The Ricochet Podcast

As the late Johnny Thunders would say, "Rock and roll is simply an attitude." And we bring the attitude this week with Free Press contributor Eli Lake , as we talk Graham Platner's Maine implosion, underestimating the Ukranians and how Donald Trump may have stumbled to the right answer in Iran. All that and Eli leads us through a round of "What Are You Listening To?" and Charlie's collection of se...

For a special edition of the Ricochet Podcast, Peter Robinson sits down with Steve Hilton, California's Republican candidate for governor. The duo discusses Hilton's uphill fight with the machine-backed Xavier Beccera, the corrupt alliance between unions, activists, and elected officials that's behind the Golden State's muted shine, and Steve's plan to deliver results for California's American dre...

Our hosts are out of sorts as they prep for the Independence Day celebration: Hayward is on the high seas, Lileks is in Boston, and the always-fashionable Cooke is even later than usual. But the gang had to get together once more before the holiday break to make their grumblings known about a less welcome kind of revolutionary spirit... Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/...

America's 250th birthday is just a few weeks out, and festivities are underway. But, leaving aside disputes about fist fights and daring stunts on the White House South Lawn, a question emerges about what a serious celebration of the American way looks and feels like. To consider this and more, Charles, James, and a visiting Peter Robinson sit down with Matthew Mehan, author and Associate Dean of...

It's just James and Charles to recollect and swap rants about the goings-on of the land of the free and the home of oddball. The cast of characters includes the world's first billionaire, an Angeleno who lost an election for common sense, a lunatic posing as a model working man, and the deeply flawed judgment of Democratic voters about guys like these. Lileks and Cooke also delight in watching Eur...

John Yoo returns to usher in SCOTUS opinion season, joining James and Steve for some friendly debates on law, politics and, most controversially, more than a few matters of taste. For our democrats in the audience, we've got chatter on California vote counting and Alabama map battles. News from the UK reminds us that the royalists are in even worse shape, as authorities there prove to be as confus...

Lots and lots of burning questions dominate the news. Do we need a $250 bill, and what or who should be on it? Mamdani flexes his communist urges in NYC, so what could possibly go wrong? And can a state tax a "slush fund" at 100%? James and Charles have thoughts. But the question we really want an answer to is, "Do we have a deal with Iran or not?" To answer that, we welcome back our old friend Ri...

James, Steve and non-stipendiary host Rob Long shoot the breeze as they face revolutionary changes big and small. From the impending phenonena of Pratt Summer and unstoppable AI to the DNC's stateside Commie drama and the Euros giving nationalism another go, the trio draws some important lessons: Local elections matter. They can even be fun! Political messaging is especially effective when your op...

Donald Trump and Xi Jinping have ended their two day summit in Beijing with lots of talk and no announced breakthroughs. James and Steven break it all down. Speaking of breaking down, we welcome back National Review senior writer Noah Rothman to talk about the left's embrace of political violence that he covers in his new book,  Blood and Progress: A Century of Left-Wing Violence in America. It's...

Ricochet’s beloved former editor Mollie Hemingway is back with a new book, Alito: The Justice Who Reshaped the Supreme Court and Restored the Constitution . We’re so thrilled, in fact, that we couldn’t even keep Peter Robinson away. So Mollie leads our embarrassment of hosts through her exclusive scoop on the Supreme Court’s most enigmatic justice. Tune in for an in-depth report covering everythin...

Have we hit the "another week, another act of homegrown terror" phase of American history? Spencer Klavan joins Steve and Charles for a roundup of the (relatively) young academic's recent works on subjects ranging from Francis Fukayama's oft-misunderstood  thesis to the ascent of figures like Hasan Piker , who hope to microloot our stores of social capital (and Whole Foods, too). The trio also con...

The pitiful state of university sociology departments is an unfortunate thing, but to see tantrums at elite law schools over "controversial" speakers portends danger — or so says Ilya Shapiro, author of   Lawless: The Miseducation of America’s Elites . He and the fellas discuss the illiberal takeover of higher education, most troublingly in the institutions that train the gatekeepers of our legal...

Moving concentrates the mind on the old days (good or otherwise). And who better to reminisce with than a good ole pal? James Lileks and Rob Long are back together, and they brought family heirlooms... Breezing through current events (a blockaded blockade abroad, a goon running Gotham, a papal-sovereign scrap), the duo takes in another week's worth of madness with the calm of mind that comes from...

It's just Lileks and Cooke this week, back to gander at another quintessentially American week of this semiquincentennial year. The fellas cover the halted hostilities in Iran, an incredible rescue op, Mayor Mamdani's "Citywide Racial Equity Plan," the awaited splashdown of Artemis II astronauts, and all manner of transportation issues.  Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com...

Bondi's out at DOJ. SCOTUS heard another big case and issued another big ruling. We're at war, and Congress is out of the loop... We need a legal expert this week. John Malcolm joins — Vice President of the Meese Institute for the Rule of Law at Advancing American Freedom, and Executive Editor of the third edition of T he Heritage Guide to the Constitution .  Plus, Charles, Steve, and James are re...

James and Steve put Charles in the guest chair to elaborate on his National Review cover story exhorting against generalized downerdom and political pessimism. Further, the trio speculates on the nature of negotiations with the people supposedly running Iran, as well as next week's birthright citizenship case before SCOTUS. Sound from this week's open: Marco Rubio speaks on Iran war objectives. Be...

H.R. McMaster joins Steve and Charles to take stock of the war in the Middle East. Though a tank man by training, H.R. is no stranger to thinking about our capabilities and how they stack up against our foes—both the enemy in Iran and the aggressors backing them up.  Plus, Cooke and Hayward can't help but feel a bit of relief that there's a bit less Erlichian misanthropy in the world; consider new...

For decades, war game experts have produced dire predictions for American-Iranian war scenarios. While it's still early days, the circumstances are much more favorable than strategists had supposed. Noah Rothman returns to break down what's going right in Iran, what remains worrisome and uncertain, what the public ought to anticipate, and what the administration ought to tell them. (Noah also give...

James, Steve and Charles are back together to discuss life during wartime. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-ricochet-podcast--5817275/support .

Underneath the "cuddly" rhetoric of the Democatic Socialists there lurks admirers of some of the most evil men in history. And, says our guest Tal Fortgang of the Manhattan Institute, they are also poised to take control of the whole of  the Democratic Party .  There's also some hockey talk (USA! USA! USA!), the State of the Union and Gavin Newsom's SAT scores. Become a supporter of this podcast:...

It's been said that there's no use in proposing that Donald Trump moderate his rhetoric, but with presidential approval ratings being what they are, a friendly reminder about duties and decorum might be just what the doctor ordered. Daniel Mahoney, author and professor emeritus at Assumption College, joins James and Steve to discuss his latest piece, " Discipline at a Moment of Power ." Plus, the...

Conservatism and the Republican Party have been at an impasse for some time. On the one hand, we're beholden to the enduring principles of our founding, on the other we're proud members of the world's most innovative state. Henry Olsen joins Steve and James this week to discuss life at the conservative crossroads. ( Check out his new podcast series of the same name here! ) Plus, Lileks and Hayward...

Lingering cold has many a podcast host needing a week off, but Rob Long and Steve Hayward reconvene to enjoy some juicy stories and just desserts: The "Democracy Dies in Darkness" crowd got cut up in broad daylight, Jeffrey Epstein's pals are paying their due for dealing with the devil, and a $2 million verdict was awarded to a minor in a suit against the medical professionals who deformed her.  B...

Peter returns to catch up with James of Snogadishu and Charles of the land of peace, prosperity, and enviable winter climate. It's good timing to have the ever-winsome Robinson back as the trio wraps their heads around another week of crazy that hits a little too close to home. They grapple with domestic disturbances revolving around another killing in the Twin Cities and the preposterous notion t...

We're one year into Trump 2.0. And it's America at 250. James, Steve and Charles discuss and debate an especially wild week for an already-adventurous Trump administration. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-ricochet-podcast--5817275/support .