Breaking Free From Alex Jones

About this episode

Charlie Warzel speaks with Josh Owens about his experiences working for Alex Jones and the impact of conspiratorial media.

In this episode of Galaxy Brain, Charlie Warzel speaks with Josh Owens, a videographer and the author of a memoir about his years working for Infowars, the media company of the conspiracy theorist Alex Jones. Owens traces his journey from a film-school student who stumbled onto Jones’s radio show to an insider who spent four years filming, editing, and traveling for the organization. Owens describes how Jones’s conspiracy machine works, as well as how his own moral compass was scrambled by Jones’s manipulative management. The conversation explores radicalization, the conspiratorial media ecosystem Jones helped create, and how Owens was able to pull himself out. Get more from your favorite Atlantic voices when you subscribe. You’ll enjoy unlimited access to Pulitzer-winning journalism, from clear-eyed analysis and insight on breaking news to fascinating explorations of our world. Atlantic subscribers also get access to exclusive subscriber audio in Apple Podcasts. Subscribe today at theAtlantic.com/listener. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

People in this episode

Host: Charlie Warzel

Guest: Josh Owens

Topics covered

• Alex Jones
• Infowars
• conspiracy theories
• media
• radicalization

Keywords

• memoir
• videographer
• moral compass
• conspiratorial media ecosystem

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: Breaking Free From Alex Jones, Galaxy Brain, Pulitzer

More episodes of Galaxy Brain

• Jomboy on Robot Umpires and the Future of Baseball · June 12, 2026 · 38 min
• How to Win Elections in the Attention Economy · June 5, 2026 · 44 min
• Why Everyone Hates AI Data Centers · May 29, 2026 · 43 min
• How Dropout Cracked Internet Comedy · May 22, 2026 · 42 min
• Chris Hayes on Calibrating Your AI Anxiety · May 15, 2026 · 47 min
• Flipping Off Phones · May 8, 2026 · 52 min