The fall of Ben Shapiro
5/28/202626 min
Ben Shapiro used to be the leading voice in MAGA media. His downfall tells a bigger story of chaos and shifting allegiances in the conservative media world. This episode was produced by Miles Bryan, edited by Jolie Myers, fact-checked by Gabriel Dunatov, engineered by David Tatasciore and Bridger Dunnagan, and hosted by Noel King. Commentator Ben Shapiro at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Argentina. Photo by Tomas Cuesta/Getty Images. Listen to Today, Explained ad-free by becoming a Vox Member: vox.com/members. New Vox members get $20 off their membership right now. Transcript at vox.com/today-explained-podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Transcript preview
First 90 secondsNoel King· Host0:00
[upbeat music] In the span of a decade, Ben Shapiro built the Daily Wire into a conservative media empire. He produced hit podcasts that bit at liberal excesses, and documentaries and lectures about the Founders, the Genders, the Gospels. He peddled polos, hats, candles, provided a home for de-platformed conservative stars like Matt Walsh, and minted stars like Candace Owens. Let's put a pin in that. The Daily Wire even has kids programming, a judgemental puppet named Zoodles- Zoodles.
Ben Shapiro· Soundbite0:28
Zoodles!
Noel King· Host0:28
... who shares Shapiro's load-bearing eyebrows. This year, though, the empire showed signs of collapse. The Daily Wire's YouTube videos are down from millions of views to the low five figures, web traffic is plummeting, and recently Shapiro laid off 13% of his employees. Asked by the Washington Post what had happened, Shapiro accused other conservatives of click whoring by embracing radical Islam, theorizing about the evils of Winston Churchill, and mocking the widow of Charlie Kirk. The kid's still got it. On Today Explained, the fall of Ben Shapiro.
Skylar Diggins0:58
[upbeat music] What's up, y'all? I'm Skylar Diggins, seven-time WNBA All-Star, Olympic gold medalist, and mom.
Noel King· Host1:06
And I'm Cassidy Hubbarth, host and reporter for nearly 20 years, covering the biggest names and stories in sports, and mom.
Skylar Diggins1:13
And this is And Mom, a community for athletes, game changers, and moms of all kinds. Dropping May 14th. Tap in with us.
Francis Lam1:22
Hey, it's Francis Lam, host of The Splendid Table podcast. Every week on our show, we celebrate the intersection of food and life, and this month,