This one was months in the making. Conservative outlet The Daily Wire (TDW) has parted ways with Candace Owens, the buzzy (and controversial) podcaster who has been criticized in recent months for spreading antisemitic conspiracy theories. Her departure marks a turning point for The Daily Wire, long the dominant name in right-wing podcasting, and indicates that the space may be moving in a direction away from its brand of conservatism.

The relationship between Owens and TDW started to sour after the October 7th Hamas attack in Israel. Ben Shapiro, co-owner of TDW and the network’s biggest star, is staunchly pro-Israel, while Owens is decidedly not. In November, video started circulating of him calling her commentary on the war “disgraceful,” prompting a very public fight that, while messy, did not immediately end in her departure.

The issue reignited this week as Owens has become less shy about saying any number of things about Jewish people (none of them good!), so much so that she earned the praise of white supremacist Nick Fuentes, according to Media Matters. The report caught the attention of the Anti-Defamation League, and it blew up from there. Friday morning, TDW CEO Jeremy Boreing posted on X that “Daily Wire and Candace Owens have ended their relationship.” 

Soon after, Owens confirmed that she is “finally free,” assuring fans that she will be back on her individual YouTube channel soon, where she has 1.47 million subscribers. She has also been making the rounds on other shows, including The Breakfast Club and The Joe Budden Podcast. Add that to her combined 10 million followers between Instagram and X, and you have a pretty massive audience that is not tied to TDW.

In November, it became clear that she was itching to go her own way, so this does not come as much of a shock. But Owen’s departure does further split the conservative podcasting space, and in a way that moves it further from the Republican mainstream. Whatever misgivings you (or I!) may have about Ben Shapiro, who has long reigned in the space, he has a decent track record when it comes to not spreading and actually countering misinformation. Owens… less so. And with a podcasting ecosystem that is now home to an independent Tucker Carlson and still, somehow, Steve Bannon, we could see the misinformation problem get even worse. 

Lightning round

• Search Engine, the new-ish podcast from former Reply All host PJ Vogt, is launching a premium subscription. Among the perks are standard fare like ad-free episodes and bonus content, but also “virtual board meetings” with the Search Engine team. On a related note, the show recently put out an episode about the collapse of ad-based media, if you want to feel bad.
• Following Neil Young’s return to Spotify, Joni Mitchell is apparently back, as well. You can’t fight City Hall. 
• Audio-focused agency Ad Results Media has a new CEO. Jordan Fox started this month after eight years at Laundry Service.
• Evolutions by Podcast Movement is next week in LA. I will not be there, but please feel free to share gossip.
• Ear Hustle from Radiotopia is being turned into a docuseries. The project is being produced by Lori McCreary and Morgan Freeman.
• Senator Bernie Sanders is launching a podcast aptly called Bernie: The Podcast.
• Basketball stars LeBron James and JJ Redick have launched a podcast, surprisingly, without a corporate partner or sponsor. I guess they really don’t need the money! The show debuted at number two on Spotify and Apple’s podcast charts.
• One of the marquee amenities at a new luxury apartment building going up in Brooklyn: a podcast studio. I would love to know what rich people podcasts are being made there. That’s a show!