The Charles C. W. Cooke Podcast: Recent Episodes
National Review
A show about politics, music, technology, rollercoasters, golf carts, and the United States of America.
The sequel to 2024's Most Excellent Whizzbang American Roller-Coaster Adventure! This time: the South. Charlie and Luther discuss their trip in a pickup truck from Richmond to New Orleans, via the Rappahannock Oyster Company, Busch Gardens Williamsburg, Monticello, the Michie Tavern, The Andy Griffith Show, The Tail of the Dragon, Knoxville, Nashville, Shiloh, the Jug’s One Stop gas station, the Bass Pro Pyramid, Graceland, Johnny's Drive-in, and Vicksburg.
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Charles talks to Michael Auslin about his new book, National Treasure: How the Declaration of Independence Made America. What is the Declaration of Independence? Who wrote it? How close we were to losing the original copy? Why did it appeal to early nineteenth-century socialists? Why did the committee remove the lines condemning the slave trade? When did women start using it to demand the vote? How did it help assimilate immigrants? What happened to it in WWII? Will it survive the next century?
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After the success of the Virginia gerrymander, Charles asks Sean Trende about the history of gerrymandering. What is it? Why is it called that? When did it start? What is a dummymander? When did our modern gerrymandering fights begin? Is mid-decade redistricting a historical anomaly? Who is playing defense here: the Democrats or the Republicans? Why have Republicans opposed federal laws banning gerrymandering? Are independent commissions actually independent? Can we outsource redistricting to a computer? What happens if the Supreme Court reworks its Voting Rights Act jurisprudence? Should we just go back to having representatives-at-large, who run statewide? Did the 2020 Census unfairly undercount gains in Republican states? How will the 2030 Census change our politics?
Also: Is Donald Trump unpopular because he's Donald Trump, or because we just hate everyone now? And where are all the moderates?
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On episode 101, Charles talks to Sarah Isgur about her new book, Last Branch Standing: A Potentially Surprising, Occasionally Witty Journey Inside Today's Supreme Court. What is the role of the Court? Do Americans understand it? Why has it survived? Do the justices get along? Why does everyone hate Citizens United? Is it a paradox that to get the Court to change the law, one often has to break the law?
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On episode 100, Charles celebrates having made it into triple figures, and then talks to Sean Beienburg, first about the interesting history of progressive federalism, and then about whether Prohibition worked.
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On episode 99, Charles talks to Tim Chapman of Advancing American Freedom about the role of a think tank in contemporary politics. Are we still in an era where ideas matter? How much will be up for grabs when Trump leaves the scene? How do advocacy organizations avoid being captured by political parties? Are young people really lost to the bad actors of the world? What's the biggest challenge facing America? Is Tim optimistic or pessimistic about the future?
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On episode 98, Charles offers a brief apology to Ohio, and then talks to Scott Winship about whether everything is awful. Has the middle class disappeared? Is it impossible for young people to buy a home? Why do people say that one can have a '1950s living standard if one wants one' when regulations make that tough? Is society worse than it was in the 1950s or 1970s? Is the new poverty line really $140,000? If not, where is it? Is the poverty line a useful measure? Is it likely that there will be a political war between the generations? Is there a 'two income trap'?
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On episode 97, Charles talks to Luther Ray Abel about the Best and Worst of many things: American cars, American holidays, American fast food chains, American restaurant chains, Beatles albums, American states, Christmas songs, rollercoasters, alcoholic drinks, non-alcoholic drinks, movies, American roads, and desserts.
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On episode 96, Charles briefly praises a tiki bar in Grand Rapids, MI, and then talks to Shawnna Morris about her fascinating new book, The Cambridge Spy Ring: The Treachery of the Five Who Got Away. Among the topics they discussed were: Who were the Cambridge Spies? Why were they susceptible to recruitment? How did they get away with it? Why were none of them prosecuted or executed? Why does Shawnna find the Cold War so interesting?
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On episode 95, Charles takes his last chance to talk to Dominic Pino as a colleague before Dominic heads to the Washington Post. Among the topics they discuss are whether free markets are superior to the alternatives; whether tariffs are a good or a bad idea—and what the exceptions should be; whether industrial policy can work; what to do about America's massive national debt; whether it's a bad move to keep cutting taxes; and whether Dominic is optimistic about our economic future.
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On episode 94, Charles talks to Peter Just about his book on the post-premiership career of Margaret Thatcher: Margaret Thatcher: Life After Downing Street. Was she happy? Did she think she could do a better job than her successors? Was she aware how ill she was? Was she "playing a role"? Why did she mostly stay away from Parliament? Would today's British public vote for someone like Thatcher now?
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On episode 93, Charles talks to Luther Ray Abel about his trip to Pigeon Forge, TN, which is supposedly the "tackiest place on Earth," but which is actually a lot of fun.
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On episode 92, Charles talks to Marcus Gadson about his book, Sedition: How America's Constitutional Order Emerged from Violent Crisis. Among the topics they discuss are: What is a constitution? What is a constitutional crisis? What are some good examples of constitutional crises throughout American history? Who gets to decide when it's time for a new constitution, and by what process ought it to be adopted? Are Americans stable enough now that they don't need to worry about this—or are we always close to going off the rails?
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Ahead of July 4, Charles and Luther share some of their favorite things about America.
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Episode 90 contains the audio of the debate between Charles and Andy McCarthy, on the topic, "Does President Trump need Congress's permission to attack Iran?" If you'd rather watch the debate, click here.
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On episode 89 of The Charles C. W. Cooke Podcast, Charles talks to Christopher J. Scalia about his new book, 13 Novels Conservatives Will Love (but Probably Haven't Read). Among the topics they discussed were: Why haven't conservatives read these books? Why should people read novels? Are these books 'conservative' or just books that conservatives will like? What are the best books progressives will love? Why aren't people reading novels any more? And does the lack of a shared literary canon help explain why we're so divided as a country?
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On episode 88, Charles talks to Ross Benes about his new book, 1999: The Year Low Culture Conquered America and Kickstarted Our Bizarre Times. Among the topics they discuss are how Jerry Springer helps explain Donald Trump, how 'kayfabe' took over the world, how porn explains much of Internet, how video games became respectable, and whether it matters that the elite class watches completely different television than most voters.
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On episode 87, Charles asks Ross Douthat about his new book, Believe: Why Everyone Should Be Religious, and, in particular, to explain to him why he, Charles Cooke, should be religious.
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On episode 86, Charles talks to Michael Jahr about his upcoming documentary movie, Liberty at Stake, which is about the escape from slavery of Joshua Glover in 1854, the abolitionist activism of the people of Wisconsin, and the subsequent founding of the Republican Party. Then Charles talks to Dan McLaughlin about the background to, and structure of, the 1850 Fugitive Slave Act.
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On this special pop-up episode, Charles talks to Scott Lincicome about Donald Trump's massive unilateral tariff hike. What is a tariff? What are tariffs for? Why aren't they good? Don't we need them to fight against our rivals, who are taking advantage of us? Other countries do it—why, if they are bad? What about our "hollowed out manufacturing base"? What about China?
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On episode 84, Charles talks to Michael Vorenberg about his new book, Lincoln's Peace: The Struggle to End the American Civil War. When did the Civil War end? Why is it hard to tell? What about other wars? Does it matter that war aims can evolve over time? Can one be anti-war when slavery or the Holocaust are at stake? Are modern wars more difficult to end?
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On episode 83, Mary Katherine Ham tells Charles how Ultimate Fighting Championship explains the vibe shift toward Trump.
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On episode 82, Charles talks to Senator Tom Cotton about China—in particular, about his new book, Seven Things You Can't Say About China. Why does Senator Cotton say that the Chinese Communist Party is 'evil'? Why does he think it's preparing for war? What does he mean when he says that it's engaged in 'economic warfare'? Has it really 'infiltrated' the United States? Why should TikTok be forced to become an American company? What can we do to avoid disaster?
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On episode 81, Charles talks to Andrew Heaton about his new book, Tribalism is Dumb: Where It Came from, How It Got So Bad, and What to Do about It. Is tribalism bad per se, or is it just bad in politics. Why has it got so much worse recently? To what extent is technology to blame? What can we do about it?
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On episode 80, Charles talks to Molly Nixon, a separation of powers attorney at the Pacific Legal Foundation, about whether the delegation of the tariff power is constitutional. Why do we accept Congress giving this away when we wouldn't accept Congress giving away the authority to set tax rates? When did this start? What are the main laws that Congress has written that achieve it? Can this be reversed? What would it take for Congress to take back control? Can the Supreme Court help?
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On episode 79, Charles talks to Justin Shubow, the president of the National Civic Art Society, about the importance of classical architecture. What is classical architecture? Why is it "humanistic"? What's wrong with modern art? Why do people defend it? Would it be too expensive to return to classical architecture? Why was Penn Station knocked down? Should it be rebuilt? What are the prospects of a renaissance in architecture under Donald Trump?
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On episode 78, Charles talks to Ilya Shapiro about his new book, 'Lawless: The Miseducation of America's Elites.' Why did he write it? Why does it matter if law schools are illiberal? Why is the law writ large threatened by the rejection of classical liberalism? What can do we do about it? Who is doing the right things? Is he optimistic about the future?
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On episode 77, Charles reads from a book about Kamala Harris he got for Christmas, and then talks to Jonah Goldberg about whether the United States should absorb Canada and to Michael Brendan Dougherty about why he's not appalled by the idea of invading Greenland.
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On episode 76, Charles talks to Jim Meigs about the drone panic in New Jersey. What's it all about? What exactly are drones? What's the likeliest explanation for what's going on? In the future, will my pizza be delivered by a drone? What military threat do drones pose?
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On episode 75, Charles talks to Rich Lowry, Dominic Pino, and Michael Brendan Dougherty about the rules of baseball. Why is Dominic against all change? Why is Rich in favor of most change? What is the case against robot umpires? Why does the NFL innovate so freely, where baseball seems stuck in the mud? Can baseball ever be the most popular sport in America again, or is there something about it that doesn't suit the modern era?
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On episode 74 of The Charles C. W. Cooke Podcast, Charles invites Luther Abel, Dan McLaughlin, and Mark Wright to discuss time travel. Among the topics discussed are how far one would have to go back in time before one's knowledge was useless; how many modern soldiers it would take to beat various historical armies; whether one would prefer to have been in the first wave on D-Day or in the infantry at Waterloo; what four items one would take into the past; and which era one would return to if forced.
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On episode 73, Charles confesses that he has replaced every switch in his house, and then talks to Ethan Blevins about the problems that have been caused by the federal government's refusal to finish homesteading. How much land in America is owned by Washington D.C., anyway? Is it constitutional for the federal government to own land? Why are there so many stupid rules on the land that is owned by the federal government? Can it be fixed? Why hasn't it been?
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On episode 72 of the Charles C. W. Cooke Podcast, Charles notes that the reaction to Trump's victory has been more muted than it was in 2016, and then talks to Lathan Watts of the Alliance Defending Freedom about the state of conscience rights in 2024.
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On episode 71, Charles talks to Luther Abel, Jack Butler, and Phil Klein about what they would do if everyone other human on earth was wiped out. Where would they go first? How would they get around? What would they eat? How long would they survive? If they could only take one tool, what would it be? What would they do for fun?
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On episode 70, Charles confirms that Luther Abel is real, discusses his attempt to get into Canada, and then talks to Caleb Kruckenberg about federalism.
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In episode 69, Charles talks to Luther Ray Abel about their Most Excellent Whizzbang American Roller-Coaster Adventure, which took them from Virginia to California, via Hersheypark, Cedar Point, Great America, Magic Mountain, and Disneyland, in both a Ford Bronco Raptor and a Ford Mustang Dark Horse, while wearing Hawaiian shirts every moment of the day.
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Show Notes
The Piece
- Charlie and Luther's Most Excellent Whizzbang American Roller-Coaster Adventure, in National Review.
The Cars
- Ford Bronco Raptor
- Ford Mustang Dark Horse
The Parks
- Hersheypark
- Cedar Point
- Great America
- Magic Mountain
- Disneyland
The Roads
- The Pacific Coast Highway
The Coasters
- Candymonium POV
- Skyrush POV
- Great Beat POV
- Fahrenheit POV
- Storm Runner POV
- Wildcat's Revenge POV
- Millennium Force POV
- Steel Vengeance POV
- Maverick POV
- Raptor POV
- American Eagle POV
- Superman: Escape from Krypton POV
- Goliath POV
- Batman: The Ride POV
- Twisted Colossus POV
- Tatsu POV
- Woman Woman: Flight of Courage POV
- Ninja POV
- Scream POV
- X2 POV
- West Coast Racers POV
- Apocalypse POV
- Riddler's Revenge POV
- Full Throttle POV
- Revolution POV
On episode 68, Charles talks to Keith Whittington, a professor at Yale Law School, about his new book, You Can't Teach That: The Battle over University Classrooms. Among the topics discussed are why universities are different than K-12 schools; why governments (and taxpayers) can't decide what is taught, given that they're paying the bill; how Civil Rights law intersects with academic free speech; and how to prevent universities from becoming ideological bubbles.
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On episode 67, Charles talks to David French about David's column in the New York Times, 'To Save Conservatism From Itself, I Am Voting for Harris.' Among the questions Charles asks are why David has changed his view of Harris since 2019, why she hasn't reached the disqualification threshold, whether her support for abortion is a problem for him, and whether he thinks that she will win.
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On episode 66, Charles talks to Charles Fain Lehman about drugs and crime. Charles asks Charles to tell him why he's wrong about the drug war, why marijuana is different from alcohol, whether we should ban substances to protect people from themselves, what the problem is with "harm reduction," how bad the drug crisis is, whether we talk about it seriously, and why drugs are more potent now than they used to be. Afterwards, they talk about whether crime is going up or down, or whether the whole debate is partisan nonsense.
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On episode 65, Charles talks to Randy Barnett about his memoir, A Life for Liberty: The Making of an American Originalist. Among the topics they discuss are: How did Randy get interested in the law? How did he become a law professor? What is an originalist? Why is he one? What sort of originalist is he? What was it like arguing before the Supreme Court? Why does he still defend the Lochner decision? Is he hopeful about the future of the Constitution?
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On episode 64, Charles writes an opera for his most persistent critic, 'Boiling Rug,' and then talks to Clark Neily about the problem of coercive plea bargaining.
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On episode 63, Charles talks to Wilfred Reilly about his new book, Lies My Liberal Teacher Told Me: Debunking the False Narratives Defining America's School Curricula. Among the topics they discuss are: Who is this 'liberal teacher'? Why does Wilfred feel a need to argue about this? Are the people who tell these lies aware that they are doing it? What lies do conservative teachers tell? Is the problem fixable?
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On episode 62, Charles tells tale of his difficult two weeks, and then talks to Andy McCarthy about the Trump conviction.
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On episode 61, Charles talks to Rick Brookhiser about his new book, Glorious Lessons: John Trumbull, Painter of the American Revolution. Among the topics they discuss are: Was Trumbull a good painter? Was he regarded as such in his time? What did he hope to achieve? Why did he have such a tumultuous relationship with Thomas Jefferson? What is the thing that Rick likes the most about him and the thing he likes the least about him?
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On episode 60, Charles talks to Peter Robinson about the famous 'Tear Down This Wall' speech that he wrote for President Ronald Reagan. Among the topics they discuss are how Peter became a speechwriter in the first place, what Ronald Reagan was like, and how The Speech came to be.
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On episode 59, Charles invites Michael Brendan Dougherty and Noah Rothman to continue the debate over Ukraine that they started on Tuesday's episode of The Editors.
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On episode 58—recorded from Lord Ravenscroft's desolate manor—Charles reviews objections to his approach to counting states, relates the most recent problems he's had with his golf cart, and talks to Tim Carney about his new book, Family Unfriendly: How Our Culture Made Raising Kids Much Harder Than It Needs to Be. Among the questions Charles and Tim discuss are why we should have "lower ambitions for our kids"; what modern parents are doing wrong—and why; what caused these mistakes; whether there is a political answer to them; why creative and independent play is so important; why parents think the world is more dangerous than it is; whether achieving the cultural changes that Tim proposes will be different given the obvious collective action problem; how cultural underconfidence factors in to the baby bust; and what Tim would do if he were a dictator.
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On episode 57, Charles announces a special jigsaw puzzle and relates which 44 states he's visited before talking to Robert Frommer about an extraordinary case of civil asset forfeiture.
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On episode 56, Charles talks to Father Nathaniel Meyers, the Pastor of the Church of St. Francis Xavier in Buffalo, MN, about whether God exists, how we can know, and whether it ultimately matters.
Fr. Meyers's reading list:
- St. Augustine's City of God
- A Contemporary Cosmological Argument for the Existence of God
- Anything by Cardinal Ratzinger
- Letters of St. Paul
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Charles invites Gareth Russell to tell him all about his latest book, The Palace: From the Tudors to the Windsors, 500 Years of British History at Hampton Court. Among the topics they discuss are the wives of Henry VIII, the use of séances to get one's own way, the first performances of Macbeth and Hamlet, the writing of the King James Bible, snobbery within eighteenth century chocolate production, whether Mary I was as bad as her reputation suggests, and why George III moved the monarchy to Buckingham Palace.
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Charles introduces a new section on the show: Manatee Fact Hour. Then he invites that reprobate Kevin Williamson on for another throwback show. Presented by Prang and Company.
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def generate_podcast_intro(episode_number, host_name, guest_name, topic):
intro = f"On episode {episode_number} of the {host_name} Podcast, budget cuts destroy the introduction and {informal_name} talks to {guest_name} about {topic}."
return intro
episode_number = 53
host_name = "Charles C. W. Cooke"
informal_name = "Charles"
guest_name = "Timothy B. Lee"
topic = "artificial intelligence"
podcast_intro = generate_podcast_intro(episode_number, host_name, guest_name, topic)
print(podcast_intro)
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On episode 52, Charles talks to Peter Suderman about cocktails. Among the topics discussed are: What is a cocktail? When were they invented? How have they changed over time? What is the 'cocktail renaissance'? How have laws affected their production or development? And how did Peter get into this in the first place?
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In episode 51, Charles confesses that he is genuinely morose about the end of the Jaguars season, and then talks to his colleagues about their own sporting highs and lows. For just $5/month, you can help a sad male fan.
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On episode 50, Charles is rudely prevented from staging his radio play by the Ghost of Luther Abel. After that, he talks to Rafael A. Mangual about crime. (Here's his book.) Among the questions they discuss are why Rafael believes that the U.S. has a "decarceration problem"; whether too many Americans are in jail; whether the justice system is "racialized"; what we should do about police brutality; whether voters will punish politicians who make them less safe; and what law-and-order policymakers got wrong in the 1990s.
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On episode 49—so called because there have been 48 others—Charles talks to Russ Roberts, the host of the EconTalk podcast and the president of Shalem College in Jerusalem. Among the topics they discuss are: What life has been like in Jerusalem since October 7; why Russ started a podcast so early; why he's less interested in economics than he used to be; how strongly he holds his views; whether individuals who do well in the free market 'deserve' it; which economic concepts are hardest to convey; why he doesn't call himself a 'libertarian'; why it's important to live 'like an artist'; and whether the West is going to make it in the long run.
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On episode 48, Charles celebrates the Jacksonville Jaguars' 34-14 victory over the Tennessee Titans, and then talks to Steve Simpson about the core of America's system of government: the separation of powers. Among the questions discussed are: What is separation of powers? Why does it matter? Does America still have it? Can it co-exist with the modern world? Can there be such a thing as an "independent executive agency"? What is the "unitary executive doctrine"? Are we going in the right direction—or backsliding back to monarchy?
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On episode 47, Charles tries to work out why some of the anti-Israel protests have bothered him so much, and then talks to Ruy Texeira about the current state of the Democratic Party. Among the questions asked are: Why is Texeira's new book called 'Where Have All the Democrats Gone?' when the Democrats seem to be doing fine? Why is the "shadow Democratic Party" so strong? What is the "soul" of the Democratic Party? What did Bill Clinton get right in the 1990s? How correct was the thesis of 'The Emerging Democratic Majority?' Is abortion hurting the Republicans? What should we draw from this year's Virginia elections? And is demography destiny after all?
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On episode 46, Charles talks to Dan Senor about the horrors of October 7. Among the topics discussed are: What happened? Why did it happen? Why would Hamas's apologists say it happened? Was Dan surprised that it happened? Does he worry about another Holocaust? Has he been shocked by the reaction in the United States? What will happen next? Why does Dan describe Israel's system as "genius" in his new book?
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On episode 45, Charles admits that he missed the podcast's anniversary. Then he talks to Yascha Mounk about his new book, The Identity Trap: A Story of Ideas and Power in Our Time. Among the topics discussed are where identity politics comes from, how it spread so fast over the last ten years, why it's a problem, whether opposition to it should be moral or practical or both, and what will happen if it's not checked.
Charles's piece about going to an NFL game in London can be found here.
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On episode 44, Charles talks to NPR's Steve Inskeep about his excellent new book on Abraham Lincoln, Differ We Must: How Lincoln Succeeded in a Divided America. Among the topics discussed are whether the book is a call for engagement in the modern era, whether practical politics gets a bad rap, what Lincoln really thought about African-Americans, whether Lincoln intuited that he was going die in office, what challenges are presented by the fact that Lincoln was murdered when he was, whether Lincoln's occasional dishonesty was justified, and what class-based "equality" meant in his era.
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On episode 43, Charles answers a question about atheism and individual rights: "How can your belief in unalienable rights be squared with your professed atheism?" Then he talks to Heather Mac Donald about her book, When Race Trumps Merit: How the Pursuit of Equity Sacrifices Excellence, Destroys Beauty, and Threatens Lives.
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On episode 42, Charles answers a question about the game of Rugby, and then talks to Douglas Brunt about his fascinating new book about Rudolf Diesel, the inventor of the diesel engine and, at one point, one of the most famous and interesting people in the world. Among the questions asked are: Why have we not heard more about Diesel? What sort of world was he inventing in? Why were the world's militaries so interested in his work? What did he believe in? What did he think of America? Did he get on with Thomas Edison? How did he come up with the idea for his engine? How did he disappear—and what are the main theories as to how it happened?
The book is The Mysterious Case of Rudolf Diesel: Genius, Power, and Deception on the Eve of World War I.
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On episode 41, Charles talks to the historian Niall Ferguson about Cold War II (not Cold War 2.0). Among the questions asked are: What is a Cold War and why are we in one? Is China now more ideological than it was twenty years ago? Should America be taking more drastic action at home and abroad? What sort of tools should the United States be creating? Is Ukraine a distraction from the real threat? Will the Chinese turn on their government? Who will win the battle this time around?
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On episode 40, Charles talks to Winkfield Twyman Jr. and Jennifer Richmond about their book, Letters in Black and White: A New Correspondence on Race in America. Among the issues discussed: Have our conversations about race got worse despite conditions for African-Americans having improved? Is racial solidarity necessary in a country that once had slavery? Can a focus on 'Old Americans' help everyone move on? Were Wink and Jennifer nervous about having an "authentic conversation" about race? Should others be?
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On episode 39 of the Charles C. W. Cooke Podcast, Charles talks to Rob Long, a writer and the founder of Ricochet.com, about the ongoing "Hollywood Strike," which is now on its 114th day. What's it about? Is it justified? How—and when—will it end? Why do entertainment figures have unions? Is streaming ruining everything? Will this strike make it worse? How a big a threat to actors and writers is Artificial Intelligence? And how did Rob get into Hollywood, anyway?
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On episode 38, Charles begins by rebuffing a takeover attempt from a ghostly Luther Ray Abel. Afterwards, he talks to the novelist Lionel Shriver about immortality, the topic of her recent cover story at National Review. What are the personal and societal implications of immortality? What drives her to write about that topic? Does Lionel want to live forever herself? What would be her biggest fear if she could attain eternal life? Is she more bored than she was 15 years ago? What does she feel when she thinks about the size of the universe? Is Charles wrong to find it sad that, at some point soon, all his memories will be completely and permanently obliterated? Is there any point in living for a long time if you spend all your time extending your life and not much time living it?
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On episode 37, Charles talks to historian, Andrew Roberts, about Winston Churchill, Napoleon Bonaparte, King George III, Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin, and others. Among the topics discussed: Where did Churchill get his literary ability? What would have happened if Britain had made peace with the Nazis in 1940? Was Napoleon a 'tyrant'? Is the U.S. uninvadeable? Was George III a good king? Is the Declaration of Independence accurate? Were the Allies lucky that Hitler made the strategic decisions? And does Andrew miss his subjects when he's finished writing about them?
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On episode 36, Charles begins by highlighting his favorite parts of Becky Pringle's astonishing speech to the 2023 NEA Conference, and then chats with "school-choice evangelist" Corey DeAngelis about the dramatic increase in interest in his prescriptions since COVID-19 changed the world. Among the questions Corey answers are: "What is school choice?" "What is a charter school?" "What is a voucher?" "Which state has the best system?" "Do school-choice advocates oppose public schools?" "Should there be an income cut-off for school-choice programs?" And: "Does American democracy require an education monopoly?"
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On episode 35 of The Charles C. W. Cooke Podcast, Charles begins by answering a question about what he prefers about England and what he prefers about America, and then talks to Eli Lake about whether the Espionage Act of 1917 ought to exist, and whether Donald Trump ought to have been charged under it.
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Episode 22: The Streets Are Made of Cheese
On episode 34, Charles talks to Tim Carney about his book, Alienated America: Why Some Places Thrive While Others Collapse. Among the topics they discuss are what constitutes "the American Dream," whether that American Dream is "dead" (as Donald Trump charged in 2016), and, if so, when that decline started and what caused it. After that, Charles asks if those who are suffering are right to be angry with the government, if the malaise can be fixed, and to what extent Tim thinks that the answer lies in a resurgence of religious belief and community.
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On this pop-up episode, Charles talks to the Pacific Legal Foundation's Ethan Blevins about the Supreme Court's decision to strike down affirmative action, and then answers a question about his time at King's College Choir School in Cambridge.
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On episode 32—released on the 32nd of the month—Charles talks to Gareth Russell, who wrote a book about the Titanic (Ship of Dreams: The Sinking of the Titanic and the End of the Edwardian Era) and who, a couple of years ago, was invited to take a trip on the Titan submersible that sunk this week. Among the topics Charles and Gareth discuss are why the Titanic continues to command such interest, whose fault its sinking was, when the conspiracy theories started, and if its ethical to go down to what is, in effect, a mass grave.
On episode 31 of The Charles C. W. Cooke Podcast—this one with 100% less Luther Abel—Charles chats with Dr. Jay Bhattacharya about his reflections on the pandemic. What did he get right? What did he get wrong? Has the public health establishment learned its lesson? Does it deserve to be trusted? If so, how would we get back to that? Does Dr. Bhattacharya share Charles's enthusiasm for the vaccine? What, if anything, did Anthony Fauci get right? Answers abound.
Charles is now back from Italy, and in possession of quite a lot of wine.
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On episode 30 of The Charles C. W. Cooke Podcast, Charles welcomes back his old Mad Dogs and Englishmen co-host, Kevin Williamson, to talk about cities, crime, whether libertarians were wrong about marijuana legalization, going to Italy, shooting snakes with revolvers, and who is going to be the Republican nominee in 2024. No PPE money was destroyed during the making of this podcast.
N.B. Charles is now on vacation. The Charles C. W. Cooke Podcast will return in two weeks.
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In this special "pop-up" episode, Charles talks to Andy McCarthy about why, since Episode 5, Andy has changed his view on whether or not the FBI is irredeemable and should be abolished.
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On this week's episode of The Charles C. W. Cooke Podcast—the first since Charles got a haircut—Charles talks to Elbridge Colby about Taiwan. Among the topics discussed are why Taiwan matters more to the United States and the West more generally than, say, the Falkland Islands; whether Americans are prepared for an invasion; if China is our biggest geopolitical threat; and, if it is, what this tells us about our ideal Ukraine policy.
Charles also answers a question: "Why do most state legislatures have a Senate?"
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Is free speech more at risk in the U.K. or the U.S.? Should Britain adopt a First Amendment? How can it possibly be legal for the police to place "non-crimes" on Brits' criminal records? Why is Scotland so censorious? And is it getting better? On Episode 27, Charles talks to Toby Young about these questions and more.
He also discusses the delicious political candidacy of Calvin Ball (yes, really!), and answers a question about martial arts.
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Episode 26 begins with a Q&A. The first question has to do with infringements on constitutional rights. “Why is it okay to infringe on a right when it comes to requiring voters to register, but it isn't okay to infringe on a right when it comes to requiring gun owners to register?” The second returns to a familiar frame: “As a well known rollercoaster aficionado, what four ‘coasters would be on your Mount Rushmore?”
Then it’s on to a chat with Sonny Bunch, of the Bulwark, about the state of modern cinema. As a self-professed “movie idiot,” Charles asks how Sonny became a critic, how one can tell what’s a Good Film, why the Oscars seem so far removed from films people actually want to watch, and why Hollywood is hooked on remakes, reboots, sequels, and spinoffs?
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This week's episode features another whole-show conversation, this time with Daniel Hannan, the writer, blogger and Conservative member of the British House of Lords. Charles and Daniel chat about William Shakespeare, the subject of Daniel's fantastic piece in the most recent issue of National Review.
On the table are whether Shakespeare invented the modern human, how Shakespeare wrote his plays, why the Japanese think Shakespeare is Japanese and the Germans think Shakespeare is German; and whether some of Shakespeare's work is too unbearable to watch.
Additional note: The man that hath no music in himself / Nor is not moved with concord of sweet sounds / Is fit for treasons, stratagems and spoils / The motions of his spirit are dull as night / And his affections dark as Erebus / Let no such man be trusted
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On episode 24, Charles starts off by answering two questions. (1) "Were he alive today, would Ben Franklin be repairing old cars or modifying golf carts?" (2) "What do you think the practical end goal of judicial Originalism is supposed to be?"
Then it's time for a conversation with pollster and strategist, Giancarlo Sopo, who answers questions about the GOP's challenges going into 2024. Is abortion going to drag Republicans down in swing states? How much will January 6 continue to matter? Does DeSantis have a better chance than Trump? And what are the Democrats' liabilities?
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On this 23rd—but not 22nd or 24th—episode, Charles starts by taking on the preposterous idea that if one thinks that Donald Trump ought to have been impeached for what he did in 2021, the unrelated criminal case against him in New York must therefore be correct.
Afterwards, Charles talks to Stanford's Lanhee Chen about whether California is salvageable, and then, on the Color Supplement, discusses the joy of half-dead cars with Luther Abel, who confirms that, in the Midwest, the quadratic spacing solution needs to be more viscous so that the cold weather doesn’t contract the tetrafarseling or shimmy the wanglepins.
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Overwhelmed by the number of questions he's received about his decision to emigrate, about the USA vs. the UK, and about whether he'd ever consider moving back to England, Charles asks Sam Negus, a fellow British Americaphile (and, now, a fellow American citizen), to chat with him about what it's like to move from the Old Country to the New World.
Among the topics covered by Charles and Sam are whether they feel more American or British, why they call themselves "immigrants" instead of "expatriates," if it's possible for an Englishman to become Spanish, how long it took them to get into American sports, why the British are so flummoxed by the First Amendment, and why a song from An American Tail neatly sums up the American Dream.
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In the wake of the second largest bank failure in American history, Charles eschews his monologue in order to chat to someone who knows what he's talking about: the economist, John H. Cochrane, who is the Rose-Marie and Jack Anderson Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution, a co-host of the show Goodfellows, and the author of the Grumpy Economist blog, and, most recently, of the book, The Fiscal Theory of the Price Level.
After that, Charles talks to Henry Oliver, of The Common Reader, about whether literature students at Harvard are capable of reading, whether it's a problem that people want to shave the edges off Shakespeare, and how long copyright terms should be for authors.
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Well, he waited for nineteen episodes, but eventually he let it all out. Charles explains why he is so worried about the constitutional crisis that President Biden has created with his illegal order "forgiving"—read: transferring—student loan debt. If it's not fixed, he argues, there is trouble ahead.
After that, he asks Noah Rothman some tough questions about foreign policy and America's ideal role in the world.
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The soufflé must be ordered with 24 hours' notice, but, as good luck would have it, this episode must not. This one shakes it up a bit and begins with a Q&A. "If you were to create a British Mount Rushmore, what four faces would it display?" Charles was asked by some rotter who then excluded "John, Paul, George, and Ringo" from eligibility. Charles tries to get through it nevertheless.
Then it's time for a conversation with Kat Rosenfield, culture writer and author, most recently, of the novel You Must Remember This. Among the topics that were discussed were whether it matters that Roald Dahl's publisher has started rewriting his books to address so-called modern sensibilities, to what extent one should separate art from the artist who produced it, and which sorts of censorship are the most alarming.
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It's the day after the Super Bowl, and that means it's time for episode 18 of The Charles C. W. Cooke Podcast, which, this week, features a monologue about last week's remarkably embarrassing State of the Union address (which shouldn't exist), and an interview with Marian Tupy, co-author of Superabundance: The Story of Population Growth, Innovation, and Human Flourishing on an Infinitely Bountiful Planet.
Are we richer than medieval peasants? Is it easier to buy a vacuum cleaner now than it used to be? Why is a bigger population not only not bad, but good? Do statist conservatives have a point when they complain about free markets? Is environmentalism a religion? Why does cancel culture threaten the economy? Charles asks all these questions—and more. Listen, or don't. It's up to you.
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How many people can say they knew someone who assassinated a president? Charles's guest today is Paul Gregory, whose fascinating book, The Oswalds, relates his relationship with Lee and Marina. Paul tells Charles how he met the Oswalds, what he thought of them, why he still feels some "shame," why he thinks all the conspiracy theories are bunk, and why it took him six decades to put his story to paper
Charles's monologue is on Florida's proposed "constitutional carry" bill, which, despite all the hysterics, actually represents a rather modest reform to the status quo.
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It's Friday, and it's 5 o'clock somewhere. That means it's time for episode 16 of The Charles C. W. Cooke Podcast, in which Charles addresses everyone's favorite topic—how we can address our deficits and national debt, and why, despite their protestations, the Republicans aren't serious about doing so—and then chats with Vic Matus about his book on the history of Vodka in the United States, and, in particular, how a grain alcohol “without distinctive character, aroma, taste, or color” became the most popular hard liquor in America.
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On the fifteenth episode of The Charles C. W. Cooke Podcast, Charles looks at the case of hockey player Ivan Provorov, and argues that a tolerance for political silence should, in almost every imaginable circumstance, be the default position.
Charles's guest this week is Billy Binion, a writer at Reason who tells him about the many disturbing cases of equity theft we are seeing in states such as Oregon, Arizona, Colorado, Nebraska, South Dakota, Minnesota, Illinois, Alabama, New Jersey, New York, Massachusetts, and Maine.
In the Q&A section, Charles answers questions about Florida's summer heat, his support for the Gators, and whether Americans are really as divided as the commentariat likes to believe.
And, finally, it's time for another visit from John Ekdahl for this week's Jacksonville Jaguars Update: Kansas City Chiefs Edition.
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In this fourteenth episode of The Charles C. W. Cooke Podcast, Charles proposes that you should be deeply suspicious of anyone who picks up a cause, and, ten minutes later, sounds as if they’ve been fighting in favor of it for their entire life. Such people are impressionable, excitable, and ridiculous—and, ultimately, dangerous. After that, he asks Jonathan Adler, of Case Western Reserve University School of Law how on earth we can square the work of the Consumer Product Safety Commission with the limits on the federal government that are imposed by the Constitution's enumerated powers doctrine. And, finally, it's time for the Color Supplement, which, this week, features a timely Jacksonville Jaguars Update.
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In the thirteenth episode of The Charles C. W. Cooke Podcast, Charles argues that the ongoing freakout over the House of Representatives's apparent inability to find a Speaker is silly. Perhaps the opposition to McCarthy is frivolous. But it's not a national security threat, or a crisis. Next, Charles talks to Andy Kaplan, a cardiac electrophysiologist, and Steve Pirris, a neurosurgeon, about the effects on the heart and the brain of the cardiac arrest suffered by Damar Hamlin during last Monday's NFL game.
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In this pre-Christmas edition of The Charles C. W. Cooke Podcast, Charles makes the case against conservative nihilism, even when things look really bad. Afterwards, Charles talks to Mike Rowe, of Dirty Jobs, about America's imperiled work ethic, the brilliant 50-year "PR campaign" in favor of four-year college degrees, and the likelihood that some balance will be restored to the workforce.
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As promised, Charles sings all four operas from Wagner's 'Ring Cycle' — Das Rheingold, Die Walküre, Siegfried, and Larry's Giant Subs —while accompanying himself on the Mongolian nose flute.
In between arias, he argues that the Republican Party's choice is obvious: it can either find candidates that are palatable to the majority, or it can keep on losing winnable races; talks to Steve Morris about gay marriage—this time, the criticisms come from the Left; and asks Dan McLaughlin what on earth is going on with these $300m+ baseball contracts. The ISBN for this week's episode is 5, and rising.
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This is Episode Ten. Or, as the Founders might have written it: Epiſode 10. Why did English speakers of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries do that? What did it denote? When did it stop? Charles starts the show by explaining what he's found. Then, it's on to a debate with Michael Brendan Dougherty on the question of gay marriage: Charles is for; Michael is against. And, finally, in this week's Color Supplement, Scot Bertram helps Charles look back on the remarkable career of Fleetwood Mac's Christine McVie, who died this week at the age of 79.
It's Thanksgiving, so Charles takes a break from complaining about this politician or that policy or the thing he just read in the newspaper and reflects upon the miracle that is the modern world. He could have been born in Sparta in 400BC, but he wasn't; he was born in England the 1980s, and got to live in America in the 21st century. How lucky is that?
Charles's guest this week is Ricky Cobb, the "mad scientist" behind the iconic @Super70sSports Twitter account, who, in his own words, has "the most disturbing non-pornographic browser history" in the United States.
Finally, in the third Q&A, Charles answers more listener-supplied questions. This week: "are you a dual citizen?" and "which books on the Beatles should I read?"
On Episode Eight of The Charles C. W. Cooke Podcast, Charles reflects on the Republicans' poor performance in last week's election, owns up to his incorrect predictions, and makes the case that there is no good reason for the GOP to keep indulging Trump. Charles's guest this week is Josh Sauerman, the Creative Director of Animax Designs, who joins the show to talk about animatronics.
On this Election Day episode of The Charles C. W. Cooke Podcast, Charles talks to RealClearPolitics's Sean Trende about the best way to read the polls, the perils of polling in the Internet Age, and where Sean thinks the Republicans' high and low watermarks will be in the 2022 midterms. After that, Charles talks to George Mason University law professor, David Bernstein, about his fascinating book, Classified: The Untold Story of Racial Classification in America.
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On episode six of The Charles C. W. Cooke Podcast, Charles soldiers on with a much-depleted voice to bring you the first Husky Edition of the show. This week's guests are Mary Katharine Ham, who was punished by CNN for criticizing Jeffrey Toobin after he was suspended for . . . well, for "Toobining," and Jeff Blehar, who shows up again in the Color Supplement to discuss the remix of The Beatles' Revolver album. Charles also discusses the press's preposterous attempt to use the attack on Paul Pelosi to get the Republican Party to shut up.
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On episode five of The Charles C. W. Cooke Podcast, Charles confesses to his preposterous sports-related superstitions, reads aloud some of his correspondents' weirdest game-day habits, and invites Andy McCarthy to tell him why he's wrong to suggest that the time has come to dismantle the FBI. This episode of the podcast is diametrically striped, so if you have a capable phone or computer, please turn on that setting before listening.
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On episode four of The Charles C. W. Cooke Podcast, Charles breathes a sigh of relief that he managed to get through four days of being a Temporary Single Dad; chats with NBC's Marc Caputo about Florida, Ron DeSantis, and Val Demings; and answers questions about how English his children's accents are and what he, as an atheist, thinks of the Bible.
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In this shocking and unanticipated Monday edition of The Charles C. W. Cooke Podcast, Charles invites a critic on to discuss his most recent column at National Review; introduces the first section of the podcast in full color (please adjust your app); and asks Jeff from Political Beats to help him take a brief look at Supertramp's famous Breakfast in America album.
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On this second episode of The Charles. C. W. Cooke Podcast, Charles considers what would happen if NYU students got their way, and the study of organic chemistry became more akin to the study of English Literature; interviews Gareth Russell about his new book, Do Let's Have Another Drink! The Dry Wit and Fizzy LIfe of Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother; and does his first Q&A section, answering questions about the drinking habits of the British (on TV and in real life), his favorite sport, and how long it took him to prepare for that mammoth Beatles two-parter on Political Beats.
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On this inaugural episode of The Charles C. W. Cooke Podcast, Charles reflects on the ten years he spent doing his previous podcast, Mad Dogs and Englishman; wonders why the Joe Rogan panic so suddenly disappeared; talks to Troy Senik about his new book on Grover Cleveland, A Man of Iron: The Turbulent Life and Improbable Presidency of Grover Cleveland; discusses who is really the all-time Major League Baseball home-run champion with Dan McLaughlin (live from LAX); and offers a preview of what's to come later.
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