The Ricochet Podcast - podcast cover

The Ricochet Podcast

Ricochetricochet.com
Weekly episodes of Ricochet’s flagship podcast feature our hosts James Lileks, Steve Hayward, Charles C. W. Cooke, and guests discussing the issues of the week.

Listen to The Ricochet Podcast, along with more than 40 other original podcasts, at Ricochet.com. No paid subscription required.
Last refreshed:
Follow this podcast in the Metacast mobile app to refresh it and see new episodes.
Download Metacast podcast app
Podcasts are better in Metacast mobile app
Don't just listen to podcasts. Learn from them with transcripts, summaries, and chapters for every episode. Skim, search, and bookmark insights. Learn more

Episodes

Wrapping up 2017

This is it. folks — our very last show of 2017. To help us take a look back, we’ve enlisted NewsMax CEO (and Trump confidant) Chris Ruddy who give us the inside Mar-A-Lago POV. Also, we tackle the following questions in this show (h/t: The Commentary Podcast): The best thing Trump did in 2017 The worst thing Trump did in 2017 What you thought would happen in 2017 that didn’t happen? Source

Dec 22, 20171 hr 9 minEp. 383

#Us Too

This week, Powerline’s (and Berkeley’s!) Steve Hayward sits in and we anoint Roy Moore as a loser, Al Franken as a memory, and discuss with Ricochet alumni Claire Berlinski her fantastic and now famous piece The Warlock Hunt. Also, what exactly is Mueller mulling? And our guys pick their favorite movies of 2017. Music from this week’s episode: Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow? Source

Dec 15, 20171 hr 6 minEp. 382

One Never Knows, Does One?

This week, a run through Jerusalem with the Washington Free Beacon’s Matt Continetti and then back home to Alabama guided by the Wall Street Journal’s Bill McGurn. Also, Lileks on Franken and what’s next for Minnesota, Peter Robinson goes for a ride on the Orient Express, and what do they call a Quarter Pounder on Vulcan? Tune in to find out. Music from this week’s episode: One Never Knows... Source

Dec 08, 20171 hr 1 minEp. 381

A Fistful of Tush

This week, a Minnesotan’s view on Franken and Keillor, we get handsy with our old pal David Limbaugh (would he vote for Roy Moore — tune it to find out), and a chat with an actual southerner about the south (that’s Weekly Standard writer Barton Swaim). Also, a bit about Flynn, and some turkey and tax talk. Music from this week’s episode: Stars Fell On Alabama by Ella Fitzgerald & Source

Dec 01, 20171 hr 3 minEp. 380

Black Friday

We were going to take this week off, but then we decided why not gather a couple of hosts (that’d be Rob Long and James Lileks) and let them just riff on the events of the day and other topics, freeform for an hour or so. So that’s exactly what we did. Enjoy it! Music from this week’s podcast: Black Friday by Steely Dan... Source

Nov 24, 20171 hr 9 minEp. 379

Boilermakers

As more (Moore?) sexual harassment revelations (the Al Franken story was breaking as we were recording this show) appear, we thought it might be good to take a breather and visit (by phone) our old friend and ardent Ricochet fan, Purdue University President Mitch Daniels. We talk about the state of higher education, what he’s doing at Purdue to combat student debt, and the place of academic... Source

Nov 16, 20171 hr 3 minEp. 378

The Politics of Moore

This week, it’s the sexiest Ricochet Podcast in memory as we parse the continuing harassment revelations, and the troubling and bizarre saga of Judge Roy Moore. But before we get to that, former New York Congressman Chris Gibson stops by to talk about his book Rally Point: Five Tasks to Unite the Country and Revitalize the American Dream and his views on uniting the country and revitalizing the... Source

Nov 11, 20171 hr 12 minEp. 377

Secrets and Lies

This week, noted author Rob Long (come on, buy his book!) is back on the big show, so we booked a guest he’d have a lot to chat about with, California Congressman Devin Nunes. We talk collusion, Russia, Mueller, all the good stuff. Also, Bush the elder says the President “is a blowhard,” are entitlements bad for the nation’s health?, and Steve Martin’s King Tut is racist. Well, at least at Reed... Source

Nov 04, 20171 hr 17 minEp. 376

The Greatest Game

“It’s time for the Ricochet Poooodcaaaast!” If only we had Vin Scully to announce that the epic way he did earlier this week at Game 2 of The World Series. But this podcast ain’t too shabby either: leading off we’ve got the great Mollie Hemingway on that whole dossier controversy and batting cleanup, it’s power-hitter Pat Sajak on the greatest game, this series, and why baseball will always be the... Source

Oct 27, 20171 hr 9 minEp. 375

The Greatest Wars

It’s relatively rare to put out a Ricochet Podcast with only one guest, but when that guest is Victor Davis Hanson, well that’s all you need. First, we do a deep dive on Victor’s new must-read book The Second World Wars: How the First Global Conflict Was Fought and Won, a definitive history of WWII. Then, a bit of talk about current events, including North Korea. Go get your thinking cap out of... Source

Oct 19, 20171 hr 5 minEp. 374

The Mighty Have Fallen

It’s been a bad week for Hollywood’s grasp on moral authority. First, Harvey Weinstein is fired for transgressions going back decades, and then some guy from Amazon gets fired for basically the same thing. To help guide us through the moral minefield, we call up New York Times columns extraordinaire Ross Douthat. We also talk Hefner and that pesky 25th Amendment. Then, Christopher Scalia... Source

Oct 13, 201759 minEp. 373

Guns N' Poetry

This week, Jon Gabriel captains the good ship Ricochet in place of James Lileks and podcast amigo Andrew Klavan is in the Long Chair® this week. Our guests are Charles C.W. Cooke, the foremost authority on firearms (also roller coasters, but that’s for another show). Then, TV’s and noted Trump supporter Rob Long stops by to plug his new book Bigly: Donald Trump in Verse. Also... Source

Oct 05, 20171 hr 8 minEp. 372

Hurricanes, Knees, and Dr. Suess

This week, we call of a couple of our most popular podcasters to help us parse the week’s events: Michael Graham, the Boston based host of or daily podcast Michael in the Morning sits in for Peter Robinson, while Michael Stopa from the Harvard Lunch Club podcast stops by to talk about how the President is doing so far (and yes, he and Rob Long get into another one of their epic rap battles). Then... Source

Sep 30, 20171 hr 8 minEp. 371

When the Robots Rule

This week, we’ve got Powerline’s John Hinderaker in the Long Chair®, John Yoo protecting us from sentient robots (read his new book Striking Power: How Cyber, Robots, and Space Weapons Change the Rules for War ), and the Hoover Institution’s Kori Schake with some thoughts on how to take down Rocket Man. Also, Minnesota statues and other assorted ephemera. Music from this week’s podcast: Rocket Man... Source

Sep 22, 20171 hr 3 minEp. 370

Let's Make A Deal

This week, Larry Kudlow sits in the Long Chair ® as the President and his new BFF’s Chuck and Nancy strike a deal over dinner, Heritage’s Steve Moore on the administration’s tax plan and Tevi Troy on how the President did on Storm Watch ’17. Music from this week’s podcast: The Ballad of Peter Pumpkinhead by XTC You’re a good egg... Source

Sep 15, 20171 hr 2 minEp. 369

The Dreamers

Whenever immigration rises to the top of the national agenda, we like to call on the best guys we know on the topic, Mickey Kaus and Mark Krikorian. We do a deep dive into the Dreamers, DACA, and The Wall. Also, that deal with Chuck and Nancy, Rob defends Betsy DeVos, and James remembers a dog named Scout. Music from this week’s podcast: Bodhisattva by Steely Dan... Source

Sep 09, 20171 hr 16 minEp. 368

Question Time!

Ricochet Founders® Peter Robinson and Rob Long take your questions (after they chat about current events for a few minutes). Thanks to everyone who chimed in with the great queries. We’ll do this again in a few months. Happy end of summer! Music from this week’s podcast: I’m Still Here by Follies (New Broadway Cast Recording) Yes, you should absolutely subscribe to this podcast. It helps! Source

Sep 02, 20171 hr 24 minEp. 367

Summer of Love

This week, a special edition of the Ricochet Podcast. Peter Robinson and Rob Long (Lileks is cruising the Atlantic) are joined by The Weekly Standard’s Andrew Ferguson and the great P.J. O’Rourke. You’ll definitely want to check out P.J.’s new venture AmercianConsequences.com. As you would expect, this show a wide ranging ramble through the culture, but past and present, including but no limited... Source

Aug 26, 20171 hr 24 minEp. 366

Statues, Protests, and Firings

Another busy week and to help us parse it, we enlist Ricochet Editor @jongabriel (not a member? Join Ricochet using the new ExJon leve1!) and guests Victor Davis Hanson and The Federalist’s Ben Domenech. We cover everything: the protests, the statues, and the firings. Listen! Music from this week’s podcast: The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down by The Band (from The Last Waltz) The all new opening... Source

Aug 18, 20171 hr 12 minEp. 365

Dilbert Speaks

In our continuing effort to bring as much ideological balance to the flagship podcast, today we bring you Bill Bennett, host of The Bill Bennett Show (conveniently available right on this site) sitting in the Long Chair®. You’d think that would be enough, that we wouldn’t need to go even further in our quest to feature all sides of the movement. But no! We go even further with this week’s guest... Source

Aug 10, 20171 hr 1 minEp. 364

The Huddled Masses

This week, our good pal Larry Kudlow sits in for the making-tv-great-again Rob Long. We’ve also got Henry Olsen, author of The Working Class Republican: Ronald Reagan and the Return of Blue-Collar Conservatism who tell us what why Reagan’s greatest influence may have been Franklin Roosevelt, how The Great Communicator would’ve come down on the health care debate, and supposes who would have won in... Source

Aug 04, 20171 hr 11 minEp. 363

The One with Harry Shearer

This week, we take something of a break from the rough and tumble of the news cycle and spend an hour chatting with our old friend, the great Harry Shearer (hit this link if you are one of the few unfamiliar with his work). We stalk some politics, we talk some media, we talk about Nixon (you must see Harry’s one man show Nixon’s The One immediately), we talk about comedy. Oh, just listen. Source

Jul 29, 20171 hr 6 minEp. 362

Napoleon Dynamite

The President is on the record, the WSJ’s Bill McGurn talks about Charlie Gard, The Washington Post’s Bob Costa on the mood in DC, @Lileks ponders Russian history, Long wonders who’s going to get fired, and Robinson has one last question. Or three. Music from this week’s podcast: Charlie Don’t Surf by The Clash The all new opening sequence for the Ricochet Podcast was composed and produced by... Source

Jul 21, 20171 hr 12 minEp. 361

Sajak and Yoo

On the Ricochet Podcast, we go to great lengths to provide breadth and depth in covering the news of the day. Where else can you hear incisive legal analysis from John Yoo and great social commentary and levity from Pat Sajak? Nowhere else, that’s for sure. We give some free legal advice to those in need, talk about walls (those that were torn down and those yet to be built)... Source

Jul 14, 20171 hr 11 minEp. 360

The Fourth of July

We were going to take this week off, but the opportunity to do a special holiday weekend edition of the Ricochet Podcast with just The Founders *and James Lileks, of course) proved to be too tempting. The guys talk about Presidential tweets, what to do about health care, what they like to do on the 4th, and life in the ten years since the iPhone debuted. Enjoy the weekend, everyone. Source

Jul 01, 20171 hr 7 minEp. 359

It's Complicated

Summer’s here and that means vacations and that means….guest hosts! Today, Peter Robinson teams up with our podcasting colleagues at The Weekly Standard, Steve Hayes and Fred Barnes. They talk about Georgia’s 6th district race, and of course the new health care bill now in front of the Senate. On the topic, we call on the most knowledgeable person we know on health care law, Avik Roy. Also... Source

Jun 24, 201758 minEp. 358

Guns and Rhetoric

Another busy week with much to talk about and to help out we’ve got (along with @jongabriel sitting in for Rob Long) the great Yuval Levin and Adam Carolla. Yuval schools us on the rumors that the President will fire Robert Mueller and the black box that is the Congressional Budget Office, and Adam stops by to talk about his upcoming film the Dennis Prager ( they’re raising money to underwrite it... Source

Jun 15, 20171 hr 13 minEp. 357

Wha' Happen?

Long Parkcasting We’re all over the globe physically and all over the map topically this week as we cover the British elections with our guests Toby Young from The Spectator (read his take on the election here) and we’ve got the great Andrew McCarthy on Comey, the NSA, and Trump’s legal conundrums. Also, Rob is in a park in London. Yes, in a park. Now, that’s devotion. Music from this week’s... Source

Jun 09, 20171 hr 11 minEp. 356

Heating Up

The hard thing about producing a weekly podcast is coming up with relevant topics to talk about. Nothing ever happens in this boring administration we’ve elected. Yawn. This week, we’ve got Pat Buchanan (you must buy his new book Nixon’s White House Wars: The Battles That Made and Broke a President and Divided America Forever) who weighs in on those endless Nixon/Trump comparisons... Source

Jun 02, 20171 hr 10 minEp. 355

Generic Current President

Bodyslamming, Trump in Europe, the great Mollie Hemingway (you are hereby ordered to buy her new Encounter Broadside Trump vs. The Media right now), the lies we tell ourselves about terrorism (thanks John Kluge), and Peter Robinson once hung out with Roger Moore. No, we didn’t know that either. Happy summer, everyone. Music from this week’s podcast: Nobody Does It Better (The Spy Who Loved Me) by... Source

May 26, 20171 hr 19 minEp. 354
For the best experience, listen in Metacast app for iOS or Android