In a podcast exclusive episode released last spring, Megyn reflected on the first 18 months of The Megyn Kelly Show and its mission to be home to “open, honest, and provocative conversations.” She also revealed that there was one interview she taped that never aired because it threatened to compromise that ethos.
Flash forward to Tuesday’s show, Megyn’s executive producer, Steve Krakauer, joined the program to discuss his new book, Uncovered, and shed a bit more light on why the conversation ended up on the cutting room floor.
Why the Interview Didn’t Air
As Krakauer explained, an hour-long interview was taped with an individual who bills themself as a truth-teller. “This person is someone who portrays themself as someone who is on the field, is out there in the public willing to say anything,” he shared. “And then when sh-t hits the fan – in this person’s mind – they buckle.” Megyn said that while many assumed the person in question was a politician who she and the show were “running cover for,” it was a pundit. “Maybe eventually we’ll tell you who it was,” she joked.
While Megyn and Krakauer didn’t share the topics that were discussed, the person reached out after the interview and said they were uncomfortable with a particular part of the conversation and wanted it to be removed. “This guest didn’t want this taken out because they misspoke or they didn’t phrase things the right way,” Krakauer recalled. “This guest wanted something taken out that was their true opinion and – on second thought – decided, ‘I don’t really want my true opinion out there; that’s something that I’m not sure I want in the public.’”
The irony, in Megyn’s mind, is that the pundit “spent the better part of the hour telling us how fearless they were and how they would just say anything because they stood by their beliefs — except for this one thing.” She and the team told the person they would not selectively edit the piece. “We’re not pulling that and then letting you mislead our audience,” Megyn recalled. They did, however, offer to scrap the entire interview, which the person ultimately agreed to. “That’s how ‘fearless’ this person was,” she said.
Staying Fearless and Truthful for the Audience
What this situation illustrates is the importance of truthfulness, which Krakauer said is something he believes distinguishes The Megyn Kelly Show from other programs. “The entire conversation that we’ve had today is something that you [Megyn] and I would have if we were just sitting here talking off-air,” he explained.
Krakauer, who has previously worked at CNN, Fox News, NBC, and TheBlaze, said that candidness and commitment to the truth “is just so rare” in today’s media landscape. “With every story, Megyn, you are putting your true opinion out there, and the facts [out there], and leading it where it goes,” he said. “I know our audience is great and they do know that and appreciate it, but even the people that portray themselves as real truth tellers – a lot of times – that’s bullsh-t and here it’s not.”
Ultimately, it’s all about respecting the listeners and viewers. “I think it really is such a service for the audience that they’re getting the truth when you come here,” Krakauer said. For her part, Megyn admitted that she is grateful to be in an independent media environment where open, honest, and provocative conversations are possible. “It’s liberating to be on the other side of all that nonsense,” she said.
You can check out Megyn’s full interview with Steve Krakauer by tuning in to episode 497 on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you like to listen. And don’t forget that you can catch The Megyn Kelly Show live on SiriusXM’s Triumph (channel 111) weekdays from 12pm to 2pm ET.