The Re-Education with Eli Lake

On this episode Eli looks at how the left on college campuses today are driving many Jewish students into a Zionist closet. They are forced to choose between their friends and their beliefs. Eli's guest is Blake Flayton, a columnist at the Jewish Journal of Los Angeles and a recent graduate of George Washington University. He talks about his decision to emigrate to Israel. Read his piece for Commo...

What should a Republic do about a populist demagogue? The fate of a Roman Tribune named Tiberius Gracchus provides a warning today about the perils of indicting Donald Trump. Eli's guest is Bulwark writer Tim Miller. The two do not agree on Trump and have a lively and spirited debate. It's Neither Trump versus Never Trump. Time Stamps: 00:40 Monologue 13:50 Interview with Tim Miller Questions? Com...

Is a college education worth the exorbitant cost if so many of its scholars do not believe in objective truth? In this episode Eli talks with Gabriel Noah Brahm, the founding director of the center for academic and intellectual freedom about the influence of the post modernists of the 20th century on academic scholarship today. Time stamps: 00:29 Monologue 14:30 Interview with Gabriel Noah Brahm Q...

From PT Barnum to Donald Trump, Americans have had a soft spot for bullshiters. We all know the type, the carnival barker, the fast talking pitchman, the colorful politician who insists "a lot of people are saying." On this episode Eli talks with actor, podcaster and comedian Michael Rapaport about how Donald Trump's super power is his ability to spew entertaining bullshit. Be warned, there is a l...

Since the Mar-a-Lago raid, there has been a raging debate over whether Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump were treated the same by the FBI. In this special episode, Eli dives deep into this question and compares the bureau's two investigations into presidential candidates in 2016.

In this episode Eli examines the history of Ayatollah Khomeini's fatwa against the author Salman Rushdie in light of his near assassination last week in New York state. The Fatwa and Iran's role in a murderous campaign against the editors, translators and author of the Satanic Verses reveals the truth about a regime that has not reformed or moderated. His guest is Nazenin Ansari, the managing edit...

In this episode, Eli explores how the word punk can be both an insult and high praise and why after nearly 50 years, the degenerate rebels of the late 1970s who created punk rock are still so culturally relevant. His guest is the host of the Reason Magazine interview podcast, Nick Gillespie. This is a long one, but worth your time.  Time Stamps: 0:20 - Monologue 13:20 - Interview with Nick Gillesp...

In this show, Eli examines the United Kingdom's decision last month to shut down the Tavistock clinic, the only facility in the country to specialize in transgender youth. The decision to shut it down exposes a false consensus imposed by activists on the safety of what are known as puberty blockers. His guest is the co-host of the Blocked and Reported podcast, Jesse Singal.  Time Stamps: 00:04 In...

In this episode Eli and Foundation for Defense of Democracies fellow Bill Roggiio discuss the death of al Qaeda's leader, Ayman al Zawahiri and what it means for the organization that brought down the twin towers. America has made plenty of mistakes in the war on terrorism, but al Qaeda's dream of restoring the Caliphate looks like it will die with Zawahiri.  Time Stamps 0:01 Introduction 00:33 Mo...

Does the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v Wade mean other gains of the women's movement are in danger of slipping away. It depends on how you think about the legacy of second wave feminism. If it's a political movement, perhaps. But the real accomplishment of women like Betty Friedan was that she and her movement changed American culture. Eli will explore the issue with philosopher and a...

In this episode Eli looks at what recent Russian history tells us about the relationship between the Russian state and its citizens, and why so many Russian leaders have been so cruel. His guest is Fred Kagan, the director of the Critical Threats Project at the American Enterprise Institute. Time Stamps: 00:02 Introduction 00:23 Monologue 11:44 Interview with Fred Kagan

The First Avenue club in Minneapolis helped break Prince, one of the most controversial artists of the 1980s despite backlash that decade from social conservatives who worried that his music was dangerous for the youth. Today that same club has caved to pressure from moral scolds on the left who claim Dave Chappelle's comedy endangers the trans community. In this episode Eli and guest, Jeff Blehar...

In this episode of the Re-Education, I examine why so many Americans are filled with despair when the quality of life has improved so much in the last century. My guest is the host of the Good Faith Effort podcast, Ari Lamm.  Time Stamps: 0:02 Introduction 00:24 Monologue 11:58 Interview with Ari Lamm

In this episode, Eli explores why so many creative geniuses have embraced some truly vulgar and horrific political causes and movements. His guest is Vice reporter and Fifth Column podcaster, Michael Moynihan. Time Stamps: 0:04 Introduction 0:22 Monologue 9:38 Interview with Michael Moynihan

In this episode, the Re-education examines the similarities between the woke scolds of today and the puritans of earlier moral panics in America. Our guest is Noah Rothman, the author of the new book, "The Rise of the New Puritans." Time Stamps: 0:06 - Introduction 0:24 - Monologue 7:03 - Interview with Noah Rothman

In this bonus episode, Eli argues America deserves a better national anthem than the Star-Spangled Banner and suggests four alternatives. 

Happy Birthday, America. On this episode, Eli and author Tevi Troy explore the cultural legacy of our national charter and the tension between order and liberty, safety and freedom.  Time Stamps: 0:08 - Introduction 0:31 - Monologue 7:09 - Interview with Tevi Troy

On Today's Re-Education, Eli examines the phenomenon of the red pill in our politics today, people who have chosen to pursue an uncomfortable truth despite enormous pressure to go on believing a lie. His guest is Maud Maron, a New York City public defender who is now running for Congress in a crowded primary.  Time Stamps: 0:03 - Introduction 0:51 - Monologue 9:44 - Interview with Maud Maron

In this episode, Eli explores why it’s hard to shun an ally like Saudi Arabia, even when the new Saudi crown prince acts like a tyrant. If there were easy answers in foreign policy, every pundit would be a statesman.  Time Stamps: 0:03 - Introduction 0:24 - Monologue 9:03 - Interview with Brian Katulis

In this episode, we examine what life was like for gays and lesbians when they were second-class citizens and forced to live in the closet and how and why this unjust regime changed. The guest is the author of a new history of gay Washington, Jamie Kirchick.  0:03 - Introduction 0:52 - Monologue 7:09 - Interview with Jamie Kirchick

When you can't support a demagogue who won’t accept the results of elections he loses, but you also can’t support a resistance that claims to be restoring our political norms by violating them, you have few places to turn. This week on The Re-Education, Eli is joined by Mary Katharine Ham to discuss where Americans should turn when they feel stuck in the middle. Time Stamps 0:04 - Intro 0:23 - Mon...

There was a time in America when the bullies plagued our schools and workplaces. This week we look at the "cry bully", a new type of bully that can be described as a "hideous hybrid of victim and victor, weeper and walloper" and how they have infiltrated our newsrooms, colleges, and public offices. Time Stamps: 0:03 - Intro 0:21 - Monologue 9:53 - Interview with Abe Greenwald

The citizens of San Francisco vote this week on whether to recall their district attorney, Chesa Boudin. This episode looks at a progressive prosecutor who doesn't want to prosecute a lot of crime.   Time Stamps: 0:03 - Intro 0:17 - Monologue 15:29 - Interview with Richie Greenberg

When a Washington DC jury acquitted a former lawyer for Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign this week, many Democrats rejoiced. But the real story from his trial is how much it exposed the FBI and its willingness to take any innuendo and smear from the Clinton campaign as grist to investigate Donald Trump. On this episode of the Reeducation, Eli looks at why the FBI is in desperate need o...

As the Republican party sorts out whether they will be a party of election deniers or election acceptors, Democrats should take another look at how Hillary Clinton's campaign did not respect the peaceful transfer of power in 2016.  Times: 0:03 - Segment: Introduction 0:20 - Segment: Monlogue 15:23 - Segment: interview with Rich Lowery