Dear Diary, They Lied About Everything (Ep. 2562)

Summary of Dear Diary, They Lied About Everything (Ep. 2562)

by Cumulus Podcast Network | Dan Bongino

1h 18m•July 28, 2026
Listen to Episode

Overview of Dear Diary, They Lied About Everything (Ep. 2562)

This episode is a fierce, highly critical takedown of Anthony Fauci and the broader COVID-era public health/media narrative. The host argues that Fauci’s recently revealed diary entries confirm he privately understood COVID’s risk profile and alternative theories earlier than he admitted publicly, while still supporting lockdowns, school closures, and other policies that harmed millions. The show also pivots to New York City politics, blasting Zohran Mamdani’s proposed city-run grocery stores and doxxing-style tax politics, with a brief mention of Republican midterm strategy and Trump’s push on the filibuster.

Fauci Diary: The Core Allegation

The main focus of the episode is the claim that Fauci’s diary proves he misled the public during COVID.

What the host says the diary shows

  • Fauci privately believed the COVID fatality rate was far lower than what he said publicly.
  • In diary notes from early 2020, Fauci allegedly estimated the fatality rate around 0.2% to 0.3%, not 2% to 2.5% as he later told the public and Congress.
  • The host argues this means Fauci exaggerated the danger by roughly 10x.

Why that matters, according to the episode

  • The host says Fauci’s public fear messaging helped justify:
    • lockdowns
    • school closures
    • business shutdowns
    • mass panic and hoarding
  • He frames Fauci as knowingly feeding misleading information while privately understanding the virus better.

COVID Narrative Critique

A large portion of the episode revisits what the host sees as the major lies and contradictions of the COVID era.

Major points of criticism

  • “Trust the experts” became a shield against scrutiny.
  • Social distancing rules, especially the “six feet” guidance, are described as arbitrary.
  • Mask rules are portrayed as ineffective theater rather than meaningful protection.
  • The host argues the public was manipulated by fear, not science.
  • He repeatedly says that institutions lost credibility because they lied confidently and consistently.

School closures

  • The episode strongly condemns Fauci for school shutdowns.
  • The host points to diary entries suggesting Fauci advised or influenced state and local leaders to close schools.
  • Fauci’s later public claim that he had “nothing to do with it” is framed as directly contradicted by his own notes.

Natural immunity and vaccine messaging

  • The host says public health officials lied about:
    • vaccine effectiveness
    • transmission prevention
    • infection prevention
    • natural immunity
  • He argues that “safe and effective” messaging was repeated across media platforms despite being false or overstated.

Lab Leak vs. Bat Soup

The episode also revisits the origin-of-COVID debate.

Host’s argument

  • He mocks the early “wet market” / “bat soup” explanation as absurd.
  • He says the Wuhan lab-leak theory was dismissed too aggressively and unfairly.
  • Fauci is portrayed as publicly shutting down lab-leak discussion while privately acknowledging it could be possible.

Key claim

  • The host says Fauci’s diary shows that, early on, scientists on calls were already discussing the possibility of deliberate insertion or lab-related origins.
  • This is used as evidence that the public narrative was controlled and misleading.

Media Complicity and Selective Enforcement

The episode repeatedly attacks the mainstream media for reinforcing Fauci’s messaging instead of challenging it.

Media figures singled out

  • CNN
  • Jake Tapper
  • Sanjay Gupta
  • Rachel Maddow

The host’s view

  • These outlets helped amplify claims that later proved false.
  • They helped enforce social pressure against dissenters.
  • The host says they treated skepticism as dangerous misinformation rather than legitimate questioning.

Elites not following their own rules

The episode stresses that many public figures ignored the restrictions they pushed on others:

  • high-profile media dinners
  • indoor gatherings
  • mask exceptions
  • social distancing hypocrisy

This is used to argue that the COVID rules were enforced unevenly and cynically.

New York City Politics: Zohran Mamdani

The episode shifts from COVID to New York City politics and takes aim at Zohran Mamdani.

Main criticism

  • Mamdani’s proposal for city-run grocery stores is described as communist-style price control.
  • The host argues that government-run stores would undercut private grocers, distort supply, and eventually create shortages.

Doxxing / tax list controversy

  • The episode says Mamdani effectively doxed wealthy New Yorkers by publishing names and addresses tied to a proposed tax on second homes or pied-à-terres.
  • The host says this is meant to inflame class resentment and encourage protests against the wealthy.
  • He argues that even some of Mamdani’s supporters were exposed by the list.

Broader warning

  • The host frames Mamdani’s policies as a pathway to:
    • class warfare
    • government overreach
    • private-sector collapse
    • political intimidation

Midterms and Trump

The opening of the show briefly mentions:

  • Republicans gaining a financial advantage heading into the midterms
  • Trump urging John Thune to “nuke” the recess and the filibuster

These points are mentioned only briefly and are not developed in depth compared with the Fauci and NYC segments.

Tone and Style

The episode is:

  • highly sarcastic
  • emotionally charged
  • packed with running jokes and pop-culture references
  • openly partisan and combative

The host mixes policy criticism with humor, exaggeration, and personal anecdotes to make the case that:

  1. Fauci lied,
  2. the media helped cover it up,
  3. COVID-era policies were harmful,
  4. current progressive politics in NYC are repeating the same mistakes.

Main Takeaways

  • The host believes Fauci’s diary is direct proof that he lied to the public about COVID.
  • The episode argues that lockdowns, school closures, and vaccine messaging were justified with fear, not truth.
  • Media outlets are accused of acting as Fauci’s enablers.
  • Zohran Mamdani is portrayed as a dangerous socialist trying to reshape New York through state control and class conflict.
  • The overall message is one of accountability: the host wants viewers to remember who was right and wrong during COVID and to be skeptical of similar narratives in the future.

Notable Refrain

  • “He lied about everything.”
  • “Trust the experts” was used to silence dissent.
  • “Read the diary.”

If you want, I can also turn this into a shorter bullet-point recap or a section-by-section timestamp-style outline.