The Charlie Kirk Show — "Lessons from Asia + What's Wrong with Gen Z Women?"

Date: September 8, 2025
Host: Charlie Kirk
Guests: Vivek Ramaswamy, Senator Rick Scott, Megan Basham, Alex Marlowe

Overview

Charlie Kirk returns from Asia, sharing insights from South Korea and Japan, and dives into America's current crises—urban crime, national identity, and what he frames as a generational collapse in values, particularly among Gen Z women. The episode features commentary from political figures (Vivek Ramaswamy, Senator Rick Scott), a local perspective from culture reporter Megan Basham, and media analysis with Alex Marlowe. The tone is unapologetically conservative and critical of progressive culture, focusing on public safety, immigration, and shifting social values.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Lessons from South Korea and Japan

South Korea: Cleanliness, Order, and Declining Birth Rates

• Public Order and Safety:
  • Charlie expresses awe at the state of Seoul, noting the absence of homelessness, graffiti, and public disorder, drawing a stark contrast with American cities.
  • [05:49] "As soon as you walk out of the hotel there's no bums, there's no people asking you for money. They don't really put up with graffiti at all… Everything is clean, orderly. They take pride and responsibility over their public spaces."
• Social Cohesion:
  • Attributes South Korea's safety to a “high trust society” and tight immigration policies, not just strict laws or policing.
• Challenges:
  • Points out South Korea’s lowest birth rate and highest plastic surgery rate—connecting these to broader civilizational anxieties.

Japan: National Identity and Resistance to Mass Immigration

• Homogeneity and Stability:
  • Applauds Japan’s resistance to mass immigration, noting the rise of the nationalist Sanseito Party.
  • [29:50] "Japan is a very unique country and objectively Tokyo might have been the most impressive city I've ever visited... There's a major movement… calling out the private, quiet infiltration of foreigners into Japanese society and I'm cheering them on because... I want Japan to remain Japanese."
• National Comparison:
  • Highlights Japan's high social order and public safety as tied to ethnic/national homogeneity. Contrasts with America’s more inclusive but unstable model.
  • Critiques Western leftist pressure on Japan to accept more immigrants, calling it “left-wing colonialism.”

High Trust Societies vs. American Decay

• [36:37] "South Korea doesn’t put up with crime... They have community, they have people who trust each other, they speak the same language. Actually, unlike our nation... We’re a country increasingly of foreigners."
• Describes scenes of unattended luggage, intact public furniture, and orderly transit as unthinkable in U.S. cities.

2. Urban Crime Crisis & Political Response

The Charlotte Stabbing: Media Silence and Racial Politics

• Highlights the murder of Ukrainian refugee Irina Zarutska as emblematic of America’s urban breakdown, critiquing both media silence and local progressive policies.
• [10:59] "She was fleeing violence in Ukraine. Turns out it's more dangerous on subways in Charlotte, North Carolina, than a war zone in Ukraine."
• Blames liberal criminal justice reform for allowing repeat offenders back onto the streets.

Segment Highlights (w/ Guests)

• Vivek Ramaswamy [13:26]:
  • “What happened in Charlotte's unconscionable... This is part of a national pattern… a broader breakdown of respect for the rule of law.”
• Senator Rick Scott [15:38]:
  • “We’ve got to put criminals in prison. They need to serve their entire sentence. Right—we cannot be soft on crime… The biggest thing you can do is enforce our laws.”
• Both emphasize restoring tough-on-crime policies, ending leniency in bail and sentencing.

Megan Basham (Local Perspective) [41:01]

• Describes Charlotte’s shift: more homelessness, panhandling, and a sense of public danger since reformist policies were enacted in 2020.
• Criticizes local political and religious leaders for silence when a black offender murders a white victim, despite their vocal responses to prior high-profile cases with reversed racial dynamics.
• [47:24] "At that time there was a desire to curry favor with the progressive wing... when you see crimes like this... they go very, very quiet."

Alex Marlowe (Media Analysis) [56:07]

• Argues that corporate media systematically covers up stories harmful to progressive narratives.
• [57:59] "They’re so coached up and they’ve been coached up for decades on this... it’s all corporatism... These are the real oligarchs… And if you look at their board, it’s all top Democrat donors..."
• States that stories of black-on-white crime are intentionally buried to protect leftist narratives.

3. National Identity: Immigration and Populism

• Strong endorsement of national-populist sentiment, both in Asia and the U.S.
• Critique of attempts (by the left/globalists) to erode national cultures via open borders and DEI policies.
• Draws a distinction between the “propositional” American national identity and the “ethnic/cultural” identity of countries like Japan.
• [32:08] "If you do not have a picture of national identity, then you're going to be in a lot of trouble... America’s picture is different than Japan’s. Japan is something different and they should be allowed to be different."

4. The Gen Z Women Crisis: Poll Analysis

NBC News Poll: Priorities Among Gen Z Voters

• Kirk highlights a poll showing that for Harris-voting women, the least important value is having children; for Trump-voting women, children also rank low.
• [61:29] "For women who voted for Harris, the least important thing for them is having children; being married is six percent at the very bottom of the poll."
• Expresses alarm that American women—across the political spectrum—are undervaluing marriage and children, unlike men.

Commentary and Implications

• Frames this as a symptom of modern feminism, narcissism, and cultural decline.
• [64:09] "Liberal women are just neurotic and so unattractive to young men... Their number one thing is a fulfilling job and career... What’s the number one thing for men? Men want children."
• Suggests that societal and media programming teaches young women to prize career and independence above family, leading to personal and national decline.
• Cites data and articles indicating that married women—especially mothers—are the happiest demographic, pushing back against feminist narratives.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• [05:49] Charlie Kirk on South Korea’s safety:
  "Everything is clean, orderly... The amount of filth, crime, and violence that we put up with is insane."
• [13:26] Vivek Ramaswamy on U.S. cities:
  "...a broader breakdown of respect for the rule of law... that's what we're going to have to turn around."
• [15:38] Senator Rick Scott on policy:
  "We have to enforce our laws. We’ve got to put criminals in prison… We cannot be soft on crime."
• [41:01] Megan Basham:
  "For two weeks now none of our major media outlets have covered her at all... The argument was for the sake of racial equity we need to not jail black offenders… instead, we have a criminal justice system here that was sold out to social justice instead of actual justice."
• [56:07] Alex Marlowe on the media:
  “You couldn’t have scripted this… The easiest opportunity ever to get a little bit of credibility… and they won’t even write it.”
• [61:29] Charlie Kirk on the generational poll:
  "What explains this? Why do so many Democrat women want to die alone?"
• [65:18] Alex Marlowe on feminism:
  "We need a rejection of modern feminism which has told women you’ll be happiest if you act like a man... the focus has to be on family."
• [68:44] Charlie Kirk on solutions:
  "Men are natural leaders so men know that they must lead society towards having lots of children and lead women towards having lots of children. The silver lining is that if men are coming around, women will likely too."

Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:00 – 06:41: Charlie’s takeaways from South Korea (public order, safety, societal trust)
• 10:59 – 13:26: Irina Zarutska case and crime in American cities
• 13:26 - 19:02: Vivek Ramaswamy & Senator Rick Scott discuss national crime trends, law enforcement
• 29:50 – 36:37: Japan’s political climate, national populism, and immigration
• 41:01 – 54:13: Megan Basham on Charlotte’s crime, media silence, and the reaction (or lack thereof) from Christian leaders
• 56:07 – 61:29: Alex Marlowe on media suppression of crime stories
• 61:29 – 68:44: Analysis of the Gen Z poll on women’s life priorities, implications for society and conservative politics

Additional Highlights

• National Populism: Kirk and guests warn against eroding unique national identities through globalist/open border policies, using Japan as a positive example.
• Crime Solutions: Strong advocacy for more stringent law enforcement, longer sentencing, and a rollback of criminal justice reforms blamed for urban disorder.
• Cultural Critique: Extensive critique of progressive and feminist values, arguing they undermine happiness and social stability, especially in women.
• Faith and Leadership: Repeated criticism of church leaders and pastors for silence on racial crime when it doesn’t fit popular narratives; call for moral clarity.
• Media Distrust: The show underlines a systemic lack of trust in American mainstream media, accusing it of leftist bias, selective reporting, and collusion to shape public perception.

Closing Message

Charlie concludes with a call to women:
[73:11] "Get married and have children. You’ll be happier and the country will be better off."