To try to understand both the power and strangeness of the Charlie Kirk memorial—one part evangelical worship service, one part MAGA rally—we turned, of course, to our friend Pat Blanchfield. All three of us stewed in the event's footage, which runs to over four and a half hours, then convened to discuss it. After laying out for listeners what happened at State Farm Stadium in Arizona just over a week ago, replete with clips, we tried to understand how the event aimed to turn death and grief into power by unpacking its imagery, symbols, references, and, of course, how it might play "out there" among Americans not already plugged into the menagerie of seen subcultures on stage.
Sources:
Charlie Kirk Memorial at State Farm Stadium, Sept 21, 2025 (Fox News on YouTube)
— Transcript of President Donald Trump's speech at Kirk Memorial
— The story behind the hymn, "It is Well with My Soul" (link)
Jack Jenkins, "At Charlie Kirk's memorial, religion, politics and antagonism toward liberals combine," Religion News Service, Sept 22, 2025
Amber Phillips, "3 takeaways from the Charlie Kirk memorial," Wash Post, Sept 22, 2025
Elizabeth Castelli, Martyrdom and Memory: Early Christian Culture Making, (2004)
Gabriel Winant, "On Mourning and Statehood: A Response to Joshua Leifer," Dissent, Oct 13, 2023
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