Charlie Kirk's assassination matters more than you think
The Excerpt
USA TODAY
4.1 • 1.2K Ratings
🗓️ 14 September 2025
⏱️ 11 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Conservative activist Charlie Kirk was shot and killed while speaking before thousands at Utah Valley College. His death marks a new and unsettling chapter in America’s history of political violence. From lawmakers targeted in their homes to assassination attempts on presidential candidates, the toll is rising — and the nation is on edge. USA TODAY National Reporter Will Carless joins The Excerpt from Utah to unpack what we know about the Kirk shooting, why attacks on political figures are escalating, and whether the country is entering a dangerous cycle of retaliation and unrest.
Have feedback on the show? Please send us an email at podcasts@USATODAY.com.
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | Your first great love story is free when you sign up for a free 30-day trial at audible.co. |
| 0:05.5 | U.K.-slash-wondery. That's audible.com.uk-slash-wondery. |
| 0:14.9 | Conservative activist Charlie Kirk was shot dead as he was speaking before a crowd of thousands |
| 0:20.6 | at an event held at Utah Valley |
| 0:22.9 | College last Wednesday. The 31-year-old co-founder of Conservative Adclancy Group, Turning Point |
| 0:29.1 | USA, was struck in the neck by a bullet fired from a nearby rooftop, captured on multiple |
| 0:36.0 | videos that instantly went viral. |
| 0:38.9 | President Donald Trump called it an assassination and vowed to find those who help the shooter |
| 0:44.5 | or shooters. |
| 0:45.7 | Beyond who fired the fatal bullets, many, many questions are swirling. |
| 0:53.4 | Hello, I'm Aisha Boggi, and this is USA Today's The Exert. |
| 0:58.9 | Today is Sunday, September 14, 2025. |
| 1:02.6 | The assassination of Kirk marks an inflection point in the history of violence in America. |
| 1:09.0 | Kirk's death follows other incidents of political violence. |
| 1:12.3 | Minnesota state lawmaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, who were shot and killed in June. |
| 1:18.7 | Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro's house set on fire in April. Two assassination attempts |
| 1:24.6 | on then-Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump last summer. Is political |
| 1:29.1 | violence our new normal? For more on this disturbing trend, I'm now joined by my colleague, |
| 1:35.3 | USA Today national reporter Will Carless, who is in Utah to cover the Kirk assassination. |
| 1:41.4 | Will, I want to start by asking you about the recent string of political |
| 1:45.8 | violence that has shaken politicians across the country with many political pundits |
| 1:51.0 | sounding alarm bells. You're an expert in extremism. What's your bird's-eyed view here? |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from USA TODAY, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of USA TODAY and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.