From a seasoned political journalist, an eye-opening examination of Tucker Carlson’s rise through conservative media and his ideological transformation over the past 25 years, tracking the concurrent shifts in the political media landscape that have both influenced and succumbed to the hyper-partisan politics of today.
To many, Tucker Carlson is synonymous with modern conservative politics. Carlson has been gracing screens for almost three decades and is as known for his bowtie as he is his increasingly extreme right-wing views. But those who knew Carlson in his earlier days in political journalism remember a very different man—a serious and gifted journalist who both enjoyed debating with liberal friends and calling out conservative failures in equal measure. But after watching Carlson turn away from honest reporting, while simultaneously gaining unparalleled power in Donald Trump’s Republican Party, most are left asking, What the hell happened to Tucker?

New York Times Magazine writer Jason Zengerle’s evocative biography of Tucker Carlson tells the story of how the former Fox News talking head rose through the ranks from a young writer at The Weekly Standard to one of the most powerful voices in right-wing politics. Through personal anecdotes and a sweeping view of the political and media landscape over the past 30 years, Zengerle examines how Tucker Carlson’s career offers a unique lens into the radical transformation of American conservatism and, just as importantly, the media that covers and ultimately shapes it.
As conservative news outlets seem to fight daily over who can report the most disreputable stories and clicks and views take precedent over facts and substance, Carlson’s evolution is a window into how the right has radicalized and taken the media with it.