Israel has gone all in to finish the war Hamas started on October 7. Batten down the hatches and watch for the anti-Semitic content. Speaking of which, watch as the anti-Semites try to claim Charlie Kirk, a prominent Christian Zionist, as one of their own. Give a listen.
This is an episode in two parts. First, my thoughts on Charlie Kirk’s murder, now that I’ve had a few days to process it, and to see the unfolding reactions and responses on both sides. Then a conversation with Ben Shapiro — one that was recorded shortly before Kirk’s assassination, but that has a different significance after it.
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This episode of “The Ezra Klein Show” was produced by Annie Galvin and Elias Isquith. Fact-checking by Michelle Harris. Our senior engineer is Jeff Geld, with additional mixing by Aman Sahota. Our executive producer is Claire Gordon. The show’s production team also includes Marie Cascione, Rollin Hu, Kristin Lin, Jack McCordick, Marina King and Jan Kobal. Original music by Carole Sabouraud, Sonia Herrero and Pat McCusker. Audience strategy by Kristina Samulewski and Shannon Busta. The director of New York Times Opinion Audio is Annie-Rose Strasser.
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In response to the murder of Charlie Kirk, Donald Trump vows retribution against his political opponents, JD Vance asks Americans to snitch on anyone criticizing Kirk's politics, and Stephen Miller pledges to "disrupt, dismantle, and destroy" left-wing organizations. Jon, Lovett, and Tommy react to these new threats, then break down the latest news about Kirk's killer, Kash Patel's mishandling of the FBI's investigation, and the bleak future of TikTok and of one the legacy media organizations it's supplanting: CBS News. Then, Sen. Chris Murphy joins Lovett to talk about how Democrats should stand up to Trump's impending crackdown on free speech.
The Federal Reserve is expected to make a modest cut to interest rates this week of about a quarter or half a percentage point. President Trump, however, believes they should take a far more aggressive approach: a 3-percentage point cut.
Today on the show, we examine what a 3-percentage point cut would actually look like, and why that outcome would likely backfire on the president. Related episodes:
In today’s two-parter, we start off with more coverage of the assassination of Charlie Kirk: what it means, possible motives, and the tidal wave of right-wing cancel culture it has wrought. Will then interviews journalist Pablo Torre of Pablo Torre Finds Out about recently unearthed collusion in the NFL, with a story that starts with Deshaun Watson and goes all the way up to the Carlyle Group and Hollywood pedophilia. What can a conflict between millionaire jocks and billionaire owners tell us about American labor relations? And why is Kawhi Leonard getting paid $28 million to plant trees?
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With the assasination of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk, there’s a great deal of speculation about who will fill his seat, literally and metaphorically.
Vice President JD Vance hosted the Charlie Kirk Show on Monday. He talked with a variety of Trump administration heavyweights and conservative media figures, including White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller and political commentator Tucker Carlson.
The guests reflected on their personal and professional relationships with Kirk, and his many contributions to the second Trump presidency.
NPR Senior Political Editor and Correspondent Domenico Montanaro and NPR Media Correspondent David Folkenflik share what they learned from the show about how Charlie Kirk’s legacy is being shaped in real time.
For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.
This episode was produced by Connor Donevan and Kira Wakeam, with audio engineering by Ted Mebane. It was edited by Megan Pratz, Emily Kopp and Sarah Handel. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.
Last week's assassination of right wing personality Charlie Kirk last week was a shock -- and so was the choice of many left and liberal media outlets to publish pieces that lauded the openly supremacist activist for his contribution to American political life. Ezra Klein wrote in The New York Times that Kirk was "practicing politics the right way." Rachel Cohen wrote in Vox that she was "sitting shiva" for a man she described as saying "blatantly antisemitic things," and Ben Burgis offered that at least Kirk "didn't descend into personal attacks." Briahna, who also debated Kirk, felt differently. She discusses the hagiography of Charlie Kirk with journalist Zaid Jilani and whether the left is troublingly indifferent to anti-Black racism if delivered "politely." Note that this episode was supposed to include a lengthy conversation about Matt Taibbi's refusal to cover censorship by right-leaning institutions, but, alas, the conversation didn't get that far. Fortunately, Brie has recorded a separate follow-up interview on that topic to be relased shortly -- stay tuned.
The gyrations of people who do not want to deal with the political and ideological implications of the Charlie Kirk assassination are the chief focus of today's podcast. We also take up the question of why, if America is so "mad" at Israel for the Qatar strike, our secretary of state is in Israel praying at the Western Wall. Give a listen.
In the first episode of While We're At It, a brand new interview series with First Things editor Rusty Reno, Michael Knowles joins in to talk about “The Pope and the Führer: The Secret Vatican Files of World War II,” a new four-part docuseries now available on DailyWire+.