The Glenn Beck Program Best of the Program | Guest: Lee Zeldin | 2/13/26
Feb 13, 2026
Lee Zeldin, former congressman now EPA Administrator, talks deregulation and policy shifts. He explains the rollback of Obama- and Biden-era EPA rules and its effects on auto design, consumer costs, and manufacturing. The conversation also touches on global competitiveness, jobs, and shifting geopolitics involving Cuba and Russia.
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America Once Dominated Urban Transit
- The U.S. led the world in electric streetcars in the 1920s–30s and built dense, transit-centered cities.
- That infrastructure vanished after corporate-backed buyouts and replacements with buses reshaped American urban design.
How Corporations Dismantled Streetcars
- Glenn recounts National City Lines buying streetcar systems funded by GM, Standard Oil, and Goodyear and then dismantling them.
- A 1949 antitrust case found collusion yet resulted in only a $5,000 fine, letting the car-centered model become permanent.
Transit Choices Reshaped American Life
- Removing rails enabled suburban sprawl, car dependence, and changes to zoning and neighborhoods.
- Glenn argues this loss was permanent because rails signaled long-term stability while buses did not.