left The Six Pack radio show on Sirius XM Satellite Radio in New York City in 2013 to launch a political talk show called The Rubin Report in Los Angeles, California. His show was originally syndicated on The Young Turks Network, where he was also a frequent stand-in host and commentator. In 2014 he began to have a fall-out with The Young Turks after they began criticizing Sam Harris and Bill Maher after Maher and Harris had gotten into a tense exchange with Ben Affleck about the relation between terrorism and Islamic doctrine. On Oct. 23, 2014 Sam Harris sat down for three hours of debate with Cenk Uygur, the founder of The Young Turks. Rubin described some of his frustrations with that exchange as follows: "The way he became the leader of the group just relentlessly lying about Sam, and then to sit there for three hours with the guy and just double down on every lie—it showed just such a flaw in character." Rubin subsequently left The Young Turks in March 2015. In 2015, the show briefly moved to RYOT News. In August 2015, Larry King's Ora TV picked up the show which debuted on September 9, 2015. The Rubin Report became the network's third political commentary show alongside PoliticKING with Larry King and Jesse Ventura's Off the Grid. On June 13, 2016, Rubin announced in a YouTube video he and his crew were leaving Ora TV and founding his own independent production company to continue The Rubin Report on YouTube. In 2019, The Rubin Report became available on BlazeTV, a conservative subscription video service run by Glenn Beck. In 2020 Rubin moved the site to Locals, a crowdfunding platform he cofounded.
Format
From 2013 to 2015, The Rubin Report featured a panel of two guests and covered weekly news stories. After launching on Ora TV in 2015, the show took a more focused approach on the big ideas relating to politics and religion, as well as a focus on one on one interviews and monologues from Rubin. The Rubin Report consists of three segments: Direct Message, The Sit Down, and The Panel. The Direct Message segment is a monologue delivered by Rubin that opens each episode of The Rubin Report. The segment features Rubin's personal views on the topic that will be discussed with the guest or panel in that episode. The Sit Down segment features a one-on-one interview between Rubin and the guest. Guests are usually authors, journalists, comedians, or professors. The Panel segment features a panel of two guests and focuses on a theme within current events. There has been one Panel segment since the show's launch on Ora TV.
Politics
On The Rubin Report, Rubin consistently identifies as a classical liberal with libertarian leanings. Rubin previously identified as a progressive while he was affiliated with The Young Turks. The show often focuses on criticizing elements within the progressive movement, which he refers to as the "regressive left", a term coined by activist Maajid Nawaz. Rubin has stated that "regressives are the left's version of the tea party", and has characterized progressivism as a "mental disorder."
