even -- how do they sleep at night? How do they sleep at night? Well, I guess if it's in the winter, they probably sleep well. Because it's very warm in hell.

News

Vance and Rubio: Trump's Secret Weapons

Glenn Beck and Stu Burguiere unpack JD Vance’s viral response to a potential 2028 Vance-Rubio presidential ticket, where Vance praises Rubio as his “best friend” and credits Trump’s “grand strategy” for the administration’s success.

RADIO

Unveiling the secret to transforming angry boys into real men

The world has a plentiful, seemingly endless supply of angry boys. What it's lacking is real MEN. Glenn Beck shares the secret that our young men must learn if they truly want to protect and perfect our country.

Transcript

Below is a rush transcript that may contain errors

GLENN: There's a difference between a revival and an awakening. We are in a revival right now, but that doesn't necessarily lead to anything. Except, oh, I have to re-learn those principles. But that doesn't mean you apply them in your life. Okay?

That's an awakening. There's been two great awakenings in American history. One brought us the American Revolution. The second one brought us the Civil War and the freedom of slaves.

We have the possibility of going into a third great awakening. That's the only thing that will save us. If you don't know the difference between a revival and an awakening. Let me give you the negative print of a godly awakening. Our kids right now, they don't have any purpose. They don't have any meaning.

They look at everything, and it doesn't -- it's not real. None of it is real. It's money. It's fame.

It's -- you know, it's ever changing truths and definitions. And they have no purpose in their life. Okay?

So they're looking for that. Because man has to have purpose in his life. Man has to search for meaning.

So they're searching for meaning. And they found a group of people that actually mean something. And they're willing to die for it. And it's ISIS.

And so they're like, at least these people believe in something. They believe it. And they're willing to die for it. I'm going to stand with them. And they put that twisted understanding into action. That's the -- that is -- that's an awakening. It's just an awakening to the dark side. And that one is already happening. It has to happen on the good side. And let me speak directly to young men: Look, you are inheriting a very loud, angry, cynical and worst of all spiritually starving and malnourished society. And you are being sold a future of cheap pleasures and hollow heroes and screens with blue light that just rob you of your strength, one distracted second after another.

And in the middle of all that noise, may I just give you one piece of instruction. If there is anything virtuous, lovely, of good report or praise-worthy, seek those things.

Don't admire them. Don't nod at them. Seek them!

Hunt them. Chase them. Build your life around those things. A man who will do that. A boy. A young man who will do that, will become different. Noticeably different.

He will stop letting the culture feed him garbage. He stops applauding the trivial. He stops laughing at the obscene or cheering for the cruel.

He will become a curator of -- of real, lasting beauty in an age that has forgotten what beauty even looks like.

When other men are chasing down or holding up cynicism, this man holds up hope!

When everyone around him is chasing dopamine, he chooses discipline. When others will blame their circumstance, he'll take responsibility for his own action. When the world worships the shallow, he goes and searches for the deep!

You want to know what the secret of becoming strong is, or becoming trusted, or becoming the kind of man that your future wife, your future children, your future nation can depend on?

Here it is!

You become what you seek. If you seek trash, you become trash. If you seek virtue, you become a man of virtue. You seek excellence, and your life will begin to shine, not loudly, but steadily. Like the steel glow of a blade being forged.

That's who you'll be.

The world has a plentiful, seemingly never-ending supply of angry boys. We don't need any more addicted boys.

We don't need any more distracted boys. The world needs men. Whole men. Clear-eyed men.

Men whose souls are anchored to something higher than the algorithms, trying to own them!

Build a life worthy of admiration. Forget about the applause. Fill your mind with words that make you wiser. Fill your days with work, hard work, that makes you stronger. Fill your home with beauty that lifts every soul who walks into it.

Have your home a place where people walk in and go, man, I say so great here. I just love it here. I don't know what it is about your house. I just love it. It's the spirit that's there! Because you built it! You protect it.

Protect your integrity like a watchman on the wall. Don't lie. Don't cheat. Don't steal. And when you fail, and you will, stand back up again.

Because a man who seeks the virtuous, is not a man who never fails. He just -- he just becomes a man who refuses to stay on the ground.

If you seek things that are lovely and pure, trustworthy, praiseworthy, you'll become a kind of man this age almost never produces. A man whose very existence is a rebuke to the darkness.

That's your calling. That's why you were born.

Not to be lost. Not to play video games. Not to give up. Not to say, there's no hope. Not to end up in the trash bin of human history because you've -- you've taken so many drugs, you can't stand up straight anymore.

You're not destined to be alone.

You were destined for great things. You are destined to find an amazing woman!

Believe me. I didn't think I would ever find an amazing woman. Because I didn't think I was worth it. I didn't think I was worth it.

And until I started understanding how God works. That, yeah. I'm not worth any of the stuff that I have.

When you realize, it's all a gift. It's all a gift. And even if you work your brains out, you may not ever get all the things that you want. But you're going to have everything you need. Once you realize, carefully selecting friends makes a difference. My mother used to always say, show me your friends. I will show you your future.

It's true. Be careful who you select as friends. Watch your language. Watch what you're putting into your brain and what's coming out of your mouth. Because the brain is so amazing. It's being turned to mush. Did you know that there is a new study that just came out. I have to tell you about it next week, maybe.

New study going out. It is -- it's AI. And it has access to social media, and they have found that the AI -- the AI that is scrolling through social media all day, just to keep updated on everything that's going on in social media. It's getting brain mush. It's actually becoming dumber. It's become less effective!

It's a machine. What do you think this, flesh and blood, this thing is going to do?

We say life is meaningless. And life is the only thing that has any value. And yet, we spend all of our time, on things like social media. And that has absolutely no value.

But we think that's life.

I'm not that smart. I've just lived a long time. And I've made so many mistakes.

And I decided at one point, I'm going to stop saying, it's somebody else's fault. I'm going to start saying. Maybe -- what did I do to create that?

What did I do to attract that?

Why does this thing keep happening to me?

Why is it that I always find myself involved with these same kind of people?

Because, Glenn, dummy, it's you!

What you think, it's like -- it's like think of yourself as a -- as a beacon. It's just -- you're a beacon. Your GPS pin, that is constantly saying, here I am. Here I am. Here I am.

Except, it's transmitting more than just your location. It's -- it's transmitting what you're looking for, who you are. And it's attracting other dropped pins to you. It's saying, "I like this. I think this way. I believe these things. I am afraid of these things."

Whatever it is, you're thinking. It's constantly putting that out.

And saying, here I am. Is there anything else like that?

Anything else that can reinforce that? Anything else that can live like this?

Because that's me. Here I am. Here I am. Here I am.

That's why you keep finding yourself in exactly the same situations. Nothing will change, if nothing changes!

And the only thing that you can change, is you!

Seek the things, that have virtue.

Seek the things, that have beauty in music, in -- in art, in life, in architecture, in clothing! Whatever it is. Look for real, lasting beauty and value.

Find the things that are true! Truly true.

Universally true. Find the things that uplift. Seek those things!

And you will change your life and your world!

THE GLENN BECK PODCAST

Autistic Kids Can READ MINDS? ‘Telepathy Tapes’ Doctor Reveals All | The Glenn Beck Podcast | Ep 273

Autism may not be a curse ... "it may be a blessing that we just don’t understand yet,” says Glenn Beck to groundbreaking neuroscientist Dr. Diane Hennacy, whose research into the telepathic powers of autistic children left the nation stunned in “The Telepathy Tapes” podcast series. The pair go on a mind-bending exploration into psychic phenomena, savant syndrome, the secret messages in our dreams, and the possibility of a spiritual meeting place for autistic children guarded by angels. Glenn says, “This will make you reconsider everything you think you know about autism, the brain, ESP, human consciousness, everything.” That is, only if we’re willing to leave “scientism” behind us and embrace the fact that reality is much more than the material world ...

RADIO

This will CHANGE how you think about NUCLEAR WAR

The new Netflix movie “A House of Dynamite” has caused a stir at the Pentagon and led many Americans to change how they think about nuclear war. The film’s writer, Noah Oppenheim, joins Glenn Beck to address the controversy and explain why his movie ends the shocking way it does…

Transcript

Below is a rush transcript that may contain errors

GLENN: Noah, welcome to the program.

NOAH: Thank you so much for having me.

GLENN: You bet. I have to tell you, your movie, frustrating, because it ends. And I'm like, wait, there should be five more episodes.
This should just not be a 90-minute movie. There's so much more.

Really compelling the way you told the story. So congratulations on that. First question: Are there going to be sequels?

NOAH: Well, first of all, thank you very much. I really appreciate it. It means a lot coming from you.

There is no plan for a sequel. You know, we -- we wanted the movie to be a provocation, in the best sense of the word. You know, a provocation to a larger conversation about this nuclear issue, which I'm so glad to be having with you right now.

GLENN: Yeah. Was your primary source the Annie Jacobson book, or was that just one of many? Did you go to government sources?

How did you get all this information?

NOAH: We spoke to a wide variety of people, who had worked in places like the White House, the CIA, strategic command.

We -- you know, I had worked as a journalist, previously. And so new folks who had held these kinds of jobs, Kathryn Bigelow, who is the director of the movie had made Hurt Locker, Zero Dark 30. So she has extraordinary relationships in the national security world. And obviously, there is some incredible body of work that has been done over the past several decades.

Think tank folks, authors, journalists, et cetera.

And, you know, it's surprising how much -- a lot of this information is in the public domain. In terms of what procedures the government would follow. In -- in case of an attack like this.

And then a lot of it, you know, you can build by talking to sources. You know, much like you would do, if you were trying to report out a story or get to the bottom of something.

GLENN: You know, it's amazing to me, that most presidents don't ever ask for training on this.

They don't -- they don't do dry runs. This is -- you're the one person that could change the whole world. In 15 minutes.

And you're coming into it, most of them are coming into it, absolutely dead cold. If something would happen. They don't -- they don't know how it works.

And this is not something. I don't know how you would make the decision, in that amount of time.

NOAH: Yeah. Two of the most terrifying things that we -- that we zeroed on early was this question of sole authority and decision time. Right? So the idea that in the United States we live in a nuclear monarchy, the president of the United States has the sole authority to determine whether these weapons are used. It's not like he has to build any kind of consensus with the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He has to decide. He has to decide under extraordinary time pressures.

So if a missile is launched from the Pacific theater. That part of the world. It's under 30 minutes to impact on the continental United States.

If a missile is launched off our coast by a Russian sub, for instance, it would take ten to 12 minutes. So you do have a scenario, in which one person has arguably the fate of all mankind in their hands, and they have a clock ticking. And, you know, depending on where they are, and what the target is. They're probably running for their life or being evacuated. Worrying about their own family.

And it's all put to them, what you want to do.

And if you -- that's not scary enough. The cherry on top is, we spoke to people who had worked directly with presidents. Directly with secretaries of defense. And we said, how often is the president rehearsing this. Practicing for it. Preparing. And they said never.

Basically never. They get one briefing when they take office, or they're introduced to the military. We're all familiar with the guy who follows him around with the suitcase. The nuclear football, if you will. Their process is explained, how that would work. And then after that, they never think about that again.

And, you know, Ronald Reagan, we were told, was the last president who participated in any kind of live nuclear decision-making exercise.

And it's -- and so the -- the guy who has the most responsibility, all the authority, is also arguably, the least practiced and prepared of any one of his --

GLENN: It's really.

It's terrifying.

You know, I've talked to President Trump about nuclear capability.

And I will tell you, you can say whatever you want about Donald Trump.

But one thing I know he's afraid of, is nuclear war.

He -- that has kept him awake, night after night after night.

He knows. Like Reagan did. And Gorbachev did.

You start that, you push that button. It's over. It's all over.

There's -- I mean, you hinted at it, you know, when you -- you were like, I've got -- if we fly these missiles over this country, what are they going to -- are they going to perceive this as a threat?

You know, missiles with Russia. I think in the movie, you've got Russia saying, how do we know you're not going to bomb -- we should just trust you?

It's over!

NOAH: Yeah. All of which begs the question, I think, for President Trump and for all of our leaders, what do we do about it?

You know, how do we solve this problem? We've lived with this threat, in the background of all of our lives, since the dawn of the nuclear age.

Despite my last name, not related to Oppenheimer.

GLENN: Half the name.

NOAH: We've lived with this dynamite in the walls.

For so many decades now. And really, since the end of the Cold War. We haven't really thought or talked about it very much.

It obviously is on President Trump's mind.

He does talk about it. He talks about trying to build the Golden Globe. And a better defense missile system.

You know, I think -- I think this question of, how do we make the world safer?

And it may be, part of that is building a better missile defense system. It may be part of it is reengaging with an arms control and an arms reduction process. Right?

You start our last remaining treaty with the Russians, that -- that governs the development and, you know, proliferation of these weapons. Is set to expire at the end of the year. Maybe we should engage in a process with Russia and China. To try to dramatically reduce the nuclear stockpile.

There are a lot of levers, that the president can pull to try to make you us all safer.

GLENN: So part of the controversy with your -- your movie, which is House of Dynamite, and it's on Netflix.

Part of the controversy, I guess, with the -- with the Pentagon is that the ground-based missile, interoceptors, and the interoceptors, you say it's 60 percent success. I think -- I think Annie Jacobson says, it's like close to zero.

And the Pentagon says it's 100 percent every time. What do you think it really is?

Is it 60?

NOAH: So there's a few factors involved here. The record of -- the testing record for this system, which was the ground-based mid-course interoceptors, is -- is public.

And it is 61 percent. They have done a series of tests over the last 25 years.

And if you add up the -- you know, the number of successes, over the number of failures, it comes to 61 percent.

The -- the Pentagon in their memo, is trying to say that the last several tests have been successful.

The previous ones were not.

So they say, if you only count the most recent ones, it's 100 percent.

That's like saying, I made my last -- I made my last two free throws. So I am a 100 percent free throw shooter --

GLENN: Exactly right.

NOAH: Yeah. So that being said, they're not wrong, in that that the system is getting better.

The software is getting better.

All of it is improving. It's nowhere close to being able to say, it's 100 percent effective. And part of that also comes down to the conditions under which these tests are undertaken. Right?

If I tell you, Glenn, I'm going to throw a baseball at your head. It's a lot easier for you to brace yourself and be ready and catch that baseball.

If an attack were to happen in the real world, it's far less likely, you know, it's far more complicated to defend against.

So, you know, this though, is not a debate between, you know, us as film makers and the Pentagon. It's really a debate between the Pentagon and a much wider community of experts, about the efficacy of this system.

You know, like I said, it's a good conversation to have. Do we want to improve the system.

Do we want --

GLENN: Yes, we do.

NOAH: -- to get more and more money to build something like Golden Dome?

GLENN: Yes, yes, we do.

Yes, we do.

The -- one thing that you didn't hint on, that was in Annie's book that I thought was fascinating. Was that when the president has to finally make the decision, he still doesn't know if it's nuclear-tipped.

There could be a conventional weapon on a ballistic missile, that is being sent by North Korea, let's say.

I mean, it would be an incredible waste.

But, you know, if we launch, before the missile hits, we don't even know if that's nuclear.

And we would have then started a nuclear war. Because we're launching nuclear weapons.

And they didn't!

NOAH: I think that one of the things that we're trying to capture in the story that we taught, which, of course, is a fictional story. Is the difficulty of making decisions in the thick of war.

And that particularly, when you have such a tight decision window. When that clock is winding down, so rapidly. It's -- you're going to find yourself being forced to make calls with imperfect and incomplete information.

And the other thing that is scary, is that the system that we built to -- that governs the use of nuclear weapons was designed during the Cold War for a specific purpose.

It was to make sure that the Soviets believed they could never get away with a first strike.

That if they launched missiles at us. The president would be able to fire back, so quickly. That our decision-making. Our command and control apparatus. Would be able to retaliate.

And so maintaining that deterrent threat, we needed to make sure that the president could respond, and retaliate as quickly and as easily as possible.

So that's the world we still live in now.

And so, again, if one domino falls, there's not a lot of breaks built into this.

The idea is to make it easy for the president to fire back.

And so, yeah. The mistakes can be made. I think it's miraculous, frankly, that we're all still here.

GLENN: It is. It is.

It really is.

Noah Oppenheim. We're talking about the show on Netflix called House of Dynamite. If you haven't seen it yet, it's a must-watch. It is an absolutely thrilling 90 minutes, that will scare the living daylights out of you. Because you'll be like, that can't be true! Right? That's not the way this works. No, that's exactly the way it works. And we're talking about nuclear war. We will come back for a little bit more here.

I want to know, Noah, because I made a decision, what I would do. But I think that is what would make me a really bad president, maybe.

I would love to hear if you guys had a debate, internally. And decided what you would do, if you were the president in that exact situation. We'll come back in just a situation. First, let me tell you about Chapter. There's a good chance, you've already heard it on TV. The Medicare deadline is coming. It's true. It's December 7th. And that's not far away.

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(music)

GLENN: From House of Dynamite.
(music)

VOICE: Approximately three minutes ago, we detected an ICBM over the Pacific. Current flight trajectory is consistent with impact in the continental United States.

VOICE: Have we seen dead people fall?

VOICE: No.

VOICE: Is this real?
(music)

VOICE: Chi-Com is asking for the launch instructions right now.

VOICE: I'm going to need you to breathe. You're talking about hitting a bullet with a bullet.

VOICE: So what's the point? Us. That's what $50 million buys you!

VOICE: Get in the car, and just start driving.

VOICE: If we do not take steps to neutralize our enemies, now, we will lose our window to do so!

VOICE: If we get this wrong, none of us are going to be alive tomorrow.

VOICE: We did everything right. Right?
(music)

VOICE: We did everything right!

VOICE: None of this makes sense. Making all these bombs and all these planets.
(music)

GLENN: It is --

VOICE: The world is just ready to blow.

GLENN: It is remarkable. House of Dynamite on Netflix.

I'm talking to the screenwriter. The screenwriter and the movie maker, Noah Oppenheim. Noah, there's one part of this I don't understand.

And maybe this is what would make me a bad president.

Because I would say, I am not striking until that thing hits. And we know that it's hit.

And it's blown up one of our cities. And then I'm going to wait. And I'm going to say immediately to the world. Everyone in the world, you isolate, and -- and take action against this guy. Or I will have no other response.

I have no choice, than hit him back.

But I would take the one hit, in order to try to save the whole world.

Why can't the president wait?

Why is it this constant, you've got to launch before it hits?

Why?

NOAH: I don't think that would make you a bad president at all.

I think that's a perfectly reasonable response to the situation.

I think that the counterpoint would be the -- the argument made by one of our characters. The generals in STRATCOM, who says, if you don't -- now that the genie is out of the bottle.

Right?

Now that somebody has kind of broken this nuclear stalemate that's existed for the last 70 years. That if we don't -- it is now increasingly dangerous. It is increasingly more likely that more weapons logical be launched our way.

We've now entered into what they call a spiral of alerts. Where bays that missile. The one missile is coming towards us. We then raise our level of military readiness. Start mobilizing forces. As soon as we start mobilizing our various forces around the world.

Everybody else does too. Now the nuclear genie is potentially out of the bottle. And do we want to wait and see if more missiles are sent our way. Or do we want to try to make sure that it stops with this one.

And take out the other -- you're enemy's arsenals and command and control systems, before they can potentially launch more.

I agree with you. It's perfectly reasonable to say, I'll take that chance.

There are more coming.

But I want to see what happens with this one first. Somebody else might say, don't take that chance. What are the odds it's only one?

Let's hit everyone else's missiles while they're still in their silos, and their bombers while they're still on the ground and make sure that we limit our losses to just this one city.

GLENN: Jeez. Once you do that, it's over anyway. Once you do that.

NOAH: Yes. That's arguably the insanity of the nuclear deterrent.

Which is once you do -- it's -- it's we destroy the entire world, as a means of defending ourselves.

GLENN: Yeah. Noah, great job. I hope there's a sequel. I would love to see what the president -- what he would choose. Noah Oppenheim.

The -- the show is, a House of Dynamite.