How the Media Shapes the Cornell Lie, with Matt Taibbi, and the Harms of "White Guilt," with Eli and Shelby Steele | Ep. 1414
Episode of The Megyn Kelly Show · October 8, 2026 · 1 h 43 min
Megyn Kelly discusses media coverage of the Cornell fraternity sexual assault case with Matt Taibbi, then talks with Shelby and Eli Steele about their documentary White Guilt.
Summary
In the first hour, Megyn Kelly and journalist Matt Taibbi discussed the Cornell Chi Phi sexual assault case, in which seven fraternity members face accusations from an anonymous Jane Doe. Kelly backed a defense petition to remove New York Attorney General Letitia James as special prosecutor over social media posts she said showed bias, and argued that ABC News was coordinating with Jane Doe's lawyer to release one-sided exclusives, including recorded phone calls. Taibbi questioned the media's practice of withholding accusers' names, recalled Rolling Stone's costly mistakes in a similar case, and warned of efforts to punish conduct that does not meet the legal definition of a crime.
The two also argued that young people lack moral and spiritual grounding. Kelly criticized a TikTok video in which a mother described the case to her four-year-old, and cited Ann Coulter and a Cornell student's Substack on Cornell Health's sexual-pleasure materials, accusing the university of hypocrisy. Taibbi praised journalist Michael Tracey for confronting Ithaca's mayor over a proposed moratorium on student event permits.
In the second hour, Shelby Steele and his son Eli Steele discussed their documentary White Guilt, based on Shelby's book. Shelby described white guilt as a terror of being seen as racist, recounted occupying his college president's office, and argued that white guilt and black power are the same phenomenon. They criticized Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson and Benjamin Crump for exploiting racial guilt, argued that white guilt shaped the O.J. Simpson verdict, cited a Claremont Institute estimate of $82.9 billion given to Black Lives Matter-related causes, and praised Paul Rossi, Andrew Gutmann and Jodi Shaw. Eli warned against white tribalism as a backlash, responded to a critic opposing a Chicago-area screening, and Shelby said he remained hopeful about American race relations.
Chapters
- 0:01
Show opening and guest preview
Kelly previews the episode and recalls her 2020 interview with Eli Steele, who had been canceled by other outlets because of his deafness.
- 3:39
Letitia James and the Cornell case
Kelly outlines a defense petition to remove Letitia James as special prosecutor over posts she says show bias, and plays a Hochul press conference clip.
- 9:11
Taibbi on prosecution and accuser anonymity
Taibbi notes the earlier decision not to indict and questions why media keep Jane Doe anonymous.
- 11:10
ABC News exclusives and recorded calls
Kelly plays ABC clips of Jane Doe's recorded calls and police interviews and argues the network is being fed one-sided material by her lawyer.
- 22:44
Values-neutral law and moral grounding
Taibbi warns about calls to go beyond criminal law and laments the decline of spiritual and moral education among young people.
- 35:24
TikTok mother and Cornell's sex education
Kelly criticizes a TikTok video aimed at a four-year-old and details Cornell Health's sexual-pleasure materials as hypocritical.
- 48:00
Michael Tracey in Ithaca
Kelly plays Michael Tracey confronting Ithaca's mayor over a permit moratorium, and Taibbi praises Tracey as a model journalist.
- 56:04
Defining white guilt
Kelly introduces the Steeles and their film, and Shelby defines white guilt as a terror of being seen as racist while Eli calls it the great evil of the time.
- 1:01:52
Shelby Steele's campus protest and black power
Shelby recounts occupying President Joseph McCabe's office and argues white guilt and black power are the same thing, contrasting this with Martin Luther King's vision.
- 1:08:41
BLM donations and racial exploitation
The guests discuss post-George Floyd corporate donations and how Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson and others leveraged moral authority for power.
- 1:18:11
O.J. Simpson, Michael Brown and impact over intent
The Steeles argue Johnnie Cochran exploited white guilt and that the left judges by impact rather than intent, citing Michael Brown and Nolan Wells.
- 1:26:24
Individuals who resisted and the tribalism backlash
Kelly and the Steeles praise Paul Rossi, Andrew Gutmann and Jodi Shaw, and warn against white tribalism as a reaction.
- 1:36:01
Screening pushback and hope for the future
Eli rebuts a critic of a planned screening, and Shelby says he feels hopeful about American race relations.
Key points
What was said, by whom, with the exact words. Timestamps jump to the moment.
- Megyn Kelly
Kelly argues that sex after voluntary intoxication that the accuser says was nonconsensual is not currently a crime under New York law.
“which is voluntary intoxication on her part, followed by sex she says was nonconsensual. It's not a crime in New York”
- Matt Taibbi
Taibbi notes that a decision not to indict was already made based on Jane Doe's own statements at the time.
“There's already been a decision not to indict in this case based on some concrete statements that Jane Doe made at the time”
- Matt Taibbi
Taibbi says most reporters wrongly believe they are legally barred from naming accusers in such cases.
“a significant majority of reporters now actually think that they're illegally obligated not to print the names of the people involved in these cases”
Listen from 10:39 · Anonymity of sexual assault accusers in journalism
Linked moment · 11:10Skip to 11:10 using a listen link in the info box.
Megyn KellyKelly alleges ABC News is coordinating with Jane Doe and her lawyer to damage the defendants in public opinion.
“ABC, to me, is clearly in cahoots with Jane Doe and her lawyer, and they are executing a plan to ruin these defendants in the court of public opinion”
Listen from 11:10 · Media coverage of the Cornell case by ABC News
- Megyn Kelly
Kelly predicts Letitia James will try to indict the defendant who fled and the others.
“There is zero chance Tish James is not going to try to indict him and the others with all of her power”
- Matt Taibbi
Taibbi recalls that Rolling Stone made costly journalistic mistakes by embracing an accuser's story in a similar case.
“But we made some journalistic mistakes, frankly, in the reporting of that story that ended up being very, very costly”
Listen from 15:56 · Anonymity of sexual assault accusers in journalism
- Matt Taibbi
Taibbi worries that commentators are arguing for punishing conduct that does not meet the definition of a crime.
“Yes, this probably doesn't fit the technical definition of a crime, but crime isn't enough. We need to go farther”
- Matt Taibbi
Taibbi argues the lack of moral and spiritual grounding among young people is a sociocultural rather than political problem.
“And it's not really a political issue. It's a sociocultural issue”
Listen from 27:13 · Moral and religious education of young people
- Megyn Kelly
Kelly accuses Cornell of hypocrisy for promoting permissive sexual materials while expressing shock at the alleged assault.
“You're the ones who fostered this environment of sex with two people, sex with three people, sex toys, bondage, slapping”
- Matt Taibbi
Taibbi praises Michael Tracey as the kind of adversarial journalist the profession needs.
“They should be pains in the ass, who are not afraid to offend absolutely everybody, including their own friends”
- Eli Steele
Eli Steele calls white guilt the great evil and most unseen force of the present era.
“the right guilt is the great evil of our time. And also the most unseen force”
- Shelby Steele
Shelby Steele argues that his college president capitulated out of collective guilt, showing white guilt and black power are the same.
“This is why white guilt is quite literally the same thing as black power”
- Shelby Steele
Shelby Steele argues that race-based remedies validate race as an inborn essence that sets people against each other.
“The problem with it is that it validates race as an essentialism. It's something you're born with”
- Shelby Steele
Shelby Steele cites a Claremont Institute estimate that BLM and related groups collected $82.9 billion, calling it a grift.
“Black Lives Matter and its manifold extensions engineered one of the most successful grifts in American history to the tune of $82.9 billion”
- Shelby Steele
Shelby Steele says Jesse Jackson was a brilliant man who chose to pursue power through the idea of moral authority.
“But instead, he was groveling for power. the corrupt ideas, driven by the corrupt idea of moral authority”
- Shelby Steele
Shelby Steele argues Johnnie Cochran bet that the court cared more about appearing free of racial bias than about truth.
“He knew the court, an American institution in the age of white guilt, was more concerned with its own moral authority than truth”
- Megyn Kelly
Kelly notes that the Obama Justice Department concluded Michael Brown was the aggressor.
“it was Barack Obama's Department of Justice helmed by a black man that found, no, Michael Brown was the aggressor”
- Eli Steele
Eli Steele argues the left judges racial incidents by impact rather than intent or due process.
“They wipe all of that out. It's all about the impact”
- Eli Steele
Eli Steele argues the Judeo-Christian tradition ties innocence to character and allows redemption, unlike race-based innocence.
“In the Judeo-Christian tradition, innocent is tied to your character. If you do something immoral, you have a way out”
- Eli Steele
Eli Steele credits his father for never seeking revenge despite suffering segregation, contrasting this with tribalism.
“But I think what makes my father a hero was that he never sought revenge”
- Eli Steele
Eli Steele says the critic opposing the screening has not seen the film and is lying about it.
“She's lying through her teeth. She has not seen the film”
- Shelby Steele
Shelby Steele says he is very hopeful about the future of race relations in America.
“Oh, I feel very hopeful. I believe most people want to be positive in life and find meaning and so forth”
People
In the conversation
- Megyn KellyConservative broadcaster and podcaster
- Matt TaibbiAmerican journalist and editor of Racket News on Substack
- Shelby SteeleAuthor and Hoover Institution fellow
- Eli SteeleAmerican documentary filmmaker, director of What Killed Michael Brown? and White Guilt
Discussed
- Letitia JamesNew York attorney general cited as another target of federal prosecution
- Al SharptonAmerican civil rights activist criticized for his role in the Tawana Brawley case
- Jesse JacksonCivil rights leader whose Rainbow PUSH Coalition breakfast Lemon was traveling to host
- Johnnie CochranAmerican attorney who brought Geragos onto Jackson's legal team
- Benjamin CrumpAmerican civil rights attorney
- Martin Luther King Jr.American civil rights leader who nominated Thich Nhat Hanh for the Nobel Peace Prize
- Michael BrownBlack teenager killed by police in Ferguson, Missouri, in 2014
- George FloydMan killed by Minneapolis police in 2020, cited in comparisons
- Ann CoulterConservative commentator who criticized Fox News coverage of the Iran war
- Paul RossiFormer Grace Church School math teacher who spoke out against school race programming
- Andrew GutmannParent who publicly criticized the Brearley School's race curriculum
- Ibram X. KendiAmerican author on antiracism
- Rashida TlaibU.S. Representative from Michigan
- Nick FuentesAmerican far-right streamer and political commentator
- John Stuart Mill19th-century English philosopher cited by Taibbi on internal sanctions
- Joseph McCabeFormer president of Coe College whose office Shelby Steele occupied
- Emmett TillBlack teenager murdered in Mississippi in 1955
Topics
- Cornell Chi Phi sexual assault case
- White Guilt (documentary)
- White guilt
- Media coverage of the Cornell case by ABC News
- Anonymity of sexual assault accusers in journalism
- Cornell Health sex education materials
- Moral and religious education of young people
- Black Lives Matter
- O.J. Simpson murder case
- Tawana Brawley rape allegations
- Killing of Michael Brown
- What Killed Michael Brown?
- TikTok
- Ithaca student event permit moratorium
- Diversity, equity, and inclusion
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From the publisher
Megyn Kelly is joined by Matt Taibbi, editor of “Racket News” on Substack, to discuss how the corporate media is shaping the narrative around the Cornell 7 case, the truth about how ABC keeps slow-rolling exclusives likely in partnership with Jane Doe and her attorney, the way the case has gotten completely misrepresented for people trying to find the truth, how the Cornell story has become part of a broader political battle, the way the case is being used to push a larger narrative, the shockingly graphic material being taught at Cornell, the disturbing TikTok videos lying about what happened at Cornell to followers and their own kids, and more. Then Eli and Shelby Steele, director and writer of “White Guilt,” join to discuss the origins of white guilt, how white guilt relates to black supremacy, how Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton leveraged racial guilt for influence and power, how their exploitative actions have hurt both white and black Americans, how the O.J. Simpson trial helped shape the racialized coverage of cases like Michael Brown and Nolan Wells, how Johnny Cochran leaned into the issue of race to help his client, the backlash they have faced from leftist white people, why they are hopeful about the future of America, and more. Taibbi- https://www.racket.news/ Steele- www.whiteguiltfilm.com DailyLook: https://dailylook.com to take your style quiz and use code MEGYN for 50% off your first order. The Wellness Company: Be prepared for late-night health emergencies by ordering your prescription Medical Emergency Kit at https://UrgentCareKit.com/MK and saving $45 with promo code MK today. Quo: Make this the season where no opportunity slips away. Try QUO for free PLUS get 20% off your first 6 months when you go to https://www.Quo.com/MK Relief Factor: Reclaim your mobility and celebrate your freedom from aches this year by grabbing your $17.76 3-week QuickStart at https://ReliefFactor.com or by calling 800-4-RELIEF.
Summary, chapters and key points were generated from the episode transcript on October 9, 2026. Quotes are checked word for word against the transcript.