The FCC’s Fight with Stephen Colbert

The Dispatch Podcast

The Dispatch

News, Politics

4.6 • 3.3K Ratings

🗓️ 20 February 2026

⏱️ 62 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Steve Hayes is joined by Jonah Goldberg, David French, and Megan McArdle to discuss Stephen Colbert's “pulled” interview with Texas U.S. Senate candidate James Talarico and whether the Trump administration is seriously considering bringing back the Fairness Doctrine. Plus: Are military strikes on Iran imminent? The Agenda:—The FCC and equal time rules—Should the government control airwaves?—FTC's threat to Apple News—Military escalation with Iran—Plausibility of regime change—NWYT: Going to the moon? Show Notes:—Paul Matzko's The Radio Right—Megan McArdle's podcast The Dispatch Podcast is a production of ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠The Dispatch⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, a digital media company covering politics, policy, and culture from a non-partisan, conservative perspective. To access all of The Dispatch’s offerings—including access to all of our articles, members-only newsletters, and bonus podcast episodes—⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠click here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. If you’d like to remove all ads from your podcast experience, consider becoming a premium Dispatch member ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠by clicking here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	The Dispatch podcast is presented by Pacific Legal Foundation, suing the government since 1973.
0:07.5	Welcome to the dispatch podcast. I'm Steve Hayes, joined today by my dispatch co-founder Jonah Goldberg,
0:13.9	and dispatch contributors, New York Times opinion columnist David French and Washington Post columnist Megan McArdle.
0:20.2	On this week's roundtable, we'll discuss Stephen Colbert's pulled interview with Texas Democratic
0:25.1	Senate candidate James Tolariko, the FCC's equal time rules, and the fairness doctrine.
0:31.2	And then the continuing military escalation with Iran and the likelihood of U.S. strikes,
0:35.8	and finally, not worth your time, returning to the moon.
0:40.1	Before we get to today's conversation, please consider becoming a member of the dispatch. You'll
0:44.4	unlock access to bonus podcast episodes and all of our exclusive newsletters and articles.
0:49.4	You can sign up at the dispatch.com slash join, and if you use the promo code roundtable,
0:54.8	you'll get a month free.
0:56.4	And if ads aren't your thing,
0:57.5	you can upgrade to a premium membership.
0:59.9	No ads, early access to all episodes,
1:02.8	two free gift memberships to give away,
1:04.9	exclusive town halls with the founders, and more.
1:08.9	All right, let's dive in.
1:38.2	Music the founders and more. All right, let's dive in. Hello everybody. I want to start with a new decision that has sparked some controversy over the government's rules around talk shows and quote-unquote equal time.
1:47.5	Last month, the FCC provided new guidance to broadcast networks on the political content of talk shows and rules that require equal time. And at the heart of the change is acclaimed by the administration that broadcast talk shows like The View and The Late Show and others lean heavily to the left and as such amount to an unfair advantage for Democrats and their friends.
2:04.4	So these shows have been covered for a long time, decades, by an exemption for so-called bona fide news shows. But the Trump administration has
2:11.9	decided to change the way it applies this rule. And this is a quote from the new FCC announcement.
2:20.0	The FCC has not been presented with any evidence
	...

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