Podcast Summary

Podcast: The Ben Shapiro Show
Host: Ben Shapiro, The Daily Wire
Episode: Breaking: Charlie Kirk, 31, Assassinated
Date: September 11, 2025

Episode Overview

This emergency episode is a response to the assassination of Charlie Kirk, founder of Turning Point USA, who was shot and killed during a public campus event in Utah. Ben Shapiro and several Daily Wire colleagues, including Michael Knowles and Andrew Klavan, process the shock, grief, and broader implications for political dialogue and safety in America. The show combines personal tributes to Kirk with pointed criticism of political violence and the alleged permissive environment fostered by media and political opponents.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Initial Shock and Personal Reflections

• Both Ben Shapiro and Michael Knowles open with an expression of speechlessness and shock, repeatedly stating that "there's truly nothing to say" in the face of such an unthinkable act.

  • Notable Quote
    "I've known Charlie Kirk since Charlie was 18 years old... I remember turning to Jeremy Boreing... and saying, that kid is going to be the head of the RNC. I was wrong. He created his own organization that was significantly more important."
    — Michael Knowles [00:05]

• The hosts mourn not just a political figure but a friend and a young father.

  • Notable Quote
    "Charlie is a 31 year old man who believed in God as a Christian... He had a wife and two very, very young children who will now grow up without a father."
    — Michael Knowles [01:31]

2. Legacy and Character of Charlie Kirk

• Kirk is celebrated for his energy, optimism, commitment to debate, coalition-building, and religious faith.

  • Notable Quote
    "He was an unending well of energy, just endless energy... and yet what stopped Charlie Kirk is a murderer's bullet, is an assassin's bullet."
    — Michael Knowles [02:17]

• Both hosts reflect on his rise from a teen activist to the founder of the most important conservative youth movement in America.

• Special attention is given to his talent for open, gracious debate with ideological opponents.

  • Notable Quote
    "One of the things that he had absolutely been dominating on ... was open debate with your ideological opponents. Gracious, charitable, open debate anywhere."
    — Ben Shapiro [04:40]

3. Broader Societal and Political Concerns

• Growing fear that political discourse in the US is becoming deadly, likening the current period to the political violence of the 1960s and '70s.

  • Notable Quote
    "It's a symptom of a broader ill in American society, an ill that says that politics are blood sport... you are fair game to be murdered in cold blood in public, in front of everyone."
    — Michael Knowles [02:55]

• The end of outdoor, public political events is predicted due to security concerns.

  • Notable Quote
    "This is the end of all outdoor public events, like, they're done... something is broken in this country. Deeply, deeply broken."
    — Michael Knowles [07:16]

• Critique of left-wing media allegedly excusing or justifying political violence.

  • Notable Quote
    "If you take the tack that if you say awful things in America, then the violence simply descends upon you or deserves to descend upon you because you are so threatening... you are facilitating violence."
    — Ben Shapiro [21:00]

4. Media, Rhetoric and Responsibility

• Hosts harshly criticize commentators like Matt Dowd (MSNBC) and the New York Times obituary for suggesting Kirk invited violence through 'divisive' speech.

  • Notable Quote
    "What an utter, complete piece of shit. I mean, truly like to say that on the day that somebody is murdered, that's your takeaway."
    — Michael Knowles [22:20]

• Repeated condemnation of any attempts to rationalize or minimize political violence, regardless of ideology.

5. Faith, Mourning, and Moving Forward

• Expressions of Christian faith and prayers for Kirk and his family are recurrent throughout, epitomized by readings of Psalm 23 and Psalm 46.

  • Notable Quote
    "The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want... Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for thou art with me."
    — Michael Knowles quoting Psalm 23 [41:34]

• Discussion with Andrew Klavan about the difference between past and present political violence: in the past, media and authority figures did not inflame rhetoric as much as today.

  • Notable Quote
    "The difference is that then the people in authority, the people in the media, did not join in, in the kind of rhetoric that makes it impossible for us to talk with one another."
    — Andrew Klavan [25:25]

• Hope is expressed that the "vast majority" of Americans are decent, and that faith, both religious and in the American people, is necessary to recover from political violence.

  • Notable Quote
    "I do believe that there is still a great, great strain of decency in this country and a great, great power of God watching over people who want to be free."
    — Andrew Klavan [30:09]

Important Segments & Timestamps

00:05 — Michael Knowles’ Tribute to Charlie Kirk

• Personal memories, Kirk’s rise in conservative movement, impact on family and faith.

04:40 — Shapiro and Knowles Discuss Kirk’s Debate Legacy

• Emphasis on open, gracious debate as Kirk’s core contribution.

06:47 — Campus Security and Political Violence

• Reflections on the creeping normalization of extreme security required for conservative speakers.

09:38 — Shapiro’s Summary of the Shooting

• Details of the assassination: campus event, sniper fire, Kirk’s final moments.

21:45 — Media Reaction: Matt Dowd’s Comments

• Critical analysis of media rhetoric, linking divisive speech to violence.

24:14 — Andrew Klavan on Rhetoric and Civility

• Differences in political climate across generations, defending Kirk’s commitment to respectful disagreement.

36:54 — Brent Scher Reporting on Investigation

• Confusion between FBI and local police reports about the suspect’s status.

42:45 — Cassie on Social Media and Real-Life Consequences

• The psychological toll of online hate, blending virtual threats into real violence.

47:40 — Reflections on Kirk’s Moral Consistency

• Kirk’s unwavering defense of Jews, Israel, and his principled positions.

60:25 — Reagan Conrad: The Youth Perspective

• How Kirk inspired his generation, read-aloud of his pastor's remarks.

Notable Quotes (with Speaker Attribution & Timestamps)

• "The murder of a young, beautiful person for the crime of speaking freely ... is just beyond me. It's beyond, I think, all of us.”
  — Michael Knowles [02:30]

• "If we cannot trust each other to have normal conversations in public about basic issues ... how the hell are we supposed to have a country together?"
  — Michael Knowles [08:43]

• "Charlie, he had, as you say, as I said at the beginning, decades to contribute, decades more to contribute. Ripped out of this world by a malicious piece of human debris."
  — Michael Knowles [47:43]

• "Charlie lived for life and will be remembered for this. Evil has not prevailed and it will not win."
  — Pastor Rob McCoy via Reagan Conrad [62:55]

• "Literally nothing other than to just remember my friend and a person who made a huge difference to the country. But maybe ... there will be something uplifting to say tomorrow, but not in the moment."
  — Michael Knowles [44:14]

Tone and Language

The episode is intensely emotional, somber, and sometimes raw in its anger towards media and political opponents. While striving to maintain a respectful tone in mourning Kirk, the hosts do not shy from strong language and criticism toward those they believe contribute to a climate of violence or excuse it. The speakers lean heavily on Christian faith and notions of civic duty as sources of solace and resilience.

Conclusion

The assassination of Charlie Kirk is portrayed as both a personal tragedy for his family and friends and a critical inflection point for the conservative movement, free speech, and the American republic itself. The hosts call for mourning, reflection, and an unequivocal stand against political violence in all forms, challenging both sides of the political spectrum—and especially the media—to reinforce the sanctity of debate, civility, and human life.