Full Episode - Bari Weiss Burns The Credibility Of CBS News + The Media Meltdown: AI, Billionaires, and the Collapse of Trust

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The Chuck ToddCast 2h 43m 3 speakers 8 chapters transcribed

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What is discussed at the start of this section?

Unknown 0:00

This is an iHeart Podcast, guaranteed human.

Mike Pesca 0:04

It's sponsorship time, but you know what? It's really great when you get a sponsor that you already use. And guess what?

How does CBS News's handling of the 60 Minutes episode reflect on media credibility?

Mike Pesca 0:11

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What are the implications of Bari Weiss's leadership at CBS News?

Mike Pesca 0:36

I have gotten quite a few already from there. The stuff's really nice. They have Mongolian cashmere sweaters for $50. I just know, hey, cashmere, that's pretty good. You don't normally get that for 50 bucks or less. Italian wool coats that look and feel like designer. The stuff... I'll be honest, right? You look at it online, you think, okay, is this really as nice as it looks? Well, when I got it, I was like, oh, this is real quality. So yeah, I'm going to end up making sure I take it to my dry cleaner so I don't screw it up when I clean it. But I've been quite impressed. And hey, it's holiday season. It is impossible to shop for For us middle-aged men, I know this. Well, tell your kids, tell your spouses, tell your partners, try Quince.

Mike Pesca 1:17

Or if you're trying to figure out what to get your adult child, what to get your mom or dad, I'm telling you, you're going to find something that is going to be comfortable for them on Quince. So get your wardrobe sorted and your gift list handled with Quince. Don't wait. Go to quince.com slash chuck for free shipping on your order and 365-day returns. Now available in Canada as well. That's q-u-i-n-c-e dot com slash chuck. Free shipping and 365-day returns. quince.com slash chuck.

How does the discussion of Trump’s political capital relate to media trust?

Mike Pesca 1:50

Use that code. Well, hello there, and happy Christmas Eve. That's when this episode is dropping. I am recording on Tuesday. Festivus! Right. So it's grievance day, actually, when I'm actually recording this. But you'll be hearing it for the informal start of the Christmas holiday season with with Christmas Eve. So I appreciate it. I'm Chuck Todd. Another episode of the Chuck Todd cast. If I hadn't said that, get that away. I appreciate it. It's been. I have had a blast these last eight months. We got started, I believe, on April 2nd was our first episode. And this has been just such a joy. So I appreciate it. And, you know, I've scratched itches that I've always wanted to scratch in a semi-public forum. including all of the various sports updates that I enjoy doing.

Mike Pesca 2:46

So let me give you a rundown of this episode. A little bit of reaction of some headlines of the last 48 hours. I want to get to a little bit on Epstein, a little bit on the CBS Mets with 60 Minutes. But a sort of larger view of sort of taking a step back and what has changed in our politics and what actually hasn't changed in the last year. And I want to go through that a little bit. My interview is with somebody who I just really enjoy talking with, Mike Peska. He is the gist list, former Slate. Many of you are probably listeners. He is somebody that I really have appreciated how he's tried to attack news of the day, current events. He has really tried to attack these stories from the outside looking in, from a more detached way.

Mike Pesca 3:34

And we dig into the future of journalism. We dig into what's going on at CBS, though our conversation happened before this specific incident with 60 Minutes, just to let you know. And then we spend a lot of time on what is this sort of uncomfortable moment we're in, in the gamification of everything, right? Particularly sports and the prediction markets and where this is headed. So In general, I think it's a great conversation. By the way, if you don't subscribe to the Just List, you should. It's a lot of fun. Even the free version is a lot of fun. He's really good at sort of finding those stories that... that you're not going to get in the headline newsletters that you subscribe to from a news site, right?

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Chapters

8 chapters

1 What is discussed at the start of this section? 0:00–0:11 2 How does CBS News's handling of the 60 Minutes episode reflect on media credibility? 0:11–0:36 3 What are the implications of Bari Weiss's leadership at CBS News? 0:36–1:50 4 How does the discussion of Trump’s political capital relate to media trust? 1:50–1:25:00 5 What are the implications of sports gambling on journalism and public life? 1:25:00–1:25:55 6 How does AI influence the future of journalism? 1:25:55–1:26:09 7 What are the challenges of prediction markets in the current landscape? 1:26:09–1:27:17 8 How do historical events shape our understanding of modern politics? 1:27:17–2:43:56

Speakers

3 identified

Mike Pesca 121 min Chuck Todd 29 min Unknown

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Topics in this episode

Donald Trump 1 Netflix 1 New York Times 1 Joe Biden 1 CNN 1 Sam Altman 1 Barack Obama 1 Washington Post 1 Quince 1 iHeart Podcast 1 Fox 1 NBC 1

Source

Recorded24 Dec 2025

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Transcriptspeaker-named · 100+ languages

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Show notes

Chuck Todd digs into the growing crisis of trust in American media and politics, sparked by CBS News pulling a 60 Minutes episode amid controversy and perceptions of corporate and political pressure. He examines how Bari Weiss’s handling of the situation exposed a lack of understanding of television news culture, why 60 Minutes has become the ultimate measure of CBS’s credibility, and how ownership, mergers, and appeasing power have once again put business interests ahead of journalism. The episode also explores troubling signals from the Justice Department’s handling of Epstein-related releases and what they reveal about political favoritism and eroding institutional independence. Chuck then widens the lens to the political fallout, arguing that Donald Trump squandered his political capital and failed to build a durable coalition, and lays out how cracks in Trump’s coalition are becoming chasms. Then, Mike Pesca, host of “The Gist” joins Chuck Todd for a wide-ranging conversation about the state of media, technology, and trust at the end of 2025—and where things may be headed next. They dig into how legacy media is being reshaped by new owners, shrinking business models, and audience capture, with a close look at CBS, the Ellisons, and whether disruption is a threat or a lifeline for traditional news brands. Pesca also reflects on the rise of nonprofit journalism, the limits of AI in reporting, and why Congress has largely abdicated its role in regulating both media and tech. The discussion then turns to the growing unease around AI, gambling, and prediction markets, from bipartisan support for getting smartphones out of schools to fears that unregulated betting is distorting journalism, sports, and public life. Pesca and Todd explore why optimism around AI is collapsing, how insider information can be exploited in everything from sports gambling to political markets, and why many of today’s “innovations” feel eerily similar to past technological panics. The throughline: institutions are lagging behind rapid change, and the cost of that delay is showing up everywhere—from newsrooms to classrooms to democracy itself. Finally, he answers listeners’ questions in the “Ask Chuck” segment and breaks down the biggest stories in the world of sports. Get your wardrobe sorted and your gift list handled with Quince. Don't wait! Go to https://Quince.com/CHUCK for free shipping on your order and 365-day returns. Now available in Canada, too! Go to https://getsoul.com & enter code TODDCAST for 30% off your first order. Got injured in an accident? You could be one click away from a claim worth millions. Just visit https://www.forthepeople.com/TODDCAST to start your claim now with Morgan & Morgan without leaving your couch. Remember, it's free unless you win! Protect your family with life insurance from Ethos. Get up to $3 million in coverage in as little as 10 minutes at https://ethos.com/chuck. Application times may vary. Rates may vary. Timeline: (Timestamps may vary based on advertisements) 00:00 Chuck Todd’s introduction 04:00 CBS News embroiled with controversy after pulling 60 Minutes episode 04:30 Bari Weiss’s inexperience in TV news is on full display 05:30 Weiss’s made incorrect assumption that everyone saw NYT story 06:45 The perception is the administration leaned on Weiss to kill story 08:00 Too many news executives don’t understand the process 09:30 Trump has complained publicly about 60 Minutes 10:15 Ellison willing to appease Trump in order to get merger approval 11:00 CBS News will be judged entirely on 60 Minutes 12:30 Weiss has lost the trust of the journalists at CBS 13:15 Corporate owned media has once again let the public down 14:00 WaPo’s editorial board completely changed after Bezos bought it 15:00 This event will further erode the public trust in media 16:15 Journalism that’s tethered to popularity will be compromised 17:15 Trust is more important than popularity for journalists 18:45 Corporations won’t let their news divisions interfere with business 19:30 DOJ frontloaded Clinton/Epstein releases & Trump releases later 20:45 DOJ releases statement that sounds like they’re Trump’s defense attorney 22:45 It’s notable that DOJ only singled out Trump for a defensive statement 24:45 Trump blew his “honeymoon” period in less than a year 25:30 Both Biden & Trump burned their political capitol early 28:15 Trump blew the chance to build a GOP that outlasts him 29:30 Trump didn’t win the 2024 election - Biden/Harris lost it 31:15 Voters don’t like party in power, 2008 was last “Vote for” election 33:00 Biden misinterpreted 2022 results, lots of bad GOP candidates 34:00 Liberation Day destroyed Trump’s goodwill with the public 36:15 The cracks in Trump’s coalition are turning into chasms 38:00 The GOP has been too concerned with appeasing the online right 39:15 Democrats could be having their own “Tea Party” moment 46:45 Mike Pesca joins the Chuck ToddCast 48:15 Rundown of Mike’s many “hustles” 50:00 Is the information ecosystem better or worse at the end of 2025? 51:15 CBS News under Bari Weiss is now selling a different product 52:45 Legacy media could benefit from some disruption 53:30 Weiss gave up working for the Salzbergers to work for the Ellisons 54:15 There’s no money in producing network news 56:30 There was audience capture at the New York Times 57:45 A boring president will make the Ellisons care less about CBS 59:45 David Ellison isn’t ideologically MAGA or even a Republican 1:00:45 Silicon Valley is less ideological, just want less regulation 1:01:30 Ellisons are treating CBS as part of their lobbying budget 1:02:30 A huge part of 60 Minutes popularity is that it airs after football 1:03:15 CBS has brands that will survive even if the network doesn’t 1:04:30 We’re a few years away from local TV affiliates going a-la-carte 1:05:45 Channel numbers are meaningless to younger audiences 1:06:15 Non profits like ProPublica are doing some of the best journalism 1:07:30 AI can’t replace people in the journalism space 1:08:30 NOTUS is the only organization covering DC locally 1:09:00 Historically, American media has been partisan 1:09:45 Big newspapers should have two editorial sections 1:13:15 Imagine if Bezos built an “everything” newspaper like he did Amazon 1:14:45 AI transition will be painful, fear of AI displacement will dominate 1:15:30 New polling shows huge drop in optimism surrounding AI 1:17:00 Sam Altman shocked the world by saying “Please regulate me” 1:18:00 We need more visibility into how AI actually works 1:18:45 The regulators are always too old & removed from new tech 1:19:30 Congress has willingly abdicated their regulatory role 1:21:15 Employees at AI companies express worry it could go very wrong 1:22:15 Getting tech/smartphones out of schools has bipartisan agreement 1:24:00 There have always been panics about major tech change 1:25:00 Sports gambling without regulation has been a disaster 1:27:30 Athletes can easily fix a player prop to make money 1:29:00 Online casinos should have never been allowed to exist 1:31:00 Insider info can easily been cashed in on prediction markets 1:33:00 Will insider trading laws now affect copy editors at publications? 1:34:15 Betting has drastically affected coverage at ESPN 1:35:45 College football playoff selection is totally subjective 1:38:15 Potential fixes to college football playoff selection 1:41:45 Will prediction markets remain legal? 1:43:30 Pandemics make society do crazy things 1:44:30 Online casinos will likely become illegal in the coming years 1:46:45 The states didn’t roll out marijuana legalization the right way 1:54:00 Chuck’s thoughts on interview with Mike Pesca 1:54:45 Trump floats leaving the presidency for “hosting” in social post 1:55:45 Is Trump soft launching stepping down from the presidency? 1:57:00 Ask Chuck 1:57:45 What wing of the party will the GOP lean towards in 2028? 2:04:00 What are the classes you teach like? 2:11:15 How would things be different if H.W. Bush won a second term? 2:16:00 How do we address the erosion of historical education? 2:20:45 Was the country really that united over Garfield’s death? 2:26:15 Sports roundupSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ask this episode

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