Podcast Summary:

Podcast: Free Thinking Through the Fourth Turning with Sasha Stone
Episode: It's Too Late to Cry "Cancel Culture"
Date: September 15, 2025

Overview

In this reflective and provocative episode, Sasha Stone examines the rising double standards in "cancel culture," focusing on reactions to the assassination of conservative figure Charlie Kirk. The conversation carries a critical edge against leftist politics and mainstream reactions to violence and cancelation narratives, especially the sudden concern for freedom of speech by those who once championed cancel culture against right-leaning voices. The episode features personal anecdotes, sourced social media commentary, a recounting of traumatic events surrounding Kirk’s death, and candid emotional response.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. On Cancel Culture and Its Roots

• Stone opens with skepticism regarding the recent uptick in concern about censorship and workplace speech discipline following the firing of NBC employees over their Charlie Kirk-related comments.

• Criticizes the hypocrisy of those now denouncing cancel culture, pointing to years of left-leaning intolerance toward dissenting views:

  "It's funny that they all suddenly care about censorship, free speech and cancel culture, isn't it? And the chilling effects that had on open expression. Have they looked at Hollywood lately?... How many people did we watch unpersoned, disappeared and banished from utopia?" ([00:00])

• Stone sees the current backlash against leftists being canceled as a form of poetic justice:

  "Turnabout is fair play. What drama queens? They get fired and it's the end of the world. They lost their jobs. Try losing everything. Your family, your marriage, your friends, your status." ([02:31])

• Highlights the evolution of cancel culture from fringe internet spaces into institutional and governmental practice post-2016.

  "Cancel culture was always about power, it was wrong. When it began after Trump's win in 2016. It existed before that, mostly as a joke... But it became frightening and chilling when institutions got involved..." ([10:39])

2. Political Violence and Media Hypocrisy

• Interviewee recounts physical violence experienced by Trump supporters, paralleling the lack of widespread outcry when compared to liberal victims:

  "If a conservative professor would have hunted down a Kamala Harris wearing student, it would have been a hate crime and the number one news story in the country. Now we could barely get attention for a young man who was punched by a professor..." ([01:33])

• Detailed, traumatized witness account of Charlie Kirk’s assassination at a rally, marked by sudden violence and ensuing panic:

  "We were on the second or third question... talking about gun violence... when his neck exploded. And... I am waiting for more bullets to start... I'm ready for the mass shooting part to begin because, man, it's the opportunity for it. Like, we're down in this Slaughter pit..." ([04:10])

• Stone scorns those mocking Erica Kirk’s (Charlie’s widow) emotional response, attributing it to deep-seated religious performance and denouncing the ridicule:

  "If they get fired for this, I have not an ounce left in me that cares even a little bit... These soulless monsters... I would not want... working for me." ([07:46])

3. Cancel Culture’s Aftershocks & Moral Double Standards

• Exploration of social media reactions that associate the right, and especially Kirk, with fascism, and the subsequent desire for retribution:

  "For the record, the side that shoots the guy in the neck because they don't like his opinions is the fascist side. Supporting those celebrating his death is to support fascism or extremism." ([15:39])

• Stone invokes the summer 2020 BLM protests and January 6th riots, comparing media coverage and aftermath, denouncing the selective condemnation:

  "Yet it's always one group that is punished and one group that is either ignored or celebrated... When the left rampaged through the cities all through the summer of 2020, leaving violence and mayhem in their wake, the media barely covered it." ([15:46])

• Refers to prominent left-leaning figures like Stephen King and Stephen Colbert, highlighting their continued success post-controversy as evidence of left-wing immunity to permanent cancelation:

  "On the left, they fail upwards. If anything, they'll be celebrated for getting fired. Look at Stephen Colbert, who has now won an Emmy and will be getting a standing ovation tonight..." ([21:21])

4. Personal Loss, Faith, and Martyrdom

• The latter portion of the episode becomes a eulogy for Kirk, reflecting on faith, courage, martyrdom, and the lasting legacy of loss.

• Guest recounts spiritual and emotional ties to Charlie Kirk, framing his death as a self-sacrificing act for liberty:

  "Charlie gave his life so that the rest of us would not have to suffer those fates worse than death... Now it's our job... to win this battle for our country, for God and for our families." ([25:08])

• Stone concludes on a spiritual note, drawing from Corinthians, emphasizing living with purpose and meaning amid adversity.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Double Standards & Payback

  “Why is it always on MAGA to take the high road? Imagine if a prominent left-leaning influencer…was assassinated at a rally. Millions would pour into the streets all over the world. MAGA can't. Why? Because they'd be once again demonized as dangerous extremists.” — Sacha Stone ([10:39])

• On Media Coverage of Violence

  “These were not clashes. These were pure attacks. Trump supporters, men, women, even the elderly… walked right into danger…this man says he was sucker-punched, his clothes torn off his back...” — ABC’s Tom Yamas (quoted) ([13:21])

• On Institutionalization of Cancel Culture

  “Julie Kelly has a story on the crackdown after January 6th…treated like terrorists. Kamala Harris herself compared that day with 911 and Pearl Harbor, as if to justify everything that was about to happen to them...from the show trials to the absurd charges thrown at many of them, policing their thought and speech, convicting them in the court of public opinion with spectral evidence...” — Sacha Stone ([10:39])

• On Moral Responsibility in the Aftermath

  “If they all step forward and say, ‘we’re so very sorry we canceled all of you, you are now officially uncanceled,’ then maybe MAGA should think about feeling bad about it. But until then, they’re having to lie in the bed they made—tastes like victory.” — Sacha Stone ([21:21])

Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:00–02:31: Opening on hypocrisy of cancel culture, anecdote of MAGA hat assault
• 04:10–07:46: Witness recounts the trauma of Kirk’s assassination
• 10:39–12:43: Evolution of cancel culture into institutional power, January 6th prosecutions
• 13:06–15:46: Media coverage contrasts: Trump rallies, J6, BLM protests
• 17:39–19:00: Left vs right political violence; lack of accountability
• 21:21–22:50: The legacy and personal meaning of Kirk's death
• 23:55–26:00: Reflections on loss, martyrdom, spiritual responsibility
• 27:19–29:59: Emotional musical tribute and poetic send-off for Charlie Kirk

Conclusion

Stone’s episode is a blend of scathing critique and heartfelt elegy, arguing that the culture of cancelation—once wielded predominantly by the left—has finally come full circle. While stone cold about those now losing their positions for publicly celebrating tragedy, the episode shifts less into gloating and more into a call for reflection about the cost of intolerance and the real meaning behind martyrdom, ideology, and what it means to live—and die—for one’s beliefs. The tone is emotionally raw, unsparing, and unflinchingly partisan, yet it closes with grace, faith, and the hope that legacy outlasts the storms of politics and polarization.