Salem’s “This Week on Capitol Hill” Scores Zelenskyy Interview
Salem Media’s weekly news magazine “This Week on Capitol Hill” with Tony Perkins aired an exclusive, wide-ranging interview with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on this past weekend’s edition of the show. Among the topics discussed 
on the program was the notion that Ukraine has been persecuting Christians. Zelenskyy said on the program, “Tucker Carlson and other such guys, they I think they’ve never been. I mean, I think these men never been in Ukraine, how he can discuss what’s going on in Ukraine and to speak about the what’s going on with the with religious people in Ukraine, we are very free.” “This Week on Capitol Hill” with Tony Perkins is produced by Salem in cooperation with the Family Research Council. It airs live at 10:00 am on Saturdays on the Salem Radio Network and Salem News Channel and is streamed four times each weekend on the Newsmax 2 platform.
growth include: SiriusXM’s “Megyn Kelly Show” – up 115% among weekly U.S. consumers 13+; Cumulus Podcast Network’s “Shawn Ryan Show” up 107%; “The Tucker Carlson Show” – up +13%; Premiere Networks’ “Glenn Beck Program – up 11%; and Premiere’s “Sean Hannity Show” – up +5%. Edison says its data indicates Cumulus Podcast Networks’ “Dan Bongino Show” lost the most audience – down 62% – but notes that Bongino’s leave from the business to serve as Deputy Director of the FBI is likely a factor. Elsewhere, podcasts shedding audience include The Daily Wire’s “Ben Shapiro Show” – down 19%; and Cumulus Podcast Network’s “Mark Levin Show” – down 16%. 
downloads for participating networks – and “The Joe Rogan Experience” is #1, followed by audiochuck’s “Crime Junkie” at #2 and The New York Times’ “The Daily” at #3. Other podcasts of interest to TALKERS readers include: “The Tucker Carlson Podcast” at #19, “The Ramsey Show” at #30, “The Ben Shapiro Show” at #34, “The Megyn Kelly Show” at #43, and “The Dan Bongino Show” at #66. Triton also notes in this quarterly report that the top podcast categories by reach remain Comedy (43.6%), News (23.7%), and Society & Culture (21.2%). 
ranks podcasts based on total audience reach from 
episodes viewed and streamed on YouTube and Spotify; and Podcast video clips played on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube. Under this new format, Podtrac’s Multi-Channel Podcast Ranking for December 2025 ranks “The Meidas Touch Podcast” #1, followed by “The Joe Rogan Experience” at #2, and “The Rest is History” at #3. Other news/talk media related shows of note include: “The Tucker Carlson Show” at #12, and “The Ben Shapiro Show” at #17. 
her SiriusXM podcast, former FOX News Channel star Megyn Kelly criticized FOX for, as she calls it, talking like he was theirs. “It’s really bothering me how FOX News is talking about Charlie, like he was theirs — he wasn’t. It’s a lie. Just stop.” Kelly accuses FOX of making Kirk persona non grata after the company fired Tucker Carlson because Kirk was supportive of Carlson. The story from Newsmax adds that “Kirk appeared to be completely absent from FOX News in 2023 after Carlson’s firing and early 2024 – though Kelly claimed the network would give him brief appearances to cover for their effective ban.” The Newsmax piece goes on to quote Kirk on the matter. “Since Tucker’s departure, I haven’t been on. And so we had to do an event without FOX. And that was a great thing, man, because sometimes desperation is the mother of innovation, right?” 
leap-frogging Dateline NBC (#5). Otherwise, the top three remain (in order): “NPR News Now,” “The Daily” (New York Times), and “Up First from NPR.” “The Tucker Carlson Show” jumps six places to finish the month at #18. 
economy found on PublicSq.” The agreement includes collaborative content segments that will air on Tucker Carlson’s show on both X and Last Country’s own platform. Last Country CEO Neil Patel comments, “We are proud to announce that our new media venture will be partnering with PublicSq. as our first advertiser. PublicSq. is a key company in the parallel economy, specifically countering the Chamber of Commerce and Amazon. There is a wave of disruption coming to the media and economic establishment, and our companies will help accelerate this overdue shift.”
Ingraham’s program moves from 10:00 pm to the 7:00 pm hour, and Greg Gutfeld’s show moves from 11:00 pm to 10:00 pm. Sean Hannity stays in the 9:00 pm slot, and “FOX News @ Night” with Trace Gallagher slides up one hour to start at 11:00 pm. FOX News Media CEO Suzanne Scott says, “FOX News Channel has been America’s destination for news and analysis for more than 21 years and we are thrilled to debut a new lineup. The unique perspectives of Laura Ingraham, Jesse Watters, Sean Hannity, and Greg Gutfeld will ensure our viewers have access to unrivaled coverage from our best-in-class team for years to come.”
Dominion Voting Systems settlement but Carlson remains under contract to FOX (through the end of 2024) and is still being paid by FOX. This is a fairly standard non-compete situation found in most television and radio contracts. Carlson and his attorney, Harmeet Dhillon, argue that FOX is attempting to stifle Carlson’s First Amendment rights. This case appears to be headed to court. 
was a violation of the non-compete portion of his contract. Axios reports that Carlson’s lawyers say, “Any legal action by FOX would violate [Carlson’s] First Amendment rights.” The Axios piece goes on to say that Carlson is accusing FOX News of breach of contract for breaking their promise to not settle the Dominion Voting Systems lawsuit in a manner in which it would indicate wrongdoing on the part of Carlson. It’s been reported that firing Carlson was a part of FOX’s settlement agreement with Dominion. 
competing news outlets through 2025. Carlson and FOX parted ways several weeks ago but Carlson’s contract with the media firm could keep him from working from another media outlet while FOX continues to pay him $20 million per year. Reimann’s piece indicates that Carlson is fielding offers from numerous conservative news/talk outlets including Newsmax, Rumble, One America News, and The Daily Wire. Freedman told Axios, “The idea that anyone is going to silence Tucker and prevent him from speaking to his audience is beyond preposterous.” 
conservatives were likely to cheer the news of Lemon’s dismissal, the Carlson departure was far more nuanced as it came a week after FOX agreed to a $787 million settlement with Dominion Voting Systems and after discovery in the case revealed 
texts that offered a behind-the-scenes look at FOX News personalities’ frank opinions about the 2020 election, January 6, and their co-workers and bosses. The breaking news even prompted the vacationing Mike Gallagher to find a studio in London from which to do a special edition of his Salem Radio Network program today (4/25). Salem VP/news & talk programming Tom Tradup says, “Mike Gallagher’s programming instincts are second to none. Despite being on vacation overseas, he recognized the importance of the Tucker Carlson departure and insisted on parachuting back into his talk show to give listeners the chance to sound off of what likely will be one of the biggest political stories on 2023.”