Podcast Summary

Podcast: Bulwark Takes
Episode: Right-Wing Cancel Culture Explodes After Kirk Assassination
Date: September 15, 2025
Hosts: Sam Stein & Andrew Egger
Featured Quote: “We’re here to talk about something not as fun as plants… We’re talking about the aftermath of Charlie Kirk assassination.” – Sam Stein (00:21)

Episode Overview

This episode tackles the political and cultural fallout following the assassination of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk. Sam Stein and Andrew Egger dissect how the tragedy has sparked both political efforts and grassroots online movements focused on targeting and shaming those who criticized Kirk—even as they uniformly condemn his killing. The discussion centers on what the hosts describe as an explosion of “right-wing cancel culture,” drawing explicit parallels with prior left-wing led forms of online shaming and broader societal debates about speech, social media toxicity, and the cycle of outrage.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Immediate Political and Social Fallout

• Political Reaction: The White House (guided by figures like Stephen Miller) is gearing up “to crack down on the, what they call the radical left, very, very broadly considered.” Efforts include considering criminal investigations and other heavy-handed methods (01:41–02:45).

  “Stephen Miller… pretty much said out loud, that they would be sort of searching for any predicate to get these people. It could be RICO, it could be conspiracy against the United States, it could be… insurrection. But we’re coming after you.” — Andrew Egger (01:52)

• Online Campaigns: At the same time, a bottom-up, social-media-driven effort is identifying, shaming, and attempting to “cancel” anyone who posted critically of Kirk—even for arguably mild comments.

  “There has been this other effort… to basically find some of the worst things people have said about Charlie Kirk online, to identify the people who said those things and to shame them, try to get them fired, try to get them drummed out of life.” — Andrew Egger (03:08)

2. The Irony and Cycle of Cancel Culture

• The hosts reflect on the irony that those defending Kirk as a “free speech warrior” are now demanding the silencing or firing of his critics.

  “Got to respect the legacy of Charlie Kirk, Free Speech Warrior, by canceling these people…”—Sam Stein (04:38)

• They discuss how the phenomenon of cancel culture—previously associated largely with the left—is now being repurposed and weaponized by the right.

  “You are now seeing people on the right deploy a lot of those same arguments now.”—Andrew Egger (05:45)

• Both hosts recognize the inherent tension between defending the right to free (even reprehensible) speech and the legitimate social desire to enforce communal standards through pressure or “canceling.”

  “They have a right to be awful human beings… And that’s where we’re at.”—Sam Stein (04:04)

3. The Viral Targeting of Individuals

• The conversation highlights how even comparatively mild posts are being flagged and weaponized by activists, using the example of an Air Force member’s post (Lena Marie) which was critical but not gleeful about Kirk, yet she was called to be “thrown out of the Air Force.” (06:57–08:29)

  “I wouldn’t have posted that… but I read that and I’m like, okay, whatever, she can say what she wants and we’ll move on. She’s being targeted now. People are saying, throw her out of the Air Force... That’s where we’re at, basically.”—Sam Stein (08:17)

4. Social Media Algorithms & the Outrage Machine

• The hosts blame much of the toxic escalation on social media dynamics—algorithms that stoke divisiveness and the “hysteria” of tribal blame-shifting after the assassination. Both recognize the phenomenon is bipartisan.

  “Some of this stuff is just organic. I mean, this is how social media works.”—Andrew Egger (10:24)
  “I’m not like both sides or person, but like, it is both sides in this case, like liberals are doing it to conservatives too. It’s crazy.” —Sam Stein (10:39)
  “In some sense… it’s just the blind machine doing what the blind machine is designed to do.”—Andrew Egger (10:56)

5. Broader Societal Implications and the Need for Change

• The hosts call for a new national conversation on social media’s role in driving outrage and division, musing about the possibility of a “social media detox” for society at large.

  “There needs to be like a real, a real detox, like a real social media detox campaign.”—Sam Stein (11:27)
  “We need to figure out how to disentangle them. And it’s not going to be an easy thing at all.” —Andrew Egger (14:34)

6. The Carrie Lake Angle & Weaponizing Tragedy Against Institutions

• Sam and Andrew critique right-wing figure Carrie Lake’s claim—made at a memorial service—that colleges indoctrinate young people into hatred, using the assassin’s brief college attendance as a case study.

  “Do not send your children into these indoctrination camps. Don’t do it. Do not do it.”—Carrie Lake (12:07)

• Both hosts agree these claims ignore the real mechanism of radicalization: being “pathologically online.”

  “The actual fact of what seems to have happened… is that he just got insane brain poisoning online, you know, wrote memes all over his bullets and was on Discord and Reddit constantly and dropped out of college after one semester.”—Andrew Egger (13:07)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Irony on Cancel Culture:

  “Everyone’s like, well you got to respect the legacy of Charlie Kirk, Free Speech Warrior by canceling these people who are saying horrific things. And it’s like, yeah, there is an irony there.” —Sam Stein (04:38)

• On Tribal Outrage:

  “The reaction to this has been absolute, like, tribal hysteria… it’s the worst type of reaction possible to go and sift through someone else’s social media feed so you can root out people who you disagree with.” —Sam Stein (09:47)

• Algorithmic Amplification:

  “In some sense it’s a no sides case. It’s just the blind machine doing what the blind machine is designed to do.”—Andrew Egger (10:56)

• Deflection from Real Radicalization:

  “The idea that this guy…the one thing he took away from those couple freshman zoom lectures was, I’m going to go shoot Charlie Kirk is just insane… he did actually get seemingly radicalized on the very bad Internet.” —Andrew Egger (13:47)

Important Timestamps

| Timestamp | Segment/Topic | |-----------|--------------| | 00:21 | Introduction to episode theme: responses after Kirk assassination | | 01:41 | Andrew explains political (White House) and social (online) crackdowns | | 04:04 | Discussion on the uncomfortable defense of free speech for offensive posts | | 06:57 | Example of mundane post being weaponized (Lena Marie, Air Force member) | | 09:47 | Critique of tribal hysteria and social media pile-ons | | 10:24 | Andrew and Sam explain algorithmic spread and ‘both sides’ participation | | 12:07 | Carrie Lake’s comments at Kirk memorial about colleges as indoctrination | | 13:47 | Discussion about true nature of online radicalization, not college | | 14:34 | Reflection on social media as “substrate” problem for society |

Takeaway

This episode provides a nuanced look at how right-wing actors have adopted tactics long associated with left-wing “cancel culture,” weaponizing both governmental and social pressure against critics in the wake of a political tragedy. The hosts argue that the mechanisms of social media—algorithmic amplification, outrage cycles, and toxic tribalism—are fueling a culture where everyone is searching for the next opponent to “cancel.” They admonish both sides for contributing to this climate, urge a systemic rethink about online culture, and pointedly reject scapegoating colleges for what they see as problems rooted in unhealthy online ecosystems.

For listeners, this episode is a sharp, candid exploration of how digital culture and political polarization are converging in new, troubling ways—delivered with The Bulwark’s characteristic blend of irony and urgency.