Jason Zengerle says Tucker Carlson is more 'movement leader' than media persona

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Arts, Books

4.2 • 672 Ratings

🗓️ 3 March 2026

⏱️ 8 minutes

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Summary

Journalist Jason Zengerle spent years observing right-wing media personality Tucker Carlson. His new book Hated by All the Right People asks: Does Carlson believe what he says? Zengerle’s reporting maps changes in the former Fox host’s views, such as the shift in how he spoke to his audience about the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol, and the 2020 election. In today’s episode, Zengerle talks with NPR’s Steve Inskeep about what Carlson was like as a young journalist, the controversial Nick Fuentes interview, and why Zengerle views Carlson more as a "movement leader” than a media persona.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey, it's MPR's Book of the Day. I'm Andrew Limbong. I don't know if you happen to be
0:07.0	cripplingly addicted to the social media platform X like I am, but in case you're not,
0:11.9	just know that former Fox News host Tucker Carlson does numbers over there. I'm constantly
0:17.3	seeing clips of his interviews and people sharing his epic takedowns and stuff.
0:22.2	Carlson occupies an interesting space in the right-wing media ecosystem, and he's had many
0:27.7	transformations to get here. Jason Zengarly has a new book that traces those steps. It's called
0:33.0	Hated by All the Right People. And in this interview with Empire Steve Inskeep, Zengarly talks about how
0:37.9	Carlson has been able to change and adapt and how one of Carlson's biggest skills is being
0:43.8	able to predict the shifting wins of the right. More up ahead. This message comes from Wise,
0:50.0	the app for international people using money around the globe. You can send, spend, and receive in up to 40 currencies with only a few simple taps.
0:58.7	Be smart. Get Wise.
1:00.8	Download the Wise app today or visit wise.com.
1:04.1	Tease and Cs apply.
1:06.1	A journalist has spent years trying to figure out Tucker Carlson.
1:09.8	He's a video podcast host with a big
1:11.6	following. Carlson has often promoted conspiracy theories, like the time years ago when he claimed
1:16.5	on Fox News that Democrats were trying to replace American voters. In political terms, this policy
1:22.2	is called the Great Replacement, the replacement of legacy Americans with more obedient people
1:26.2	from far away countries.
1:32.3	As an independent host, Carlson dismayed some conservatives by interviewing Nick Fuentes.
1:39.7	He's another podcaster who has questioned the Holocaust and told Carlson that he thinks Jews stand in the way of a united country. I would say, though, that the main challenge to that, a big challenge to that, is organized jury in America.
1:47.1	I don't think they're...
	...

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