Ricochet Podcast: Recent Episodes
The Ricochet Audio Network
Weekly episodes of Ricochet’s flagship podcast feature our hosts James Lileks, Rob Long, Peter Robinson, and guests discussing the issues of the week.
Ricochet offers the best, smartest, most interesting conversations on the web. Both for your eyes and your ears.
Britain is on its seventh prime minister since bidding adieu to the EU a decade back. There’s news of once-unimaginable crimes and ethnic strife shaking once sleepy shires. Even model citizens like scholar-slash-philanthropist and casual world-class athlete Jason Arday are having a hard go of it. For the lowdown on the United Kingdom’s political crisis, we’re joined by our new pal, historian and commentator Dominic Green.
Plus, the regular hosty blokes see plenty of problems on our side of the pond, especially after the DSA proves that they can win statewide primaries outside coastal enclaves. But there’s always plenty to be cheery about in the land of opportunity, like DIY burritos, roaring roller coasters, and albums so familiar that you can spot the covers from miles away.
Opening sound this week: Hasan Piker says, “(Screw) Black people!” James Carville says “I’m outta here” to Fox News, and UK MP Rupert Lowe says, “Everybody has to go!”
Closing music: "God Save the Queen," by Ian Post (via MotionArray)
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It's a milestone episode! Number Eight Hundred. That calls for a celebration. Not only does Ricochet co-founder Peter Robinson join to host, but our dear pal Dr. Jay Bhattacharya is able to take a moment away from running both the NIH and CDC to talk about the downfall of Anthony Fauci and his team's work to restore public trust in America's leading public health and scientific institutions. With the disarming humility we've always known him for, Dr. Jay explains what he found most striking about Fauci's journal entries and evastions before Congress. The gang then pivots to what must be done to prevent a bureaucrat from acquiring such dictatorial powers and taxpayers from having to fund their own pandemic.
Plus, Robinson, Hayward and Lileks wish the DNC luck in staving off the DSA; they find in our techno-innovators things to be hopeful for despite a generation that knew not the Soviets; they have a friendly debate over the triviality of pop-culture; and they say farewell to a departed Ricochet member.
Sound from this week's open: Senator Rand Paul questions Anthony Fauci before the U.S. Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.
Closing Music: "Center of the Universe" by Markus Little, via MotionArray
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Christopher Nolan has another blockbuster hit in theaters and has set off the pop culture controversy of the year with his rendition of The Odyssey. To move beyond the visual spectacle and online hysterics, James, Steve and Charles are joined by Titus Techera for a discussion on the Homeric epic, the visionary Nolan, and the thunderous debate over ancient and modern morality.
Plus, the trio stay on theme to consider a couple of beloved 20th-century directors and the sci-fi military tech that's become a reality on the battlefield in Eastern Europe.
This week’s opening sound: Lupita Nyong’o on playing Helen of Troy (courtesy of Discussing Film) and Victor Davis Hanson on the role on the Daily Signal
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CNN's Harry Enten joins Steve, Charlie and James to put a little pizzazz on polling data. The gang covers a great deal of ground: the DSA insurgency, a couple of key midterm races, economic pessimism, public suspicion about polling, and some of the forces behind American polarization. But it ain't all bad! Stay tuned til the end to find out about Harry's famous Uncle Neil and a story of inspiration from unlikely places.
Plus, our trio debates the merits of Trump's election integrity speech, turns over a few cultural touchstones, and makes an announcement about Ricochet 5.0.
Sound from this week's open: President Trump implies foul play at hand in California's recent elections in his prime-time address, and Chuck Schumer commends the legacy of Lindsey Graham on the Senate Floor.
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As the late Johnny Thunders would say, "Rock and roll is simply an attitude." And we bring the attitude this week with Free Press contributor Eli Lake, as we talk Graham Platner's Maine implosion, underestimating the Ukranians and how Donald Trump may have stumbled to the right answer in Iran.
All that and Eli leads us through a round of "What Are You Listening To?" and Charlie's collection of semi-pornographic album covers.
Let's have ourselves a podcast...
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For a special edition of the Ricochet Podcast, Peter Robinson sits down with Steve Hilton, California's Republican candidate for governor. The duo discusses Hilton's uphill fight with the machine-backed Xavier Beccera, the corrupt alliance between unions, activists, and elected officials that's behind the Golden State's muted shine, and Steve's plan to deliver results for California's American dreamers.
With the 250th celebrations here, Hilton reminds us that the revolutionary spirit springs eternal. Consider donating to his campaign here.
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Our hosts are out of sorts as they prep for the Independence Day celebration: Hayward is on the high seas, Lileks is in Boston, and the always-fashionable Cooke is even later than usual. But the gang had to get together once more before the holiday break to make their grumblings known about a less welcome kind of revolutionary spirit...
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America's 250th birthday is just a few weeks out, and festivities are underway. But, leaving aside disputes about fist fights and daring stunts on the White House South Lawn, a question emerges about what a serious celebration of the American way looks and feels like. To consider this and more, Charles, James, and a visiting Peter Robinson sit down with Matthew Mehan, author and Associate Dean of Hillsdale College's graduate school in Washington, D.C., to discuss The American Book of Fables.
The gang thinks through the meaning of our civic inheritance and the endeavor to pass on the baton to the young. Matt's here to remind us that the arduous effort can be joyful and that hopefulness is a trait that marks the serious thinker.
Our trio also kvetches (and then some!) over the Iran deal, winces at the newly unveiled Obama Presidential Center, and chortles with bewilderment at the accusation that a Pride-themed baseball cap was "desecrated" by a Bible verse.
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It's just James and Charles to recollect and swap rants about the goings-on of the land of the free and the home of oddball. The cast of characters includes the world's first billionaire, an Angeleno who lost an election for common sense, a lunatic posing as a model working man, and the deeply flawed judgment of Democratic voters about guys like these. Lileks and Cooke also delight in watching Europeans share their newfound love for America, and embrace Trump's can-doism vis-à-vis public beautification.
Sound this week: CNBC announces the world’s first trillionaire, Jimmy Kimmel recoils, and Graham Platner continues to gaffe.
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John Yoo returns to usher in SCOTUS opinion season, joining James and Steve for some friendly debates on law, politics and, most controversially, more than a few matters of taste. For our democrats in the audience, we've got chatter on California vote counting and Alabama map battles. News from the UK reminds us that the royalists are in even worse shape, as authorities there prove to be as confused in dealing with controversial speech as they are with violence (the real kind). John Bolton's deal with the DOJ and a couple death penalty cases concentrate the fellas' minds further on the subtleties—and unsubtleties—of hard justice. Thankfully, Scott Pelley's bad week brings a much-needed restorative laugh, and the gang finds something to agree on as they count down to the semiquincentennial. That's right: not even petty celebrities can rain on our Independence Day parade!
Sound this week: CBS Evening News anchor Tony Dokoupil says goodbye to Scott Pelley while Fox News’ Brit Hume finds it all amusing.
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Lots and lots of burning questions dominate the news. Do we need a $250 bill, and what or who should be on it? Mamdani flexes his communist urges in NYC, so what could possibly go wrong? And can a state tax a "slush fund" at 100%? James and Charles have thoughts.
But the question we really want an answer to is, "Do we have a deal with Iran or not?" To answer that, we welcome back our old friend Richard Goldberg, a senior advisor at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and the former director for countering Iranian weapons of mass destruction for the White House National Security Council during the first Trump administration.
It's an episode to get your Spidey senses tingling.
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James, Steve and non-stipendiary host Rob Long shoot the breeze as they face revolutionary changes big and small. From the impending phenonena of Pratt Summer and unstoppable AI to the DNC's stateside Commie drama and the Euros giving nationalism another go, the trio draws some important lessons:
Local elections matter. They can even be fun!
Political messaging is especially effective when your opponent is the weird one.
Climate apocalypse is dumb.
You can be a people or a bureaucracy, not both.
Artificial Intelligence is coming. Work on your human skills.
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Donald Trump and Xi Jinping have ended their two day summit in Beijing with lots of talk and no announced breakthroughs. James and Steven break it all down.
Speaking of breaking down, we welcome back National Review senior writer Noah Rothman to talk about the left's embrace of political violence that he covers in his new book, Blood and Progress: A Century of Left-Wing Violence in America. It's a riot.
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Ricochet’s beloved former editor Mollie Hemingway is back with a new book, Alito: The Justice Who Reshaped the Supreme Court and Restored the Constitution. We’re so thrilled, in fact, that we couldn’t even keep Peter Robinson away. So Mollie leads our embarrassment of hosts through her exclusive scoop on the Supreme Court’s most enigmatic justice. Tune in for an in-depth report covering everything Alito—from the political dramas starting with his confirmation to the leak of his best-known Dobbs opinion, and analysis of the particulars of his legal philosophy, his mastery over oral proceedings, and ultimately his influence over the increasingly originalist branch of government.
And with investigative journalism in mind, our quartet digs into reports about rampant Medicaid fraud in Ohio, and James tries to pin the panelists down on their stance on aliens, UFOs and G-man plots. The gang also guffaws at the Virginia Supreme Court's redistricting rebuff and manages to find quibblible claims against the common understanding of invasive species.
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Have we hit the "another week, another act of homegrown terror" phase of American history? Spencer Klavan joins Steve and Charles for a roundup of the (relatively) young academic's recent works on subjects ranging from Francis Fukayama's oft-misunderstood thesis to the ascent of figures like Hasan Piker, who hope to microloot our stores of social capital (and Whole Foods, too). The trio also considers the possibilities before the classical education rebellion that's breaking out on campuses.
Plus, Cooke and Hayward dive into this week's SCOTUS decision on Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, and they see an achievement worth celebrating in the United Arab Emirates' decision to leave OPEC.
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The pitiful state of university sociology departments is an unfortunate thing, but to see tantrums at elite law schools over "controversial" speakers portends danger — or so says Ilya Shapiro, author of Lawless: The Miseducation of America’s Elites. He and the fellas discuss the illiberal takeover of higher education, most troublingly in the institutions that train the gatekeepers of our legal system.
Plus, James, Charles, and Steve speculate on the midterms; see the potential for backfire from Virginia's redistricting referendum; smell controversy over the latest victory for the refer movement; and begrudgingly admit the Americanness of gambling with top secrets.
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Moving concentrates the mind on the old days (good or otherwise). And who better to reminisce with than a good ole pal? James Lileks and Rob Long are back together, and they brought family heirlooms... Breezing through current events (a blockaded blockade abroad, a goon running Gotham, a papal-sovereign scrap), the duo takes in another week's worth of madness with the calm of mind that comes from grateful reception of some inherited wisdom.
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It's just Lileks and Cooke this week, back to gander at another quintessentially American week of this semiquincentennial year. The fellas cover the halted hostilities in Iran, an incredible rescue op, Mayor Mamdani's "Citywide Racial Equity Plan," the awaited splashdown of Artemis II astronauts, and all manner of transportation issues.
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Bondi's out at DOJ. SCOTUS heard another big case and issued another big ruling. We're at war, and Congress is out of the loop... We need a legal expert this week. John Malcolm joins — Vice President of the Meese Institute for the Rule of Law at Advancing American Freedom, and Executive Editor of the third edition of The Heritage Guide to the Constitution.
Plus, Charles, Steve, and James are rejuvenated by the Artemis II launch, underwhelmed by Trump's address on the war, slightly stunned by modern slang, and mildly ticked by faulty diction.
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James and Steve put Charles in the guest chair to elaborate on his National Review cover story exhorting against generalized downerdom and political pessimism. Further, the trio speculates on the nature of negotiations with the people supposedly running Iran, as well as next week's birthright citizenship case before SCOTUS.
Sound from this week's open: Marco Rubio speaks on Iran war objectives.
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H.R. McMaster joins Steve and Charles to take stock of the war in the Middle East. Though a tank man by training, H.R. is no stranger to thinking about our capabilities and how they stack up against our foes—both the enemy in Iran and the aggressors backing them up.
Plus, Cooke and Hayward can't help but feel a bit of relief that there's a bit less Erlichian misanthropy in the world; consider newly reported accusations against Caesar Chavez that could prove fatal to the progressive hero's reputation; and they round the necrologies out with a salute to the immortal Chuck Norris.
Sounds from this week's open: Cesar Chavez at UCLA in 1972, Paul Erlich (Growth Busters, 2007) and Chuck Norris on… Chuck Norris (Full Measure, 2017)
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For decades, war game experts have produced dire predictions for American-Iranian war scenarios. While it's still early days, the circumstances are much more favorable than strategists had supposed. Noah Rothman returns to break down what's going right in Iran, what remains worrisome and uncertain, what the public ought to anticipate, and what the administration ought to tell them. (Noah also gives us a quick preview of his upcoming book, Blood and Progress: A Century of Left-Wing Violence in America.)
The fellas wrap the interview with theme-appropriate drapings: Brits are removing their greatest citizens from the nation's banknotes, reminding us of waning resolve from Western allies, and a thwarted terrorist plot in New York has the media and politicians twisting into knots to conceal the truth.
(This episode was recorded on Thursday, March 12th to accommodate the hosts' travel schedules.)
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James, Steve and Charles are back together to discuss life during wartime.
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Underneath the "cuddly" rhetoric of the Democatic Socialists there lurks admirers of some of the most evil men in history. And, says our guest Tal Fortgang of the Manhattan Institute, they are also poised to take control of the whole of the Democratic Party.
There's also some hockey talk (USA! USA! USA!), the State of the Union and Gavin Newsom's SAT scores.
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It's been said that there's no use in proposing that Donald Trump moderate his rhetoric, but with presidential approval ratings being what they are, a friendly reminder about duties and decorum might be just what the doctor ordered. Daniel Mahoney, author and professor emeritus at Assumption College, joins James and Steve to discuss his latest piece, "Discipline at a Moment of Power."
Plus, the fellas consider this morning's breaking news about the SCOTUS ruling on "emergency" tariffs, applaud Marco Rubio's performance in Munich, and reflect on the passing of Jesse Jackson and Robert Duvall.
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Conservatism and the Republican Party have been at an impasse for some time. On the one hand, we're beholden to the enduring principles of our founding, on the other we're proud members of the world's most innovative state. Henry Olsen joins Steve and James this week to discuss life at the conservative crossroads. (Check out his new podcast series of the same name here!)
Plus, Lileks and Hayward celebrate the EPA's move to drop the greenhouse gas "endangerment finding," and mark the departure of a friend of Ricochet. Rest in peace, Mr. John Ekdahl.
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Lingering cold has many a podcast host needing a week off, but Rob Long and Steve Hayward reconvene to enjoy some juicy stories and just desserts: The "Democracy Dies in Darkness" crowd got cut up in broad daylight, Jeffrey Epstein's pals are paying their due for dealing with the devil, and a $2 million verdict was awarded to a minor in a suit against the medical professionals who deformed her.
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Peter returns to catch up with James of Snogadishu and Charles of the land of peace, prosperity, and enviable winter climate. It's good timing to have the ever-winsome Robinson back as the trio wraps their heads around another week of crazy that hits a little too close to home. They grapple with domestic disturbances revolving around another killing in the Twin Cities and the preposterous notion that journalists have special First Amendment privileges. There's also trouble abroad...all over the place, in fact. But we're feeling pretty good about a State Department left in Little Marco's hands.
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We're one year into Trump 2.0. And it's America at 250. James, Steve and Charles discuss and debate an especially wild week for an already-adventurous Trump administration.
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Sometimes you've just had enough. Bill Barr, two-time Attorney General and author of One Damn Thing After Another, knows the feeling. He joins James, Steve, and Charles today to discuss the legal grounds for the extraordinary rendition of Nicolás Maduro and the options available to federal law enforcement as the Twin Cities tiptoe around an insurrection.
The trio speculates on whether the US is reversing its position on Iran, considers the supposed price tag on a Greenland buy, and James declares that he has absolutely no opinion on the new Star Trek series. Not a one. Zip, zero. Don't bother asking...
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James, Steve, and Charles are back for a new year that seems determined to outdo its predecessor. Lileks reports from the Twin Cities, a site dead set on being the epicenter of American chaos. Then the fellas step out of the Minnesota cold to warm their bones by the fire of collectivism. And they round it all out with a chat about the ever-surprising Don Doctrine, which put an end to one tyrant last week and has many wondering what it could mean for Iran.
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We have a special Christmas season episode to tide everyone over through the holidays. Steve Hayward sits down with Rob Long, who's just wrapped his first year at Princeton's Theological Seminary. They discuss dramatic career changes, the storyteller's take on the link between show business and the saving souls business, and the modern cultural discomfort with the faith of our fathers.
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James, Steve, and Charles reconvene after an Independence Day break to catch up over some thoughts on the One Big, Beautiful Bill, Ketanji Brown Jackson's professional disorientation, and the latest dead end on getting to the truth about the twisted villain Jeffrey Epstein. The trio also discusses the newest superhero would-be-blockbuster that's betting on subverting viewer expectations, and James tells us about his own recent crime-fighting adventure...
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Sound clip from this week's open: Trump dismisses question about that Epstein creep.
Even bunker-busters dropped on a major enemy can't top the news cycle for a whole week these days, but James, Charlie and Steve get to that along with today's Supreme Court decision drop. They're joined by Manhattan Institute president Reihan Salam to discuss New York City voters' decision to let Zorhan Mamdani turn America's largest city into a hipster paradise.
The Iranian regime is receiving an education of sorts this week, and while we await President Trump's decision on the extent of America's role in busting up the nuclear site at Fordow, the Free Press's Eli Lake (and host of the Breaking History podcast) returns to educate us on why surgical involvement in Iran fits with the "America First" agenda that voters signed up for last November.
Plus, the reunited James, Charles, and Steve talk Skrmetti and Mamdani.
- Music from this week's open: The Israeli Air Force has a hit on Iranian State Television
It's been an incendiary week since Charlie and Steve last spoke, but they return to chat the matters over as they wait for the smoke to clear. They share approval of Israel's strike at Iran, discuss the legal and political questions surrounding the unrest in LA with Andy McCarthy, and wish the great Brian Wilson peace in the afterlife.
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Sound from this week's open: Prime Minister Netanyahu announces operation Rising Lion to the media.
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It's just Steve and Charles this week, taking in another wild one. Don and Elon are on the outs — but is it permanent? The courts are busy, and a handful of great, unanimous decisions get their due cheer; Karine Jean-Pierre goes independent; Ukraine's drones remind us that modern warfare has changed; and Sam Tanenhaus published his long-awaited Buckley bio. Tune in for Hayward's review preview.
- Sound from this week's open: Elon Musk distances himself from the Trump Administration in an interview with CBS Sunday Morning
Noah Rothman returns to the Ricochet Podcast to discuss the troubles of dealing with an uncooperative world. He, Steve, and James discuss the fall of the New Puritans in the real world as they resist from their barracks on prestigious college campuses. The gang then moves from culture war to the shooting kind as they consider Putin's recalcitrance and negotiations with Iran.
Plus, Hayward and Lileks unpack the Court of International Trade's tariff intervention, the Big, Beautiful Bill that's worked its way out of the House, and Elon Musk's DC departure.
- Sound from this week's open: CNN’s Jake Tapper on The Prof G Pod defending his 15-year-old son.
Western elites have run into a recurring predicament over the past decade: In a democracy, you can't abolish the voters. Populist coalitions are on the march in Europe, and while they've yet to take over their respective governments like their American counterparts, they aren't going away. So Henry Olsen returns to the podcast to give us the scoop on everybody from the Romanians, who just had their delayed election, to the Poles and Hungarians who have some coming up, along with Reform UK and AfD. We also dig into Trump's so-far successful 'Dirty Harry' theory of justice and the limitations any politician's gotta know — including the transformational ones.
Plus, Lileks and Hayward yap about the latest with Harvard, the "stochastic terrorism" that killed two young Jews in DC, and Original Sin...
- Soundbite from this week's open: UK PM Kier Starmer pivots on immigration
Conservatives love their histories; they lose themselves in great biographies; they have a voracious appetite for news and avidly devour op-eds. But the menu for literature on the right is, regrettably, if understandably, a bit limited. To add a bit of variety, Chris Scalia joins Peter, Steve, and Charles to discuss his soon-to-be-published book, Thirteen Novels Conservatives Will Love (But Probably Haven't Read). The boys quiz Chris on his selections and on the broader premise that the novel deserves greater attention from keepers of the cause.
Plus, the hosts prattle on about the Pope, nationwide injunctions, Trump's trip to Riyadh, and the blasted SALT caucus.
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Sound from this week's open: the president says his piece about neocons in Saudi Arabia.
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Ben Domenech returns to the Ricochet Podcast to give a progress report on Trump's second go at running things. James, Charles and Steve glean insights about the builder from Queens as Ben divulges about his long sitdown with the president in February.
Plus, the hosts rap on the pope from Chicago, Germany's lurch toward state censorship, series worth a watch, and pieces worth a read.
- Sound from this week's open: a clip from Ben's interview with Trump.
Within a week of Spain boasting its success at wiring up the grid with renewable energy sources, it was lights out for the whole Iberian Peninsula. Who could've predicted such an outcome? Today's guest is Robert Bryce, author of A Question of Power: Electricity and the Wealth of Nations and a Substack well worth a look. Robert provides a little refresher course on energy grids and explains how Green hubris threatens to overheat our whole system.
Plus, James, Steve and Charlie delve into a few developments on the administration's run-ins with the judiciary; they welcome progress on America's mineral deal with Ukraine, take a few swipes at Harvard's report on campus anti-semitism, and declare this week's winner on Twitter.
- Sound from this week's open: Spanish PM Pedro Sánchez addresses the blackout of the Iberian Peninsula.
It's the Hayward and Long Hour this week, meaning it's TheoBro-PoliPhi time. Since this duo was away for our recent episode featuring questions submitted by Ricochet subscribers, we asked for a new batch of inquiries catered specifically for our blithesome professor and the jocular seminarian. As ever, Ricochet members delivered a surplus of material for us in the chatty corner of showbiz.
Care to get in on the conversation? Join us at Ricochet.com!
With Congress missing in action, the two active branches of our federal government are at it again, and the temperature rises by the minute. Caught in the crosshairs are the increasingly exasperated American people and our numerous non-citizens, most notably Kilmar Abrego Garcia. Jason Willick joins today to argue that our partisan impulses are blinding team red and team blue to both the legal and the political stakes before us.
Plus, Messrs. Lileks & Hayward talk Harvard's funding freeze and why they had it coming.
- Sound from this week's opening: President Trump takes a question from his new favorite reporter.
It's Question Time with Lileks and Cooke. They jump into the guest chairs and let Ricochet's very own members steer the ship this week. Tune in to hear their thoughts on lots of stuff: the Pax Americana, universal suffrage, wordsmithing in the age of AI, their favorite interview subjects, and more — all with plenty of pop culture sprinkled in.
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Sound from this week's open: John Cleese in the "Take Your Pick" sketch on Monty Python's Flying Circus.
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It's been said that California is to America what America is to the world. This is troubling for all parties involved given the current state of affairs in the now-inaptly named Golden State. While today's guest Steve Hilton pulls no punches in his new book, Califailure, he carries some glad tidings in the form of voter trends that magnify what look to be glimmers of hope. Our resident Californians Peter Robinson and Steve Hayward soak up the glad tidings, putting them in a good enough mood to momentarily get over their post-Liberation Day jitters.
It's legal funtime hour with John Yoo calling in from the always optimistic Golden State. He, James and Charlie dig into the issues at root of the deportation fights between the executive and judicial branches. Considering everything from foreign thugs to Charlie's seditious past and our missed opportunity to conquer France in the early days of the Republic, the fellas turn up what powers they can for the president's effort to toss out the bad guys.
Plus, Charlie bursts John's bubble about Ezra Klein's "new" pitch for abundance; James squints at the Ghibli Twitter takeover; and the gang is a bit puzzled by much of the Signalgate reaction.
- Sound clip from this week's open: National Security Advisor Michael Waltz talks the Signal snafu on Fox News while DNI Tulsi Gabbard gets grilled by Sen. Mark Warner (D - VA) in committee.
Immediately upon the president's return to office, we discovered that stopping the flood of illegal immigrants across the border was as simple as closing the spigot. While the crisis may be over, the mission has yet to be accomplished. Mark Krikorian of the Center for Immigration Studies and host of the Parsing Immigration Policy podcast returns to discuss what follows the end of the beginning efforts to correct the long-neglected immigration mess.
Plus, Rob, James and Steve look forward to the dismantling of the Department of Education; they do their best to ignore the psychopathic attention-seekers in the Middle East; and James finally turns the tables on Rob for a good old-fashioned troll.
- Opening sound this week: Border Czar Tom Homan on using the Alien Enemies Act and President Trump on closing the Department of Education
It's Justin Trudeau's last day. A time to rejoice for the friends of liberty to our north. But the economic spat between the US and Canada has had the unwelcome consequence of restraining the latter's Conservative Party momentum. Thankfully, Ezra Levant returns to the Ricochet Podcast with a solution, which he laid out in a recently published book with a title that shows he knows how to speak our language: Deal of the Century: The America First Plan for Canada’s Oil Sands. He explains his pitch to the president and brings us up to speed on the political scene of our dearest neighbor.
Plus, Steve and James talk taxes, the Columbia University crackdown, and Lee Zeldin's big moves at the EPA.
- Sound from today's open: Trudeau's farewell & Ezra Levant seeking answers from Black Rock's CEO in Davos in January
Nearly fifty topsy-turvy days into Trump 2.0, we thought it'd be a good idea to zoom out some to better distinguish the signals from the noise. To that end, the gang sits down with Wall Street Journal Editor at Large Gerard Baker. Gerry covers everything from Trump's tariffs and geostrategic reshuffling to the media's collapsed institutional repute.
Plus, Charles, Steve and James notice hints that ambitious progressives are maneuvering to sound like normal people; and they bewail the caprices of the muses now that they've repossessed the recently-acclaimed (and highly profitable) artistic inspiration from Hunter Biden.
- Sound clip from this week's open: Mike Johnson restoring order during Trump's address before Congress on Tuesday.
Who needs guests when the news overflows? Not us! Our intrepid trio of James Lileks, Charles C.W. Cooke and Steve Hayward opine on Joy Reid's exit at MSNBC, Jake Tapper discovering Joe Biden's decline, gay horses and free speech in the UK (Not a joke!) and Gene Hackman exits the stage (Rest easy, Marine!)
Ross Douthat returns to the Ricochet Podcast to discuss his latest book, Believe: Why Everyone Should Be Religious. Rob, Steve and James chat with him to get at The Big Everything. Why does a Catholic make the case for broadly-defined belief? Has disillusionment with liberalism provided God an opening to win back lost sheep? Should faith guide us toward practical answers to ordinary problems? Tune in for answers!
Plus, the fellas discuss Voodoo Doll research getting the DOGE treatment; they consider the levels of commitment to America First; and they express their doubts that AfD's expected gains in the German parliament portend a Nazi revival.
Clip from this week's open: White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller gives the press a civics lesson.
In ways both subtle and decidedly not, American foreign policy is a-changin'. Eli Lake joins James and Steve to caution against cuts to the National Endowment for Democracy and to nod approvingly of the Trump administration's boldness in the Middle East. We also get into "Breaking History," Eli's new podcast that pushes back against disheartening presentism by coloring today's headlines with historical antecedents.
Plus, Lileks and Hayward applaud J.D. Vance's New Sheriff tour in Europe, and say their goodbye to copper change.
- Sound from this week's open: Vice President Vance addresses the Munich Security Conference.
The Trump administration’s days of thunder roll on while just about everyone outside the DOGE team struggles to keep up. While many see little more than nonsense and mayhem, today’s guest, Daniel McCarthy, recognizes a sound strategy in tariff threats, iconoclasts heading executive agencies, and even the baffling Gaza Strip pitch, to address America’s mounting challenges at home and abroad.
Plus, Steve, James and Charlie discuss the meltdown over USAID cuts; the dismal national report card; and the “Orwellian nightmare” facing… federal bureaucrats.
Audio in this week’s open: NBC’s Hallie Jackson describes the panic of federal workers and Sen. Eric Schmitt (R - MO) talks about USAID on the floor of the Senate
President Trump's disruptive tendencies continue to shake up the Executive Branch at dizzying speed. Thankfully, James and Charlie can keep their wits as they discuss the spending freeze/unfreeze and the reasonable expectations of the good that can be done with the president's pen. They're then joined by Dennis Kneale, host of the Ricochet Audio Network's "What's Bugging Me" podcast and author of The Leadership Genius of Elon Musk. Dennis teases some of the life lessons he thinks readers can draw from Musk to lead better lives; he also provides background for Elon's critical political conversion.
Plus, James and Charlie wrap with some thoughts about the awful air collision in Washington, DC and the many reasons to be suspicious of DeekSeek...
Sound from this week's open: Newly sworn-in Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy responds to the US suffering its worst commercial airline crash since 2009.
Trump's back in the White House and off to the races! To celebrate the return to popular sovereignty, Victor Davis Hanson returns to explain the most extraordinary political comeback in the nation's history. He identifies the agenda items Trump would do well to prioritize; he makes sense of the quick dissipation of the last decade's progressive lunacies; and, perhaps most importantly, he offers suggestions of what to look out for when the radicals attempt their comeback.
Plus, Charlie, James and Steve pick through a couple of the noteworthy executive orders and cringe collectively at the reaction to Elon spreading some love at the Capital One Arena.
Special thanks to this week's sponsor, BambooHR!
Sound clip from this week's open: This week’s opening sound: Donald Trump is sworn in for the second time and AOC goes nuclear over Elon Musk
Happy Inauguration Day! To celebrate, Peter and Steve sit down with speechwriter and presidential advisor Ken Khachigian to discuss his time working with Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan, as laid out in his newly published memoir, Behind Closed Doors. Going through his start in politics by landing a job under Pat Buchanan in the '68 campaign to drafting Reagan's first inaugural and serving as an advisor during key moments in the '80s, Ken shares a wealth of knowledge on the finer points of good statecraft. The guys also spend some time on the disaster in their beloved state of California and the prospects for national renewal under the new Trump administration.
The National Endowment for the Arts has been with us for sixty years, coinciding conspicuously with the ascendancy of nihilistic works that pollute our public spaces. Justin Shubow aims to change all of that. He's a top candidate to chair the NEA under the second Trump administration and has a particular interest in the proper design of federal architecture. What have columns and Roman arches to do with the re-moralization of the free citizen? Listen in to find out.
Plus, James, Steve and Charlie adjust to Biden's just-declared 28th amendment; they work their way through the confirmation hearing highlights; and lose themselves in a David Lynch-like daydream.
- Sound clips from this week's open: David Lynch on movies (KGSM MediaCache) and “Mr. Baseball” on family (MLB Media)
It's finally here: 2025! And your favorite podcast is finally back in order to maintain some continuity in these tempestuous times. James, Charles and Steve cover raging fires in Los Angeles and the jaw-dropping incompetence of the Golden State's leadership. On a cheerier note, they enjoy the changes taking place in Canada and at Meta, Inc.
Plus, Dan MacLaughlin joins today to discuss Jimmy Carter's legacy, and, given Dan's title as the baseball crank, the gang has at a few questions on the great American game.
New times, end times, and national pastimes. What more can you ask for?
- Soundbite from the open: Embarrassing exchange between anchors and reporter at KTTV Fox 11 in Los Angeles
For the last podcast of the year, Steve, Charles and Rob pull out all the stops to grab the attention of podcast listeners worldwide: some theology here, a little healthcare debate there, a few notes on Congress' gargantuan Christmas list. Plus, there's the WSJ write-up on the efforts to conceal Joe Biden's decline, Kirsten Gillibrand's ERA absurdity, and some insights from Rob on how show-biz will be forced to come to its senses.
Sound clip from today's open: Nancy Mace sifts through the CR bill.
In times such as these, the challenge is packing all the news into a single episode. James, Steve and Charles do their best to move with lightning speed through Biden's shower of clemency, UFOs in New Jersey, then across the Hudson River for the hard left's justifications for last week's coldblooded murder in Manhattan side-by-side with their fury over Daniel Penny's acquittal. All of this before sitting down with Noah Rothman to get an early glimpse at the change of management in Damascus.
... And did we mention Charlie Cooke's restaurant explosion experience?
- Congressman Jeff Van Drew (R - NJ02) tells Fox News that the drones over his state belong to Iran
Ricochet presents a special Yuletide episode featuring Joseph Bottum, author of Frankincense, Gold, and Myrrh: A Christmas Chrestomathy. In under an hour, he and Peter cover crammed cities and the rural expanse, crime and charity, the written word and the reader's mind—all with thoughts on the Christmas spirit in a contemporary setting.
John Yoo returns to discuss a lotta legal stuff this week. He talks presidential pardons, Daniel Penny, United States v. Skrmetti and the murder of UnitedHealth's CEO in Midtown Manhattan.
Plus, after an extra-long Thanksgiving season hiatus, the boys are back with much to be grateful for.
Sound from today's open: Chris Wallace predicted Hunter pardon on June 10; Ted Cruz reacts on NewsMax and Joe says Goodbye, Angola
About what President Trump is planning to put in his cabinet... Lileks, Cooke and Hayward have opinions on the digestibility of some of the picks. They're joined by Andy McCarthy to discuss the stunning nomination of Matt Gaetz for Attorney General, and the gang gets into what Trump will need for his cleanup on aisle DC.
- Soundbite from this week's open: Rep. Max Miller (R - OH 7) ABCNews YouTube Channel
Who better to talk to on our post-election victory lap episode than the man who saw it coming? Henry Olsen joins after proving correct in his daring prediction in the New York Post of a Trump-led red wave. We get into how he called it and his detailed post-op report. We also give him the chance to take off his analyst cap to do a little rooting for the team. And, of course, we get into his 2017 book, The Working Class Republican: Ronald Reagan and the Return of Blue-Collar Conservatism, where he posited that the unlikely figure of Donald Trump was returning the Republican Party to the foundations that the Gipper laid out.
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- Sound clip from the open: Donald Trump "firing" Kamala Harris at his rally in Green Bay, Wisconsin.
It's the last episode before the election, and given the anxiousness surrounding this cycle, we've recruited Andrew Klavan to bring his good cheer, wit and wisdom to put us at ease. We get his take on the race and field a few predictions, along with his perspective on America's cultural whirlwind—everything from the suffusion of the arts and tech to modern manhood and the search for enduring truth. (Plus, you'll want to pick up the latest copy of his just-published novel, A Woman Under Ground.
Peter, Steve and James also make what they can of the latest moves in the polls, and tack on a couple predictions of their own.
- Sound clip from today's open: Joe Biden's comments on garbage.
Rob Long takes a break from Biblical Greek to catch up with a few of his favorite laypeople. He gives James and Steve his early impressions of the coursework and classmates at Princeton Theological Seminary. Then the trio moves onto our favorite events since we've last seen the future father: the post-Brat Summer letdown for Harris; the meltdown over Trump's shift at McDonald's; and the left's resurrection of their favorite f-word for Republicans.
- Soundclip from this week's open: Matt Walsh and Robin DiAngelo's first meeting in the documentary Am I Racist?
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We can debate all we want about the Doomsday Clock's latest setting, but one needn't be a foreign policy expert to know our proximity to midnight is too close for comfort. As it happens, though, we have a foreign policy expert (and soldier) with us today. H.R. McMaster returns to discuss the dangerous moment we're in, what needs to be done with the precious time available, and why American officials need to stop fighting each other and concentrate on the enemies gathering at the gates. (Be sure to order his excellent new book: At War With Ourselves: My Tour of Duty in the Trump White House.)
Plus, Peter, Steve and Charlie marvel at the multifaceted Musk; pick apart Harris's performance in her interview with Brett Baier; and rejoice at another small sign that DEI is falling out of favor even among the sophists.
- Soundbite from this week's open: Baier presses Harris on her administration's unpopularity.
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This week we cover a handful of great tug-of-war games, past, present, and future. Charles McElwee, founding editor of RealClearPennsylvania, returns to the podcast to give an election season tour of the swingy Keystone State. Next, Tevi Troy joins for a discussion about the epic clashes between America's masters of the universe and their presidents. (Be sure to get a copy of his new book, The Power and the Money.)
Steve, Charlie and James also chatter about Florida's latest roaringly windy Wednesday, and end on the neutral note of AI symphonies.
- Sound bites from this week's open: DeSantis remarks about climate change after Hurricane Milton; Biden's response about FEMA failures after Hurricane Helene
With Israel's stunning string of victories over its enemies and the approaching anniversary of October 7th, Eli Lake returns to the Ricochet Podcast. He gives his take on the reasons for the administration's dithering support and rallies for the West to give its ally a greenlight!
Plus, Charlie, Peter and James discuss the Veep debate, the averted longshoremen's strike and an ineffective Federal Emergency Management Agency... We count three rants out of Charlie Cooke.
- Sound clips from this week's podcast: Churchill's "We shall fight on the beaches" speech and Tim Walz's "Knucklehead" remark
The mediating technologies of the new century were welcomed as wonderous life enhancers. A few decades later, we often talk about how the devices we can't put down poison our culture, politics, and relationships. Christine Rosen joins to discuss her latest book, The Extinction of Experience: Being Human in a Disembodied World. (Don't let the title scare you off! Christine brings good cheer and a few ideas for a "human things initiative" that can save our skin.)
Plus, Peter, Charlie and James chat about the distinct experiences one has walking the streets of New York, riding out a hurricane, or road-tripping across the nation in search of America's best rollercoaster.
- Sound clip from the open: Eric Adams addressing New York's citizens.
Peter's back! After a whole summer away, he, James and Steve have quite a bit to catch up on. What more is there to say?
- Opening soundbite this week: FNC’s Peter Doocy spars with KJP at the White House
The contemporary social planner seems to favor all sorts of peoples' movements—except for the kind that involves automobiles, driven by citizens away from dense urban cores into the suburbs that they can afford. Today, Joel Kotkin (author of The Human City and The Coming of Neo-Feudalism) joins the podcast to discuss the new class of urbanists who brim with ideas for a city that won't work for the people meant to occupy them.
Plus, Steve, James and Charlie quibble over Tuesday's debate, and they reflect on another 9/11 anniversary.
- Soundclip from this week's open: Donald Trump and David Muir from ABC's Trump/Harris debate.
They say Labor Day marks the ordinary American's starting point for following a particular election cycle, setting off a scramble for undecides by campaigners and a busy couple of months for pollsters. Henry Olsen returns to discuss where things stand in the presidential race as we head toward the first debate; he offers some potential outcomes that will determine the extent of the Republican majority in the Senate; and he expands on his piece about the populist parties' successes in eastern Germany, explaining "Ostalgie," and detailing the adjustments mainstream parties will have to make if they want to maintain stability in the West.
Plus, James and Charlie are emphatically pro-Churchill.
- This week’s opening sound: Darryl Cooper's take on Winston Churchill in an interview with Tucker Carlson.
It's a big legal stuff week for Donald Trump. Naturally, we phoned our pal Andy McCarthy. Andy brings breaking news on Judge Merchan’s sentencing schedule, his hot take on Jack Smith’s superseding indictment in the election interference case, and adds a detailed reaction to Mark Zuckerberg’s admission of acquiescing to censorship pressure from government officials.
Plus: Charlie, Steve, and James weigh in on Harris's airy interview, wonder (again) who's running the country, and ramble on the many curiosities to be found in Iceland—from cute cuisine and baffling museums to monuments of the anonymous meddlers that make up the amorphous blob.
- Sound this week: CNN’s Dana Bash “grills” Kamala Harris with multiple choice quiz.
The Democratic National Convention Dance Party has come to a close. Now that they’ve had time to overcome the disappointment that Beyonce didn’t show, Steve, James, and Rob are left wondering: can the left pull off the continuity/new path forward message they’ve settled on?
Plus, with Rob back, we’re treated to a story about his attempt to win the ’92 election with the help of Murphy Brown and Rush Limbaugh; along with a few tips on making it out of the Amazon fully intact.
We've heard it said, "Go woke, go broke," but is it really panning out that way? This week Fox Business's Charles Gasparino joins James, Steve, and Charlie Cooke to say exactly that in his fittingly titled book Go Woke, Go Broke: The Inside Story of the Radicalization of Corporate America.
Plus, the hosts break down the absurdity of Kamala Harris's economic proposals and joyful gaslighting; they enjoy basking in the warm summer sun, and challenge Ricochet members to a friendly round of Fantasy Football.
There's a lot of joy in the air. Or so we're told by the Jolly Dad VP nominee Tim Walz. To step past the vibes for a moment, we talk with John H. Hinderaker, president of the Minneapolis-based Center of the American Experiment. He takes us through the methods and policies of Governor Walz, which reveal a less-than-pleasant character.
Plus, he sticks around with James, Steve, and "Lucretia" to discuss the 50th anniversary of Richard Nixon's departure from the White House.
Yuval Levin joins James, Rob and John Yoo to remind us of the Constitution's unifying purpose in the era of polarization and mutually held suspicions between the parties. His latest book, American Covenant: How the Constitution Unified Our Nation―and Could Again, disputes the prevailing pessimism as well as passive optimism, settling instead on a hopeful case for American coalition building.
Plus, the hosts discuss Kamala Harris's strange campaign strategy of running on "her" record, wonder why the kids are skeptical of abundance, and consider the appeal of 15-minute cities.
Back in 2002, Ruy Teixeira took note of demographic trends that spelled good news for the Democratic Party's 21st-century prospects. Just two decades after the release of The Emerging Democratic Majority, he found himself wondering something else entirely: Where Have All the Democrats Gone? With what appears to be the coronation of Kamala Harris, he and the gang consider how pessimism, disorderliness, and faculty lounge talk have thrown America's political coalitions for a loop.
Plus: Steve, James, and Rob finally get a chance to respond to the news that broke shortly after they wrapped last week; they make a couple of predictions for the VP's VP pick; and James calls on all Ricochet rhythmists to send the songs! (Buck Dharma kicks things off with "End of Every Song")
- Opening sounds: Bibi Goes to Washington, Biden “Becomes” Washington, Kamala cracks up
Another crazy week in American politics, another milestone. The Ricochet Podcast hits the 700-episode mark, and the chatter continues. Ann Coulter drops in — more briefly than expected, due to technical issues — to give us her hot take on the Republican National Convention. Then James, Steve, and Rob debate the Republican platform for the 21st century, find common ground on brass bands and Doric columns, and reflect on the passing of Bob Newhart.
- Opening sound this week: Trump makes his acceptance speech, Fox 32 (Chicago) talks pollingNEW
Joe Biden is adamant about staying in the race. It's a fitting move for the leader of a party that has lost its long-held advantage in voter identification. Beyond the Polls host Henry Olsen joins James, Rob and Steve Hayward to dive into the Democratic Party's dilemma, the global political realignment, and the here-to-stay Populist Era.
- This week’s audio: A trio of Biden gems in a week full of them
Whoever decided to place a presidential debate smack dab in the middle of the Supreme Court's decision calendar was either crazy or a genius. It not only gives us plenty to talk about but it gives a certain podcaster the rare opportunity to praise Donald Trump (Yes, really.)
The Powerline men, John Yoo and Steve Hayward join Rob and Peter to review the debate and parse the thinking of the high court.
Victor Davis Hanson is back! He joins Rob and Steve Hayward to discuss his latest must-read book, The End of Everything: How Wars Descend into Annihilation. Aside from the cheery discussion on civilization obliteration, the trio finds their way into digressions spanning the cameos of great men in the Old Testament to the spectacular blunders of the modern era. Is there any hope to be found in this eleventh hour? Listen in to find out.
- Audio from this week's podcast: White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre says clips of a deteriorating Joe Biden are “cheap fake videos.”
Steve Hayward, Rob, and James enjoy gazing at political upheaval from a safe distance this week, as Europe wrangles with its own game of Elites vs Peeps. The boys swap anecdotes, a couple of historical tidbits, and toss in a few predictions for the EU's future. Then they bring it back home to parse why the corporate world seems to be toning down on Pride merch and marketing this year.
- This week’s sound: Reform Party’s Nigel Farage questions Tory MP Penny Mordaunt on the government’s immigration policy (ITV News)
Business may be booming these days for the great Andy McCarthy, but it's all a bit wearying. Nonetheless, he has time to join his Ricochet Podcast buddies to discuss the lawfare against the former president, the ever-waning confidence in an impartial justice system, and the political consequences that will result.
James, Rob, and Charles Cooke also argue about the slump of the entertainment industry.
In writing his memoir, Glenn Loury recognized the game that would go on between author and reader. To get his audience to trust him as a person, he'd confess his past misdeed and defects in character; to gain you confidence as a thinker he'd acknoledge the many times he's changed his mind on stances he's taken. Today he joins to James, Rob and Steve Hayward to explain himself.
The hosts also consider the floating pier in Gaza, the parallels of this administration's incompetence to past calamities, and last weekend's IDF strike in Rafah and the tent camp fire.
- This week’s audio: Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh on whether or not the Gaza pier was a failure.
The Ricochet Podcast is back, and jam-packed with chatter on sex, comedy, food and fun... and the lack thereof we find among our postmodern youth. Noah Rothman, author of The Rise of the New Puritans, returns to discuss the war on fun in America along with the war on Hamas in Gaza. Plus, James, Rob and Steve Hayward show their age as they canvass the finer points of flag etiquette.
- Sound from this week's open: ABC’s Terry Moran with Sen. Dick Durbin’s comments on the Justice Alito flag “controversy.”
In 2020 ordinary parents learned an important lesson: the so-called public school system felt perfectly free to ignore the public's wishes. This set in motion a backlash that's breathed new life into the school choice cause. Corey DeAngelis has paid close attention, and he joins Rob, Peter and James to explain the political whirlwind as laid out in his new book, The Parent Revolution: Rescuing Your Kids from the Radicals Ruining Our Schools.
The fellas also cover the peculiar controversy of a Catholic commencement speech delivered at a Catholic university; along with the latest instances of an inept Democratic Party which seems determined to help its top opponent.
- Opening sound this week: Kansas City Chiefs PK Harrison Butker delivers the commencement address at Benedictine College
John Yoo returns to the Ricochet Podcast, joining James and Rob for a discussion on prosecutorial overreach. The gang cover the unprecedented lawfare being waged against a former president, and consider the executive statesmanship that's kept the lawyers in check over our history. Plus there's some discussion of Biden's move to withhold congressionally approved arms to an ally at war; and, naturally, John has a few things to say about porkchops, bacon and Texan barbeque.
- This week’s sound: Donald Trump comments from outside the NYC courtroom and Joe Biden reads the stage directions from the teleprompter.
H.R. McMaster joins James, Peter and Steve Hayward to discuss the Biden administration's feckless policy on the war in Gaza; he explains Hamas' battalion strength and the IDF's delayed invasion of Rafah, along with the political balancing act that's keeping the president from doing what he must.
Plus, the hosts enjoy the overdue campus crackdowns and consider the Trump campaign's pitch for a return to normalcy.
Just James, Peter and Rob this week to wade through the disaster that has become of American higher education. Naturally, the essential question arises: what do we do about these once-prestigious institutions? The Ricochet trio think it through.
We'll have Manhattan, The D.A. and a jury, too...
And so we begin with apologies to Rodgers and Hart as our intrepid founders find themselves in the Big Apple together just as Donald Trump's criminal trial in the Stormy Daniels hush money case seats its jury. To that end we bring on National Review's Andy McCarthy, who just this week the former president called "a great legal scholar" to opine on whether Trump can get a fair hearing in front of this judge - and this jury - in this town.
We also touch on Israel's military action into Iran on Thursday night.
We hate to Bragg but it's a pretty good show.
James Lileks is back in the house, ladies and gentlemen! And speaking of houses, Jack Ryan joins the podcast to explain his war against the National Association of Realtors. (Pre-order your copy of the book he's co-authored: Bringing Adam Smith into the American Home: A Case Against Home Ownership.) Yes, you read that title correctly. Along with his fight against the "real estate cartel," Jack has his doubts that home ownership is the right move for all Americans.
Plus, the reunited Ricochet boys recall how the O.J. Simpson trial changed America, and they fight fire alarms and wrangle with manly chores.
- Audio from this week's open: A flashback to the 1995 OJ Simpson trial with comedian Norm Macdonald and defense attorney Johnnie Cochran
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AEI's Matthew Continetti joins the Ricochet Podcast to discuss the internecine fight over the future of conservatism and the Democratic Party's abandonment of Israel. Plus, Peter and Rob have a bit of fun with earthquakes and hippie terrorists; swap lab leak theories and cheer themselves up with a reminder of the country's abiding unsung heroes.
- This week’s audio: NYC Mayor Eric Adams on this morning’s earthquake.
Andrew Klavan returns to the Ricochet Podcast for a special Good Friday/Easter episode! He, Rob and Peter cover everything from antisemitism—the devil's flagpole, as Drew calls it—and what it really means to believe that Christ is King; on to poetics, popular fiction, political persuasiveness and the right's shortcomings as conveyors of truth.
Plus, Peter and Rob give a tribute to the last centrist Democrat Joe Lieberman; and consider the power of container ships, both as objects and as economic game changers, after one knocked out a bridge in Rob's city of origin.
- Audio this week: Emergency Dispatch recording in Baltimore Harbor
Richard Epstein brings his encyclopedic knowledge to help break down some of the pivotal matters being debated in Congress and before the Supreme Court. Plus, James and Rob look back on the Covid lockdowns four years later, along with Minneapolis' move against Uber and Lyft.
Thirty years back, filmmaker Whit Stillman charmed audiences with a comedy about two Americans abroad in chaotic Cold War Europe. He joins Rob, James and Peter to discuss his movie Barcelona, cinema as an artform and as a business, and reasons for hope regarding its revival as a crowd-pleaser.
Plus: Rob's returned from Morocco, Peter's got big news, and James has a plan for the post-CCP TikTok.
- Soundbites from the opening: Chris Eigeman and Taylor Nichols in Barcelona; Bob Hope at the Academy Awards in 1968; and Brendan Fraiser at the Oscars on Sunday.
It's the Cooke and Lileks Show today! The duo delve into the egregious State of the Union address, and lament the erosion of the enumerated powers doctrine. They talk TikTok and the Energy and Commerce Committee's unanimous bill against the company's Chinese parent ByteDance; Charles has high hopes for the upcoming ruling that may well overrule the Chevron doctrine; and James has a few Oscar reviews and an ode to old Hollywood.
- Soundbite from this episode: Joe Biden decrying the Dobbs decision in his SOTU address.
This week the Three Whiskey Happy Hour gang join James for a riotous good time, even as discuss and debate their beloved nation's precarious situation. They cover Joe Biden's visit to the border, Donald Trump's appeals to the Supreme Court, the latest on the war in Gaza, and a silly journalist's constitutional illiteracy. Plus there are whiskey recommendations and a must-hear story about apish antics on the high seas.
And if you enjoyed this episode, be sure to subscribe to the Three Whiskey Happy Hour podcast, available at Ricochet.com.
- Soundbite from this week: dueling press conferences in Texas between the current and previous occupant of the Oval Office.
The forces against free speech are at again! Whether or not you've heard of NewsGuard or the Global Disinformation Index, rest assured that they're intently interested in where you get your information. Joining Peter, Rob and James today is David DesRoisers, Publisher of RealClearPolitics.com, whose scrupulously down-the-middle site was flagged by the groups above as a 'disinformation site,' and has lost a great many advertisers as a result. David's here to remind us of the threats institutions like these are to a free press and a free society.
The guys also have thoughts CPAC and Google Gemini.
- This week’s audio is from Donald Trump’s townhall with Laura Ingraham on Fox News
We've got a special number for ya, folks. Instead of a guest or even politics, Charles Cooke, James Lileks and Peter Robinson talk football and music. Tune in for a recap on the Super Bowl—get Charles' take on the season and theLileksian review of the game's ads; plus the two of them give Peter a serious crash course in post-Beatles pop music!
* Sound clips from the open are from the State Farm, BMW, CeraVe ads, along with The Ed Sullivan Show in February 1964.
We're reminded often to mind our "work-life balance", but perhaps that distinction is drawn too plainly. Today we hear from David Bahnsen, author of the just-published Full Time: Work and the Meaning of Life, who makes the case that what we do for a living means a great deal more than what today's wellness gurus would have us believe. They go over everything in between the midcentury trend toward retirement as the goal to the contemporary push to work in pajamas.
On the flipside Peter, Rob and James discuss the latest reminder that Joe Biden is not up for the job he's got; and they dig into an unbelievable project to make ancient scrolls flash-fried by the Vesuvius eruption in the first century AD readable once again.
- Audio this week: Biden defends his memory and then places Mexico outside of Gaza.
Do you ever get that queasy feeling by the occassional thought that the people running our foreign policy agenda are, well… dumb? We do too. And so does our guest Rich Goldberg, who had to explain some basics to the House Foreign Affairs Committee earlier this week. He joins today to discuss everything from UNRWA and the tangled mess that is the United Nations, to Iran’s nuclear capabilities and our administration’s weakness in dealing with a middling power.
Steve Hayward fills in for Peter this week. He, James and Rob talk about the economics lesson our criminals are giving the US; plus there’s talk about pop sensation psyops and the comfort that some feel by the thought of a world controlled by malevolent grownups.
The GOP primary is basically dunzo. Time to look ahead towards the general election, the future of the Republican Party, even on to the generations that will take it over one day. To do so our merry Ricochet gang is joined by Governor Scott Walker, now the president of Young America's Foundation.
Peter, James and the Reverend Dr. Long also cut into the razor wire debate.
One caucus down and it appears the whole GOP primary is decided. Thankfully when you get a guest like Henry Olsen (EPPC senior fellow and host of the must-listen Beyond the Polls podcast) everything stays fresh and interesting. Henry has thoughts on what's left of this Republican primary along with the mess in the D camp; he runs us through campaigns we're scratching our heads at, forgotten about—or would like to forget about; and he swats away many of the overconfident predictions about how a Trump/Biden rematch will shake out.
James, Rob and Peter applaud Javier Melei and the great free market that wants to spread good news; plus they say their piece about inclement weather and wonder what time it really is in New York.
Iowa braces for a cold Caucus Night and now the Trump, DeSantis, Haley and Ramaswamy teams have their work cut out for them to keep their engines from stalling. Since blizzardous conditions are keeping us from visiting, we asked Jim Geraghty, our man on the ground in Des Moines this week, to give us the scoop, the had-to-be-there insights and some informed speculation.
Plus Peter, James and Rob vent their lack of confidence in this administration to meet this week's foreign flare up; and have some advice for Sanctuary Mayor Eric Adams.
This week’s sound from the opening of the Jan. 11th KCCI Newscast in Des Moines. IA
The trio is back for 2024! The reunited gang is happy to welcome back Ayaan Hirsi Ali to discuss the West's crisis of confidence and its fumbling attempt at post-Judeo-Christianity. Plus James, Rob and Peter have a few thoughts about Claudine Gay's resignation, and they divulge their philosophies on new year's resolutions.
- This week’s opening sound: Mara Gay of the NYT Editorial Board on the resignation of Harvard’s president (Morning Joe on MSNBC)
Ok. We lied.
We swore that we we're going to take this week off. But we're not. So just like Janus, the two-faced God of Duality, we're here to kick down the door of the New Year and not be content with bidding farewell to just 2023, but a whole century worth of old years.
James Lileks is your guide as we dance through a hundred years of New Years and then he takes your questions while heading into 2024.
We end our podcasting year with a special edition of the Ricochet Podcast as James Lileks takes you through the Christmas memory book. So gather 'round the hearth and revel in our gift to you. Merry Christmas and we'll see you in the New Year.
The tippi-toppers of higher ed are out of breath—they've run themselves into nonsensicle circles. But today's guest Glenn Loury is breathing easy. He, Peter and Rob discuss the Ivy League, Claudine Gay and the advancement of Black Americans, both due to and in lieu of Affirmative Action.
Stay tuned to the end for Rob Long's 100% guranteed, "Impress Anybody on Planet Earth: Extra Special Eggnog" recipe.
Soundbite from the open: ‘Claudine Gay needs to step down,’ Dr. Carol Swain tells Fox News Digital
Once upon a time Americans could reliably count on reporters to follow the money to stay up on what the world's powerful players were up to. If you've ever despaired that those days are gone forever, we want to provide a bit of hope by introducing Seamus Bruner. We cover his new book Controligarchs. To be sure, the story is quite disconcerting, but the young Mr. Bruner is optimistic that we can win the fight against our age's "altruistic" masters of the universe. His thoroughly researched, readable deep dive into our 30 mega meddler billionaires is his latest effort to wake Americans up to the onslaught on our way of life.Ricochet's resident scholar Steve Hayward is in for James this week. He, Peter and Rob discuss this week's pitiful showing from the presidents of our elite colleges in front of Congress; and they chat on David Weiss' revised indictment of Hunter Biden.
* Sound clip from the open: Harvard President Claudine Gay and Rep. Elise Stefanik at the House Committee on Education and Labor hearing.
Henry Kissinger is gone after a century on Planet Earth. The most influential diplomat of the last fifty years, he's never been short of fierce criticisms from both the left and right. The great war historian Victor Davis Hanson returns to the Ricochet Podcast to give a careful review of the controversial emissary.
Plus Lileks, Robinson and Long are reunited after a couple weeks to evaluate Thursdays much-touted DeSantis/Newsom faceoff and they give their early impressions of Argentina's triumphant Milei and the seemingly vindicated Geert Wilders.
Perhaps you're failing to vibe with Bin Laden and thus feeling a bit behind the times. Then again, you could be a sane person with a moral compass. James, Charles and Steve cover this and more with Noah Rothman, author of The Rise of the New Puritans: Fighting Back Against Progressives' War on Fun. Aside from his anti-Osama stance, Noah takes us through the relevant considerations about America's interests abroad, the nearly abandoned project to promote democracy and the modern world's Western neurotic who's always clamoring for a club to beat their own civilization with.
The hosts also cover anti-Israel influencers on the right — edgelords or anti-semites? — and worry that the U.S. is picking a most inopportune time to be frivilous.
We've made it to number 666! Unfortunately among the three of them James, Steve Hayward and Charles Cooke haven't a single sinister plan to reveal. They do however have lots to say about Wednesday's debate; progressive love for Hamas and what it means for the intersectionality coalition; and they wonder why there are no DACA protections for beloved pandas!
The fight for our civilization is here, and today's guest is no stranger to the fray. Christopher Rufo is a member of the New College of Florida board and the mastermind of a number of projects devoted to winning the culture war. He's the author of the new bestseller America's Cultural Revolution: How the Radical Left Conquered Everything, which covers why the right's been on the losing side, and today he chats with Rob, Peter and James about how we can turn the tide. If you're seeking bold strategies on how to save our country, this is the podcast for you.
- Soundbite from the open: Christopher Wray and Kamala Harris
Even a pessimist would have reason experience surprise and consternation by the extent of our institutional crises. It's revealed that American students know nothing of the history of the Holocaust and the story of the Jewish people in its aftermath. We've seen our government progressively possessed by the whims of influencer representatives. Even today's guest Yuval Levin, who's painstakingly documented this descent, is a bit bewildered. He joins Rob, James and Peter as they cover everything from Jewish students being forced to hide in a library, to priorities for Israel and of course on to the People's House and the hopes we may yet hold out for it.
- Audio from today's opening is new Speaker Mike Johnson's first address to Congress.
Nice as it would be to turn away, the Ricochet Podcast follows up on the chaos covered last week with a new pair of guests. David P Goldman joins for the first time to o lay out China’s long term strategy to build global markets, the edge it's gaining in the tech sector, the risks of its real estate bubble and the types of opportunity it may look for from the war in Middle East. Then Annika Rothstein gives a powerful report from what we may call the relative saftey of Jersulem. She talks about her harrowing trip to Kibbutz Be'eri and the mood of Israelis stuck waiting for the war to begin.
Peter, James and Steve Hayward discuss the bloodthirsty protests stateside and in Europe (where Steve's calling from); and with all the unrest, they lament how little can be done without a functioning functioning House of Representatives.
That war in the Middle East had been predicted did little to allay the shock of all who’ve followed the news from Israel since October 7th. Today's first guest Niall Ferguson was among those who made such a prediction. He joins to discuss the Second Cold War, why it's warming up, and the difficulties the US will face if the temperature continues to rise. And Eli Lake joins to expound upon a shift in Israel's national security policy as the country concludes that existence in a world that contains Hamas is impossible.
It was no great secret that a single match could put fire to the 2023 Republican coalition in the House. But that didn't make the incediary Tuesday any less remarkable. To discuss what it means for the party's near future and for conservativism more broadly, Rob, Peter and James are joined by the erudite Ben Domenech.
And considering that the happiest news of the week is Biden's DHS being forced to waive federal laws to build a spot of border wall makes the hosts think about Rome once again.
- Soundbite from the open is Acting Speaker Patrick McHenry's now-famous gavel slam.
Citizens of Philadelphia are the latest victims of "wilding nights," watching helplessly as chortling teens smash storefronts and ransack the goods inside. These aren't unheard of events, but they're becoming more frequent. To sort out the ideologies and policies that got our cities conditioned to this, and the hard work it'll take to get us back in shape, Manhattan Institute's Rafael Mangual — author of Criminal (In)justice returns to the Ricochet Podcast.
On theme, James and guest hosts Charles Cooke and Jon Gabriel talk 70s vigilante flicks, and have a few words to say about Dianne Feinstein, John Fetterman's new attire and Wednesday's debate.
In a world gone mad, there's something comforting about turning attention to crazier days that somebody else had to suffer through. TikTok informs us that the boys are thinking an awful lot about Rome, we grownups are joined by Hillsdale College's Paul Rahe to learn about proxy war, ancient and modern. He helps Peter, James and Rob connect the dots between Sparta's success in bleeding the Athenians in Sicily to the machinations of the global superpowers in the 20th Century on to today. Listen in to understand how a foreign policy that fails to take Thucydides into account is doomed. (Be sure to preorder your copy of Dr. Rahe's Sparta's Sicilian Proxy War: The Grand Strategy of Classical Sparta.)
Also enjoy some good ole fashioned rants about the state of emergency on our border; and which Monty Python star James got to gab with in London.
As the lines that used to distinguish the political and legal are blurring, and the sense that the country is swirling down the drain, it's nice to at least have good company. Rob and Peter chat with Andy McCarthy to discuss the 'impeachment inquiry' into the Biden Family's influence peddling and the administration's apparent obstruction.
And if you're in need of a good cheering up, you can hear about swell innovations in toilet seating. Maybe political chaos will be good for Capitalism!?
The boys are back! That's right: you can hear Peter, Rob and James on the same podcast. They consider Eric Adam's unwitting vindication of the migrant-to-sanctuary city assistance program, along with the precipitous decline of Hollywood's major studios.
And Barton Swaim visits to expand on his Wall Street Journal column where he applies the left's favorite terms of the Trump era to the president of whom they are more obviously applicable. He also has some encouraging words for those of us who worry for the future of the printed word.
There's post-debate analysis, and then there's post-debate analysis with Henry Olsen. Henry talents with numbers and genius for the politcal metaphor will make you rethink Wednesday's showdown in Milwaukee. Henry takes us through the snap polls, considers the candidates' new prospects, and posits a game changer (or two) that the casual debate watcher may have overlooked. (And once you've enjoyed this eye-opening discussion enough to make you hungry for more, you can hop on over to listen to Mr. Olsen's very own podcast, Beyond the Polls.
Plus, Peter's back! Hear all about his peregrinations, along with other chatter about well-charted waters.
We've got a crossover episode, folks! Our friends of the Three Whiskey Happy Hour podcast (Steve Hayward, "Lucretia" and John Yoo) join to talk about the wacky legal matters of our time. There are environmentalists claiming the positive right to enjoy cooperative weather; they discuss the plush and cozy Hunter Biden tier of criminal justice compared to the briar patch tier that The Donald's living in; James dishes out some (ahem) tough love to the youts; and our guests pick the word that annoys them most these days.
We're erring on the side of positive expecttions again this week with Bjørn Lomborg. His new book is Best Things First where he sets his sights on cost effective, acheivable goals that will lift the world's poorest out of miserable conditions and inch us along in the direction towards those sustainable goals we hear so much about. The billions of dollars question: Are the world's prosperous ready for a tangible win-win?
James, Rob and Steve aren't quite done with Barbenheimer; they discuss Ohio's pro-life prospects; and muse on words that make them feel sophisticated.
Soundbites from the open: Truman's announcement of the atomic bomb's drop on Hiroshima and Oppenheimer.
Another week, another indictment. Another president, another scandal. So we call on the house prosecutor, Andy McCarthy, to weigh the evidence before us and join Messrs. Lileks, Long and Cooke as they debate the merits of the cases against both Trump and Biden and see where we think we stand.
But more importantly, James has thoughts on the cultural event of the decade. Yes, he has seen Barbie.
You're all entitled to one phone call. Use it wisely.
We have a lot for you this week! Covering everything from atoms to commodities and precivilization to our indictmentpalooza. James, Rob and Steve discuss the latest from Mar-a-Lago; Hunter's crumbled plea deal; and the disengenous reaction to Florida's African American History curriculum.
They enjoy some good news with guest Marian Tupy, whose latest book Superabundance reminds us of mankind's still-favorable prospects for grow and flourish in the years to come. The guys consider the difference between the environmentalists who've spent years predicting doom and the economists who bet on progress.
The days of Carter era malaise were bad, bad, bad. But at least the man had the decency to speak honestly about the nation's troubles. Joe Biden on the other hand insists on telling us that everything's great. We discuss this along with the frowny faced Republicans who hope to challenge him and the proscpects for an American rebound with Kim Strassel, author of the just-released The Biden Malaise.
Charles, James and Rob cover New York's claim to be uniquely burdened by illegal immigration; the akward position Democrats are in by wanting to rid themselves of the formerly uber inspiring Kamala Harris; and the media's flip on state governments pressuring schools to follow their rulings now that Newsom's twisted team doing it.
Scary times could be just around the corner. To help you prepare for that we've invited our old friend Carol Roth to stop by and talk about her new book, You Will Own Nothing... because you don't have to be a parnoid prepper to be prepared for what's coming.
And, of course, James Lileks, Rob Long and Steve Hayward (sitting in again for the roaming Peter Robinson) cover the more immediate news coming down from the Summit - the NATO Summit, The Family Leadership Summit in Iowa (with Tucker Carlson presiding) and the Mickey Mouse Summit where Disney introduces a Latina Snow White and the Lone Dwarf while their CEO Bob Iger announces "that it’s not our goal to be involved in a culture war.” Say wut?!?
Opening sound this week: Tucker Carlson and former Vice-President Mike Pence clash in Iowa. (Blaze TV)
It seems Democrats are confident that racial preferences are the only way for Black Americans to succeed. Our all-American guest Ian Rowe disagrees. Why's he so sure? Because he's sees acheivement everyday in his charter schools in the Bronx. He covers why the left's prescriptions to equality is wrongheaded and harmful, along with why his are working.
Rob, James and Steve (filling in for the hookey-playing Peter Robinson) get into all sorts of trouble when the educator's away... literal high crimes, misdeanors and other bad behavior.
Conservatives are set to celebrate another year of invigorating Supreme Court decisions. Ricochet's old pal John Yoo even goes so far as to suggest that we can finally get back to business. He and the gang go through the big ones of this session: Race-based affirmative action, religious freedom for both practice thereof and freedom of speech; then on to gerrymandering and more.
The boys also discuss foreign fires, fireworks and drafting with ChatGPT.
Messrs.Lileks and Robinson chat with Peter Schweizer, best-selling author of Red Handed: How American Elites Get Rich Helping China Win, to discuss the malfeasant Biden family and the cronies who give them cover. Then David Berlinksi stops by to muse on the vast everything that the scientific community promises to explain; and why he thinks they haven't delivered. (Read all about it in his newly released Science After Babel .)
Peter, James and Charles Cooke sit down with the one-and-only Newt Gingrich to discuss his newly published March to the Majority and, in doing so, put the astonishing Republican Revolution of 1994 in the context of today's congressional abandonment of legislative powers, the concomitant executive overreach and the truly American boldness needed to start carving out strategies in the fight for our national revival.
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From the esoteric and the imperian to the specfic and the political. And then on to aliens! James, Rob and Steve Hayward chat with Patrick Deneen, author of Regime Change: Towards a Postliberal Future. They discuss the deliterious effects of liberty without restraints, the bipartisan quest for progress and consider a reassessment of some of our cherished philosophical forebears. Next fan favorite Andy McCarthy stops by to give his first take on the indictment of Donald Trump.
San Francisco and UFOs are on the docket as well.
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Larry Kudlow is back! And he brings good news, among other things. The guys get his take on the dealings of this Kevin McCarthy fellow, along with predictions on forthcoming (eventually!) market corrections, and his optimistic assesment of American work, tradtions and faith.
Plus our merry trio get into the GOP primary contenders—and some other people whom we're told are running. More importantly, they talk toy trains... Just tune in and roll with it.
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Guests are fun 'n all but sometimes bros just gotta stick to the core group. Lileks, Robinson and Long discuss everything from a rumble in James' once quiet neighborhood to Tim Scott, Ron DeSantis, Jay Bhattacharya and a certain company which is following Anheuser-Busch into the grave by making its own conspicuous call to not just go about business as usual.
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Rob, Peter and Steve Hayward discuss the border, banking and the lovely North Dakota with Senator John Hoeven; and then dig into the Durham Report with legal scholar/McMuffin epicure John Yoo. The hosts also discuss actual reefer madess, plus the screenwriter's stike and AI.
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Andy McCarthy returns to help us get through the shocking discovery that maybe it's possible that the Bidens are a little bit not entirely 100 percent ethical. This week we've got money laundering, not one but two prostitutes; another big chapter in the border crisis, and a good samaritan being charged for trying to protect New Yorkers on the subway.
And as if our hosts are going to talk about American cities two weeks in a row without having a word about architecture... Pshaw!
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New York! San Francisco! Our once grand cities are fast turning into... Yikesvilles. To help our hosts work up a diagnosis, The Ricochet Podcast needs the great Victor Davis Hanson. The quartet talk universities; they consider the unique top-down nature of this new wave of revolution and discuss whether the country is in graver danger than it was in those dreadful 1970s.
Then James, Peter and Rob muse on the recently discarded standards of public decency vis-à-vis debased internet content and all-to-common swear words.
Mr. President says he needs four more years to break the country, so we at Ricochet thought we'd bring in a few guests that believe we aren't quite done for. First up is the spritely, always sunny, Kevin Williamson to make the case that things aren't quite as bad as many would have us believe. And Andrew Gutmann returns to tell us about his bold campaign in the sunshine state to take a seat in Congress. (Support the effort to take back our future here!)
It turns out James was a-way last week. He's still a dude as far as we can tell. The reunited trio chat about his couple weeks in Europa.
Rob Long and Charles C.W. Cooke enjoy chatting over a couple Sazeracs with Ricochet members at our 2023 meetup in New Orleans. Join Ricochet, folks, and meet the guys at the next one!
Our apologies for leaving you with Ricochet-less week! In order to make it up to you, we go big with a couple of our favorite recurring guests. First up is Ann Coulter to explain why she thinks the Republican Party is doing all it can to blow yet another election. Then Debra Saunders returns to take us through Dominion's suit against Fox News and the outrageous biases therein.
The gang also touch on Robert Kennedy, Jr.'s challenge to Joe Biden (and the damage it could do to him!) along with Rob and Charles' good time in New Orleans meeting Ricochet members!
Since the Ricochet Podcast will be on haitus next week, we've got a big episode to tide you over! We're not only jam packed with extra gab time but with today's guest Ze'ev Orenstein, we head the birthplace of our Judeo-Christian tradition. His organization is excavating the City of David, making it possible for those currently celebrating Passover, Holy Week and Ramadan (or any curious visiter) the chance to walk through the grand sites of their prophets, preists and kings.
The fellas also get into the disappointing elections in Chicago and Wisconsin; plus they touch on the outrageous culture war battles centered around Bud Light and Douglas Mackey.
This one's gonna be tough to beat! We've got the details of a Tom Wolfe novel playing out in real time. From a corrupt DA to a presidential scandal involving an adult film star. Plus we've got fan-favorite John Yoo! Need we say more?
There's some more AI chatter; and Peter's ticker is finally working!
Another reminder that glitter doesn't always lead to gold. FTX and its oh-so-scruffy whiz kid have tanked, and they're bringing a lot of risk takers down with them. But some of us can't help but wonder if they were even tricked by actual glitter. If they had been paying attention to Rich Goldberg—host of our Cryptonite podcast—they might've seen it coming. If they tune in today, they might at least learn a lesson or two. And while we're on the subject of misguided expectations, we've invited back Charles McElwee of RealClearPennsylvania. He's here to explain the demographic entanglements that make PA a hard state to call and the mistakes the GOP made that've made us blue these days. And Elon Musk sure has a way of keeping us talking about his new tweet factory. Happy Thanksgiving! See you all in two weeks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Tuesday was a buzzkill. How bad exactly? Not sure yet... Arizona's taking its time again. What better time then to have a guest appearance from Ricochet's very own Jon Gabriel, Arizonan and King of all stuff. Jon breaks down the state's second consecutive election breakdown. He's also got some pleasantly bold predictions! Then we're joined by Luke Thompson, a key advisor for the J.D. Vance campaign. He takes us through his hard fight to get the outsider into the United States Senate, along with thoughts on the midterms as a whole, and some words of caution against tempting unifying theories. The merry trio also find some reassurance in the mess of it all, even if they can't help but lament young people who don't understand good pop culture references... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
There is a tide... and depending on who you ask, Democracy is either drowning in it or she's catching some righteous swells. With Peter and Rob elsewhere, James links up with guests-slash-hosts Charlie Cooke and Steve Hayward to soak up the vibes. There's blue check mania and sleeper issues puzzling pollsters; not to mention Covid amnesty and Michael Beschloss coming down with whatever Chris Hayes has. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
There is a tide... and depending on who you ask, Democracy is either drowning in it or she's catching some righteous swells. With Peter and Rob elsewhere, James links up with guests-slash-hosts Charlie Cooke and Steve Hayward to soak up the vibes. There's blue check mania and sleeper issues puzzling pollsters; not to mention Covid amnesty and Michael Beschloss coming down with whatever Chris Hayes has. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
We may be approaching the spookiest day of the year, but it's the government that's giving grownups nightmares. California isn't ordinarily a place where suspenseful midterms happen, though our first guest Lanhee Chen has something to say about that. Running to be the Golden State's top fiscal watchdog, he's getting dangerously close to becoming the boogeyman for California's bureaucratic spendthrifts. (Support his campaign here!) Next we have John Yoo. Now that the Supreme Court has entered a new term, we revisit Dobbs and wonder about Moore v. Harper and The Students for Fair Admissions case against Harvard and UNC-Chapel Hill. Pork is also on the docket–and the McRib is in the news!–so John delivers an elegy on cuisine at its finest. There's also a murder plot... Two segments filled with so many treats, we hardly had time for tricks. We decided to let Elon Musk handle that for us this week; but, of course, the hosts have some thoughts on that too. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
This week we're talkin' midterms and one very short term. England has been especially interesting these last few months, and we're always happy to have Toby Young with us. This week he has much to say about the lightning-fast deterioration of Liz Truss and the Conservative Party that may go down with her. Then Jim Geraghty returns to breakdown this peculiar midterm cycle. He gets into Fetterman, Oz, Walker, Abrams, O'Rourke and a few local races. Steve Hayward fills in for a jet-lagged Peter. He, James and Rob chat about the big semiconductor restrictions the Biden administration and they have a great time laughing at the greenies who can't even get VW to submit to their demands. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Even without being on the ballot, Democrats are determined to make the midterms about Donald Trump. And since that's what they want to talk about, we wanted to hear from our friend Debra Saunders again, whose just launched her podcast, Covering Trump. Deb fields questions from Rob, James and Charles about meat-and-potatoes stories, the mythological neutral reporter, and the incentives to write confirmation bias stories. The guys also talk about actual potatoes and wonder why op-ed writers think it's strange that Americans care most deeply about the price of them; there's a bit on the intersectional nightmare that took place in Dearborn, Michigan; and eventually (inevitably, perhaps) the conversation turned to... Supertramp. Love 'em? Hate 'em? Let us know in the comments! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
America never fails to be interesting, and she tends to kick it into high gear around Election Day. Take Pennsylvania, for example. The Keystone state has shaped into one that is a much watch around this time – and on this go around, we're watch Dr. Oz and John Fetterman... This is why we're lucky to have our new friend Charles McElwee of RealClearPennsylvania to take us into the trenches of this fractious purple state. Next we get a chance to catch up again with Larry Kudlow. (If you haven't already, be sure to check out his show on Fox.) Larry goes through the regulatory wet blanket that's suffocating our ambitions. He has many thoughts on the green crusade and the auxiliary burdens on the economy. Plus, he's got big predictions for the midterms! Lastly, the guys chat on Biden's big pot pardon and the crazy people walking the streets. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
It's hard to win these days. Not only do we have worries about war, we've got worries over worries about war. Is the Biden administration's foreign policy dangerously cautious? That's what Peter and James discuss – and argue over – with our guest, AEI's Kori Schake.
The hosts (minus Rob, who was off podcasting elsewhere...) also chat about Italy's Giorgia Meloni; James gets peeved, and it'a lots of fun; they do some speculating of their own about Nord Stream; and Peter recollects on the time he had dinner with a mega-celeb and had no idea. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Today we cover breaking news and the hardly recognizable past. Toby Young joins at the top to to tell us about his personal experience with PayPal's shot at free speech. Later, our old pal Troy Senik returns to give Grover Cleveland the reassessment he deserves. (Get a copy of Troy's book here!) Peter, James and Charlie (Rob's sub for the day) chew over the FBI given whistleblower Kyle Seraphin's allegations; and they have thoughts on the Biden administration's dilemma regarding announcing that the pandemic is over. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
As promised our old friend David Limbaugh returns to the podcast to rant a bit and maybe pitch a few books on the side. We talk open borders and Martha's Vineyard and then cover his latest volume, The Resurrected Jesus: The Church in the New Testament, which he wrote with his daughter, Christen Limbaugh Bloom. We also welcome in American Enterprise Institute scholar Nicholas Eberstadt (fresh from his appearance on Uncommon Knowledge) about the demographic decline faced by the West and the economic giants of Asia. They also talk about pessimism and young people afraid of their own shadows. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
It's hard to call it unbelievable when a 96-year-old mortal shuffles off, but Queen Elizabeth II's final departure has had a peculiar effect. Hoping to have the feeling articulated without sentimentality, we asked on a couple English friends (Charlie Cooke filling in for Peter and London Calling's Toby Young) to discuss her importance, and what her death means for the Commonwealth. We get into Charles III and the future of the monarchy; wonder whether the public ethic and sense of mission will die with the Queen; and the idea that ironic humor may be what holds the whole thing together. Plus, Charlie approves of Ron DeSantis' "Thank you, Governor" ad; and Rob finds some amusement mayors up north making statements that sound oddly similar to Greg Abbot and Doug Ducey's with regard to immigration surges. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
You saw the pictures! The walls are finally closing in; or maybe it's the floor that'll finally move in on Trump! Or maybe everyone should cool their jets, as our guest Bill Barr might recommend. The former Attorney General joins us again to discuss what we know (and don't know) about the latest legal troubles for the former president. Without getting ahead of the facts, Barr thinks through the search itself; partisanship in the Justice Department; and the kind of fighters the Republican Party needs. And John O'Sullivan joins the gang at the top to remember his and Peter's old foe, Mikhail Gorbachev. They dispel the lefty fantasy that Gorby was the real hero of the Cold War, but also give credit where it's due. Plus Peter recounts the time he got the man to scribble on a baseball. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
It's hard to put words to President Biden's latest charade. Good thing we have Englishman! Our friend Charlie Cooke is filling in for Peter and James to talk about Joe's promise to liquidate the American social contract. He and Rob also get into midterms and search in vain for a Republican national agenda. And since we can't help but cling to good news, Dr. Jay Bhattacharya joins from Rome to give Fauci his final grade. He also gets into "fringe" science, corrupting conflicts of interest, and forgiveness. (And you'll never guess who he's just met!) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Since our plans to hide away forever at a remote Minnesotan lake house were dashed – on account of James not having one for us – we decided instead to jump on into the mucky swamp that's swallowed up our institutions. At least we have Eli Lake (who, as you'll hear, knows everybody) to tour us through the law enforcement agencies who've undermined their standing with the public in order to get the guy who they blame for undermining the public's trust in them... Also, the hosts chat some about the former rep from Wyoming; a Florida judge who hopes to stop Gov. DeSantis from stopping the woke; Lileks is seeing a resurgence of masking; plus, Rob had lunch with Viktor Orbán! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
We're not short on takes about the search (or whatever you wanna call it) at Mar-a-Lago this week; but one can't ever get enough of people who know what they're talking about when it comes to something as big as this! Ricochet's old friend Andy McCarthy joins to provide just that. He gives some essential vocab clarifications; lays out the charges he believes the Justice Department is actually seeking; and ponders how and when the ethos of the agency went awry – and how he thinks it could be brought back. Also, Peter recounts how he felt right at home on the range. Plus he and James chat about the shows they "have to" watch and the stuff they can live without. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
With all the sound and fury surrounding Nancy Pelosi's trip to Taiwan, we think it's timely to hear from an expert on the Info-Pacific to see it signifies much. Misha Auslin, host of The Pacific Century, joins to do just that. He identifies the silver lining in the whole affair; elucidates how China’s strategy has frozen us from stating our interests; points to the return of the engagement crowd; and deduces the motivations behind China's intimidation games. And with Peter and Rob off the grid, the Power Line podcasters Steve Hayward and Lucretia implement the next phase of their auricular invasion. With James, they jaw on energy policies, Arizona’s primaries, DeSantis’s move against an insubordinate state attorney, lawlessness in Minneapolis and the Kansas vote. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
It's a free-for-all on the Ricochet Podcast this week! Rob and Peter are off enjoying the last gasp of Summer, so filling in are the effervescent John Yoo and the mysterious "Lucretia". Our official guest is Rafael Mangual, the newly minted author of Criminal (In)justice, which compiles his years of studying criminality in the U.S. and the progressive inaction of those charged with fighting it. Steve Hayward also pops in from Scotland, as seeing John and his Power Line Podcast co-host Lucretia as guest hosts is making him nervous about his highly lucrative side gig here on the flagship. The merry gang also discuss the much-talked-about definition of "recession"; naturally, there's some talk about SCOTUS and the philosophy of law; plus, John and Lucretia have some thoughts on the possibility that Congress investigates Anthony Fauci. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
With heat waves, and the inevitable extinction of humanity practically around the corner, why not talk about what's happening in the cool, comfortable theaters that we're told are also doomed? To help us keep things light and pleasant, we've recruited film critic Sonny Bunch to chat about the elegiac Top Gun: Maverick, the rockin' biopic Elvis, and the not-so-buzzy Lightyear. The trio also get into the President's positive Covid test – which isn't a big deal all of a sudden. They discuss the calls for "executive beast mode," and ponder one of the biggest existential questions of all: what's up with a moose in the wild? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
This week, it's another round of Question Time, this week with actual (former) British person Charles C.W. Cooke sitting in for Peter Robinson, We cover Florida, guns, newspapers, -- an entire smorgasbord of topics (what's British for smorgasbord?). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
We've made it to 600, and in spite of the seemingly never-ending buffet of bad news that got our hosts talking in the first place, we manage to have a good time. Our first guest is Noah Rothman, whose latest book, The Rise of the New Puritans: Fighting Back Against Progressives' War on Fun, takes a deep dive into the fanatics out to break up our good time. Then Toby Young (host of Ricochet's very own London Calling podcast) jumps on to talk about the fall of his old friend Boris Johnson. Was it his personality or his policies that drove him out of 10 Downing? And what's next for Britain's Conservative party? Of course the guys talk about podcast's latest milestone, but they also talk inflation, plus cheeseburgers and French fries! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Whoa. Wow. Golly. And Hooray! Big news from SCOTUS today. A fifty year judicial error is finally corrected, and Ricochet's Supreme Court expert John Yoo joins us at the top of the hour to explain. He talks about the unofficial Thomas/Alito court, discusses what this could mean for other landmark cases, along with a few other fresh decisions that, on any other day, would've merited a visit from our good pal Mr. Yoo. Perhaps providentially, we asked AEI fellow and a charter school founder Ian Rowe to join before the news broke. What better time to have someone so committed to giving disadvantaged children a real shot at the good life? Ian's just published his book, Agency: The Four Point Plan (F.R.E.E.) for ALL Children to Overcome the Victimhood Narrative and Discover Their Pathway to Power. He discusses his decision to turn away from the big bucks he could've attained with his Harvard Business degree in favor of taking on the hard work empowering America's youth. The hosts also talk about the country getting back to the exhausting business of American democracy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
There are few refuges for free speech. But on Ricochet our cup overfloweth. To keep things going full speed, we asked our friend Ann Coulter on to dish out an abundant full scoop. She's just launched her new Substack and podcast to push back on... just about everyone who she believes are getting in the way of freedom, America and the families who make it great! As is her wont, Ann turns more than a few stones. Most notably, she's got a bone to pick with the January 6th Commission. And with Trump. And with the elites that went nuts because of Trump! If you're an unfettered lover of people calling it like they see it, this one's for you. Wanna give Ann a piece of your mind?!? Join Ricochet and let her have it in the comments! The gang have some thoughts on Biden's schizophrenic energy policy (and as Rob promised, here's the American Petroleum Institute's letter to the bumbly President), along with what Mayra Flores means for the hopes of the "God, Country, Family" traditionalism that conservatives are praying for; Peter and James also talk T.V. shows, Michael Connelly novels and the the unbeatable American hotdog. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
There are few on planet Earth who's spilled as much ink over concerns of Western Civilization's decline as today's guest Douglas Murray. Nonetheless, he's betting long on America despite the fight he's recounted in his latest bestseller, The War on the West. (Order your copy today!) Murray takes us through the complications of finding things to agree on when the past is being upended; how his new home country became the heart of the problem; and the very fine surgical procedure needed to not only fight the good fight, but to win it. The fellas discuss the January 6th Committee–or rather, the diversion masquerading as an investigation. They're somewhat intrigued by the fur flying at The Washington Post, and they express their top pet peeves as far as vocabulary and grammar are concerned. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
This week we move from the pits of a senseless war to the mount of the royal jubilee, and cover quite a bit of terrain in between. Our first guest is exiled Soviet dissident Yuri Yarim-Agaev, who's extensive knowledge of Vladimir Putin is tough to match. We get his take on the man and his motivation; how the supposed mastermind of intelligence operations became the victim of Russian disinformation; and, of course, why he believes it matters to Americans. Next up is Peter's former Oxford classmate, Charles Hay, the 16th Earl of Kinnoull. The hosts pick his brain on the Queen's Platinum Jubilee, the mysterious nature of her power, and his thoughts on a world which is lost, for better and for worse. Plus, Biden wants more credit; James reminisces on the old newspaper room; and Peter and Rob speak about fraud in eduction. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
With a catastrophic tragedy in the news, the Ricochet mood is a bit more serious; but that doesn't mean bad policy or sentimental grandstanding are appropriate courses of action. That's why this week, we've invited a Second Amendment expert and parent on to the show. The one and only Charles C.W. Cooke. He fields questions on the horror in Uvalde, the reaction from politicians and the press; the DPS, and a few potential resolutions to hopefully prevent so many of these terrible acts of violence. Peter and James also talk about the collapse of civic and moral norms that get far too little attention when these senseless crimes are discussed. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Rob's off on vacation, but Peter's back from the Promised Land! Thankfully you won't have to wait until his next episode of Uncommon Knowledge is released to hear from Yoram Hazony, author of Conservatism: A Rediscovery. Yoram has revisited the past in the hopes of finding something new that conservatives will desperately need in order to offer something other than a another variant of liberalism. He answers his many critics and considers a plausible path of resistance against the progressive threat. Later, Peter describes his faith-strengthening visit to Israel and James recounts the excitement of his chance to meet Ricochet members in New York. Plus, what's the deal with Humphrey Bogart!? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
While Peter's venturing about the 'real' America, James is vacationing between the Hudson and East rivers so he can meet up with his pal Rob–and, more importantly–fellow Ricochet members for our first-ever pub crawl! We hope you won't miss it; but don't worry, we've got more events to come. (There's a surprise announcement for our next one herein!) First up is a man who needs no introduction. The indispensable Byron York is here to give us an up close take on blamey Biden, and how the Dobbs leak might change the political playing field. He's followed by Rich Goldberg, who's been keeping track of the world of crypto since before it became as chaotic as it has recently. Our lovable hosts also delve into baby formula, the gamer scene, developments in Ukraine and say a not-especially-fond farewell to Jen Psaki. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Big, big news this week! And even if we're a few days behind, fashionable lateness is sort of our style. To ensure thoughtful novelty, we're joined by legal scholar Adam White, who is able to channel his Iowa everyman to take us through intricate legalese and manages to put it in plain English. He evaluates precedents, the new political questions, and the litigation to come. The gang (including Ricochet substitute extraordinaire Steve Hayward, filling in for hooky-playing Peter) talk JD Vance's win in Ohio and ponder the Trump endorsement test, and James stumps the guys with a Q about epoch-ending innovation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
We can't help but wonder what happened to California; and today's guest has not only been writing about it for years, but is running for governor in hopes of administering a cure. Michael Shellenberger is confident he can take on Gavin Newsom and restore the Golden State to health. (Visit here to donate to his campaign!) He talks about his vision, the growing support he's receiving, and the big victory for eco-modernists at the Diablo Canyon Power Plant. Then Steven Hayward, who's filling in for Peter, switches from host to the guest chair to talk about his new biography, M. Stanton Evans: Conservative Wit, Apostle of Freedom. The guys also talk about the 70s, and the movies that inspired a lotta lunacy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The title says it all, yes? Not quite. It doesn't tell you that everybody's favorite Peter Robinson is off to Israel, and will therefore be filled in by everybody's favorite Steve Hayward. It also fails to tell you that the indefatigably cheery John Yoo is our guest! The hosts pick John's brain on everything from the trouble in the Mouse House, to slipping mandates, and on to a sure-to-be controversial SCOTUS decision set for June. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Don't matter what you call it. Ricochetti are a passionate bunch, and sometimes the fighting spirit takes over. Our first guests are Andrew Gutmann (hosts of the essential Take Back Our Schools podcast) and Ricochet member Michele Kerr who's had some strong criticisms of the fellas' takes on public education over the years. For those of you who like a little scrappiness on the flagship podcast: this one's for you! Next we bring on our favorite doctor (the kind that doesn't ask if the bruises are Covid related), Jay Bhattacharya! He explains how he became known as a fringey pseudoscientific quack and the ins and outs of Covid's last gasp. With Peter out, James and Rob steer the ship through a Musk-y hostile takeover, NYC's latest madman and the latest in Ukraine. And mark your calendars so you can join Rob for the America's Future pub crawl on May 14th! Members only: so sign up today! Music from this week's podcast: Adult Education by Hall and Oates Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Even if it doesn't normally win popularity contests, we like to keep things candid (but fun) on the Ricochet podcast. And even if it cost US attorney general Bill Barr a few votes, we still want to hang out with him! He's just published his memoir One Damn Thing After Another, and the gang do what they can to get at all the damn things. Barr proves still-adept at handling himself when things are coming in from all directions. Rob also talks Ukraine and reassess the way history repeats itself; Peter applauds Elon Musk; and James wonders about the "groomer" conversation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Good News! James is back! The whole crew is reunited. Even our guest, Matthew Hennessey – a self-professed Ricochet nerd – was missing him. Matt's got a new book heading our way. It's called Visible Hand: A Wealth of Notions on the Miracle of the Market. Matthew proves to the hosts that Economics doesn't have to be mind-numbingly boring. (And our host who's had the pleasure of reading it goes so far as to say it belongs with Sowell and Friedman! Not too shabby.) Also, Peter has some thoughts on the comparison of Joe Biden's "gaffe" to a certain well-known Reagan speech; and the guys managed the nearly impossible feat of talking about the Oscars with little emphasis on a slap-happy star. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Whenever James roams for the week, a dilemma emerges. How do we make up for his erudition and charm? This time we reached out for a northerner from across the pond. Our guest is Niall Ferguson, one of the few men alive to explain the subtleties of consensus misinterpretations of history–and the consequences. Are western leaders making foolhardy wagers in Ukraine? And if so, what's informing them? Tune in to hear to get the take of "the world's most useful historian." Further, Peter and Rob give their unscientific answers to the curiously controversial woman question, our presumed new Supreme Court Justice; plus the state of the Oscars and movies themselves. Music from this week's podcast: I'm Every Woman by Whitney Houston Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
What's the Ricochet podcast to do when the world insists on calamity? We invite one of the leading historians in the English speaking world and a former National Security Advisor, that's what. Joining the fellas in our opening chat is Andrew Roberts, who reports from Eastern Europe to tell us about his recent trip to Ukraine, and, as the Churchill expert, to give his take on the comparisons of the English Bulldog and President Zelensky. Next, lieutenant general H.R. McMaster returns to assess the war in Ukraine. The hosts have him try on a couple strategic hats to help us size up the enemies of the free world. (Be sure to check out his new web series Battlegrounds, available on Youtube!) The hosts chat about San Francisco's boycotting the U.S. over laws they don't like, and Rob tells us about his wonderful get together in New Haven with members ctlaw, Jack Mantle and KirkianWanderer. Want in on the good times? Want to know the recipe for Bryan Stephen's award-winning Spicy Whiskey Sour? Join Ricochet, why don't ya?! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Though James-less once more, the founders are back with yet another fascinating discussion about the dizzying crisis in Eastern Europe. With us from his home in Budapest is John O'Sullivan, former advisor to Margaret Thatcher, to discuss the reignited Cold War. He gives us the mood in Hungary, considers the longevity of the West's newfound resolve, and elaborates on the NATO debate. Peter and Rob talk shop about writing, deadlines and compartmentalization; plus there are some members events you'll be excited to hear about! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
We jet eastward and then into the ether this week, unfortunately without our pal James Lileks who's vacationing somewhere on planet Earth. Our first guide is Elbridge Colby, who explains why we better not sleep on the Pacific theater. Then we've got Rich Goldberg, host of our new podcast: Cryptonite. He's here to tell us that even a smart person like you can wrap your head around cryptocurrency. The founders get a chance to talk about Ukraine... and that's about it. They had too much fun with our guests and, let's face it, Tuesday's State of the Union address wasn't very memorable. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Is anybody else wondering why we're seeing more coverage about politicians chattering or journalists ducking from skirmishes than, you know, military movements, logistics and strategy? Our hosts sure do, and that's why they're eager to hear from Eli Lake, Bloomberg's foreign policy columnist. Eli gives his take on the Russian pipe dream, Europe's need for a wakeup call, and how Biden can get serious about his promise to stand up to Putin (hint: some crow eating would be in order). On the bright side, our hosts notice that we've been relieved of CoViD talk for the past few days; on that note, John Kerry tries to keep our eye on the greatest anti-climate(ick!) consequence of the whole ordeal. And Rob still wants you to join, so you hang out with him and the gang for our members-only events coming down the line! Music from the week's podcast: Back in the U.S.S.R. by The Beatles Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
As always, we've got everything you could ask for before starting your weekend. From global "warfare" to matters of taste, Ricochet's got it all. First we reconvene with Congressman Mike Gallagher, who's shares his take on American defense, energy and the spectacularly bad priorities that have left our armed forces helping our enemies in their propaganda efforts. Then we bring on the one, the only, Vince Guerra–Ricochet member extraordinaire–who takes us through his gift Movie Fight Club; where members get to duke it out over who has the best stinkin' taste. (You'll have to join Ricochet if you want in on the fun!) The gang also give a toast to their old pal P.J. O'Rourke and ponder the supposed right-wing takeover of San Francisco's education system. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
We got a convoy and are headed North this week! First we meet the man who plans to restore sanity to James's home state, Kendall Qualls. He hopes to combat the juvenile delinquents trapped in grown-up bodies who've been running the Gopher State into the ground. Then we head beyond the border to chat with Ezra Levant of Rebel News, who gives us the 411 on the Canadian truckers who've got Justin Trudeau shaking in his bossy boots. The hosts also talk science™ and wonder why she keeps changing her mind; Stacy Abrams revealing photo-op; and, of course, some Super Bowl picks! Music from this week's podcast: Truckin' by Dwight Yoakam Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
With Peter up in the air, we needed a guest to lift our grounding in the Metaverse. Enter Walter Kirn: novelist, memoirist, Substacker and Tweeter extraordinaire and now a resident of Montana. Walter gives his take on never-ending mask madness, flying the coastal coop, and his upcoming book: There’s a Bear in the House! The man hold no punches at a time when a red-pill a day keeps the kooky bores away. Rob and James marvel over the number 30 trillion; they weigh in on CNN’s latest severed head; plus Whoopi Goldberg and humorlessness generally. And Rob really wants you join Ricochet–the best place for free speech on the net! Music from this week’s podcast: Montana by Frank Zappa Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
There are no secrets at Ricochet: the web’s best place for civil conversations. That’s why we’re happy to have Amy Zegart join us to divulge the details of her soon-to-be-published Spies, Lies, and Algorithms: The History and Future of American Intelligence (pre-order your copy today!) We rely on Amy’s decades of research on the Intel Community to help us make sense of dizzying changes that have upturned the world of espionage. Ever wonder about how technologies from A.I. to your iPhone have changed the game? Amy’s got answers! The hosts also disclose their thoughts on Stephen Breyer’s “vacancy”; the fallen heroes of the NYPD; Neil Young, Joe Rogan and Gutfeld! And Rob’s got an announcement about some new features coming to Ricochet. Music from this week’s podcast: Nobody Does It Better by Carly Simon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
After an informative press conference with Mr. President, who better to take us through last year’s stunning over-performance than Byron York? (Be sure to subscribe to his podcast, available right here on Ricochet!) Among other things, we go over Biden’s plan to get out more; the dilemma of staff shakeups when the boss is the problem; and question of succession. The hosts also get into the so-called voter rights bill that died, maskgate and the detritus on the Union Pacific railway. And ever wondered what Peter’s favorite Meat Loaf song is? You’ll have to listen to find out! Music from this week’s podcast: Two Outta Three Ain’t Bad by Meat Loaf Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Apologies for being a tad late today, but thankfully the whole gang is back in action! Today we’ve got Susan Ferrechio, chief congressional correspondent for the Washington Examiner. She takes on all comers: from Democrats playing election projection, to the bored and tired people in charge, to talk of a (collective gasp!) Clinton comeback. Susan has thoughts on all of it. Follow her on Twitter @susanferrechio. The fellas also chat about Biden’s utterly indecent speech in Georgia; also the tragic passing of Terry Teachout and they ponder a viral thread on the worst drives in America. Stuck on a boring roadtrip this weekend? Be sure to pass the time with us! Music from this week’s podcast: Baby, I Love You by The Ronettes Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
We’re back! For the most part anyway–Peter’s out, but Ricochet editor Bethany Mandel is a fitting sub for today’s education-oriented podcast. Our guest is Andrew Gutmann, the man who stood up to CRT pushers in his daughter’s school and became last year’s overnight sensation. (He’s also the co-host of Ricochet’s new podcast “Take Back Our Schools!“) We go through the pandemic of cowardice which has infected parents and will leave children with indelible side effects. It might not be a fight they want, but retreat is not an option. Thankfully, Andrew and Bethany are here as backboned examples and to take us through our options. (As promised, treat yourself to Bethany’s County Council smackdown–and here’s the whole meeting, where she enters in at 3:00:52) The hosts also go through yesterday’s dog and pony show; Sotomayor’s staggering misinformation; and they say farewell to Peter Bogdanovich and Sidney Poitier. Music from this week’s podcast: What’s Up Doc? performed by Mel Blanc and Arthur Q. Bryan (Music by Carl Stalling) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
It has been one year and one week since Rush Limbaugh last sat behind the Golden EIB microphone and broadcast with substantial talent on loan from God. In this final Ricochet Podcast for 2021, James Lileks welcomes James Golden, aka Bo Snerdley to the show and they reminisce about Rush’s rise, the impact he had across the media landscape and more. See you in the New Year! Music from this week’s show? What else? My City Was Gone by The Pretenders. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
It’s our last regular episode of 2021, but fear not! We’ll be back… With us today is historian Andrew Roberts, author of The Last King of America: The Misunderstood Reign of George III. Roberts takes us through the many inaccuracies that have captivated modern imagination and loomed over his legacy. We get into George, the man; why Great Britain lost; how the Georgian records are relevant to contemporary culture war debates; as well as some fascinating ‘What ifs?’ Also, the fellas go over Progressive leaders beginning to talk tough on crime; they wonder why after two years, nobody really knows much about Covid; and they look ahead to 2022 with some hope. And be sure to join our co-founders Peter Robinson and Rob Long on Tuesday, Dec. 21, 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT for a members-only Q&A! For those of you who haven’t already, join the party by signing up here! Music from this week’s podcast: You’ll Be Back by Jonathan Groff and Original Broadway Cast of Hamilton and Happy Holidays by Bing Crosby from the 1942 film, Holiday Inn. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
It’s a big scary world out there–or so we’re told. But how do we sort what to worry about and what not to? We say: bring on some guys who know their stuff! That’s why Dr. Jay Bhattacharya is back. He wants to keep us calm, despite the return of variant hysteria; he and the hosts talk Omicron and a world limping its way back to normal. Then, Seth Cropsey, senior fellow at the Hudson Institute, joins the gang to take us through the vanishing power vacuum left by the US, Putin’s goals in Ukraine, and the future of American naval power. Abandon all hope? Or can we bounce back? Listen to find out! Plus we’ve got James’ thoughts on the Golden State; Rob talks EU, sugar cubes and the creeping pace of bad policy and the disasters they create; Peter’s wife is none too pleased to see the Pelosi’s latest purchase; and the gang is happy to see that Democrats are losing ground with the non-crazies. Music from this week’s podcast: Russians by Sting Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
It’s a better-late-than-never show. We’ve got galavanting hosts (James is out this week), a Supreme Court steeped in overdue contemplation (John Yoo fills in for James to keep fill us in and even makes a prediction!) and our guest, Bjørn Lomborg is here to talk COP26. Lomborg—author of False Alarm: How Climate Change Panic Costs Us Trillions, Hurts the Poor, and Fails to Fix the Planet—takes us through all the great things Climate leaders have accomplished with these conferences, including promises that they will have accomplished great things in the coming decades… Aside from John’s thoughts on the speciousness of the arguments against Dobbs and the behind the scenes process that will take place between now and when get their decision, he also tells us about his time shooting hoops with Charles Barkley; And Rob updates us on his travels (to Hungary now) and his delighted impressions of conservatism abroad. Music from this week’s podcast: Born Under Punches (The Heat Goes On) by Talking Heads Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
James Lileks reboots The Ramble, just in time for Thanksgiving (AKA a great time to start a diet). Subscribe to James Lileks’ The Ramble here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/james-lileks-the-ramble/id1073828132. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Before we break for another reckless Thanksgiving in Anno CoViDi 3, we decided to take the scenic route this week. We go deep into the capacious mind of Ross Douthat, who’s just released his latest book, The Deep Places: A Memoir of Illness and Discovery. Along with Lyme disease, fringe medicine and faith, the hosts survey Ross on everything from potential hope for American education to the nuclear family and the case for reality. We’ve also got Rob galavanting abroad and utter surprise that the CBO suggests Build Back Better will cost more than $0! The gang reflect on the Rittenhouse verdict which was announced during recording and people who still get goose bumps at the thought of gathering for the holidays. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! See you in two weeks. Music from this week’s podcast: Man In the Mirror by James Morrison Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
When elected leaders decide to look the other way from… ya know… the matters that actually matter to us, we find out about the kinds of people America has in its reserve stock. Yes, the supply chain is a mess; but we’ve got all three hosts to chat with Ryan Peterson, CEO of Flexport, who hopes to fix it. (Take a look at what is likely the first-ever viral tweetstorm on shipping logistics, as well as his children’s book to educate youngsters about the machines that power the world they inhabit!) The gang ask Ryan about his boat tour of the Long Beach port complex to see for himself what’s got us so backed up. He gets us into the nooks and crannies of his industry; how the pandemic has showed its weak points, his ideas for innovating it; and, naturally, the regulatory burdens that slow it all down. Also, the guys spar about the importance of the Rittenhouse trial; they talk gas prices and inflation; plus, Rob gives us a view from France. Music from this week’s podcast: Ship of Fools by World Party Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Even with Rob out, we’re glad to celebrate a great week for democracy! Our guests this week are old friends of ours, Mark and Mollie Hemingway, and they’re here to take us through the irregularities of last November and why it doesn’t have to be nefarious, illegal or fraudulent to call it “Rigged!” Maybe somebody should write a book with that title. Well, maybe somebody has. (Rigged: How the Media, Big Tech, and the Democrats Seized Our Elections) We get into procedural foul play, institutional corruption and media malfeasance; not to mention fights over fish… They even have some hope that laying the groundwork for restoring democratic confidence might be slowly underway, and some thoughts on how to speed it up. Our hosts also chat about a winsome week for Republicans; Peter is educated on milk discourse and James give clock changing as thorough a defense as it could hope for. Congratulations to our Braves fans! Music from this week’s podcast: That Smell by Lynyrd Skynyrd Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
There are no crystal balls on Ricochet, but we can’t keep our eyes off the future. What’s to become of the GOP? Hard to say; but our guest David Drucker has written a book and launched his very own podcast to ponder these very questions. Rob and James put him in the interviewee seat for a change get his take on how candidates will have to navigate a climate that’s been permanently altered by Donald Trump. Photo: Twitter/@holmes_reports/NBC29 How does the former president affect local and state elections? What should make of the upcoming election in Virginia? (What the heck’s up with those tiki-torchers?) And, most importantly, how do the members of the ever-growing crowd of Republican hopefuls get attention while living in Trump’s shadow? You’ll have to listen to find out! Also, Peter pops in to tell us about the Rupert Murdoch birthday celebration he attended, plus Rob and James debate the consequences of Zuckerberg’s hopes to take us all to the metaverse. Music from this week’s podcast: Complicated Shadows by Elvis Costello Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
No, silence isn’t violence; it’s just that here at Ricochet, we’d like to hear what you’ve got to say. As is our wont, we’ve got a few freethinkers to join Rob and James this week – unfortunately Peter is away. First up is Matthew Continetti of The Washington Free Beacon. He’s here to talk about the bewildering politics in a time of competing counter-cultures where both sides think they’re losing. Next up, Nathan Harden, author of Sex and God at Yale, who in 2012 foresaw how political correctness was suffocating education. More recently, his work at Real Clear Politics has highlighted the literally-dumbfounding phenomenon of self-censorship on campuses. Is the death of free speech inevitable? You’ll have to listen to find out! And on that note: Rob and James chat about Dave Chappelle’s latest brush with the many “theys”; banter some about both sides-ism, and find common ground on the value of occasionally shutting up – if only for a few moments. Music from this week’s podcast: Fight The Power by Public Enemy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
On a website devoted to debate (civil, mind you), we can all agree that politics is not the arena for shrinking violets. Who better to remind us of this fact than the former governor of the Garden State, Chris Christie? He gives us the lowdown on his successes in a Blue State and his thoughts on how Republicans need to keep their eye on the prize. Even with the mention of “Christie Porn,” we promise listeners a PG-rated podcast. Also, the regular gang go from the economic blockage to “Let’s Go Brandon,” from intellectuals talking about third parties to Captain Kirk back in space. (Well, kinda-space if you wanna get technical.) Music from this week’s podcast: Man At The Top by Bruce Springsteen Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Programming Note: the first version of this show had some tracks out sync due to an encoding error. If you received that version of the show, please delete that file and re-download the show to get the fixed version. We apologize for the inconvenience and added an additional outtake at the end of the fixed version as a gift for enduring our mistake. “The state is powerful and everyone else you know is a moron.” And with that from Rob Long we launch into our Rank Punditry™ segment on the propaganda wars being waged in America today. It’s also the First Friday after the First Monday in October and you know what that means – we’re checking in on the new Supreme Court term with the Ricochet Podcast’s Legal Correspondent John Yoo. We cover Mr. Justice Thomas’ new found vocalness from the bench and how the conservative wing is now the center of attention. Then we switch gears to China and the CCP’s testing of Joe Biden and how that is going to play out over Taiwan. Music from this week’s episode: Embraceable You by Etta James Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
It’s a podcast about big things today! Our guest is Josh Rogin, author of Chaos Under Heaven: Trump, Xi, and the Battle for the Twenty-First Century. He takes us through our predicament with that big, menacing foe in the Far East; and warns against the current American tendency to allow the conflict with China to become another stage for political squabbling amongst ourselves. He and the hosts contemplate and debate the extent to which Cold War parallels are precise and our thinking ought be revised. The fellas also get into big spending and the progressive distaste for majorities, big or small. Music from this week’s podcast: Everybody Wants To Rule The World by Weezer Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Our guest on this week’s podcast is the former governor of the State of Florida, Jeb Bush. The governor helped transform his state from Blue to Red and set the stage for men like Sen. Rick Scott and current Gov. Ron DeSantis, both of whom are said to be eying a run for the Oval Office in 2024. He surveys the current situation in DC and thinks it is past time for a generational change in leadership. The fellas also go through “crises” and crises, crazy truth and Rob’s optimism for woke nervous breakdowns. And finally, we’ve got a return of the Lileks Post of the Week and it’s a hot one. Literally. Bravo, Kozak! Music from this week’s podcast: I Don’t Mind by Lindsey Buckingham Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jay interviewed Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on July 26, 2021. They spoke about the decision to lockdown in March 2020, the science on kids and COVID, the harms from lockdown, the ethics of panicking the population, the reform of public health, and censorship of public speech by big tech companies. To learn more about the harms of lockdowns, visit collateralglobal.org. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The trio is back in action this week, and after a few weeks off, Rob is in full force! We’ve got Senator Tom Cotton to keep our attention (R- AR) where it should be: on Afghanistan. He then takes us through what was yesterday’s Wuhan lab conspiracy theory but which has since become today’s news. Cotton also breaks some news about Nancy Pelosi’s future ambitions – you don’t want to miss this! Our hosts scrap a bit about the California recall but enjoy nothing but unity on Norm Macdonald and comedy, even in our politicized and polarized society™. Music from this week’s podcast: Make ‘Em Laugh by Donald O’Connor (from the Singing in the Rain soundtrack.) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
This week, Ricochet editors Jon Gabriel and Bethany Mandel and yes, her baby (listen closely and you’ll hear him in this podcast) join Peter and James to discuss another maddening news cycle. Our guest Harmeet Dhillon takes us through the latest power grab by the Biden Administration, the means to fight back and the hopes for an Elder in Sacramento’s Governor’s mansion. The Ricochet gang also take some time to remember 9/11 and assess the distinction between worthwhile arguments and the kinds that necessitate the block button. Music from this week’s podcast: The Nothing Man by Bruce Springsteen Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Remember the good ol’ days when a president could be talked out of his worst impulses? So do we. This week the guys had a chance to chat with one of the people our current president should have listened to: Wisconsin Representative (and Marine Intelligence Officer) Mike Gallagher. The Congressman takes us through the poor leadership, political and operational failures, and the dangers we face now that Afghanistan has collapsed. (And if you can, please donate to this GoFundMe campaign to help the family of Rob’s friend Habib.) The hosts also get a chance to chat about progressive colonialism and Peter’s good feeling about the California recall. Music from this week’s podcast: Memory Motel by The Rolling Stones Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
What can we say? Frustration has a way of concentrating the mind, and this week we’ve got one word: Afghanistan. Victor Davis Hanson joins us to talk about our absurd administration and its pathetic priorities. Then national security correspondent Eli Lake joins us to speak on the Taliban, Biden’s “return to normal” on the world stage and his moral illiteracy. The fellas also have a chance to muse on the tug-of-war of nation-building versus our security interests, along with the question of what America’s choice will be regarding its role as the leader of the free world. We’d be interested in what Ricochet members think. Let us know in the comments! Music from this week’s podcast: Bad Decisions by The Strokes Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices