The Megyn Kelly Show - December 18, 2025


Nick Reiner Appears In Court, MIT Professor Murdered, FCC Chair Carr on the Hill： AM Update 12⧸18

Topics
MIT professor shot
Hosted by
Megyn Kelly
Mentioned
Brendan Carr Trump Michelle Reiner Dick Durbin Nuno Lurero Schedule Drugs Nick Reiner Megan Connects Ontario Olivia Trustee Alex Berenson Jimmy Kimmel Rob Reiner Ben Ray Lujan Nathan Hockman Benny Johnson Alan Jackson Gavin Newsom Jimmy Kibble Charlie Kirk and 9 more
New Phase of Brown U. Shooter Manhunt, Reiner Son Charged, Aussie Attack ISIS Link： AM Update 12⧸17 Brown Shooting and MIT Murder Suspect Dead, HHS Takes on Child ＂Trans＂ Procedures： AM Update 12⧸19

Episode Stats


Length

19 minutes

Words per minute

156.13

Word count

3,026

Sentence count

221

Harmful content

Misogyny

1

sentences flagged

Hate speech

1

sentences flagged


Summary

Summaries generated with gmurro/bart-large-finetuned-filtered-spotify-podcast-summ .

Nick Reiner appeared briefly in court yesterday morning after being charged with murdering his parents, legendary director Rob Reiner and wife Michelle Reiner. He was originally set to appear on Tuesday, but was not medically cleared for transfer from the jail to the courthouse in Los Angeles.

Transcript

Transcript generated with Whisper (turbo).
Misogyny classifications generated with MilaNLProc/bert-base-uncased-ear-misogyny .
Hate speech classifications generated with facebook/roberta-hate-speech-dynabench-r4-target .
Topics generated with Qwen2.5-3B-Instruct.
Hosts, guests, and mentioned names generated with spaCy (en_core_web_sm), reconciled against Wikidata.
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00:00:30.000 Good morning, everyone.
00:00:31.880 I'm Emily Jashinski, host of After Party and the Megyn Kelly Wrap-Up Show on SiriusXM channel 111.
00:00:37.960 It's Thursday, December 18th, 2025.
00:00:41.040 This is your AM update.
00:00:42.940 There are very, very complex and serious issues that are associated with this case.
00:00:50.380 Nick Reiner appearing in court for the first time after being charged with murdering his parents,
00:00:55.660 Director Rob Reiner and wife Michelle.
00:00:57.780 Well, FCC Chairman Brendan Carr in the hot seat on the Hill.
00:01:02.220 Senators grilling him over his role in the Jimmy Kimmel suspension.
00:01:06.580 It's scary to be in Brookline.
00:01:08.940 It's supposed to be the safe town.
00:01:10.980 An MIT professor shot in his home.
00:01:14.060 Police investigating as a homicide.
00:01:16.760 And President Trump preparing to reclassify marijuana to a lower level.
00:01:21.540 All that and more coming up in just a moment on your AM update.
00:01:27.780 We talk a lot about personal responsibility on this show.
00:01:32.420 Well, here's one aspect that's really important, your health.
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00:02:37.900 Nick Reiner appearing briefly in court yesterday morning after being charged with murdering his parents, legendary director Rob Reiner and wife Michelle.
00:02:49.160 32-year-old Nick, originally set to appear on Tuesday, but was not medically cleared for transfer from the jail to the courthouse in Los Angeles.
00:02:57.620 The judge allowing cameras in the courtroom, but saying they are not allowed to show Nick, who appeared in court wearing an anti-suicide smock.
00:03:06.820 Nick waiving his right to a speedy arraignment.
00:03:09.640 His criminal defense attorney, Alan Jackson, addressing reporters outside the courthouse yesterday morning.
00:03:15.480 This is a devastating tragedy that has befallen the Reiner family.
00:03:20.120 As we all recognize that, our hearts go out to the entire Reiner family.
00:03:25.000 There are very, very complex and serious issues that are associated with this case.
00:03:32.500 They need to be thoroughly but very carefully dealt with and examined and looked at and analyzed.
00:03:40.520 We ask that during this process you allow the system to move forward in the way that it was designed to move forward.
00:03:46.680 Not with a rush to judgment, not with jumping to conclusions, but with restraint and with dignity and with the respect that this system and this process deserves and that the family deserves.
00:04:00.180 So with that, we are set for January 7th for an arraignment.
00:04:04.780 This was a continuance of arraignment.
00:04:07.160 Nothing happened today.
00:04:08.540 Substantively, we'll be back for an arraignment in the same department on the 7th of January.
00:04:13.280 Nick will remain in custody without bail at least until that next hearing.
00:04:18.580 Prosecutors charging Nick with two counts of first-degree murder with a special circumstance of multiple murders,
00:04:25.400 an enhancement allowing prosecutors to seek life without parole or the death penalty.
00:04:31.100 Nick also charged with a special allegation of using a dangerous and deadly weapon,
00:04:36.620 that being the knife he allegedly used to stab his parents to death.
00:04:40.800 L.A. County District Attorney Nathan Hockman saying on Tuesday prosecutors have not yet decided if they will pursue the death penalty,
00:04:49.920 but will take surviving family members' wishes into consideration.
00:04:54.500 California Governor Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, issuing a moratorium on executions in 2019,
00:05:01.520 but prosecutors are still allowed to seek the death penalty.
00:05:04.440 The New York Times, citing a source close to the family, reporting daughter Romy discovered her father's body on Sunday.
00:05:12.260 Romy receiving a call from a massage therapist saying there was no response at the gate for a scheduled appointment.
00:05:18.840 Romy and her roommate then going to the house where she fled after seeing her deceased father.
00:05:24.140 The roommate placed the 911 call.
00:05:26.960 Romy did not see her mother, but was later told by paramedics that Michelle, too, was deceased.
00:05:31.920 Romy and brother Jake issuing a statement on Wednesday, quote,
00:05:36.140 The horrific and devastating loss of our parents, Rob and Michelle Reiner,
00:05:40.320 is something that no one should ever experience.
00:05:43.140 They weren't just our parents.
00:05:44.440 They were our best friends.
00:05:46.440 We now ask for respect and privacy,
00:05:48.980 for speculation to be tempered with compassion and humanity,
00:05:52.480 and for our parents to be remembered for the incredible lives they lived
00:05:55.660 and the love they gave.
00:05:57.280 Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, or FCC,
00:06:02.420 Brendan Carr, testifying yesterday in front of the Senate Commerce Committee,
00:06:06.480 along with Olivia Trustee and Anna Gomez, both FCC commissioners.
00:06:11.020 Carr making headlines earlier this year by publicly commenting
00:06:14.140 on whether ABC should discipline Jimmy Kibble
00:06:17.120 in the wake of the host's comments about Charlie Kirk's murder on his late night show.
00:06:22.640 Carr saying on the Benny Johnson podcast,
00:06:24.400 We can do this the easy way or the hard way.
00:06:27.500 These companies can find ways to change conduct and take action, frankly, on Kimmel,
00:06:32.740 or there's going to be additional work for the FCC ahead.
00:06:36.040 Later that day, Nexstar, the largest owner of local TV stations in the U.S.,
00:06:40.580 announcing it would preempt Kimmel's show.
00:06:42.960 Sinclair, another large station operator, also following suit,
00:06:47.160 blacking out Kimmel in millions of homes.
00:06:49.860 ABC then suspending the host for six days.
00:06:52.480 Broadcast networks, like ABC, which use public airwaves,
00:06:57.480 are subject to FCC oversight and required to operate in the public interest.
00:07:03.500 The FCC can yank a company's license if it violates laws and regulations.
00:07:08.820 Carr at the time, and again in yesterday's hearing,
00:07:11.880 maintaining he was not threatening to pull ABC's license if it did not fire Kimmel,
00:07:16.280 rather was encouraging other companies to choose not to air the show
00:07:20.760 if they deem that best for the business.
00:07:23.480 That subject taking much of the hearing's time.
00:07:26.740 Senator Gary Peters of Michigan, a Democrat, challenging Carr.
00:07:29.980 I'm just going to ask you just a simple yes or no question.
00:07:34.520 Will you commit here today that you will not move to revoke any media license for broadcasters
00:07:40.300 or retaliate in any way against broadcast companies merely for choosing to host content
00:07:47.080 that is critical of the president or says something that he may not like?
00:07:52.640 Yes or no?
00:07:53.460 Very simple.
00:07:54.660 Senator, any broadcaster that complies with the public interest standard is not in any risk at all.
00:08:00.440 If a broadcaster is engaging in broadcast hoax or violation of news distortion policy
00:08:05.140 or political equal opportunity, there's going to be work for the FCC potentially there.
00:08:09.740 So you will not revoke licenses, so we can go back, that you will do that?
00:08:12.740 You won't revoke licenses or retaliate if they're simply engaging in free speech?
00:08:17.740 There is no First Amendment right to an FCC license.
00:08:23.000 And the Supreme Court has said that the FCC enforcing the public interest standard
00:08:25.900 on licensees is not a violation of the First Amendment or censorship.
00:08:29.880 Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, a Republican, who roundly criticized Carr's pressure campaign
00:08:35.860 in September, questioning the chairman on free speech.
00:08:40.040 Democrat or Republican, we cannot have the government arbitrating truth or opinion.
00:08:48.900 Mr. Chairman, my question is this.
00:08:50.520 So long as there is a public interest standard, shouldn't it be understood to encompass robust
00:08:57.720 First Amendment protections to ensure that the FCC cannot use it to chill speech?
00:09:04.860 Yes, Senator.
00:09:05.320 I agree with you there.
00:09:06.700 So first and foremost, we have to make sure the FCC is hewing to precedent.
00:09:10.360 Similarly, we saw Democrats in Congress write letters to cable companies pressuring them
00:09:14.560 to drop Fox News, OAN, and Newsmax because they disagreed with the political perspectives
00:09:20.700 of those cable channels.
00:09:21.760 And there, again, it was cable.
00:09:24.380 No broadcast license, no public interest standard.
00:09:27.280 So the FCC has to write within the four corners of our precedents to be consistent with the
00:09:33.240 Communications Act and the First Amendment concerns as well.
00:09:36.320 In an exchange with Democrat Senator Brian Schatz of Hawaii, Carr expanding on the FCC's role
00:09:42.100 in regulating broadcast networks.
00:09:44.260 Well, my position on this is pretty clear.
00:09:46.100 We have a public interest standard that Congress has put into the law.
00:09:50.160 And there's a number of very specific rules and doctrines that flow from that.
00:09:54.040 The broadcast hoax rule, the news distortion rule, in my position, and I think the Trump
00:09:58.560 administration position, is that we should be enforcing those rules and policies.
00:10:02.460 If Congress wants to change it, you're free to change it.
00:10:05.560 Carr also making waves when questioned about the FCC's independence from the White House.
00:10:11.000 In this round, with Senator Ben Ray Lujan, Democrat from New Mexico.
00:10:14.820 Chairman Carr, yes or no, and please yes or no, is the FCC an independent agency?
00:10:21.360 Well, there's a test for this in the law, in the key portion of that test.
00:10:24.620 Yes or no, Brendan?
00:10:25.860 The key portion of that test is...
00:10:27.000 Okay, I'm going to go to Commissioner Trustee.
00:10:28.760 So just so you know, Brendan, on your website, it just simply says, man, the FCC is independent.
00:10:34.260 This isn't a trick question.
00:10:35.420 Okay, the FCC is not...
00:10:36.340 Yes or no?
00:10:36.960 Is not.
00:10:37.440 Okay.
00:10:37.760 Is not an independent...
00:10:38.400 So is your website wrong?
00:10:40.180 Commissioner Olivia Trustee expanding on the answer.
00:10:42.840 Senator, thank you for the question.
00:10:45.000 The president is the chief executive bested with all executive power in our government,
00:10:49.040 and FCC commissioners are not...
00:10:51.020 We do not have four-cause removal protections, which means that we aren't independent.
00:10:54.700 So is your website wrong?
00:10:56.480 I can't speak to the website.
00:10:57.600 I've not seen that.
00:10:58.880 Those comments generating a flurry of headlines.
00:11:01.540 As some online noted the language on the FCC's website changing in real time
00:11:06.620 to remove references to the agency's independence.
00:11:10.460 Under the second Trump administration,
00:11:11.980 the president moving to oust officials from a number of executive agencies long viewed
00:11:17.360 as operating with a degree of independence from the White House.
00:11:21.320 Some of those removals triggering legal battles that went all the way to the Supreme Court,
00:11:26.480 where the justices have so far generally sided with the president with the preliminary rulings
00:11:31.400 on the so-called emergency docket.
00:11:33.960 The high court expected to rule on the merits of Trump's ability to fire agency heads this spring.
00:11:39.120 Coming up, an MIT professor shot in his home,
00:11:45.120 police investigating it as a homicide,
00:11:47.500 and President Trump reportedly set to reclassify marijuana.
00:11:51.080 As President Trump is settling into his new administration,
00:11:59.420 one of the top Democrats in Congress aiming to undermine the Trump agenda is Senator Dick Durbin.
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00:12:35.460 Professor and director of MIT's Plasma Science and Fusion Center,
00:12:39.860 Nuno Lurero, age 47,
00:12:41.900 found shot inside his Brookline, Massachusetts apartment Monday night.
00:12:46.500 Lurero dying at the hospital on Tuesday morning.
00:12:49.480 Police now investigating the shooting as a homicide.
00:12:52.600 An upstairs neighbor in the apartment building,
00:12:54.520 located in an affluent neighborhood in the Boston area,
00:12:57.620 hearing multiple gunshots around 8.30 p.m.
00:13:00.480 The Boston Globe reporting the neighbor then opened her front door
00:13:04.400 to see Lurero lying on his back inside the building's entrance.
00:13:08.940 She called police.
00:13:10.380 Lurero's wife and another neighbor also reporting the incident.
00:13:14.240 Other neighbors describing the event to local outlet Boston 25.
00:13:18.480 I heard three loud bangs.
00:13:21.160 I thought at first it was somebody in our apartment kicking in the door or something.
00:13:25.480 It's really a surprise.
00:13:27.000 And a shooting in a state where it's so hard to even have a gun?
00:13:30.960 It's scary to be in Brookline.
00:13:33.360 It's supposed to be the safe town.
00:13:35.280 It's terrible.
00:13:36.380 I mean, I don't know what happened or why it happened.
00:13:39.400 It's very scary, though.
00:13:40.860 We're living in such terrible times right now
00:13:43.340 that it seems like violence is just happening everywhere.
00:13:46.660 Special agent in charge of FBI Boston, Ted Dox,
00:13:50.500 saying Tuesday there does not appear to be any connection
00:13:53.260 between this shooting and the Brown University shooting,
00:13:56.400 which occurred about 50 miles away.
00:13:58.800 Police saying yesterday morning no suspects are in custody.
00:14:03.160 The professor joining the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2016,
00:14:08.040 MIT News, writing, quote,
00:14:09.480 His research on magnetized plasma dynamics, magnetic field amplification,
00:14:14.900 and confinement and transport in fusion plasmas
00:14:17.960 helped inform the design of fusion devices
00:14:20.780 that could harness the energy of fusing plasmas,
00:14:24.400 bringing the dream of clean, near-limitless fusion power closer to reality.
00:14:30.000 Investigators have not yet identified a motive in the attack,
00:14:33.400 and it remains unclear why Larrero may have been targeted.
00:14:37.100 Larrero is survived by his wife, Inez.
00:14:39.160 and three children.
00:14:41.520 President Trump reportedly expected to sign an executive order
00:14:45.380 reclassifying cannabis, the marijuana plant,
00:14:48.300 from a Schedule I to a Schedule III drug as soon as this week.
00:14:53.200 Under DEA guidelines, Schedule I drugs,
00:14:56.560 including heroin, ecstasy, and LSD,
00:14:59.620 have, quote,
00:15:00.440 no currently accepted medical use
00:15:02.640 and a high potential for abuse.
00:15:05.440 Schedule III drugs, like Tylenol with codeine,
00:15:08.180 testosterone,
00:15:09.180 testosterone, and ketamine have, quote,
00:15:10.540 a moderate to low potential for physical and psychological dependence.
00:15:15.680 The reclassification would not legalize marijuana at the federal level,
00:15:20.100 which would require an act of Congress.
00:15:22.540 President Trump, Monday from the Oval, discussing the move.
00:15:25.840 A lot of people want to see it, the reclassification,
00:15:29.820 because it leads to tremendous amounts of research
00:15:32.160 that can't be done unless you reclassify.
00:15:34.900 So we are looking at that very strongly.
00:15:37.300 Mr. Trump referencing the FDA's ability to study marijuana for medical purposes.
00:15:42.840 Four people with knowledge of the order telling NBC News,
00:15:45.880 the executive order is expected to direct federal officials to formally conclude
00:15:50.600 the rescheduling process, which is currently ongoing,
00:15:54.100 and move to redirect the cannabis to Schedule III.
00:15:57.880 President Trump campaigning on the issue in 2024,
00:16:01.260 supporting a ballot measure in Florida to legalize the drug for recreational use,
00:16:05.660 and emphasizing a focus on research for medical uses.
00:16:09.160 40 states and D.C. currently allow medical use of marijuana.
00:16:13.660 24 of those states and D.C. allowing recreational use,
00:16:17.420 according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
00:16:21.120 Washington State and Colorado becoming the first states
00:16:24.160 to legalize recreational use in 2012.
00:16:27.920 Journalist Alex Berenson for years sounding the alarm on health risks
00:16:32.240 associated with increased potency of the drug since its legalization.
00:16:37.280 As marijuana use has become normalized,
00:16:40.780 THC concentration, the chemical that induces the high,
00:16:45.300 in many cannabis products skyrocketing.
00:16:48.520 Here are two examples of Berenson on Fox,
00:16:51.540 the first from last week and the second from 2019.
00:16:55.100 You have this really high potency cannabis that used to be,
00:16:58.580 you know, maybe it was 1 to 3 percent THC.
00:17:00.520 Now if you smoke it, it's 20 or 30 percent THC.
00:17:03.340 And again, you can have extracts that are basically pure THC
00:17:06.800 that are really easy to smoke.
00:17:08.700 You're not even smoking, you're just inhaling the vapor,
00:17:11.180 or you're eating gummies, edibles.
00:17:13.260 And so it's easy for people to consume a lot of THC.
00:17:17.160 And THC is addictive.
00:17:18.540 Cannabis is addictive, even though the people who back it say it's not.
00:17:22.360 It turns out that there is a proven link between cannabis and psychosis.
00:17:27.160 There's a very, very strong risk that if you smoke too much
00:17:30.920 when you're in your teens, you're more likely to develop schizophrenia,
00:17:34.040 which is really a devastating mental illness for people.
00:17:37.560 Awful.
00:17:38.340 Not just for the people who suffer, but their families.
00:17:40.440 It destroys families.
00:17:42.520 And furthermore, there's a downstream link between psychosis and violence.
00:17:47.020 So reefer madness basically is real.
00:17:50.240 While President Trump now supports increasing research on medical marijuana,
00:17:54.500 Mr. Trump has often urged everyone to abstain from drugs and alcohol altogether,
00:18:00.380 as in this 2019 clip from Take Your Child to Work Day.
00:18:04.220 And while I have you, never take drugs, don't drink alcohol, don't smoke.
00:18:12.140 Enjoy your life, okay?
00:18:14.200 No drugs, no alcohol, no smoke.
00:18:17.680 You don't need it.
00:18:18.960 It causes a lot of problems.
00:18:20.280 So just remember that if you learn one thing.
00:18:25.740 And that'll do it for your AM update.
00:18:28.320 I'm Emily Jashinsky, host of After Party.
00:18:30.960 Catch The Megyn Kelly Show live on SiriusXM's The Megyn Kelly Channel,
00:18:35.640 111 at noon east on youtube.com slash megynkelly
00:18:39.400 and on all podcast platforms.
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00:19:04.500 If you have questions or concerned about your gambling
00:19:06.060 or the gambling of someone close to you,
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00:19:10.760 to speak to an advisor free of charge.
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