Bongino is bonkers, but his fans continue to follow.

According to Barrett Media: The Dan Bongino Show made its return to the podcast world last month. And according to the Podtrac rankings, fans were glad to see it come back.
According to the February rankings from the company, Bongino’s show earned ninth place on the U.S. Unique Monthly Audience rankings. It was the first month his program was back following a yearlong stint serving as the Deputy Director of the FBI.

Something for every POV

Podcasts run the gamut. From topics on cooking, family, tech, media – you name it. There is a political podcast for every point of view. There are podcasts specifically designed to critique and ridicule other podcasts. Conservative podcasters are eating their own these days. Candace Owens, Sean Hannity, Tucker Carlson and Ben Shapiro are all slinging mud at one another. Those are just a few of the podcast hosts sharing these arguments online.

The main wave of public arguing and infighting among these conservative podcasters and commentators— stems from a series of overlapping fractures in the broader right-wing/MAGA media ecosystem, particularly intensifying from late 2023 onward. The central flashpoint began with Candace Owens and Ben Shapiro (co-founder of The Daily Wire, where Owens hosted a show). Their feud erupted publicly after the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel and Israel’s subsequent military response in Gaza. Owens repeatedly criticized Israel’s actions (calling them “genocide”), opposed U.S. funding for Israel’s wars, and made statements about a “small ring” of “political Jews” in Hollywood and Washington shielding themselves from criticism using their identity. Shapiro, who is Jewish and a strong supporter of Israel, publicly condemned her rhetoric as “disgraceful” and antisemitic. This escalated into personal barbs, with Owens responding using biblical quotes (like “you cannot serve both God and money”) that many saw as invoking antisemitic tropes.

The tensions culminated in The Daily Wire severing ties with Owens in March 2024, after which she went independent and continued attacking Shapiro, accusing him of trying to ruin her reputation and livelihood. This split highlighted deeper divisions on Israel, U.S. foreign policy, and allegations of antisemitism within conservative media. Owens has since leaned further into controversial claims, including promoting or engaging with ideas widely viewed as antisemitic (e.g., liking posts referencing blood libel tropes or urging people toward historically antisemitic texts).

One of the most inflammatory statements attributed to Candace Owens came during an August 14, 2024, podcast interview with Tristan Tate, where she described Judaism as a “pedophile-centric religion that believes in demons…[and] child sacrifice,” while implying that Kabbalah worship involves covering up child rape and that “pedophiles are in power” (seemingly linking this to Jewish influence).

More recently (into 2025–2026), the infighting has expanded dramatically due to conspiracy theories surrounding the assassination (shooting death) of Charlie Kirk (founder of Turning Point USA) in September 2025. Owens launched a video series called “Bride of Charlie” questioning the official narrative around Kirk’s death and targeting his widow, Erika Kirk (who took over leadership of TPUSA). This provoked intense backlash from figures like Ben Shapiro and Dan Bongino, who condemned Owens harshly—calling her actions “evil,” “satanic,” or “demonic” and accusing her of smearing a grieving widow, spreading baseless conspiracies, and exploiting tragedy for attention or grift.

Shapiro and Bongino have publicly raged against her, with some reports of threats or extreme denunciations in the mix. Tucker Carlson has aligned more with Owens’ side (or at least defended free speech and criticized interventions like potential U.S. involvement in foreign conflicts, including escalations with Iran under Trump policies in 2026 scenarios). This has led to clashes with Shapiro, who accused Carlson of “cowardice” for not condemning Owens more forcefully, especially amid broader rifts over foreign policy (e.g., U.S. strikes or wars involving Iran). Carlson has hit back, portraying some critics as jealous or part of a neocon establishment.

In short, the arguing boils down to:
Disagreements over Israel/Palestine, U.S. aid, and related foreign policy (core to Owens-Shapiro split).
Accusations of antisemitism vs. claims of overreach or censorship in criticizing Israel/Jewish influence.
Explosive conspiracy theories (especially around Charlie Kirk’s death), which have torn open personal and professional grudges.
Broader power struggles and audience competition in the post-Trump conservative media space, where podcasters vie for influence and accuse each other of grifting, betrayal, or moral failing.

It’s turned into a spectacle of high-profile conservatives publicly shredding each other over grief, conspiracies, foreign policy (like Trump’s Iran escalations drawing fresh fire from Owens and Tucker Carlson), Epstein file drama, and succession fights at Turning Point USA.

On one side, you have Owens pushing increasingly wild insinuations about Charlie Kirk’s 2025 assassination (officially pinned on a lone gunman, Tyler James Robinson), accusing TPUSA leadership (including widow Erika Kirk) of betrayal or cover-up, and framing it as part of bigger plots involving Israel/The Jews, JFK parallels, or foreign intel. This has her series racking up millions of views while drawing brutal backlash.

Candace Owens has also downplayed Holocaust atrocities, calling Josef Mengele’s experiments on Jewish prisoners “bizarre propaganda,” and defended Adolf Hitler’s nationalism in a 2019 context, saying if he “just wanted to make Germany great and have things run well, okay fine.”

On the other, figures like Ben Shapiro and Dan Bongino have gone scorched-earth: Bongino has called her “demonic f**king scum” and wished hellfire on her, Shapiro has labeled her “evil,” “twisted,” and accused her of exploiting a widow for clout. They’ve framed it as crossing every moral line, especially attacking a grieving spouse. Even at events like AmericaFest 2025 (and into 2026), onstage barbs between Shapiro and Carlson highlighted the same fractures.

Tucker Carlson has stayed closer to Owens’ orbit—defending free inquiry, criticizing U.S. foreign entanglements (including recent Iran strikes as “disgusting and evil”), and aligning against what some call the “MAGA moderates” or establishment types.

It’s all playing out in real time on podcasts, X, and YouTube, with wild accusations flying: leaks, threats, “demonic” labels, calls for military desertion over Israel-related wars, and even bizarre side plots like Scientologist-linked promoters pushing Owens/Carlson 2028 tickets.

It’s like watching a reality show where everyone’s yelling about betrayal and truth while the audience just wants unity against the Left. But stupid and destructive because it’s fracturing the broader conservative/MAGA space at a time when cohesion might matter more (post-Trump admin challenges, Iran policy fights, etc.). It’s less principled debate and more personal vendettas + audience-grift wars, which makes the whole thing feel both ridiculous and sadly self-sabotaging.