EPISODE 289: The Bird and the (Babylon) Bee

In this episode Bill talks with filmmaker Matt Pirrall who tells the story of how the Babylon Bee lost its right to joke. His documentary “The Bird and the Bee” exposes a simple truth: in 2022, the Babylon Bee was banned from Twitter for calling a man a man.

The facts Pirrall describes are plain. When USA Today named transgender Admiral Rachel Levine “Woman of the Year,” the Babylon Bee responded with satire, naming Levine their “Man of the Year.” Twitter’s response was swift: delete the joke or lose your account. The Bee refused to bend.

In our conversation, Pirrall reveals how their small act of defiance exposed the machinery of modern censorship. His film shows us the direct messages from the White House to social media companies, demanding they silence certain voices. He shows us how words like “misinformation” and “hate speech” became weapons to destroy comedy itself.

Through interviews with the Bee’s writers and creators, Pirrall’s documentary captures the moment when a joke became a threat to power. These writers faced a simple choice: apologize for the truth or lose their platform. They chose truth, even as their business model crumbled.

Then Elon Musk appeared, asking a question no one in power wanted to address: Why can’t Americans make jokes anymore? His purchase of Twitter gave this story an unexpected ending, but Pirrall’s film reminds us of the larger truth – when humor becomes forbidden, tyranny is not far behind.

Watch our conversation about a film that shows what happens when the powerful lose their ability to laugh at the human comedy.