TRIGGERnometry Podcast Summary

Episode: Jeremy Boreing On Candace Owens, Tucker Carlson and Nick Fuentes
Date: January 28, 2026

Overview

In this thought-provoking episode, hosts Konstantin Kisin and Francis Foster welcome Jeremy Boreing, co-founder of the Daily Wire, for his first major interview since leaving the company. The conversation tackles the unfolding “civil war” within right-wing media and politics, Boreing’s reflections on hiring Candace Owens, the roles and dangers of media charisma, the political project pursued by figures like Tucker Carlson and Nick Fuentes, the spiritual undertones in rising right-wing populism, and the challenges—and responsibilities—of creating culture versus merely critiquing it. Boreing also discusses his new epic series, "The Pendragon Cycle," and offers a cautionary perspective on social media’s impact on society, especially youth.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. The Right-Wing “Civil War” and Media Ecosystem

• Internal Conflict: Boreing highlights what he describes as a “huge civil war going on on the right right now” ([00:01], [06:43]), sparked by Donald Trump’s status as a one-term president and the scramble to define conservatism’s future as Trump’s influence wanes.
• Market Incentives and Audience Capture: There is tension between for-profit motives and mission-driven work in conservative media. Boreing stresses that losing sight of the mission in favor of profit or pure audience growth leads down a “cynical” and ultimately self-destructive path ([09:05]).
• Grift Industrial Complex: Boreing introduces the concept of the “Grift Industrial Complex”—media personalities and influencers who pursue money and attention over principle, rewarding audience desires rather than speaking truthfully:

  “If you tell people always what they want to hear, they reward you financially...soon you don’t wield cynicism. Cynicism wields you.” – Jeremy Boreing ([09:05])

2. Candace Owens: A Case Study in Charisma and Consequence

• A Professional Regret: Boreing openly calls hiring Candace Owens “the biggest mistake of my professional life so far” ([00:01], [12:17], [78:32]).
• Candace as “Nuclear Energy”: He praises her talent and charisma, but says these are double-edged swords which, when wielded for ill, do immense damage:

  “Candace is like nuclear energy. If you harness it properly, she can power a city. If you lose control, she’ll flatten the city.” ([12:17])

• Audience Capture as a Virtue: Boreing recounts Owens’ claim:

  “I believe what the people believe. I am the voice of the people.”
  — and critiques this as “articulating audience capture as a virtue, which is amoral” ([00:01], [27:07]).

• Current Behavior: Boreing condemns her (without specifics) for “now talking about doing expose documentaries on Charlie Kirk’s widow; that is evil” ([00:01], [47:59]).

3. Charisma versus Substance in Media

• The hosts and Boreing agree both left and right are susceptible to equating charisma with honesty or competence ([14:30]). On the right, the consequences are particularly visible due to its alternative media’s structure: “It manifests itself differently...we built our audiences talking into the camera, saying what you believe. That’s where we’ve built our trust—and where we see abuse.” ([14:30])

• Charisma and Instability:

  “What makes a great fighter jet, a great rock star, a great actor, or host charismatic and great, is dynamic instability…”
  — Jeremy Boreing, comparing charisma to “aerodynamic instability” in fighter jets ([24:37])

4. Tucker Carlson, Nick Fuentes, and the “Political Project”

• Candace vs. Tucker (and Nick Fuentes): Boreing distinguishes Candace’s self-aggrandizement and audience capture from others engaged in what he describes as an explicit “political project” ([27:07], [29:16]).
• The New Right’s Project: Describes a movement combining “left-wing economic populism and right-wing social populism”—protectionism, wealth redistribution, and nativist or socially conservative policies.

  “It is a vision to seize power and remake the world order…to ‘end’ the postwar consensus, [for] a post-liberal West…a reduction in human freedom.” ([33:40])

• Dangers of Reactionary Politics: He compares the new right’s pattern—rejecting founding Western achievements like Churchill’s legacy or the moon landing—to the left’s literal statue-toppling, declaring both fundamentally “anti-conservative” and destructive ([33:40]).

5. Conspiracies, Paranoia, and COVID’s Impact

• Appeal of Conspiracy: The discussion highlights how feelings of powerlessness and the search for simple explanations (a “theory of everything”) fuel conspiracy thinking—often in ways that drift toward anti-Semitism ([17:07]).
• COVID as a Watershed: Boreing argues trust in institutions collapsed not due to the virus itself, but to governments’ and media’s overreach and opportunism:

  “We just lived through one of the great conspiracies in human history...all of these things are because of the reaction of governments and media organizations.” ([18:06])

6. Religion, Trad Catholicism, and Spiritual Manipulation

• Religious Rhetoric in Politics: The rise of religious language, especially via Nick Fuentes and segments of “trad” Catholic Gen-Z men, is dissected. Boreing believes it’s being used tribally, not spiritually:

  “Nick Fuentes is very clear...he chose a rallying cry that would exclude Jews. That is anathema to the gospel...People are trying to wield evil tools to advance their agendas—not realizing you become the tool wielded by evil.” ([44:21], [48:08])

• A “Vengeful Movement”: Francis remarks on how some of these movements feel Old Testament, not Christ-like ([47:59]), and Boreing notes the anti-Semitic undercurrents and manipulation of group identities.

7. Politics as Entertainment

• Discussion on the blurred lines between political activism and performance:

  “I had a guy tell me...his wife keeps telling him about things Candace says...I said, just respond by telling her fun things from a porno you watched. It’s the same level of shame. It’s rhetorical pornography.” – Jeremy Boreing ([57:09])

• Personal Responsibility: The hosts and Boreing stress that while these personalities thrive, the audience must decide what to consume—“McDonald’s isn’t banned, but it’s not good for you” ([58:37]).

8. Liberalism and Its Discontents

• Critique of the New “Post-Liberal” Right: Boreing pushes back on the notion that liberalism (in the classical sense) is inherently to blame for Western malaise. He cites America’s system as uniquely self-correcting because it acknowledges “original sin” and channels human flaws through institutional constraint ([60:18], [66:34]).
• What’s Gone Wrong? “The wrecker is us. We’re actually the thing that’s gone wrong. Liberalism is not...innately bad. It’s that we destroyed the family, the institutions… and with nothing to channel liberalism, it’s become unmoored.” ([66:34], [68:39])

9. On Creating Culture: The Pendragon Cycle

• Making vs. Critiquing Culture: Boreing expresses the right’s challenge—“it’s easy to criticize culture, it’s hard to make culture.” The left builds the future, the right only tries to conserve the past; he wants both ([72:03]).
• "Pendragon Cycle": Boreing describes the epic’s creation woes and its intentional hopefulness, contrasting the nihilism of "Game of Thrones":

  “We told [the Arthurian myth] in a way that’s true to its Christian origins...Pendragon is subversive in its rejection of nihilism. It’s about political and spiritual upheaval and how we prioritize values.” ([72:03])

10. The True Danger: Social Media’s Epistemic Bomb

• Boreing’s Final Warning: Asked about issues society isn’t addressing, Boreing singles out the deeply underexplored negative impacts of social media—especially on children ([78:32]):

  “It seems so obvious that children should not have access to technology that adults have not yet figured out how to condition themselves to use...We’ll look back at kids having smartphones and social media like we do kids smoking...I’d rather my daughter smoke than have social media.” ([82:04], [87:05])

Notable Quotes & Moments (with Timestamps)

• On Candace Owens as a Mistake:
  “I certainly think that hiring Candace is probably the biggest mistake of my professional life so far.” – Jeremy Boreing ([00:01], [12:17], [78:32])
• On Audience Capture:
  “I believe what the people believe. I am the voice of the people.” – (Candace Owens, recounted by Boreing) ([00:01], [27:07])
• On Cynicism and Grift:
  “There is a lane for the pure cynic. I call it the Grift Industrial Complex. Beware the Grift Industrial Complex. It's real, it can be incredibly lucrative, and it can be incredibly rewarding too, in terms of the feedback that you get from audience...Pretty soon you don’t wield cynicism. Cynicism wields you.” ([09:05])
• On Charisma and Mental Instability:
  “What makes a great fighter jet, a great rock star...charismatic and great is dynamic instability.” ([24:37])
• On the Dangers of Reactionary Movements:
  “I see a huge alignment between Antifa thugs tearing down statues...and people on the new right saying Churchill is the chief villain...That's just rhetorically tearing down our statues.” ([33:40])
• On COVID’s Legacy:
  “We just lived through one of the great conspiracies in human history...all of these things are because of the reaction of governments and media organizations.” ([18:06])
• On Religion Being Co-opted:
  “Christ as King is a way of excluding Jews from the political project...that is anathema to the gospel.” ([44:21])
• On Political Entertainment:
  “It is rhetorical pornography. It does the same thing that regular pornography does. It titillates, it stimulates, it’s slightly naughty, it’s great for getting clicks, and it makes tons of money on the Internet. And you shouldn't be able to look at it if you're under 18.” ([57:09])
• On Social Media’s Danger:
  “The moment we live in is the moment created by a cell phone in every pocket and social media on every cell phone and what it's doing to us as a people...You can't live in a society where the average 12-year-old has seen more breasts than King Solomon. And we do, and that's just a fact.” ([82:04]) "I would rather my daughter smoke than have social media." ([87:05])

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [00:01]–[08:41] – Right-wing “civil war”; incentives; Candace Owens as a cautionary tale
• [12:17]–[17:33] – Charisma, accuracy, conspiracy thinking, and COVID fallout
• [24:26]–[27:07] – Charisma vs. stability; Candace, Tucker, and political ambitions
• [29:16]–[37:02] – The new right’s political project; reactionary dangers
• [44:18]–[48:08] – The rise of religious language, anti-Semitism, and tribalism
• [57:09]–[60:18] – Entertainment vs. politics in media; “rhetorical pornography”
• [66:06]–[70:12] – Positive conservative vision post-liberalism, restoring virtue
• [72:03]–[78:09] – “Pendragon Cycle” and the making of conservative culture
• [78:32]–[87:37] – Social media’s negative impacts (Boreing’s “undiscussed issue”)

Summary Flow & Relevance

This nuanced, candid conversation is essential for understanding the fractures and debates within influential right-wing media circles in the post-Trump landscape. Boreing’s tough self-critique regarding Candace Owens, sharp delineation between cynical media “grifters” and sincere political projects, warnings about the misuse of religion, and plea for responsibility and creation in media, paint a sophisticated portrait of conservatism at a crossroads. His warnings about social media’s peril, especially for children, drive home the idea that technology’s downside is a civilizational emergency still being ignored.

Boreing’s tone, while often self-deprecating and humorous, is also direct and at times searching—particularly in his criticisms of audience capture, religious manipulation, and the right’s reluctance to solve problems rather than just criticize. Those interested in the future of conservative media, the realignment of American politics, and the ethical tensions in new media will find the episode urgent, rich, and at times uncomfortably honest.

For more, including the discussion about "The Pendragon Cycle," check out the full episode and Boreing's new series on Daily Wire Plus.