Topline<\/p>\n
Books written by right-wing personality Charlie Kirk, and his popular \u201cCharlie Kirk Show\u201d podcast, have surged in sales and streams following his fatal shooting last week at a university event in Utah, with Kirk\u2019s content topping charts across Amazon, Spotify and more platforms.<\/p>\n
Kirk was shot and killed at a Utah college event last week. (Photo by JOSH EDELSON\/AFP via Getty Images)<\/p>\n
AFP via Getty ImagesKey Facts<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Charlie Kirk Show,\u201d Kirk\u2019s talk radio show and podcast, ranks No. 1 on both Apple Music\u2019s podcast chart<\/a> and on Spotify\u2019s top trending podcasts<\/a> chart in the United States as of Monday morning. <\/p>\n Kirk\u2019s forthcoming book, \u201cStop, in the Name of God: Why Honoring the Sabbath Will Transform Your Life,\u201d ranks No. 1 on Amazon\u2019s book sales chart<\/a> based on pre-orders, three months before the book, billed as Kirk\u2019s reflection on his religious faith, is released. <\/p>\n \u201cThe College Scam,\u201d a book Kirk published in 2022 alleging university students are being \u201cindoctrinated\u201d by \u201cfar-left professors,\u201d ranks No. 5 on Amazon\u2019s book chart. <\/p>\n The audiobook of \u201cThe MAGA Doctrine,\u201d written by Kirk in 2020, ranks No. 3 on audiobook charts published by Audible and Apple.<\/p>\n The No. 1 song on U.S. iTunes as of Monday is a song by right-wing rapper Tom MacDonald called \u201cCHARLIE,\u201d a tribute to Kirk that also has 7 million views on YouTube, that includes the rap lyrics, \u201cShot down and he was barely thirty-one\/ Another woke coward took a life with a gun,\u201d with MacDonald alleging \u201cwoke people are the terrorists\u201d (even though the motives of the killer remain elusive) and saying \u201cliberals are celebrating murder like it’s justice.\u201d <\/p>\n Surprising Fact<\/p>\n Some X users noticed<\/a> on Thursday a book purporting to be about Kirk\u2019s shooting was available on Amazon, though Amazon told PolitiFact<\/a> it removed the book from its website because it was AI-generated and violated content rules.<\/p>\n How Many Books Has Kirk Authored?<\/p>\n Kirk\u2019s first book, \u201cTime for a Turning Point: Setting a Course Toward Free Markets and Limited Government for Future Generations,\u201d was published in 2016 by Post Hill Press, a subsidiary of Simon & Schuster, in which Kirk wrote about engaging youth in conservative politics, the mission of his Turning Point USA organization. Kirk published \u201cCampus Battlefield: How Conservatives Can WIN the Battle on Campus and Why It Matters\u201d in 2018 under the same publisher, with a foreword by Donald Trump Jr. Kirk published \u201cThe MAGA Doctrine\u201d under Harper Collins, while his subsequent works \u201cThe College Scam\u201d and \u201cThe Right-Wing Revolution\u201d were published by Winning Team Publishing, a conservative publishing house co-founded by Trump Jr.<\/p>\n Tangent<\/p>\n Last week, other right-wing streamers and podcast hosts earned record viewership<\/a> as they covered Kirk\u2019s assassination. Fox News journalist-turned-podcast host Megyn Kelly had 4 million views on a nearly three-hour YouTube livestream<\/a> in which she learned of Kirk\u2019s death on the air. The stream became Kelly\u2019s second-biggest livestream and one of her most-viewed videos. A Daily Wire livestream broadcast on multiple YouTube channels, including those of hosts Michael Knowles<\/a> and Ben Shapiro<\/a>, garnered about 4 million views combined, with Shapiro\u2019s upload becoming his second most-viewed stream<\/a> ever. One day after Kirk\u2019s killing, Kelly and Shapiro’s podcast episodes on Kirk ranked in the top five of Apple\u2019s podcast episodes chart.<\/p>\n What Do We Know About Kirk\u2019s Assassination?<\/p>\n Kirk was shot and killed<\/a> while speaking at an event his organization, Turning Point USA, held at Utah Valley University on Wednesday. The shooting sparked immediate tributes from politicians of both parties, many of whom decried political violence. President Donald Trump announced Kirk\u2019s death in a post on Truth Social, and later blamed<\/a> the \u201cradical left\u201d for the \u201cterrorism that we\u2019re seeing in our country today and it must stop right now.\u201d Authorities later identified Tyler Robinson<\/a>, 22, as a suspect in the investigation, who was taken into custody on Thursday. Utah Gov. Spencer Cox said Sunday Robinson is from a conservative family but \u201chis ideology was very different.\u201d Robinson has not been cooperative, Cox said, adding the information authorities have learned has come from \u201cpeople around the suspect.\u201d<\/p>\n Further Reading<\/p>\n