103: The ‘Grift Industrial Complex’ Comes for The Daily Wire (Patreon)

Jared and Mike dig into reports of chaos at The Daily Wire after Candace Owens — once one of its top stars — claimed the company enacted a “bloodbath” of layoffs affecting as much as 60% of its staff. (The Daily Wire confirmed the layoffs but denied they were as extensive as Owens claimed.) What followed was an unusual weekend of silence from Ben Shapiro and goat lover Matt Walsh.

The guys trace the rise of the conservative media empire from its LA roots and Facebook dominance to its overextended streaming ambitions, “anti-woke” consumer products, and increasingly shaky position inside the MAGA movement. Along the way, they examine how The Daily Wire’s obsession with culture war content, Israel, and respectability politics left it out of step with the audience it helped create.

Plus: Jared and Mike toast Eoin Higgins for his recent legal success against free speech warrior Matt Taibbi and say farewell to Laura Sennett of One People’s Project, who recently died. May she rest in power.

Links:

Eoin's book: Owned: How Tech Billionaires on the Right Bought the Loudest Voices on the Left

One People's Project

Jared’s album recommendation: Slowdive, Slowdive, 2017