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 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... Source
Feb 18, 2022•1 hr 9 min•Ep. 581
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... Source
Feb 11, 2022•1 hr 22 min•Ep. 580
UPDATE: Some listeners have had issues with the sound on the original posted recording. We’ve adjusted the levels and re-uploaded. If you’ve already downloaded the show and are having difficulty hearing, all you need to do is delete it and re-download for the adjusted recording. (Or try here.) Enjoy! With Peter up in the air, we needed a guest to lift our grounding in the Metaverse. Source
Feb 04, 2022•1 hr 15 min•Ep. 579
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... Source
Jan 28, 2022•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 578
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... Source
Jan 21, 2022•1 hr 9 min•Ep. 577
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 @ Source
Jan 14, 2022•1 hr 10 min•Ep. 576
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... Source
Jan 07, 2022•1 hr 10 min•Ep. 575
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... Source
Dec 31, 2021•18 min
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... Source
Dec 17, 2021•1 hr 15 min•Ep. 574
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... Source
Dec 10, 2021•1 hr 16 min•Ep. 573
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... Source
Dec 06, 2021•1 hr 9 min•Ep. 572
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. Source
Nov 24, 2021•27 min
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... Source
Nov 19, 2021•1 hr 28 min•Ep. 571
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... Source
Nov 12, 2021•1 hr 21 min•Ep. 570
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... Source
Nov 05, 2021•1 hr 12 min•Ep. 569
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... Source
Oct 29, 2021•1 hr 17 min•Ep. 568
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. Source
Oct 22, 2021•1 hr 24 min•Ep. 567
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... Source
Oct 16, 2021•1 hr 18 min•Ep. 566
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... Source
Oct 09, 2021•1 hr 23 min•Ep. 565
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... Source
Oct 01, 2021•1 hr 15 min•Ep. 564
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. Source
Sep 24, 2021•1 hr 11 min•Ep. 563
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. Source...
Sep 20, 2021•52 min
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! Source
Sep 17, 2021•1 hr 7 min•Ep. 561
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... Source
Sep 11, 2021•1 hr 15 min•Ep. 560
The news cycle is shifting profoundly, and it seems to go from bad to worse. Since we’ve got no Rob Long to try to cheer us up this week, we’re thankful to have two wise men for guests: First up is Glenn Loury on the CRT epidemic, contrasting media coverage of Larry Elder versus troubled youths, and advise for the good life. ( Be sure to check out his podcast, The Glenn Show... Source
Sep 03, 2021•1 hr 20 min•Ep. 559
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... Source
Aug 27, 2021•1 hr 11 min•Ep. 558
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... Source
Aug 21, 2021•1 hr 29 min•Ep. 557
Do you follow the science? Do you have an aversion to the scolds who routinely declare code reds for humanity? Perhaps you’re being driven to despair. But we at Ricochet hope to see you flourish, we want to see you b(j)orn again! Our guest this week is the absorbingly optimistic Bjørn Lomborg, exactly the man to set us straight on the U.N. climate report and the cataclysmic media circus that’s... Source
Aug 13, 2021•1 hr 18 min•Ep. 556
Peter’s out this week, so it’s a Lileks and Long show. But we wouldn’t want to be without a Hoover man. Our guest is Lieutenant General H.R. McMaster, whose decades of service in the Middle East make him the perfect man to help us make what little sense we can of the hurried withdrawal from Afghanistan. (And be sure to check out his piece in the Wall Street Journal.) The guys also wonder about... Source
Aug 06, 2021•1 hr 17 min•Ep. 555
A dizzying week calls for steady remedies. We’ve got the great Larry Elder, who’s hoping to save his home state by taking on Gavin Newsom in California’s upcoming recall election. Next, we bring back our pal Dr. Jay Bhattacharya since CoViD wants to stay in the news. Should the Delta variant motivate you to encase yourself in plastic wrap before leaving the house? You’ll have to listen to find out. Source
Jul 31, 2021•1 hr 12 min•Ep. 554