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The Dan Bongino Show is preparing to depart Westwood One. Dan Bongino is set to become the Deputy Director of the FBI, with his final show set for Friday, March 14th.

Bongino has grown to be one of the top conservative news/talk radio hosts and podcasters in the genre. His show is heard on more than 350 stations across the country while his podcast continually finishes in the top five to ten shows in the overall podcast rankings, depending on the outlet involved.

The departure of Dan Bongino leaves a hole in the 12-3 PM ET timeslot Westwood One has offered to affiliates in the past. After speaking with industry sources, we’ve identified the following eight candidates as the most likely options to replace The Dan Bongino Show in the Westwood One lineup of offerings.

We’ve broken down the candidates into three tiers:

• The ‘Would Be Nice But Likely Unavailables’
• The Cumulus Callups
• The Bongino Archetype

Without further adieu, these are the eight most likely candidates to replace The Dan Bongino Show at Westwood One.

#8 – Charlie Kirk

Currently: 12-3 PM ET on Salem Radio Network, in addition to hosting a digital video show

Pros: The first of our “Would be nice by Likely Unavailable” tier is Charlie Kirk. He would bring name recognition and a large following to Westwood One. Kirk has cultivated an audience during his tenure in the early afternoon daypart for Salem Radio Network. He has also become a prominent figure with younger audiences in conservative circles due to his work on college campuses with Turning Point USA, the advocacy group he founded, as well as his social media presence on apps like TikTok.

Like Bongino, Charlie Kirk has seen plenty of success in the podcast space. In the latest rankings from Triton Digital, The Charlie Kirk Show was the eight most popular show in all of the United States.

Cons: Charlie Kirk is under contract with Salem Media Group and Salem Radio Network. Additionally, he keeps quite a busy schedule through his work with Turning Point USA. He also hosts a daily digital video show in addition to a television show with Christian broadcaster TBN.

#7- Erick Erickson

Currently: 12-3 PM ET on 95.5 WSB in Atlanta, nationally syndicated through Compass Media Networks

Pros: Erickson is an experienced talk radio host and won’t have to navigate the shift from podcasting to radio. He also has national syndication experience and knows what it takes to keep Program Directors in local markets happy with the services being provided by the national host.

Being based in Atlanta, he also makes somewhat regular appearances on cable news channels like CNN.

Cons: Erick Erickson is currently under contract with Cox Media Group and Compass Media Networks for his daily radio program.

Also, one of the larger drawbacks may be he doesn’t simply follow the most conservative, MAGA-like opinion on every issue as other potential options, and Westwood One hosts like Dan Bongino do.

#6 – Pete Mundo

Currently: Program Director and Morning Show host at KCMO Talk Radio in Kansas City

Pros: Cumulus Media — parent company to Westwood One — obviously thinks highly of Mundo. In addition to being a PD and Morning Show host at one of its larger stations, Mundo was also recently elevated to Vice President of News/Talk for the company.

Mundo’s youth could be viewed as a negative by some, but when you’re looking at putting a host in a position that you hope they stay in for 10, 15, or 20 years, youth should be a pro, not a con. Also, like others on the list, Mundo won’t have to navigate the shift from podcasting to live radio, which means he can skip the “crawl” portion of the “crawl, walk, run” philosophy.

One other pro is his familiarity with the news/talk radio industry as a whole, not to mention with stations owned by Cumulus Media. National syndication can often resemble the service industry. Relationships in that space will matter, and Pete Mundo will be a familiar name to plenty in the industry.

Cons: Mundo will have the same issue that all of the hosts in the “Cumulus Callup” category will: name recognition. There are few local news/talk radio hosts, if any, that have much broad national appeal to the audience. When local, not national, appeal is the name of the game, there’s no reason to hope for national appeal. Is it a prerequisite to taking the job? That remains to be seen.

#5 – Vince Coglianese

Currently: Afternoon host at 105.9 WMAL in Washington D.C.

Pros: Like Mundo, Coglianese is on the younger end of the news/talk radio demographic. Westwood One hasn’t been shy about being the next generation of news/talk radio as it syndicated shows hosted by younger conservatives like Ben Shapiro, Matt Walsh, and Michael Knowles.

Additionally, being based in Washington D.C. and working as Editor-in-Chief and most recently as Editorial Director of The Daily Caller, Coglianese has been able to build important and fruitful relationships with some of the most prominent policymakers in the nation’s capital. That would undeniably be a benefit to a national audience.

Cons: Name recognition. While he might be slightly more familiar to a national audience due to appearances on Fox News and The Tucker Carlson Network, among others, his national appeal will be less than others on the list.

Also, Westwood One already offers a show based at 105.9 WMAL — The Chris Plante Show — in national syndication. Will they offer two shows from the same station to affiliates throughout the country? Or are concerns about being too Washington-centric to loud to ignore?

#4 – John Phillips

Currently: Afternoon host at 790 KABC in Los Angeles

Pros: If you went down the list of what you’d be looking for in a new host to pitch to a national news/talk radio audience, Phillips checks plenty of boxes. Major market experience, a firm grasp on what news/talk radio listeners are after, and having plenty of years ahead of him are all plusses for Phillips.

Being inside the Cumulus Media family is helpful for Phillips, too. Sometimes, these positions are as much about fit as anything. And knowing whether or not someone will mesh with management is important. Both he and the company will have working knowledge of the other and whether or not it is a great fit.

Cons: Can he kick the “Left Coast” moniker some may lobby on him? One could argue that working as a conservative news/talk radio host in a market as liberal as Los Angeles, and still being able to command an audience is a pro, not a con. But convincing Middle America news/talk radio programmers that a host based in Los Angeles is the best show for their station could be a tough selling point.

#3 – Steven Crowder

Currently: Hosts Louder with Crowder on Rumble

Pros: Name recognition. Crowder has nearly 2.5 million followers on X alone. On Rumble, he has more than 1.5 million subscribers. Steven Crowder has shown the ability to build an audience, which Westwood One might need to prioritize after Dan Bongino departs.

Crowder is also rather young, 37, compared to many nationally syndicated news/talk radio hosts. So when familiarity is the key to keeping stations, audiences, and advertisers, hiring someone who can do the job with their best years ahead of them should be a priority. Steven Crowder fits that bill.

Cons: What’s the best way to say it? “Off the field issues”? Crowder has made headlines in recent years for things that have happened either in his personal life or in relation to the workplace culture of his show. Does the name recognition and large following outweigh the potential risks for other issues behind the scenes?

Secondly, Crowder doesn’t have radio experience. His digital video/podcast experience is vast, but shifting from that world to a three-hour live news/talk radio show is a different hill to climb.

#2 – Candace Owens

Currently: Podcast Host

Pros: Candace Owens has a following. Crowder’s 2.5 million X followers looks small in comparison to the more than 6.5 million followers Owens has. She has more followers than Dan Bongino, believe it or not. She also has more than 4 million subscribers on YouTube.

The name recognition she would bring would be immediate. On the Spotify podcast charts, Owens’ show actually ranks above The Dan Bongino Show, and is ranked as the second news podcast.

Owens, like many others on this list, is still young with her best years ahead of her. Should she be tabbed as the choice, it isn’t unbelievable to think she could still be in the job 30 years from now if she and Westwood One so choose.

The news of hiring Candace Owens would create headlines, attention, and notoriety. If Westwood One believes “there’s no such thing as bad publicity”, this makes a lot of sense.

Cons: Candace Owens is going to rock the boat. Good or bad, right or wrong, Candace Owens is going to speak her mind, which will likely lead to pushback from audiences, advertisers, and affiliates. Now, if you’re willing to weather those storms, then this is a great selection. But it’s hard to argue — fair or unfair — that someone who left their previous home due to an incredibly public clash with the co-founder of the outlet is going to be a model employee.

Courting controversy isn’t an inherently bad thing. But, if I can editorialize for a moment, sometimes Owens does more than court it. She revels in it. Which can cause trouble. Who cares when that trouble only affects you? But when you have to look out for a publicly traded company and hundreds of other radio stations, the controversy that comes with Candace Owens isn’t always the best thing.

Like Crowder, she doesn’t have radio experience. Podcasting is a different animal, and questions would abound about whether or not she would be able to make the jump. Others — like Charlie Kirk — have managed to move from podcasting to radio, so it isn’t unthinkable that it could be done. But if the goal is to hit the ground running and not miss a beat with the exit of Bongino, this could be a hurdle too high to climb.

Finally, you could argue that large following and name recognition would lead to bigger salary demands than others on the list. While I’m certain Westwood One pays Dan Bongino a pretty penny, is it willing to dive head-first into the deep end of the salary pool? We’ll see.

#1 – Michael Knowles

Currently: Host of The Michael Knowles Show from The Daily Wire

Pros: Michael Knowles might check all of the boxes in what Westwood One is looking for. Conservative? Check. Radio experience? Check. Name recognition? Check. Familiarity with stations, audiences, and advertisers? Check, check, and check. Young enough to build a show around for the next generation of news/talk radio audiences? Check.

Michael Knowles is worth investing in from Westwood One’s perspective. He has the radio experience from his one-hour program being syndicated by the company before The Daily Wire’s relationship ended at the end of 2024. He’s also a multi-platform star, finding success in podcasts and on YouTube.

He is a young, prominent conservative who has seen his star rise in recent years due to podcasting and the digital space. Sound familiar? It’s the same archetype — albeit even younger — that Westwood One used to select Dan Bongino as its replacement for Rush Limbaugh.

Finally, Westwood One offers Michael Knowles something he isn’t likely to ever get at The Daily Wire: he can be the star. As long as Ben Shapiro is at The Daily Wire — which seems likely to be a long time, since he co-founded the outlet — Knowles will be, at best, second fiddle. That’s just the way the cookie crumbles. But Westwood One can offer him something that The Daily Wire can’t. The chance to be the guy.

While he isn’t the conservative fire-breather that Bongino is, or others like Crowder and Owens could likely attempt to re-create, Knowles brings a different approach not heard as frequently on terrestrial talk radio. That presentation could differentiate Westwood One from competitors away from the “angry, old white guy” talk radio into a new age.

An added bonus of selecting Knowles as the replacement for Bongino is it will put a dent into The Daily Wire’s audio efforts. No one from Westwood One or Cumulus Media has said this to me, but it would be naive to think there isn’t just some slight bad blood about the way things ended between the two sides. If you can take one of the more prominent stars from a company that you might have soured on, it sure would sweeten the deal.

Cons: Is Knowles motivated to leave The Daily Wire? In today’s day and age, it would be simple for a soon-to-be 35-year-old to view moving away from a popular podcast and YouTube show to terrestrial radio as a downgrade. That’s the first question.

Similarly to Owens, flat out: does Michael Knowles make too much money at The Daily Wire to pry him away?

Also, is there apprehension about making someone as inexperienced in the news/talk radio format as Michael Knowles the face of your network? That is likely what the next host of the 12-3 PM ET timeslot will be for Westwood One. At least until Dan Bongino’s run at the FBI ends. What happens then? That’s another question both the company, and whoever they hire, will need to have an answer for.

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Additionally, while not officially a candidate per se, there also exists the chance that Westwood One simply pushes Fox News Radio’s Jimmy Failla to stations in the 12-3 PM ET timeslot as a replacement for The Dan Bongino Show. The relationship between the company and Fox News appears to remain strong as The Guy Benson Show has picked up dozens of affiliates since the Westwood One/Daily Wire relationship ended at the conclusion of 2024. The company also syndicates The Brian Kilmeade Show from Fox News Radio, too, in the 9 AM to Noon window, as well as The Fox News Rundown (5-6 AM ET) and The Will Cain Show (3-4 PM ET).

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Garrett Searight

Garrett Searight is Barrett Media’s News Editor, which includes writing bi-weekly industry features and a weekly column. He has previously served as Program Director and Afternoon Co-Host on 93.1 The Fan in Lima, OH, and is the radio play-by-play voice of Northern Michigan University hockey. Reach out to him at Garrett@BarrettMedia.com.