The Moment LIVE! Politics & Culture, Explained

Ohio’s governor’s race just got ugly. Vivek Ramaswamy spent $4 million on an attack ad featuring the estranged mother of Democratic candidate Amy Acton, a woman who sided with Acton’s abusive stepfather when CPS removed her from the home at age 12. Some Republicans are calling it out, but Trump posted on Truth Social in support. Is this backfire actually an October surprise for Acton? Then: Jay-Z has allegedly selected himself as the Super Bowl halftime performer. Is Diddy adjacency going to be a problem? Does Gen Alpha know a single Jay-Z song? Where are the women in the NFL’s recent halftime lineup? Also: Clavicular pleaded not guilty in a Massachusetts court to charges of assaulting a 17-year-old, surrendered his passport, and showed up with a suspiciously convenient emotional support dog. Plus: with 11 days until the midterms, Generation Lab founder Cyrus Beschloss joins to talk about what Gen Z thinks about voting, and if the youth wave everyone keeps predicting is actually coming. The Moment LIVE is hosted by⁠ Meredith Lynch⁠ and⁠ Rebecca Sananès⁠. New episodes stream LIVE Tuesday and Friday, available the next day where you get your podcasts. Subscribe so you never miss a moment. Follow The Moment LIVE YouTube Substack Instagram TikTok 00:00 Vivek’s Dirty Attack Ad, Jay-Z at the Super Bowl & Gen Z’s Midterm Problem 01:42 Midterm Check-In: 11 Days Out 03:02 Vivek Ramaswamy’s Attack Ad Against Amy Acton 06:20 Republican Backlash and the Politics of Child Abuse 15:23 Jay-Z Books Himself for the Super Bowl Halftime Show 19:50 Clavicular Pleads Not Guilty in Massachusetts 24:10 Gen Z Polling with Cyrus Beschloss 27:42 How Gen Z Has Turned on Trump 28:04 Gen Z’s AI Anxiety and Job Loss Fear 29:59 Data Centers as the New Campaign Battleground 31:43 Why Youth Voter Turnout Stays Low 34:36 Voting Cynicism and What’s Actually at Stake 36:47 2028 Polls, Name Recognition, and Gen Z Fluidity 41:10 Gen Z Discourse and What’s Having a Moment Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

France is experiencing its worst civil unrest in decades: 2,400 arrests, curfews across Paris, and protests that started with Gen Z students demanding relief from overcrowded schools before workers joined over fuel costs and housing. Rebecca and Meredith break down what’s driving it and why the same kind of mass mobilization looks so different in the US. Then: Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed is facing a coordinated smear campaign, with political operatives and media figures pushing false narratives about his background, and the playbook looks a lot like what was used against Barack Obama and Reverend Wright. Plus, Matthew McConaughey posted a suspiciously timed “independent” video during Texas early voting. Also: the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show is back, featuring Kylie Jenner in a $50 million Fantasy Bra, Barbara Palvin six weeks postpartum on the runway, and all the same questions about who this show is really for and who’s behind it. The Moment LIVE is hosted by⁠ Meredith Lynch⁠ and⁠ Rebecca Sananès⁠. New episodes stream LIVE Tuesday and Friday, available the next day where you get your podcasts. Subscribe so you never miss a moment. Follow The Moment LIVE YouTube Substack Instagram TikTok 00:00 Why France Is Burning, Abdul El-Sayed’s Targeted & Victoria’s Secret’s Complicated Comeback 04:02 France Protests Explained 07:02 Why Americans Can’t Protest Like This 12:08 When Protests Turn Counterproductive 20:35 The Smear Campaign Against Abdul El-Sayed 30:46 Pope Francis Hospitalized 33:18 McConaughey’s “Independent” Video 36:48 The Fox & Friends Grift 43:34 Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show Returns 47:08 Beauty Standards & Plastic Surgery 52:00 What’s Having a Moment: Nathan Fielder’s You Can See Everything and Botox Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Selma Blair has been charged with federal assault after allegedly punching and biting two Delta flight attendants on a flight to New York, and now the FBI is involved. Her lawyer is blaming a missed MS medication dose, but this isn’t her first time biting people. Katie Zacharia lasted less than a week as White House press secretary before being pushed out, and it’s not hard to see why. It emerged she sat for the California Bar, never passed, and has no law license anywhere in the US, despite calling herself an attorney for over a decade. The office is in crisis after it emerged she sat for the California Bar, never passed, and has no law license anywhere in the US, despite calling herself an attorney for over a decade. Collin Gosselin’s memoir, In The Shadow Of Eight, about growing up on Jon & Kate Plus 8 is shocking readers with allegations of abuse, being restrained in a basement room, and forced medication during a 21-month stay at a mental health facility. Journalist and author Fortesa Latifi joins to unpack the overlap between reality TV kids and influencer kids, what legal protections actually exist, and what the Gosselin story reveals about who really pays the price when family becomes content. The Moment LIVE is hosted by⁠ Meredith Lynch⁠ and⁠ Rebecca Sananès⁠. New episodes stream LIVE Tuesday and Friday, available the next day where you get your podcasts. Subscribe so you never miss a moment. Follow The Moment LIVE YouTube Substack Instagram TikTok 00:00 The Moment LIVE: Selma Blair Bites, Kate Zacharia Never Passed the Bar & Collin Gosselin Exposes Jon & Kate ft. Fortesa Latifi 01:15 Selma Blair’s Assault Charges: Punching and Biting Delta Flight Attendants 02:18 Is MS Really to Blame? What Doctors Actually Say About Biting and Aggression 04:20 Selma Blair’s Problematic History and the Pattern of Blaming Her Diagnosis 08:52 Katie Zacharia’s Bar Exam Scandal: No License, No Problem in the Trump White House 14:05 The Sexist Question Katie Zacharia Got That Male Press Secretaries Never Do 20:50 Collin Gosselin’s Memoir with Fortesa Latifi: Abuse, a Basement Room, and 21 Months in a Facility 25:53 Reality TV Kids vs. Influencer Kids: Who Has More Legal Protection? 27:25 Why Collin’s Siblings Don’t Remember It the Same Way 29:56 Child Labor Laws, Missing Money, and the Gosselin College Fund 33:34 Why Reality TV Is the Launchpad for the Influencer Pipeline Now 37:46 What’s Next for Kate Gosselin After the Memoir Drops 40:06 Having a Moment: Mikayla Nogueira’s POV Beauty, the Girls Reboot & Love Is Blind Boston Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Shane Gillis used his SNL monologue to demean women at the gym, and the backlash (then the threats) came fast. Rebecca and Meredith break down why the joke was lazy and dangerous, why SNL’s silence matters, and what it says about who gets to say what on live television in 2026. Then: Pete Hegseth has announced America’s first public execution since the 1930s: a firing squad, livestreamed, scheduled for December 3rd. The show digs into the Eighth Amendment questions, the Christa Pike connection, and how platforms are already hedging. PLUS: Kelly Clarkson picked a fight with a Brooklyn toy shop over a $15,000 animatronic bird, and the internet has very strong feelings.  Actor Theo Rossi (Sons of Anarchy, The Penguin) joins to discuss his new film Come With Me — an unflinching look at the manosphere, male loneliness, and what pushes men toward radicalization and violence. The Moment LIVE is hosted by⁠ Meredith Lynch⁠ and⁠ Rebecca Sananès⁠. New episodes stream LIVE Tuesday and Friday, available the next day where you get your podcasts. Subscribe so you never miss a moment. Follow The Moment LIVE YouTube Substack Instagram TikTok 00:00 The Moment LIVE: Shane Gillis SNL Backlash, Kelly Clarkson’s Bird Beef & Theo Rossi on the Manosphere 02:43 Kelly Clarkson vs. Art of Play: The $15,000 Animatronic Bird Explained 04:24 Pro-Bird or Pro-Kelly? The Power Differential 11:03 When Celebrity Beef Becomes a Mob: The Art of Play Pile-On 12:13 Pete Hegseth’s Public Execution Announcement: First Firing Squad Since the 1930s 19:48 Shane Gillis SNL Monologue Backlash: What He Said and Why It Matters 25:45 Theo Rossi on Come With Me: Sons of Anarchy Actor on Male Loneliness and Radicalization 28:32 Why Despair Is a Media Product and Who’s Selling It 29:50 How Cult Narratives Use Truth as a Hook 31:37 The Loneliness Algorithm: How Isolation Becomes Radicalization Online 35:47 Why Come With Me Had to Be Made Now 38:03 Calling Out Conspiracy Thinking in Real Time 42:23 Having a Moment: Carrie Binge & Camp Looksmax In Chaos Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Cornell case takes yet another disturbing turn. Jane Doe’s family was swatted at home after a false report, and threatening messages continue to flood in from people claiming to know the accused. Meredith and guest co-host Jasmine Ellis break down the real cost of coming forward, Megyn Kelly’s hypocrisy, and the debate over whether Letitia James should stay on as special prosecutor. Then: Could Texas actually be going blue? With James Talarico up six points on Ken Paxton and Gina Hinojosa nearly tied with Abbott, Texas native Jasmine gives the read no coastal pundit can. Plus — the NYT DealBook story on why Trump accounts may be a scam and SiriusXM quietly wiping out residual deals for 500 working comedians.  While awaiting his court date, Clavicular is charging men $7,500 to attend Camp Looksmax — where the activities include roast battles, plastic surgery consultations, and buying shoe lifts. The Moment LIVE is hosted by⁠ Meredith Lynch⁠ and⁠ Rebecca Sananès⁠. New episodes stream LIVE Tuesday and Friday, available the next day where you get your podcasts. Subscribe so you never miss a moment. Follow The Moment LIVE YouTube Substack Instagram TikTok 00:00 The Moment LIVE: Jasmine Ellis, Cornell Threats, Texas Races, Trump Accounts & Camp Looksmax 03:41 Cornell Jane Doe Swatted at Home: The Real Cost of Coming Forward 05:00 Megyn Kelly’s Hypocrisy and Whether Letitia James Should Stay on the Case 15:26 Texas Could Go Blue: Talarico vs. Paxton, Hinojosa vs. Abbott & Trump’s Truth Social Meltdown 25:34 The Questionable Loopholes in Children’s Trump Accounts 28:17 How SiriusXM Quietly Killed 500 Comedy Deals: Raw Dog Comedy and Working Comics 30:37 What Clean Comedy Actually Means and Who Gets Locked Out 35:33 Sebastian Maniscalco Takes Over the Channel: The Switch, the Silence & the Backlash 41:32 Camp Looksmax Explained: $7,500 for Roast Battles and Plastic Surgery Consultations 48:33 Having a Moment: Leaving Your Hour and Jasmine Ellis Tour Dates Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices