The parade of visitors to Tucker Carlson’s log cabin studio has more nuts than a Payday peanut bar. Glenn Greenwald, the sour face of the horseshoe theory. Naomi Wolf, the Alex Jones of the Left, with her chemtrails and mind control. Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY), sniffing out Jewish subversion with the perverse glee of the Child Catcher in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. All of them a few wrenches short of a set. All of them pushing half-truths and non-truths, promoted by Carlson, who tells you, “This is what they don’t want you to know.”

Old Tucker benefited from the short segments of the Fox format. Everything was compressed between the ad breaks. Tucker was compressed into a suit and tie. The need to sweeten the advertisers obliged Tucker to compress his conspiracizing about “neocons” to nudges and winks. New Tucker is swollen by the podcast format. He wears a checked shirt to show he’s no longer a corporate shill. He’s our Maine Man. Unbuttoned at last, he consorts with clowns and bigots.