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 con...
Feb 21, 2025•1 hr•Ep. 729
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...
Feb 14, 2025•59 min•Ep. 728
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 ...
Feb 07, 2025•1 hr•Ep. 727
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 dr...
Jan 31, 2025•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 726
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...
Jan 24, 2025•59 min•Ep. 725
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 ...
Jan 20, 2025•57 min•Ep. 724
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 Charli...
Jan 17, 2025•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 723
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 grea...
Jan 10, 2025•56 min•Ep. 705
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 bil...
Dec 20, 2024•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 721
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. ... ...
Dec 13, 2024•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 720
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....
Dec 11, 2024•53 min•Ep. 719
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
Dec 06, 2024•55 min•Ep. 718
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
Nov 15, 2024•56 min•Ep. 717
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 h...
Nov 08, 2024•1 hr 9 min•Ep. 716
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 . ...
Nov 01, 2024•55 min•Ep. 715
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 an...
Oct 25, 2024•57 min•Ep. 714
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 ...
Oct 18, 2024•1 hr•Ep. 713
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 W...
Oct 11, 2024•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 712
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 wee...
Oct 04, 2024•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 711
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 ch...
Sep 27, 2024•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 710
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
Sep 20, 2024•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 709
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 the...
Sep 13, 2024•54 min•Ep. 708
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 Ger...
Sep 06, 2024•51 min•Ep. 707
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 man...
Aug 30, 2024•58 min•Ep. 706
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.
Aug 23, 2024•58 min•Ep. 705
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 F...
Aug 16, 2024•55 min•Ep. 704
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.
Aug 09, 2024•59 min•Ep. 703
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...
Aug 02, 2024•59 min•Ep. 702
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, Jam...
Jul 26, 2024•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 701
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 accept...
Jul 19, 2024•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 700
