Podcast · iheart.com
The Michael Berry Show
KTRH (KTRH-AM)
Politics and current events from the Czar of Talk Radio.
81 claims
True60% confidence3 sourcesSep 15, 2026The Houston Chronicle published a headline stating: 'Muslim leaders call today's Islamophobia worse than 9-11 aftermath.'Two sources show the Houston Chronicle headline with the claimed wording: a Reddit post by the houston_chronicle author and a Rothko Chapel archive entry dated September 11, 2026. The Chronicle's own article URL (source 3) carries a different headline, 'Houston Muslims say Islamophobia is worse today than after 9/11. What changed?', which suggests the headline was later reworded, but the claimed headline did appear.True90% confidence6 sourcesSep 15, 2026Jeff Zucker was the head of CNN in 2015 and 2016.Said by AMultiple tier1 sources establish that Jeff Zucker led CNN Worldwide from January 2013 until his February 2022 resignation, so he was head of CNN in 2015 and 2016. The claim matches the passage's own timeframe ('in '15 and '16') and no source contradicts it.True85% confidence4 sourcesSep 15, 2026James Talarico stated, 'I'm a Christian who hates Christianity.'Said by ATalarico did say, in a 2021 Activist Theology Podcast interview, that he thinks of himself as a Christian who hates Christianity. Snopes and FactCheck.org both confirm the quote is accurate, though the claim drops the 'always think of myself as' wording and the context that he is always drawn back to Christianity.Reported in the post, not stated as its own.True80% confidence5 sourcesSep 15, 2026James Talarico stated, 'Oil and gas is an outdated business. It's like cassette tapes.'Said by AMultiple outlets report that Talarico compared Texas's oil and gas industry to cassette tapes and said it would not last, most clearly in a 2020 Sierra Club forum. The exact wording in the claim ('outdated business') does not appear in the sources, but the substance matches the reported remarks, so the claim is graded as a faithful paraphrase.Reported in the post, not stated as its own.True85% confidence6 sourcesSep 15, 2026James Talarico stated that denying a child's gender identity is abusive.Said by AMultiple sources quote Talarico's October 2019 House committee remarks on HB 1910: 'if you deny your child's gender identity, that's incredibly harmful... whether or not we label it with the term abuse, it's abusive for sure.' PolitiFact acknowledges the ad's citation of his 2019 'abusive' remark without disputing that he made it, so the claim is supported, though he hedged on the word 'abuse' and the statement was made in 2019, not in 2026.Reported in the post, not stated as its own.True90% confidence6 sourcesSep 15, 2026The Senate Leadership Fund produced a political advertisement targeting James Talarico.Said by AMultiple sources, including AP and FactCheck.org, confirm the Texas PAC, which is affiliated with the Senate Leadership Fund, ran ads targeting Democrat James Talarico, and the claim's core assertion holds. The post calls it a Texas PAC spot 'the Senate Leadership Fund has done'; sources describe the Texas PAC as SLF-associated, which is a standard reading of that attribution, though the ad's accuracy is disputed and not part of this claim.True85% confidence6 sourcesSep 15, 2026Ken Paxton and James Talarico are the two candidates in the election.Multiple reliable sources published in late October and early November 2026 (AP, Reuters, PBS, CBS) identify Republican Ken Paxton and Democrat James Talarico as the two candidates facing off in the U.S. Senate race in Texas. The claim's 'the election' is best read as that Senate race, as the post's title and context suggest; the same sources show other races, such as governor, on the same ballot, and the sources report no third candidate in the Senate race.True85% confidence8 sourcesAug 18, 2026The United States of America was established in 1776.Said by AThe sources consistently date the founding of the United States to 1776, with the Declaration of Independence adopted on July 4 and the 1776 Report calling the nation's birthday July 4, 1776. The claim's year matches the extraction, which the passage itself states. One scholarly blog argues the nation was truly created in 1787 with the Constitution, but that is an interpretive dissent, not a contrary factual record.True95% confidence7 sourcesAug 18, 2026Thirteen U.S. service members were killed at Abbey Gate in Kabul, Afghanistan.Said by AMultiple independent sources, including the Pentagon investigation reported by AP and CNN and official U.S. government statements, confirm that 13 U.S. service members were killed in the August 26, 2021 bombing at Abbey Gate in Kabul. The extracted claim matches the passage's core assertion without adding anything the post does not say.True90% confidence5 sourcesAug 18, 2026The withdrawal from Afghanistan occurred five years prior to August 2026.Said by AThe U.S. military withdrawal from Afghanistan was completed on August 30, 2021, which is five years before August 2026, so the claim's core timing holds. The post's reference to a weekend anniversary is a timing detail that does not affect the grade, and the extracted claim is a faithful paraphrase of the passage.True95% confidence4 sourcesAug 18, 2026The Declaration of Independence and The Wealth of Nations were both written in 1776.Said by AMultiple tier1 and primary sources confirm The Wealth of Nations was published March 9, 1776 and the Declaration of Independence was adopted July 4, 1776, so both were written/published in 1776 as claimed. The claim faithfully reflects the passage, and the only nuance is that the Declaration was adopted (and signed August 2) in 1776 while The Wealth of Nations was published that year, which does not change the core assertion.True90% confidence3 sourcesAug 18, 2026The U.S. Constitution was created over a decade after 1776.Said by AThe U.S. Constitution was drafted and signed on September 17, 1787, which is more than a decade after 1776, and it was ratified in 1788 and took effect in 1789. The claim faithfully paraphrases the passage's point that the governing constitution came 'over a decade later.'