Very interesting eulogy - or rather, commentary in praise of Carlson.  

You suggest the notion of “artist” to describe his extraordinary communication skills - that appear to be “ad lib” and without notes or teleprompter 

“Artist” is a broad category.   I watched Carlson give an address to some big journalism conference a while back.  It was on YouTube.   What I noticed was that for a full hour or so, he had the entire audience in stitches.  That’s Aussie vernacular.  It means laughing out loud with glee at his jokes, with his anecdotes, all issued with his characteristic rapid-fire delivery system. 

 I realized then that Carlson in another life would be a standup comedian. 

A standup comedian has the ability to be totally “unblocked” and to be able to be spontaneous, thinking on their feet with a huge associative memory.  

Those communication skills I believe explain why Joe Rogan and Russel Brand and Jimmy Dore - and others are so successful with their podcasts 

They are standup comedians who have branched out into serious political commentary - and in doing so have accumulated millions of followers