TRUTH UNDER FIRE: The Real Story of CHARLIE KIRK

Today's guest, Joshua Philipps, is the creator of the just-released documentary, "Truth Under Fire: The Real Story of Charlie Kirk" , an investigation into the machinery of influence in America today, and what happens when someone challenges it at scale.

For more than a decade, Charlie Kirk had been at the forefront of one of the most significant political and cultural realignments in the United States. Beginning with a handful of students and a conviction that college campuses were the next major battleground for the American future, Kirk built Turning Point USA into a national force that has shifted youth engagement, reshaped conservative activism, and confronted institutions that traditionally faced little opposition.

But influence does not grow without resistance. Philipps traces the organized pressure campaigns, targeted reputational attacks, and coordinated institutional responses that emerged as Kirk's reach expanded. The documentary looks beyond the public controversies to examine the deeper strategic conflict: who controls cultural messaging, how public opinion is shaped, and why certain figures become flashpoints in the narrative war for America's identity.