Charlie Kirk Shooting: America at a Crossroads

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Tonight’s episode of A World Gone Mad is not like the others.

There are moments when the news can’t be played for laughs, and this is one of them.

A public figure has been gunned down. The ripple effects stretch far beyond one man or one ideology. They reach into the very heart of where America is heading, and what we’ve allowed ourselves to become.

This is not an easy conversation. It is not light. It is not entertainment. It is a blunt examination of political violence and what it says about us as a nation.

We live in a climate where anger turns into threats, and threats turn into action. The guardrails of democracy feel weaker every time violence becomes an acceptable answer to words. And that reality has now landed in the headlines with a force we can’t look away from.

Some will spin it. Some will celebrate. Others will weaponize it for their own gain. But beneath all of that noise lies a more urgent truth: America is standing at a crossroads, and the choices we make now will echo for decades.

This episode asks the questions too many are afraid to face. It challenges the narratives. It calls out the hypocrisy. And it refuses to pretend that murder can ever be a solution to ideas we disagree with.

You may not want to hear it. But you need to. Because silence, indifference, and distraction are exactly what allow this cycle to deepen.

If you listen to only one episode this month, let it be this one.

Because now is NOT the time to stick our heads in the sand. Apathy is NOT an option.

Give me your thoughts please:

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
This is a World Gone Mad.
This is a World Gone Mad, mad,mad, mad, mad.
This is a World Gone Mad.
I'm Jeff Allen Wolfe Now.
Normally on a Friday, I do asegment later in my episode
called News from the Edge ofSanity.
You know those oddball,head-shaking stories that make

(00:22):
you laugh and wonder howhumanity gets through the week.
But today I need to dosomething different Because,
when the biggest story inAmerica is a shooting tied to
Charlie Kirk, pretending it'sjust another Friday with weird
headlines, would feel wrong.

(00:44):
And before I go further, I wantto say this to you, the
listener Please don't turn offthis episode and think, no, I
don't want to hear this.
Jeff, I'm asking you to staywith me, because you do need to
hear this.
It's important and I'll explainif you give me the chance by

(01:09):
doing me the courtesy oflistening.
We can't ignore something likethis.
We can't hide and stick ourheads in the sand.
We need to be aware ofsomething monumental that's
taking place in our country.
So I'm asking for yourindulgence and I'm asking you to

(01:30):
hear me out Now.
I promise you this I'm not hereto drown you in speculation or
drag you into every rumor flyingaround online.
You've already heard plenty ofthat flying around online.
You've already heard plenty ofthat, but we are going to talk

(01:50):
about this straight for what itis a moment that cuts deep,
sparks debate and says somethingabout where we are as a country
.
And yes, I owe you an apology.
This episode won't have theusual crazy Edge of Sanity
stories no alligators inswimming pools, no UFO sightings

(02:10):
, no mayor caught with a raccoonsidekick.
That'll be back, but today theEdge of Sanity is right here in
the headlines and it's not funny.
So let's take a few minutestogether.
Let's break this down honestlywhat happened, why it matters

(02:33):
and why.
This is not just about CharlieKirk, but about the atmosphere
we've built, where violence iscreeping closer to politics,
closer to daily life, closer tous.
Okay, here we go.
Again, my apologies to you, theWolfpack listener.

(02:57):
I'm not lightening the loadthis time.
I'm not giving you the laughbefore the weekend, because if I
ignored this, if I just wentinto the funny stories later on,
you'd think Jeff's not aserious broadcaster, he's a
bullshit podcaster who can'thandle the real stuff.

(03:17):
On the other hand, if I dovetoo deep into it, I'd sound like
I'm sensationalizing, and I'mnot here to do either one.
I'm here to address it becauseit has to be addressed.
Charlie Kirk was shot and killedand whatever you think of him,

(03:39):
whatever side of the fence yousit on, this changes things.
Let me be 100% clear.
I am diametrically opposed toeverything he stood for the lies
, the racism, the bigotry, everyounce of poison he pumped into
this culture.

(03:59):
I reject all of it.
He represented the exactopposite of what I stand for on
this show and what I stand forin my life.
He and I could not be furtherapart.
And yet, as much as I standagainst everything he said, I
will say this again and againtonight Murder is not the answer

(04:24):
.
Murdering someone is not therecourse.
Assassination is not a choiceyou make to undo words you hate.
Now I found out yesterday thatKirk lived right here near us in
Arizona.
That makes this even closer tohome.
That makes us even closer tohome.
And as I've been watching thereactions online, I've seen some

(04:47):
Democrats online actuallycelebrating and playing the song
Celebrate by Kool and the Gangdancing in videos as if a man's
death is a party.
That's grotesque, that's notcool, who he should be.
And at the same time,politicians are already turning

(05:08):
Kirk into a martyr, the WhiteHouse, kash Patel, leaders
everywhere raising him up indeath as something more than he
was in life.
And whether you love Kirk orhated him, that rush to
martyrdom reframes him inhistory instantly.
And that has consequences too.

(05:31):
They say they've got thesuspect.
We'll see how they frame that.
Was this just a lone wolf orwill it be spun into something
bigger?
We know how quickly narrativesget built before the facts are
even clear.
And, of course, the conspiracytheories are already exploding.

(05:51):
Some people are saying this wasstaged, a red flag operation,
republicans talking out theirown, or taking out their own,
rather to have an excuse todeclare martial law, out their
own, rather to have an excuse todeclare martial law to shut

(06:12):
down the midterms.
And look, I'm not here to dragus into the weeds of conspiracy.
But I can't ignore that thosevoices are already out there.
And once again it all adds tothe madness.
Here's the brutal question someare asking Is it good that
Kirk's voice is gone?
Let's not kid ourselves.
Kirk was pouring gasoline onevery fire of hate.

(06:34):
He was toxic, he was venomous,he was dangerous.
Let me stop right there,because even if you hated
everything about him, murder isnot a recourse.
Murder is not the answer.
You cannot kill your way out ofideas.

(06:56):
You cannot assassinate your wayinto a better country, no
matter who the target is left,right or in between, political
violence poises all of us.
It doesn't just silence onevoice.
It tears at the fabric ofdemocracy itself.

(07:17):
And yes, I saw the video.
It's graphic, it's violent andit stays with you.
Kirk was answering a questionabout gun violence of all things
, a student asking him aboutshootings and seconds later Kirk
was shot.
Kirk was killed.

(07:38):
The irony is chilling and theimage sears into your brain.
And by the way, while all eyeshave been on Charlie Kirk, there
was another shooting in Denver.
Some of you know about it, somedon't Do.
Any of you know this.

(08:00):
How sad is that?
That these things are happeningso often that they're now
slipping under the radar.
It shows how desensitized we'vebecome.
Things are happening so oftenthat they're now slipping under
the radar.
It shows how desensitized we'vebecome, how we're now competing
with tragedy, not responding toit.
So here we are in a world gonemad.

(08:21):
Instead of laughing at raccoonsin convenience stores or UFOs
in New Mexico, we're lookingdirectly at the edge of sanity
in the headlines themselves.
Look, wolfpack listeners, I'msorry I can't lighten the mood
this time, but it would beirresponsible for me to not

(08:43):
cover this story with you, tonot cover this story with you.
And if you take nothing elsefrom me, this episode, take this
.
Murder is not the answer,because here's the truth.
This isn't just about CharlieKirk.
It's about the climate we builtin America, a climate where

(09:05):
words turn to threats, threatsturn to violence and violence
keeps creeping closer to ourpolitics and our daily lives.
And even though this was anundercurrent, hidden sometimes
not so hidden of the bigotry inour country, the hatred of

(09:25):
others in our country, thehatred of others, donald Trump
and MAGA supercharged it.
They created an atmospherewhere anything goes, where it's
okay to append the norm withviolence.
Their actions cause this.
And to any Republican listenerof my show who disagrees with me

(09:47):
, I don't care if you think I'mwrong, I don't care if you think
this is just a liberalviewpoint.
This is a fact.
Donald Trump created thisatmosphere.
He was the instigator of it.
We're standing at a crossroadsright now.
Where we turn from here isgoing to say everything about

(10:11):
who we are for the next 50 years.
Do we choose more anger, morevengeance, more excuses for
violence, or do we finally admitthat this path leads nowhere?
Good, that's the choice infront of us, and history will

(10:35):
remember which direction we took.
I promise next Friday I willreturn you to the regular
segment for news from the edgeof sanity.
All of this had to be said.
I hope you understand.
If you care, if you have yourown thoughts on what I've said,

(10:57):
I'd love to hear them.
Send me three words or lessthat sum up how you feel about
where America is right now.
Email me anytime wolfpacktalksat gmailcom.
W-o-l-f-p-a-c-k-t-a-l-k-s atgmailcom.
W-o-l-f-p-a-c-k-t-a-l-k-s atgmail.
Or call my 24-7 voicemail line833-399-9653.

(11:24):
It's toll free.
I need you, the listener,engaged in this conversation.
I need a dialogue between us.
Apathy is not an option.
This has been A World Gone Mad.
I'm Jeff Alan Wolfe.
I'll be back Monday becausesomeone has to say the shit that

(11:47):
no one else will, andapparently that job's mine.
Until then, wolfpack listeners,stay skeptical, stay focused
and, most of all, please stayhopeful.
There is chaos in the world,can't you see?

(12:10):
And we need to stand up andpreserve our democracy.
This is a world gone mad.
This is a world gone mad.