The Mona Charen Show

Democrats swore they'd never do what Republicans did with Trump. Then came Graham Platner. Mona Charen and Will Saletan on the fake oysterman, the vetting failure, and the death of shame—plus Trump's World Cup meddling and the loss Mona says America needed. Make your summer wardrobe feel easier. Go to https://Quince.com/mona for free shipping on your order and 365-day returns. Now available in Can...

Mona Charen is joined by historian Lindsay Chervinsky—executive director of the George Washington Presidential Library—for the Bulwark Book Club, discussing her book Making the Presidency: John Adams and the Precedents That Forged the Republic. They cover Adams's besieged first days in office, a cabinet secretly loyal to Alexander Hamilton, the mob of 10,000 outside the president's house, the Alie...

Mona Charen and FT columnist Ed Luce dig into Giorgia Meloni's public  dressing down of Trump, the UK's political chaos, and the fallout from Trump's Iran war—including the case that the U.S. is now paying Iran reparations and Israel is boxed into an impossible corner. Plus: Luce's surreal Sunday phone calls with Trump himself. Upcoming: Mona will interview presidential historian Lindsay Chervinsk...

Mona Charen welcomes military analyst Andrew Fox for a conversation on Trump’s Iran ceasefire, whether America squandered its leverage against Tehran, the growing influence of Qatar and Turkey, Israel’s military and political mistakes, Hamas’s strategy in Gaza, and the battle over public opinion that could shape the future of the Middle East. show notes: Bulwark Book Club: Mona will interview pres...

On the inaugural Bulwark Book Club, Mark Hertling joins Mona Charen to discuss his new book—If I Don’t Return: A Father’s Wartime Journal—a journal he began during the Gulf War for his young sons in case he never returned home. Their conversation explores combat, leadership, moral injury, fatherhood, friendship, military culture, and what it means to live a life worthy of the sacrifices made by th...

Mona Charon and Will Saletan on Texas's political earthquake: Paxton's shocking primary win, whether Democrat James Talarico can actually flip the state, the YOLO Republicans finally speaking up too late, and what Bill Cassidy's post-loss laugh tells you about everything. Elevate your summer wardrobe: go to https://Quince.com/mona for free shipping on your order and 365-day returns. Now available...

Jonathan Chait of The Atlantic joins Mona to discuss the incredible scope and scale of Trump’s corruption—from the $4 billion the Trump family has added to its net worth since January 2025, to the $1.776 billion “weaponization” slush fund, to the dozens of DOJ officials who quit rather than follow corrupt orders. They trace how a century of progressive-era reforms that kept American government rel...

Mona Charen is joined by her dear friend Danielle Crittenden for a powerful and honest discussion about the journey that led Danielle to write a book titled Dispatches from Grief. Danielle’s daughter died suddenly in early 2024 at the age of 32. Mona and Danielle talk about the shock of the loss, the ongoing emotional and physical pain of grief, the power of religious rituals and how eye movement...

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 rig...

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 us...

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/...

AEI’s Dalibor Rohac analyzes Hungary’s stunning rebuke of Orbán and implications for other democratic nations.

Mona brings the Beg to Differ panel back for a reunion. They address Orban, Iran, Democrats, and Trump as Jesus—among much else.

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/

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!

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...

Brookings scholar Jessica Riedl analyzes the DOGE debacle and the failure of Americans to make grown up choices about spending and taxes.

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 .

Mona Charen talks with Unite America’s Nick Troiano about the structural problem driving America’s political polarization: the primary system.

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.

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...

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.

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 

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.

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.