Ep. 532 - The Media’s Big Boo Boo

Episode Summary

Executive Summary: The episode centers on Ben Shapiro criticizing media outlets for major factual errors in Trump/Russia coverage, arguing the mistakes consistently skew anti-Trump and fuel claims of “fake news.” It also covers Giuliani’s evolving advice on Mueller, the Stormy Daniels fallout, a segment on incels and cultural decay around sex and commitment, a critique of HuffPost’s “fish sex” story, and a mailbag on politics, family, faith, and philosophy.

Main Topics: Media errors and anti-Trump bias (Priority: 5/5): Shapiro argues NBC, ABC, CNN, McClatchy, and others repeatedly published sensational claims about Michael Cohen, Michael Flynn, and Trump-linked investigations that later required corrections, showing a directional bias against Trump. Mueller investigation and Giuliani strategy (Priority: 5/5): He discusses Rudy Giuliani’s public comments urging Sessions to end Mueller’s probe, Trump’s response to Giuliani, and his view that firing Mueller would likely backfire politically. Stormy Daniels and White House credibility (Priority: 4/5): The show addresses how Trump’s reported knowledge of the Stormy Daniels payment continues to undermine trust, while the press uses Sarah Huckabee Sanders’ briefings to press the administration on inconsistencies. Incels, sex, and social decay (Priority: 4/5): Shapiro uses the incel phenomenon to argue that modern culture’s emphasis on sex over commitment creates entitlement, resentment, and misery, and that bettering oneself and prioritizing commitment is the healthier model. Critique of cultural and sexual “victimhood” narratives (Priority: 3/5): He extends the sex/commitment argument to women and media culture, mocking the normalization of fish-sex themes and arguing that both men and women are harmed by anti-traditional relationship norms. Mailbag: family, law school, philosophy, and faith (Priority: 3/5): Listeners ask about an abusive parent, maintaining discipline, law school preparation, overregulation, how to talk to adolescents, Gramsci and Marxism, avoiding whataboutism, philosophy reading, and Biblical interpretation. Things I like / things I hate (Priority: 3/5): He praises Mike Pence swearing in openly gay Ambassador Richard Grenell as evidence religious conservatives can disagree morally without hatred, and condemns Bill Ayers for his terrorist past and lack of remorse.

Key Arguments: NBC’s reported Michael Cohen wiretap story was materially wrong; a pen register is not a wiretap, so the original claim dramatically overstated the facts. The media’s repeated corrections and retractions show a pattern: Trump-related stories are often published before being fully vetted and tend to err against Trump rather than in a neutral direction. Calling entire outlets “fake news” is too broad, but it is fair to judge outlets by trustworthiness and repeated failures in coverage. Firing Mueller would likely create severe political blowback and could be strategically unwise for Trump, even if the investigation ultimately goes nowhere. Shapiro argues that modern culture overvalues sex and undervalues commitment, producing entitled, unhappy men and women. Nobody is owed sex; a healthy sexual ethic requires self-improvement, mutual standards, and commitment, not redistribution or entitlement. The incel mindset is a symptom of a broader victimhood culture that teaches people they are owed intimacy without earning it. The HuffPost fish-sex trend is presented as an example of cultural absurdity and the breakdown of serious relationship norms. Religious believers can morally disagree with someone’s behavior without hating them or demanding state punishment. The media’s outrage over Trump’s immorality is less persuasive because many of the same outlets ignored comparable or worse behavior from Bill Clinton and others. Biblical stories like Noah and Babel can be read as metaphorical or theological narratives that convey moral and social truths even if not taken as literal history. Conservatives should engage philosophy seriously; it provides intellectual grounding and better arguments about human nature, morality, and politics.

Data Points: Number of listeners winning USCCA giveaway: 5 - Five listeners were promised a chance to win $1,000 each for a Kimber Micro and ammo through the sponsor promotion. Prize amount: $1,000 each - USCCA promotion offered five winners $1,000 toward a Kimber Micro and ammunition. Sale end date: the 25th - The USCCA promotional giveaway was said to end on the 25th. Media correction: pen register, not wiretap - NBC corrected its Cohen coverage to say monitoring was limited to call records rather than actual audio interception. Subpoenas requested: 70 blank subpoenas - Shapiro discussed reporting that Mueller requested 70 blank subpoenas in the Manafort case. Stormy Daniels payment: $130,000 - Referenced in discussing Giuliani’s comments about Trump’s knowledge of the payment. Trump approval/polling: about 50% - He cited Rasmussen polling as showing Trump around 50%, described as a high point. Incel attack casualties: 10 killed, 15 injured - Referenced the Canadian van attack tied to the incel label. Mental health / school performance note: adolescent brain development - He referenced underdeveloped prefrontal cortexes and overdeveloped amygdalas when discussing teens. Private learning platform classes: 20,000+ classes - Skillshare was promoted as offering more than 20,000 classes across multiple fields. Skillshare offer: 2 months for 99 cents - Special listener promotion for Skillshare. ExpressVPN offer: 3 months free - Promotion for listeners subscribing via the provided link. ExpressVPN price: less than seven bucks a month - He described the service as costing under $7 monthly. Daily Wire subscription: $9.99 a month - Price mentioned for access to full shows and mailbag participation. West Virginia Senate deficit: 14 points - Joe Manchin was said to trail a generic Republican by 14 points. North Dakota Senate deficit: 8 points - He said Heidi Heitkamp was trailing by eight. Indiana Senate deficit: 5 points - Joe Donnelly was said to trail by five. Missouri Senate deficit: 5 points - Claire McCaskill was said to trail by five. Montana Senate deficit: 5 points - John Tester was said to trail by five. Florida Senate race: deadlock - Bill Nelson and Rick Scott were described as locked in a tie. Ohio/Pennsylvania margins: less than 2 points - Sherrod Brown and Bob Casey were said to lead by under two points. Virginia Senate margin: within 3 points - Tim Kaine was said to be within three points. Blankenship primary share: 16% - He cited a poll showing Don Blankenship at 16 percent in the West Virginia primary. Dow move after Flynn report: 350 points - ABC’s erroneous Flynn report reportedly caused the Dow to fall 350 points.

Pivotal Quotes: "If you want to have sex with somebody of the opposite sex, you are setting your standards." — Ben Shapiro: He argues that dating and marriage require mutual standards, not entitlement or redistribution of sex. "You can tell the agenda of the media by the errors that the media makes." — Ben Shapiro: He uses multiple Trump-related corrections to argue that repeated mistakes reveal political bias. "Rudy is a great guy, but he just started a day ago. He'll get his facts straight." — Donald Trump: Trump’s on-record response to Giuliani’s public comments about the Mueller/Cohen matter.

Implications: Listeners are encouraged to distrust sensational reporting, value commitment over sexual entitlement, and see political/media narratives through a bias-aware lens. The episode frames Trump-era controversy as both a media failure and a broader cultural symptom.