A Man for All Seasons is one of cinema's great moral arguments—six Oscars, a cast of legends, and a story about conscience under autocracy that feels more relevant than ever. Mona Charen and Sonny Bunch dig into why this 1966 film became a touchstone for conservative intellectuals, what it says about people who preach virtue and then fold when it counts, and why Robert Bolt—a leftist—wrote the right's favorite movie. Plus: the rule of law, the seduction of power, and what it means to stand fast ...
May 16, 2026•58 min
Mona Charen spoke with Matt Bennett of Third Way for a diagnosis of where the Democratic Party actually stands: a brand stuck at 28% approval, an immigration message that still hasn't landed, the Hasan Piker debate, a Supreme Court that just made gerrymandering easier, and a tariff-driven economic crisis that Democrats inexplicably won't run on. Refresh your everyday with luxury you'll actually use. Head to https://Quince.com/MONA for free shipping on your order and 365-day returns. Now availabl...
May 09, 2026•48 min
Steven Pinker joins Mona Charen to discuss why the world is improving in ways most people don’t recognize—and why so many still believe everything is falling apart. They explore the case for Enlightenment values like reason, science, and liberal democracy, the growing backlash from both the left and MAGA world, and how media and human psychology fuel constant pessimism. Head to https://Quince.com/MONA for free shipping on your order and 365-day returns. Now available in Canada, too....
May 04, 2026•1 hr
AEI’s Dalibor Rohac analyzes Hungary’s stunning rebuke of Orbán and implications for other democratic nations.
Apr 27, 2026•49 min
Mona brings the Beg to Differ panel back for a reunion. They address Orban, Iran, Democrats, and Trump as Jesus—among much else.
Apr 20, 2026•1 hr 26 min
Washington Post architecture critic Philip Kennicott discusses Trump’s physical desecration of Washington DC. Read more from Philip Kennicott: https://www.washingtonpost.com/style/2026/04/07/artemis-moon-trump-iran-war/
Apr 13, 2026•53 min
David Frum analyzes the roots of both left and right-wing anti-Semitism and what it means for a liberal democracy. Go to https://Quince.com/MONA for free shipping and 365-day returns. Now available in Canada, too!
Apr 06, 2026•1 hr
Jonathan Cohn joins Mona to discuss the growing public health crisis under RFK Jr.’s leadership at HHS. From vaccine rollbacks to misinformation about autism and common medications, they walk through how policy decisions are already affecting real people—and why diseases like measles are making a comeback. They also look at the politics: internal pushback inside the Trump orbit, warning signs from polling, and whether any of this can be stopped before the damage spreads further.
Mar 30, 2026•59 min
Brookings scholar Jessica Riedl analyzes the DOGE debacle and the failure of Americans to make grown up choices about spending and taxes.
Mar 23, 2026•44 min
Will Sommer takes us on a tour of the groypers and other right wing influencers. For a limited time, try OneSkin with 15% off using code MONA at https://oneskin.co/MONA .
Mar 16, 2026•46 min
Mona Charen talks with Unite America’s Nick Troiano about the structural problem driving America’s political polarization: the primary system.
Mar 09, 2026•42 min
In this emergency episode of The Mona Charen Show, Tom Nichols lays out the tremendous risks Trump has taken with Iran war. Go to https://Quince.com/MONA for free shipping and 365-day returns. That's a full year to wear it and love it. And you will.
Mar 03, 2026•54 min
NOTE: This episode was recorded before the US/Israel attack on Iran. Two professors describe the staggering corruption Trump is normalizing and how it is affecting foreign policy. Alexander Cooley and Daniel Nexon join The Mona Charen Show to discuss their Foreign Affairs piece “The Age of Kleptocracy.” Go to https://Quince.com/MONA for free shipping and 365-day returns. That's a full year to wear it and love it. And you will.
Mar 01, 2026•1 hr 3 min
Dr. Atul Gawande reports on what cuts to USAID are doing to the world’s most vulnerable, as well as how that is coming home. Also a look back at Covid and reflections on end of life care.
Feb 23, 2026•1 hr 1 min
David French discusses culture wars morphing into hot wars, partisanship, and the idiocy of threatening Greenland. Get 15% off OneSkin with the code MONACHAREN at https://www.oneskin.co/MONACHAREN #oneskinpod
Feb 16, 2026•52 min
Mona is joined by the Atlantic’s Peter Wehner to discuss the psychology of MAGA and why defeating them must be the precursor to depolarization. Wildgrain is offering $30 off your first box - PLUS free Croissants for life - when you go to https://Wildgrain.com/MONA to start your subscription today.
Feb 09, 2026•57 min
Protect Democracy founder Ian Bassin talks about victories and setbacks in the effort to thwart authoritarianism America-style, and what each person can do to preserve free and fair elections going forward. Go to https://Quince.com/MONA for free shipping on your order and 365-day returns. Now available in Canada, too.
Feb 02, 2026•53 min
Dave Wasserman joins Mona to discuss what’s changed and what hasn’t since 2018, including electoral map, redistricting, public discontent, and likely turnout.
Jan 30, 2026•56 min
Mona speaks with David Brooks (author, contributor to PBS NewsHour and opinion columnist for The New York Times) about why so many Americans feel unseen, how loneliness and moral drift are reshaping society, and what we lose when human connection is replaced by screens, algorithms, and artificial companionship. How to Know a Person: The Art of Seeing Others Deeply and Being Deeply Seen: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/652822/how-to-know-a-person-by-david-brooks/...
Jan 26, 2026•42 min
Sonny Bunch joins to discuss “It Was Just an Accident” a film from dissident Iranian director Jafar Panahi. It raises profound questions about guilt, judgment, and revenge. Also, amazing that it was made at all. Get 15% off OneSkin with the code MONACHAREN at https://www.oneskin.co/MONACHAREN #oneskinpod #ad Films & References Mentioned: It Was Just an Accident (dir. Jafar Panahi) The film discussed throughout the episode — a clandestinely made Iranian dissident film that won the Palme d’Or ...
Jan 19, 2026•36 min
Quico Toro offers an insider’s perspective on his lost homeland and the American raid. Wildgrain is offering our listeners $30 off your first box - PLUS free croissants for life - when you go to https://Wildgrain.com/MONA to start your subscription today.
Jan 12, 2026•31 min
Trump promised a manufacturing comeback and cheaper prices. Instead, jobs are shrinking, costs are rising, and America’s economic credibility is taking a hit. Catherine Rampell joins Mona to discuss why the factory revival was always a myth, how tariffs backfired, and why chaos, favoritism, and attacks on rule of law are making the U.S. a riskier place to do business. Go to https://Quince.com/MONA for free shipping on your order and 365-day returns. Now available in Canada, too....
Jan 05, 2026•1 hr 8 min
Laura K. Field discusses her book, Furious Minds, which dissects the thought of MAGA intellectuals (yes, there are some). Anti-enlightenment, theocratic, racist, misogynistic and yet, claiming to be for the general good. Get up to 30% off OneSkin with the code MONACHAREN at https://www.oneskin.co/MONACHAREN #oneskinpod
Dec 29, 2025•50 min
While there won’t be an episode of the Mona Charen Show this week, Mona sends along this holiday greeting. She will return next Monday, December 29.
Dec 22, 2025•30 sec
Georgetown professor Rosa Brooks discusses the legality (or the lack) of Trump’s drug boat attacks as well as the bonkers National Security Strategy document. Head to https://GhostBed.com/mona and use promo code MONA at checkout to get an EXTRA 10% off—on top of their already-reduced prices.
Dec 15, 2025•55 min
The Economist’s John Prideaux discusses the lavish gifts and other forms of corruption in Trump’s Washington.
Dec 08, 2025•51 min
Mona Charen and Will Saletan discuss the growing resistance to Trump’s agenda—grand juries rejecting his charges, the DOJ stumbling, senators warning troops against illegal orders, and his tariffs and deportations driving prices even higher. Go to https://quince.com/MONA for free shipping on your order and 365-day returns. Now available in Canada, too! Get 15% off OneSkin with the code MONACHAREN at https://www.oneskin.co/MONACHAREN #oneskinpod During GhostBed’s Cyber Monday Sale, you can get 25...
Dec 01, 2025•1 hr 14 min
Lawfare’s Ben Wittes discusses Lindsay Halligan’s incompetence and malevolence and the importance of grand juries to our liberties.
Nov 21, 2025•55 min
Francis Fukuyama discusses his theory that the internet, and not economic distress, the Democratic party’s problems, or other things have given rise to populism. Go to https://Oneskin.co and use code: MONACHAREN for 15% off! Take our quick listener survey and help us make The Bulwark even better. https://bit.ly/bulwarkaudio
Nov 17, 2025•51 min
This week on the Mona Charen Show, Mona is joined by Nico Perrino, Executive Vice President of the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), for a crucial conversation about the unprecedented assault on the First Amendment under the Trump 2.0 administration. During GhostBed’s Black Friday Sale, you can get 25% off already-reduced prices, for a limited time. Just go to GhostBed.com/mona and use promo code MONA at checkout.
Nov 10, 2025•56 min
